freenovelworld Chapter 407 Oh, My Dear Sister
Chapter 407 Oh, My Dear Sister
Mingruo: "..."
Mingruo lowered her head in shame.
"The salt gang's smuggling of salt provided convenience to the people, allowing more people to buy salt and making their lives easier. This was originally a good thing for the people. But look at it now! The salt gang colludes with corrupt officials, making a lot of money, and behind the scenes, they use their power to do those heinous businesses. In my limited experience, they run gambling dens, set up gambling schemes, establish private prisons, eliminate dissidents, sell women and children, and keep male prostitutes. Tell me, what is big and what is small in all of these things?" Lu Yangyang looked at Mingruo and asked, word by word.
Mingruo was speechless.
“As you said, Lin Wuji didn’t want things to be this way either,” Lu Yangyang said. “The old gang leader couldn’t bring himself to eliminate this cancer, which led to the current situation. Lin Wuji is also hesitant and unable to eliminate this cancer, resulting in the Salt Gang’s current predicament. Is there any trace of their original intentions left?”
After a long silence, Mingruo said helplessly, "It is precisely because we are in such a passive position that Wuji wants to find a way to break the deadlock. If Tiancheng Trading Company can help suppress the power of Master Ren, there may still be a chance to reorganize the Salt Gang."
"Suppression is only temporary. If we give them a chance, they will retaliate even more fiercely." The deputy gang leader and his men were only doing this for their own benefit. Suppressing them now is tantamount to completely undermining their interests. If we continue to suppress them, they might just turn around and bite us off at any moment, killing Lin Wuji.
If Tiancheng Trading Company were to help with this, it would not only fail to help but also drag itself down with it.
Sheng Junyi would never do something so brainless.
Looking at Mingruo's worried expression, Lu Yangyang shook her head: "The Salt Gang's affairs are not something you or I can handle. Sheng Junyi wouldn't create such a big problem for himself, so you should go back and tell him to destroy it!"
Mingruo looked at her.
Lu Yangyang calmly said, "Destruction precedes construction. If he can be ruthless enough to eliminate this cancer and start afresh, perhaps a new scene will unfold. If not, then it depends on who has the stronger fate between him and the deputy leader. The court isn't taking action against the Salt Gang now, not because it's afraid to, but because the Salt Gang is still useful. If the Salt Gang truly crosses the line, then it's no longer a gang, but bandits. Do we need a reason to suppress bandits? As for the Salt Gang, even if one is destroyed, a new one will appear. What difference does it make who becomes the leader? In the long river of history, who can remain prosperous forever? Even emperors cannot rule over a single family, let alone the Salt Gang?"
Mingruo was extremely surprised; he hadn't expected Lu Yangyang to say something like that.
Lu Yangyang had already stood up: "That's all I can think of, but I sincerely hope that one day the Salt Gang can disappear completely, because sooner or later it will just become a tool for corrupt officials and unscrupulous businessmen, just like it is now."
While the actions of the Salt Gang are certainly despicable, salt is indispensable. Unless one day ordinary people can buy salt whenever they go out, we will no longer need to tolerate this cancer.
Lu Yangyang waved to Mingruo: "It's getting late, I'll head back now. Take care."
As Mingruo watched Lu Yangyang turn and leave, something seemed to flash through his mind, but it happened so fast that he couldn't quite make sense of it for a moment.
"Yangyang," Mingru called out to Lu Yangyang.
Lu Yangyang turned her head: "Hmm?"
Mingruo's voice was slightly nervous: "May I call you that?"
Lu Yangyang asked in surprise, "Isn't a name just something people call you by? Does it make a difference whether you call me Miss Lu, Yangyang, or Lu Yangyang?"
Why do you think so much?
Mingru chuckled, "Sorry."
Lu Yangyang shook her head. Why does this person love to apologize so much? Is it on his lips all the time?
She turned and left, but Mingruo couldn't help but smile, revealing the first genuine smile she had shown since surviving the ordeal and leaving the capital.
……
The capital city, General Cheng's mansion.
Early in the morning, Cheng Ruoxue began to dress up with the help of her maids. Her boudoir was filled with red, and everywhere was filled with joy.
Having arranged the marriage, the Xiao family feared that things might change if they waited too long, so they carefully selected an auspicious date, and the two sides quickly finalized the wedding date.
The entire general's mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the atmosphere was joyous.
