Crossing Over to Yamada Love

Going to the capital? The Mo family was stunned. This news was too sudden for them; they had always lived on the estate. Was going to the capital appropriate?

"Eat first, eldest brother, are you hungry? Eldest son, second son, take your wives and set the table quickly. After you've eaten, go tidy up your uncle's house," Wang instructed her two sons. She knew what her family was thinking, so she changed the subject from the trip to the capital.

"Yes." The group responded and hurriedly went to set out the meal.

A table was set up outside for the steward and guards, and two tables were set up inside, where everyone sat down. Lunch was plentiful, with boiled dishes and various local specialties.

The old marquis was already happy to have found his sister, and seeing the dishes he liked made him even more satisfied. He picked up his chopsticks and nodded. The taste was truly to his liking, much better than what he had eaten in the capital. He couldn't help but eat more.

Everyone finished their meal chatting and laughing. It was a very lively meal, lasting for nearly an hour before everyone left the table. Liu and the others went to clean up, while the old Marquis chatted with Wang again.

Mo Lan, Xue Jialiang and her cousin went to another room to talk.

Xue Lingfeng, Xue Lingyun, and Wang Mingda sat in their seats sipping tea, while Mo Lan sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), her eyes darting around.

"Hey, what are you up to now? Who are you trying to scheme against this time?" Xue Lingyun asked, looking at Mo Lan's scheming face.

Xue Lingfeng remained silent, but Wang Mingda's eyes were filled with interest. Judging from the way Xue Lingfeng and his cousin spoke, they seemed quite familiar with each other. From his tone, this cousin seemed rather clever. And the gentle look in his friend's eyes...could she be the one his friend had his eye on? No way! Although this cousin was pretty, their families weren't a good match. Would Lingfeng really like her?

Mo Lan glanced at Xue Lingyun, chuckled, and said, "That's right, I'm plotting something with you. How about it? Young Master Xue, would you be willing to let me do you a favor?"

Xue Lingyun felt a chill when he saw Mo Lan's smile and said, "You, tell me what your idea is first, otherwise I'm afraid you'll sell me out while I'm still happily laughing."

Mo Lan chuckled and said, "Why would I sell you? You're worthless. But if a rich young lady were willing to pay a high price, I might actually sell you. There isn't one yet, so I'll keep you for now. Are you going to help me or not? If not, I won't help you find the Fifth Young Master."

"I'll help, I definitely will. Don't ask my fifth brother, he's busy. Just ask me, I'm free." Xue Lingyun hurriedly agreed. It was rare for this girl to ask him for help; even if she schemed against him, he'd be happy to oblige!

"I'm free. If Seventh Brother is busy, I don't mind helping out," Xue Lingfeng said casually, undermining his words.

"Fifth Brother, you can't do this! Lanlan came to me first. Lanlan, tell me quickly, what's wrong?" Xue Lingyun asked hastily, afraid that Xue Lingfeng would steal his job.

Wang Mingda found it amusing. It seemed that both brothers were interested in his cousin. What was it about her that attracted him?

"It's like this, my sister was betrothed to Brother Chen Xuan, right? A few days ago, his maternal uncle came from the capital. It seems his uncle has climbed up to some important person and become a minor official. He found my aunt and Brother Chen Xuan, and when he learned that he was engaged to our family, he looked down on our family's low social status and wanted my sister to be his concubine. He said he had arranged a daughter from a high-ranking family for Brother Chen Xuan in the capital, and if my sister didn't agree, he would break off the engagement." Mo Lan briefly explained Mo Mei's situation.

"What? A mere official is so domineering? Who does he think he is? What did Chen Xuan say? To be a concubine? He's dreaming! If it doesn't work out, break off the engagement and find someone better for your sister." Xue Lingyun looked indignant. He had met Mo Mei many times and thought she was a good girl. Although she couldn't compare to Lan Lan, she was still pretty and kind with a good temper. He felt indignant that she was being rejected.

Xue Lingfeng and Wang Mingda were also staring at Mo Lan, unaware of the matter. They waited to hear what Mo Lan had to say next.

"Brother Chen Xuan is quite stubborn. He said he would rather be disobedient and unfilial than break off the engagement. He said he will only marry my sister, not a concubine or a secondary wife. He's currently arguing with his maternal uncle." Mo Lan told them about Chen Xuan's attitude.

“Good, that’s more like a man. If it really doesn’t work out, let him start his own business. We’ll help him out. We won’t need his uncle. A mere official has gone too far. Lanlan, tell me, how do we deal with that uncle? I’ll definitely take care of it for you.” Xue Lingyun patted his chest and gave his assurance.

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Seventh Young Master." Mo Lan said thank you, but did not get up to bow. Then she continued, "It's like this. Before you came this morning, Chen Xuan's uncle, that Lord Qin, was forcing Chen Xuan and my sister to break off their engagement. Chen Xuan refused and smashed a cup."

"I told him the cup was brought by the young master of the Xue family, specifically for his own use, and that it was worth fifty taels of silver. He said I was lying to him, that I was extorting him. I was thinking you could send someone to the Chen family later to ask for the money for the broken cup. Just ask for a hundred taels, I don't care whether we get the money or not. I want to see what kind of face he has, whether he'll still say I'm extorting him." Mo Lan said with a smile, but her eyes gleamed with a wicked glint. Since her sister was going to marry into the Chen family, they couldn't be too harsh on Chen Xuan's uncle. They just wanted to annoy him and make him suffer.

