Chapter 183 Molan Causes Trouble
"Yeah~"
When Rulan opened the box, her own face came into view.
It’s not that she was scared by her appearance. As a woman, she would look in the mirror every day when she dressed up.
But the bronze mirror at home is not so clear.
Plus, she didn't expect there would be a mirror inside, so she was naturally startled at first sight.
"Fifth sister, what's wrong with you?"
Minglan sat opposite Rulan holding a wooden box. She didn't see what was in Rulan's box. When she heard Rulan's exclamation, she hurriedly asked.
"Sixth sister, look!"
Rulan came back to her senses and excitedly took out the mirror from the wooden box.
The mirror is framed with top-quality mahogany and is only the size of two adult palms.
Rulan took it out and shone a mirror in front of Minglan, saying, "Look how clear this bronze mirror is."
Minglan looked at herself in the mirror and was also stunned.
"I heard that the bronze mirrors in the palace can reflect every detail. Whatever you see with your eyes will be reflected in the mirror. I didn't expect it to be real." Rulan said excitedly.
"Fifth sister, this should not be a bronze mirror. Didn't Eunuch Liu remind you that this mirror is fragile? And I heard from Sister Yanran that there are only a few bronze mirrors like the one Fifth sister mentioned in the palace. His Highness would not give it to us." Minglan said.
"That's right." Rulan came back to her senses and urged, "This mirror feels so light in my hand. Even if the frame is made of wood, it shouldn't be so light. Take a quick look and see if there is also a mirror in your wooden box."
Upon hearing this, Minglan opened the wooden box and found a mirror inside that was exactly the same as Rulan's.
"No matter what, this mirror must be very precious. I'll see what Molan has to say when we go back!" Rulan said proudly.
Usually at home, she would call Molan "Fourth Sister".
After all, there is an order of seniority. If Sheng Hong finds out by calling someone by their name directly, he will scold him.
After the Chinese New Year this year, she and Minglan moved out of Shou'an Hall.
Minglan lived in a small courtyard next to Shou'an Hall, while she lived in the courtyard next to Weiruixuan.
At that time, Molan still lived in Linqi Pavilion.
Later, because of Sheng Changfeng's incident, Lin Xiaoniang was confined to her house, and Sheng Hong also asked Molan to move out of Linqi Pavilion.
Although the Sheng family mansion is not small, there are quite a few people. Several concubines each occupy a small courtyard, and the two brothers also need their own separate courtyards.
The remaining empty courtyards are the small courtyard near Shou'an Hall and the courtyard next to Weiruixuan.
The courtyard at Shou'an Hall was small, so Sheng Hong let Molan and Rulan live in the same courtyard.
At first, Molan was relatively honest, but after Lin Xiaoniang was released from house arrest a few months ago, Molan returned to her usual self and often bullied Rulan.
Before, Molan had mocked Rulan, saying that the prince would never like her personality and that she would be miserable when she entered the palace in the future.
In Rulan's view, Zhao Xing's gift of such a precious thing to her was a sign of his love for her.
After looking back, Molan saw what else to say.
When she thought of Molan's humiliated look, she was overjoyed.
Minglan, however, felt that this mirror might be precious, but not necessarily that precious.
Today in the Eastern Palace, from the expressions of Yu Yanran and Sheng Shulan, she could tell that they were living very well in the Eastern Palace, and the prince loved them very much.
Since the prince gave them mirrors, Yu Yanran and the others would definitely get one, including the future crown princess and the queen and concubines in the palace.
This proves that this thing can be produced in large quantities.
But seeing Rulan's happy look, she still didn't expose it.
After returning to the Sheng family, the two sisters separated after entering the corner door of the backyard.
The courtyards where the two people lived were some distance apart and not together.
Rulan returned to the yard with a joyful look on her face, and Molan, hearing the noise, came out of the room.
"Fourth sister, are you here to greet me just because I'm back?" Rulan said with a smile.
Molan looked at the cloth and some wooden boxes containing unknown things held in the hands of the maids behind Rulan, and finally her eyes stopped on the wooden box in Rulan's hand.
Seeing Molan looking at the wooden box in her hand, Rulan said proudly, "Your Highness has rewarded me with many things today, one of which is a rare treasure. Do you want to take a look, Fourth Sister?"
Molan knew that Rulan wanted to show off to her, but she still wanted to see what the rare treasure Rulan was talking about was.
But she didn't say it directly, otherwise it would be embarrassing if Rulan refused.
"Fourth sister, if you want to see it, come with me."
After saying this, she took the maid into her room.
"Young lady!" the remaining maid bowed.
"Well, nothing is missing from the house, right?"
Rulan raised her voice when she spoke, deliberately speaking for Molan to hear.
"Don't worry, young lady. I dare not even blink and the things will definitely not be lost." The maid also knew the grudges between her master and her master, so she replied loudly.
"That's hard to say. Some people are very capable."
Rulan turned her head meaningfully to look at Molan who was standing there, and went into the house with her maid.
"Girl, let's go."
Yun Zai saw that Mo Lan looked unhappy and spoke up to remind her.
