Fire Captain

"What did you say? Did you...did you hear it wrong?" Minglan asked in shock, grabbing Xiaotao's hand.

Xiao Tao understood her young lady's current mood, nodded and said affirmatively: "It's not wrong, girl, this is what Madam Wu said herself, and everyone in the audience is talking about it now, it must be right."

After the polo match, because there were too many people and the venue was limited, it was impossible for all carriages to arrive at the door to pick people up at the same time, so some families left first and some families would wait for a while. The Sheng family was a little late because Sheng Changfeng had been taken away by his friends for a long time, so Madam Wang and others were a little late, so they simply didn't join in the fun, and it wouldn't be too late to leave a little later.

Xiao Tao took the opportunity to find a time when no one was around and told Minglan the news she had just heard. When Minglan heard that Bai Ziyang should be called "Zhao Ziyang" and that he was actually the young prince of the Zhao Palace, she could not have imagined it. Before she could calm down, they had already told her to get on the carriage. Minglan could only temporarily stop thinking about Bai Ziyang, regain her usual expression, and get on the carriage.

Minglan got into the carriage with Xiaotao's help. Since she was in the same carriage with Sheng Molan, Minglan had no interest in chatting with her. She leaned quietly against the side of the carriage and tried to sort out her troubled mood.

Unfortunately, Sheng Molan's mood is much more chaotic than Minglan's. Endless regret and anger surge towards her like a tsunami. If she hadn't tried her best to control it, it would have drowned her reason.

Putting the two of them together, Sheng Molan naturally wanted to start a war: "Grandma taught you to play polo, but not for you to play with men outside!"

Minglan was startled when she heard Sheng Molan's sudden voice. She turned to look at Sheng Molan, thought quietly for a moment and said, "Third brother, it's not grandmother's fault for running away from the battlefield!"

Sheng Molan rolled her eyes and continued to speak earnestly: "The Yu family has always been on good terms with grandma. My brother is not as overbearing as you, sixth sister, who insists on slapping the Yu family's face!"

Minglan said, "The eldest sister of the Yu family was raised by the old master since she was a child, and that's why she became close to our grandmother. She longs for her mother's relics, and I feel sorry for her life."

Sheng Minglan saw that her words were blocked by Minglan. She could not extinguish the anger in her heart even by waving her fan. She said angrily, "What a coincidence. You pity your eldest daughter of the Yu family, and the young prince also pities you."

Sheng Molan's tone became increasingly sour. Minglan didn't want to pay attention to her at first, so she lifted the car window curtain and took a look. From the corner of her eye, she saw that Sheng Molan seemed to be a little unwilling to give in to her avoidance of the question, so she spoke up: "Young Prince Zhao is a man of good character, and he hates evil. He saw that Third Brother left me alone, so he came to my aid for Brother Changbai's sake. Fourth sister, not only did you not persuade Third Brother, but you had a good chat with the Sixth Young Master of the Liang Family. This is not what a sister does!" Minglan felt very sorry for Bai Ziyang's good character, but there was nothing she could do. She really couldn't find any other good words to describe him.

Sheng Molan was exposed by Minglan about her affair with Liang Han. She was so afraid of the consequences that she couldn't say a word even though she was filled with anger. She could only stare at Minglan and sulk in secret.

On the way back to Sheng Mansion, the group passed by Yuqing Temple. Madam Wang arranged for them to feed the horses and rest at Yuqing Temple early in the morning, and have a vegetarian meal, and then set off again in the afternoon when the sun was not so hot.

After lunch, Madam Wang, Rulan, Molan and others went to the guest room to rest, while Minglan went to the side hall to burn incense alone. Minglan was kneeling on the futon, with her eyes slightly closed and her hands clasped together, silently praying for the safety of her family, when she felt a breeze coming from beside her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Bai Ziyang kneeling on the futon beside her, and he kowtowed respectfully to the Three Pure Ones enshrined on it before turning to look at Minglan.

Minglan immediately stood up, took a few steps back, looked around and asked, "Why are you here? Where's Xiaotao? Xiaotao!" She had clearly asked Xiaotao to guard the door before she came in.

Bai Ziyang also stood up and said, "No need to shout, I have already asked Tingfeng to trick Xiaotao away."

Minglan was slightly angry when she heard this, and said with a bad look on her face: "Young Prince Zhao, what are you doing?"

Bai Ziyang smiled and said, "Oh, now you know about it. You are well-informed!"

Minglan laughed in anger and said, "The young prince has kept it a secret for such a long time, but he chose to play today, attracting everyone's attention and heated discussions. Isn't it just to let me know?"

Bai Ziyang smiled even more deeply and said admiringly: "You are really smart!"

Seeing Bai Ziyang's relaxed expression, as if he didn't care about this matter, Minglan said helplessly, "Get out of here quickly. A man and a woman are alone in a dark room. You are trying to ruin my reputation!"

Bai Ziyang said, "You misunderstood me. I swear I have no such intention. Besides, I have already had people guard the surroundings before coming here. Don't worry, no one will see us."

Minglan had no way to deal with Bai Ziyang. She walked around the room twice and said, "That won't work either. Young Prince, you should respect yourself."

