Chapter 188 Embarrassing Her
Meng Jinyao suddenly asked, "By the way, where are Mother and Grandmother?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun came to her senses and replied truthfully, "Your grandmother has not been feeling well these past two days. She didn't sleep well last night, and went back to sleep after breakfast this morning. She probably hasn't gotten up yet. You can go and pay your respects to her later."
Meng Jinyao nodded and replied, "Okay, then we'll go later."
Afterwards, Madam Sun asked them to sit down and talk. Seeing Meng Jinyao and Gu Xiuming being a loving mother and son, and the three of them getting along very harmoniously, she felt something was off. She wondered what kind of bewitching potion she had given Gu Jingxi and his son. This little vixen really did not waste her foxy face that could please men.
The flower hall was full of women. Gu Jingxi and Gu Xiuming were men, so they couldn't linger. They only sat for a while before going to the front yard.
After the father and son left, there was a moment of silence in the flower hall.
Meng Jinyao glanced at the guests present without showing any emotion. They were all people who were not as well off as the Yongchang Marquis's family, or were about the same level. These families had once been glorious, otherwise they would not have associated with the Meng family. The reason they could associate with each other was simply because they were in the same boat. No one could mock or ridicule anyone else, and they could even flatter each other to maintain appearances, as if their family situation was still the same as before.
For example, her grandmother's family was once quite well-off; otherwise, her grandmother would not have been able to marry her grandfather, who was the heir of the Earl of Yongchang at the time. However, after her grandmother's father passed away, her descendants were not successful, and the family gradually declined.
Her stepmother's family, the Sun family, was also doing well when Sun's father was alive, so Sun's dowry was also decent. Otherwise, why would the Meng family have allowed Sun to use her own dowry to fill the hole left by her birth mother's dowry money? Sun's dowry could cover about 60 or 70% of the dowry money that was spent.
However, Sun's dowry was far less than her mother's. Her maternal grandfather only had her mother as his child, and he gave almost all of his possessions to her as her dowry. No wonder they had wicked thoughts.
Now the Sun family has completely declined. Sun's elder brother is mediocre and incompetent, and her younger brother, who was somewhat capable, died young due to illness. Sun's nephew is still studying, and his future is uncertain. No one in the Sun family is currently serving as an official in the government. They all live off the wealth left by their fathers and consider themselves a scholarly family when they go out. Like her equally mediocre and incompetent father, they associate with people who are not very capable but have read books, composing poems and engaging in pretentious behavior.
The only thing that gave her father an edge over others was that his ancestors were capable and obtained a hereditary title; secondly, he had a marriage relationship with the Marquis of Changxing's family and could benefit from the family's prestige; and thirdly, naturally, it was because her father was concerned about his image and was generous and magnanimous when he was out and about, and he became the object of flattery when he was with his drinking buddies.
After a moment, Meng Jinyao withdrew her gaze and looked at Madam Sun. Madam Sun had lost a lot of weight and looked extremely haggard. Even the heavy makeup could not hide the fatigue on her face. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the dark circles under her eyes could not be concealed by the makeup, but the traces were still visible. She looked listless and was probably just forcing herself to be energetic to deal with the guests. After all, as far as Meng Jinyao knew, Madam Sun had seen a ghost again last night and had hardly slept a wink.
She gave a barely perceptible smile and asked with concern, "Mother looks much more haggard. Is it related to the ghost story?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze to Madam Sun. They had noticed her pale and haggard appearance and could roughly guess what had happened, but since it was someone else's day, they refrained from asking to avoid offending her. They had come to see if they could build a relationship, not to offend anyone. They hadn't expected Meng Jinyao to ask such a question. But considering that Madam Sun had withheld Meng Jinyao's birth mother's dowry, how could Meng Jinyao truly continue to be a loving mother and daughter with Madam Sun?
Madam Sun's face stiffened slightly, and she answered evasively, "I didn't sleep well last night. I already asked the monk to resolve that matter."
Anyone with eyes could see that her appearance wasn't caused by just one night of poor sleep, but by many nights of poor sleep. She always felt that the ghost story hadn't been resolved, but recently there hadn't been any rumors.
Meng Jinyao nodded: "That's good. Mother, you must take care to rest." She paused, then asked curiously, "Mother, are there really ghosts in this world?"
"Since there are people in the world, it's not surprising that there are ghosts." Madam Sun's voice was indifferent, as if she didn't want to talk about it anymore. She was thinking of changing the subject, but Meng Jinyao didn't give her the chance.
Meng Jinyao pretended to think for a moment, then asked, "The house was perfectly fine, how could it be haunted? I heard it's haunted in the courtyard where Mother lives. A maid in Mother's courtyard died before, could it be that she came back?"
These words were unclear and difficult to understand, making it hard not to misunderstand. Those who didn't know the situation might think that Madam Sun had done something to that maid, and that the maid was still haunting Madam Sun even after she died. The expressions on everyone's faces became subtle.
Eager to protect her mother, Meng Jinyu spoke before Sun Shi could even open her mouth, her face darkening. "Elder sister, what do you mean by that? Xiao Tao died of a high fever. Mother had the family physician examine her, but her fever wouldn't go down, and she passed away late at night. Mother did nothing wrong to her, so why would her ghost come back to haunt Mother?"
Meng Jinyao was taken aback for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "That's true. Mother has not done anything wrong, so why would a ghost come looking for her? That ghost was probably a wandering spirit that happened to be passing by our Yongchang Marquis's residence and was seen by Mother. Fortunately, the master performed a ritual and drove the ghost away."
Upon hearing the words "have not done anything wrong," Madam Sun's heart began to race uncontrollably. Her hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, and the flower tea in the cup almost spilled. She gripped the teacup tightly, took a deep breath, and steadied herself.
After the master performed the ritual, she kept the news a secret, forbidding the maids in the courtyard from spreading it. Outsiders didn't know, but she could see the ghosts of her illegitimate son Meng Chengyu and Meng Chengzhang's birth mother, Aunt Du, almost every night. The master's ritual had only brought some peace for a few days, but now the ghosts were haunting her again, truly a persistent and vengeful spirit.
At this moment, a lady chimed in, "Madam Meng is the kindest woman imaginable; how could she possibly do anything wrong?"
The other ladies chimed in, "Yes, Madam Meng is a kind and honest person, she would never do anything against her conscience. It can only be said that Madam Meng suffered an undeserved disaster this time."
"That's right. They say that people who have seen ghosts will have their yang energy drained. No wonder Madam Meng looks so pale. She should get some rest."
...
The crowd chimed in with their own words, showering her with flattery without a second thought. As Sun listened to them, her face burned with embarrassment, feeling that every single word they uttered was a deliberate attempt to mock and humiliate her.
This also involuntarily reminded her of the dowry incident that had become public knowledge a few months ago—a scandal known throughout the capital for her wrongdoing. Despite this, she couldn't refute it, much less get angry; she could only maintain a polite smile.
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