Chapter 127 The Finale
Chapter 127 The Grand Finale
The news of Su Yufu's imprisonment quickly reached the ears of Su's parents. Su's father was furious, but after all, she was his own daughter, so how could he really let her go unpunished?
Su's father dared not delay and sought help from various people to cover up the matter.
But Su Yufu's situation this time is completely different from the last one.
She was caught red-handed by Meng Huaiyan and Lord Yang in full view of everyone. With witnesses and evidence, the evidence was irrefutable, leaving her no room for maneuver.
Not to mention that the other party is the Meng family, and Meng Huaiyan's power is at its zenith, and he is a favorite of the emperor.
Anyone who dares to risk their life to help or mediate for the Su family is not out of their mind.
Families who used to have a good relationship with the Su family now avoid even Su's father, shunning the Su family like the plague, fearing they will be implicated by him.
After being repeatedly rebuffed, Su's father became so angry that he smashed things in his study, leaving the room in a mess.
When Su's mother learned that her daughter had been imprisoned, she rushed to the capital immediately.
After all, she was the Duke's cousin, and there was a kinship between them. The Meng family was the aggrieved party, and only by obtaining the Meng family's forgiveness could her daughter have any chance of being saved.
The Duke looked at Su's mother, who was weeping bitterly below the hall, his brows furrowed and his eyes filled with helplessness.
"I can't help you with this. Please leave."
Upon hearing this, Su's mother felt dizzy and nearly fainted. She knelt on the ground, tightly gripping the Duke's robe as if it were a lifeline.
"My lord, cousin...cousin, I've never asked you for anything in my life. Please, for the sake of my Meng family lineage, have mercy and spare Fu'er..."
"She made a mistake this time, but she's only seventeen, still a child. Children make mistakes and act foolishly sometimes. She truly knows she was wrong. Please, have mercy and let her go..."
The Duke pulled the hem of his robe from her grasp, took a step back, and his eyes were cold: "Child?"
"She's seventeen years old, well past the age of being a child who doesn't know any better. She's capable of murder, and you're telling me she's still a child?!"
Upon hearing this, Su's mother's eyes filled with despair. She crawled forward on her knees, pleading, "She's still your niece, cousin! Please, I beg you, let her go..."
The Duke took a few steps back, a hint of impatience in his eyes.
Su Yufu is indeed his niece, but Meng Huaiyan is his biological son, and Shen Tang is the daughter-in-law whom the Meng family brought in with great pomp and circumstance.
Su Yufu kidnapped Shen Tang and even tried to kill her. This not only shows that she doesn't respect Shen Tang, but also the entire Meng family.
Although Su Yufu is his niece, Shen Tangcai is family with the Meng family. There is a difference in kinship, and he is not some stupid or clueless person.
"Cousin, please go back, I can't help you."
The Duke turned around and instructed the maid beside him, "Escort the Governor's wife out."
"yes."
*
The evidence against Su Yufu is conclusive and there is no possibility of reversing it.
The Ministry of Justice quickly sentenced Su Yufu to thirty strokes of the cane and seven years in prison. Upon hearing the result, Su's mother fainted on the spot in the courtroom.
Shen Tang was not at all surprised by the result, as if she had expected it.
In her past life, Su Yufu betrayed and framed her, causing her to be placed under house arrest for two years.
Now, she is finally reaping the consequences of her actions and will have to spend seven years in that dark and gloomy dungeon.
From a pampered princess to a prisoner who can be beaten and scolded at will, her days in the dungeon will only be more arduous and unbearable than her days in Tingyuxuan. She may not even make it to the day she can leave the dungeon.
She thought she would feel happy and joyful when she heard the news, but she didn't.
I felt a sense of peace, without any sadness or joy.
Looking at Shen Tang, who appeared calm and lost in thought, Meng Huaiyan asked, "Aren't you happy?"
Shen Tang did not answer him, but turned to look out the window and remained silent for a long time.
Only when dusk settled outside the window and twinkling lights appeared in the courtyard did Shen Tang turn her gaze away from the window.
The room was dark, with no lights on. Shen Tang couldn't see Meng Huaiyan's face clearly, only his tall and broad figure. He stood there quietly, as if he were just a shadow.
Shen Tang stared at him for a long time before suddenly speaking, "Meng Huaiyan, shall I tell you a story?"
Meng Huaiyan's hand clenched unconsciously, a premonition rising in his heart. He took a deep breath and replied with difficulty, "Okay."
Shen Tang remained silent for a while before slowly beginning to tell him about what happened in her previous life.
She talked about the wonderful times when her mother was still alive when she was a child, and also about the many hardships she endured after He Shi was made the principal wife, and the days when she and A Yun depended on each other for survival.
She spoke of her excitement and joy when she arrived at the Duke's mansion and made her first good friend.
It also tells the story of how she was amazed and moved when he suddenly appeared and helped her out of a predicament caused by a noble lady in the capital.
She talked about the efforts she made to pursue him, and also about the heartache and bitterness she felt when he treated her coldly.
It tells of her desperate gamble and guilt when she drugged him with despicable means, and her joy and excitement when she finally got to marry him as she wished.
It tells the story of what happened between her and him after their marriage, and also the tragic story of her eventual death from illness at Tingyuxuan.
Her previous life, though short, was also long and dark, filled with pain and dampness—a past she didn't want to face after her rebirth.
Every time she sees Meng Huaiyan, it reminds her of that painful and tormented life, so she always wants to escape.
Shen Tang thought that Meng Huaiyan would cry when she told her these things, but she didn't.
