Chapter 72 The Meng family's downfall is inevitable; she comes to take him home. ...
As a key member of the Meng family, Meng Lingshang has long been tamed and obedient. Now that she is hiding in the city, she will definitely be able to watch this puppet show. If a good play is put together, making her think that it is Meng Shicheng's distress signal, it is very likely to lure her out.
Lou Yanxu breathed a sigh of relief. Although this plan was a gamble, she was 80% confident that it would succeed. Even if it failed, there would be no loss, so she could go for it.
Two days passed, but Meng Lingshang was nowhere to be seen.
Just when the two thought they had made a mistake, Meng Lingshang had already sneaked back to the Grand Tutor's mansion under the cover of night.
A cool night breeze carried on the air, and the pale moon rested on a branch, occasionally peeking into the window to eavesdrop on whispers.
“Mother!” Meng Lingchang pulled off her cloak, revealing a slightly haggard, dry face with obvious dark circles under her eyes. These past few days, she had been hiding and running away, unable to sleep well night after night because she was worried that Xu Congjing would come to kill her. She had suffered a lot.
However, when Madam Meng saw her daughter who had been missing for many days, she didn't first ask how she was doing. Instead, she raised her tear-streaked and wrinkled face, tightly gripped her shoulders, and said anxiously, "Shang'er, you're back! Go quickly and save your father!"
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, chilling her toes and fingers to the bone. Years of pent-up resentment, ignored and neglected, surged into her heart at that moment. She should have known better; in her mother's heart, how could she possibly compare to her father's safety?
“Mother, the Dali Temple is heavily guarded. How can I save them all by myself? I will die!” She took a deep breath, trying to clear herself of things she shouldn’t have hoped for, and grabbed her mother’s hand, saying, “Come with me. Let’s leave Chang’an and leave this place of trouble.”
But Yu-shi flung her hand away, filled with grief and indignation, "Your brother is already dead. If anything happens to your father, I won't live either!"
"And what about me? Have you ever cared about me?" Meng Lingshang's heart was almost shattered. Every breath she took was like being cut by a knife and suffocating. Over the years, she had thought about asking, but she always swallowed the words back. Today, she finally asked and finally let out half of her strength.
The surroundings were quiet, the fire in the fireplace crackled, and a "drip" sounded outside as the last raindrops from the eaves fell to the ground, bringing the two of them back to their senses.
Yu's expression shifted unpredictably. When she realized that force wouldn't work, she tried a softer approach. She took the cold hand she had just shaken off and began to coax her, as if trying to persuade her earnestly, "Shang'er, you're usually the most obedient. What's wrong with you today? Have you grown too big for your britches and your mother can't even order you around anymore?"
Meng Lingshang, however, was able to see the utterly biased heart beneath her mother's outward appearance. All the kind words she had spoken were clearly motivated by ulterior motives, instantly turning into sharp swords that pierced her, causing her to bleed from all seven orifices.
She refused to deceive herself any longer. She touched the bruises on her forehead that hadn't faded in a long time, the veins on the back of her hands bulged, her fingertips dug into her palms, and large tears fell straight to the ground. For the first time, she cried so hard that she couldn't catch her breath. "I'm just... too obedient. That's why everyone hates me for the rest of my life. The person I love most wants to kill me!"
This cry was both an expression of her grievances and a hidden determination; she was rebelling and rising up, but unexpectedly, it was nipped in the bud by a single action from Yu Shi.
Yu Shi knelt down with a thud, her knees hitting the floor as hard as they hit Meng Lingchang's heart. Her dearest mother was willing to exchange her life for her father's. "Lingchang, I'm begging you, please save your father. If he dies, what kind of family will the Meng family still be?"
This time, she didn't rush to help her mother up. Instead, she wiped away her tears, her eyes empty, and covered her cold, already broken heart, asking, "Mother, even if I don't return from this journey, will you still insist on doing this?"
"You stood by and watched your father die, you were forcing me to die!" Madam Yu wouldn't listen anymore, and she beat her with all her might, throwing a tantrum and rolling around on the ground, "You unfilial daughter... how could I have given birth to such an unfilial daughter!"
Yes, this life was given to her by her mother, and she should return it to fulfill her filial duty. She sighed, forcing a bitter smile, and as she smiled, two lines of tears fell, blurring her entire face.
"I'll go..." She lost all her strength and looked out the window at the pale moon, as if saying a final goodbye. "I'll go then."
She didn't know if it was a trap, but she had no choice but to walk into it.
The Meng family has many informants, and with a little maneuvering, they can find out the father's exact location. Meng Lingchang put drugs in the jailer's food and sneaked into the Dali Temple prison when no one was paying attention.
When she saw her father, he looked much more haggard. His white beard had grown quite long, and there was a faint trace of blood on his cheek, as if he had been bitten by a rat. She had never seen him like this before.
"You rebellious daughter, you still know how to come back!" As soon as he approached, Meng Shicheng spotted her with sharp eyes. He stood up abruptly, knelt by the cell, and shouted, "Quick, get me out of here!"
She remained silent for a long time, feeling utterly defeated. She had clearly risked her life for the Meng family, and there was still a large bruise on her forehead from the fall she had suffered during her escape, yet no one asked about her injuries or how she had been doing these past few days.
She scoffed, "What good would it do if we got out? Would our whole family flee with you?" The defeat was already inevitable, so what difference did it make whether they saved us or not? Staying in prison might allow them to survive a few more days.
