nycdaug Chapter 157 Sheng Hong’s Plot
Chapter 157 Sheng Hong’s Plot
Although the specific news of the great victory in the northwest had not yet been reported from the Imperial Palace, the clamor and frenzy it created continued for a long time in the city of Bianliang.
The news of victory was delivered to the capital in the morning, and was basically spread throughout the capital area in the afternoon. With such exaggerated descriptions, it was unknown whether it was true or not. The only thing that was known was that the Song Dynasty had defeated the Western Xia.
It was not until dinner time that a group of ministers returned to the mansion in dusty steps. All the officials and families in the entire city of Bianjing received specific and true news.
At the Sheng family in Jiying Lane, Sheng Hong, who had long abandoned the principle that a gentleman should not form cliques or factions, was pacing back and forth in the study.
He was very anxious and wanted to know the most real and reliable news. He didn't believe the bullshit rumors circulating in the market at all.
After all, ever since Lin Qinshuang poisoned Wang Ruofu, the Wang family and the Sheng family have basically reached a certain level of stalemate.
In order to get rid of the label of relying on the old Taishan family, Sheng Hong resolutely stood on the side of the prosperous Han family.
However, in order to maintain his clean image, he simply allowed his children to have contact with the Han family and other related families, and he himself did not dare to step forward to fight for the Han family.
But the children below were different. Sheng Changbai was directly made a core figure of the Han Party by people with ulterior motives, and Sheng Changfeng became the character who waved the flag and cheered for the Han Party.
There were countless other old, middle-aged and young people such as Lu Haoqing, Wang Jiefu, Sima Junshi, Su Mingyun, Liang Han, etc., who surrounded Han Ming.
In this regard, Sheng Hong could only take one step at a time. Some time ago, when all the civil and military officials in the court were denouncing Han Ming, he was the only one who hoped that the Han family could hold on.
After all, he has also experienced the truth that it is good to provide shade under a big tree in recent years.
Because his sons and nephews were close to him, the senior ministers in the Council of State all looked up to him. He took the lead in handling many important government affairs concerning the Taichang Liyuan, which also enhanced the reputation of the Sheng family.
For this reason, he became one of the few people who truly hoped that the Han family would remain strong.
Before Sheng Hong could feel happy for a few seconds about his third son Changfeng's graduation from high school, the news of the great victory in the northwest made his little heart start beating restlessly.
After a while, Sheng Changbai, who had gone out to inquire about the news, pushed open the study door, looking exhausted.
Seeing his father sitting at the desk with a pen in his hand and in a daze, Sheng Changbai immediately understood what he was thinking.
"Father..." Sheng Changbai bowed respectfully.
Hearing the voice, Sheng Hong's mind wandered, and when he came to his senses, he quickly reached out and pulled his son over.
"How is it? What's the specific news from the palace? Did the kid from the Han family really win?"
Hearing his father's three questions in a row, Sheng Changbai was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and then nodded heavily.
"I've learned from the Han and Lu families that Jingyuan's previous defeats at Lingzhouchuan, the fall of Xiaoguan, and the loss of Pingxia City were all attempts to lure the enemy deeper into their territory."
"The two sides launched a strategic decisive battle in the Haoshuichuan area at the end of March. Jingyuan first seized the stronghold and besieged the Western Xia army, then lured the enemy out of their lair and into a trap. Finally, he stored water in Liupan Mountain, flooding the entire army and defeating the Western Xia forces in one fell swoop!"
Sheng Changbai whispered the details of the second battle of Haoshuichuan, and Sheng Hong secretly applauded and couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh.
"Great! Very good, that's great. He's truly worthy of being the Han family's Qilin son. With such skills, he's truly a young hero!"
Then Sheng Hong sighed softly, thinking that this Han family's talented child was a student from their Sheng family school, so how come he didn't fall into their hands?
Considering the four daughters, Hualan was the first to get married, but she had the best relationship with Han Ming. This was probably because when Yangzhou proposed marriage, Han Ming helped Hualan in many ways and spoke for her, thus forming a friendship.