Bai Ziyang had seen enough of Minglan's cute appearance, and finally said seriously: "I came here to ask, do you have anything to ask me?"

Minglan paused after hearing this and immediately said, "No!"

Seeing this, Bai Ziyang said, "Well, since you don't have it, I have a question for you."

Minglan stopped and looked at Bai Ziyang, who looked different than usual. She had a bad feeling and said, "What...what?"

Bai Ziyang stepped forward and asked, "Will you marry me?"

Minglan was shocked when she heard this. Although she knew there was no one around, she still subconsciously looked towards the door, then stared at Bai Ziyang and asked, "Are you crazy?"

Bai Ziyang said expressionlessly: "On the contrary, I am very sober!"

Minglan asked at a loss: "Do you know what you are saying? This is impossible!"

Bai Ziyang said, "What's impossible? Is it impossible for you to marry me? Why? You like me, and I like you, so why can't you marry me?"

Facing Bai Ziyang's questioning, Minglan subconsciously took a step back and said incoherently: "What do you mean I like you? I don't, don't talk nonsense!"

Bai Ziyang said, "You know whether I am talking nonsense or not. I know you have a crush on me. Otherwise, why did you keep the four treasures of the study I gave you? Who did you give the pair of knee pads you put on the bedside to?"

Minglan had placed the pair of knee pads next to her pillow. She was indeed hiding her thoughts behind them. Now that Bai Ziyang had suddenly exposed her thoughts, she became even more confused and said, "Those were... those knee pads... I wore them to express my gratitude to you..."

Bai Ziyang finally smiled when he heard this: "So, it was indeed a gift for me!"

Minglan was completely defeated in the face of Bai Ziyang, but fortunately she gave up resistance in the end and said, "Little Prince, you... As a man, you don't understand the suffering of girls. We are not as good as men in paying the price, and we are often ruined. Now you and I are alone in a dark room, and if these words you said were to spread out, everyone's gossip would be able to drown me, and my eldest sister would never be able to raise her head in her husband's family, and my fourth and fifth sisters would not be able to get married. It's possible that my father and brother would be questioned by the censor for not bringing up their children properly, ruining their future. But you, little prince, are just treated as a romantic affair. The price of the same thing is so different, I can't afford it!"

Bai Ziyang knew long ago that proposing marriage to Sheng Minglan was a game, a war. He would not succeed without using several of the 36 strategies in Sun Tzu's Art of War. After all, the woman he liked was not an ordinary woman. Other women would think about rouge and powder, silk and satin, but this woman, although not thinking about her country, she also thought about the injustice of the world...

He wanted to take advantage of her confusion to fish in troubled waters, but who knew she was so smart. Not only did she see through his intentions and quickly calm down, she also used a trick on him, because she knew Bai Ziyang was not a despicable person after all. How could he bear to force her if she reasoned with him and appealed to his emotions?

However, Bai Ziyang also wondered who he was. He had always only accepted captives and refused the imperial edict, so he said, "If it is really as you said, then I will report to my parents, come to propose marriage, and marry you. Wouldn't that stop the gossips of the world?"

Minglan was speechless for a moment, paused and whispered: "Don't you understand? Women are like poor people in the countryside. They only have a handful of rice. If they lose a grain, they will lose their lives. But you men are like wealthy families. You can afford even a hundred taels of silver. Now I just want to live a peaceful life... From now on, don't come to look for me..."

Seeing Minglan's low voice, Bai Ziyang quietly stretched out a finger and gently hooked Minglan's little finger. Before Minglan noticed, he gently shook her and said, "I will marry you in this life!"

Minglan's heart softened at Bai Ziyang's deep and affectionate voice, but she came to her senses after a moment, and quickly let go of their hands. She looked at Bai Ziyang and said, "I've heard that the young prince is favored, and the princess must regard you as precious as the apple of her eye. Even if you are not matched with a princess or a county lady in the future, you must be matched with a daughter of a duke or marquis. I'm a concubine's daughter of a fifth-rank official, and the young prince would be harming me if he proposed to me!" As he spoke, he lowered his head, looking at the pitiful...

Bai Ziyang put his hands behind his back, bent down and leaned in front of Minglan, looked into her eyes and said, "You don't really mean what I say..."

Minglan mustered up her courage and finally looked at Bai Ziyang and said, "I once promised my mother that I would rather be a farmer and his wife than a concubine in a noble family. Little Prince, you'd better give up this idea as soon as possible!" She was afraid that if she said this, Bai Ziyang would laugh at her for being wishful thinking.

But Bai Ziyang just chuckled, and somehow his chuckle was so seductive. He chuckled and said, "I never wanted you to be my concubine. I naturally want to marry you as my first wife! And I never thought of taking a concubine!"

"What?" Minglan raised her head and looked into Bai Ziyang's eyes without blinking, saying in disbelief: "The first wife? This is impossible... This is absolutely impossible..."

Looking at the dazed Minglan, Bai Ziyang raised his head and scratched the tip of her nose, then said with a smile, "Believe me!" After saying that, he turned around and left with a smile.

Minglan was left alone. She turned around in a daze, looking at the Three Pure Ones enshrined above. She slowly knelt on the cushion again. I wonder what she was praying for this time...