Chapter 46 "What does Yuanyuan want to know? Why don't you..."

Meng Yuanxiao said, "I met Miss Lin at the teahouse today, in the private room next door."

Cui Xintang: "..."

"The teahouses on both sides of Xiaoyu Street were packed with people today. My sister-in-law said that it took her quite a bit of effort to reserve that private room."

"...Yuanyuan thinks it's difficult, but since the other person is doing business on the same street, they might have some connections. It shouldn't be difficult to reserve a private room?"

After saying that, he said with a half-smile, "If Yuanyuan wants to know anything, she might as well just ask me directly. It's better than letting her own imagination run wild and getting angry."

Meng Yuanxiao looked at him without saying a word.

Cui Xintang clearly didn't want to mention Miss Lin, so he changed the subject and asked, "What did Yuanyuan and the Princess talk about on New Year's Eve at the Princess's residence?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Yuanxiao immediately felt guilty.

Her eyes flickered, and she looked away. "I didn't say anything."

"Really?" Cui Xintang asked.

No, that's not true.

On New Year's Eve, the Princess hosted a banquet at her residence, inviting the female relatives of various households in the capital.

Previously, Cui Xintang refused the inspection assignment arranged by the imperial court, citing Wu's poor health as the reason.

Since she was unwell, it was not appropriate for her to appear in public, so Wu claimed to be ill and only Meng Yuanxiao went to the banquet.

During the banquet, the eldest princess suddenly called out her name and said, "I remember that when Lord Cui went to Yunping County to investigate, he took Lady Cui with him?"

She dared not lie, and could only answer yes.

The eldest princess said, "Since you went there too, why don't you tell me what you saw and heard in Yunping County?"

She recounted in detail what she had seen and heard in Yunping County. After listening, the princess nodded and asked, "So, what do you think of your husband's performance on this mission?"

When the princess asked this question, Meng Yuanxiao's heart pounded, and he instinctively wanted to say that he didn't know anything about these things.

But who is the Eldest Princess? It's likely that her little schemes have already been seen through by the Eldest Princess.

So she braced herself and told him everything she could about the farming and other things she had heard from her brother Tang in Yunping County.

To hide his nervousness, he even subtly praised Brother Tang.

She rattled off a string of words, her palms sweating profusely, and sure enough, she made the princess laugh.

The eldest princess smiled and said, "So Lord Cui is so capable. I should inform His Majesty and ask him to reward Lord Cui handsomely."

Everyone laughed after he said that.

The eldest princess said, "Cui Xintang is capable, but I think Madam Cui is just as good. She speaks very eloquently. If you were to take over Cui Xintang's work, you would certainly do just as well as him."

After speaking, the princess glanced at the group of people in the flower hall and slowly said, "I want to promote female officials in the court, but those old officials have all jumped out to stop me. But I'm afraid those old officials can't come up with the reasons that Madam Cui just mentioned."

"Therefore, ladies, after you return home today, you might as well talk to your elders and ask them why women cannot enter officialdom?"

When the princess said those words, Meng Yuanxiao knew that she had probably caused trouble for her brother Tang.

She felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, her palms were sweaty, and she wished she could disappear into the ground. But then she heard the princess talking to others about the Painting Academy and the painters.

She was initially nervous, but upon hearing these words, she couldn't help but prick up her ears and listen attentively from the side.

As she was listening, for some reason the princess noticed her again, called her name once more, said she remembered that she was good at painting, and praised her in front of everyone.

If she wasn't mistaken, the princess's phoenix eyes clearly held a hint of coaxing and urging.

Meng Yuanxiao didn't dare tell Cui Xintang these things.

After returning from the Princess's residence, she was constantly uneasy, afraid of causing trouble for her brother Tang. But a month or two passed, and her brother Tang didn't mention it, so she put the matter out of her mind.

But who knew he would suddenly ask about it today?

At this moment, Cui Xintang was looking at her with a half-smile in his eyes. Meng Yuanxiao felt a little guilty, but she didn't think she had done anything wrong.

She pursed her lips, forced herself to meet Cui Xintang's gaze, and frowned as she said, "I didn't say anything, I just didn't say anything."

Although he was stubborn, he was clearly outwardly fierce but inwardly weak, and his eyes darted around.

Cui Xintang: "..."

He was genuinely amused by her words, "Yuanyuan doesn't care about Brother Tang at all."