"You silly girl. Not a bad idea. Okay, let Steward Xue go now. Or should we go over and sit for a while, and smash a few cups for fun?" Xue Lingyun readily agreed. She came up with another bad idea.

Mo Lan's eyes flashed, and then she said, "Forget it, they won't even care if we break their cups. How boring. If we ask him for money, he definitely won't give it to us. I think he'll definitely come looking for us. When the time comes, you can all sit in the inner room and watch the show. I want to see how arrogant he can still be."

“Alright, if he gets too arrogant, we’ll step in.” Xue Lingyun nodded. Xue Lingfeng glanced at Mo Lan and smiled faintly. If she had any requests, he would definitely fulfill them for her.

Wang Mingda couldn't quite manage a smile. He thought to himself, "Judging from their conversation, the other party's surname is Qin. Could it be such a coincidence?"

"Lanlan, what is the name of that Lord Qin?" he asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions.

"I think his name is Qin Guozhong. What, do you know him, Brother Mingda?" Mo Lan asked, then suddenly frowned. She remembered that Qin Guozhong's arrival was around the same time her great-uncle came to town. Could they know each other?

"It really is him." Wang Mingda gave a wry smile. This is going to be interesting.

"What?" Xue Lingfeng looked up and asked his friend.

"Well," Wang Mingda smiled sheepishly and said, "Qin Guozhong's father was once a student of my great-grandfather. At that time, my family was convicted of a crime, and a few years later, his family was also persecuted and convicted. I heard that he only returned to the capital a few years ago."

Last year, my grandfather ran into him by chance. Seeing how destitute he was, and out of consideration for his father, my grandfather arranged a job for him and also settled his family. This man was very grateful to my grandfather. Before coming to Shangchang, he said he had a sister in Shangchang with a handsome nephew who was the descendant of a scholar and also a scholar. He asked my great-grandfather's illegitimate granddaughter to marry his nephew. My great-grandfather, out of respect for his father and because this granddaughter was the illegitimate daughter of an illegitimate son, agreed. Little did he know that the nephew he mentioned was your sister's future husband. This is truly..." Wang Mingda couldn't continue.

Mo Lan was speechless. What a coincidence! This Lord Qin's benefactor was her maternal uncle! He was so eager to marry Chen Xuan to his second maternal uncle's illegitimate granddaughter, completely disregarding his sister. He just wanted to establish a familial relationship with his maternal uncle. Now look what's happened! Let's see how he explains himself to his maternal uncle.

"Lanlan, are we still going?" Xue Lingyun was also speechless. It was truly a case of relatives linked together.

“Go, why not go? But this time, I won’t ask for a hundred taels; I’ll ask for a thousand. Let’s see if he can still sit still then!” Mo Lan said viciously.

Looking at her, Wang Mingda shuddered and thought to himself: I must never offend this girl in the future. She is too ruthless and knows how to take advantage of others.

"Alright, I'll take care of it right away." Xue Lingyun tapped the fan in his hand, then went to instruct someone to do so.

"Mingda, don't tell your great-uncle about this yet. Let's watch the show." Mo Lan looked at Wang Mingda and gave him a bright smile.

“Okay.” Wang Mingda nodded, thinking that Mo Lan was quite interesting. Anyway, his grandfather wouldn’t blame him because of his great-aunt, so he was happy to watch the show.

The group chatted for a while longer, and guessing that Qin Guozhong would arrive soon, they went to the main room together, while Wang and the others talked in the inner room.

Just as they sat down, Mo Lan heard a noise outside. The group exchanged glances, and she stood up and said, "Grand Uncle, Uncle, Cousin, I'm sorry, it seems we have guests. Please have a seat, I'll go greet them."

"Who's here?" Wang was chatting with her elder brother when she heard someone arrive and asked.

"It seems Chen Xuan's uncle has arrived. I'll go check on him." Mo Lan said and went out.

Wang's face darkened. Seeing his sister's gloomy expression, the old Marquis thought she might be someone people disliked and planned to ask her privately later.

When Mo Lan stepped outside, she saw that everyone was there: Qin Guozhong, Jiang Shi, Niu Shi, Qin Shi, and Chen Xuan. Mo Changhe, with a dark face, welcomed them into the main room.

Qin Guozhong ignored everyone and walked straight to the head seat, sitting down angrily. Jiang Shi sat to his left, and Niu Shi also sat down, feeling that as Chen Xuan's aunt, she deserved a seat. Qin Shi didn't sit, and Chen Xuan remained standing.

Mo Lan smiled and served tea, making sure to observe proper etiquette. She couldn't afford to give the other person anything to complain about.

"Stop pouring tea, we won't drink it. Your tea is made of gold, how could we afford it?" Jiang said sarcastically to Mo Lan.

"Madam is too kind. This is just ordinary tea. How could we not afford it? Perhaps it's because our tea is not good that we don't want to drink it? We are truly sorry. We are not like the officials; we simply do not have good tea. Please make do with it, Madam." Mo Lan was not angry at all, and appeared very humble.