Chapter 494 Arranging the Wedding
The news that Meng Dongyuan, the Earl of Yongchang, who had been a groom three times and married three wives, had divorced immediately became the hottest topic of conversation in the capital.
Of Meng Dongyuan's three wives, one died young, one was divorced, and one was divorced. Looking across the entire capital, it would be hard to find another person with such an experience as him.
Everyone was puzzled as to why he would suddenly divorce his wife. But when they learned that Dong had divorced her just two days after her miscarriage, they began to speculate that it might be due to internal family strife, and that the most likely culprit was the heir, Meng Chengxing.
However, everyone is just speculating; these are all unconfirmed matters, and no one is saying them openly.
While Meng Chengxing was at the academy, some of his classmates subtly inquired about the reasons for the divorce between Dong Shi and Meng Dongyuan. Some even asked him if Dong Shi's miscarriage was related to him, since there were rumors that Meng Dongyuan had said he wanted to change the heir apparent to Dong Shi's child. They wondered if Meng Dongyuan was trying to eliminate the threat by taking action against Dong Shi.
Meng Chengxing was furious. He hadn't expected that their divorce would leave him with so much trouble. But he could only suppress his anger and say, "My father and Aunt Dong had incompatible personalities, which is why they divorced. If you don't believe me, you can go to the Dong family and ask them."
He dared to say that because he was certain they wouldn't ask, and that Madam Dong had given up on pursuing the matter in order to get a divorce, so the matter was now closed.
Meng Dongyuan became depressed and drowned his sorrows in alcohol. Compared to his father's death years ago, the divorce from Dong Shi made him even sadder. Especially when he saw the familiar courtyard, without that familiar person, he felt that something was wrong.
While cursing her son for being useless and acting like he was dying over a woman, Madam Meng instructed her maid to invite the best matchmaker in the capital to arrange a marriage for him, hoping that once he had a new wife, he would quickly forget about Madam Dong.
When Meng Chengxing learned of this, he was extremely annoyed. He had finally gotten rid of Madam Dong, and now he was going to have a new stepmother.
Meng Dongyuan didn't want to get married. When he learned that his mother had found a matchmaker to find him a wife, he immediately went to his mother and said, "Mother, I don't want to get married anymore. You don't need to bother arranging a marriage for me."
Upon hearing this, Madam Meng immediately straightened her face: "Chengzhang and Chengxing are not yet of marriageable age, and there isn't even a woman in charge of the household. Do you expect this old woman to manage the household affairs and handle social interactions?"
Meng Dongyuan shook his head repeatedly. His elderly mother was already at the age to enjoy her retirement, so how could he let her work so hard?
Madam Meng said, "If you were ten years older, I wouldn't force you to get married. But you're only in your thirties, not even forty yet. You're still young. You should marry a gentle and virtuous woman to manage the household. That way, you'll have someone who cares about you."
After she finished speaking, she glared at her son. Seeing that he looked haggard and smelled of alcohol, she continued, "Could it be that you're still thinking about Dong Shi? What kind of bewitching potion did Dong Shi give you? She divorced you, and you're not going to remarry?"
Meng Dongyuan asked, "Mother, why are you bringing her up again?"
Madam Meng said without room for argument, "Marriage is a major event, and since ancient times it has always been decided by parents and matchmakers. I will find a wife for you. Once I find one, we will arrange the marriage and hold the wedding this year. You will have to marry her whether you like it or not, unless you want to be an unfilial son who disobeys his mother."
The word "filial piety" weighed heavily on Meng Dongyuan, leaving him speechless. He could only say, "Your son will leave everything to your mother's discretion."
Madam Meng was satisfied with his answer, and her expression softened: "Don't blame your mother for forcing you. I'm doing this for your own good. You'll understand my good intentions in the future."
Meng Dongyuan replied blankly, "My son understands."
Madam Meng didn't care about his expression. As long as the result was what she wanted, that was all that mattered. So she changed the subject: "Chengxing is participating in this year's Lingshan Academy admissions. Our Chengxing has been smart and quick-witted since he was little. He will definitely pass the test this time, so you, as his father, shouldn't hold him back."
Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan was confused: "Mother, I don't understand what you're saying. How am I holding him back?"
Madam Meng said solemnly, "The matter concerning Madam Dong is in the past. Don't use it to scold Chengxing in the future, and don't always have a stern face towards him, otherwise it will affect his studies and cause him to underperform."
Meng Dongyuan remained silent: "..."
To be honest, he used to believe that Chengxing would be successful, even more successful than Chengzhang. But in reality, Chengxing was a good-for-nothing, and a vicious one at that. If the title were to fall into the hands of this rebellious son, the family's century-old legacy would probably be ruined. The title should still be inherited by Chengzhang.
Seeing his silence, Madam Meng became dissatisfied again and said, "Chengxing is at a crucial time to study hard. If he fails the test, it will be your problem."
Meng Dongyuan said aggrievedly, "Mother, his failure to pass the test is a matter of his ability. What does it have to do with me?"
Madam Meng glared at him and said, "It's your attitude that has affected him. Haven't you noticed that he's afraid of you now? They're both sons, so don't be too biased. Nobody's perfect. Chengxing just made a mistake, so that's enough. Don't keep bringing it up."
Meng Dongyuan couldn't refute it, so he simply said, "Mother is right."
Madam Meng then asked, "I heard that you sent a servant to deliver something to Chengzhang yesterday?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan was slightly taken aback, not expecting that such a trivial matter would reach his mother's ears. He nodded and said, "Huiyun used to prepare it for him. Now that Huiyun and I are divorced, I will prepare it for him myself."
Madam Meng then asked, "Didn't Madam Dong already prepare some for him? That wretched girl Ayao brought those things back to the Gu family, saying she would have someone send them to Chengzhang. Why did you prepare another set?"
"It was sent by Ayao. It's from Ayao, so it's considered part of the Gu family's donation. As her father, I have to show my appreciation too," Meng Dongyuan replied. Actually, he was also thinking of using this opportunity to repair his relationship with Chengzhang. Chengxing, that rebellious son, was unreliable. He would have to rely on Ayao and Chengzhang in the future.
Unable to refute this, Madam Meng asked, "Have you prepared anything for Chengxing?"
Meng Dongyuan shook his head: "Mother, Chengxing comes home every day and doesn't lack anything. What else do we need to prepare for him?"
Madam Meng said dismissively, "What Chengzhang has, Chengxing should have too. Don't be too biased. Although Chengzhang doesn't come home every day, he's just studying at the academy. What could he possibly lack?"
Meng Dongyuan found these words rather harsh. He had never thought that his mother was biased before, but now he found that his mother was excessively biased towards Chengxing. If Chengxing was missing something, his mother would feel that Chengxing had suffered a great loss, but she never thought that Chengxing had been treated much better than Chengzhang since childhood.
He couldn't very well disobey him outright, so he said, "My son will prepare it for Chengxing."
Just give Chengxing whatever you want, just do the bare minimum. When he gets to deal with this unfilial son, his mother won't have a chance to say he's being biased.
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