Chapter 604 He was beaten into submission
The imperial examination has ended, but the results have not yet been released.
Because of Zhang's excessive nervousness, the two brothers, Gu Xiuyuan and Gu Xiuwen, who were not nervous at first, also became nervous. They locked themselves in the study to study and asked Gu Jingxi for advice when he returned home. If they did well in the provincial examination, they would have to participate in the palace examination.
Therefore, Wanwan now particularly dislikes his two older brothers. Every time he sees these two brothers who are trying to take his father away from him, he pouts, looks unhappy, and buries himself in his mother's arms, whining and acting spoiled, as if he is afraid that his mother will also be taken away by his two brothers.
Seeing this, Gu Xiuwen scratched his head and asked somewhat awkwardly, "Third Aunt, is Fourth Brother not very welcoming to us?"
Meng Jinyao affectionately patted her son's head and said gently, "No, he's just being affectionate and begging me to go play in the garden with him. You two can chat with your third uncle for a while, I'll take your fourth brother to play first."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiuwen showed a knowing expression and said, "Then Third Aunt and Fourth Brother, please take care."
Meng Jinyao put her son down and left, holding his hand.
Wanwan was led away by his mother, taking short steps. After a few steps, he turned back to look at his father. Seeing his father smiling at him and his two older brothers looking at him, he became unhappy again, pouting and humming twice.
Afraid that her son would make a fuss, Meng Jinyao quickly said, "Wanwan, hurry up. We're going to the garden to catch butterflies. If we're too late, the butterflies will have gone home."
Upon hearing this, Wanwan immediately forgot about her father.
Seeing this, Gu Xiuyuan awkwardly touched his nose and said, "Third brother, fourth brother really isn't very welcoming to us. Look at his little expression."
Gu Jingxi looked at his two nephews and lost his temper, but he couldn't ignore them, so he said, "Kids are all like this. Afterwards, buy him some good food and fun things, and he will make up with you as before. Come with me to the study."
The two brothers responded and followed behind him.
During dinner, Wanwan refused to be fed by her wet nurse. Instead, she sat on Gu Jingxi's lap and let him feed her, otherwise she would throw a tantrum and refuse to eat.
After feeding the child and handing him over to the wet nurse, Gu Jingxi could then eat.
Meng Jinyao glanced at him and smiled, "It's also my fault. I told him to take a nap and I would play with him when you came back, but you played with his two older brothers instead of him, so he threw a tantrum. He was quite happy when I took him to play in the garden and had forgotten about this, but when he came back and met his two older brothers, he remembered that you weren't playing with him, and he pouted and became unhappy again."
Gu Jingxi gently shook her head: "It's alright, they'll be fine in a few days. It's a good thing that the brothers are studious. If they become successful, they can help our little one in the future."
Meng Jinyao nodded: "That makes sense."
-
Early that morning, Meng Chengzhang arrived at the Changxing Marquis's residence.
When Meng Jinyao saw her second brother arrive so early in the morning, she knew something must have happened. Thinking of her unreliable father, her heart skipped a beat. Could it be that her scoundrel father had caused some trouble? The results of the imperial examination hadn't been released yet, and if it implicated her second brother, who knew what would happen?
She hurriedly asked, "Second brother, has something happened at home?"
Meng Chengzhang nodded slightly and replied, "Elder sister, Mother and Father had a fight yesterday."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's face visibly darkened. She inwardly despised her father for being such a scoundrel who actually hit a woman. She asked, "Since Mother married into the family, she has always been dutiful and managed the household impeccably, showing respect to elders and kindness to younger generations. Why did he hit Mother?"
Meng Chengzhang quickly shook his head: "It wasn't Father who hit Mother, it was Mother who fought with Father because of Third Sister's marriage."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's mind flashed back to the image of her stepsister obediently calling her "elder sister," and her heart clenched instantly. She then asked, "Which family has he betrothed my third sister to? Is there any exchange of dowry?"
Meng Chengzhang replied, "Father wanted to marry my third sister to Vice Minister Jiang of the Ministry of Personnel as a concubine. Mother found out and got angry. She argued with Father and they even got into a fight."
Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel?
Meng Jinyao frowned, not expecting her father to still be so persistent, still thinking about his future at his age. He had almost ruined her second brother before, and now he was still not giving up, almost ruining her third sister as well. She gritted her teeth and cursed, "What a shameless old man! Marrying a beautiful young girl to a man over forty years old as a concubine, how could he even think of that?"
Meng Chengzhang also spat, "Father is becoming more and more absurd. Even if Third Sister is not his biological daughter, she is still his daughter in name only. It is not honorable for the matter of selling his daughter for personal gain to get out, and it is even more disgraceful for her to be a concubine."
Meng Jinyao became worried again: "By the way, is Mother injured?"
Meng Chengzhang shook his head slightly and replied, "Don't worry, elder sister. Father didn't get the better of us. Mother wasn't hurt, but Father was injured on the face, his forehead was hit by something, and he had bruises all over his body. Father was beaten into submission. Although he cursed Mother as a shrew, he didn't dare to mention the matter of making Third Sister a concubine again. He also forbade the servants in the house to gossip about it so as not to damage his reputation. This morning, Mother went to the home of Su Shaoqing of the Court of State Ceremonial, probably for Third Sister's marriage."
Meng Jinyao was stunned. She had known for a long time that her stepmother was fierce, but she hadn't expected her to be so fierce that she could beat her father like this. She was truly a remarkable person who could subdue her father.
"It's good that Mother wasn't hurt." Meng Jinyao suppressed her anger and then said, "Second brother, you are seventeen this year and it's time for you to get married. After the spring examination is over and the results of the palace examination are announced, I will find you a marriage partner. After you get married, we should start preparing for Third Sister's wedding to avoid any unforeseen problems."
Upon hearing this, Meng Chengzhang's cheeks flushed and he nodded awkwardly, "It's all up to you, elder sister."
Meng Jinyao glanced at him and teased with a smile, "You get shy just from mentioning it. If you met the girl in person, wouldn't you be so nervous that you couldn't speak?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Chengzhang blushed even more.
Meng Jinyao opened her mouth slightly, but ultimately didn't say anything. She had already found a girl. If her second brother did well in the exam and became an official, she would have the confidence to propose marriage for him. Once her second brother got married, her third sister's marriage would also be on the agenda.
Meng Chengzhang felt embarrassed and, not wanting to be teased by his elder sister any longer, quickly changed the subject: "Big sister, where's Wanwan?"
Meng Jinyao replied, "He stayed at his grandmother's place last night and hasn't returned this morning."
Meng Chengzhang nodded and said, "I haven't paid my respects to my elders yet. I'll go pay my respects to the old lady now, and then I'll check on Wanwan. It's been a while since I've seen that little one. I wonder if she still recognizes me."
Meng Jinyao nodded: "Alright, I'll go with you. Xiuwen has been staying home lately, so he's probably home today too. After paying our respects to the elders, we can also have a chat with Xiuwen."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com