Chapter 567 Changing the Heir Apparent
For the next few days, Meng Dongyuan stayed by Madam Meng's side, taking care of her without taking off his clothes. He personally fed her and gave her medicine, and stayed by her bedside at night, refusing to sleep, saying that his mother's condition was not very stable and he was afraid that something might happen to her during the night.
After a few days, he looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes, and he had lost a lot of weight. He seemed to have fallen ill along with Old Madam Meng. In the eyes of all the servants in the mansion, he was the most filial son, and his filial piety moved all the servants.
Because of him, Madam Meng wanted to refuse to eat anything he fed her, but he threatened her with Chengxing, saying that if she dared to resist, he would cut off Chengxing's food. She dared not refuse to eat, but she was also worried that this unfilial son would poison her and kill her. She was in great pain and wanted to tell him that he didn't need to pretend to be a filial son in front of her, but she had lost her ability to speak and couldn't utter a complete sentence.
Meng Dongyuan left Old Madam Meng's room. He had barely rested these past few days, and his steps were unsteady. He stumbled as he went down the steps, but fortunately a rough old woman caught him quickly, otherwise he would have fallen.
Seeing that he was exhausted and delirious, the old woman said, "My lord, you are truly a rare filial son, but you must also take care of your health. If you collapse, the old lady will surely be heartbroken."
Meng Dongyuan waved his hand: "I'm fine. As long as my mother can get better, I will never forgive myself. I have failed in raising my son and have raised such a rebellious child."
The old woman didn't dare to respond, since it was the young master who had done wrong, and how could a servant dare to discuss the right or wrong of his master?
Meng Dongyuan sighed deeply, his face showing a mixture of grief and anger. He walked unsteadily out of Rongfu Hall, and as soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, servants rushed toward him.
"Lord, Lord!"
Meng Dongyuan frowned: "What are you doing, being so reckless?"
The servant approached him, bowed, and then reported, "My lord, the young master has been on a hunger strike for a day. He hasn't touched any of the food sent to him today."
Meng Dongyuan frowned even more: "He did something wrong, and instead of reflecting on it, he's even gone on a hunger strike? Since he doesn't want to eat, there's no need to send him any tomorrow. We'll send him some whenever he wants to eat."
The servant knew he was angry, but still relayed the message: "My lord, the young master said he wants to see the old lady. He would rather starve than eat if he can't see her."
Meng Dongyuan's face was dark with anger. He said, "How dare he face his grandmother? If it weren't for him, would his grandmother have fallen ill? He's afraid his grandmother won't be angered to death by him. Go back and tell him, eat or don't eat, if you don't eat, starve to death. If such an unfilial descendant starves to death, my Meng family will pretend that such a person never existed."
Upon hearing this, the servants were stunned. They hadn't expected that the Earl wouldn't care about the life or death of the Young Master. It seemed that the Young Master's actions in causing the Old Madam's illness had completely alienated the Earl.
Meanwhile, upon hearing the servant's reply, Meng Chengxing, who had still clung to a sliver of hope, was utterly devastated. Apart from his grandmother, no one in the entire family would help him, and his father didn't care whether he lived or died—how cruel! He was, after all, his own son.
The servants were afraid he would starve to death, and that the lord would regret it and hold them accountable, so they advised, "Young Master, you should eat something. The lord is angry right now. He said that as long as you say you want to eat, he will have me bring you food."
Meng Chengxing retorted, "Go back and tell him I'm not eating. If he's so capable, he can really let me starve to death!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his stomach rumbled loudly, which sounded particularly jarring in the quiet ancestral hall.
He was starving, but he remained steadfast in his convictions, said nothing more, and dismissed the servants.
However, in the middle of the night, he was so hungry that his stomach was practically sticking to his back that he could no longer keep up his stubbornness and weakly called for the servants guarding outside to bring him food.
He might act impulsively for a moment, but he was truly afraid of starving himself to death.
He could let go of his grandmother's support, but he couldn't let himself starve. He was the heir of the Earl's Mansion and was going to inherit the title. Once the old man died, the entire Meng family would be his.
He understood the principle that "as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."
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The next day.
At the court meeting, Meng Dongyuan, who held a sinecure with no real power and was not qualified to attend the morning court session, was allowed to appear at the meeting with the civil and military officials.
The civil and military officials were quite surprised to see Meng Dongyuan looking haggard and listless. Everyone had heard about the Meng family's affairs, and the fact that the Meng heir had been tied up and taken back to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion had become a topic of conversation among them.
There were no important matters to discuss at today's court assembly, and no officials submitted any reports. Surprisingly, Meng Dongyuan's matter became the biggest issue at this court assembly.
He knelt down with a thud, his face full of grief, and said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty. Please punish me for failing to properly manage my household."
Emperor Jingwen had actually heard about the Meng family's affairs, but before the censors could even impeach him, he himself took the initiative to apologize. So he asked, "Why do you say such things, my dear minister?"
Meng Dongyuan replied, "I have failed in educating my son and managing my household properly, resulting in such an unfilial and rebellious son who has now caused my elderly mother to fall seriously ill and become paralyzed. I am guilty."
As he spoke, tears streamed down his face as he tearfully recounted how wicked his unfilial son was, how he was lazy and good-for-nothing, how he skipped school and spent his nights in brothels, how he had caused his elders to suffer a stroke and become paralyzed, and how his elderly mother would faint at the mere mention of her son's name.
In closing, Meng Dongyuan said, “Your Majesty, my third son, Meng Chengxing, is of bad character, disrespectful to his elders, and unfit for great responsibilities. I beg Your Majesty to strip him of his title of heir apparent and appoint my second son, Meng Chengzhang, as heir apparent instead. Furthermore, I am also guilty of failing to properly educate my son and manage my household, and I beg Your Majesty to punish me.”
Emperor Jingwen was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "What is the character of the Second Young Master Meng?"
Meng Dongyuan wiped away his tears: "My second son is of good character and studies hard. He is currently studying at Lingshan Academy and has already passed the imperial examination to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination)."
At first glance, he seems like a child who excels in both character and academics.
Emperor Jingwen looked at Gu Jingxi, who immediately stepped forward, bowed to the emperor, and then testified for Meng Chengzhang: "Your Majesty, my father-in-law's words are true. My brother-in-law Chengzhang is indeed a person of excellent character and learning, and he was the top scorer in the last provincial examination."
Emperor Jingwen nodded and said, "Very well, I approve. Meng Chengxing is morally deficient and disrespectful to his elders. He shall be given thirty strokes of the cane and stripped of his title as heir apparent. Meng Chengzhang shall be made heir apparent instead. Minister Meng is lax in managing his household and failing to properly educate his son. He shall be fined one year's salary as a punishment."
Meng Dongyuan was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to succeed so quickly. It was worth staying up all night and putting himself through this ordeal. He quickly kowtowed and thanked the emperor: "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your great favor. Long live the Emperor!"
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