Chapter 55 "Sister Li will take care of you".
Meng Yuanxiao didn't know how she got back to the backyard. Once inside the room, she closed the door, leaving Cui Xintang outside.
Everything in this room was something she had added little by little, and seeing it now, and remembering Miss Lin's words, she only felt extremely uncomfortable.
Cui Xintang stood silently outside the door; Meng Yuanxiao didn't know when he had left.
When she woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky. Hongshao said carefully, "Miss, the young master went to the yamen. Before he left, he told me to stay at the mansion for a day, and he would come back to keep you company as soon as he finished his business."
Meng Yuanxiao ignored her and only instructed Hongshao to organize the storeroom keys and account books, and take them with her to the main courtyard.
When she saw her coming, Madam Wu was not surprised, but her expression changed when she saw the account book and key that Hongshao was holding.
"What is Yuanyuan doing?"
Meng Yuanxiao said, "These are the account books and keys that my mother-in-law gave to me. However, I am really stupid and not capable of this task, so I am returning them to you, Mother. From now on, I ask my mother-in-law to continue to manage all the affairs of the household, or find a capable person to do it for me."
Madam Wu glanced at her and coldly ordered Hongshao, "You go out first."
Hong Shao hesitated for a moment, but dared not disobey, so she had no choice but to put down her things and leave.
After Hongshao left, Madam Wu finally spoke, "We've already gone along with you regarding the cloth matter. What more does Yuanyuan want?"
Looking at Wu's face, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but recall Lin Qiyun's words from yesterday, as well as Steward Lin's face.
Her disgust intensified, and she simply said, "Your daughter-in-law has not been back to the Meng residence for a long time and misses her mother. She would like to return to the Meng residence for a few days. Please take care, Mother-in-law."
Just as she was about to leave, Madam Wu said, "Stop!"
Madam Wu said in a deep voice, "If you want to go back to the Meng residence, you can go back tomorrow. Your mother-in-law will not stop you. The Meng residence has not been peaceful these days. If you go back to the Meng residence in a huff today, your mother-in-law will definitely overthink it and worry about you."
After saying that, he instructed Granny Cao: "Send the young mistress back to her room and find a few people to give her some good advice."
Meng Yuanxiao's face paled. "Mother-in-law, what do you mean by this?"
Madam Wu said, "With your eldest son not in the house, are you leaving like this to make people think that I, your mother-in-law, am mistreating you?"
Granny Cao gently advised, "Young Madam, please don't be angry with the First Madam. The First Madam is only doing this for your and the Eldest Young Master's sake. This old servant will take you back to rest."
Meng Yuanxiao took a step back in alarm. Just as they were locked in a tense standoff, Qin's voice suddenly came from the courtyard. "Is sister-in-law there?"
Meng Yuanxiao was tense. Qin strode in from outside and said, "Sister-in-law, I've come to discuss Erlang's marriage with you."
After saying that, she came in and saw the people in the room. Qin Shi looked surprised. "Yuanyuan is here too. Just now, a servant told me that the second young master of the Meng family had come to see Yuanyuan. He is waiting in the front yard!"
Upon hearing her second brother's name, Meng Yuanxiao breathed a sigh of relief. She glanced at Wu Shi with disgust, then turned and ran out without a second thought.
When they arrived at the front yard, Meng Zheng was sitting on the porch with his legs crossed, talking to a servant from the Cui family.
He was boasting again, and the servant was quite intimidated, shouting "Young Master Meng is mighty!"
Meng Yuanxiao composed herself before stepping forward. Meng Zheng glanced at her and said, "Oh, let me see if this young mistress of the Cui family still remembers your second brother? Tsk, you've really made something of yourself. You haven't gone home to see your second brother in so long."
Meng Yuanxiao forced a smile, "Second Brother, I just told my mother-in-law that I wanted to go back to the Meng residence for a few days, and here you are!"
Meng Zheng looked surprised, but didn't think much of it. "Second brother isn't on duty today. I just happened to pass by the Cui residence and came in to see you. Come on, let's go back to the Meng residence together."
Upon arriving at the Meng residence, Meng Zheng alighted first, stood in front of the carriage, and glanced at her with a smile, "Would you like your second brother to carry you?"
Aside from their wedding, Meng Zheng hadn't carried her on his back for a long time. With no servants in the front yard, Meng Yuanxiao's eyes lit up. "Yes!"
After saying that, she climbed onto her second brother's back.
Meng Zheng lifted her up a bit to steady her, and asked, "Now that you're married, life at your in-laws' house isn't as comfortable as it used to be, is it?"
Meng Yuanxiao felt wronged but was afraid her second brother would notice, so she hummed a few times, "Second brother, I've finally come back, can you please not say these things?"
"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. I'm too lazy to even mention your second brother's surname, Cui."
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
"Should we go see Mother first?" Meng Zheng asked.
Hearing her mother's name, Meng Yuanxiao's eyes welled up with tears. She rested her head on her second brother's shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "No."
When Cui Xintang arrived at the Meng residence in the afternoon, Meng Yuanxiao and Meng Zheng were fishing in the pavilion by the pond in the garden.