No one was happiest than Cheng Shujin.
She, who usually loved to sleep in, didn't even have time for breakfast today. She led her entourage to Cheng Ruoxue's courtyard, her face beaming with undisguised pride: "Oh, my dear sister, I've been waiting for so long, you've finally gotten married, and married such a... good one, hahaha, I'm so envious, I'm so happy for you, sister."
"This is a gift I prepared for my sister. Please don't dislike it. Look at this rose-red silk flower. Isn't it beautiful? It complements your skin tone so well. After you enter the family, pay your respects to the memorial tablet of the first wife and wear this. The spirit of the young master's wife in heaven will find peace!"
Cheng Shujin was getting happier and happier. Before Cheng Ruoxue could react, she covered her mouth and laughed in a pretentious manner.
The maids looked at Cheng Shujin with embarrassed expressions.
Cheng Ruoxue, on the other hand, remained completely unmoved, as if she didn't take Cheng Shujin's ridicule seriously at all.
When Cheng Shujin finished laughing, she saw that Cheng Ruoxue was still smiling and unmoved, which made her so angry that she immediately stopped laughing.
"Have you laughed enough?" Cheng Ruoxue asked.
Cheng Shujin glared at her angrily: "Weren't you so smug? Weren't you always able to manipulate those men like fools? If you're so capable, why did you become someone's second wife? You've disgraced the General's Mansion, and you can still laugh! Cheng Ruoxue, aren't you ashamed? I'm ashamed even more than you are!"
Cheng Ruoxue slowly opened her mouth: "Hmm, so you're concerned about me? Standing up for me?"
Cheng Shujin stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "What nonsense are you spouting! I'm standing up for you? Hahaha, are you stupid? I'd love for you to become someone else's second wife or concubine, so you'd never be able to hold your head up high again! Humph! Cheng Ruoxue, you deserve it, you deserve it! Who told you to be so outrageous!"
Cheng Shujin grew angrier and angrier, until finally she turned and ran away before Cheng Ruoxue could even speak.
The more she thought about it, the more resentful she became. Why was it that Cheng Ruoxue was so beautiful and cute since she was little, while she was dark-skinned and ugly? Why did Cheng Ruoxue look more like her mother, while she had to look like her father? Why did all the best men chase after Cheng Ruoxue every day, fawning over her, while no one even gave her a second glance? It was really too much, too much!
When Madam Cheng arrived, she saw Cheng Shujin running away like a gust of wind. Looking around the room, she immediately understood what had happened.
She sighed as she watched Cheng Shujin's retreating figure, then went inside. Seeing that her makeup was almost done, she waved for the servants to leave and personally went behind Cheng Ruoxue to comb her hair: "Axue, the road ahead will be difficult, and your mother will miss you."
Cheng Ruoxue smiled and took Madam Cheng's hand in hers: "Being able to be a mother's daughter in this life is the happiest thing for me."
Upon hearing this, Madam Cheng's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she pulled her into her arms: "No matter what, in this life, you will always be my daughter. Ah Xue, I won't stop you from doing anything, but you must take good care of yourself. This is my only wish for you."
"Don't you know me, Mother? I'll be fine and live to be a hundred years old," Cheng Ruoxue said with a smile. "Mother, please comb my hair quickly. I want you to comb my hair."
Madam Cheng couldn't hold back her tears. She grasped Cheng Ruoxue's soft, lustrous hair, her voice choked with emotion, "One comb to the end, two combs to white hair reaching the eyebrows, three combs to children and grandchildren filling the ground, four combs to four silver bamboo shoots growing tall and straight..."
The bridal sedan chair was carried into the Duke Xiao's mansion amidst the sounds of music. As night fell, the outside was bustling with the sounds of guests, but inside the bridal chamber, only Cheng Ruoxue and the maidservant serving her remained.
Cheng Ruoxue gazed at the burning candlesticks by the bedside, then got up and walked towards the washroom. Her maid followed behind her, helping her remove her heavy wedding dress and guiding her to the bathtub filled with flower petals.
Cheng Ruoxue suddenly paused, raised her hand to signal the maid to stop: "Go outside and keep watch, I want to be alone for a while."
The maidservant, not understanding what was going on, still obediently went out.
Cheng Ruoxue stepped into the large bathtub step by step.
A hand slipped through the layers of petals and grasped her waist.