Chapter 359 The True Colors Are Revealed
With the departure of Miss Qin, the play came to an end, and the other spectators also left one after another.
Even though Du Szeze knew that Meng Jinyu was his cousin's sister, he didn't care anymore. He had known before that his cousin Yao's sister was no good.
When Meng Jinyu's maids saw their mistress collapse on the ground, they rushed forward to help her up, then helped her into the carriage and headed back home.
At that moment, in a carriage not far away, Gu Jingxi lowered the curtain of the carriage window and said calmly to the coachman, "Return to the manor."
The coachman agreed and drove the carriage back home.
Upon hearing the sound of the carriage, Du Szeze instinctively looked in the direction of the sound and saw Gu Jingxi's carriage. He was immediately stunned, not expecting that Gu Jingxi was still there and had only just left.
He watched the carriage slowly disappear into the distance, and recalled the conversation in the teahouse earlier. He still had doubts about Gu Jingxi's sudden inquiry about his father.
The Changxing Marquis's Residence.
After returning home, Gu Jingxi told Meng Jinyao about the argument that he had witnessed between Meng Jinyu and the Qin family girl on the street.
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao frowned. As far as she knew, Dong hadn't done anything to Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing after entering the family. The Meng family wasn't wealthy, and Dong, as the head of the household, advocated thrift and saving money. Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing, who were used to enjoying life, were definitely dissatisfied with this, and thus also dissatisfied with Dong. There were probably some undercurrents between them.
Furthermore, Meng Jinyu is fifteen years old this year, and in a few months she will finish observing mourning for her mother and be eligible for marriage. Meng Jinyu is quite beautiful, but given her father's selfish and self-serving nature, even if Meng Jinyu is favored, she will not escape the fate of being used by her father for his own benefit. Therefore, Meng Jinyu is probably anxious and is thinking of finding a way out for herself.
Even if you're in a hurry, you can't just go after any man who has a fiancée and cause this kind of trouble. Even if you eventually prove your innocence with your death and clear your name of the crime of seducing someone else's fiancé, your reputation will still be affected.
After a moment, Meng Jinyao asked curiously, "By the way, which Qin family are you referring to, the Qin family girl you mentioned?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "The girl she had a dispute with is the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhennan, from the Qin family of the Zhennan Marquis's mansion."
The legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Zhennan?
Meng Jinyao was slightly surprised. She had met this Miss Qin before. Perhaps because she came from a military family, she inherited the fiery temper of the Marquis of Zhennan. She was also quite shrewish, unlike ordinary ladies from noble families. At the same time, she was someone who would not suffer a loss. If she found out that her fiancé was being seduced, she would be capable of beating the other party in the street.
The fiancé of the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhennan is the nephew of Consort Xiao's maternal family. He is the youngest son of Consort Xiao's own brother. The marriage alliance between the Xiao family and the Qin family is probably because they value the power of the Marquis of Zhennan's mansion and want to win them over to serve the Second Prince.
When the two families got engaged, many people privately said that the two were a good match. The youngest son of the Xiao family wasn't particularly talented; he only had a handsome face and a good family background, but he was naive and easy to manipulate. Miss Qin was also naive, and with that kind of personality, it would be easier for her to control such a man. If he were too clever, she wouldn't be able to control him and would be controlled by someone else.
Given the Xiao family's prestigious background, it's no wonder that Meng Jinyu would risk everything to seduce the young master, who already had a fiancée. Other intelligent young men from prominent families would certainly not fall for Meng Jinyu's advances; only someone as clueless as the Xiao family's young master would pay attention. And since the Xiao family's young master was interested, how could Meng Jinyu bear to let the opportunity slip by? If she missed out on the Xiao family's young master, it would be difficult to find someone with such a good family background again.
Meng Jinyao said, "Sun is a smart woman, but Meng Jinyu is far less so. Even if the young master of the Xiao family dislikes the Qin family girl, as long as the marriage contract is in place, even if she wins the young master's heart, she can't marry him. At most, she can only be a concubine. No matter how poor the Meng family is, she is still the legitimate daughter. Why would she rush to become a concubine?"
Gu Jingxi scoffed, "Ayao, if a man really wants to fool someone, it's not difficult to make a naive teenage girl believe him. Back then, didn't Xiuming coax Aunt Li into eloping with him even when he was already engaged? When Aunt Li eloped with him, she was after the position of the heir's wife; otherwise, why would she have taken such a gamble?"
Meng Jinyao was taken aback: "Could it be that the young master of the Xiao family lied to her, saying he would break off the engagement and marry her?"
Gu Jingxi said, "That possibility cannot be ruled out."
"She's just daydreaming." Meng Jinyao scoffed and shook her head repeatedly. "What kind of status does the Xiao family have? Even if Sun's affair hadn't tarnished her reputation, and even without Miss Qin, the Xiao family would never have let her in."
Gu Jingxi seemed to understand something, and said, "When you're desperate and see the dagger in the dark, you can lose your head. Tomorrow I'll have someone investigate what the Meng family has been up to lately."
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The next day.
Gu Jingxi then had someone investigate and found out that Meng Dongyuan was indeed preparing to find a husband for Meng Jinyu.
Although Meng Jinyu was quite beautiful, she was born into a declining family like the Meng family, and her reputation was also ruined by her birth mother. It would not be easy for her to marry into a good family. If she were to marry, she could only marry down to a family even worse than the Meng family.
However, neither Madam Meng nor Meng Dongyuan would be willing to accept a family worse off than the Meng family. Wouldn't it be a loss if their pampered daughter, who had been raised for over a decade, couldn't bring them any benefits?
After much deliberation, Meng Dongyuan and Madam Meng decided to find Meng Jinyu a man from a good family who had lost his wife as his second wife. Young widowers from good families did not want the Meng family, but older men were a different story.
Therefore, Meng Dongyuan found an official over forty years old for Meng Jinyu. The official was also interested, so Meng Dongyuan planned to marry Meng Jinyu to the official as his second wife after Meng Jinyu's mourning period ended.
Yesterday, Meng Jinyu didn't tell her family about what happened, but it spread today. The Meng family found out about it, and she was slapped twice by Meng Dongyuan, scolded severely by Old Madam Meng, and then locked in the Buddhist hall to reflect on her actions.
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was briefly shocked before saying, "So she's at her wit's end. She probably doesn't want to become that official's second wife, let alone his stepmother or step-grandmother. That's why she's desperately trying anything."
Gu Jingxi said slowly, "Although she failed to marry into the Xiao family, her reputation was still damaged after yesterday's incident, even if she was wronged. People will still wonder if she really has a past relationship with the young master of the Xiao family. This marriage is probably doomed. Getting rid of this marriage can be considered a success."
Meng Jinyao nodded slightly and said calmly, "That's true, but even if we lose this marriage, my father won't give up using her to gain benefits. I just don't know what kind of husband he'll arrange for her next time after this matter has passed."
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