Chapter 418 Falling into the Wolf's Den
As soon as she finished speaking, Princess Jingning blushed, gave her a shy glare, opened her mouth, but swallowed her words back to avoid being teased by the two of them again.
Seeing her shyly lower her head, Meng Jinyao was still unwilling to let her go, and asked with a smile, "Ayan, weren't you so angry that you gritted your teeth when you mentioned Prince Shen before? Why did you agree to marry him?"
Song Xinning teased, "Yeah, didn't you say he was stingy and held grudges? How come you agreed to marry that stingy guy?"
Princess Jingning blushed even more upon hearing this, and stammered, "That...that was before. I didn't know him well before and misunderstood him." As she spoke, she felt her face getting hot, and her voice grew softer and softer. "Actually, he's quite good. My father and mother also think he's nice."
Meng Jinyao and Song Xinning exchanged a smile as they looked at her, who seemed to be experiencing the first stirrings of love.
Princess Jingning continued, "He is the eldest son of the legitimate wife. After I marry him, I will be in charge of the household affairs and handle the interpersonal relationships between the families. My mother is actually worried that I will not be able to handle it well. She never thought of marrying me to the eldest son of another family to become the wife of the head of the family. She only thought of marrying me to the second son or the youngest son of the legitimate wife."
Song Xinning said gently, "It's alright, you can learn slowly. Actually, I'm learning slowly too. Look at me now, I'm doing pretty well, aren't I? I haven't made any mistakes. When you get married, the princess will definitely choose a few reliable nannies to help you."
Princess Jingning nodded.
Meng Jinyao suddenly asked, "Ayan, is it really true that Lady Shen won't make it to next spring?"
“How could that be?” Princess Jingning smiled gently and said meaningfully, “She is such a good person, and such a kind-hearted elder will surely live to be a hundred years old.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao and Song Xinning exchanged a glance and understood the deeper meaning. The illness of the Duchess of Shen must have been caused by the Heir Apparent of Shen, and the Heir Apparent of Shen would not let her die, but only let her live in a half-dead state.
This is quite good, as it also allows her to occupy the position of Duchess, preventing the Duke of Shen, who is not yet forty, from remarrying after her death.
It's normal for a mother to want to benefit her own child, but to try to kill someone else and take what belongs to someone else for her own child is the act of a wicked woman.
Princess Jingning said helplessly, "She is obsessed with having another son, almost like she's possessed. Now that she's sick and can't even speak properly, she's still thinking about trying to have another son once she gets better."
Meng Jinyao said, "It's good. When people have something to look forward to, they live longer."
Princess Jingning nodded in agreement: "It's good, but I'm afraid she'll feel too much pain and not want to live anymore."
-
The Yongchang Earl's Mansion.
When the Meng family learned that their eldest son-in-law had recovered from his illness and that their eldest daughter was pregnant, there was a 50% chance that the child would be a boy, who, as the eldest son, would inherit the title.
Their Meng family's direct grandson is the future heir of the Marquis of Changxing. After the eldest son-in-law passes away, he will be the new Marquis of Changxing.
A biological grandson is different from a grandson who is adopted and has no blood relation to the mother.
Meng Dongyuan was quite excited, but when she thought about her poor relationship with her eldest daughter, she felt like she had been doused with cold water. It was like a huge fortune was beckoning to her, but then it disappeared in the blink of an eye. She suddenly regretted that she had been too indulgent towards Sun Shi in the past, and she was also angry with Sun Shi for tormenting her, which had caused her to no longer have any contact with her family. She didn't even send anyone to inform them of her pregnancy, and they only found out from other people.
Seeing her son's attitude, Madam Meng said irritably, "You are her father. If she dares to give you attitude, then she is an unfilial daughter. What do you care if she wants to be on good terms with us or not? As long as we are on good terms with her, she will not dare to turn us away. Otherwise, she will be unfilial and we will drown her in spit."
After she finished speaking, she turned to look at her daughter-in-law and said in a way that did not allow for refusal, "You should go to the Marquis of Changxing’s residence to visit her tomorrow. You are her mother, and it is only natural for a mother to care for her daughter. I want to see if this unfilial daughter dares to turn her mother away."
Upon hearing this, Madam Dong felt quite troubled. Before marrying into the family, she thought that the eldest daughter had a grudge against Madam Sun but not against the Meng family. However, she discovered after marrying in that the eldest daughter had no good feelings towards the Meng family and even harbored resentment towards them, except for the second son, Chengzhang, who was registered under the name of the first wife, Madam Zhou.
Since her mother-in-law had given the order, the daughter-in-law dared not disobey. So Dong replied obediently, "I will go to the Gu family to visit the eldest daughter tomorrow. She is pregnant, and her family should visit her to show their concern."
Seeing that she was obedient and sensible, Madam Meng nodded in satisfaction and said to her son, "It's time to settle Ayu's marriage, lest it drag on and cause any trouble. Even if she doesn't want to, there's nothing she can do. Who told her to have such a mother, whose reputation is also damaged? Marrying up is impossible, and marrying someone of equal social standing is also impossible. She can only marry down. Although that young master is a merchant, he is very handsome."
Meng Dongyuan nodded and said, "Mother, I was just thinking of finalizing the marriage arrangements in the next couple of days."
Madam Dong remained silent on the matter. After all, this stepdaughter treated her coldly and made things difficult for her both openly and secretly. She was unwilling to be such a good person and end up offending her husband and mother-in-law. She also understood that her husband and mother-in-law were after the wealthy merchant's money; otherwise, she would have been willing to marry a scholar down. Why would the legitimate daughter of an earl's family marry a merchant? It should be known that merchants had the lowest social status in this dynasty.
After leaving Rongfu Hall, Meng Dongyuan said gently, "Madam, that rebellious daughter Ayao has been defiant since childhood and is not one to listen to teachings. If she dares to give you a hard time when you visit her tomorrow, tell your husband, and I will teach her a lesson and seek justice for you."
Dong glanced at her husband. After being married for several months, she knew what kind of person he was. He was a profit-driven, bullying-the-weak-and-cowardly man. In the past, her husband would have dared to be harsh on their eldest daughter, but now that their eldest daughter had her husband backing her up, how could her husband dare to do that?
She smiled gently and said, "Husband, I thought the eldest daughter was a well-mannered and knowledgeable person. Why would she give me attitude? Perhaps you had some misunderstanding about her before."
Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan didn't know what to say, only saying, "Then I'll trouble you, Madam, to persuade her. How can a daughter hold a grudge against her father and grandmother for so long? We didn't know that Madam Sun was this kind of person. She said she wanted to divorce Madam Sun, and I complied with her wishes and gave Madam Sun a letter of divorce, but she still resents us."
After saying this, he sighed deeply, as if he had a thousand helpless feelings that he could not express.
“I know, my husband.”
On the surface, Madam Dong agreed, but in her heart she knew that there was no need to persuade her about such things. She could see that her mother-in-law wanted the eldest daughter to support her family, but she disliked the eldest daughter and had no affection for her granddaughter. No wonder the eldest daughter was like this.
Marrying into the Meng family made her feel like she had fallen into a wolf's den.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com