Chapter 35, "Calling someone 'Sister-in-law'".
Meng Zheng looked at her with a half-smile, a hint of disappointment in his eyes, "You've really made something of yourself!"
Isn't that a good thing? That guy surnamed Cui just beckoned with a flick of his finger and he was swindled; he's been like that since he was a child.
His beloved younger sister, whom he always doted on, was even more affectionate towards a stranger than towards him, her second brother.
Meng Zheng hadn't forgotten how many times he'd taken the blame for his younger sister. Whenever she got into trouble, she always liked to pin it on him, and most of the time, it was the instigation of the man surnamed Cui.
Ha, if you don't want Yuanyuan to get scolded, then make him take the beating instead.
At that time, he disliked the man surnamed Cui. Since he couldn't control the man surnamed Cui, he kept a close eye on his younger sister and wouldn't allow her to keep running around Cui Xintang.
Unfortunately, the cunning Cui always manages to trick the younger sister away, but at least he's there to keep an eye on her.
Who knew that after he was away from the capital for just a few years, the man surnamed Cui would take him and his home away. How infuriating!
Meng Zheng grew angrier the more he thought about it. Seeing his younger sister hugging Cui Xintang with such a spineless posture was truly an eyesore.
If he hadn't known that his little sister would definitely protect him, he would have wanted to push Cui to the ground and beat him severely.
Meng Yuanxiao's face flushed, but she was always thick-skinned in front of her brother.
So she immediately abandoned all pretense, happily called out "Second Brother," stepped forward, took Meng Zheng's arm, and coaxed him with a smile.
Just now he was all clingy and affectionate with Cui Xintang, but as soon as he left, he turned around and started coaxing him with a smile. He had clearly forgotten about Cui Xintang and didn't seem to care much about the person with the surname Cui.
Meng Zheng felt a little better and patted her hand in a mock manner, "Get away from me. You're not young anymore and you're already married. Don't be so disrespectful."
"No, Second Brother isn't a stranger!" Meng Yuanxiao refused to let go of him.
Thinking of something, her eyes darted around. "Second Brother, are there any sparrows in the village? Could you help me catch a few? When I was in Huai Shu Village, Sister-in-law Mao roasted sparrows for me, and they were so delicious!"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but feel a little hungry again, thinking about the taste of roasted sparrows, and swallowed her saliva.
Meng Zheng: "...Promising."
As they talked, they arrived at the courtyard where Meng Yuanxiao lived. She yawned, "I've arrived. Second Brother, go back now. Wait for Brother Tang to come and pick me up. I'll have him call you 'Second Brother' again."
She was about to go inside when Meng Zheng stretched out his long arm and pulled her back.
"Is there anything else, Second Brother?"
Meng Zheng paused for a moment before saying, "Didn't you say you were bringing back some new gadgets?"
Meng Yuanxiao was stunned for a moment before realizing that he was referring to the things she had brought back from Huai Shu Village.
She blinked. "Second Brother, you want to see it too?"
How could a grown man like those things?
Thinking this, Meng Yuanxiao looked his second brother up and down with a strange expression.
Meng Zheng's expression remained unchanged. "You haven't seen your mother and the others in a long time. Why don't you go and talk to them?"
He was referring to "them mothers," so it's not just his mother.
Meng Yuanxiao suddenly realized, "Second brother, do you want me to take it to show my sister-in-law?"
Meng Zheng raised an eyebrow, but did not deny it.
No wonder I came here specifically to find her; I was waiting for her here!
Meng Yuanxiao frowned and earnestly reminded him, "Second brother, sister-in-law has already married eldest brother."
Meng Zheng: "Heh."
Meng Yuanxiao immediately felt guilty.
"Do you still want to eat roasted sparrows?" Meng Zheng never cared about saving face and immediately resorted to threats and inducements.
"I want to," Meng Yuanxiao said sheepishly, rubbing his nose. "I... I'll go find my sister-in-law."
