"Fourth sister, we've just been out of the city for a short time, and now we have to go back?" Wen Renying was a little reluctant. They didn't have much time to go out of the city for fresh air, only a few times a year.
Xiao Cao stretched out her hand and pinched her face, saying with a smile: "I didn't ask you to follow me. Without me as a 'burden', you can just go and play with your familiar little sisters. Wouldn't you be more happy and free?"
Wen Renying pretended to be hesitant and reluctantly accepted Xiaocao's suggestion. However, she only pretended for three seconds and couldn't stop laughing.
Han couldn't help but poke her forehead, "You're engaged and will be married next year, but you're still acting like a child."
Wen Renying curled her lips indifferently, "She is still your daughter. Even if she gets married, I will still run home every day to stick to you."
"I really owed you in my previous life." Han was helpless and doting.
Xiaocao was quite resolute, and Han was not vague either. She asked someone to go back and prepare a small gift, arrange a meeting place, and then go directly to Meng's house. Although it was a bit impolite not to hand in a visiting card in advance, under the name of visiting a patient, they would not care so much. On the contrary, it showed that they valued their future daughter-in-law.
In a blink of an eye, Han saw Xiaocao pulling out Wenren Yang, who was hiding somewhere.
"Xuan'er, do you want Yang'er to go with you?"
"That's his fiancée. Isn't it right for us to visit her?" Xiaocao said as a matter of course.
How high is the position they are trying to raise that girl to? Not only does her future mother-in-law and aunt come to visit, but her fiancé also has to come in person? What kind of girl is so lucky? "Okay, if you say it's right, then it's right." Her daughter even went to see her in person. That girl is not lucky.
After Wenren Xiaosi learned about the next itinerary, he still said "Oh" in a state of disarray.
It was a blind marriage. Wenren Xiaosi had seen his fiancée only a handful of times. Without any contact or understanding, there was naturally no question of liking her. Without any feelings, one could not expect him to worry. Besides, with his personality, one really could not expect too much from him.
The Meng family's status is actually not that high. Wenren Xiaosi's future father-in-law has been staying in the Hanlin Academy since he passed the imperial examination. He has been doing this for more than ten years. Now he has reached the position of bachelor and is the boss of the Hanlin Academy. However, he is only of the fifth rank. It seems that he wants to continue staying in the Hanlin Academy and has no intention of moving out. He is very noble.
This is not the point. The point is that the girl's grandfather is a famous Confucian scholar of the time. He is also the principal of Bomen Academy, one of the major universities in the imperial city. He has a very high reputation and has taught Wenren Yang for several years.
The Wen family didn't expect anything from Wenren Yang, as long as he was well, that was enough. However, given his personality, it was difficult to decide what kind of girl to marry. After much deliberation, Wenren Taibo and Han unanimously chose the Meng family. Although the family was noble, it was the perfect match for Wenren Yang, and the girl also had a similar personality to Wenren Yang.
Moreover, being noble does not mean having no connections. Even if they are not obvious at ordinary times, once something happens, the ability of the Meng family will be revealed. Mr. Meng has many students all over the world, whether they are officials in the imperial city or in the local government, many of them are his students. - Of course, the Wen family does not want this.
Therefore, the Meng family girl's skill as a gunman is no less than that of a noble lady.
Wenren Xiaosi's fiancée was the second of her sisters, with her maiden name Xinlan. She was gentle and good at studying, even better than her brothers, and was deeply loved by her grandfather. Therefore, Mr. Meng had never agreed to his granddaughter's marriage, and it was useless even for her parents to ask for it. Until the Wen family came to him, Mr. Meng agreed without saying a word, as if he had been waiting for it.
In fact, it was also Mr. Meng who knew what kind of person was suitable for his granddaughter. Those who came for his connections were all unsuitable. If his granddaughter married him, she would definitely suffer a loss. And Wen Renyang was indeed the candidate he favored the most. Originally, he was worried that Han, who came from a prominent family, would look down on their family's poverty, so he had not done anything. But when Wen Renyang proposed to him, they naturally hit it off.
Compared with the Wen family's house, the Meng family's house is relatively remote, looks ordinary, and is not that big. The people living around it are all similar.
But after entering, there is still a different world. It can be said that this is indeed the home of a great scholar, with a strong scholarly atmosphere.
