Chapter 65 Nightmare
Qian Deng naturally wouldn't elaborate on his cousin's coercion and subsequent poisoning of Madam Meng, only glancing vaguely at the details: "Actually, your cousin died during the desert raid. The rebel soldiers were either killed or taken away for disposal, ultimately benefiting a passing merchant. While valuable, the jade had been exposed to blood, so those who knew the truth naturally sought to sell it as quickly as possible. The caravans were taking roughly the same route, so the only person who could have stumbled upon and afforded such a rare and beautiful jade was probably Jin Jingting, a wealthy young man from Chang'an who was heading to the Yellow Sand Valley at the time."
Perhaps, when he bought the jade, he saw Madam Meng, and the young man's unforgettable memory made the jade have a different meaning for him. However, it was not until they met again in Chang'an many years later that he finally had a formal fate with her.
"Later, Jin Jingting asked his good friend Shang Nanliu to split the jade. He kept one piece carved with 'Emei' for himself and gave the other piece carved with 'Jingting' to Madam Meng, symbolizing her long-term companionship. The remaining outer layer, retaining the original double dragon pattern, was given to Jin Tang. Little did he know, it would cause him so much trouble many years later." Qian Deng finished the story and concluded, "Jin Jingting passed away many years ago, but Madam Meng still treasured the jade pendant engraved with 'Jingting', a token of their love. But she didn't know that the jade pendant engraved with 'Emei' was not buried deep underground with Jin Jingting. In fact, it has always been in the hands of her son—"
Qian Deng said this, his gaze turning coldly to Meng Lanxi: "It seems that you, Lord Meng, not only noticed Jin Jingting's arrival that night, but you may have even done something to him, causing such an important thing to fall into your hands. After Jin Jingting's death, you carefully concealed this matter. Because you were worried about being discovered by my mother, you brought it with you when you lived in the backyard of my palace, carefully hiding it in a secret place, and even set up special measures to protect it..."
This also led to her initial contact with Ling Tianshui, and became the seed for the secret feelings between them to grow.
Ling Tianshui obviously thought of that night as well. The silent and cold expression on his face inevitably loosened, and his eyes looking at Qiandeng were filled with complex fluctuations.
"Meng Lanxi, your uncle and aunt once told me that you had a pitiful life and were abandoned as a child. It was your mother who risked everything to bring you home. Afterwards, you and your mother depended on each other for survival. You truly know that without your mother, you would not be able to survive in this world. After your father passed away, you and your mother fled to your own family, where you were treated harshly and looked down upon by your clansmen. In this world, you only had your mother to rely on. But at this time, your mother met her match sent by heaven—a young and wealthy man who loved her so deeply that he even broke up with his family to marry her. Because his family opposed it, he would rather give up his share of the clan's property and take you to the south to develop alone, simply because he was attached to your mother and your mother would not give up you.
"I think, Mr. Meng, you must have been terrified at that time. Afraid your mother would abandon you, afraid you'd be bullied back home, afraid the same fate you faced when you were five or six would repeat itself... After all, I've always been very curious about why, during the mudslide in the tea garden, you and your mother, women and children, managed to escape, while your father, a grown man, perished. I think that moment might have changed your entire childhood..."
"Yes, no matter what, I want my mother to stay by my side. She is my only hope of survival. At least, she can't leave me until I can live on my own..."
Meng Lanxi murmured, now that the truth was out and everything had been exposed for him, he was unwilling to make any more excuses.
He just stared at Qiandeng, hoping that his explanation would make her understand the choice made by the desperate child back then.
His eyes were filled with fear, as if he had returned to the dark night when he was abandoned at the age of six.
The high fever had made him unconscious, his vision blurry and dark. He felt as if his entire body was immersed in an icy sea, and even the joints between his bones felt as if ice knives were piercing them.
He was thrown into the cowshed, and in the cold he could only hug the old cow sleeping beside him. Even though the small clothes his mother made for him were covered in mud, he still refused to let go, just wanting to absorb even a little bit of warmth.
In the end, he was so cold that even the pain was numb. He still couldn't wait for his mother, couldn't wait for the warm embrace that would always hold him. So an inexplicable resentment grew in his anticipation. He hated her for forgetting him for so long, and hated her for not showing up.
