Chapter 252 Protecting the Scumbag
The atmosphere in the hall was silent.
Meng Chengxing and Meng Jinyu dared not breathe, their hearts filled with panic. They dared not imagine what they would face if their mother's crimes were proven true. They were their mother's children, and the scorn from the outside world would drown them.
Although Meng Jinyao and Meng Chengzhang are also children of the Meng family, they are victims. One lost her mother and the other lost her twin brother. People can only sympathize with them.
As the most senior member of the family, Madam Meng's gaze swept over everyone present, lingering on Meng Jinyao for a moment before she frowned. Finally, she turned her gaze to Madam Sun and asked, "Madam Sun, will you confess voluntarily, or will you be punished according to family rules first?"
Sun, seemingly unfazed, scoffed, "What does Mother want me to explain?"
Meng Dongyuan gritted his teeth and threatened, "Sun, you'd better tell the truth, or I won't let you off the hook!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun looked at Meng Dongyuan and naturally saw the warning in his eyes. She sneered. After being married for more than ten years, how could she not understand what Meng Dongyuan meant?
Meng Dongyuan knew about Zhou's cause of death back then, witnessed it firsthand, and was even involved in it. Now, fearing that things would be exposed, Meng Dongyuan warned her to speak carefully and let her bear all the blame.
What a heartless man! If Meng Dongyuan hadn't showered her with sweet words and promised her a bright future back then, how could she have ended up like this?
Sun shifted her gaze to her two children. Seeing their tearful eyes looking at her, she felt a pang of heartache and extreme shame. Two streams of tears fell from her eyes. Her most shameful side had been seen by her children. She wondered if that filthy thing would be satisfied after she confessed, and whether it would let her children go.
Meng Dongyuan scolded impatiently, "What are you crying for? Why didn't you cry when you were doing evil? Why are you crying now?"
Sun recounted what happened back then: "Zhou's death was caused by me. Her premature birth and eventual death in childbirth were also due to me pushing her, causing her to fall."
Upon hearing this, everyone except Meng Dongyuan, Meng Jinyao, and Gu Jingxi, who knew the truth, was shocked. If Sun admitted it herself, then it must be true.
"Does Father know the cause of my mother's death?"
As Meng Jinyao spoke, her eyes were fixed on Meng Dongyuan, and her all-seeing gaze filled Meng Dongyuan with fear.
How could Meng Dongyuan dare to admit such a thing?
He instinctively denied it: "Ayao, how could I possibly know such a thing? If I knew, why would I have married this wicked woman?"
Sun gave him a deep look, but ultimately took all the blame upon herself, saying calmly, "Yes, he didn't know. If he had known, how could he have married me?"
After speaking, Madam Sun closed her eyes and swallowed all her bitterness. The reason she covered up for Meng Dongyuan was not because she loved him so much, but for the sake of her two children. What would happen to the children in the Meng family if something happened to her? What if Meng Dongyuan resented her and took his anger out on the children, harming them? The only way was to protect Meng Dongyuan and salvage his reputation.
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao was quite surprised. Thinking of Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing, she understood Sun's actions. It wasn't to protect Meng Dongyuan, but rather to hope that Meng Dongyuan would treat Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing well, considering that Sun had taken all the blame.
It's really a headache. Her father doesn't dare to admit it, and Madam Sun is protecting him. She can't do anything about him right now, but now is not the time to deal with him. There's no rush.
Madam Meng also felt that her son couldn't possibly know the truth. Back then, her son and Zhou had a good relationship. If Sun had murdered Zhou, how could her son have married Sun? That would have been a blood feud.
Thinking this through, Madam Meng continued to ask, "Then what happened to Chengyu?"
Madam Sun answered truthfully: "Chengyu's illness was not incurable and he should have recovered, but I tampered with his medicine and he died just like that. That fool Aunt Du took the prescription to ask the doctor outside, but she didn't expect that there was an extra ingredient in the medicine during the decoction process."
Madam Meng never expected her to be so vicious. She grabbed the teacup beside her and threw it at her, furiously saying, "Sun, you poisonous woman! What a misfortune for our family! How could our Meng family have married such a poisonous woman like you?"
The teacup hit Sun's shoulder, then fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Madam Sun didn't even frown, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Why did you marry me? Mother, you should ask your son if he's the one who's so shameless."
Meng Dongyuan's expression changed drastically, his gaze turning hostile as he glared at Sun Shi. He suddenly regretted marrying her. Zhou Shi was indeed somewhat rigid and dull, a proper and rigid young lady from a respectable family, but at least she wasn't so vicious. If it were Zhou Shi, she certainly wouldn't have plotted against his child. If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have bothered with Sun Shi. That way, Zhou Shi wouldn't have died; she would have managed the household affairs and borne him children. He could have made up for it by taking a few more sensible concubines.
Madam Meng glared at her son, angry that he hadn't been discerning enough to marry such a wicked woman, who had killed her eldest grandson and had now brought shame upon the Meng family.
But now was not the time to blame her son. Old Madam Meng glanced at Granny Qiao beside Madam Sun. Granny Qiao was Madam Sun's confidante and might also be helping Madam Sun do evil. So she asked, "Is Granny Qiao an accomplice?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Granny Qiao's heart tightened. She had only concealed the truth and hadn't participated in taking anyone's life. If she had to admit it, she would admit it; whatever punishment the master wanted to give her, it wouldn't be fatal. However, her son would no longer be able to manage affairs, but that didn't matter. She had done so much for the eldest young lady; she believed the eldest young lady would lend a hand.
Meng Jinyao glanced at Granny Qiao, pondering how to deal with the situation later.
Unexpectedly, Madam Sun helped Granny Qiao keep the fact that she knew the truth, and sneered, "If she knew, how could I have let her live until now?"
She chuckled as she spoke, then answered her own question: "Do you know how my head maid, Cui'er, died? She was the only person besides me who knew the cause of Chengyu's death, and she was the one who poisoned him. I can't feel at ease knowing that someone who knows the truth is still alive, so after she got married and became pregnant, I gave her a lot of tonics. She overdosed on them, and her baby was too big, so she died in childbirth."
Upon hearing this, Granny Qiao was deeply shocked. She clenched her fists tightly and then slowly relaxed them. She hadn't expected that the mistress would clear her name at such a time, while she herself had betrayed her mistress. She felt a pang of resentment.
Meng Jinyao was also quite shocked. She hadn't expected Madam Sun to say that. It seemed that the bond between master and servant was quite deep.
When Madam Meng heard Sun recounting in a boastful tone how she had killed someone to cover it up, she felt a chill run down her spine. Her face darkened as she glared at Sun and asked, "Was it the maid who came back to cause the ghostly disturbance, or Zhou?"
"That's Aunt Du, and behind her is Madam Zhou. Tsk, what a pity, Cui'er is dead, but that lingering ghost has returned."
Sun answered every question. Now that things had come to this, she didn't want to argue anymore. But she wanted to clear Qiao Mama's name. Apart from the master-servant relationship, it was mostly because of her child. Chengxing was her son, and heir apparent at that. But her daughter would get married in the future. In addition, her daughter was not shrewd. Leaving Qiao Mama with Ayu would make things much easier for Ayu.
Madam Meng's heart tightened. There were two ghosts in the house, and they were ghosts that even a master couldn't get rid of. How could the family ever have peace again?
Compared to Old Madam Meng, Meng Dongyuan was even more panicked. Zhou's death was also related to him. Now that Zhou's vengeful spirit had returned and tormented Sun in this state, would it torment him in the future?
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