She clearly didn't know why the princess had noticed her repeatedly, or why she had encouraged her, nor did she know how much trouble her words would bring him.

He least wanted to involve her, but she eagerly walked right into his trap.

When he received the invitation from the Princess's residence, he tried to refuse, but Yuanyuan was unwilling.

On New Year's Eve, he felt uneasy and waited for Yuanyuan on the street outside the Princess's mansion early in the morning. When he brought her back, he asked her about it, but she refused to say a word to him.

If he hadn't sensed something was wrong, and if it weren't for the princess's words today, he would still be completely in the dark.

She not only offered herself up, but she also dragged him into it, along with the entire Meng family.

But so much time has passed, it's pointless to criticize her now.

Cui Xintang had a bit of a headache. After looking at her for a while, he said helplessly, "You are not allowed to say such things again in the future, and you are not allowed to barge in front of the Princess again, understand?"

Meng Yuanxiao remained silent. Ever since she learned about the Lin family's affairs, she had refused to speak to him. Cui Xintang dared not provoke her any further and could only give in for the time being.

So he asked, "Why didn't I see Meng Xu today?"

As soon as he asked the question, Meng Yuanxiao's eyes welled up with tears again.

She didn't want to talk to him, but she felt terrible and had nowhere to confide in, so she remained silent for a moment before saying in a muffled voice, "Ms. Su is pregnant, she's been pregnant for over three months."

"Hmm?" Cui Xintang's face flashed with surprise. "Wasn't it in December? You said you weren't pregnant?"

When Meng Yuanxiao returned to the capital from the manor, he refused to go back to the Meng family mansion out of spite, but he was thinking about Li Keying and asked Meng Xu to inquire about her.

Meng Xu said at the time that he had consulted a doctor, and that Su was not pregnant.

However, after a moment's thought, he understood.

At that time, when they were in the manor, Su was probably newly pregnant. Fearing that the Meng family would not tolerate the birth of the eldest son born of a concubine and would force her to have an abortion, she tried to deceive the doctor after some probing.

Now that she's been pregnant for over three months, she can't just have an abortion anytime soon, so she couldn't resist any longer and deliberately brought it up today when Meng Yuanxiao came over.

When Meng Yuanxiao returned to the Meng residence, he naturally followed. Knowing this, the Meng family would not be able to force her to have an abortion.

However, Cui Xintang didn't care about these things, so he only said, "No wonder when I came here earlier, I saw Granny Lai come out of the side courtyard and the servants looked at Meng Xu with strange expressions. But Madam Su is pregnant, and Yuanyuan is going to be an aunt. Isn't this a happy event for the Meng family?"

After saying that, he chuckled again, "I'll find some time another day to congratulate Meng Xu."

He still had the mind to make sarcastic remarks. Meng Yuanxiao's face turned red with anger, and she pinched his arm hard in a huff.

Cui Xintang hissed in pain, and Meng Yuanxiao said angrily, "I haven't been back for a long time, I'm staying at the Meng residence tonight."

Cui Xintang took her hand and asked, "Yuanyuan, are you sure you want to stay at the Meng residence tonight?"

He paused for a moment, then said, "Didn't we say we wouldn't get involved in the Meng family's affairs anymore?"

Meng Yuanxiao frowned and remained silent. Cui Xintang continued, "Family scandals should not be aired in public, and your mother-in-law does not want you to get too involved in the Meng family's affairs."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

She was most annoyed by his words. “Mother would never think that way. Mother had Granny Lai tell me to stay at the Meng residence tonight.”

"Really? Then why didn't your mother-in-law come to tell you herself?" Cui Xintang looked at her with a half-smile and asked.

Meng Yuanxiao was truly angered by him and cried. A few tears fell from her eyes. "Brother Tang, do you not want my mother to dote on me, and do you not want me to be close to my mother and the Meng family?"

She sniffed, "But I don't only have you, Brother Tang."

Cui Xintang: "..."

After a long pause, he finally said, "No."

Meng Yuanxiao didn't believe it. "Then why do you always talk badly about Mother, and my eldest and second eldest brothers?"

Cui Xintang: "...When did I speak ill of them?"

“Yes, it is.” Meng Yuanxiao said angrily.

Of course it exists!

Needless to say, the second brother is another story. The eldest brother is clearly Tang's best friend, but lately he has been making sarcastic remarks about her eldest brother in front of her from time to time.

