Chapter 9 "Who told him to be an old ox eating young grass? He ate..."
Meng Yuanxiao stared in disbelief, “Big brother, you…”
Meng Xu frowned as he looked at the broken pieces in his hand.
"Aren't you leaving yet?"
Meng Yuanxiao keenly sensed the awkward atmosphere between her elder brother and sister-in-law. She glanced at her sister-in-law, then at her elder brother, and, not knowing what to say, could only slink away.
After Meng Yuanxiao left, Meng Xu casually tossed the crushed hazelnuts on the ground and walked towards Li Keying.
The maidservant had just left when Meng Xu chuckled, saying with an ambiguous tone, "He certainly has a good heart."
Just as Li Keying was about to leave, she couldn't help but say, "He's your brother. Whether he meant it or not, you can ask him yourself."
“Ha,” Meng Xu scoffed, “He doesn’t care about me as his elder brother at all. He hasn’t called me ‘elder brother’ once since he came back. How can I ask him?”
Li Keying: "..."
Her delicate brows furrowed involuntarily. "Meng Xu, is this really necessary? It was you and I who wronged him back then..."
“I did wrong him back then,” Meng Xu interrupted her, his gaze intense, “but what did you do wrong to him?”
"Did you really want to marry Meng Zheng back then?"
"..."
Li Keying ignored him and was about to turn and leave when the maid who had just left returned, followed by Su Niangzi's people.
Both of them paused. Meng Xu subconsciously looked at Li Keying, and seeing her cold face, his expression also turned slightly cold.
"What is it?" he asked in a cold voice.
Su Niangzi was a concubine whom Meng Xu had married into the household a year ago.
Su Niangzi's maternal family, the Su family, were wealthy merchants in the capital and had secret dealings with many officials in the court. Therefore, although Su Niangzi was a concubine, she was indeed considered to have been married into the family.
The maidservant beside Madam Su said, "Young Master, tomorrow is Madam Su's birthday. Our lady misses her mother dearly and has sent me to ask for permission. Our lady wishes to leave the mansion tomorrow to return to the Su family."
Li Keying's face remained expressionless as she said calmly, "I don't manage affairs, so there's no need to ask me about these things. Just inform Mother directly."
The maidservant glanced at Meng Xu instinctively, but seeing his cold face, she dared not say anything more and simply bowed in agreement.
Just as the maid was about to leave, Meng Xu said coldly, "Such trivial matters need not be bothered by the young mistress in the future."
"yes."
Li Keying seemed not to hear him, and without even glancing at Meng Xu, went straight back to her room.
Meng Yuanxiao came out of her elder brother and sister-in-law's courtyard and immediately saw her second brother leaning against a tree.
"Second Brother!" Meng Yuanxiao's eyes lit up, and she ran over quickly, throwing herself into Meng Zheng's arms as she always had.
Meng Zheng was suddenly embraced by her, and looked at her with amusement, saying, "You're married now, yet you still act so disrespectfully. Get up."
"No!" Meng Yuanxiao buried her head in his chest, clinging to him with her arms. Why should she avoid her own second brother?
She looked up, a little aggrieved, and said, "Second Brother, I missed you so much! Why didn't I see you just now? I thought I would see you as soon as I got back!"
"Didn't you see him?" Meng Zheng said. "It was my first time on duty last night. Something happened, and I came back a little late after my shift."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yuanxiao was overjoyed, "Second Brother, you've taken up a post in the Palace Guard?"
"Okay." Meng Zheng responded, waited for a while, and when he saw that she refused to get up, he grabbed her clothes by the back and pulled her away.
As he pulled the person out of his arms, he subconsciously glanced into the moon gate.
You can see into the courtyard from here, but you wouldn't easily notice this spot from inside the courtyard.
So the people in the courtyard didn't notice them.
Meng Yuanxiao followed her second brother's gaze into the moon gate and saw her eldest brother and sister-in-law standing together, talking about something.
"..."
She had thought her second brother was waiting for her here on purpose, but it turns out he had ulterior motives!
Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat as she thought of something, and she asked suspiciously, "Second Brother, did you carve those three hazelnuts?"
"What?" Meng Zheng did not deny it.
That's it.
Meng Yuanxiao said meaningfully, "They were all crushed by my elder brother."
Meng Zheng: "..."
Meng Yuanxiao stared intently at him, expecting him to be displeased, but he remained unmoved and simply uttered an indifferent "Oh."
Meng Yuanxiao's heart settled down, and her voice became lighter, "I want one too, Second Brother, can you carve one for me too?"
She thought for a moment, then said, "Sculpt it in my likeness."
She had actually recognized her earlier; the woman in red in the hazelnut was her sister-in-law, whose zodiac sign was the rabbit.
Meng Zheng raised an eyebrow, "Want it?"
Meng Yuanxiao nodded, "I want it!"
Meng Zheng straightened up and flicked her forehead. "If you want it, ask Cui Xintang."
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
Meng Zheng flicked his sleeves. "Isn't that guy surnamed Cui up ahead? Let's go, Second Brother, go and meet him again."
Meng Yuanxiao rubbed his forehead, which had been flicked red, and followed his second brother for a while. In the distance, he saw Cui Xintang waiting alone ahead.
Just as she was about to step forward, Meng Zheng suddenly burst out laughing.
Meng Yuanxiao looked at him strangely, "Second brother, what are you laughing at?"
Meng Zheng couldn't help but laugh, "Let me tell you, your second brother just came back from his shift and ran into Cui Xintang as soon as I walked in."
