Chapter 42: Raising an Army to Punish the Crime

The curtain of the carriage was lifted by the accompanying maid. Qiandeng was obviously waiting for him. She got out of the carriage when he called her.

The driver set up the bench, and Meng Lanxi raised her hands to greet her, letting her hold his hands and get off the carriage.

His voice was low and slightly fluctuating: "Thank you, County Master, for seeking justice for my mother and me."

"I don't have the ability to do that. It's because Cui Shaoqing wanted to help you that he dug up some old scores." Her voice was low, but it couldn't hide the gentle soothing tone within. "Let's go. The Changhua Palace will redeem you and your son for all the injustices you've endured over the past decade."

The old scandal had been exposed before the entire Chang'an community, leaving the entire Meng family in disgrace. Now the county lord had come personally to support the biggest victim, Meng Lanxi, and everyone in the family was trembling with fear. Even the person who was supposed to welcome the county lord into the hall and take her seat stumbled over the threshold and nearly fell flat on their face.

Qiandeng sat down at the main seat, took the tea offered and smelled its fragrance. He neither spoke nor sipped the tea, his expression only slightly gloomy.

The Meng family stood in front of the hall, not daring to make a sound.

After a long while, the clan leader finally mustered up his courage and tremblingly walked up to Qiandeng on his crutches. He bowed and said, "The County Lady has graced our presence. Our entire Meng clan is honored to be here. We are overwhelmed with honor. I wonder if the County Lady has any instructions?"

"I dare not. The Meng family, founded on farming and studying, rose from Dongting Lake and flourished in the Central Plains. Today, we are a well-known and prestigious family. Therefore, the court has selected a young man from your family as one of the candidates for my husband."

Qian Deng's voice was not loud, but everyone could hear the dissatisfaction in his words.

"I had assumed that the court and the Changhua Palace had chosen the Meng clan's nephews as candidates, and that your family would be grateful and take good care of the candidates. But today, I learned that the Meng clan had treated the candidates for the Changhua Palace's husband so harshly, bullying orphans and widows, and mistreating the less privileged members of your clan. I wonder if your entire clan even cares about the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Palace Bureau, and the court. And what place do you hold the Changhua Palace and the Princess of Lingling County in?

"County Lady, please calm down! The Meng family's traditions are not right. It is because of my old age and stupidity that I am unable to manage the affairs of the clan, and as a result, the young and weak in the clan have been bullied. I am guilty! I hope the County Lady will calm down. The Meng family will strictly rectify the family's traditions and will never tolerate those who make mistakes!"

The old patriarch admitted his mistake with tears in his eyes, and the Meng clan members trembled and agreed.

Qian Deng's expression eased slightly, and she said, "Since that's the case, I will not report Meng Lanxi's matter to the court for now. I believe that your clan will quickly eradicate these bad habits, so that the people of Chang'an and even the world will not criticize you, the Meng family. However, the grievances that mother and son have suffered over the years cannot be in vain..."

"Yes! Yes! The Meng family feels guilty towards the imperial court and our ancestors. We will do our utmost to make amends. From now on, we will re-settle the family's accounts and investigate all the debts we have incurred over the years. We will definitely satisfy Twelve-year-old and the county lady!"

Qiandeng finally nodded, looked up at Meng Lanxi who was standing beside him, and smiled at him.

Meng Lanxi looked at her light smile and wanted to respond with the kind of gentle and humble smile that he was best at - that was the attitude he had developed since childhood and was most conducive to the survival of an orphan child, the attitude of pleasing the world -

But in the end, he failed to perform that programmed laugh.

He suppressed the warmth welling up in his eyes, pursed his lips, forgot about his most adorable dimples, and simply bowed deeply to the county lady to express his gratitude.

After drinking tea, Qiandeng did not leave. He took the time to call Uncle Meng and his family over, asked them about Meng Lanxi's childhood, and took the opportunity to see the place where the mother and son lived.

In reality, their uncle's family had taken them in, just to give them a meal in the backyard. Furthermore, because Madam Meng was so beautiful, she was feared by their aunt, and their situation was even worse. Their cramped, low house was barely better than a woodshed.

