Chapter 26 When Meng Xu first got married, didn't he also...

Meng Yuanxiao stared at him for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Brother Tang, will the matter you're investigating implicate the Ye family?"

Tang-gege came to check the land and taxes. After returning to the capital, he will inevitably have to report the matter of Huai Shu Village to the Princess.

Ye's situation in Huai Shu Village was already difficult. If the news of her family's land being seized came out, the Wang clan would definitely not let her off easily after suffering losses.

As soon as she asked the question, Cui Xintang's smile faded somewhat. Seeing his silence, Meng Yuanxiao understood.

Meng Yuanxiao disliked Ye Shi, but didn't want to implicate her.

She felt a little down. "You said that all the families in the village are like that, but that's not true. Sister Li said that when Ye's husband was alive, he treated her very well. He never let her do any work, and he always gave her the best food."

Cui Xintang paused, seemingly intrigued, and asked after a moment's thought, "When did the Ye family's husband die?"

He knew perfectly well, yet he still asked.

Meng Yuanxiao didn't think much of it and truthfully said, "Madam Ye said that not long after she married into the family, her husband was conscripted into the army and died in the military camp."

Cui Xintang chuckled and said, "When Ye's husband died, she had only been married for a short time, and the two were deeply in love. Would her husband have treated her well?"

Meng Yuanxiao frowned, and Cui Xintang slowly said, "If Ye's man hadn't died and had returned, and Ye was no longer young in a few years, do you think her man would still care about her so much?"

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

Cui Xintang looked at her with a smile, her tone teasing, "I've heard that Wang Dalang is capable and good-looking. If he's lucky enough to survive and instead makes a name for himself in the army, get a position, and catches the eye of his superiors, do you think he would still be willing to come back and live with Ye Shi?"

"Don't you love reading storybooks? Aren't there plenty of stories like this in those stories?"

Meng Yuanxiao choked for a moment, then said unhappily, "How do you know that's what Wang Dalang thinks?"

Cui Xintang smiled faintly and said slowly, "I'm just telling the truth because I know what men are thinking."

His eyes held a half-smile, and when Meng Yuanxiao looked into them, she subconsciously felt that his words had a deeper meaning.

Sure enough, Cui Xintang continued, "When Meng Xu first got married, wasn't he also inseparable from your sister-in-law? Back then, when he wasn't on duty at the yamen, he would stay at home with your sister-in-law. Even when I called him, he wouldn't come out."

"..." Meng Yuanxiao was at a loss for words.

Back then, her elder brother and Tang brother passed the imperial examination in the same year, and many people in the court wanted to establish a marriage alliance with the Meng family.

At that time, the late emperor was ill and suffering from various ailments. He was already a suspicious person, and his suspicions became even stronger due to his illness.

The late emperor was most wary of court officials forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices. During that period, the court demoted countless officials under various pretexts.

My father, whose term of office in Fengzhou was not yet over, was recalled to the capital along with several other officials whose terms of office were also not yet over, for assessment and selection, and to be given a new official position.

With the new appointment delayed, the Meng family dared not easily arrange a marriage alliance with the powerful families of the capital.

However, Meng Xu has reached the age to get married, and if he continues to delay, it will inevitably arouse the emperor's suspicion.

Her eldest brother's marriage suddenly became a hot potato, causing her father great distress, and even she noticed something unusual.

At this point, the eldest brother took the initiative to propose marrying a woman from the Li family, namely his sister-in-law, Li Keying.

This is actually a good choice. The elder sister-in-law's father, General Li, is only a fifth-rank military officer in the Fengzhou military camp. There is no suspicion of forming factions between the two families by marriage.

However, her parents initially disagreed, since her father already knew that Meng Zheng was often pestering Li Keying when he was sent to Fengzhou.

Moreover, in his second brother's letters home, he would always mention this Miss Li, saying that if she made meritorious contributions in the army, he would go to the Li family to propose marriage, and that his mother should prepare in advance.

This wasn't just a whim of Meng Zheng's. During that period, the once unruly playboy seemed like a different person in the Fengzhou military camp. His father would occasionally inquire about him, and the officers in the camp would praise Meng Zheng endlessly.

The father and mother were shocked, wondering why their two sons had both fallen for the same person.

But Meng Xu insisted on marrying her and calmly reasoned with his parents.