And then there was her mother. Actually, what happened in the village was mostly a fit of pique with her mother. How could her mother not love her?

She had originally thought that if Brother Tang coaxed her a few times and said some good things about her mother in front of her, she would take the opportunity to back down and stop being angry.

But to her surprise, Brother Tang never tried to comfort her on this matter. He even told her that if she didn't want to go back to the Meng family, then she shouldn't go back.

She was put on a pedestal, and she still cared about her reputation; after a while, she found it hard to back down.

Tang-gege clearly knew what she wanted to hear, but he deliberately refused to tell her, and even added fuel to the fire, clearly not wanting her to be close to her mother.

Her small face was full of suspicion and displeasure. Cui Xintang felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze. He pinched her waist with his large hand and said, "Does Madam Li want to divorce Meng Xu?"

Meng Yuanxiao was taken aback, and immediately became wary.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not going to tell Meng Xu," Cui Xintang said, amused.

After a slight pause, he said, "Mrs. Su can no longer have an abortion. An eldest grandson is still an eldest grandson. If we are willing to put aside our pride, we can accept him. Besides, my mother-in-law may not necessarily not want this eldest grandson."

Meng Yuanxiao's brows furrowed suddenly.

Cui Xintang looked at her and said slowly, "Otherwise, Yuanyuan, do you really think that your mother-in-law has been completely unaware of Su's pregnancy until now? Meng Xu may be able to keep it a secret, but your mother-in-law may not. Also, the time when Su went to the Lu family's estate for a barbecue, Su went there afterward, which was naturally with your mother-in-law's consent."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

She just said she wouldn't say anything bad about her mother!

Before she could retort, Cui Xintang said mercilessly, "I'm afraid my mother-in-law has long been dissatisfied with Li Shi. Li Shi's demand for a divorce is a disgrace to the Meng family. Is Yuanyuan trying to go against my mother-in-law?"

Meng Yuanxiao's face paled, and the words stuck in his throat.

Cui Xintang looked at her and began to reason with her.

“Aside from the matter of taking a concubine, Meng Xu has not wronged Li Shi in any other way. But it is only natural for a man to take a concubine. Even if this matter is brought to the Li family, it cannot be considered Meng Xu’s fault. Others will only say that Li Shi is jealous.”

"Even if Lady Li marries someone else, how can you guarantee that the man she marries won't take a concubine in the future?"

After saying that, seeing that Meng Yuanxiao was annoyed, he added at the right time, "I was only talking about Meng Xu and Li Shi."

"Does Yuanyuan think Lu Erlang is a good man? He just hasn't married or taken any concubines yet, and it's not necessarily true that he doesn't have a few maids in his room." He chuckled.

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

She pursed her lips, and tears streamed down her face.

Cui Xintang reached out and wiped away her tears, but did not comfort her. After Meng Yuanxiao had cried enough, he said, "There are family matters to be dealt with at the Meng residence tonight. If we are here, your mother-in-law and Meng Xu will feel uncomfortable."

"Instead of worrying about other people's family affairs, Yuanyuan, you should focus your attention on your husband. Yuanyuan doesn't trust me and is afraid I have someone else, so why don't you keep a close eye on me?"

After speaking, Cui Xintang looked at her with a half-smile. After a moment, he slowly opened his mouth.

"How long has it been since Yuanyuan paid any attention to Brother Tang? Before, when I came back late from my official duties, Yuanyuan would often wait for me. But these days, when I get back to my room, Yuanyuan always falls asleep first."

"Yesterday, Shangguan invited us to go to the opera and have drinks. During the banquet, he invited several actors to accompany us. I smelled of the opera, and when I got back, I deliberately circled around Yuanyuan a few times, but Yuanyuan didn't even ask me a question."

Meng Yuanxiao's eyes flickered. She had naturally smelled it, but she just didn't want to ask.

She remained silent, then Cui Xintang suddenly asked, "Yuanyuan, do you know what day it is today?"

After waiting a moment, seeing Meng Yuanxiao's blank expression, he said, "Today is Brother Tang's birthday."

Meng Yuanxiao was stunned upon hearing this.

Cui Xintang kissed the corner of her lips. "Brother Tang hasn't celebrated his birthday in a long time, and I'm afraid no one remembers that today is my birthday. I didn't care about these things before, but today I suddenly thought about my birthday."