As for Molan, she originally had a certain chance, but she was young and ignorant, and she was wavering. She was thinking about Han Ming's talent, but she was reluctant to give up the wealth and glory of the young master of the Duke of Qi's Mansion. In this process, she got nothing and could only marry into the Earl of Yongchang's Mansion and get a good fate.
Not to mention Rulan, she and Han Ming didn't get along well since their school days, and they were just ordinary friends.
Rulan's carefree nature and her dislike of studying and working habits made her feel that there was some distance between her and Han Ming, so she didn't care whether she could get married to Han Ming.
However, by chance, they married into the Lu family, which was also a prime minister's family. This was unexpected for Sheng Hong, the father. The key point was that the boy from the Lu family was exactly the ideal image in his mind.
A good family background, high education, good reputation, handsome appearance, excellent temperament, politeness and gentlemanly demeanor, this was exactly what Sheng Hong had dreamed of when he was young. Therefore, he was very satisfied that his daughter could marry into the Lu family.
Finally, let’s talk about Minglan. Now, the one with the best chance in the entire Sheng family is the sixth lady. After all, Yunying is not married yet. If she can become Han Ming’s concubine, it won’t be a problem.
But the biggest problem is that these two people don’t have any connection at all.
The most important thing is that since they started school, their views on many things have been too similar, which has made them somewhat wary and distant from each other.
Because they felt that their hearts were firmly controlled by the other party. Perhaps this was the result of the dislike between two cunning foxes!
In short, after this calculation, there is not a single woman in the Sheng family who can directly cling to Han Ming's ship.
For Sheng Hong, not being able to make Han Ming the son-in-law of the Sheng family was a knot in his heart for many years.
"Maybe Hualan got married too early... That boy from the Yuan family doesn't seem like a good man..."
Sheng Changbai, who was drinking tea at the side, spat out a mouthful of tea in shock when he heard his father's words.
"Father--!"
Sheng Changbai's expression straightened and his tone rose slightly.
"Hahaha, my head is really confused and I'm talking nonsense. Please take this good news to your grandmother and mother's room and make them happy."
"It's not easy. My Great Song Dynasty will also have such a proud day!"
Sheng Hong immediately changed the topic with a smile and waved his hand to let Sheng Changbai go to the backyard to report the news.
Hearing his father's words, Sheng Changbai sighed slightly, stood up, bowed, and walked out of the room. However, before he took two steps, he heard Sheng Hong sighing in the study.
"Minglan is a virtuous and sensible girl. If it were her, would she be favored by the young man from the Han family? Besides, she is familiar with Yanran, so maybe it would work out?"
When Sheng Changbai heard this, his front and back feet got tangled together and he fell down in the corridor.
The servant and maidservant beside him immediately cried out in alarm: "Brother Bo——!"
Hearing the call, Sheng Hong opened the study door with a confused look on his face, and looked outside at Sheng Changbai who was being held up by everyone.
"Kid, how old are you? You don't even watch where you're walking. Did you get hurt?"
Sheng Hong looked at his son speechlessly.
"It's okay, it's okay, father. I was just careless. Hurry up and help me to the backyard."
Sheng Changbai hurriedly ordered his servants to carry him away. Now he really didn't want to say another word to his father. If he continued, he was afraid that he would not be able to help but spit at his father.
How could a father be like this, thinking of letting his daughter become a concubine? Although the Han family is extremely glorious now, the Sheng family's foundation is not bad either.
His grandfather was a Tanhua Lang (a scholar in the imperial examination), his grandmother was the only daughter of the Marquis of Yongyi, his father is currently a fourth-rank official, and his mother is the daughter of a former Grand Tutor.
A family like this would be a well-known and wealthy family in Bianjing City, but they actually let their daughter become a concubine. Sheng Hong's brain is really a little abnormal.
Although Minglan was born to a concubine, she was fostered by the old lady of the Sheng family and was also quite loved by the mistress Wang Ruofu. She could not possibly fall into the same situation as an ordinary family.
Sheng Changbai thought about his father's plan and wanted his mother and grandmother to prepare some precautions in case Sheng Hong did something so frightening.