Chapter 445 Second Son-in-Law Meng
Seeing that her face was very pale, Meng Jinyao ignored her and said casually, "Second sister, today is your big day. I would like to congratulate you on finding your ideal husband. I wish you and your husband a harmonious marriage, a long and happy life together, and many children."
Hearing her offer of blessings, Meng Jinyu felt utterly ironic. She was a marquis, and a few days ago she was granted the title of a third-rank noblewoman, while she herself had married a mere merchant. It was clearly a show of arrogance and mockery directed at her.
Meng Jinyu asked coldly, "Are you here to laugh at me?"
Meng Jinyao didn't indulge her: "If Second Sister thinks so, then so be it."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyu's face froze, clearly not expecting her to respond in this way.
Meng Jinyao didn't care what she was thinking. She gave Qingqiu a look and then said, "Today is your wedding day. I have prepared a small gift for you. I don't know if you will like it, but I hope you won't find it offensive."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qingqiu stepped forward and put down the wooden box in her hand.
Meng Jinyu didn't even look at the gift. She glared at Meng Jinyao with a gloomy look and said irritably, "Take your things back. Who cares about your congratulatory gift? You're obviously up to no good!"
"I have already delivered the gifts. As for how to handle them, that is up to Second Sister." Meng Jinyao did not bother to argue with her and turned to the maid beside her, saying, "Chan'er, Qingqiu, let's go."
After saying that, Meng Jinyao left without looking back.
Meng Jinyu was furious with her, feeling like she had punched a cotton ball. If Meng Jinyao had argued with her, she wouldn't have been so angry. She ordered the maid beside her, "Qing'er, throw out the things she brought. Don't make my place dirty."
Qing'er was stunned by what she heard, seemingly not expecting her mistress to be so extreme. She took two steps forward, picked up the wooden box, opened it, glanced at it, and then earnestly advised, "Second Miss, the Eldest Miss gave you a pair of jade bracelets. They look quite good and are worth some silver. After you marry into the Deng family, you will go to Yangzhou with your husband after three days. We don't know what the situation will be like there. A woman's dowry is her livelihood, so it's always a good idea for you to bring more valuables. If you don't like these bracelets, you can pawn them later and exchange them for silver."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyu recalled her dowry list, which was quite meager, with few valuable items listed.
She complained to her grandmother, who said that the Meng family was not as prosperous as before and that she should be understanding of her elders. She said that she would not have to worry about food and clothing after marrying into the Deng family. Many girls marry into wealthy families of equal social standing and do not have to worry about food and clothing, but her dowry was not generous, so she had no confidence in her husband's family and was also short of money.
It's really good that the Meng family sold her for a good price, but didn't even give her a decent dowry. I don't know if it was her father and grandmother's idea, or if it was Dong's instigation.
Now that things had come to this, she couldn't afford to turn down the money. She took a deep breath, narrowed her eyes, and replied with a forced smile, "Take it first. Today is a joyous occasion, and it's unlucky to throw away a gift."
Qing'er nodded in agreement. As a maid who accompanied her in her dowry, she certainly hoped that her mistress would be well. Otherwise, her life would be difficult. Even if she followed her mistress to the Deng family and became the son-in-law's concubine, she would still be her mistress's person, and her indenture would be in her mistress's hands.
Meanwhile, Meng Jinyao had not gone far after leaving Meng Jinyu's boudoir when she overheard guests gossiping among themselves.
"Didn't the Sun family come today? I haven't seen anyone from the Sun family."
"What brings the Sun family here?"
"Although Madam Sun has been divorced, Miss Meng is still the Sun family's niece. Since they are in the capital, shouldn't they come to celebrate her marriage and send a gift?"
"The Sun family doesn't even acknowledge Sun Shi, so why would they acknowledge their niece? Sun Shi killed herself by crashing into the Sun family's door, bringing bad luck to the family and infuriating them. Even the Second Miss Meng and the Young Master Meng refused to come and collect her body. In the end, the Sun family had no choice but to collect Sun Shi's body and find a place to bury her."
"If you ask me, Prince Meng and Second Miss Meng are truly heartless. Madam Sun has wronged others, but she has never wronged them. They didn't even bother to collect their mother's body."
"If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. Like mother, like child. If the mother is not good, how can the child be good? Look at Miss Meng, she is quite good. Second Master Meng is also excellent in both character and academics. He even topped the imperial examination this year. Neither of them were born to Madam Sun."
"No wonder the Meng family married off their second daughter to a merchant. Merchants have a low social status, so she won't be looked down upon after marriage. If it were a marriage between equals, they would never have married her."
"Yes, let's not talk about that, let's talk about something else."
...
Meng Jinyao stood there, watching the two people slowly walk away until their voices faded into the distance. She whispered, "They said something wrong."
Qingqiu asked, "Madam, what did they say wrong?"
Meng Jinyao replied, "Not only is my mother bad, but my father isn't much better either."
After listening, Qingqiu found this to be reasonable and nodded in agreement.
About half an hour later, the sound of gongs and drums came from the front. It was the Deng family coming to pick up the bride. Everyone saw the Meng family's second son-in-law, whom they had been curious about for a long time.
Deng Yuanqing was a young man of about twenty years old. He was dressed in a bright red wedding robe, tall and slender, with a handsome face and elegant manners. He was indeed a man of talent, and at first glance, one might mistake him for a scholar.
Upon closer inspection, the shrewdness in those phoenix eyes revealed the shrewdness characteristic of a businessman, indicating that he was an intelligent person.
Meng Dongyuan introduced his eldest daughter and son-in-law to him: "Yuanqing, this is your eldest sister, and this is your eldest brother-in-law."
Deng Yuanqing glanced at the couple, carefully observing them for only a moment before bowing respectfully and saying, "Yuanqing greets elder sister and elder brother-in-law."
Gu Jingxi nodded in agreement.
Meng Jinyao politely praised, "I've long heard that the elders in the family speak highly of my second sister's husband. Now that I've met him, he truly is a handsome man, a perfect match for my second sister."
Deng Yuanqing replied, "You flatter me, elder sister."
Meng Jinyao said gently, "The auspicious time has arrived. Hurry up and go pick up the bride. Don't miss the auspicious time."
There's plenty of time in the future, so Deng Yuanqing didn't try to be overly enthusiastic or ingratiating. He simply responded and then, led by a servant, went to Meng Jinyu's boudoir to fetch her.
Meng Jinyu did not make a fuss. Upon learning that the groom had come to fetch her, she immediately covered her head with a red veil and left her boudoir amidst the lively chatter of the crowd. She went to the hall to bid farewell to her parents and was then carried into the bridal sedan chair by her younger brother.
Meng Chengzhang was a year older than Meng Chengxing, so logically Meng Chengzhang should have carried him. However, Meng Jinyu was at odds with him and made her own younger brother, Meng Chengxing, carry him instead.
Meng Chengxing was happy to agree, but after carrying the person for more than ten steps, he regretted agreeing to the task. However, he couldn't let others laugh at him for being incompetent.
Thus, the pampered thirteen-year-old boy, who was too weak to even kill a chicken, gritted his teeth and struggled to carry the fifteen-year-old girl on his back, step by step, out of the house. Finally, he couldn't help but whisper, "Second sister, why are you so heavy?"
Which girl would be happy to hear such words?
Meng Jinyu was already in a bad mood, and now she was even more furious. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, she would have jumped down immediately and given her brother a good scolding for being useless and yet criticizing her for being heavy.
After carrying the person onto the bridal sedan chair, Meng Chengxing breathed a sigh of relief. He was sweating in the early winter heat, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
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