Minglan tried her best to bite back the curses she would like to have uttered and calm herself down before she said, "Cousin Jinxiu, I know you have suffered a lot, but you are not the most pitiful person in the world. Although you once had an unlucky marriage, your parents love you and they did everything they could to bring you back to the capital. How could you have the thought of killing yourself? Have you ever wondered what kind of life your sisters live? They are illegal daughters. When Uncle Cao was rich and powerful, they couldn't enjoy life to the full but you did. After your father was found guilty, they had to bear the same misery as you did. Now they are left as those men's concubines in Liang Prefecture. Without any relatives around them, when they meet with difficulties, they have no one to turn to. To tell the truth, I think they are more pitiable than you. As for the orphans and widows in Xiaoliangshan, they are much more miserable. Do you think so?"

Cao Jinxiu blushed with shame because every word Minglan said hit the nail on the head. She stole a glance at He Hongwen and felt uneasy. Madam Cao wasn't kind to her illegal children and He Hongwen had often seen her ill-treating them when he was a child. As expected, He Hongwen put on a look of disapproval.

"We ran out of money. My parents had no way to keep them... Both of my father and mother feel guilty... But fortunately, my sisters' husbands are all good men," Cao Jinxiu stammered. Then she knelt down before Minglan again, trembling slightly and crying, "Lady Sheng, Old Madam He and my aunt often praise you for your kind heart. I know that you often show mercy to the poor and give them money. You can regard me as a beggar by the roadside, just have pity on me. I won't compete with you. To be honest, I have no capability to compete with you. I just want to see Cousin Hongwen often..."

"No way!" Minglan slowly shook her head and replied in a firm tone. He Hongwen and Cao Jinxiu were both stunned because they didn't expect Minglan to refuse flatly.

Minglan fixed her eyes on Cao Jinxiu and said in a cold voice, "Lady Cao, have you ever seen anyone who's willing to give all its property to beggars?" Minglan turned to He Hongwen and stressed each word as she said, "For a woman, her husband is all she has. No woman will share her husband with other women even if she pities them."

While saying that Minglan looked at He Hongwen with firm, sincere eyes. Overwhelmed with joy, the young man blushed and had no idea what to do next. Cao Jinxiu paled, her lips trembling as she said, "... But... I just want to..."

Minglan waved her hand and interrupted, "Cousin Jinxiu, don't kid yourself. You are not an ordinary maid or concubine. You are Brother Hongwen's cousin, his childhood playmate."

Cao Jinxiu's face was as pale as death. Minglan continued, "I'm an ordinary woman. I want to have the perfect conjugal bliss. I want my life to go along nicely. But if my husband is talking to the other woman about pomegranate flower, lotus-shaped lantern and rabbit-shaped lantern when I manage household affairs, show filial obedience to elders and teach our children, I will be a mockery. You two are affectionate to each other. What about me? An outsider?"

He Hongwen felt embarrassed and backed up a few steps to stay away from Cao Jinxiu.

"You will never be an outsider. You are the only one Cousin Hongwen likes," Cao Jinxiu tried to persuade Minglan.

Minglan cut her off, "With you by his side, I will surely be an outsider."

Minglan decided to speak out all she wanted to say. She looked steadily at He Hongwen and asked softly, "Cousin Jinxiu is indeed a pathetic woman. But Brother Hongwen, I want to ask you some questions. Is there no way you can take care of her without marrying her? If you don't marry her, will she have no way to live on? In Sheng Mansion, you said that you treated her as your own sister. I bear these words in my mind. So, please help her as a brother. You can seek a good husband for her, give her a dowry and back her up after her marriage. Isn't it a good way to help her?"

Her remarks touched He Hongwen to the heart and he was suddenly enlightened. He had lost his head because of Cao Jinxiu's tears, but now he came to his senses and realized what Minglan said was right.

Cao Jinxiu was anxious as tears welled up in her eyes and was about to roll down. She cast a glance at He Hongwen who kept silent, and then turned to look at Minglan whose face was set in an expression of stubborn determination. Strong feelings of sorrow surged through her. She opened her eyes wide in disbelief and felt alternately hot and cold because of disappointment. Minglan came up to He Hongwen, looked earnestly into his eyes and advised softly, "Brother Hongwen, I won't force you to do anything. Just think it over. If you really like Lady Cao, I won't bear grudges. Old Madam He has helped my family a lot over the years and you are also kind to me. The relationship between Sheng family and He family will remain the same. Suffice to say, if you want me, you can't keep Lady Cao by your side. I won't accept her as your concubine or maid! After we get married, you'd better keep away from her. Don't do anything to arouse suspicion. If she needs help, she can come to me."

After saying that, Minglan felt washed out. She slightly curtsied to He Hongwen and gave a graceful bow to Cao Jinxiu before she turned around and left without looking back at them.

On the way back to the carriage, heedless of the etiquette, Minglan wiped the tears off her face with her sleeves. She dried her eyes and held back tears so that Xiaotao and Dangju could not see it. Then she smiled in the sun as if nothing had happened to her.

......

In the west of Sheng Mansion, all the door and windows of the main room of Hall of Peaceful Ages were closed. There were only two people in the room.

A bronze ferule was thrown on the floor with a bang. Minglan, who was kneeling before Old Madam Sheng, pulled back her left hand which had been beaten red and swollen. Minglan quietly gritted her teeth to bear the pain with her head bowed.

"How dare you to do such a thing? You are audacious in the extreme. Do you think that I wouldn't punish you?" Old Madam Sheng leaned against the back of the arhat bed and gasped for air with rage.

"I didn't mean that," Minglan replied in a low voice.

"You..." Old Madam Sehng pointed at Minglan, speechless. After a while, she shouted angrily, "Are you afraid of getting left on the shelf? Otherwise, you wouldn't have got into an argument with Cao Jinxiu. You are the young lady of the Sheng family. Cao family is just a declining family and Cao Jinxiu is not a patch on you!"

Minglan kept quiet for a moment and said, "Lady Cao is indeed a poor woman."

"So, you feel sympathy for her?" Old Madam Sheng sneered.

"No. I'm selfish," Minglan raised her head and answered aloud. "Though Lady Cao is in a pitiable state, I won't give in to her. She wants to marry into He family? Dream on!"....

Click below link to read the whole chapter 119 on Flying Lines.