Meng Shicheng realized she had no intention of saving him, and his expression immediately changed. His stern and imposing face was like that of a demon, and a terrifying crimson glint was hidden in his deep eyes. "You ungrateful wretch! My Meng family has raised you for so many years, and in the end you want to abandon your father!"
Meng Lingshang seemed to have suddenly realized something, her eyes filled with deep relief. "Father, do you know? From childhood to adulthood, I have lived for you and for the Meng family, but I have never lived for myself even once."
"Stop talking nonsense! Open the door for your father!"
She had clearly hinted so obviously, yet her father wouldn't even give her a chance to confide in him. In fact, if he had just said a few words of concern, she would have immediately opened the door and let him leave. Deep down, she was someone who responded better to gentle persuasion than force, but unfortunately, her father had used the wrong approach.
With a look of sorrow in her eyes, she reminded him, "Father, opening the door will lead to death." The rebels have escaped; they can be executed, but with a city-wide manhunt, how long can they possibly survive?
Meng Shicheng had long been fed up with the gloom of prison. Now that he had finally found a glimmer of hope, how could he bear to give it up so easily? He grabbed her collar and pulled her forward. His handsome face was wedged between two wooden pillars, leaving two red marks.
Are you going to open it or not?
Meng Lingshang felt the pain on her face getting stronger and stronger. She had no doubt that he would really kill her if given the chance. So she struggled wildly with both hands, saying "I'll open, I'll open" until he let go.
She took out the key she had taken from the jailer and unlocked the cell with practiced ease. The air inside and outside the cell seemed different. Meng Shicheng took a deep breath as he stepped out of the cell, his eyes filled with undisguised smugness. But his smile didn't last long. He suddenly stopped, his smile freezing on his lips, his features contorted, and turned back, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Meng Lingshang pulled the knife from his back without expression, then closed her eyes, raised her hand and brought the knife down again, stabbing him in once more!
She whispered in Meng Shicheng's ear in a sinister tone, "I told you, opening the door will kill you."
Meng Shicheng finally collapsed to the ground, spitting out blood. His index finger trembled as he raised it high, wishing he could kill the person before him. "You... unfilial daughter..."
A gust of wind blew in from the prison gate, and the only light was blinding. A row of dark figures stood there, and Xu Congjing was heard urgently shouting, "Call the doctor!"
Xu Congjing frowned and gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust. He absolutely could not let Meng Shicheng die like this; he had to be judged and scorned by the world, and his tragic death had to be used to appease his father's spirit in heaven.
Meng Lingshang leaned against the wall, forcing a bitter smile, "You've come."
“At every banquet, you are always chatting and laughing with others, while I can only serve by my father and brothers’ side. You never seem to notice me…” She looked at him expectantly, hoping to see even a trace of reluctance in his eyes, “In the next life, could you at least look at me?”
What a joke! How dare you say such things after killing his own family? Xu Congjing snorted coldly, "In my next life, I will drag you to Rou'er to atone for your sins."
Then, he remained silent, ordered the arrows to be fired, and coldly watched as the woman before him was pierced by a thousand arrows, yet even that could not quell the hatred in his heart. The Meng family was deeply sinful; Meng Shicheng was meant to comfort his father, while these two siblings were meant to be sacrificed to Yun Li and Rou'er.
Meng Lingshang collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood. In her dying moments, she stared blankly at the damp and moldy dungeon floor, muttering to herself, "In my next life, I don't want to be born into the Meng family."
She sacrificed herself for others, only to suffer the consequences in the end. No one in this world loves her, so what did all the evil she did amount to?
With the outcome decided, Xu Congjing turned away without hesitation.
Two days later, the Emperor ordered that the heir apparent of the Marquis of Chenghua, Shengyan, be buried with the original mausoleum. The Marquis's wife hanged herself on a white silk ribbon, while the former heir apparent's wife, now the Registrar Lou, was promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. The divorce had caused a great uproar back then, with many people criticizing Lou Yanxu for being ungrateful. Now that both parties had met their fates, the entire court was in an uproar.
On that day, Lou Yanxu and the others encountered Minister Weng, who was returning home from his official duties, at the crossroads where Xu Congjing was leaving the yamen. The latter would glare at her whenever he saw her, probably because he had helped her get a divorce that day but now he had ended up empty-handed.
Who told him to misjudge people? Sheng Yan is hardly someone you can entrust your life to. It's a miracle he's not a burden. Giving him a push is a way of helping him escape his misery sooner.
She turned her gaze away, and as one minister left and another arrived, she bowed to Xu Congjing and greeted him, "Minister Xu."
What's going on today? Xu Congjing suppressed a laugh, resisting the urge to tease her. "Why is Vice Minister Lou here?"
Unexpectedly, she smiled in a way that was beyond compare, "I've come to take you home."
She said she was there to pick him up and take him home.
What merit or ability does he possess to have such good fortune?
He was slightly distracted, and his toe kicked a corner of a raised brick, causing him to stumble and almost lose his balance.
The sunset glowed brilliantly, and the red walls and yellow tiles were draped in a colorful veil. Two figures, one in purple and one in green, walked along the long corridor. The female official took large steps, while the male official took small steps. Gradually, they walked side by side and overlapped.
Xu Congjing thought that this would be his good days from now on.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
