Chapter 5, "The man surnamed Cui is unreliable."...
Back in the flower hall, a maid from the Princess's residence soon came over.
The maid curtsied and said, "Miss Meng, please follow me."
Meng Yuanxiao thought the princess had given instructions, so he followed the maid around the long corridor and turned to a corner of the garden. He did not see the princess, but he immediately saw the lacquer plate on the stone table.
The lacquer tray held several exquisite little items, all of which the young lady liked.
"These are the prizes that Master Cui won while playing the pitch-pot game. He instructed me to bring them to you to play with."
Meng Yuanxiao's almond-shaped eyes lit up, and she happily stepped forward, casually picking up a small trinket and playing with it in her hand.
"Why didn't Brother Tang just give it to me directly? Why did you make me come all the way here to get it?"
The maidservant simply said she didn't know.
Meng Yuanxiao was fiddling with the white jade rings in his hand when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a moon-white figure out of the corner of his eye.
Looking up, I saw Lu Erlang standing behind the flowers and trees a little distance away, with Li Fu's Fifth Sister beside him, the two of them talking about something.
He was so engrossed in his conversation that he didn't even notice she was there.
Meng Yuanxiao froze for a moment, pursed her lips tightly, and stared coldly at the two people over there.
Ha, just now I stopped her in the pavilion, said some inexplicable things, and even had to explain the story to her.
She turned around and disappeared behind the flowers and trees with the others, including Li Wuniang, whom she had never gotten along with.
She had just been wondering if she had misunderstood him, that Lu Erlang wasn't such a shameless person.
It turned out she hadn't wronged him at all; he was not only keeping her and Mingyue hanging, but also keeping others hanging.
That's absolutely despicable.
Meng Yuanxiao grew angrier the more she thought about it. Perhaps her gaze was too direct, because the two people there noticed and looked at her together.
When Li Wuniang saw her, she panicked for a moment, then defiantly raised her chin at her.
Lu Erlang was about to step over when he saw the maid beside her and hesitated, stopping in his tracks.
His expression was complicated as he looked at her from afar, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. Meng Yuanxiao, however, didn't want to pay any more attention to them.
She lost interest in playing. "My maid is waiting up ahead. Please trouble you to give these things to my maid."
The maid agreed, and whispered, "Master Cui instructed that after the banquet, please wait for him; he has something to say to you."
Meng Yuanxiao became even angrier.
She wasn't stupid; how could she not know that Brother Tang had deliberately sent the maid to lure her over and catch Lu Erlang and Li Wuniang in their secret rendezvous?
So Brother Tang guessed her secret thoughts and didn't give her any face at all, deliberately embarrassing her.
Should she wait for him, just to be laughed at by him?
Her eyes welled up with tears, and ignoring the maid's words, she turned and left.
When she returned, Mingyue was looking for her everywhere. Seeing her come back, Mingyue immediately came over and said, "Where did you go? I've been looking for you for ages."
Meng Yuanxiao said in a muffled voice, "Mingyue, we're not going to play with Lu Erlang anymore."
“Oh,” Zhang Mingyue paused, “why are you suddenly bringing this up?”
Meng Yuanxiao was about to blurt out that she probably knew who Lu Erlang's sweetheart was.
But thinking that she had just met with Lu Erlang, she couldn't help but feel guilty in front of Mingyue and hesitated to say it.
Zhang Mingyue didn't press further, saying, "Okay, we won't play with him."
After saying that, his eyes gleamed, and he pulled her along, saying, "Yuanyuan, you're getting engaged and you didn't even tell me! Tell me, which family's groom is it?"
"..." Meng Yuanxiao blushed and stammered for a long time before he could speak.
Zhang Mingyue couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Fine, if you don't want to say, then don't. I'll find out sooner or later anyway."
The two whispered to each other for a while, and then Zhang Mingyue was called over by Madam Zhang.
After the banquet ended, Meng Yuanxiao followed her mother out, pretending not to see Cui Xintang waiting beside her, and went straight to the carriage.
*
The Meng and Cui families visited each other more and more frequently. They checked the birth dates of the two men at the temple, and the two families exchanged betrothal gifts. By the end of February, the marriage between the two men was settled.
Next year is not auspicious for marriage, and Cui Xintang is already twenty-one years old. After discussing it, the two families decided to set the wedding date for the eighth day of the fifth month of this year.
This was indeed a bit rushed, and Meng Yuanxiao was stunned for a few days, but perhaps because she was so familiar with Brother Tang, she wasn't too nervous.
Because of her upcoming marriage, Madam Feng and Meng Xu relaxed their control over her studies, which made her feel more at ease.
Eat when you want to eat, drink when you want to drink, and when you're bored, go out with Mingyue. Life is still pretty good.
But of the two families, only she was free.
The wedding was scheduled too soon, and there was so much to prepare. Madam Feng was extremely busy, and she would occasionally call Meng Yuanxiao over to teach her the proper etiquette in her husband's family.
Before they knew it, May had arrived. On the morning of the day before the wedding, the sound of horses' hooves broke the silence. They passed through the city gate and rode into the capital, arriving at the Meng residence.
The young man on horseback looked to be about eighteen years old. His skin was tanned to a wheat color, and he was tall, slender, and handsome. His eyes were very similar to Meng Yuanxiao's.
The gatekeeper was stunned until the young man dismounted and eagerly asked, "Where's the little sister?" before striding inside. Only then did the gatekeeper come to his senses.
The gatekeeper was overjoyed and stepped forward, "Second Young Master?"
Just then, Steward Zheng heard the commotion and rushed over. Meng Zheng saw him, said "Steward Zheng," and strode through the hanging flower gate into the house.
