Chapter 31 Letting Go

As soon as Guan Yi'an carried Meng Huanyan out of the Meng residence, Meng Huanyan weakly questioned, "You had already planned this all along, so that I would take the blame if things were exposed? What kind of man are you? When I was about to be beaten to death, you didn't say a word. Who are you pretending for now?"

Meng Huanyan's entire back and buttocks were burning with pain. She had managed to stay upright until now only because of her strong will to keep going.

She didn't want to be as weak as her mother in front of Du Shiyin and Meng Lingge. As long as she didn't bow her head or faint, she felt that she hadn't lost!

Although I kept telling myself this, the pain in my heart was still suffocating, even more intense than the physical pain.

She resented that the group of江湖 (jianghu) men were not skilled enough, which caused the plan to fail.

She hated Qiaozhu for being useless, leaving the medicine unused as evidence, which led to her being caught red-handed.

She hated her father for being so cruel, beating her half to death and threatening to sever ties with her.

She hated her mother for being spineless and only knowing how to kneel and beg for mercy.

She hated Du Shiyin and Meng Lingge even more for being so blessed by heaven. Such a grand scheme only resulted in the death of a beast, making it even more difficult to deal with them in the future.

But what she hated most was Guan Yi'an, who took the blame for her and stood by her to her death.

The actions of everyone else were within her expectations, but Guan Yi'an's behavior shocked and angered her.

She always considered herself exceptionally beautiful and quite perceptive of people's hearts. She believed that with her beauty and intelligence, she could make Guan Yi'an listen to her every word and obey her every whim.

Guan Yi'an's willingness to leave Meng Lingge on his wedding day to date her, and his agreement to her plan today, are proof enough of this. But now she knows she was wrong.

Guan Yi'an didn't care about her that much, or even at all. Otherwise, he wouldn't have just taken her as a concubine, nor would he have let her be mercilessly beaten by her father.

This realization was more devastating and heartbreaking for her than the failure of her plan today, since her greatest skill was to seduce the man she admired in order to live the life she wanted.

Now that she has lost everything, she realizes that this man was not bewitched by her and does not care about her at all.

How could she possibly let this go?

Then she recalled what her mother had said when she left home today: "Your elder sister's dowry stretches for miles and is countless. As a concubine's daughter, our Guan family won't ask for much; a few thousand taels of silver will suffice. If you can't even manage that much, then you'd better be quick with your chores from now on. The Guan family doesn't support idlers!"

Now, not only had she failed to obtain the silver notes, but her father had also severed ties with her, and she didn't know how Old Granny Guan would treat her. Thinking of this, she became so anxious and vomited blood again.

Guan Yi'an, seeing that Meng Huanyan was no longer of any use, had no desire to coax or persuade her anymore.

But Meng Huanyan's current situation is indeed too tragic. Even a day of marriage is worth a hundred days of kindness. Thinking of the flower-like person just three days ago, and then looking at the pale face of the person in his arms, it awakened the little pity he had left.

Furthermore, although Meng Xingyuan had severed ties with Meng Huanyan today, he knew that Meng Xingyuan still harbored some feelings for Meng Huanyan. If he were to ignore Meng Huanyan now and allow her to die from her injuries, Meng Xingyuan would definitely hold him accountable.

Even if we can't win over Meng Xingyuan as a backer, we absolutely cannot offend this important figure.

Therefore, Meng Huanyan is not bringing him any benefits at the moment, but he cannot ignore her.

He thought he had found a beautiful wife, but now it seems she's become a big problem.

Guan Yi'an, with a sullen face, carried Meng Huanyan onto the carriage and said apologetically with a patient tone, "It was Meng Lingge who was too cunning. She called Fenjiao Ti a Chuanchang San. You and those thieves were eager to prove yourselves, so you all fell into her trap. In that situation, it wasn't that I didn't want to save you, but if I had spoken up, they would have thought we were in cahoots, and my father-in-law would have been even angrier."

"And I did do something. I secretly had my men notify Aunt Lu and asked her to come and save you."

“It’s not that I can’t share the consequences with you, but that’s the worst possible option. If you did it, your father-in-law will handle it at home. If I did it, he’ll take it to the authorities, and my future will be ruined. I’ll lose my job. I don’t care what happens to me, but I can’t let you live a hard life with me, I can’t let you lose everything!”

His eyes were full of sincerity and pity, and there was no pretense in them.

Meng Huanyan opened her mouth, clearly having plenty to say in rebuttal, but ultimately remained silent.

She didn't believe much of Guan Yi'an's nonsense, but what else could she do but believe it now?

Her father doesn't want her anymore, and her mother is timid and afraid of trouble. Whether she can get over it or not, the only person she can rely on now is the man in front of her.

As long as Guan Yi'an is willing to continue to treat her well, she still has a chance.

Guan Yi'an is the top scholar in the imperial examination, and he will rise steadily in rank. When he reaches a position that his father dares not underestimate, that will be the time for him to finally hold his head high.

It doesn't matter that Guan Yi'an doesn't care about her now. There's plenty of time. As long as she stays calm, she'll win this man's heart sooner or later.

Anyway, she's already on Guan Yi'an's ship, so she's going to stay on it no matter what.

Complaining and arguing now is useless. It's better to make good use of the injury and tenderness to increase Guan Yi'an's guilt and lay the foundation for the future.

Thinking this, she leaned against Guan Yi'an's chest, letting out a soft groan of pain before gently saying, "Husband, it hurts so much... I shouldn't have doubted you. I was in so much pain that I started thinking these things. Now that I'm no longer a member of the Prime Minister's household, Mother must be very disappointed. I don't know how she will treat me..."

Guan Yi'an was also troubled when he heard this, but he still held her hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

Having received his promise, Meng Huaiyan finally felt a little better. With this relief, the last bit of strength she had been holding on for reached its limit, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.

Guan Yi'an paused, his eyes turning icy cold.

The carriage traveled all the way to the Guan family's residence. Guan Yi'an carried Meng Huaiyan back to her room and then called for a doctor.

Originally, he wanted to keep it a secret from Guan's parents, but when Guan's mother saw that he had returned so quickly and that Meng Huaiyan had blood on him, she asked his men about it. She learned that Meng Huaiyan had severed ties with the Meng family, and immediately came to his door in anger.

Ignoring whether the unconscious Meng Huaiyan could hear her, she launched into a tirade: "Useless slut! You came to my house without any betrothal or marriage, and I knew you were unwanted. And now, after only a few days, your family has cut ties with you. Fine, they've cut ties, but at least bring something with you! You came with nothing but injuries. What shameful, dirty thing have you done?"

Seeing Guan Yi'an still taking off Meng Huanyan's shoes and covering her with a blanket, she pointed at Guan Yi'an and said, "Yan'er, are you confused! You don't want a proper noble lady, but instead you've chosen this worthless vixen. She's just an orphan with no family now, what's so special about her? As your mother says, you don't need to worry about her anymore. If this vixen dies, just bury her. If she's not dead, she can be used as a maid. Don't let this thing delay your chance to become a noble lady!"