She was as calm as if she were telling the story of a stranger.
That past that she once deliberately tried to avoid and cover up, she can now speak of lightly and casually.
Meng Huaiyan stood there silently with his head down, feeling as if countless knives were churning and ravaging his heart, causing him to groan in pain.
It turns out, he had wronged her.
It turns out she really didn't drug him.
He was known for his meticulousness and thoroughness in handling cases in officialdom, always seeking evidence and leaving no stone unturned.
But when it came to her, he ignored her explanations and stubbornly and prejudicially sentenced her to death.
If... if he could have been more patient with her and trusted her more.
Perhaps in their past lives... they wouldn't have ended up like that.
Guilt, grief, self-blame and many other emotions surged into Meng Huaiyan's heart in an instant, and the pain made it difficult for him to even breathe.
His throat felt like it was blocked by a knife; the pain prevented him from speaking, and he could only let out painful, suppressed groans.
Shen Tang noticed that something was wrong with him, and groped her way toward him, asking worriedly.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Seeing that Meng Huaiyan didn't speak, Shen Tang was about to call A Yun in to turn on the lights in the room when Meng Huaiyan suddenly pulled her into his arms.
A warm, moist sensation came from her neck, and Shen Tang realized that Meng Huaiyan was crying.
Chen Tang was startled and stepped back from his embrace, gently wiping away the tears on his face: "Why are you crying?"
Meng Huaiyan grabbed her hand, his expression one of immense pain. He took a deep breath before finally finding his voice and painfully uttered those three words to her.
"I'm...I'm sorry."
Shen Tang smiled upon hearing this and said to him, "You don't know about what happened in your past life, so there's no need to apologize. I'm not telling you all this today to make you feel guilty or remorseful. It's just that when we talked about Su Yufu today, I suddenly felt like I had to tell you."
“Since I was reborn, I have never hated you. I did something wrong in my past life, so I deserved the result. I don’t blame you.”
"You ask me why I'm unhappy? Actually, I don't know either. She framed me and betrayed me in her past life. Now that she's ended up like this, I should be happy, but I don't feel particularly joyful."
"Perhaps I had long given up on her, or perhaps I had finally let go of everything from the past, so she could no longer stir any waves in my heart."
Hearing Shen Tang's words, Meng Huaiyan felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
She would rather Shen Tang hate him and blame him than have her be so sensible and considerate, swallowing all her bitterness and tears.
She was such a good person, but in his past life he didn't let go of his prejudices and try to truly understand her, which led to the point where it was impossible to win her back.
Meng Huaiyan stepped forward and embraced Shen Tang again, solemnly saying, "I'm sorry."
The room was too quiet. Meng Huaiyan's solemn and sincere apology seemed to have the power to penetrate everything, clearly reaching her ears, as if it had traveled to her past life.
Although she had let go of everything from the past, hearing Meng Huaiyan's apology in person made her feel that she had finally found an explanation for her past life.
She hugged Meng Huaiyan back and said to him, "Okay, I accept your apology."
*
The next day, Meng Huaiyan was on leave. After lunch, the family of three lay in deck chairs, leisurely basking in the sun in the yard.
Manman is a little kid, and she started to get restless after lying down for a short while.
She rolled off the ground, walked to Meng Huaiyan's side, took his hand, and said to him in a coquettish tone, "Father, I want you to take me to pick persimmons."
There is a large persimmon tree in Qingyun Courtyard. It is autumn now, the season when persimmons ripen. The branches are full of bright yellow fruits, which is very pleasing to the eye.
"Okay, Father will take you to pick them."
Meng Huaiyan stood up, picked up Manman and carried her on his shoulders, and walked towards the persimmon tree.
The courtyard was instantly filled with cheers: "Father, I picked it!"
"Father, higher! Higher!"
So Meng Huaiyan, in a doting manner, lifted Manman even higher.
The autumn sunlight filtered through the dappled shadows of the trees, casting a gentle and peaceful glow on Meng Huaiyan and his companion.
As Shen Tang watched this scene, memories of her childhood involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
When she was little, there was a persimmon tree in their courtyard. Her father would carry her to pick the fruit from the tree, and she would laugh happily. Her mother would stand aside, watching the two of them tenderly.
That scene was so beautiful, so incredibly beautiful, that it left a deep impression on little Chen Tang's heart.
It was also the feeling of "home" that she had been searching for since she grew up.
In her life, she didn't actually want much.
Having your own little courtyard, a lovely child, a harmonious marriage, and a peaceful and smooth life is enough.
But fate is always unfair; it wouldn't even grant her such a small wish.
Now, on such an ordinary autumn afternoon, the scene she had longed for and yearned for suddenly came to pass.
Her heart, which had stumbled and wandered for half her life, suddenly found a place to rest at this moment.
It was at this moment that she seemed to finally have a real home of her own.
Perhaps the sunlight was too bright, making her eyes feel a little sore.
Shen Tang gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, looking tenderly at the two people playing under the persimmon tree, a relieved and radiant smile finally appearing on her face.
She thought.
Perhaps she experienced a true rebirth at this moment.
[End of article]
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The story of Shen Tang and Meng Huaiyan ends here.
Thank you for reading this far, everyone. Thank you for your love and support along the way.
Although Meng Gou is a bit of a scoundrel, his love for Shen Tang is undeniable. Although he used the wrong methods in the early stages (he deserved to be scolded, haha), he is now slowly learning how to love and is gradually changing.
Although he is still petty, jealous, and possessive, he has learned to control his temper.
Shen Tang is a pitiful child; she will be happy in the future.
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