Chapter Fifteen: Severing Ties
The Yongchang Earl's Mansion.
Marquis Yongchang, Meng Dongyuan, and his wife, Sun, went to Rongfu Hall, the residence of Old Madam Meng, to pay their respects. When they arrived, all of Meng's grandchildren were already present.
The second daughter, Meng Jinyu, and the third son, Meng Chengxing, were all born to the Sun family. The second son, Meng Chengzhang, was born out of wedlock. The eldest son and Meng Chengzhang were twin brothers. Meng Chengzhang died young at the age of two. Their birth mother came from a humble background and was a maidservant. She fell ill after her eldest son's early death and eventually passed away.
Despite it being a joyful time for the family to gather together, Old Madam Meng was still sullen and her face showed little smile.
Seeing this, Madam Sun knew the reason and asked Madam Meng for her opinion: "Mother, today is the day A-Yao returns home. What preparations do you think we need to make?"
Upon hearing this, the three grandchildren of the Meng family displayed different expressions.
The smile on Madam Meng's face vanished instantly. She frowned and said with a sullen face, "It's rare for the family to get together, so let's not mention that jinx, it's bad luck! It's her good fortune to marry the heir of the Marquis of Changxing. Instead of being a proper wife, she has to become the laughing stock of the whole capital and bring trouble to her family."
It's common knowledge that Meng Jinyao, the eldest granddaughter, changed her groom in public on her wedding day and remarried her future father-in-law. Now, everyone in the capital is gossiping about the Meng and Gu families, mostly slandering the Meng family, saying that they raised a shameless daughter who shamelessly insisted on marrying her future father-in-law.
Sixteen years ago, she knew that her eldest granddaughter was a jinx, who had caused her mother's death shortly after birth. Now that she had finally gotten married, she thought she could finally get rid of this jinx. But she never expected that her daughter would bring misfortune to her family on her wedding day, causing them to lose face.
Upon hearing this, a hint of smugness flashed in Madam Sun's eyes, but she continued to feign concern: "Mother, we can't be completely unprepared for a daughter's return visit three days after marriage."
Madam Meng snorted coldly in disgust: "She has the nerve to come back after doing such a shameful thing?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun feigned hesitation: "Mother, I know you are angry with A-Yao for being so ignorant, but today, when we return to our parents' home, Marquis Changxing is accompanying A-Yao back. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to do this?"
Madam Meng dismissed the matter, saying, "She made the Gu family lose face, how could Marquis Changxing possibly accompany her back to her parents' home?"
Meng Dongyuan chimed in, “Mother is right. That scoundrel has made such a fool of herself. If it weren’t for Father’s sake, why would Marquis Changxing have married her? Tell the gatekeeper to turn that scoundrel away when she comes back today and sever all ties with her. Our Meng family will pretend we never had this wretched child.”
These words shocked the three grandchildren. Severing ties was a punishment reserved for serious crimes.
Meng Chengzhang's face turned pale, and he couldn't help but retort: "Father, it was clearly the Crown Prince who ran away from the marriage first, how can you blame everything on my eldest sister? If my eldest sister continues to marry the Crown Prince according to the Gu family's original wishes, isn't that the same as demeaning herself and rushing to get married?"
Madam Meng spoke harshly: "The young master ran away from his marriage and eloped with someone else. That's because she's useless and can't hold onto a man's heart. She's wasted her good looks. The Gu family could have let her choose from the other two young masters, but she insisted on choosing her future father-in-law. Who is she trying to annoy? Maybe she's deliberately trying to embarrass her family."
As she spoke, she looked at Meng Chengzhang with displeasure and continued, "Chengzhang, it's not that your grandmother doesn't want to acknowledge her as her granddaughter, it's just that she's been causing trouble and has gotten herself into serious trouble. How can our Yongchang Marquis's Mansion afford to offend the Changxing Marquis's Mansion now? Your grandmother is doing this for your own good, for your future."
Just then, a maid rushed in and announced, "Madam, the eldest young lady has returned."
"She dares to come back?" Old Madam Meng's face darkened, her anger barely contained. "Get that wretched child out of here! Our Meng family has no place for such a shameless girl!"
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