Legend of Concubine's Daughter Minglan 知否知否 应是绿肥红瘦

C92. Causes and Effects (2)

A few days later, they arrived at the wharf. Changwu had hired a two-storey ship painted in red. Kang Yun'er asked Minglan to get off the carriage and embark with her. Even though she had a strong body, Kang Yun'er lay down to rest her tired limbs as soon as she got aboard as she felt fatigued from the travel these days. Kang Yun'er chatted with Minglan casually, and soon she fell asleep. Minglan tucked her in and crept away.

The ship was more stable than the carriage, so Kang Yun'er slept much better than the last few days. In the following days, Minglan urged Kang Yun'er to take the Chinese medicine and have a good rest. And she also brought Yun'er plenty of pleasure by humorous words. Then, she went to the side of the ship to take Changdong back, and forced him to review his lessons.

"When we went from Quan Prefecture to Deng Prefecture before, no matter in the carriage or in the ship, our eldest brother always had books in his hands. Now look at yourself, do you read a book these days?" Minglan mentioned Changbai as the role model to lecture Changdong.

Changdong used to study hard, but he was a little child who preferred playing to studying. It was the first time he was so free. Changwu and Kang Yun'er didn't restrict his movements, and without Sheng Hong and Concubine Xiang by his side, he gradually revealed his naughty character. But Minglan pulled him back and gave him a lesson. Changdong gave in and went back to study, his eyes dimming with disappointment.

Kang Yun'er chuckled, "You are so capable that you can urge your husband to study hard in the future." Minglan rolled her eyes at Yun and said, "Now you are teasing me, but after the birth of your child, won't you urge him to study hard to get first in the imperial examination?"

Kang Yun'er pretended to be annoyed by Minglan and gave her a slight blow on the shoulder. But Yun'er was happy with Minglan's words because she hoped to have a son.

In the next few days, everything went very smoothly. The river was calm, the north wind bellied the sails, and the ship sailed fast and steadily through Shi Prefecture, Jining, Shang Prefecture and Huaiyin. Changwu told everyone with pleasure that they would arrive in Youyang in about three or four days with the help of the north wind.

In the evening, the river was calm, perfectly flat. Changwu asked boatmen to anchor the ship in the river. He also bought some fresh fishes and shrimps from the fishermen on the shore. Then he prepared a seafood hotpot and asked his young sister and brother to have dinner with him. Kang Yun'er ate some fish porridge with a smile on her face. Changwu, Changdong and Minglan ate up six baskets of fishes and shrimps, including boiled prawns, salt and pepper prawns, red-cooked fishes and grilled squids. The cabin was filled with the delicious smell of fishes and shrimps. Minglan in particular, devoured the fishes and shrimps hungrily as if they were her enemies. Afraid that she would suffer from diarrhea, Kang Yun'er stopped her from going on eating. Minglan was a little disappointed but she stopped obediently. Changdong, with the eight tools of disassembling crabs in his hands, was totally shocked by her actions.

After eating the crabs, drinking some rice wine could dispel the cold. Changwu got slightly drunk and went to bed early with his wife. The maids were drunk and went to sleep early too. Minglan took this opportunity and asked Changdong to her room. When they two walked into the door, Minglan suddenly changed her face and closed the door and windows carefully.

Changdong had no idea about her intentions, but he followed Minglan to the inner room and sat down on the stool. Then Minglan said with a straight face, "I'm so busy these days that I can't find a chance to talk with you alone. Fortunately, you don't like eating crabs, so you don't drink rice wine tonight. Now I want to ask you about the result of the investigation I entrusted you with."

Changdong went blank and then realized what Minglan meant. He actually kept those words bottled up in mind for a long time. Last time in Sheng Mansion, he had wanted to tell Minglan the result, but was interrupted by Molan. Later they set out on their journey, and there were always people around them. Minglan was so cautious that she never talked about her private matters in front of others. So she commanded Changdong not to mention that matter for the time being.