Meng Yuanxiao knew that her second brother and Tang brother had never gotten along well, and she had a feeling that she would never hear anything nice from her second brother.
Sure enough, Meng Zheng said, "Heh, that guy surnamed Cui saw me and tried to pretend he didn't. How could I, your second brother, tolerate that? I went to meet him right away."
"You didn't see it, but when that guy surnamed Cui called me 'Second Brother,' his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, but he still had to call me that."
"Haha, he used to act all lecturing me because he was older than me, but now he'll have to call me 'Second Brother-in-law', won't he?"
Thinking of Cui Xintang's appearance just now, Meng Zheng was so happy that he couldn't straighten up and laughed so hard that he pounded his legs.
He was a scoundrel. After saying that, he pretended to bow to Meng Yuanxiao and said, "Thanks to Yuanyuan, this is the first time in my life that I've been so tough in front of someone surnamed Cui, haha!"
His laughter was so unrestrained that Cui Xintang, who was in front, naturally heard it and turned to look in his direction.
Meng Yuanxiao quickly tugged at Meng Zheng's sleeve, "Second Brother!"
Just now she thought her second brother was different from before, that he had become more mature, but she was overthinking it. Her second brother was clearly still the same as before.
Meng Zheng wasn't afraid of Cui Xintang at all. He straightened up after laughing his fill, and when he saw Meng Yuanxiao's sullen face, he couldn't help but click his tongue, looking at her with a look of utter disappointment.
Meng Yuanxiao frowned and said unhappily, "Second brother, don't take advantage of Brother Tang."
Meng Zheng almost laughed out of anger. "What kind of logic is this? Your second brother has been bullied by that Cui guy for over ten years, and you've never said a word for him. Now I'm just asking him to call me 'second brother,' and that's taking advantage of him?"
He said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Second Brother needs to stand up to Cui Xintang, you know? Meng Xu and he are in cahoots. Do you really expect Meng Xu to back you up?"
"Second brother is doing this to establish his brother-in-law's authority, so he can back you up, do you understand?"
Meng Yuanxiao didn't believe his nonsense.
Meng Zheng continued, "Who told him to be an old ox eating young grass? He deserves to suffer some losses. So, when it comes to marrying a wife, you should marry an older sister. Only by marrying an older sister can you benefit from her."
Meng Yuanxiao really didn't want to talk to him anymore.
Cui Xintang looked over again, and Meng Yuanxiao glared at his second brother warningly before quickly running towards Cui Xintang.
"Brother Tang, what are you doing here?"
Seeing the lingering red mark on her forehead, Cui Xintang frowned and reached out to rub it for her.
"I just finished talking to Meng Xu and knew you were here, so I came to wait for you."
Meng Zheng slowly followed behind her. When Cui Xintang looked up and saw him, her expression was indeed not very good.
Just now, Brother Tang was teased by Second Brother, and Meng Yuanxiao felt bad, so he pulled Cui Xintang to leave.
Meng Zheng strode past them and sat down casually on the railing in front of them.
He crossed his legs, coughed loudly, and glanced at Cui Xintang with a half-smile, "What, you just married my little sister, and now you don't recognize me as your brother-in-law?"
Cui Xintang: "..."
Meng Zheng: "Come on, brother-in-law, call me 'Second Brother' again."
Meng Yuanxiao stamped his foot, "Second Brother!"
Meng Zheng clicked his tongue. "I didn't tell you to call me that."
After saying that, she pretended to clutch her chest and said, "This is terrible. She's only been married for two days and she's already siding with outsiders. It really breaks my heart as her second brother!"
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
Calling him "Second Brother" doesn't seem like a big deal...
Thinking this, she looked up at Cui Xintang.
Meng Zheng looked smug and arrogant, while Meng Yuanxiao stared at him hesitantly.
Cui Xintang remained silent for a moment, then finally gave in to Meng Yuanxiao's wishes.
"Second Brother."
Meng Zheng succeeded, and regardless of how unwilling he was to call him "Second Brother," he laughed so hard he almost fell off the railing.
Just then, Madam Feng walked by and overheard their conversation. She strode over and slapped Meng Zheng on the back of the head.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
After being scolded by his mother, Meng Zheng stopped smiling, climbed down from the railing, and calmed down a bit.
Madam Feng scolded, "Do you have to upset your sister? A woman follows her husband after marriage. What do you mean by siding with outsiders?"
Meng Zheng: "Heh."
Although Madam Feng's words were clearly meant to protect her, for some reason, Meng Yuanxiao did not feel happy when she heard them.
However, she didn't want to dwell on it. With lunchtime approaching, she followed her mother and Cui Xintang into the dining hall.
In the courtyard behind him, Meng Xu stood there for a long time. Just as he was about to go outside, Steward Zheng arrived.
Upon seeing him, Butler Zheng stepped forward and asked, "Young Master, is there anything our household should prepare for Madam Su's birthday?"
Meng Zheng said coldly, "She's just a woman from a merchant family. Does she really need our household to send her a birthday gift?"
When Steward Zheng saw his cold face, he knew that he had once again suffered a setback with the young mistress.
With a smile, he earnestly advised, "Young Master, you're saying these hurtful things again, aren't you?"
Meng Xu was indeed speaking in anger. After all, Madam Su was one of his concubines. The Su family had a large business and were related to many powerful and influential families, making them quite prominent in the capital.
If the Meng family truly makes no response, it will inevitably give others ammunition to use against them.
He paused, thought for a moment, and said impatiently, "There's no need to trouble Mother with this matter. Just take some money from my private treasury and prepare some congratulatory gifts according to the rules. You can handle the rest."
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