Chapter 254 Her Intentions
With Sun Shi divorced and Meng Chengzhang registering her under the name of the deceased Zhou Shi, these two matters were settled, and the matter was temporarily put to rest.
However, Madam Sun was in a tense state today, and she mistook Meng Jinyao and Chan'er for Madam Zhou and Aunt Du. She was frightened and suffered a great shock. It was really not easy for her weak body to hold on until now. Before she even left the hall, she fainted.
After all, they were husband and wife, and Sun had even given him a son and a daughter. Meng Dongyuan had his servants take Sun back to her courtyard first, and he understood that Sun had been traumatized. He asked a maid to find a doctor to prescribe some calming medicine for her, which was a way of making up for their more than ten years of marriage.
Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing were still worried about their mother, so they went to Madam Sun's courtyard.
Madam Meng did not stop the siblings. After all, although Sun Shi had been divorced, she had not severed ties with her two children, and the two children still had to be filial to their birth mother.
What should have been a joyous birthday banquet turned into such a farce, causing the host to lose face in front of the guests. After such a commotion and the whole ordeal, Old Madam Meng was exhausted and had to be helped back to her Rongfu Hall by her maid to get some rest.
Meng Dongyuan also went to write a letter of divorce. When Sun woke up, he told her to take the letter of divorce and go back to the Sun family. It would be best if she also took the two wronged spirits back to the Sun family, so that they wouldn't stay in the Meng family and cause trouble.
As a result, only Meng Jinyao, Gu Jingxi, and Meng Chengzhang remained in the hall, along with the two maids, Qingqiu and Chan'er.
Meng Chengzhang looked at his elder sister, tears streaming down his face. It is said that men do not easily shed tears, but only when they are deeply saddened.
Seeing this, Meng Jinyao stood up, moved to sit down next to Meng Chengzhang, and said gently, "Second brother, don't cry. Our revenge has finally been achieved."
Looking at his elder sister, who was only three years older than him, Meng Chengzhang, who was clearly a weak woman, yet had held up the sky for him, choked up and said, "Elder sister, you have suffered so much all these years. Why didn't you tell me the cause of Mother's death?"
“I only learned about my mother’s cause of death this year. Last time I went to Lingyun Temple to offer incense, I ran into my mother’s maid, and she told me about it.” Meng Jinyao said, and then briefly recounted the whole story of her encounter with the maid to Meng Chengzhang.
Meng Chengzhang then asked, "Why didn't you tell me about today's plan?"
Meng Jinyao replied gently, "Your task is to study hard. I'll take care of these things."
Meng Chengzhang shook his head and said solemnly, "Big sister, I'm not a child anymore. These things should be shared with you. I'm a man, how can I hide behind you?"
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao was slightly taken aback, then said with relief, "Second brother has grown up. Okay, next time if something happens, I will definitely tell you, and I won't bear it alone." As she spoke, she paused, looked at Gu Jingxi who had sat down next to her at some point, and smiled, "However, this time I didn't bear it alone. I also had your brother-in-law with me, and he even lent me a capable person to do things for me, which made things twice as easy for me."
Meng Chengzhang looked at Gu Jingxi. This brother-in-law was a bit old, but there were advantages to being older. If he were just a teenager still in school, he probably wouldn't be able to support his older sister. At thirty, he was in a high position, mature and steady, and could support and protect her.
He said gratefully, "Thank you very much, brother-in-law."
Gu Jingxi raised an eyebrow: "Why are you thanking me? Your sister is my wife, I was just doing my duty."
Meng Chengzhang smiled and said, "No matter what, I still have to thank my brother-in-law. If it weren't for his protection, my sister would have suffered a lot of grievances these past few months."
Meng Jinyao smiled and nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, we must thank Chengzhang's brother-in-law."
Gu Jingxi met those bright eyes and smiled indulgently and helplessly: "You, you're always so mischievous."
Meng Jinyao glared at him.
Seeing them exchanging glances in front of him, Meng Chengzhang knew in his heart that they must be in love and liked each other. His brother-in-law had developed romantic feelings for his sister. Because of these feelings, his kindness to his sister was no longer just out of a sense of responsibility, and he felt more at ease.
After a while, Meng Jinyao suddenly asked, "By the way, second brother, I didn't discuss with you beforehand about registering you under my mother's name. Will you blame me for acting on my own?"
Meng Chengzhang immediately shook his head: "Why would I blame my elder sister? But why did she do this?"
Meng Jinyao explained calmly, "From now on, when you offer incense to my mother during festivals, you can also continue to offer incense to Aunt Du. But from now on, you are my mother's child, the legitimate son, the eldest legitimate son of the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion. As for Chengxing, he is the eldest son of a concubine."
“Father is not old. If he remarries, there will be a big difference between legitimate and illegitimate children. You are illegitimate, so it will be much easier for your stepmother to control you. But if you are registered under my mother’s name, she will not be able to control you, the legitimate son of her first wife, so she can’t do anything about it. Also, if Meng Chengxing inherits the title in the future, there will still be a difference between an illegitimate brother and a legitimate brother. If he is an illegitimate brother, he can have an advantage over you, but if he is a legitimate brother, he will have to respect you as his elder brother.”
However, whether Meng Chengxing, who is currently the heir apparent, can successfully inherit the title depends on whether he can hold onto the position until his father passes away. If not, his second brother, Chengzhang, is the eldest son and the first in line to inherit the title, and the Earl's Mansion will be inherited by Chengzhang.
Of course, she didn't say this aloud; it was just her pre-judgment.
As for her father, although he did not directly cause her mother's death, he was inextricably linked to her mother's death, indirectly causing her mother's death and concealing the cause of her mother's death. However, now is not the time to deal with her father. If her father is gone, Meng Chengxing will be able to inherit the title smoothly.
Moreover, if the father were to pass away, and the second brother were to be in mourning, he would be unable to participate in the imperial examinations. If he had just entered the court as an official, he would also have to observe a three-year mourning period, which would greatly affect his career. At the very least, the second brother had to be kept in check before any wrongdoing could be carried out.
As for Meng Chengxing, she didn't actively scheme against him. She just wanted to see if Meng Chengxing could stay calm. But given Meng Chengxing's character, she might not be able to stay calm even in two years.
Meng Chengzhang was unaware that his elder sister had thought so far ahead. Hearing that his elder sister was considering his needs in every way, he was deeply moved and couldn't help but shed tears again.
Meng Jinyao laughed and said, "You just said you're not a child anymore, why are you crying again?"
Meng Chengzhang forced back his tears, looked at his elder sister, and finally said, "Big sister, I will study hard and I will not let you down."
Only if he passed the imperial examinations, entered the court as an official, and became successful in the future could he support his elder sister and become her pillar of support. Although he was not a woman, he understood how important it was for a married woman to have a reliable family to rely on.
Meng Jinyao understood what he meant and nodded gently: "Okay."
Meng Chengzhang asked, "Elder sister, elder brother-in-law, are you hungry at this hour?"
If it weren't for the mention of this matter, Meng Jinyao wouldn't have thought of it. But after hearing this, she felt a little hungry and replied, "I am a little hungry."
Upon hearing this, Meng Chengzhang immediately went to prepare lunch, telling them to eat first. There was a banquet today, and the cooks were already preparing the food.
During the meal, Meng Chengzhang had someone call Gu Xiuming over as well, and the four of them ate a lunch that was a bit late.
After lunch, Meng Jinyao gave Meng Chengzhang a few more pointers before heading back home.
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