“Our son is the eldest son of the Meng family and will represent the Meng clan in the future. His marriage will naturally attract attention. He cannot marry a noblewoman from the capital. Apart from the Li family, none of the others are suitable for him. If his father and mother do not agree, he will have no choice but to remain unmarried.”

“The Meng family’s foundation in the capital is still weak. My second brother and I must arrange a marriage between our son and a noblewoman in the capital to solidify the Meng family’s foundation. Since my son cannot arrange a marriage, it can only be my second brother.”

"Furthermore, my second brother is still young and there is no rush for him to get married. In the future, no one will pay much attention to his marriage. So, Father, are you really willing to let my second brother marry a woman from the Li family?"

His words indeed persuaded his father and mother to agree to his elder brother and sister-in-law's marriage.

Then, the eldest brother specially applied to the yamen for an official business trip to Fengzhou, where his sister-in-law's family lived.

At the time, Meng Yuanxiao was very curious about this Miss Li and begged his elder brother to take her to Fengzhou.

The eldest brother initially refused, but he couldn't resist her persistent pleading and repeated assurances that if Sister Li didn't like him, he could put in a good word for him in front of her. Only then did the eldest brother agree.

Upon arriving in Fengzhou, the eldest brother rushed to the gate of the Li residence without hesitation.

General Li and several of his sons were in the military camp, leaving only the women in the mansion. Li Keying originally refused to see him, but Meng Xu was surprisingly patient.

Even though he couldn't even get through the gates of the Li residence, he still tirelessly went to the door every day to plead, and even had someone deliver a message: he would not leave Fengzhou until Miss Li agreed, and he would never complain even if it delayed his return to the capital and he was blamed by the court.

After a few days, everyone in the entire neighborhood where the Li family lived knew that General Li's only daughter had been entangled with a scholar who had come from the capital.

The young scholar, a Jinshi, is handsome and will marry no one but Miss Li.

Perhaps she was tired of his nagging, and Li Keying had no choice but to see him.

That day, Meng Yuanxiao hid in the pavilion and saw his elder brother and sister-in-law standing behind the artificial hill through the hazy blossoms. His elder brother, usually so composed and serene, was unusually flustered and at a loss.

She vaguely remembered that day when her elder brother, in front of his sister-in-law, incoherently promised that he would never take a concubine and would always treat her well.

His sister-in-law likes riding horses and dislikes being restricted, so he can agree to that and won't force her to stay in the inner quarters. If she wants to apply for a posting in the future, she can go to the north of the capital, near Fengzhou, so that she won't have to endure the pain of being away from home.

That day, Meng Yuanxiao hid in the pavilion and stared in disbelief. It was the first time she had realized that her aloof older brother could actually look like this.

Even the most composed person can lose their composure in front of someone they truly like.

That day, my sister-in-law's face turned red. Later, when my brother-in-law came again, he was even more shameless, and my sister-in-law gradually became willing to see him.

After her elder brother finished his business in Fengzhou City, he shamelessly sent her to the Li residence and entrusted her to his sister-in-law's care. He then rode quickly to the military camp to find General Li.

When she saw her elder brother's anxious appearance, she was amazed and thought that her elder brother and sister-in-law would definitely become a beautiful story in the future. She even secretly thought that if she were to get married in the future, she would marry someone like her elder brother.

She has indeed married someone like her elder brother, but her elder brother and sister-in-law have only been married for a year before Su Shi entered the family.

Although the reason why Su entered the family cannot be entirely blamed on the eldest brother, who was also set up, the eldest brother and sister-in-law gradually drifted apart after Su entered the family.

Looking back now, the words my elder brother said to my sister-in-law outside the pavilion that day seem utterly ironic.

Mentioning his elder brother and sister-in-law, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but feel indignant on behalf of his sister-in-law.

She pursed her lips tightly, unwilling to accept it, and said, "Not everyone is like that, my second brother is not like that."

When the second brother learned of his elder brother and sister-in-law's marriage, he returned to Beijing and made a scene, but to no avail. He could only watch helplessly as his elder brother married his sister-in-law.

He locked himself in his room for several days, and when he came out, he had lost a lot of weight. The next day, he left the capital and returned to the Fengzhou military camp. He did not return to the capital until the day before her wedding.

In recent years, his mother has been looking for a marriage for him in the capital and has often written to urge him to return to the capital to meet potential partners, but his second brother remains unmoved and refuses to reply to even one letter.

