Chapter 732 Cousin, You Can Be With Him Now
Qiao Zhiyu hugged herself pitifully: "Cousin, this dress is so nice, wouldn't it be a waste to throw it away? Besides, what will I wear if I throw it away? Let's keep it. It's just a dress, Shen Wantang can't hurt me, right?"
Meng Yunlan scoffed: "You shallow thing, I just told you to throw it away, why are you talking so much nonsense? Throw this one away and I'll get you a new one."
Qiao Zhiyu's face lit up with joy: "Really? Thank you so much, cousin! You're so kind to me!"
Although she said thank you, she didn't say she would throw away the clothes she was wearing, since Meng Yunlan wasn't going to take them off right now.
She'll just hide it and not wear it for now.
"What are you still kneeling there for? If others see this, they might think that I, as your older cousin, am mistreating you! Haitang, why don't you hurry up and help your cousin up?"
"Yes, young mistress."
Crabapple?
Qiao Zhiyu's heart skipped a beat. Seeing that the person who came to help her was a stranger, she asked casually, "Cousin, when did you get such a maid by your side? I don't think I've seen her before!"
"Oh, Lianqiao was released from the manor a few days ago, this one is the new one."
Qiao Zhiyu was helped to stand up by Haitang. She looked at Haitang's face and sneered inwardly.
The new maid who entered the manor was named Haitang by Meng Yunlan. It had the same character as Shen Wantang's name and the meaning was similar. Wasn't this a blatant slap in the face to Shen Wantang?
As the mistress of the house, shouldn't Meng Yunlan naturally avoid having servants' names clash with the names of her masters?
She used to think her cousin was dignified, poised, and calm, but it turns out she's nothing special. Not only is she petty, but she also can't keep her composure at all!
It's likely that Meng Yunlan's ability to maintain her position as the matriarch in the Duke's mansion was solely due to the support of her maternal family, her husband's affection, and her mother-in-law's kindness.
In the past, no one competed with Meng Yunlan. Neither the Meng family nor the Gu family did. She was high above everyone else, and someone had already paved the way for her. She didn't need to worry about anything; she only needed to comfortably play the role of a virtuous and generous young mistress.
Now that someone is competing with her, her true nature and flaws have been exposed.
Qiao Zhiyu was secretly delighted. It turned out that her cousin was all show and no substance. She had been afraid of her for nothing before. Now, she was no longer afraid and was confident that she could compete with her for Gu Qianling!
However, the first thing Zheng Gu Qianling needs to do is to prevent Meng Yunlan from focusing all his firepower on her. She needs to distract Meng Yunlan from dealing with Shen Wantang so that she can take advantage of the situation.
"Cousin, there's something else, about your husband and Shen Wantang. I... I don't know if I should say it."
Meng Yunlan said unhappily, "What could they possibly have to do? Qianling is my husband and the heir of the Duke's mansion. He is of noble character. He just met my sister-in-law, Shen Wantang, on the road and took care of her. He would have taken care of a dog too."
"Cousin, I know my husband is a man of high moral character, but even the most virtuous person can be tempted by unscrupulous people! If this goes on for too long, who knows if he won't fall for their schemes!"
What exactly are you trying to say?
“When Shen Wantang came to our house today, she accidentally let slip that she was going to the Imperial Household Department to deliver an umbrella to her brother-in-law. As soon as I heard that, I knew something was wrong. What kind of umbrella would a sister-in-law like her go to deliver to her brother-in-law? This is clearly a case of a weasel paying respects to a chicken, she has no good intentions!”
Meng Yunlan glanced at her coldly: "She went to see her brother-in-law with ill intentions, but you went to see your brother-in-law with good intentions?"
"Oh dear, cousin, you've misunderstood! I was worried that something might go wrong if Shen Wantang and brother-in-law were alone together, so I followed them without thinking. With me here, keeping an eye on her for you, she won't dare to do anything reckless! Cousin, I did all this for you!"
Meng Yunlan curled her lips, a hint of contempt in her eyes. Did Qiao Zhiyu think she would believe such an excuse?
Qiao Zhiyu is seriously underestimating her!
How could she not know what her cousin was thinking? She had coveted Gu Qianling before, and now that she had the chance, of course she wouldn't let it go.
It's true that Shen Wantang went to see Gu Qianling, but she didn't believe that anything would happen between Shen Wantang and Gu Qianling. Shen Wantang wasn't stupid. As a concubine's daughter from a minor fifth-rank official's family, she was already doing well to marry the second young master of the Duke's mansion. How could she dare to do anything foolish that would disrespect herself?
She would never seduce her brother-in-law and ruin her future.
This trip was nothing more than Shen Wantang's way of disgusting her and reporting her for delivering bird's nest soup to Gu Qianhan's study.
However, compared to Shen Wantang going to see Gu Qianling, it was more disgusting and even like a fishbone stuck in her throat that she deliberately brought Qiao Zhiyu to see Gu Qianling.
Because no matter how disgusting Shen Wantang is, she still has a sense of shame and would never actually sleep with Gu Qianling. But Qiao Zhiyu is shameless; she would definitely sleep with someone!
Meng Yunlan's face was somewhat gloomy, but after a while, she quickly came up with an idea.
A smile appeared on her face: "My cousin is so considerate of me, and as her older sister, I am deeply moved. So, naturally, I should also think of my cousin's feelings."
When Qiao Zhiyu saw her smile, she immediately had a bad feeling. She quickly said, "No need, no need, it's just a small matter. Cousin, you're too kind. There's no need for such formalities between us sisters."
“This is not just a formality.”
Meng Yunlan's smile deepened: "My cousin is not young anymore, she should have gotten married long ago. I have a good candidate here. I guarantee that after she marries him, she will enjoy wealth and honor forever."
Qiao Zhiyu was taken aback: "Really? Who is it?"
"Naturally, it is our Duke's second son, Gu Qianhan."
"What?! Gu Qianhan?!"
Qiao Zhiyu cried out like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "No, he's no good!"
Meng Yunlan glared at her: "Are you shouting so loudly because you're afraid Shen Wantang won't hear you?"
Qiao Zhiyu lowered her voice, her tone filled with fear: "Cousin, you can't blame me for overreacting. In the entire capital, who doesn't know that Gu Qianhan is a cold-blooded, ruthless, and vicious killer? He comes from a prominent family and has extraordinary talent. It's not like noble ladies haven't tried to take advantage of him before, but they all ended up failing."
"If a girl falls down next to him, he can let someone else step on her without even blinking! If a girl falls into the water next to him, he can watch her sink to the bottom and refuse to help! No amount of trickery works on him because he has no humanity at all!"
"How could I possibly have a good life if I followed someone like that? No, that's not right. Even if I wanted to be with him, I could never get close to him! Because before I could even get near him, I'd be beaten to death by his men!"
"Cousin, please, please don't hurt me! I want to live a few more years! I still have my mother, your aunt, to support and take care of!"
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