Chapter 122122 Handy

Chapter 122

The fact that she had an illegitimate daughter was suddenly revealed in front of the Queen Mother and other ladies. Jiang was filled with shame and indignation, and was shocked and terrified.

Meng Yuning watched Jiang's expression change, and a light bulb went off in her head. She took advantage of the situation and pressed her again, "Tell me, how did my mother die back then? Did you two team up to kill her?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang was bewildered. Then she realized what was happening and screamed in protest, "Miss, you can't accuse me for no reason!"

Before Jiang could finish her words, there was an uproar in the hall. The noble ladies covered their mouths with their sleeves and cried out in low voices.

"Oh my God! Not only did Jiang have an affair with Minister Meng before the marriage, but she also teamed up with him to kill the original Madam Meng. She is truly vicious."

"I never expected that she would be such a vicious person."

"It's totally shameless..."

When Jiang heard these discussions, her eyes almost spitted fire. She wanted to pounce on these bitches and tear their mouths apart immediately. They had just pushed her forward, but now they were adding insult to injury.

But her hands were in unbearable pain, and she was in the Cining Palace, in front of the Empress Dowager, so she didn't dare to act rashly.

Seeing Meng Yuning staring at her with a sharp gaze, she no longer cared about paying attention to others. She just raised her hands, which were in so much pain that she dared not move them, and hurriedly explained, "Your mother died of illness that year. It has nothing to do with me."

Jiang's face was so swollen that her true features could not be seen, nor could her expression be seen clearly. But Meng Yuning saw that she dared to look him in the eye and did not avoid his gaze, so she did not seem to be lying.

But she still asked sarcastically, "Since Meng Jingru is your illegitimate child before marriage and you've kept it a secret until now, how can I trust you?"

Jiang knelt on the ground, looking up at the girl whom she had beaten, scolded and humiliated in the past, who was now questioning her in a condescending manner.

At this moment, she didn't care about the dignity and respect of an elder at all. She only felt her heart beating like a drum and cold sweat soaking her clothes. She secretly regretted that she shouldn't have entered the palace today and was charged with murder for no reason.

She hurriedly explained, "Young lady, please understand. Before your mother passed away, I only saw her once from a distance on the street. We never even spoke to each other. How could I possibly have killed her?"

Meng Yuning felt that she couldn't easily believe the words of such a vicious person. She sneered, "It doesn't matter if you don't admit it. I will go to the Heavenly Prison later to meet your good daughter and your two good sons."

"Back then, I was treated harshly in the Meng Mansion, and Your Highness Prince Shen is well aware of this. If I 'accidentally' crippled or killed either of your precious daughter or son, I believe Your Highness would never blame me."

After saying that, he turned around and looked at the Queen Mother: "Grandmother, don't you agree?"

The Queen Mother nodded, her eyes loving. "That's all right. If Yan'er dares to blame you, I will take care of it for you."

Meng Yuning smiled and bowed to the Empress Dowager: "Thank you, Grandmother, for your love."

Upon hearing this, Jiang collapsed to the ground, wailing, "Miss, the Madam's death truly had nothing to do with me. Your father was afraid your mother would find out about me, so he repeatedly warned me not to go in front of her. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have had the chance! If you don't believe me, feel free to check!"

At this point, she endured the severe pain, raised her red and swollen hands, and swore to the sky: "I swear to the sky, if I have ever tried to murder my wife, I will die a miserable death!"

Meng Yuning said nothing and just looked at her quietly.

Seeing this, Jiang hurriedly reiterated her oath: "If I tell even a single lie, let me and my three children be struck by lightning."

Meng Yu observed her expression, knowing that this must be the truth. She remained silent for a moment before nodding, "I'll believe you this time. Go back and take care of the two things I just told you to do."

Jiang was as if she had been pardoned, and she kowtowed repeatedly: "Yes, yes! I'll go back and take care of it right away!" She was so scared that she even changed her address.

Upon seeing this, Eunuch Song led the eunuchs forward and asked all the distraught ladies to leave the hall.

The palace door slowly closed, and silence returned to the room. Meng Yuning returned to the Empress Dowager and said with a hint of embarrassment, "Just now, I borrowed the Empress Dowager's authority. Please don't blame me."