Cui Xintang came over from the front and heard Yuanyuan shouting from afar, "Second brother, it's all your fault! You chased all my fish away!"
Meng Zheng sat casually to the side, his voice no less loud than Meng Yuanxiao's, "You just said the same thing. I switched places with you, and you still couldn't catch anything. Whose fault is that?"
Meng Yuanxiao got angry, threw down his fishing rod, ran over, grabbed a handful of fish food, and threw it into the pond.
The fish all swarmed towards the bait, naturally not biting the hook. Meng Zheng gritted his teeth, pretending to hit her, while Meng Yuanxiao chuckled and hid to the side.
Seeing the people having a good time, Cui Xintang felt a little relieved.
When he arrived at the pavilion and saw him, Meng Yuanxiao's smile immediately vanished.
Cui Xintang paused for a moment, looked at her for a while, then glanced down at the empty wooden bucket beside her and the bucket on Meng Zheng's side that already contained several fat fish, and said, "You keep moving around, you've scared the fish away, how can they take the bait?"
As he spoke, he bent down, took the fishing rod from her hand, and helped her adjust it.
When he went to get the fishing rod, his hand inevitably touched Meng Yuanxiao's hand.
Meng Yuanxiao immediately threw down his fishing rod, got up and ran to Meng Zheng's side, "Second brother, let me count how many fish you caught."
Cui Xintang: "..."
Meng Zheng raised his hand and tapped Meng Yuanxiao on the head. "Heh, here comes your backer. You're here to steal your second brother's fish again?"
“Who cares to steal your fish,” Meng Yuanxiao snorted, and after counting the fish in the wooden bucket, he said, “Second Brother, I want to eat the fish you grill.”
Meng Zheng shooed her away, "If you want grilled fish, send your man to get it."
Meng Yuanxiao remained silent.
Cui Xintang, watching from the side, said, "Yuanyuan, stop bothering your second brother. Are you still going fishing?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Zheng was so startled he nearly dropped his fishing rod. He picked at his ear and exclaimed in surprise, "Has Young Master Cui taken the wrong medicine today? He's calling me Second Brother?"
The servant chuckled and said, "Second Young Master, you heard me right, didn't the young master just call you Second Brother?"
"Really? The sun is rising in the west?" Meng Zheng pretended to look up at the sun in the west. "That's right, the sun is still setting in the west."
Cui Xintang ignored Meng Zheng and focused his gaze only on Meng Yuanxiao.
Meng Yuanxiao pursed her lips, not even glancing at him, and walked back to his side, saying in a muffled voice, "I'm not fishing anymore."
After saying that, he reached out to reel in the fishing rod.
Her movements were somewhat clumsy and filled with anger. Afraid of hurting her, Cui Xintang took the fishing rod from her hand and said, "I'll do it."
After carefully putting it away for her, he handed it to a servant standing nearby, then looked at her and asked, "Going back?"
Meng Zheng said nonchalantly, "Go ahead, go ahead, I'll catch up with you in a bit."
Meng Yuanxiao walked away silently for a while, and when Cui Xintang reached out to take her hand, she instinctively avoided him.
Cui Xintang's hand froze in mid-air as he looked down at her.
Meng Yuanxiao looked down at her toes: "Brother Tang, I don't want to go back to the Cui residence."
“Okay, then Brother Tang will stay at the Meng residence with you tonight,” Cui Xintang said.
He was still trying to coax her when Meng Yuanxiao almost burst into tears. She looked up at him and said, "Brother Tang, I don't want to go back to the Cui family mansion anymore, and I don't want to live with you anymore."
She wanted to say "divorce," but she couldn't bring herself to say those two words in front of her brother Tang.
Cui Xintang froze for a moment before finally saying, "Does Yuanyuan know what she's saying?"
Meng Yuanxiao remained silent. Cui Xintang paused for a moment, then said, "The Lin family's affairs..."
His expression was complicated, as if he was having difficulty speaking. After a long while, he finally said, "When we get back, Brother Tang will tell you everything."
Meng Yuanxiao asked, "So, Brother Tang, you really did have the idea of taking Miss Lin as a concubine, didn't you?"
"..." Cui Xintang frowned, about to speak, when Meng Zheng's voice suddenly came from behind, "What are you doing? Bullying my little sister while I was away?"
Meng Yuanxiao could still hold back her tears, but when she heard her second brother's voice, they immediately fell to the ground.
Meng Zheng strode over, and when he saw Meng Yuanxiao crying, his expression immediately changed. "Did that guy surnamed Cui bully you?"
He glanced coldly at Cui Xintang, then raised his hand to wipe away Meng Yuanxiao's tears. "Don't cry. Tell your second brother, and he'll beat him up for you."
Meng Yuanxiao sniffed and tugged at her second brother's sleeve. "Second brother, I'm a little tired. I want to go back."
Cui Xintang remained standing there, clearly intending to stay with her.
Meng Zheng, with a cold face, pointed at him and said, "You, surnamed Cui, you're something else."
