"There is a family in the south of the city named Meng. The ancestors of the Meng family were teachers to the Crown Prince. Although the descendants are not as successful as their predecessors, they are still teachers in the largest academy in the southern border. Meng's eldest son is very promising. Last year, he became the top scholar in the imperial examination. For a time, countless families in Shengcheng wanted to marry into the Meng family. Meng's eldest son became a hot commodity."
Upon hearing this, Shen Jiao thought to himself, "I have a premonition that at this very moment, a fiancée from a fallen family will pass by."
Liang Heng shared the same sentiment.
A happy and joyful beginning always sets the stage for a tragedy to come; that's what the actors at Manchun Garden sang.
Just as the two had expected, Madam Gu said the next moment, "At that moment, a simply dressed girl traveled a thousand miles and came to the Meng family with a jade pendant."
Based on her extensive knowledge of gossip, Shen Jiao guessed: "Was this girl chosen as a betrothal gift by the deceased elders of the Meng family? Or was she the object of Wu Dalang's affections, no, Meng Dalang himself?"
Upon hearing the name "Dalang," I instinctively wanted to give him the surname Wu. I feel ashamed.
The tyrant, determined to continue competing with the frizzy hamster for osmanthus cake, fell silent upon hearing the words "beloved."
Ji Yan suddenly returned the porcelain bowl containing osmanthus cake to Shen Jiao.
He then used chopsticks to pick up many osmanthus cakes for her, piling them into a small mountain.
Shen Jiao raised her hand to cover the bowl, preventing the person from directly dumping the plate of osmanthus cake inside.
Osmanthus cake is sweet, but will eating so much at once cause diabetes?
Shen Jiao tactfully suggested, "Um... I can eat something else too."
Ji Yanhan narrowed her eyes and immediately moved the osmanthus cake away.
I started by serving her sweet and sour pork ribs, and soon another small mountain of ribs appeared.
Shen Jiao: "..."
Listen to me, thank you.
Seeing this, Madam Gu simply covered her mouth and chuckled. No wonder her husband longed for a daughter.
She continued recounting the past.
“Miss Chen guessed correctly. Meng Dalang met that girl during his travels. They were a handsome couple, both young, and soon after they met, they confessed their feelings to each other and secretly got together behind their parents’ backs. Oh right, they also have a child, a boy.”
“Then this child is in a bit of a predicament. If we’re talking about matching social status, the Meng family definitely won’t accept the child’s mother.” Liang Heng put down his chopsticks and took a sip of tea.
He said, "Let alone the rich girls of Shengcheng, even girls from ordinary families wouldn't want to raise someone else's child before even entering the family. The child is most likely gone."
Shen Jiao asked in confusion, "That's not right. Usually, if it's a boy, wouldn't the boy do something as immoral and unethical as abandoning the mother and keeping the child?"
“This situation can occur, but it depends on the actual circumstances,” Ji Yan rarely spoke up.
His voice was cold and aloof, yet his words were sharp and incisive: "The Meng family is no longer as prosperous as it once was. So what if Meng Dalang becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination? He still needs someone to help him in the court, and that person can only be the in-laws that the Meng family has carefully selected."
"I understand. No matter how much the Meng family wants a grandson, they have to show their stance for the sake of the bigger picture. So, they'll just go after the mother and son." Shen Jiao suddenly realized.
Ji Yan raised an eyebrow: "This child is teachable."
"Huh? That's not right either."
Shen Jiao realized there was still something she couldn't explain: "Even if the Meng family wanted to curry favor with their powerful in-laws, they couldn't possibly disregard Meng Dalang's reputation, could they?"
"What's so difficult about that?"
Liang Heng explained, "On the surface, he accepted the mother and son, but secretly he fell seriously ill and died. This silenced the gossip and appeased his in-laws, making everyone happy. It's just a pity that a girl who gave her heart to the dogs wasted her time."
Towards the end of his sentence, his tone was full of emotion.
Yes, Liang Heng loved every beautiful girl in the world, and he would often express sympathy and regret for the beautiful women who had passed away.
In his words, every beautiful woman should be treated well.
Shen Jiao was also deeply moved.
"It wasn't all for the dog. Meng Dalang was genuinely devoted to the mother and son. He was willing to give up a chance to become an official for true love. However, how could an individual's abilities possibly contend with such a large family?"
Madam Gu was born a princess, and she had a clear understanding of the complex relationships between various families.
She concluded by saying, "The mother and son died on a rainy night. Driven to desperation, they threw themselves into the river. When they were pulled out, their bodies were crawling with venomous insects, and their faces were unrecognizable. I heard that before they threw themselves into the river, someone heard the woman cursing on the riverbank. Strangely enough, after the mother and son died, the venomous insects multiplied rapidly and grew larger. This is the origin of the curse venomous insects."
When Madam Gu mentioned the cursed insect, her brows always furrowed intentionally or unintentionally, suggesting that she had an excessive aversion to this insect.
"What about the Meng family? How are they doing?" Shen Jiao asked curiously.
She murmured, "The Meng family's fate shouldn't be too good, otherwise, if the evil insects just reproduce normally, the curse can't be more firmly established."
"Miss Chen is so clever; the Meng family has indeed fallen on hard times because of this," Madam Gu said with a smile, praising her without reservation.
Liang Heng pondered for a moment, then asked, "What about the goddess?"
There were too many things to do, a whole jumbled mess, so Madam Gu thought for a while before speaking.
"Speaking of which, the goddess is quite related to this matter. At that time, the goddess was only a little famous in some small places. One day, she passed through Shengcheng and said that the river had a grudge and the Meng family would be destroyed. No one paid attention to it at the time. After all, the Meng family had a family foundation of several decades. Unexpectedly, not long after, an official wrote a letter to the Meng family, saying that they had embezzled a huge amount of government silver behind the scenes."
Throughout history, those who embezzle government funds have never had a good end, a point Shen Jiao strongly agrees with.
These seemingly refined and cultured people secretly engage in these shady dealings.
The Southern Emperor originally planned to carefully select a top scholar to work for him.
And what was the result?
However, they were slapped in the face, and it was only natural that the Meng family would fall.
Madam Gu continued, "Therefore, the goddess's reputation spread. She handled many matters for the emperor and the empresses in the harem. Gradually, she gained the emperor's favor, her reputation grew, and her status rose accordingly."
...
After lunch, the group dispersed.
When Shen Jiao was bored, she liked to look in the mirror and admire her beauty.
Sometimes, she could spend an entire day indulging in her own self-admiration.
Then--
She saw her head full of colorful braids and three whiskers on either side of her face.
Shen Jiao was stunned.
Shen Jiao was shocked.
Shen Jiao exploded!
Just thinking about her having dinner with Madam Gu with such a dignified appearance, and then wandering around the garden for half an hour to digest after the meal...
She was completely devastated.
"His Majesty!"
Shen Jiao ran from the dressing table to the side couch, gritting her teeth as she questioned, "You did it, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?"
She had mistakenly thought that the hesitant glances from the Gu family's maids along the way were due to shyness towards a beautiful woman.
So this is just speechless frustration at someone who's foolish without even realizing it?
Ji Yan remained calm and smiled, "You didn't ask me. If you had, I would have told you."
I have no idea how to ask this question.
That's completely sophistry.
Shen Jiao grew angrier the more she thought about it, and ruffled the tyrant's hair.
That evened things out.
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