The Queen Mother, eyes full of love, pulled her to her side. The more she looked at her, the happier she became. "I originally thought you were a kind-hearted and gentle girl, but now I know you possess such courage and skill. You know how to relax and act with moderation, and how to advance and retreat appropriately. From now on, I can rest assured that I will hand over the affairs of the palace to you."

Meng Yuning's eyebrows curved with praise, and her smile was as beautiful as a flower: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother is too kind."

The Queen Mother feigned displeasure as she glanced at her. "What a clever creature! When you need me, you call me 'Grandmother' all the time, but when you don't need me, you become so distant. You deserve a beating."

Cai Yuezhao was listening with a smile on her face. Upon hearing this, she raised her hand and slapped An Ning's butt twice: "Empress Dowager, let Azhao teach her a lesson for you!"

Meng Yuning turned around and was about to hit Cai Yuezhao, but Cai Yuezhao had already jumped away laughing. Watching the two girls chasing and laughing in the palace, the Queen Mother couldn't stop laughing and shook her head repeatedly: "What a pair of naughty monkeys."

---

Jiang's face and hands were in pain, and she staggered out of the Cining Palace with the crowd.

The biting cold wind blew towards her, and she was shocked to realize that her inner clothes had already been soaked with cold sweat. She couldn't help shivering, but she didn't dare to stop. She had to bear the pain and follow the eunuch to the palace gate.

By the time he left the palace, his teeth were chattering from the cold, his legs could no longer move, and he fell to the ground. The ladies who were traveling with him avoided him as if he were a snake or scorpion.

It was the maids and servants of the Meng Mansion who saw it and hurried over to help her up. When they saw the miserable state of her face and hands, they were all horrified and hurriedly helped her onto the carriage.

The maid wrapped Jiang tightly in a brocade quilt and urged the driver to hurry to the clinic. But Jiang struggled, shaking her head, trembling, and said, "Go back home."

When she returned to the Meng residence, she immediately called her trusted maid and hoarsely ordered, "Hurry to the farm and respectfully invite Yuzhu back."

He didn't even bother to apply medicine to treat his wounds. He held on for a breath and watched the servants count the dowry of his first wife.

---

Meng Yuning and Cai Yuezhao stayed with the Empress Dowager in the Cining Palace and spent most of the day peacefully.

In the evening, the Meng family indeed sent someone to bring the maid Yuzhu into the palace. Meng Yuning asked Mu Ying and Meng Jin to go to the palace gate together and take Yuzhu to the side hall of the Cining Palace.

In Meng Yuning's memory, Yuzhu had fair skin, was pretty and dignified, and had a graceful demeanor.

But the person before her, though wearing a brand new dress, had dark skin and a gaunt figure. A hideous scar ran across her left cheek, and her exposed hands were covered in cracked, bloody wounds. She cringed timidly, kneeling down to greet him as soon as she entered, not even daring to raise her head.

This girl has suffered so much in the past few years.

Seeing her like this, Meng Yuning felt so distressed that she hurried forward, took her hand, helped her up, and said softly, "Yuzhu, don't be afraid, I'm back."

Yuzhu was stunned, and suddenly raised her head, looking at the person in front of her in disbelief. After a long while, she finally recognized her, hugged Meng Yuning, and burst into tears: "Girl, girl, you are still alive, you are still alive."

Today, she was chopping firewood on the farm when she saw the carriage from the mansion coming. The maidservant beside Jiang got off the carriage with two maids. Without saying a word, they put her on the carriage and took her directly back to the mansion.

Then he let her take a bath, changed her into new clothes and new shoes, and put a gold hairpin in her hair. Then he pulled her into the carriage and sent her to the palace.

From beginning to end, no matter how she asked, the servants in the Meng Mansion remained silent and did not say a word.

She entered the palace trembling with fear and was met by two girls who called themselves Mu Ying and Meng Jin. They said they were taking her to see their daughter. She thought it was a summons from some noble, not knowing the true meaning, and was terrified all the way.

But she never expected that her own daughter, who was said by those vicious old women in Meng Mansion to have "died on the road long ago", would stand alive in front of her.

This is truly God’s will!

Meng Yuning was hugged tightly by the frail girl, and her eyes became hot. She hugged her back, but didn't dare to respond to her. She only patted her back gently: "Yuzhu, don't be afraid, I will protect you from now on."

Yuzhu cried bitterly, and then gradually stopped crying. She looked at Meng Yuning anxiously: "Miss, how have you been these years? When you were sent away like that, I thought you..."

