Chapter 561 Shifting the Blame to Him
When Meng Dongyuan saw his mother glaring at him with resentment, he felt somewhat guilty, thinking that he was the culprit for his mother's current state. He quickly turned away, not daring to meet her gaze for a moment, and sent the physician from the Ling family and the maidservant who was serving him away.
Seeing this, Madam Meng thought that this rebellious son was going to harm her. A sense of crisis arose spontaneously, and her eyes were full of vigilance. She wanted to move behind her, but her body was not in her control and she could not move. She felt frustrated and helpless.
Meng Dongyuan took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at his mother again. When he saw his mother staring at him warily and fearfully, he suddenly felt a strange sense of pleasure. In the past, he had always obeyed whatever his mother said and dared not disobey her in the slightest. Now, his mother was actually afraid of him. This was truly the first time in his life.
He gave a meaningful smile, his eyes carrying a hint of warning, and said slowly, "Mother, please rest well. Don't worry, as long as you cooperate with the doctor's treatment, you will definitely get better."
He emphasized the words "cooperate well".
Upon hearing this, Madam Meng's pupils constricted sharply, her face filled with disbelief. She understood her son's meaning: if she didn't cooperate, he would definitely harm her. What a good son of hers! He would turn against her for a woman. What was so good about Madam Dong? Wasn't Madam Zhao a hundred times more obedient and virtuous than Madam Dong? When choosing a wife, one should choose an obedient and gentle one. Moreover, she brought a beautiful daughter with her. They could find a good match and form a marriage alliance to benefit the Meng family. How wonderful!
Zhao suddenly turned to look at Meng Dongyuan. She had really overestimated this man. No matter how unbearable the old lady was, she was still Meng Dongyuan's mother, and Meng Dongyuan was usually very respectful, obedient, and filial to his mother. She had thought that Meng Dongyuan would feel guilty for upsetting his mother so much, but she hadn't expected him to show the slightest remorse.
Meng Dongyuan bent down and gently tucked the blanket around Old Madam Meng. Then he looked at Madam Zhao and said, "Madam, Mother needs to rest. We won't disturb her any longer. Please go out now."
"Okay, sure."
Zhao nodded obsequiously, glanced at Meng Dongyuan, then at Old Madam Meng, and finally followed Meng Dongyuan away with a troubled expression.
Seeing this, Old Madam Meng was furious. Although it is said that husband and wife should follow each other, sometimes it is not a good thing for a daughter-in-law to be too obedient and compliant to her son. In this situation, she did not dare to say a word in her opinion. She had really spoiled her for nothing.
Once outside, Meng Dongyuan put on a stern face, his gaze fixed on Zhao Shi, and said in a deep voice, "Zhao Shi, you used to put on airs in front of Mother and deceive her to gain her trust. With Mother backing you up, you could act tough in front of me. But from now on, I will be the one to call the shots in the Meng family."
He paused, then said meaningfully, "But don't worry, I won't divorce you. But if you still want to stay in the Meng family, I think you know what you should and shouldn't say. Besides, you've always been filial. I know you're extremely anxious about your mother's illness. Go to the Buddhist hall now to chant sutras and pray for your mother. You can leave the Buddhist hall whenever your mother gets better. Sincerity is key, and I believe your mother will recover soon."
Upon hearing this, Zhao knew that her husband wanted her to spend the rest of her life in the Buddhist temple, because he would not allow the old lady to recover. She changed her previous timid and submissive manner in front of the old lady, met his gaze, and said, "Husband, the eldest daughter will come back to visit her mother tomorrow after learning that she is ill. Although I am her stepmother, I should still greet her when she returns to her parents' home. It would be inappropriate to refuse to see her in the Buddhist temple, otherwise people might think that I, as her stepmother, do not welcome my daughter back to her parents' home."
"What did you say?" Meng Dongyuan's expression changed. "How did she know?"
Zhao calmly replied, "I thought that since my mother was so ill, as her granddaughter, she should come back to see her, otherwise people would have something to say about it, so I told her about it."
Meng Dongyuan's face was terribly grim: "What exactly did you say to her?"
Zhao smiled and said, "Of course I will tell you the truth." She paused, then continued, "Husband, the Emperor dislikes unfilial people the most. You have angered Mother to this extent. If word gets out, I don't know if you can bear the crime of unfilial piety."
Meng Dongyuan's heart skipped a beat. The last official who was punished for being unfilial had been dismissed from his post, given thirty lashes, and exiled to Lingnan. He took a deep breath and steadied himself: "What does she want?"
His eldest daughter is not easy to deal with, and his son-in-law is no pushover either. But fortunately, the eldest daughter is not close to her mother and has a long-standing grudge, so she certainly won't stand up for her mother. The fact that he hasn't been brought down immediately proves that there is something to gain from him.
Zhao had no idea what Meng Jinyao wanted, but in front of Meng Dongyuan, she still pretended to be mysterious: "You'll know what she wants when you meet her."
Seeing him frowning in thought, Zhao continued, "Husband, we don't know where Chengxing has gone. He hasn't been home for several days. With such a serious incident happening to Mother, it's only right that he, as her grandson, should be by her side to fulfill his filial duty. Chengzhang is studying at Lingshan Academy and doesn't know about this yet. I think we should send him a message so he can ask his teacher for leave to come back and visit, to fulfill his filial duty."
Upon hearing the first half of Zhao's sentence, Meng Dongyuan's eyes suddenly lit up, as if a word had awakened him from a dream. He even ignored the second half of the sentence. Suppressing his inner joy, he feigned anger and said, "Don't mention that wretched Chengxing to me! Isn't Mother's condition all thanks to him? Mother hoped he would study hard, hoped he would be successful and bring glory to the family, but who would have thought he would fool around with his cronies and even spend the night at the Hundred Flowers Brothel? When Mother found out, she was so angry that she lost her balance and fell."
Zhao was stunned by his shameless and distorted remarks, and looked at her husband in disbelief.
She thought to herself: Was Meng Dongyuan a cook in his past life? He's so good at shifting blame.
Although Chengxing was spoiled and not a good person, Meng Dongyuan, as a father, was even worse by directly and unhesitatingly shifting the blame to his son, who knew nothing about the matter, in order to absolve himself of any responsibility. Even tigers don't eat their cubs; Meng Dongyuan is worse than a wild beast. He can't bear the guilt of being unfilial, but his son can.
"I've been so worried about my mother's coma these past few days that I've completely forgotten about that wretched child. I'll send someone to bring him back right away."
After saying this, Meng Dongyuan strode out. At this moment, he was not worried about Zhao Shi saying anything reckless. After all, his eldest daughter thought he could benefit from her. Zhao Shi wanted to rely on his eldest daughter, so she would definitely listen to her and not say anything she shouldn't for the time being.
Zhao frowned, feeling that she should inform Meng Jinyao about this matter first, so that Meng Jinyao would have a plan when she came tomorrow. So she immediately returned to her own courtyard to write a letter and asked her trusted maid to send it to Meng Jinyao. Then she wrote another letter and asked someone to send it to Meng Chengzhang at Lingshan Academy. However, she did not write why Old Madam Meng had fallen ill, but only said that Old Madam Meng was now seriously ill and asked him to come back to visit her.
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