The Story of Ming Lan Episode 47 Recap
> The Story of Ming Lan Recap
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
Sheng Minglan was not in a hurry to check the accounts; instead, she had Wu Guang and the others talk as they walked. Wu Guang was a relative of an imperial eunuch, so no one would care what happened at Guyan Manor. Halfway there, they saw tenants by the roadside who had captured someone Sheng Minglan sent to gather information. Wu Guang was clearly doing it on purpose, yet he still joked around with Sheng Minglan.
Guyan Manor owed a lot of external debts, so Wu Guang used these debts to threaten Sheng Minglan. Now, there was no way Sheng Minglan could touch Wu Guang. At night, Sheng Minglan went through a large box of IOUs sent by Wu Guang, so angry that she cursed him as a scoundrel and a bastard. When Gu Tingye returned from the West Suburb Barracks, he saw Sheng Minglan looking furious and quickly comforted her.
Sheng Minglan complained angrily that Wu Guang not only threatened her face-to-face to expose all the debts but also sent these bad accounts to her, which was utterly despicable. Gu Tingye, however, looked at Sheng Minglan and smiled. He had never seen her so fierce and aggressive, saying that he would go meet Wu Guang tomorrow. Sheng Minglan felt a bit guilty. The two had originally agreed that one would handle external affairs and the other internal ones.
Now, Sheng Minglan couldn't help him with external matters and even implicated him in handling her household affairs. Gu Tingye countered, saying these were not household affairs. Even though Zhao Zongquan had ascended the throne, there were very few places where he could have a say. He couldn't even interfere with these imperial manors, so it was not surprising that a small-minded person like Wu Guang could act so arrogantly in front of Sheng Minglan.
Sheng Minglan felt there was some truth to his words, so she served him while he bathed. She was startled to see blood on his changed clothes, but it turned out not to be Gu Tingye's blood, which relieved Sheng Minglan. Hearing about Gu Tingye's battles made her feel a bit sad, so she quickly draped a cloak over him, saying the room wasn't sealed well and wouldn't let him wash.
Sheng Minglan knew that this family estate was obtained by Gu Tingye risking his life, and she would certainly guard it well. Gu Tingye, however, told a story about a woman who poisoned her unfaithful husband to death, saying that if he ever did anything to wrong her in the future, Sheng Minglan should poison him to death. Sheng Minglan was stunned by fright; this story was quite terrifying.
The next day, Gu Tingye sent for Wu Guang, saying he wanted the tenants to come collect their rewards. Wu Guang naturally wanted to hold the money first before distributing it, but Gu Tingye had already sent Shitou to call them. Gu Tingye got straight to the point, asking the tenants if they had been mistreated. Everyone looked at each other, not daring to speak. Finally, a brave one spoke up.
These overseers not only exploited and plundered but also raped women, making the tenants' lives unbearable. Hearing this, Gu Tingye summoned the Tongpan. Wu Guang, however, was still talking about those loans, thinking that Gu Tingye wouldn't publicize the matter and tarnish the royal family's reputation. Gu Tingye had always been firm; he burned all the IOUs, stating that he would cover those tens of thousands of taels of silver, and Wu Guang certainly could not remain at Guyan Manor.
On the way back to the manor, Sheng Minglan was still angry that she couldn't punish Wu Guang and had to give them a large sum of silver to send them away. She knew there was always a sense of priority in matters, but she was still angry, as it was truly unfair that Wu Guang had done so many bad things yet remained safe and sound.
Gu Tingye, however, smiled, saying that being safe and sound was not necessarily the case. Soon after Wu Guang and a few others took the money, they were robbed and had their legs broken, presumably done by Gu Tingye. Sheng Minglan went home and chatted with Old Madam Sheng, saying that recently Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu often bickered over arranging a marriage for Sheng Changfeng, and there would be more quarrels to come.
The Empress Dowager, upon learning of Gu Tingye's deeds, couldn't help but admire him, though she noted that Gu Tingye would be difficult to deal with in the future. Hearing that Consort Liu was causing trouble in the palace, the Empress Dowager lamented that Zhao Zongquan was cutting expenses without knowing the proper measure, even neglecting to treat the imperial princes generously. At Cheng Garden, Sheng Minglan was dressing and grooming herself.
Gu Tingye saw her and offered to draw her eyebrows, but Sheng Minglan quickly moved away, as it was her first time entering the palace to express gratitude since the beginning of spring. Sheng Minglan entered the palace with Little Shen Shi, feeling a bit anxious, as she had only been to the imperial palace once before, and that time was terrifying.