Molan clenched the handkerchief in her sleeve tightly, but relaxed after hearing this. She said calmly, "Why are you leaving? Since Fifth Sister invited me to see the rare treasures, I must go and see them."
After saying that, he went straight to Rulan's room.
Rulan entered the room and sat down on the couch. She took out a mirror and looked at herself in the mirror. Seeing Molan coming in, Rulan put down the mirror and said with a smile, "Fourth sister, come and look at the mirror that the Crown Prince gave me. This one is very clear. I was scared at first."
Molan stepped forward upon hearing this, and Rulan generously handed over the mirror, saying proudly, "Be careful, this thing can't stand being dropped. It was given to you by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and you won't be able to bear the consequences if it gets broken."
When she was a child, whenever Molan saw that her father had something good, she would go to her father and cry to him, and as a result, her things would end up in Molan's hands.
This mirror was given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and my father would never give it to Molan.
She just wanted to see Molan's expression of wanting something but not getting it.
Rulan was so busy feeling proud that she didn't notice that Molan's eyes flickered when she heard her words.
Molan stretched out her hand, but when Rulan let go, she pulled her hand back.
"Snapped!"
The mirror wrapped in a wooden frame fell to the ground.
"what!"
Rulan let out a cry of surprise and quickly picked up the fallen mirror.
The back and frame of the mirror were wrapped in wooden frames, which provided some cushioning and did not break into pieces, but a crack still appeared in the middle.
Rulan looked at the cracks on the mirror and glared at Molan: "Fourth sister, why did you deliberately break my mirror?"
Molan seemed to be frightened and stood there in a daze. After hearing this, she came back to her senses and explained in a panic: "I...I didn't, you let go before I received it."
"You're still trying to quibble. I saw you caught it and then let go. You did it on purpose!" Rulan shouted.
"I really didn't." Molan shook her head repeatedly.
"what happened?"
Just then, Mrs. Wang and Mother Liu walked in.
When Madam Wang learned that her daughter had returned, she thought Rulan would go and tell her what happened in the East Palace today.
After waiting for a while, Rulan didn't come, so she came over by herself.
As soon as I entered the yard, I heard Rulan's exclamations and scolding, and I quickly quickened my pace.
"mother!"
When Rulan saw her mother, her eyes reddened. She went forward to hug her mother and started crying in grievance.
She loved that mirror very much, and now that it was broken, she was naturally sad.
Madam Wang glared at Molan fiercely and comforted her daughter: "Okay, stop crying. Tell me what you have been wronged about and I will help you vent your anger."
"mother…"
Rulan let go of her mother and told her what had happened while crying.
Without any instructions from Madam Wang, Mother Liu walked forward, took the mirror and handed it to Madam Wang.
Madam Wang took the mirror with an unpleasant expression. When she saw her clear reflection in the mirror, she turned to look at Molan and gritted her teeth, "How dare you! This is a gift from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and you dared to destroy it! Someone, hold her down!"
"Madam, it wasn't me. It was my fifth sister who let go before I could catch it." Molan explained hurriedly.
When she did that, she was thinking about how to avoid punishment, but she didn't expect that Madam Wang would come over.
"Shut up!" Madam Wang shouted, "Could it be that Rulan would deliberately break the gift sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
"Hold her down and beat her hard!"
Madam Wang was furious. No matter how Molan argued, she ordered her men to hold Molan down and beat her with a ruler.
For a moment, Molan's shrill cries were heard in the courtyard.
…………
After Minglan and Rulan parted ways, they went straight to Shou'an Hall with their maids.
Zhao Xing gave a lot of fabrics, jewelry and snacks, and Rulan distributed them directly in the car. She picked out some she liked and took about two-thirds away.
Minglan then gave her share to Old Lady Sheng.
Old Madam Sheng was not interested in these things and pulled Minglan aside to ask about what happened in the East Palace today.
"Your Highness has prepared a copy for you, which shows that he values you very much. This way, I can rest assured."
After listening to Minglan's story, Mrs. Sheng looked in the mirror and felt relieved.
After all, Minglan was just a dowry, and Zhao Xing gave the same things to both of them, which shows that he treated them equally.
"Grandma, let me give you this mirror," Minglan said.
"I'm old, what do I need this for? Besides, this is a gift from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You must take it with you when you and Rulan move into the East Palace in the future. His Royal Highness may not think of it, but if he really thinks of it but hasn't seen it, what will His Royal Highness think?" Old Lady Sheng shook her head.
"Then grandma, please eat more snacks. Your granddaughter has tried them and they are very delicious. I specially ordered some flavors that you like." Minglan said with a smile.
She didn't argue with Rulan about fabrics and jewelry, letting Rulan choose whatever she wanted.
However, she took the initiative to order some snacks that suited Mrs. Sheng's taste.
"Haha, I've eaten a lot of snacks from the palace before."
When her father was alive, she was highly valued and often went to the palace with her mother.
She was also very much liked by the late Empress Dowager, and it was at that time that she met Madam Kong.
She had eaten all the dishes and snacks in the palace and didn't think they were anything special.
However, she was still very happy that Minglan was so filial.
As the grandparents and grandchildren were talking, Fang's mother walked in.
(End of this chapter)