When Steward Zheng saw the Second Young Master return, he was overjoyed and quickly chased after him.
Red silk ribbons and auspicious characters had already been hung throughout the mansion. Meng Zheng stood in the courtyard and looked around. His handsome brows furrowed involuntarily, and he was about to head towards Meng Yuanxiao's courtyard.
Butler Zheng quickly stopped him, "Second Young Master, Madam has not seen you for a long time. She will be very happy to hear that you have returned. This old servant will send someone to inform her. Please go and see Madam first."
Meng Zheng ignored him and continued on his way to Meng Yuanxiao's courtyard.
Just as Steward Zheng was getting anxious, Madam Feng's voice came from under the eaves.
"Zheng'er?"
Meng Zheng stopped in his tracks, turned around and saw Madam Feng. He didn't show much affection on his face, but remained silent for a moment before calling out "Mother".
Madam Feng strode forward, wanting to take her youngest son's hand, but seeing the indifference in his eyes, she ultimately did not raise her hand.
Seeing that he was darker and thinner, with stubble on his chin that he hadn't had time to shave, she couldn't help but shed tears.
Madam Feng choked back tears and said, "Why did you come back so suddenly? You didn't even send someone to deliver a message so that your mother could send someone to pick you up."
Meng Zheng chuckled and said, "If I had told them in advance, I'm afraid someone would have stopped us, and my son might not have been able to come back."
Madam Feng's smile froze for a moment. "What are you saying, child? Your elder brother and younger sister will be very happy to see you back."
Meng Zheng: "Heh."
Madam Feng felt even more distressed. She felt guilty towards her youngest son, who had not sent a single letter back during the two years he was stationed in the Fengzhou military camp.
If it weren't for Lord Meng also being in Fengzhou and occasionally mentioning Meng Zheng in his letters home, she probably wouldn't have known even the slightest news about her youngest son.
Already feeling guilty, seeing the obvious dark circles under his eyes and his tired face, I realized he must have been traveling day and night to enter the city before the gates opened, hoping to return as soon as possible before Yuanyuan's wedding.
Thinking of all this, Madam Feng felt even more distressed.
Tears welled up in Madam Feng's eyes, but Meng Zheng was getting impatient. "Mother, please don't cry. Where's my little sister?"
Madam Feng quickly wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. "Your little sister was exhausted yesterday and is still asleep. Don't disturb her."
Meng Zheng ignored her and turned to leave.
Madam Feng pulled him back, "Your little sister is getting married tomorrow. She'll definitely cry when she sees you today, and if her eyes are red from crying, what if it delays the wedding tomorrow?"
Meng Zheng's face was cold and stern. "Mother, I wrote to you long ago saying that the man surnamed Cui is unreliable. Why didn't you listen?"
Madam Feng frowned. "How is Cui's eldest son bad? He was raised by his mother, always doted on your little sister, and was a close friend of your eldest brother. You must not say such nonsense."
Meng Zheng scoffed, "If he weren't on good terms with Meng Xu, my son might have thought more highly of him. Ha, what good could Meng Xu's friends be?"
They were once very close brothers, but now they won't even call each other "elder brother."
Madam Feng sighed inwardly. Meng Zheng continued, "You know he watched his little sister grow up. Since he's always treated her like a younger sister, now that she's just reached marriageable age, he can't wait to marry her. What kind of shameless person would do that?"
"..."
Madam Feng was furious at his nonsense, but since they were the ones who had wronged Meng Zheng first, she couldn't bear to scold him.
So Madam Feng could only say, "I have seen what kind of man Cui is, and this marriage was agreed to by your younger sister herself."
Meng Zheng was silent for a moment, then asked, "So it really was my little sister's own choice?"
Madam Feng said helplessly, "Of course, Yuanyuan is my only daughter. Would I harm her? Your little sister is happy with her own choice, so don't interfere."
"Mother has already instructed someone to tidy up the courtyard for you. You've had a long journey, so hurry back and rest. Don't break the rules regarding your younger sister's marriage, or people will laugh at you."
Seeing that he was covered in dust from his journey, she sighed and said, "Go back and tidy yourself up. You can't go out looking like this tomorrow. You'll see your younger sister when she returns home."
Meng Zheng lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment, then sneered. In the end, he followed his mother's words and returned to his residence.
Meng Yuanxiao slept until noon, and in the afternoon she was dragged around trying on wedding clothes and wasted half a day.
She was to be married tomorrow, and she was in a daze, like a puppet being manipulated. She blankly responded to whatever her mother and nanny said, but didn't think about it at all.
Seeing her like this, Madam Feng couldn't help but sigh.
Originally, I just wanted to find a good family to marry into, but who knew I'd be getting married so soon. There were many things I wanted to teach her slowly while she was still by my side, but now it's too late.
Thinking of this, Madam Feng felt heartache and couldn't help but worry, so she secretly wiped away her tears when she got back.
Meng Yuanxiao had no idea that today she finally felt like she was going to get married. Because she was so nervous, she tossed and turned all night and couldn't fall asleep.
Just as she finally drifted off to sleep, Hongshao woke her up, telling her it was time to get up and do her hair.
Meng Yuanxiao was extremely sleepy. When the matchmaker and maids helped her wash her face and do her makeup, she nodded her head little by little, like a chick pecking at rice.
Once everything was finally ready, Hongshao brought over a bowl of red date and lotus seed sweet soup. "Miss, please eat something. The two young masters are waiting outside. The wedding procession from the groom's mansion should be arriving soon..."
Before Hong Shao could finish speaking, Meng Yuanxiao suddenly stood up. "Second Brother is back?"
A note from the author:
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