Chapter 56 Unable to Get Any Good Results
Meng Jinyao had heard about this matter, but she was not surprised. The Yongchang Marquis's family was rotten to the core. Since they dared to use her mother's dowry, why wouldn't they dare to use Sun's? So it was perfectly normal for them to force Sun to use her dowry to fill the hole.
The Sun family is willing to give their all; however much is still needed, the Yongchang Earl's Mansion will make up the difference.
However, the lady reminded her that today was the deadline, but she had left early and didn't know if the Yongchang Marquis's mansion had sent her the money yet.
She put down her teacup, smiled faintly, and replied calmly, "It's probably true, but it's only right to pay back debts. It's normal for her to pawn her dowry to repay me if she doesn't have enough money."
Her tone was indifferent, and although her words made sense, her matter-of-fact manner revealed her cold-heartedness, suggesting she was a callous person.
The people looked at each other in bewilderment. What daughter would treat her own family like that?
That's too cruel. No matter what your family is like, they are still the place where you were born and raised. What good does it do to make your family lose face in front of you?
The lady asked again, "Mrs. Gu, they are your elders, your parents. Isn't it inappropriate for you to treat them like this?"
Another lady disagreed, saying, "Yes, Madam Gu, it is indeed inappropriate to force your mother to pawn her dowry to compensate you. Madam Meng has also raised you with kindness. Even if she spent some of your money, it doesn't have to be like this, does it?"
Meng Jinyao retorted, "Do you two ladies think I've done something wrong?"
These words left the two ladies speechless.
Soon, the lady who spoke for the first time said, "That's not what we meant. Madam Gu is still young and may not understand this principle. It's better for a young lady not to have too much conflict with her own family, lest she suffer a great loss if something happens and she has no family to support her."
"Is that so?" Meng Jinyao covered her mouth and chuckled softly, then said lightly, "Those two ladies have such good families. It's just a pity that I'm not lucky enough to have such good families."
The lady said awkwardly, "Madam Gu probably has some misunderstanding about her family."
Meng Jinyao's face turned cold, and her tone became indifferent: "A misunderstanding? What do you think would not be a misunderstanding? I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me for saying this, since you've probably already heard about this. I was refused entry when I returned home on the third day after my wedding, and they only opened the door to welcome me when they learned that my husband was accompanying me. Do you think even a family like that would support me?"
As she spoke, she glanced indifferently at the people present and continued, "Our dynasty has laws that clearly stipulate that a woman's dowry is her private property, which her husband's family cannot take for themselves. Only her direct descendants can inherit it. If there are no direct descendants, it will be inherited by her maternal family. My mother has me, her direct daughter. Sun's appropriation of my mother's dowry is a violation of the law. I haven't reported it to the authorities and had her imprisoned, which is already showing leniency. Since she dared to do it, she should take responsibility for her mistake."
Hearing this, the lady was speechless and felt somewhat embarrassed.
Meng Jinyao glanced at them, but had no intention of letting them off so easily. Since they were causing trouble, she wouldn't hold back her harsh words. She asked in a low voice, "Do you two ladies perhaps have a good relationship with my stepmother and are deliberately taking this opportunity to criticize me so that I will back down and stop pursuing the matter?"
Upon hearing this, the two ladies quickly shook their heads and explained, "Madam Gu, this is a misunderstanding."
"Yes, Madam Gu, we are not familiar with Madam Meng."
Meng Jinyao was skeptical: "I thought you were on good terms with her and couldn't stand me seeking justice for myself. I never imagined it was all a misunderstanding."
The two ladies looked embarrassed, and the people present exchanged glances, not expecting Meng Jinyao to speak so rudely, especially since these two ladies were older than her.
Lady Rongguo quickly smoothed things over: "Madam Gu, since it was all a misunderstanding, let's not talk about it anymore. The flowers in our back garden are in full bloom, why don't we all go and enjoy them together?"
The other ladies also showed interest, and the group left the flower hall, preparing to move to the back garden.
As soon as she stepped out of the flower hall, Meng Jinyao saw Chunliu walking quickly toward her and whispering something in her ear. Her eyes lit up, and she turned to the Duchess of Rongguo and said, "Duchess, I have matters to attend to at home, so please excuse me."
Lady Rongguo nodded and said, "Since Madam Gu has matters to attend to at home, she should go back first. We can get together again next time."
Meng Jinyao nodded slightly, said goodbye to the other ladies, and left with Qingqiu, Ningdong, and Chunliu.
After the four women, mistress and servants, left, the other ladies couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"I thought she wouldn't come today, but I didn't expect her to come."
"Who can argue with that? Marrying her fiancé's father is already shocking enough, but to push her own family to the brink of ruin, you probably can't find another person like her in the entire capital."
"She was very rude and aggressive towards Madam Zhang and Madam Wang just now."
"That's why the Yongchang Marquis's family was forced into this situation. Even the stepmother was forced to pawn her dowry. It's truly unfilial."
Hearing these criticisms of Meng Jinyao, someone spoke up for her: "Don't say that. If the elders are not kind, how can the younger generation be filial? She was probably driven to desperation. Is it her fault that the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion lost so much face? Aren't the real problems with the Yongchang Marquis and his wife?"
"That's true, but she's still a junior. How can she treat her elders like that?"
"I say you guys don't know the pain until you've been cut by a knife, so you can talk so much."
Seeing that the two sides were sticking to their own opinions and that they were about to start arguing, the Duchess of Rongguo quickly intervened, saying, "Alright, let's not discuss other people's affairs. Everyone has their own reasons, and we weren't involved, so how can we possibly understand?"
As soon as she finished speaking, someone immediately echoed, "The Duchess is right."
The others tactfully changed the subject and stopped discussing Meng Jinyao. The Rongguo Duke's mansion's back garden was beautiful, and since it was springtime, the flowers in the garden were in full bloom, attracting the attention of the ladies and causing them to put Meng Jinyao's matter out of their minds.
Meanwhile, after Ningdong boarded the carriage, she could no longer contain her emotions. Her face immediately changed, and she angrily complained to her mistress, "Madam, those two ladies did it on purpose, deliberately trying to find fault with you and ridicule you."
Meng Jinyao wasn't angry. She gently comforted them, "Alright, don't be angry. They won't gain anything. In the end, they'll be the ones who are embarrassed."
Chunliu had just arrived with the news and was unaware of what had just happened, but from their conversation, she could guess that someone must have spoken very disrespectfully to the lady. So she boldly said, "Madam, if someone has been disrespectful to you, you might as well tell the Marquis."
Meng Jinyao smiled and shook her head, saying gently, "No need. Actually, they can't bully me. The Marquis is so busy every day, how can I trouble him with such a trivial matter?"
Ning Dong nodded in agreement, saying, "Chun Liu, you don't need to worry about that. Madam is very quick-witted, and they can't argue with her. I'm just annoyed that they deliberately rub salt in Madam's wounds for their own amusement."
Chunliu nodded hesitantly. Since her master had said so, she decided not to worry about it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com