Before he could finish his words, he choked up and couldn't speak.

Yuzhu was bought to accompany the two-year-old Meng Yuning when she was four years old. The master and servant grew up together. During the years when she was tortured by Jiang, the master and servant accompanied and supported each other, and their friendship had long surpassed that of an ordinary master and servant.

It can be said that the person who knows Meng Yuning best in this world is Yuzhu.

Meng Yuning didn't dare to talk in depth about the past with Yuzhu. She just briefly mentioned her experiences in the past few years. After making her feel at ease, she changed the subject and asked about Yuzhu.

Unexpectedly, Yuzhu changed her timidity when she entered the room just now, looked at her with sparkling eyes and smiled, "Compared with the sufferings that young lady has endured, my suffering is nothing."

Meng Yuning's heart softened, and she reached out and touched the scar on her face: "Who did this?"

Yuzhu shook her head and smiled. "It was that scoundrel son of the village head. He tried to bully me time and again. I couldn't kill him because he was under my roof, so I scratched my face right in front of him. The coward was scared and has been avoiding me ever since."

Meng Yuning gritted her teeth in anger: "Don't worry, I will definitely help you avenge this grudge."

Yuzhu held Meng Yuning's hand affectionately and said, "Why dirty your hands, young lady? That idiot would have fallen into the cesspool and drowned long ago."

Meng Yuning looked at Yuzhu's sparkling eyes, feeling her gentle pinching of her fingers. She suddenly recalled her memory, when she was a child, Meng Yuning was bullied, and Yuzhu secretly climbed out of the yard at night and did some things to help her vent her anger. Then she pinched Meng Yuning's fingers like this, and then the two little girls smiled at each other.

She immediately understood that it was no accident that the idiot fell into the cesspool.

She laughed out loud and patted Yuzhu's arm: "Good Yuzhu, you are really great!"

Yuzhu also smiled and leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Don't worry, young lady. I haven't suffered any big losses in these years. Even if I did suffer a small loss, I would have recovered it with interest long ago."

After saying this, her eyes turned red again: "Three years ago, I was useless and couldn't protect you. From now on, I will definitely protect you at all costs."

Looking at this resilient girl, Meng Yuning felt a pang of pain in her heart and nodded solemnly: "Okay."

Then he called Mu Ying, Mu Li, Qiu Lian and Meng Jin and introduced them to each other.

When everyone heard about what Yuzhu had gone through over the years, they felt both admiration and pity for her. They came forward to hold her hands and comfort her, telling her to stay and rest assured that they would take good care of her.

Meng Yuning was still very relieved about the girls around her. She nodded with satisfaction and pulled Yuzhu aside, saying, "Qiulian will help you take a look at the scar on your face later. If Qiulian can't heal it, ask Doctor Tang to come and take a look. He will definitely be able to remove it."

"Also, you're too thin now. How are you going to protect me in this state? So, in the next few months, your mission is to take good care of yourself and gain some weight."

Tears glistened in Yuzhu's eyes, and she nodded vigorously: "I will listen to you, young lady."

Meng Yuning gave some instructions to Meng Jin and the others, asking them to take good care of Yuzhu, and then asked them to take her downstairs to settle her down.

After Yuzhu left reluctantly, Meng Yuning felt mixed emotions and sighed softly.

---

As the night deepened, Meng Yuning and Cai Yuezhao remained in the side hall. Having learned from last night's experience, Meng Yuning did not go to bed. Instead, wrapped in a thick fox fur coat, she sat on the warm couch and waited quietly.

Cai Yuezhao reached out and gently poked her blushing cheek, saying with a smile, "See how anxious you are. Take off your cloak first and cover yourself up to sweat."

As he said this, he pretended to pull the collar.

Meng Yuning hurriedly grasped her collar tightly and refused to let go: "Your Highness will come to see me soon."

Cai Yuezhao laughed heartily. Meng Yuning raised her hand to pat her: "I'll see how fast you run when the young marquis comes looking for you."

The two were laughing and rolling around on the couch when they heard a deep voice outside the window: "A Ning?"

Meng Yuning let go of Cai Yuezhao, jumped to the ground, ran out with a thud, opened the door, and threw herself into Qi Jingyan's arms: "Yunzhou, are you done?"