The Wen family is also a scholarly family, but they entered officialdom a few generations ago. With a different background, coupled with the Han family's generosity, the influence on the Wen family over the past twenty years has been significant, and they have developed in a more luxurious direction, but with a low-key elegance.
Most of the masters of the Meng family had gone out, and there were only a few left at home. They were very surprised that the Wen family suddenly came to their house.
Han explained to Meng Xinlan's mother the reason for her sudden visit.
This was the importance that the future in-laws attached to their daughter, which should be a happy thing, but Mrs. Meng's smile seemed a little forced, and her eyes hid deeper worry and fear.
Mrs. Meng personally entertained Han and Xiaocao, while Wenren Yang was led to Mr. Meng. Today was Shangsi Festival, and there were no classes in the academy. Mr. Meng was very happy to learn that Wenren Yang had arrived. Wenren Yang was capable, but he was still young after all. Facing someone like Mr. Meng who had been studying all his life, he still lacked some "foundation". It was naturally impossible for him to crush him. Even so, when they discussed academic matters, they were like friends regardless of age difference.
Perhaps it was when facing these great scholars that Wen Renyang felt happiest.
Madam Meng accompanied Han to talk to Xiao Cao, but she never mentioned her daughter. Xiao Cao was somewhat impatient with this situation. "Can we go see Miss Meng?"
Mrs. Meng tried to change the subject vaguely, saying only that her daughter had a severe cold and was not in a position to meet guests. It would be a sin if she passed the disease on to her future mother-in-law and aunt.
The more she tried to cover up, the more problems there were. Han's expression faded. "Madam Meng, my daughter is proficient in medicine. She is the one who takes care of the old lady's health. Now the condition has improved a lot. She is Yang'er's twin sister and has a very good relationship with Yang'er. So when she learned that Miss Meng was unwell, she came to see her the first thing she did. Do you understand what I mean?" She was almost pointing at her nose and telling her not to be ungrateful.
The Meng family is a well-mannered family, and Mrs. Meng also loves her daughter, so otherwise she would not do anything to harm her daughter. The reason why she is so secretive may be that something happened to the girl, and it is not a small problem.
Mrs. Meng was stunned for a moment, then she couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying with her face covered.
Han was a little caught off guard by her crying, and her tone softened immediately. "Don't cry, Madam Meng, but are you in trouble? Tell us, and we can discuss and solve it."
Madam Meng managed to calm down and hesitated for a moment, "I don't know how to explain it either. Why don't Madam Wenren and the fourth young lady come with me to see Xin Lan? Then you will understand."
This is their purpose, so there is naturally no reason to refuse.
On the way, "You were originally considering going to your Wenren Mansion to cancel the marriage of the two children. It is our family that feels sorry for you, but I was worried that Xinlan couldn't bear it, so I thought we should keep it secret for a while." Mrs. Meng said while wiping her tears.
Is the problem really that serious
Not long after, we entered a relatively small courtyard. It seemed that two masters lived there. One side was "lively" and the other side was quiet, with a clear distinction. I guessed that one of the masters must have gone out.
Several servants were standing outside the door, looking worried and in a depressed mood, while the door was closed. It was obvious that the person inside refused to see anyone. Needless to say, it was Miss Meng Xinlan.
Madam Meng glanced at Han and Xiaocao, and knocked on the door with a heavy face, "Xinlan, Madam Wenren and their fourth daughter have come to see you. Open the door, don't be afraid..."
“No, no…” The attitude of rejection was very obvious and also revealed fear.
Not to mention Madam Meng, even the servants looked uglier and uglier. These were their daughter's future mother-in-law and aunt, and they had such an attitude... However, given their daughter's current situation, it was hard to say whether the marriage could be maintained. This was probably why their madam wanted to conceal it as much as possible.
Seeing that repeated persuasions were fruitless, "Just break the door down," Xiaocao suggested.
Mrs. Meng was not very firm about her daughter opening the door. Perhaps she was still thinking of letting Xiaocao and the others "back off when faced with difficulties." When she heard Xiaocao's words, her face turned pale, her body trembled slightly, and her eyes showed some despair. Then, she said, "I heard from the fourth lady, I'll open the door."
Two servant girls stepped forward. The door itself was not very solid and could be easily broken.
"No, no, don't come in, don't come in..." Meng Xinlan's voice became sharp, and there was even despair in her fear.