Feeling guilty in front of her second brother, Meng Yuanxiao went back to her room to rest for a while, then carried a bundle of her treasures and ran to the courtyard where her eldest brother and sister-in-law lived.
Upon entering the room, Meng Yuanxiao kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed. She carefully placed her bundle on the small table and looked around. "Sister-in-law, is eldest brother in?"
Li Keying was initially very happy to see her come over, but upon hearing this, a moment of unease flashed across her face.
“Not here,” she said.
With her elder brother not around, Meng Yuanxiao felt relieved. She winked at her sister-in-law, untied the bundle on the small table, took out the bamboo cage containing crickets, and handed it to her sister-in-law.
"Sister-in-law, look what this is!"
This cricket is quite sensible; it was very quiet just now, but now that it's been taken out, it's chirping away.
Like Meng Yuanxiao, Li Keying enjoyed playing with crickets. She was immediately delighted, playing with the crickets for a while before asking, "Did they give these to you too?"
“Yes, I knew you’d like it, sister-in-law,” Meng Yuanxiao said, then pouted, “If my older brother finds out, he’ll confiscate it again!”
She said this, but Li Keying did not respond.
Meng Yuanxiao sensed something was amiss and tentatively asked, "Sister-in-law, did you and my brother have a fight?"
"No." Li Keying didn't look at her, but instead lowered her head to play with the cricket.
She casually remarked, "Back in Fengzhou, my elder brother and younger brother would catch crickets for me to play with, but now that I'm in the capital, I can't play with them anymore."
Her tone was somewhat disappointed. Meng Yuanxiao also remembered that his sister-in-law was indeed very lively when they were in Fengzhou.
That year, when my elder brother went to the Fengzhou military camp to see General Li, he left her at the Li residence for a few days. During that time, Sister Li took her all over Fengzhou and even taught her to ride horses and shoot arrows!
Her sister-in-law was an excellent archer. She still remembered how impressive it was when Sister Li, dressed in red, rode on horseback at the racecourse, outmaneuvering the men and shooting an arrow that hit the bullseye.
At that time, she greatly admired Sister Li. Sister Li was beautiful and capable, and there were many suitors in Fengzhou who wanted to propose marriage to her at the Li family mansion.
At the time, she even felt that her older brother, a weak scholar, was really not a good match for Sister Li.
Thinking of the past, Meng Yuanxiao was momentarily dazed. She turned her head and glanced at the books on the couch beside her. She picked them up and flipped through them, then exclaimed in surprise, "Sister-in-law, you also know about military strategy?"
Li Keying glanced at the book in her hand and said casually, "Just killing time when I have nothing to do. These are my elder brother's books. When I got married, he specially put a few in my trunk as part of my dowry."
“Is that so?” Meng Yuanxiao said. “I heard that a woman participated in the military examination this year and even won first place! If you, sister-in-law, were to participate as well, you would certainly be no less outstanding than her.”
Li Keying paused in her teasing of the cricket, but remained silent.
Meng Yuanxiao couldn't understand the book on military strategy, so she only glanced at it a few times before tossing it on the small table. She then took out the treasures from her bundle one by one, placed them on the small table, and, as if showing off her treasures, told Li Keying about them one by one.
Li Keying found it interesting, and as the two chattered away, the door was suddenly pushed open.
Meng Yuanxiao turned his head and saw Meng Xu standing tall and elegant, shrouded in a chill as he entered from outside.
Meng Yuanxiao glanced at his sister-in-law subconsciously. Li Keying was smiling happily, but when she saw Meng Xu come in, her smile froze on her face.
Meng Yuanxiao pursed his lips and called out, "Big Brother."
Seeing her there, Meng Xu was not surprised. He went straight behind the screen, but Li Keying didn't even glance at him, only fiddling with the things in her hands.
Meng Yuanxiao looked at his sister-in-law, then at his elder brother, and didn't dare to speak for a moment.
Meng Xu glanced at her, then his gaze lingered on Li Keying's face before finally settling on a pile of things on the small table.
