Chapter Forty-Seven Arrives in Time
Seeing that his eldest daughter was resolute, Meng Dongyuan knew there was no room for maneuver. There were only two possible outcomes: either the dowry would be returned or they would have to go to court. Either way, it would damage the family's reputation, and the Yongchang Marquis's family would be laughed at whenever they went out in the future.
People laughed at them for raising a shameless daughter who, unable to marry her son, insisted on marrying her father. If it weren't for the fact that Marquis Changxing valued that rebellious daughter, he could have simply severed ties with her, and it wouldn't have been so humiliating.
Now that the wife has embezzled the dowry left by the eldest daughter's mother, the entire Meng family will be implicated, and it will also affect Chengxing and Ayu's marriage. With such a mother, it's hard for others not to think that like mother, like daughter/son.
Enraged, he took two steps forward and shouted, "You unfilial wretch!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand, about to strike Meng Jinyao's face without mercy in the next instant, venting his anger.
The incident happened so suddenly that Meng Jinyao froze on the spot, forgetting to dodge for a moment. Her two maids, Qingqiu and Ningdong, were also stunned, while Meng Chengzhang suddenly stood up.
"stop!"
Just at this critical moment, a deep male voice came, with a hint of anger in his tone, causing Meng Dongyuan's raised hand to freeze in mid-air. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Gu Jingxi standing at the door, looking at him with displeasure.
Meng Dongyuan was taken aback, not expecting Gu Jingxi to suddenly appear at his house. When he saw the butler behind Gu Jingxi, he immediately understood. It was Gu Jingxi who had said that when his eldest daughter and son-in-law returned, they should not be blocked at the door and must be welcomed in. It seemed that he had shot himself in the foot.
The butler hadn't expected this turn of events. He assumed the young master was looking for the eldest daughter, so he deliberately led him to the living room, wondering if he would be questioned by the master afterward.
Because Gu Jingxi was present, Meng Dongyuan couldn't very well hit his daughter, so he awkwardly lowered his hand. The anger on his face faded the moment he lowered his hand, and he forced a smile, saying sheepishly, "My dear son-in-law, what brings you here?"
Gu Jingxi said calmly, "It seems that I came at the wrong time for Lord Meng, as I interrupted your act of behaving like an elder and slapping my wife."
"My dear son-in-law, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding." Meng Dongyuan was extremely embarrassed. As he spoke, he glared at his eldest daughter with a warning look in his eyes, hoping that she would be more sensible and not embarrass her husband's family. "It is this unfilial daughter who disrespects her elders, so I had to teach her a lesson, lest she not learn her lesson and offend her in-laws when she returns to her husband's family."
Gu Jingxi glanced at him indifferently, then said to Meng Jinyao, "Madam, come here."
Although Meng Jinyao didn't know why he had suddenly appeared, his presence allowed her to escape her troublesome father and leave unharmed, which immediately lifted her spirits. She walked briskly toward him, affectionately taking his arm, and smiled, "Husband, what brings you here?"
Gu Jingxi was slightly taken aback, a little unaccustomed to her sudden intimacy, but he didn't push her away. Seeing her radiant smile, the corners of his mouth also turned up, and he said gently, "I came to pick you up and take you home. What happened just now?"
Without a second thought, Meng Jinyao complained to Gu Jingxi, telling him everything: "Husband, they embezzled the dowry my mother left me and not only do they not intend to return it, but they also got so angry that they wanted to beat me. Luckily you arrived in time, otherwise I would not have been able to avoid this beating."
She hadn't complained to anyone since her grandfather passed away, but now she was complaining to Gu Jingxi with surprising ease. She thought to herself: He really is a man like an uncle; his mere presence brings a sense of security.
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi's face darkened visibly. His sharp gaze swept over the Meng family members, finally settling on Meng Dongyuan and Madam Sun. His eyes grew even colder as he asked in a deep voice, "Lord Meng should know that according to the laws of our dynasty, privately appropriating other people's property is considered theft."
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, especially Meng Dongyuan and his wife. They had only thought about how it would damage the family's reputation, but they had overlooked the fact that if it went to court, it could lead to imprisonment. That unfilial daughter was truly heartless; she had raised her for so long, and now she wanted to send her elders to jail.
Seeing that the couple had turned pale with fright, Meng Jinyao spoke up at the right moment: "Husband, since they are unwilling to return it, then let it go. Anyway, I have solid evidence and have prepared a lawsuit to take them to the authorities. We'll see how the authorities judge the case then."
Gu Jingxi nodded and said, "In that case, let's go back first. It's getting late, and we need to go back for lunch as soon as possible."
Meng Jinyao smiled and replied, "Okay, I'm actually hungry."
"etc!"
Meng Dongyuan quickly stopped them, took a few steps forward, and sighed softly, "Ayao, Sun is still your mother. Why do you have to make such a fuss with her? Since you insist on her returning the property, you should give her some time to take stock of it. Don't you think so?"
With a few words, she casually shirked responsibility in front of Gu Jingxi, blaming all the mistakes on Sun Shi.
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao sneered inwardly. No matter how much her good father liked Sun Shi, when it came to his own interests, he would push Sun Shi out to take the fall. She replied, "Since that's the case, then give her three days. I want to see the dowry my mother left me within three days, or we'll see each other in court."
"Alright, alright, three days it is."
Meng Dongyuan nodded repeatedly, responding good-naturedly. But when he turned to look at Madam Sun, he immediately changed his expression, sternly scolding, "Look at the mess you've made! You still have the nerve to cry? Hurry up and go and check the things and send them to the Marquis of Changxing's residence!"
Having lost face so badly today, Madam Sun felt extremely humiliated. She hated Meng Jinyao for being so merciless and also hated her husband for pushing all the blame onto her. She simply flung her sleeves and quickly left the living room.
As soon as Madam Sun left the living room, Meng Dongyuan noticed his other three children. He felt even more irritated. Madam Sun, as a mother, had lost face in front of her children. How could she face them in the future? He said irritably, "Alright, you can all go back to your own courtyards."
Meng Chengzhang maintained an indifferent attitude throughout. What happened to Sun Shi was none of his business. As long as his eldest sister didn't suffer any losses, that was all that mattered. Now that his brother-in-law had arrived, his father couldn't bully his eldest sister anymore. He bowed to his father and left.
But Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing had never seen such a scene before.
The siblings were somewhat dazed at the moment, but after hearing their father's voice, they came to their senses, immediately responded, and then quickly left this place of trouble.
Just as Meng Jinyu passed by, Meng Jinyao suddenly spoke up: "Wait."
Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing instinctively stopped in their tracks.
Meng Jinyao looked at Meng Jinyu's neck, her gaze falling on the necklace, and said in a low voice, "Second sister, don't forget that although the necklace around your neck is a birthday gift from Madam Sun, it is actually part of my mother's dowry. Remember to return it to Madam Sun for record-keeping, otherwise, if anything is missing, we'll see you in court."
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