However, things did not stop because of Meng Xinlan's refusal. A group of people entered the room. Meng Xinlan hid in the corner, curled up into a ball, buried her face between her legs, hugged her hands tightly, her body trembling, and sobbing. Mrs. Meng asked her to come out, but it was no use pulling her.
Xiaocao pushed the people away, squatted beside Meng Xinlan, reached out to touch her head, and comforted her softly, "Good girl, don't be afraid, let your sister see if you are okay. We should have the courage to face whatever happens. It's not okay to just avoid it, right? Is there something growing on your face? Your sister is a doctor, and I think her medical skills are pretty good. So far, there are few diseases that I can't solve. Will you trust your sister for once?" Xiaocao persuaded her while holding her wrist and taking her pulse calmly.
Meng Xinlan kept shaking her head.
"How about this, I'll ask them all to leave, and you'll let me take a look alone, okay? I promise, no matter what I see, I won't tell anyone else unless you agree, okay?"
Meng Xinlan was shaken, so Xiaocao signaled for others to go out.
"Okay, they're all out. Let me take a look, okay? Don't be afraid." Xiaocao's voice was softer, with a soothing power.
Xiaocao used up all his patience, and Meng Xinlan finally raised his head carefully. At first, his eyes were like those of a wounded cub, full of vigilance and temptation, as if as long as Xiaocao had any unusual reaction, he would immediately shrink back.
Xiaocao's eyes were gentle and encouraging. Gradually, she finally saw the condition of Meng Xinlan's face. Most of her face was covered with lumps of varying sizes, her pores were noticeably enlarged, and many places were broken, festering and oozing yellow water. She looked disgusting and terrifying, so it was no wonder that this girl was so resistant to seeing people.
Xiaocao carefully checked. Meng Xinlan was stared at and wanted to shrink back again. Xiaocao used a little force to stop her, "It's okay, don't be afraid. It's just a poisonous insect bite. It can be treated well and there will be no scar after it heals. Don't worry."
Meng Xinlan was stunned for a moment and murmured, "A poisonous insect bite? Isn't it infected with something dirty?"
Xiao Cao frowned, "What dirty stuff? Who said that? The doctor who treated you? A quack, talking nonsense."
The so-called infection with dirt usually refers to a disease. This nice girl got a disease, it's simply...
"I promise it's definitely not something dirty," Xiao Cao helped her up, "Get up first, I'll take a good look at it for you." Then she saw that there was some on her hand. "Is there some on your body too?"
Meng Xinlan nodded. "Sister, is it really not a dirty thing?"
"Really not!" Xiaocao said very confidently.
Then Meng Xinlan's tears burst out like a dam.
"Don't cry, don't cry. If this gets stained with tears, it will hurt you."
"Sister, I am happy, really." This little pain is nothing. No one knows how much she has been suffering in these days.
Xiao Cao smiled, "Wait, you can be happy as you want. Come, come here, you are not using the medicine correctly, the situation will only get worse, I will prescribe some medicine first, boil it for you to clean, and then use other medicine for external application and internal consumption, the scars will heal tomorrow, and the lumps will disappear in two or three days, and it will heal soon. If there are some small scars in some places, use some scar removal medicine, and our girl will be beautiful again."
Meng Xinlan burst into laughter.
"It's good that you're smiling. Do you want to ask them to come in now?"
Meng Xinlan hesitated for a moment and touched her face lightly with her hand. She knew how ugly she looked now. Her future mother-in-law was... Look at Xiaocao, this should be her future aunt... She bit her lip and nodded.
Xiaocao went out, looking more relaxed. Mrs. Meng, who had been restless and extremely nervous, breathed a sigh of relief. Mrs. Han looked at her in surprise.
"Xuan'er, what's the situation?" Han asked.
"It's just a bite from a poisonous insect. It looks scary, but it's actually not a big problem. It will heal soon. Mom will see it later. Don't show too much. Be restrained, or she will be scared."
"What are you talking about, girl?"
"Fourth Miss, you said Xinlan was bitten by a poisonous insect?" Mrs. Meng and Meng Xinlan had similar expressions of disbelief.
"Yes, what else did the lady think it was?"
"No, nothing." There was visible joy in Mrs. Meng's eyes.
She was sure that there must be something fishy going on, knowing who Han was.
When they went in, Meng Xinlan finally picked up the manners and etiquette of a well-educated girl. She greeted them and apologized to Han. However, she still didn't dare to look them in the eye. She lowered her head, trying her best to avoid being seen by others.