Until, like a miracle in a dream, he was once again embraced by that same embrace, and was taken away from the dirty and cold cowshed.
He listened to his mother's choked sobs and buried his face in her arms. In the last moment before he lost consciousness, he saw the dark eyes of the man he had always called "Dad".
He suddenly remembered that a few days before he was taken away, he saw him say to his mother, "Please give me a child of my own."
At that time, his mother had her back to him, and he saw his "father" standing opposite his mother at a glance. The look of annoyance and disgust on his face when he looked at him made the young boy feel afraid.
It turned out that the child he had called "Dad" for many years was not his own child.
But he was a precocious child, and after waking up, it was as if he had just had a nightmare.
He became even more dependent on his mother, never leaving her side. His mother, however, thought he was just frightened and compassionately allowed him to cling to her all day long.
Fortunately, these days of fear and anxiety did not last long, for soon summer arrived and flash floods broke out. That night, a mudslide engulfed the tea garden and approached their home.
When the family escaped from the house, the man was right in front of him, but the narrow ridge of the field made it impossible for Meng Lanxi to get past him.
The mudslide behind him was getting closer and closer, but he was running so slowly that Meng Lanxi felt the gravel and mud hitting his ankles. If the man in front didn't run faster, he would be blocked behind and swallowed up like the tea garden, the houses, and the trees on the roadside.
He did it on purpose. He must have run so slowly on purpose.
It's just like calling him a "bastard" and then throwing him into the wilderness, leaving him to be "picked up" by others.
So Meng Lanxi subconsciously raised her hand and pushed him away hard, pushing him off the narrow ridge of the field.
He was still young and not very strong, but the running man was caught off guard and missed a step and fell into the tea garden below.
He tried desperately to get up, but the flying rocks hit his waist. His body collapsed powerlessly and was soon swallowed up by the mudslide, disappearing in the roar.
But Meng Lanxi had already passed him and ran towards the open area ahead.
He saw his mother, and also saw his mother-in-law rushing towards him with a broken heart—she was still trying to save her son. He brushed past her body and ran towards his mother, pulling her away.
He shouted "Mother! Mother!", forcing her to give up her husband and turn back for him. His panicked and distorted voice concealed his joy and happiness. No one knew that he had just eliminated the biggest crisis in his life -
At that time, he thought that no one could take away his mother, the only person in the world who loved him for no reason and was willing to give him everything.
Because their homes were destroyed, they went north to Chang'an with their fellow tribesmen who suffered the same disaster to seek refuge with their relatives.
However, who would take care of such an orphan and a widowed mother? What's more, the aunt was jealous of my mother and deliberately placed them in a damp and abandoned house.
In the pouring rain, the cold rain penetrated the thatched hut and hit them, as cold as the night he was abandoned. But at least his mother held him, her voice full of hope, saying over and over again, "It's okay, let's just hold on a little longer, your brother will come to help us... When your brother comes, everything will be fine..."
But her eldest brother didn't come. Another man appeared beside her. In order to buy medicine for her son who had a high fever, she went to the front yard to ask the Meng family for the share of the family that should be given to her and her son. There, she met Jin Jingting who was attending the banquet.
And he recognized her. She was the woman he had seen briefly when he was young and whom he had never forgotten.
The situation quickly went in a direction beyond his control. The ten-year-old boy watched his mother become more and more radiant. She had bright new clothes and a jade pendant like the man's.
Soon, she moved out of the Meng family with him and lived in an elegant courtyard shaded by flowers and willows. She had maids, warm food and warm clothes, but the only thing she didn't have was his future.
The Jin family would not accept a widow, let alone a child who was already ten years old. When Jin Jingting and his mother finally got married, his only way out would be to return to the Meng family. This time, he would end up with nothing, even losing his only mother.
Fortunately, his mother tried every possible means to ask Jin Jingting for a promise, and finally he cut off the family's share in exchange for the property in the south, so that he could take them away with him.
But that night, when his mother hugged him happily, thanked him for his efforts and looked forward to their future together, he got up from the house in a daze and saw the couple in the yard who had finally fulfilled their long-cherished wish.
His mother, with her back to him, did not notice him, but Jin Jingting raised his eyes, and the look he gave him was one of annoyance and boredom, exactly the same as that of his "father" back then.
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