Rulan parted the plants and strode over the bush, then she saw Minglan squatting among the fragrant plantain lily flowers. Minglan looked embarrassed as her skirt was caught by the branches. Rulan raised her eyebrows in anger and put her hands on her hips. "What are you doing here?!"

Minglan was dumbfounded by her question. 'You have been caught by me on the spot when you had a secret meeting with your lover. How could you behave as if I was the wrongdoer?' she thought to herself.

"I, I...I've overeaten this evening, so I come to the garden for a walk." As the words fell from her lips, Minglan almost wanted to slap herself. There was no need for her to elucidate because this time she had justice on her side. So she looked steadily at Rulan and raised her voice, "Sister Rulan, what are you doing here?"

Rulan blushed and replied, "It's none of your business."

"Okay. I want to go on walking. Goodbye." Minglan was about to walk on but Rulan caught her arm and stopped her from leaving. Rulan was much stronger than Minglan, so she easily dragged Minglan away.

"It's late and we should go back. Otherwise, we will catch a cold." Rulan manhandled Minglan along the path as if she was dragging a dead dog.

"Let go of me. I can walk by myself." Minglan hissed with pain because Rulan pinched her arms hard. She didn't want to make a scene, so she had to give in to Rulan.

Minglan wanted to go to the Hall of Peaceful Ages and report to Old Madam Sheng about this matter, but Rulan wanted to bring Minglan to the House of Carefree. Finally, the stronger person won the battle. Rulan succeeded in taking Minglan to her house.

When the two sisters reached House of Carefree, all the maids were asleep, except for Xique who waited in the room with a light beside her. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Rulan walking in; but when she saw Minglan, she turned pale with fear, close to tears. Minglan felt pity for Xique. If what had happened between Rulan and that man was discovered by others, Rulan might be fine but Xique would be punished severely. Minglan comforted the poor maid, "Don't panic. I really saw nothing."

On hearing this Xique burst into tears. Rulan was agitated and impatiently scolded, "Stop crying! I'm not dead yet! I won't let you get punished." Then she bundled Xique out of the room, took Minglan by the wrist and went straight into the inner room.

After entering the inner room, Rulan put her hands on Minglan's shoulders and sat her down on the bed before she looked down at Minglan with an aggressive look. However, the guilty look in Rulan's eyes betrayed her. After thinking for a long while, she warned in a low voice, "Don't tell anyone what happened in the garden."

Minglan gave a short laugh and replied, "I didn't see anything in the garden."

A dull red flush suffused Rulan's face. She swallowed hard and glared at Minglan who also looked at her with a smile. The two sisters both refused to budge. After a long while, Rulan broke the silence, "Nothing happened! Even if you tell others, I won't admit that."

Minglan was surprised by her shamelessness and said in a teasing tone, "Yes, nothing happened. Anyway, Madam is looking for a good man to be your future husband recently. Sister, there is no need for you to meet your lover in secret. If this thing got out, it would ruin your reputation."

Since Molan had slipped out of Sheng Mansion to seduce Liang Han, Hai shi had tightened security. That man must be living in Sheng Mansion because outsiders could not possibly slip into the garden without being spotted. Minglan thought for a moment and sorted herself out. Hai shi didn't take precautionary measures to prevent the students who lived in the row of bungalows on the edge of the back garden from approaching the garden. The Autumn Imperial Examination would last three days and the examinees could go back every day after the exam. But in the Autumn Imperial Examination, the examinees would be locked in the examination hall until all the exams were over.

Minglan stared at Rulan with teasing eyes and didn't speak until Rulan blushed with shyness, "The students in the bungalows all come from good families. No matter who he is, after he wins an official rank, you can ask him to visit Madam and bring up proposal of marriage."

Minglan began to rack her brains to recall the names of the five students in the bungalows and tried to find out who Rulan had been with in the garden. She thought long and hard about it but failed to guess who was "Brother Jing" because she had forgotten their names. She was vexed at her poor memory for names.

When Rulan heard Minglan's words, her face paled and she said in a low voice, "No, he's not among them."

Minglan was surprised and blurted out, "Who is he?"

Rulan lowered her head and sat down on the edge of the bed, unwilling to tell Minglan his name. Minglan was so sensitive that she instantly realized that something was wrong. She kept quiet and thought, 'The more I know, the more trouble I will have. I'd better leave now.' However, before she would slip away, Rulan said at last, "His... His name is Wen Yanjing. And now he also lives in the bungalows."

Minglan put her hand to her bosom and felt her heart skip a beat. It was the greatest shock she had ever had and her heart palpitated at this moment. She took a few deep breaths to relax herself and cried out in a low voice, "Sister, are you crazy? He is... He is Sister Molan's..." She paused and couldn't think of a suitable word to say, so she reached out and tugged at Rulan's sleeve. "Madam won't allow you to be with him."

