Chapter 447 Blaming Heaven and Others
outside the house.
Meng Chengzhang stood outside the door, eavesdropping on what his elders were saying. He breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that his father and grandmother's wishes had not been fulfilled. If his brother-in-law and sister hadn't left in time and had been entangled by them, things would have been terrible.
With my father's mediocre talent, he was not even as good as my stepmother, Dong. He would be lucky to have a sinecure. If he had a real position and made a mistake, the whole family would suffer. But my father couldn't see his own worth. He always thought that as long as he had the opportunity, he would become a pillar of the country. He was only one opportunity away from becoming a pillar of the country.
Just as he was about to leave, Meng Chengxing's voice came from behind him: "Second brother, what are you doing sneaking around there?"
Meng Chengzhang stiffened for a moment, then quickly turned around and said casually, "I was going to ask the elders if there was anything else that needed to be done. Third brother, are you here for the same reason? Let's go in together then."
Meng Chengxing sneered. He clearly saw his second brother secretly eavesdropping for quite a while. Just as he was about to expose him, he heard his brother interrupt, "Second brother, let's go in first."
When the people inside heard the commotion outside, they stopped talking about the matter. A little while later, they saw two younger relatives come in and ask if there was anything else they needed to do. If not, they would go back first.
Seeing his second son, Meng Dongyuan's hope was rekindled, so he asked, "Chengzhang, I saw you having a very pleasant conversation with your eldest brother-in-law today. I asked you to mention something to him. Did you mention it?"
Meng Chengzhang respectfully replied, "Father, there were so many outsiders present at the time that I had no opportunity to mention this matter."
"What do you mean there's no chance? Can't he just ask his brother-in-law to talk to him privately?" Meng Chengxing snorted. Although he didn't know what his father was talking about, he was dissatisfied with his second brother. "Father, he has a good relationship with my eldest sister, so he must have a good relationship with my brother-in-law too. If he has something to say to my brother-in-law, and asks him to talk to him privately, wouldn't my brother-in-law agree?"
Meng Chengzhang: "..."
He acts like a brainless idiot when he should be smart, but regains his senses when he shouldn't. This kind of younger brother is really annoying.
Madam Meng's face suddenly darkened, and she immediately scolded, "Chengzhang, don't forget that you are your father's child. Only when your father is well can you benefit from it."
Meng Dongyuan's face was also very ugly: "Chengzhang, your eldest sister is rebellious, and you are rebellious too? You are no longer a child. You should understand what is in the best interests of the Meng family, what is beneficial to the Meng family, and how to restore the Meng family to its former glory. As a descendant of the Meng family, you have an unshirkable responsibility."
Upon hearing this, Meng Chengzhang calmly retorted, "Father, at that time, my brother-in-law was surrounded by so many people asking him questions. Those people looked at him with great eagerness, and he was speaking with great enthusiasm. How could I possibly spoil the fun?"
Meng Chengxing didn't want to miss the opportunity to add fuel to the fire: "Father, Grandmother, that's just an excuse. He's just siding with outsiders and doesn't want to help our Meng family. In my opinion, since my eldest sister married into the Gu family and became Gu Mengshi, he's become Gu Mengshi too."
At this moment, Madam Dong chimed in, "Husband, in my opinion, Chengzhang is not unwilling. Given the situation Chengzhang described, it is indeed not good to spoil the mood rashly. Today is just not the right time, but there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Our daughter and son-in-law are in the capital, not far away. It's not too late to talk about it next time."
Meng Dongyuan glared at his son, feeling angry but helpless. His wife was clueless, blocking his mother from saying what she wanted to say to A Yao, and his son was useless, unable to even send a message. Usually, the mother and son were so smart, but at this crucial moment, they were of no use at all and even dragged each other down.
Madam Meng glanced at her daughter-in-law with displeasure. If she didn't know that her daughter-in-law and eldest granddaughter were not close and that their mother-daughter relationship was distant, she would have thought that her daughter-in-law had sided with her eldest granddaughter.
After a moment, Old Madam Meng said irritably, "Enough, let's not mention this matter again, lest it damage the harmony of the family."
