Chapter 472 Parting on Unhappily
These words struck a chord with Old Madam Meng. Her expression softened, and without any attempt to conceal the presence of her second grandson, she said, "Chengxing is the most sensible one."
After she finished speaking, she turned to her second grandson and admonished him, "Chengzhang, your grandmother still says the same thing: if the Meng family is to rise again, it cannot rely on the strength of one person alone. Everyone needs to work together. Your eldest sister has grievances against the Meng family, so how could she want the Meng family to be well? You don't need to pay attention to what she says."
Meng Chengzhang particularly disliked his elders slandering his eldest sister, and retorted, "Since Grandmother thinks that my eldest sister wouldn't want the Meng family to prosper, why make me do this kind of thing for her?"
He suddenly stood up and continued, "Grandmother, you haven't changed. Before, you thought eldest sister was a jinx who would bring misfortune to her family, so you disliked her and treated her badly, yet you still thought that her marriage to the Gu family would bring you benefits. Now you still think eldest sister is bad, yet you still want to get benefits from her. Is there such a good thing in the world as repaying evil with kindness?"
The veil of shame was mercilessly ripped off by her grandson, and Old Madam Meng was furious and embarrassed: "Chengzhang, have you wasted all your time studying the classics? Who taught you to talk back to your elders like this?"
Meng Chengzhang remained composed and dignified: "I am merely stating the facts; it is only that my grandmother is unwilling to accept them."
Seeing his behavior, Old Madam Meng was furious: "You unfilial brat, you've forgotten who you are just because you received a little favor from your brother-in-law! Go to the ancestral hall and kneel down to reflect on your actions!"
This wasn't the first time Meng Chengzhang had knelt in the ancestral hall; it was always his grandmother's fault. But when an elder punishes someone, a junior has no choice but to comply. So he said, "Grandmother, please calm down. Your grandson will go now." With that, he left without looking back, and the grandmother and grandson parted on bad terms.
Seeing this, Old Madam Meng was even angrier. Even though she punished him by making him kneel in the ancestral hall, she did not feel relieved at all. She said angrily, "The eldest sister is ignorant, and the brother is also ignorant. They are both wicked children. It is a misfortune for the family to be born into the Meng family and to make the family no peace."
Meng Chengxing knew that his father's heart had already turned towards his elder brother and he no longer valued him as much as before. Now, the only person in the family who loved him was his grandmother. If he wanted to live well in this family, he had to rely on his grandmother. Seeing his grandmother so angry, he quickly comforted her, "Grandmother, please don't be angry. You'll hurt your health. As the saying goes, the deeper the love, the harsher the discipline. My eldest sister was ignorant before, and you were only doing it for her own good. That's why you were educating her. Who would have thought that in the eyes of my second brother and eldest sister, it would be seen as disgust and torment?"
Grandson offered a way out, and Madam Meng followed suit, sighing softly, "Your eldest sister will probably resent me for the rest of her life. Your second brother is also influenced by her and has many complaints about me."
Meng Chengxing said, "Grandmother, they will understand your good intentions sooner or later."
Madam Meng looked at her grandson with loving eyes and said earnestly, "Chengxing, this time Lingshan Academy is recruiting students. You should work hard to pass the test. There are many famous teachers in the academy. With their guidance, your studies will definitely improve by leaps and bounds. Look at your second brother. He used to be not as good as you. With the guidance of famous teachers, he even passed the county-level exam and became the top scholar."
Meng Chengxing paused. He used to be full of confidence, but he had failed the Lingshan Academy's assessment and later the provincial examination. Now, he could no longer be confident about the Lingshan Academy's assessment and the imperial examination, and even had the intention to give up. Perhaps, as his grandmother said, he simply lacked the guidance of a renowned teacher.
He replied, "Your grandson will do his best."
Madam Meng nodded in satisfaction. Although Madam Sun was not good, she was not without merit. She had given birth to a good grandson, Chengxing, who was more well-behaved and sensible than his older brothers and sisters from a young age. Among her grandchildren, Chengxing was the most considerate and filial to her.
Meng Dongyuan had no idea what conflict was going on between the three of them, nor did he care. He was currently overwhelmed with joy and kept thinking about whether his wife was carrying a boy or a girl.
Meng Dongyuan looked down at his wife's belly, his eyes almost overflowing with laughter, and his voice was also filled with laughter: "Madam, everyone said before that you couldn't have children, but now it seems that there is someone else who can't have children."
As soon as he finished speaking, Madam Dong paused, finding his words, which carried a sense of superiority and subtly belittled others, quite grating. She directly took responsibility for the problem of not being able to conceive in her previous marriage: "Husband, I was indeed in poor health before, and it was indeed difficult for me to conceive. It is a pleasant surprise that I am able to get pregnant now."
Meng Dongyuan replied, "That proves that their family has bad feng shui. You couldn't get pregnant even after being married to him for several years, but now that you've married me, you got pregnant in less than a year."
Dong: "..."
She couldn't help but think to herself: If your Meng family had good feng shui, how could you have been demoted from marquis to earl?
Now, the Meng family has fallen so low that even the household affairs are in disarray and the accounts are unbalanced. Fortunately, her maternal family is just a modest family with limited resources, so they can't give her much dowry. Otherwise, who knows if the Meng family would have tried to take advantage of her dowry.
She had been wondering why the Meng family, who were so poor and whose mother-in-law was so old, hadn't used any of her dowry to help them out, since it was all meant for Meng Dongyuan's son. But after getting information out of Meng Dongyuan, she learned that her mother-in-law's dowry had been gambled away by her younger brother, who had died young.
The mother-in-law doted on her youngest son, covering for him time and time again and paying off his gambling debts, which made him increasingly reckless. Later, the mother-in-law secretly took money from the Meng family to cover her son's debts. When the youngest son, who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, drowned after getting drunk, the mother-in-law only blamed the people who drank with her son, but she never thought that spoiling her son was like killing him. The real person who killed her son was the mother-in-law herself.
Meng Dongyuan didn't notice her odd behavior and continued, "Madam, do you think this baby will be a boy or a girl?"
Madam Dong said calmly, "It doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl."
After all, this child was a ray of light that suddenly shone into her life after she grew tired of living in the Meng family, making her feel that there was hope for the future. If it was a boy, as long as she treated Chengzhang well and regarded him as her own son, Chengzhang would definitely help her son in the future. If it was a girl, Chengzhang would also protect her. If Chengzhang protected her, it would be the same as the child's older sister protecting her.
Meng Dongyuan laughed and said, "If it's a girl, she'll definitely be a beauty like her mother. If it's a boy, he'll be as learned as his father and will surely be a talented man in the future."
Upon hearing this, Dong couldn't help but twitch her lips and quickly glanced at her husband, her eyes filled with disbelief. What kind of confidence did he have to say something so lacking in self-awareness?
A man of great learning, is that him?
Madam Dong tried her best to suppress the urge to retort. It wasn't that she was overconfident, but her husband was less learned than she was, which explained why he hadn't been able to secure a decent official position despite all these years.
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