Seeing the county lady's grim expression, the Meng family members trembled. Qian Deng turned around and gestured to Meng Lanxi, "I think the clan leader and elders are old, so they don't need to accompany me anymore. You haven't been with the clan for a long time, so go down with them and chat and get acquainted with each other outside."

After Meng Lanxi and the others left, only the uncle and aunt of the Meng family were left in the dilapidated side courtyard. Qian Deng spoke directly, not wanting to bother with them: "I came here today because I want to know some of Mr. Meng's background. You two are his relatives, and they and their mother once lived here. I believe you should know the most about it."

"Yes, yes, please ask, County Lady." Uncle Meng was frightened and hurriedly explained, "You can't believe all the slander from outside. How could we embezzle so much of the family's allowance? We provide them with food and clothing as usual. We dare not treat them unfairly..."

Qian Deng was too lazy to listen to him and asked, "Do you know the specific situation about Meng Lanxi's mother?"

Upon hearing this, the couple looked at each other in bewilderment. The uncle hesitated and said, "Speaking of which, we really don't know much about your sister-in-law's origins... I just remember that eighteen years ago, my cousin went to the northwest alone to sell tea. When he came back, he brought her with him, saying that she was alone and helpless, so she followed him. The two of them burned incense and kowtowed at the ancestral hall, then hurried across the road and soon returned together to the old house in Dongting."

Aunt Meng curled her lips and said, "By the end of the year, the good news came. It was said that a baby was born, and it was Twelve Lang."

The northwest is bitterly cold, and caravans usually only travel back and forth after April or May. It seems that, as Qiandeng guessed, Meng Lanxi was already in her womb before her father and mother got married.

She didn't mention this matter, but only asked: "So, when did Madam Meng bring Meng Lanxi to Chang'an to seek refuge with you?"

"It was... thirteen years ago, when Twelve Lang was about six. There were days of heavy rain and landslides, and my cousin, his aunt, their house, their tea garden were all buried. All their property was gone, and the orphan and his widowed mother came to seek refuge with the master's family. Because I was closest to my cousin's family and my home was relatively spacious, the clan entrusted them to me..."

At this point, Uncle Meng looked at the two cramped, shabby houses in front of him, and no matter how thick-skinned he was, he couldn't help feeling embarrassed and lowered his voice.

Aunt Meng said confidently, "My family raised them here for four or five years, but then my sister-in-law took the child and moved out. She never appreciated our taking her in, and never even visited during the holidays. It was like we were no longer related. So, we really don't know what became of Twelve Lang later."

Uncle Meng glared at his wife secretly and quickly added, "We've provided them with food and shelter while they're here, and they've never lacked for food and clothing. When I buy fruit and snacks for my son Yongshun, I always leave some for Shi Erlang. I've never treated him unfairly!"

Qiandeng smiled, knowing that it was just what Meng Yongshun had left over, and it was also their greatest gift to Meng Lanxi and her son.

"Come to think of it, I've heard some rumors. I heard that Madam Meng took Meng Lanxi away because your family didn't accept you."

Uncle Meng felt a chill on his back: "County Lady, you are joking. How could such a thing happen! That thing... that thing..."

Seeing that he seemed at a loss for words, Aunt Meng simply said, "My Lady, you don't know. It's my sister-in-law who's restless and loves to mingle. She happened to come out during a grand banquet at home and fell in love with someone. It wasn't until she suddenly told us she wanted to move out that we learned someone had found her a place to live. She's just my widowed sister-in-law, temporarily staying with us. Now that she's found a new place, why would we stop asking about her? So, we stopped communicating!"

Uncle Meng quickly agreed, "Yes, the county lady is wise. You can't write two Meng characters with one stroke. They are really pitiful mother and son. How could we treat her and Twelve Lang unfairly?"

The couple sang the same tune and their attitude was full of sincerity. If Qiandeng had not heard the dispute between Uncle Meng and Meng Lanxi at Zhuangzi that day, he might have actually believed his lies.

She blew the foam off the tea, too lazy to expose them, and only asked: "So, do you know who Madam Meng will depend on for living after she moves out?"