Chapter 610 The Grand Finale 2
Meng Chengzhang glanced at his elder sister, pondered for a moment, and then told her about Meng Jinyu's recent situation: "Elder sister, my second brother-in-law sent a letter back saying that you have given birth to a son."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao stopped in her tracks. She hadn't heard from Meng Jinyu for a long time. If her second brother hadn't mentioned her, she wouldn't have remembered her at all. The last time she saw Meng Jinyu was when her stepmother, Zhao Shi, married into the family. At that time, Meng Jinyu was five months pregnant and had become a bit smarter.
But there was one thing she couldn't tolerate: Meng Jinyu forged her letters and flaunted her name in front of her in-laws. She exposed this to Deng Yuanqing without any mercy. After Meng Jinyu returned to Yangzhou with Deng Yuanqing, she never saw Meng Jinyu again.
Later, it was said that Meng Jinyu had given birth to a daughter, and Deng Yuanqing also took several beautiful concubines. Meng Jinyu was busy fighting with her concubines and had not given birth to any more children for the past few years. Deng Yuanqing once wanted to register the son born to his favorite concubine under her name, but she was unwilling. Deng Yuanqing could not force her, after all, she was still the second daughter of the Yongchang Earl's Mansion, while the Deng family was just a merchant family.
Now that Meng Jinyu has given birth to a son, as long as she doesn't do anything reckless and educates her child properly, she will be invincible with this son. She comes from the Yongchang Marquis's family, the current Yongchang Marquis is her younger brother, and she also has an eldest daughter and a son. Most of her husband's family property will belong to her son in the future.
After a while, Meng Jinyao smiled and said, "That's good. Since a letter has been sent back to announce the good news, you should prepare a gift for that child and send it over. Don't be impolite." She paused for a moment and then added, "Tomorrow I will choose a gift and have it sent to the Earl's residence. Send both gifts over together."
Meng Chengzhang asked in surprise, "Big sister, you also gave a gift to her child?"
Meng Jinyao laughed and said, "It's just a gift. In the capital, every family that sends an invitation has to send a gift. After all, we are sisters, so it wouldn't be right not to send one. Every year on Wanwan's birthday, the Deng family sends a gift to represent their good wishes as Wanwan's aunt and uncle."
Meng Chengzhang understood immediately. It wasn't for any other reason than that the Deng family sent Wanwan a birthday gift every year, and the eldest sister would also send a gift to the second sister's newborn child. Regardless of whether Deng Yuanqing's annual gifts to Wanwan were an attempt to curry favor with the Gu family, the gifts were legitimate, and they were all things the child would like. It was only right for the eldest sister to reciprocate.
Meng Jinyao didn't want to continue this topic and said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go to the old lady's place first."
Meng Chengzhang agreed, and the couple went with Meng Jinyao to wish Old Madam Gu a happy birthday. After exchanging pleasantries, Guo Miaoyun stayed with the other women, while he went to the front yard to join the male guests.
Now Meng Chengzhang is the Earl of Yongchang, and he is also favored by his superiors in the Hanlin Academy. He is also Gu Jingxi's brother-in-law, so there are many people who want to flatter him. As soon as he arrived, many people of similar age struck up conversations with him.
Suddenly, someone patted Meng Chengzhang on the shoulder and asked with a smile, "Second Uncle, it's been a long time! How have you been?"
Meng Chengzhang turned his head and saw Gu Xiuwen looking at him with a smile. Although Gu Xiuwen was two years older than him, he had never been as composed as him. Now that he had been an official for several years, his youthful spirit had faded away, and he looked much more mature.
Gu Xiuwen was slightly taken aback, then asked, "Why is Second Uncle looking at me like that?"
Meng Chengzhang replied, "You've grown quite a bit, so I can't help but take a second look."
Gu Xiuwen chuckled softly: "What are you saying? You're two years younger than me, yet you say I've grown up quite a bit."
Meng Chengzhang shook his head slightly and said, "It's different. Before, it was because I was older, but now I've matured a lot."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiuwen was taken aback. He didn't really care about being immature or not. But now, hearing someone say this, he suddenly realized that he hadn't been as immature as he was in his youth, causing his elders a lot of worry. So he laughed and said, "I'm twenty-four already. How can I still act like a teenager?"
Meng Chengzhang asked curiously, "You're at the age where you should be settling down and starting a family. It's not like there aren't girls who like you, so why are you still dragging your feet on getting married?"
Gu Xiuwen said with righteous indignation, "No rush. My third uncle got married at the age of twenty-nine, and I am only twenty-four. What's the rush? Let me make some achievements in that barren land and let the people there live a good life before we talk about marriage." As he spoke, he added confidently, "Don't worry, in a few years, my wish will come true. Things are already starting to look up."
Upon hearing this, Meng Chengzhang's eyes flashed with admiration. Xiuwen should have been promoted two years ago. He had previously chosen to serve as an official in a remote area, where he achieved remarkable political achievements. Even the emperor had taken notice of Xiuwen. However, Xiuwen managed to go to a remote and impoverished place to serve as an official through his own efforts. This puzzled everyone. Others would only go to such places to serve as officials after being demoted, but Xiuwen went there voluntarily.
Many people study hard for years, pass the imperial examinations, and enter officialdom, all for fame, fortune, and to bring glory to their ancestors. But Xiuwen did not do this for fame or fortune; he simply did it for the common people. It is truly admirable that a noble young man from a prestigious family could do all this.
He once asked Xiuwen why he volunteered to go to a barren place when he could have been promoted. Xiuwen's answer at the time deeply moved him. Xiuwen said, "My teacher said that everyone has their own path. I was confused before, not knowing what my path was. But when I passed the imperial examination, I suddenly saw my path: to do practical things for the common people and let them live a good life. I come from a prominent family and have been living a life of luxury since childhood. I will never lack money in the future, so high-ranking positions and generous salaries are not important to me. Adhering to my own path is the most important thing to me."
“If you are an official without any connections, it will be difficult to realize your ambitions in that place. Not only will you be suppressed by your superiors, but you will also have to fight with the local tyrants. It will be difficult to achieve any political achievements. Otherwise, that place would not be so barren. But I am different. My third uncle holds a high position, my second uncle has also been promoted and is now the Vice Minister of Rites, and my eldest and second brothers are also officials in the capital. With them supporting me and paving the way for me, no one dares to stop me. I can do whatever I want without restraint.”
Before his older sister married into the Gu family, he had met Xiuwen, who was completely different from the person he was now. The boy who was once pampered by his elders, lazy and only thinking about eating, drinking and having fun, had unknowingly transformed into a pillar of the country and a public official who spoke up for the people.
Gu Xiuwen sighed softly, "Sigh, let's not talk about marriage anymore. It gives me a headache. I came back to celebrate my grandmother's birthday yesterday, and my mother has already nagged me about it five or six times. I really have a terrible headache."
He then changed the subject, "Look, my third uncle is thirty-eight this year, but I don't know how he takes care of himself. He looks no more than thirty. If I told strangers I was his older brother, they would believe me. If this continues, in a few years when I go out with him, will people think I'm his older brother?"
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