Chapter Ninety-Three: The Death of Cheng Yu
Inside the room, Meng Jinyao slowly loosened her clenched fist.
Two fair and tender palms with a light pink tinge each had a crescent-shaped mark on them.
The mark was dark red, the color of congealed blood, and there were traces of congealed blood on her fingernails, showing how much force she had used to injure herself with her fingernails.
Meng Jinyao lowered her eyes and glanced at it indifferently, then looked away.
It actually hurt, but the pain seemed to make her feel better.
She had three younger brothers. Her third brother, Chengxing, was born to Madam Sun. Chengyu and Chengzhang were twins, born to Madam Du, a maidservant.
When Madam Du was pregnant with twins, she said she dreamed that she gave birth to two lovely girls. The servants in the mansion also said that looking at Madam Du's belly, they felt that she was having two girls.
Therefore, the father did not have high expectations for the child in Du's belly. After all, he already had two daughters, her and Meng Jinyu, and only wanted a son to carry on the family line. So he did not elevate Du, who was very likely pregnant with twin daughters, to the status of a concubine.
Unexpectedly, Du gave birth to twin sons, bringing her two sons in one go, much to her father's delight.
Because of her merit in giving birth to a son, Du was elevated to the status of a concubine by her father, who then showed her more favor and allowed her to raise the child. He also visited her room more often.
Looking back now, Mrs. Du was smart; otherwise, the two children probably wouldn't have been born safely.
The twins looked exactly alike, and not only did their father love them, but she also adored them. She especially cherished her two younger brothers. Whenever her grandfather bought her something fun, she would show it to her two brothers and play with them.
Even though Sun Shi later gave birth to a younger brother for her, a chubby little dumpling, she still liked him quite a bit. But she still liked Chengyu and Chengzhang, who looked exactly alike, the most. However, with the birth of Chengxing, her father's attention was diverted by a large part of his attention, since the legitimate son was far more important than the illegitimate son.
She taught Chengyu and Chengzhang to walk, and she felt a great sense of accomplishment when her two younger brothers stumbled towards her. She also taught them to speak, and even their first words were when they called her "Big Sister." The three siblings were always inseparable.
However, the good times didn't last long.
When Chengyu was two years old, he fell ill and died. Afterwards, Aunt Du also fell seriously ill due to the grief of losing her son and eventually passed away.
Chengyu appeared to have died young from illness, but his grandmother believed that Chengyu had been cursed to death by her and wanted to lock her in the Buddhist hall to remove the evil spirits. However, she was crying her heart out because of her brother's death and refused to go, only wanting to stay with her brother. So, Sun pleaded for her and spared her the punishment of being locked in the Buddhist hall.
Sun told her, "Ayao, don't be afraid. Chengyu died of illness. Your grandmother was also heartbroken. Don't blame her."
Back then, Madam Sun was really gentle. She liked her stepmother very much and was very dependent on Madam Sun. Until one day, she overheard Madam Sun saying to her confidante, "It's a pity that that bitch Du died young, otherwise I would have had a rival in this backyard to keep me company."
The confidant said, "Who would have thought that after her son died, she would follow him to the grave? A lowly maidservant, she was destined to be unlucky and short-lived."
Madam Sun chuckled, "However, I also have to thank that little slut Meng Jinyao. If it weren't for her good relationship with those lowly twins and her personally feeding them the medicine, I wouldn't have been able to resolve this problem so easily. Tsk tsk... a jinx born to bring misfortune to her mother and later to her younger brother. After raising her for several years, she's finally put to good use. It wasn't a waste of time to raise her."
The confidant flattered, "Madam's move is brilliant, killing two birds with one stone."
When she heard her kind and gentle stepmother say such things, she felt her blood freeze, her mind go blank, and she trembled all over. She wanted to rush out and ask Sun why she did this, but in the end, she had a sudden inspiration and thought that she was still a child and no one would believe her.
So she held back and left like a zombie to tell her grandfather about it, but her grandfather, who was already bedridden and barely breathing, no longer had the energy to deal with such matters.
Her grandfather told her, "Ayao, be good, don't cry. Let's not talk about this anymore. Just pretend you never heard them say it."
She didn't understand why her grandfather wouldn't seek justice for her brother, and asked in bewilderment, "Grandpa, don't you want to help my brother catch the bad guys?"
Grandfather's eyes were cloudy and dull, filled with tears, and he said in a choked voice, "Grandfather is old and can't catch bad guys anymore. Ayao is still too young to beat them. Let's let the bad guys be smug for a while, okay?"
She nodded, seemingly understanding, "Then when can we catch the bad guys?"
Grandfather replied, "When Ayao has the ability, and her ability is stronger than that of the bad guys, then she can go and catch them."
Grandfather was afraid she would disobey and make a fuss, so he held her little hand and repeated over and over again, "Ayao, be good. Ayao, wait a little longer. Our Ayao is a good child. She won't be disobedient, right?"
She listened attentively, and her grandfather, as she nodded repeatedly, reluctantly closed his eyes and never opened them again.
That day, she learned the truth about Chengyu's untimely death, and her grandfather, who cherished her dearly, also left her forever.
On that very day, she seemed to have suddenly grown up.
However, she was still a child and didn't know how to hide her emotions. In front of someone she hated to the core, her acting skills were not very good, and her dislike for Sun was quickly exposed. Her attitude towards Sun became worse and worse, and Sun stopped playing the role of a kind stepmother. The open and covert struggle between her and Sun began.
She hates it.
She hated Sun's wickedness, and she also hated herself.
Chengyu was being naughty, crying and refusing to drink his medicine. Even Aunt Du herself couldn't get him to drink it. Every time he needed to drink his medicine, she had to do it herself and coax him into drinking it.
The medicine she fed Chengyu spoonful after spoonful was a deadly poison; each spoonful would hasten his death. Although Sun was scheming behind the scenes, it was she who personally sent her brother to the underworld, which was more painful for her than being killed.
To use someone else to do one's dirty work.
What a brilliant scheme by the Sun family!
Taking advantage of their close sibling relationship, and because she personally fed him the medicine, no one suspected the medicine was faulty when Chengyu died, and no one thought Chengyu's death was suspicious.
They said that Chengyu was cursed to death by her, and that if she hadn't been close to Chengyu, he probably wouldn't have died young. Even her grandmother and father believed it. Her grandmother both hated and feared her, afraid that she would continue to bring bad luck to her relatives.
Over the years, she has always kept in mind her grandfather's dying words and has not exposed the matter. Firstly, she had to deal with Sun Shi with great care and it was not easy for her to live peacefully. Secondly, she had no evidence and could not prove anything with just words.
Now that she's married and no longer part of the Yongchang Marquis's household, she's become the Lady of the Changxing Marquis, and even her own family can't do anything to her.
She thought that she should be capable now, even more capable than the bad guys, but so many years had passed, all the clues had been lost, and she had no idea where to start her investigation.
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