Rulan's eyes dimmed and a sorrowful look appeared on her smooth oval face before she said in a muffled voice, "I know... But I like him and he likes me too."

Minglan's thoughts were all in a muddle and she couldn't figure out how Rulan and Wen Yanjing fell in love. She pointed at Rulan with trembling fingers and stammered, "You... You... How did you hook up with him?"

Rulan slightly raised her head with an appealing flirty smile on her face, her eyes shining with happiness. Obviously, she was in love. "... He met me before... Afterwards, he sent me a note with poems..." she spoke disjointedly.

Minglan got angry and thought Wen Yanjing a wicked man because playboys often used such a nasty trick to get around simple girls. She couldn't help but exclaim, "So you believe that he fell in love with you at first sight? Maybe he chases you because he failed to marry Sister Molan."

Rulan flew into a rage. She pushed Minglan aside, pinched her arm hard and complained, "You know nothing about him. Brother Jing is a gentleman. Besides, he has always liked me." Rulan gasped for air and continued, "Do you remember that Molan was grounded by Father for beating you?"

Minglan nodded. 'That was an important episode of my life. Of course I remember it,' she thought to herself.

"After that, Father decided to marry Sister Molan to Brother Jing...er, Childe Wen." As soon as Rulan mentioned her sweetheart, she blushed scarlet. "Afterwards, you went to Youyang to join Old Madam. A few days later, Father and Mother invited Childe Wen to our mansion. On that day, I was tired of lying on the bed and pretending to be ill, so I sneaked out of my house and played in the garden. Childe Wen happened to pass by and saw me... He mistakenly thought me a little maid, so he picked up my handkerchief and smiled at me. Afterwards, he came to our mansion several times. Every time he came, I played in the garden and wished to have a chat with him. He told me that... I'm good-looking, energetic and brisk, and every time he saw me, he was delighted."

Rulan's voice dropped as she wore a coy smile, her eyes gleaming with happiness. "Later, he knew who I was, and he also knew that Father wanted him to marry Molan, so he sent me a letter saying that he was grateful for receiving help and encouragement by Father and Eldest Brother, and he didn't want to go against their wishes. Then he didn't send me a letter anymore... until that happened to Molan. The next day he secretly had someone give me a letter telling that he was happy because he didn't have to marry Molan. He also said that he would come to propose the marriage between him and me after he passed the Autumn Imperial Examination and won an official rank."

Stunned by her words, Minglan took a deep breath and exhaled heavily as her thoughts were in a whirl. "But I remember you once told me that... his family is very poor; his mother is mean and his brothers are good-for-nothings. Besides, you also thought him an indecisive man."

On hearing these words Rulan recovered her spirits. She pulled Minglan closer to her, pinched Minglan's cheeks and stared at Minglan with round eyes before she lectured, "Don't talk nonsense! Brother Jing is a good man."

Minglan was speechless and couldn't help but complain in her mind, 'I'm just repeating what you said to me before. But now you change your mind about him."

After a while, Minglan leaned over, rested her chin on Rulan's shoulder and said softly, "Sister, have you ever thought about his intentions? Maybe... he just wants to attach himself to Father and Eldest Brother..." Before she finished speaking, Rulan suddenly stood up and glared at Minglan with angry eyes as if she was going to give Minglan a slap. Minglan drew back her head in fear and gave a hollow laugh, "I'm just kidding. Don't take it seriously."

In a rage, Rulan sat down on a round stool with her back to Minglan. The stool was wobbling and her voice was thick with bitterness as she said, "I know what you mean. In your opinion, I'm neither beautiful nor intellectual. Luckily, I was born in a good family. So you thought that Brother Jing gets close to me because he wants to take advantage of our family, right?"

Minglan didn't answer and thought with disapproval, "He used to have the opportunity to marry Molan but it failed. Now he wants to marry you. It's reasonable for me to think so."

Tears welled up in Rulan's eyes as she said bitterly, "I know that I have been the least attractive daughter in our family from small to large. Compared with me, Sister Hualan is more noble; Molan is better at currying favor with others; you are more charming. Father doesn't think highly of me and even Mother sometimes ignores me... But Brother Jing... At that time, he didn't know my identity but he took a fancy to me... He said that he liked healthy and lively girls instead of delicate girls. He likes me because of my sweet smile and bright personality. He also said that he felt comfortable with me..."

Rulan murmured under her breath with a faraway, blank expression on her face as if she was in a dream. Minglan was moved by her affection for Wen Yanjing. Meanwhile, she couldn't help but feel sorry for this couple. "Even if Childe Wen passes the highest imperial examinations and becomes Jinshi, Madam won't allow you to marry him." Molan looked down on Wen Yanjing and refused to marry him, but now Rulan fell in love with him. If Wang shi knew that, she would be mad.

Rulan's face suddenly changed.... Click the external link below to read the whole chapter 121.