After saying this, seeing that he did not leave, she was about to step forward when Meng Yuanxiao stopped her.
Meng Zheng said coldly, "Aren't you leaving? Are you standing here hoping I'll beat you up? If it weren't for my little sister, I would have already taken care of you."
Cui Xintang ignored him and looked at Meng Yuanxiao. After a long while, he said, "I'm sorry to trouble you to take good care of Yuanyuan. I will come to pick her up again tomorrow."
"I wondered why you suddenly called me 'Second Brother'," Meng Zheng sneered. "I would naturally cherish my own little sister. Get lost, I don't even want to see you."
Cui Xintang didn't leave. He stood there watching Meng Yuanxiao and Meng Zheng walk away. He stood there alone for a long time before leaving the Meng residence.
The next afternoon, Meng Yuanxiao went to find his sister-in-law.
Meng Yuanxiao didn't dare let anyone else know that her older brother and sister-in-law were getting a divorce, so she went there quietly by herself.
Upon seeing his sister-in-law, Meng Yuanxiao's eyes welled up with tears.
Li Keying was startled and immediately pulled the person over to hug her. "What's wrong? Did you suffer any injustice at the Cui residence?"
She said, "When I learned you were back yesterday, I wanted to go see you, but I was afraid..."
If she goes to see Yuanyuan at this juncture, her mother-in-law, Madam Feng, will definitely be unhappy.
Li Keying had some idea why Yuanyuan suddenly refused to return to the Meng residence. She couldn't bear to see Yuanyuan suffer any more grievances at her mother-in-law's place because of her.
Meng Yuanxiao hugged his sister-in-law and lingered on her for a while before saying in a muffled voice, "No, I just missed you, sister-in-law."
Li Keying's eyes also reddened. After a pause, she said, "Yuanyuan, my elder brother and sister-in-law have been in the capital for a few days now."
Meng Yuanxiao was stunned for a moment, then immediately sat up straight upon hearing this, "Sister-in-law, you..."
As she spoke, large tears streamed down her face.
Li Keying said, "Meng Xu has been away for the past few days. By the time he returns, you should be going back to Fengzhou."
Meng Yuanxiao didn't say a word, but her tears fell even more fiercely.
She just couldn't understand how her older brother and sister-in-law had ended up like this. She had clearly seen how much her older brother liked her sister-in-law back then. Her older brother was always a steady and upright person, yet he was willing to disregard brotherly affection for her sake.
Li Keying didn't say anything more. After Meng Yuanxiao stopped crying, she raised her hand and pinched her cheek: "Yuanyuan, you don't need to come to see me off, otherwise I'm afraid my sister-in-law will be reluctant to part with me."
Meng Yuanxiao's nose tingled, and she was about to shed tears again, but she tried her best to hold them back.
As they were talking, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Meng Xu entered with a cold face.
Upon seeing his elder brother, Meng Yuanxiao almost didn't recognize him.
Meng Xu had become much thinner, with bruises on his cheeks and lips. His face was blank and he looked extremely disheveled, a stark contrast to the gentle and refined eldest son of the Meng family he had been before.
Meng Yuanxiao swallowed hard. "Big brother, what's wrong with you?"
Meng Xu ignored her and walked up to Li Keying. He stared at Li Keying for a long time with his eyes downcast, and finally smiled and said, "If you really want a divorce, I will grant your wish."
Meng Yuanxiao's heart pounded. He looked at his elder brother and then at his sister-in-law, and stood there stunned for a moment.
Meng Xu seemed to only just notice her. When he turned to look at her, he frowned. "Why aren't you staying at the Cui residence? What are you causing trouble for?"
Meng Yuanxiao had already suffered a grievance, and upon hearing this, tears immediately streamed down her face.
From the moment Meng Xu entered, Li Keying didn't even glance at him. Upon hearing this, she finally raised her eyes and gave him a cold look.
Meng Xu frowned, looked at Li Keying, and said to Meng Yuanxiao, "Cui Xintang is waiting outside, why aren't you going?"
Although Meng Yuanxiao was thick-skinned, she was also very concerned about her reputation. Since her elder brother had said that, she didn't want to stay at the Meng residence any longer, so she immediately swallowed her grievances and got up to leave.
Li Keying stood up immediately after him, and Meng Xu instinctively raised his hand to stop her. Without saying a word, Li Keying slapped Meng Xu across the face.
The crisp sound of a slap landed in Meng Yuanxiao's ears, startling her. She turned around and saw a clear handprint on her elder brother's cheek. She stood there, frowning as she looked at her sister-in-law.
While Meng Yuanxiao was distracted, Li Keying had already walked towards her and led her out.
Once inside the courtyard, Li Keying said, "Yuanyuan, don't pay any attention to your older brother. He just had a lot of anger building up over me, which is why he said something inappropriate. Your older brother loves you the most."
Meng Yuanxiao's eyes were red and she didn't speak. Li Keying hugged her and whispered in her ear, "Sister Li is waiting for you in Fengzhou. If Yuanyuan is unhappy in the capital, write to Sister Li and she will come to pick you up. Sister Li is very capable and can support Yuanyuan."
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