Chapter 115 She Takes It All in stride
Qingqiu and Ningdong remained silent, feeling sad for their mistress. How could such a lovely girl have such a tragic fate?
They had a wonderful marriage planned, and they all thought that their mistress would finally have a happy ending after enduring so much hardship. However, on the wedding day, the groom-to-be gave them a devastating blow.
The mistress instantly became the laughing stock of the entire city. Everyone in the capital was laughing at her for being abandoned by her groom on her wedding day. Such a disgraceful thing had not happened in the capital for decades, but it happened to their mistress.
Fortunately, the Marquis married their mistress and treated her well, but they never expected that the Marquis would have someone he loved.
Ningdong choked back tears as she said, "Madam has been wronged."
Meng Jinyao was quite open-minded and replied gently, "When I chose to marry him instead of choosing between Gu Xiuhong and Gu Xiuwen, wasn't it to get back at him, to gain the status of a Marquis's wife, to be Gu Xiuming's elder, and to prevent Gu Xiuming from bullying me? Now that I've achieved my goal, there's nothing to feel wronged about."
Ningdong felt heartbroken: "But this servant feels it's not worth it for you, Madam. What they did has already hurt you. If you don't want to marry them, you can just break off the engagement. What kind of behavior is it to run away on the wedding day?"
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, filled with both anger and sorrow: "You, an innocent young woman, married a man so old and suffering from a hidden illness, only to find that his heart belonged to another woman. It was Gu Jia who ruined you. Even if you had married a poor scholar who only had eyes for you, it would have been better than marrying a man who had eyes for another woman."
Meng Jinyao also felt a little sad and wronged.
That must have been frustrating, but that's all in the past. The matter is settled, so why think about it so much?
She is now a Marquis, the highest-ranking woman in the Gu family besides the old lady. She has endless money, maids and servants to serve her, and lives a life of luxury. She also has no concubines to cause her trouble, which is quite good.
Meng Jinyao said gently, "Alright, alright, don't cry. I'm fine. I wasn't after his sincerity. I was after his status and position, and now I have them. He's treating me very well now."
Ningdong listened to her speak so casually, but felt a sense of oppression. She said with concern, "Madam, things seem fine for now, but once that woman appears, the Marquis will probably not give you another second glance. Whether you are doing well in this Marquis's mansion depends entirely on the Marquis's attitude."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao paused for a moment, then said dismissively, "So what if he likes that woman? As long as I don't violate the seven grounds for divorce, he can't divorce me. Madam Gu can only be me, and will always be me."
She chuckled lightly, shrugged nonchalantly, and said, "Besides, he's already twenty-nine years old. The girl he likes is probably already married. She poses no threat to me. Do you think he'd go and seduce a married woman? I believe his upbringing would prevent him from doing such a thing, and he wouldn't deliberately mistreat me just because he has someone else in his heart."
Ning Dong froze.
Qingqiu was also taken aback for a moment, and then agreed: "Madam is right. No matter how much the Marquis likes her, it's no use. Madam Gu can only be a Madam. Judging from the Marquis's personality, he is not the kind of person who would mistreat his wife. Right now, the Marquis has no interest in Madam, but he has given her everything that a Madam should have."
Meng Jinyao smiled and said, "Alright, let's not mention this again. So what if he had someone he liked? He used to have a fiancée. That girl was very outstanding, proficient in all the arts, and was the most beautiful woman in the capital."
Upon hearing this, Qingqiu and Ningdong exchanged a glance and then nodded silently.
Ning Dong hesitated and asked, "Madam, do you think the Marquis's sweetheart is his former fiancée?"
Meng Jinyao was immediately stunned. After pondering Ning Dong's words for a moment, she felt that it was possible. If it was her ex-fiancée, then she didn't need to worry at all. Gu Jingxi's ex-fiancée had already married someone else and was no longer in the capital. She had gone to another place with her husband to take up his post.
Ning Dong said with great regret, "It's a pity that the Marquis's deep affection can only be buried in his heart."
Meng Jinyao's lips twitched. Why did she feel like this girl was gloating?
After a moment, she glared at Ningdong reproachfully and ordered, "Alright, let this matter rest. No one should mention it again, especially not in front of the Marquis. Ningdong, go and put this set of jewelry back in the storeroom. Just put it back where it was."
Ning Dong said with great difficulty, "Madam, this servant does not know which nook or cranny this place is."
Meng Jinyao turned to look at Qingqiu: "Qingqiu should know about this."
Qingqiu responded, "Madam, this servant knows. That nook and cranny is still very conspicuous. Originally, with this box covering it, there was no dust under the box, and that area looked particularly clean."
After Qingqiu finished speaking, she picked up the box, took the key from her master, and went to get things done.
Ning Dong observed her mistress's expression discreetly. Seeing that her mistress's expression was normal, she wondered if she was truly not sad. After hesitating for a moment, she suggested, "Madam, I heard that there's a new and good play at the theater. Why don't we go and listen to it? We can definitely get seats while it's still early. They'll probably be gone if we go later."
Meng Jinyao readily agreed: "That's fine. After the opera, we can take a stroll outside."
Seeing that she was still in the mood to go out, Ningdong realized that the problem was not serious and said with delight, "Then this servant will immediately order someone to prepare a carriage."
More than half an hour later, the three of them, master and servant, arrived at the largest theater in the capital.
They arrived at the perfect time; there were no private rooms available, but there were still individual cubicles separated by screens outside.
Meng Jinyao chose a seat on the second floor by the railing, where she could see the stage. She also ordered tea, snacks, and fruit, which are essential for watching opera, as well as a pot of West Lake Longjing tea.
Before long, the audience seats on the first floor were full, which showed that the play was very popular, and the fact that it was sung by famous actors made it even more popular.
The actors took to the stage, and the show began. On stage, the actors sang the newly performed opera in a melodious voice.
Meng Jinyao rested her chin on her hand, watching the play with a bored expression. She didn't really like watching plays. The performers on stage were singing quite well, and the content was about patriotism. But she would drift off as she watched, though to outsiders it would appear that she was intently watching the performers on stage.
During the curtain call, Ningdong asked, "Madam, what did you think of the play?"
Meng Jinyao snapped out of her daze and replied succinctly with two words: "Very good."
Ningdong asked again, "What do you think is good?"
Meng Jinyao picked up her teacup, took a sip, and replied, "The tea is good."
Ningdong: "...You're spacing out again?"
Meng Jinyao nodded honestly: "I read the beginning, so what was the ending like?"
Ningdong replied, "There were seven men in their family. Six of them died in battle, but my father survived."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao subconsciously looked down at the audience seats in the lobby and found that many people were wiping away tears with their sleeves, and many of them were grown men.
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