Qi Jingyan smiled with her starry eyes: "Yes, I just finished my work and came to see you."

Meng Yuning chuckled and whispered, "I've been missing you for a long time."

Before she could finish her words, she felt something grunting and squeezing between her and Qi Jingyan. She looked down and saw that it was Xiao Yier.

Meng Yuning's face immediately flushed, and she pushed Qi Jingyan away, rolling her eyes at him. "Yier is here too, why didn't you say anything?"

Qi Jingyan smiled but said nothing.

Yi'er squeezed in between the two of them, tilting her head back: "An Ning, do you miss Yi'er?"

Meng Yuning bent down and hugged Yi'er, purring on his hooded little head: "I miss you. Aning misses our Yi'er the most."

Yier hugged An Ning's waist: "Yier misses An Ning too. Yier hasn't seen An Ning for twelve hours. Last night, brother came to see An Ning without Yier, and tonight brother tried to sneak away again, but Yier caught him."

Meng Yuning didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She picked up the aggrieved little guy and put her cheek against his. "After a while, An Ning will still help Yi'er sleep at night, okay?"

The little guy nodded: "Brother said that I can go back to the Cining Palace to sleep the day after tomorrow."

The child in the cloak was a bit heavy, and Meng Yuning couldn't hold him. He was about to fall. Qi Jingyan quickly reached out and supported Yi'er, then asked in a gentle voice, "How was your day? Did anything happen?"

Meng Yuning couldn't wait to tell him about today's battle with Jiang and how she had brought Yuzhu back home. After that, she looked up and asked proudly, "Am I awesome?"

Yi'er was the first to nod: "A Ning is the most amazing."

Qi Jingyan also nodded in agreement: "Amazing."

Meng Yuning smiled and asked, "How's it going, Your Highness? Is everything going well?"

Qi Jingyan nodded: "Everything went well."

In order not to ruin the warm atmosphere at the moment, Meng Yuning didn't ask any further questions: "That's good."

With Yi'er around, the two of them couldn't do much, so the three of them chatted for a while before Meng Yuning sent them away: "It's freezing cold, go back and rest."

The two of them walked away, looking back every few steps.

---

The next day, Meng Yuning sent Yuzhu to take Meng Jin and Meng Yin, and Mu Ying, who was guarding them with a sword, went to the Meng Mansion to count the dowry and retrieve the old things.

With Yuzhu, who was well-informed about the inside story, in charge, the smart and capable Meng Jin and Meng Yin assisting, and Mu Ying standing with a stern face and a sword in hand, the dowry finally brought back was no less than what was needed.

Yuzhu took advantage of the situation and caused chaos in the Meng Mansion, venting all her years of resentment, and won a great victory.

Meng Yuning naturally praised them highly and rewarded them generously.

After that, the empress dowager issued an edict exempting the concubines from paying respects and strictly forbade them from moving around freely. The entire harem became unusually quiet.

Meng Yuning stayed in the Cining Palace with peace of mind, and spent the whole day with Cai Yuezhao, accompanying the empress dowager to eat, play cards, and chat about family matters.

Whenever the Empress Dowager was handling palace affairs, she would always bring Meng Yuning with her to teach her. Meng Yuning was unfamiliar at first, but gradually became proficient in the work, and the Empress Dowager gradually let go of her.

Half a month later, Meng Yuning was basically able to make decisions on ordinary palace affairs on her own, and the empress dowager was very pleased.

That night, Qi Jingyan arrived as promised, and the two of them hugged each other in front of the window, whispering in the cold wind.

As usual, Meng Yuning first recounted her three meals a day and trivial matters in the palace, and then Qi Jingyan talked about the developments of the previous dynasty.

Meng Yuning was keenly aware that the usually calm and composed man was in high spirits tonight. He hugged her and kissed her non-stop, with a smile that could not be hidden in the corners of his eyes and brows.

She couldn't help but hold his face gently with both hands and asked curiously: "What's the good news?"

Qi Jingyan also held her face in his hands, his eyes shining brightly: "A Ning, I am going to ascend the throne."

Meng Yuning was attracted by his bewitching eyes, and asked absentmindedly, "What are you going to do?"

Qi Jingyan chuckled: "Ascend the throne."

Meng Yuning was stunned, thinking she must have misheard. She kept asking, "Ascend the throne? Ascend which throne? Who wants to ascend the throne?"