Legend of Concubine's Daughter Minglan 知否知否 应是绿肥红瘦

C134. The Speculation from a Conspiracist (1)

That day was nothing different from the normal days.

There were both thin and thick layers of ice on the pool right now. After the lunch, Minglan squatted down by the pool in her thick winter coat, watching the fat fishes which were swimming leisurely through the semitransparent ice. Having envied those fishes' lives, she carried an empty fish weel back to the Hall of Peaceful Ages, which made Old Madam Sheng tease her for a while. Minglan was not irritated at all. After climbing the brick bed with her hands and feet, she sat next to Old Madam Sheng to warm herself.

"Why did you have to go fishing in winter! You may catch cold!" Old Madam Sheng complained Minglan with her eyes narrowed.

Minglan who was also squinting her eyes said lazily, "Eldest sister-in-law has no appetite these days. She told me that she wanted to eat the Hot and Sour Stirred Onion Dried Fish that I had cooked the last time... But then I remembered that the winter fish belongs to the cold food, especially the ones in the pool. So I'm afraid that she would get sick after eating those fishes from the icy water."

Hearing her words, Old Madam Sheng used her hands to warm Minglan's little ones, slowly saying, "They said that if the pregnant woman likes to eat the sour food, she's pregnant with a boy. If she likes to eat the hot food, then a girl. So what do you say Changbai's wife is pregnant with, a boy or a girl?"

Minglan seemed to be a little sleepy. She rubbed her eyes with her little fists and mumbled, "Eldest brother said that he wanted a daughter, because then he would have a son and a daughter. Eldest sister-in-law didn't say anything. But I know she wants to have another son." Only one son was not enough for Hai shi, two would be better.

Old Madam Sheng said with a smile, "Your Eldest sister-in-law is a lucky woman. It doesn't matter to her if it's a boy or a girl."

As they were chatting on the warm brick bed, they both got a drowsy feeling coming over themselves. Suddenly, a sharp scream awakened Minglan. Old Madam Sheng also opened her eyes to looked at the curtain at the door. Then she saw a girl in a maid dress doddering along into the room. The maid rushed to the brick bed, dropped to her kness and cried, "Old Madam, help us!"

"Little Xique, what happened?" Minglan asked in doubt. She recognized that this girl was the third-grade maid of Rulan.

Little Xique, with her hair disheveled and the make up on her face messed up, said in terror, "Old madam, sixth young lady, please save sister Xique. Madam is going to beat her to death! And our young lady, Master said he would find a rope to strangle her! Young Madam (Hai shi) didn't dare to persuade them so she let me out secretly to ask for your help." She explained tearfully while kept kowtowing.

"What have happened" Old Madam Sheng sat up straight immediately, questioning in a stern voice, "Didn't the madams go to the temple?"

Being afraid that Old Madam Sheng would get dizzy after getting up too fast, Minglan instantly rubbed Old Madam Sheng's back to let her breathe smoothly.

Early in the morning today, there had been a new figure of Buddha being consecrated. Since Wang shi had donated a lot to the temple, the old Buddhist abbot had sent an invitation to her. Then Wang shi had taken Rulan to pray in the temple and draw a marriage stick as well.

Old Madam Sheng kept asking what had happened. However, Little Xique hadn't followed them to the temple, so she didn't know about the whole story. After she had begged on the floor for a long while, she still couldn't speak out the reason. So Old Madam decided to go there to have a look. Minglan called Cuiping at once to dress Old Madam Sheng.

She was planning to follow but was stopped by Old Madam Sheng. Fang Mama comforted Minglan kindly, "Your fifth sister made a mistake and Master and Madam want to punish her for that. Since Old Madam Sheng has already decided to go, conflicts will be unavoidable over there. As daughter of your father, it's inappropriate for you to be there."