When her second brother suddenly returned to the capital, she initially thought he was only coming back for her wedding. But once he returned, he stayed in the capital, which clearly meant it wasn't just because of her.

She had secretly noticed that after her second brother returned to Beijing, he didn't even speak to her eldest brother and sister-in-law. But the more he did this, the stranger it seemed.

Also, when she returned to the Meng family mansion that time, her second brother subtly reminded her to come back and spend more time with her sister-in-law.

Therefore, she suspected many times that her second brother had returned to the capital under the pretext of her marriage because he heard that her eldest brother had taken a concubine and that her eldest brother and sister-in-law were having marital problems.

She said that, but Cui Xintang just chuckled.

His snort was tinged with contempt. Meng Yuanxiao knew all along that, like his eldest brother, he had always looked down on his second brother.

She was a little annoyed. "So, Brother Tang, you look down on Second Brother because you'll end up like Eldest Brother, is that it?"

Cui Xintang: "..."

Meng Yuanxiao persisted, "Brother Tang, you're only nice to me now because, as you said, it's still fresh in your mind. In a few years, when you get tired of me, you'll be like everyone else, fickle and easily bored, won't you?"

Cui Xintang felt somewhat helpless. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I'm six years older than you. In a few years, you'll still be young and beautiful, but I might look completely different. How can Yuanyuan know that by then it will be me who gets tired of you, instead of you getting tired of me first?"

He teased, "That day at the county office, who was it that couldn't take their eyes off Registrar Xu for even a second?"

Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

She refused to admit it. She frowned, about to say righteously that she would never do it, when suddenly the images of those middle-aged men in the capital flashed into her mind.

Leaving aside others, just consider Tang's second uncle, Cui Qin, who is a greasy, pot-bellied man.

If Tang becomes like her father-in-law, that's fine, but if she becomes like Cui Qin...

As Cui Qin's face gradually transformed into Tang Gege's face in his mind, Meng Yuanxiao swallowed hard, unable to utter the words he had so confidently spoken.

The disdain on her pretty face was unmistakable. Cui Xintang was amused by her and pinched her cheek, saying, "You little ingrate."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Who can say for sure what will happen in the future? Yuanyuan really doesn't need to worry about these things."

He was clearly avoiding the question and refusing to give her an answer.

Meng Yuanxiao's eyes welled up with tears. Cui Xintang sighed softly, raised his hand to wipe away a little moisture from the corner of her eyes, and said with amusement, "It was clearly you who insisted on asking, and even after I told you the truth, you didn't want to hear it. Even if I told you today that I would always be by your side and only protect you, would you believe me?"

He gently coaxed her and reasoned with her, "Although my father and mother were from different families through marriage, they treated each other with respect in the first few years after their marriage. Even they probably never expected that things would turn out like this."

"I'm twenty-one years old, and this is the first time I've met someone I want to marry..."

Meng Yuanxiao interrupted him, "How can this be the first time? I remember you were clearly engaged before."

"..." Cui Xintang paused slightly, but did not deny it.

Looking at Meng Yuanxiao's slightly red eyes, he said, "I have never put my heart into anything for others before, nor have I bothered to do so, but now I am willing to put my heart into anything for you, and I do so with great pleasure."

His smile faded slightly. "But I have a father like that, and I can't guarantee that I won't become like him in the future."

"Or perhaps one day, you might suddenly grow tired of me."

After all, even he himself couldn't help but loathe himself.

His mother was the same.

Meng Yuanxiao's eyes reddened even more, and tears welled up in them.

Cui Xintang looked at her, but did not soften her heart. "The only thing I can guarantee is that I will never let you fall into the same situation as my mother, like my father did."

After saying this, he said with a half-smile, "Nothing in this world is immutable. Instead of worrying about these things, Yuanyuan, you should seize everything you can."

"For example, the position of the mistress of the Cui family, managing the household affairs, and... the children, without having to focus all her attention on me."

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Author's Note: My darlings, you can criticize the male lead, but please believe in his feelings for Yuanyuan. The male lead isn't a perfect character; there's only one person in the world he can truly love and give his all to—Yuanyuan.

This is my first time doing a giveaway, so I don't know much about it. I chose to draw the winner at 11 PM tonight, but some readers might not have subscribed to the new chapter by then and will miss the draw. So, if you've already subscribed to all chapters, please leave a comment on this chapter tomorrow!