Chapter Ninety-One: Born Rebellious
As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Jinyao paused and turned to look at her grandmother. Just moments ago, she had been angrily rebuking her, but now she was calm again, her gaze gentle.
That's true; one should have the right attitude when asking for help. He's quite sensible.
In the past, she would have cursed her for being unfilial, heartless, and not considering the family.
She asked with a smile, "Is there anything else, Grandmother?"
Madam Meng took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and tried her best to keep her tone gentle: "Ayao, Chengxing is your own brother."
Meng Jinyao nodded slightly: "I know, and then what?"
Madam Meng appealed to your emotions and reasoned with you: "Ayao, your grandmother knows that you resent your mother for taking away your birth mother's dowry, but your third brother is innocent. No matter how angry you are with your mother, you shouldn't hold a grudge against your third brother as well."
Lingshan Academy is an academy that scholars from all over the country flock to. Entering Lingshan Academy is one step closer to becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). Your third brother's success will also benefit you; he will be able to support you in the future, and you will gain respect in your husband's family.
Meng Jinyao gave a sneer: "Even when Meng Jinyu does something wrong, he still helps her and makes me take the blame. Is Grandmother sure that someone who can't distinguish right from wrong will support me?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Meng's face darkened, and she said in an unpleasant tone, "What nonsense are you spouting? How could Chengxing do such a thing? Ayu has always been well-behaved, but you are disobedient and bully your younger siblings. Ayu even pleaded for you without holding a grudge."
Meng Jinyao looked calmly at her grandmother. Her grandmother's tone was firm, yet tinged with disgust. She chuckled lightly. Being favored was different; she believed the other person's words without question. But for someone who was disliked, any explanation was just sophistry.
However, as proud as the old lady of the Meng family was, she probably couldn't accept from the bottom of her heart that her most beloved grandson and granddaughter had such bad behavior, while her most disliked granddaughter was of good character. So, in her heart, she firmly believed in the truth she wanted.
Madam Meng frowned: "Grandmother will ask you one more time, are you really not going to help Chengxing with his matter?"
Without hesitation, Meng Jinyao replied, "I won't help."
Seeing that she was unyielding, Meng Dongyuan became anxious and questioned her, "Ayao, Chengxing is your brother. For you, it's just a matter of talking. What's wrong with helping your brother with such a small thing?"
Meng Jinyao said unhurriedly, "Since Father says it's a small matter, why don't you go and talk to my husband yourself? Oh, I forgot, you don't dare to go to my husband, otherwise you wouldn't have put on such a show to get me back."
Touched on her true feelings, Meng Dongyuan became furious: "Don't forget you are a daughter of the Meng family. Without the Meng family, how would you be qualified to be a Marquis's wife? The Meng family is your support. If the Meng family is not doing well, do you think you will be doing well in your husband's family?"
Meng Jinyao asked jokingly, "Why don't you sever ties with me, so that I have absolutely no support, and see if I can do well in my husband's family?"
Meng Dongyuan was stunned and angrily rebuked, "You, you unfilial daughter! The Meng family raised you for so long, and this is how you repay us? Now that you've grown up and married into a good family, you think you can fly away, huh?"
Meng Jinyao's expression remained calm.
Madam Meng was furious. She picked up a teacup and threw it at Meng Jinyao, but fortunately, Meng Jinyao dodged in time and the teacup just missed her.
The teacup crashed to the ground with a "smash".
It broke.
Seeing this, Madam Meng became even more furious and said hatefully, "What a misfortune for our family! How could our Meng family produce such a rebellious daughter as you? Not only are you heartless and ungrateful, but you are also a jinx who brings misfortune to your family. We should not have listened to your grandfather and kept you as a jinx. That way, Chengyu would not have been killed by you."
Upon hearing the name Chengyu, Meng Jinyao's expression froze. Her hand clenched into a fist inside her sleeve, her nails digging into her palms, yet she didn't loosen her grip. She looked at Madam Sun with a sinister gaze and sneered, "Madam Meng knows all too well why Chengyu died."
Madam Sun's expression changed slightly, and the next moment she lowered her head and secretly shed tears, choking out, "Ayao, I have already returned your birth mother's dowry to you, what more do you want? Chengyu's death is your problem, everyone has seen it, and now you want to make false accusations and shift the blame to me? Back then, when your mother asked you to stay in the Buddhist hall to ward off evil spirits, you cried and refused to go, and I had to plead for you."
Looking at her feigned innocence and unfathomable eyes, Meng Jinyao said in a low voice, "Madam Meng, I hope you can still say this with confidence in the future."
Sun paused slightly as she wiped away her tears.
Seeing his wife's aggrieved tears, Meng Dongyuan angrily rebuked her, "You unfilial daughter, you have no respect for your elders, you are simply lawless!" With that, he suddenly stood up, took a few steps forward, and raised his hand to slap Meng Jinyao across the face.
However, Meng Jinyao wouldn't just stand there dumbfounded and let him slap her. The moment he raised his hand, she pulled Qingqiu back two steps, causing his slap to miss.
Meng Dongyuan was also surprised to find that he had missed his target, and immediately became furious and embarrassed: "You rebellious daughter, how dare you hide?"
Meng Jinyao blinked innocently, "How can you say that, Father? I was trying to help you. If I return to the Marquis of Changxing's residence with the slap mark on my face, and my husband's family sees it and asks about the reason, who do you think will be in trouble?"
Meng Dongyuan's expression suddenly changed.
Even Madam Meng and Madam Sun didn't look too happy. If nothing unexpected happened, this ungrateful brat would tell her the truth about what had happened in her husband's family.
However, the old lady was still the most cunning. She stared at her with a dark expression and a menacing look, putting pressure on her: "Don't forget you are a daughter of the Meng family. If your family is disgraced, do you think you can escape unscathed?"
Meng Jinyao knew they were afraid of losing face, so she curled her lips into a harmless smile: "Grandmother, have you forgotten? I'm naturally rebellious and disobedient. If you upset me, it's not impossible that I might go crazy one day and embarrass my family again. After all, I did something like that not long ago."
Madam Meng felt her blood rush to her head and nearly fainted. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pointed at Meng Jinyao and angrily cursed, "You bastard!"
"My grandmother's voice was full of energy when she scolded people, so she must be in good health. I'll head back now."
After saying this, Meng Jinyao didn't wait for them to reply. She pulled Qingqiu along and left Rongfutang with light steps, not wanting to waste any more time getting entangled with them. The maids in Rongfutang didn't dare to stop them either.
She hadn't gone far; she could still hear sounds coming from inside the house.
Madam Meng: "What a wicked child! How could our Meng family produce such a wicked child?"
Sun said, "Mother, please calm down. Ayao is young and doesn't understand. She'll understand when she's a couple of years older."
Madam Meng said, "She's heartless and ungrateful. She won't even help her own brother. How can we expect her to be sensible in the future?"
After leaving Rongfu Hall, Meng Jinyao took a deep breath and left without lingering for a moment. She walked through the moon gate and was met by a young man who was in a hurry. When the young man saw her, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "Big sister, did they give you any trouble?"
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