Meng Yuanxiao then remembered that the crickets had not been hidden yet. She exclaimed "Oh dear!" and hurriedly picked up the cricket cage and hid it behind her back.
The crickets chirped merrily in their cage, a clear indication of their deception. Meng Xu nearly laughed in exasperation, "What, are you going to do, brother, eat it?"
Meng Yuanxiao pursed his lips and muttered under his breath, "That's hard to say."
Meng Xu was too lazy to banter with her, so he simply raised his hand and ruffled her hair before turning his gaze back to the small table on the couch.
He was naturally not interested in the pile of treasures that Meng Yuanxiao brought, but when he saw the military strategy book that Meng Yuanxiao had placed among the pile of things, he paused and couldn't help but frown.
After a moment of silence, Meng Xu glanced at Meng Yuanxiao and said, "Your mother misses you. Aren't you going to talk to her?"
Even their words were the same as Meng Zheng's.
Normally, if Meng Yuanxiao went to the capital, her elder brother would definitely interrogate her when she returned, asking her if she had suffered in the countryside, if she had been bullied, or if she had disobeyed and caused trouble for her brother Tang.
But today, her elder brother clearly had no interest in caring about these things. As for the reason, Meng Yuanxiao wasn't stupid; she could naturally guess it.
The atmosphere between her older brother and sister-in-law was tense, and she felt really awkward caught in the middle.
Not wanting to interfere in her elder brother and sister-in-law's affairs, Meng Yuanxiao said "Oh" and was about to pack up her treasures and leave when Li Keying suddenly grabbed her hand.
"Didn't Yuanyuan say she was going to sleep with me tonight?"
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
She didn't say that!
Meng Xu's gaze was almost tangible, and Meng Yuanxiao's heart pounded. She subconsciously felt that if she agreed to his words, her older brother would turn around and throw her out.
But she didn't want her sister-in-law to be unhappy, so after some internal struggle, she decided that she should side with her sister-in-law.
Meng Yuanxiao swallowed hard, not daring to look at his elder brother, and said with a forced smile, "Brother, I'll go talk to Mother again tomorrow. I still want to play with my sister-in-law!"
Meng Xu didn't throw her out. He looked at Li Keying and coldly corrected her, "Call her sister-in-law."
Her father was often away on assignment, and her eldest brother was like a father to her. From childhood to adulthood, Meng Xu took care of many things for her. So, although Meng Xu loved her, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but be afraid when he put on a stern face.
Seeing her elder brother's cold face, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but feel a little wronged. She pursed her lips and obediently changed her address to "sister-in-law".
Li Keying frowned, but didn't say anything.
Meng Yuanxiao: "I still want to talk to my sister-in-law."
Meng Xu ignored her and only looked down at Li Keying.
After a long pause, he finally spoke, his tone somewhat resentful, "If you sleep with Yuanyuan, where will I sleep?"
Meng Yuanxiao was nearly speechless with shock. Her older brother would actually say such a thing, and right in front of her.
Li Keying's pale and beautiful face remained unmoved, she only frowned and said, "You're a grown person, where can't you sleep?"
After saying that, he sneered, "You can't sleep here, but isn't there someone who'd love for you to go there?"
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
She felt extremely uncomfortable, wishing she could dig a hole and crawl into it immediately.
She knew perfectly well that she had been tricked by her second brother today. She touched her nose, and on a whim, said, "Um, how about you spend the night at my second brother's place, big brother?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Xu and Li Keying's expressions immediately changed.
Meng Xu's face darkened considerably, and he gave Meng Yuanxiao a half-smile.
Meng Yuanxiao didn't know why she suddenly blurted out such a sentence. Her heart jumped into her throat, and she wished she could immediately find a needle to sew her mouth shut.
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, except for the cheerful chirping of crickets.
Meng Yuanxiao was extremely embarrassed. After waiting for a while and seeing that her elder brother had not left, she racked her brains trying to think of something to say. Suddenly, Meng Xu turned around and left without saying a word.
The door behind me slammed shut with a loud "bang".
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