Meng Dongyuan was furious but couldn't vent his anger, so he turned his anger towards his youngest son: "Chengxing, your brother-in-law and the others are discussing their studies, why didn't you go up and ask them for advice? Your second brother passed the imperial examination and humbly sought his advice, but you can't even pass the county-level examination. You don't know how to work hard and improve yourself. How can I entrust the Meng family to you and let you inherit the title in the future?"
Meng Chengxing never expected the fire to spread to him. He had no words to express his bitterness. Failing the exam was not what he wanted. If he could, wouldn't he have wanted to pass as a scholar? He was only thirteen years old. Why was he being treated so harshly? His father hadn't even achieved the scholar title when he was thirteen.
He retorted, "Father, I am the heir apparent, unlike ordinary people. I can enter officialdom without relying on the imperial examination."
Meng Dongyuan said angrily, "Those who do not enter officialdom through the imperial examinations, or those who do not have real talent and learning, will always be inferior to others. Who will respect you? Even in the Changxing Marquis's mansion, the younger generation in the family works hard to pass the imperial examinations, just so they can enter officialdom legitimately."
Meng Chengxing was dissatisfied: "Father, you didn't get into officialdom through the imperial examination either. You can't even do it yourself, so why are you asking me to do it now?"
Speaking of this, Meng Dongyuan's face darkened. This was a sore point for him. He didn't enter officialdom through the imperial examination. He only passed the county-level examination and didn't even pass the provincial-level examination. He thought that he would enter officialdom after passing the imperial examination, but who knows when that would be. He relied on his father's status as a member of a prominent family and pulled some strings to get a useless, idle position.
Now, many years have passed, and although his position has been promoted, he still only holds a sinecure. Many people look down on him, saying that he is mediocre and incompetent, especially those officials who entered officialdom through the imperial examination.
If he could do it all over again, he would definitely work hard to pass the imperial examination.
Of all the people he knew who were around the same age and entered officialdom through the imperial examinations, none of them were doing too badly now. The best of them had already reached the rank of second grade. It was only because his career was not going smoothly that he didn't persist in taking the imperial examinations. If he had persisted, his career would definitely have been much smoother.
He said with a dark face, "It's because I made a mistake back then and didn't choose the imperial examination that my career has been unsuccessful. I don't want you to go through the same path I've taken. You should learn from your second brother."
Meng Chengzhang: "..."
There's no need to provoke him into hatred. Ever since he achieved the title of Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) and even topped the list, his father would praise him instead of scolding his third brother for being useless. His third brother already hates him to the core.
Meng Chengxing was indeed filled with hatred. He glared fiercely at his second brother, ignored his father, and turned away in a huff.
Seeing this, Meng Dongyuan was furious: "Stop right there! Is this how you treat your elders?"
Mrs. Dong glanced at her husband indifferently, not wanting to get involved.
Seeing his third brother leave like that, Meng Chengzhang saw an opportunity to escape and hurriedly said, "Father, I'll go check on my third brother." Without waiting for Meng Dongyuan's reply, he immediately took off after him.
Old Madam Meng had doted on her grandson for over a decade. Even though her second grandson was more outstanding, her grandson's position in her heart remained unshakable. She immediately said to her son, "Chengxing is still young. Why are you pushing him so hard? Look what you've done to him!"
Meng Dongyuan's anger had not subsided: "Chengzhang is a year older than him and was the top scorer, while he failed the exam directly. That means he didn't work hard enough. It's all Sun's fault. She spoiled him in the past. It's true that a doting mother spoils her son."
Madam Meng disagreed, saying, "Chengzhang was able to pass the imperial examination because he studied at Lingshan Academy and was taught by famous teachers. It's also that girl Yao's fault. She told her to tell her eldest son-in-law to send Chengxing to Lingshan Academy as well. Chengxing would definitely have passed the imperial examination too."
Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan's anger subsided slightly.
Madam Dong, listening from the side, almost laughed. Her second son was clearly intelligent and had entered Lingshan Academy on his own merit, but his mother-in-law insisted that it was her son-in-law who had helped him. She noticed that the mother and son had one thing in common: they both complained about everything. No matter what happened, they would blame heaven, earth, luck, or others, but they would never think that it was their own problem.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com