Chapter 113 The Meng Family Is Not to Take the Blame
Meng Xiyao shook her head and said firmly.
“He saved me, and I am very grateful. But he told his mother about it, which made Xiao’s mother think that he had taken advantage of me and could control me at will. I cannot forgive that. So even if he could marry me now, I would not want to. But I am afraid that if I refuse, they will tell others about it, and outsiders will add fuel to the fire and say all sorts of things about me.”
The eldest sister's marriage was fraught with difficulties, and the second sister lost her virginity before marriage. If any more rumors were to spread about her, the three beauties of the Meng family would all become the subject of gossip.
"I understand. Since you have no feelings for him, I will have my mother reject this marriage proposal for you. Don't worry, for your father's sake, the Xiao family won't dare to gossip outside."
Meng Lingge offered her a few words of comfort before preparing to leave.
Meng Xiyao took her hand and said, "Eldest sister, just have Madam politely decline this matter. Don't embarrass the Xiao family. Young Master Xiao's mother is very difficult to deal with. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to offend her."
Now that the eldest sister is divorced and at home, although there is no gossip within the Meng family, the rumors outside are quite nasty. They say that the eldest sister has a hard fate and is destined to bring misfortune to her husband's family. She was only engaged to Guan Yi'an and hadn't even officially married him yet, but she still managed to ruin Guan Yi'an's reputation. Now, she has only been married to the Prince of Anshun's mansion for a few months, and she has already managed to have the Prince of Anshun's mansion sealed off.
If we offend that gossipy mother of Xiao again, who knows what rumors she might spread outside?
Meng Lingge knew her worries and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, I'll go and meet her. Our Meng family doesn't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble either."
That's ridiculous! Just because you saved a girl's life doesn't mean you have to repay her with your body.
If he were sincere and genuine, everyone could sit down and have a proper talk. Even if the marriage didn't work out, the Meng family would still be grateful for his life-saving grace. But this attitude of taking advantage of kindness and relentlessly pestering is really quite unsightly.
Meng Lingge even suspected that the small boat Meng Xiyao was riding on might have been capsized by Xiao Songyan.
Meng Lingge walked at a leisurely pace. When she arrived at the front hall, Du Shiyin was already extremely impatient, barely managing to maintain her composure.
She sat calmly in her wheelchair, only showing a slight smile when she saw Meng Lingge, and pointed to a mother and son sitting on her left.
"Lingge, these two are the eldest son of the Vice Minister of Revenue, and his wife."
"Madam Xiao, Young Master Xiao, this is our eldest daughter, Meng Lingge."
Before Meng Lingge could even greet them, the plump wife of the Vice Minister on the left covered her mouth and laughed, "Oh dear, Madam Meng, are you perhaps confused? My son is asking for Meng Xiyao, the third daughter of the Meng family, not your eldest daughter, Meng Lingge. Although your eldest daughter's status is more noble, her current reputation... well, I don't need to spell it out, do I..."
Xiao Songyan quickly stood up and said to Madam Xiao seriously, "Mother, Xi Yao is probably too shy to come, so she asked the eldest daughter of the Meng family to come and discuss things with us. It's fine if you like to joke around at home, but you must not do so when you're out, especially when it comes to matters concerning a young lady's reputation. You must be careful what you say."
After saying that, he turned around and cupped his hands to Meng Lingge, saying, "Xiao Songyan greets Miss Meng. My mother usually likes to joke around, but she means no harm. I apologize on her behalf for any disrespect, and I hope Miss Meng will not take it to heart."
Madam Xiao curled her lip dismissively, "Yes, it's my fault again."
Meng Lingge looked up and sized up the Xiao family mother and son. No wonder Meng Xiyao said that Xiao's mother was difficult to deal with. Her luxurious clothes couldn't hide the sharp and meanness in her eyes. Just by looking at her face, you could tell that she was not someone to be trifled with.
The Vice Minister of Revenue was over fifty years old, yet he had never had a concubine or maidservant. Everyone said it was because he was devoted to his wife. Now it seems that it was because his wife was too shrewd, which prevented Lord Xiao from having any other thoughts.
Xiao Songyan was indeed handsome, possessing the appearance of a refined and elegant gentleman. His manners and speech just now were also quite courteous and appropriate.
But the fleeting glint of lechery in his eyes upon seeing her, and the way his gaze swept over her as he spoke, made him no different from a lecherous scoundrel.
Meng Lingge smiled faintly, "Young Master Xiao, you are mistaken. Since you and Madam Xiao are here to propose marriage, such an important life event, how can Madam Xiao be joking about it? Does she also consider this a joke?"
"Madam Xiao also said that my mother was confused, but in my opinion, Madam Xiao simply lacks common sense. It is said that marriage is a major event, and it should be decided by the parents and arranged by the matchmaker. If your Xiao family is interested in my third sister, you should first send a matchmaker to sound out the situation, instead of coming directly to ask for her hand in marriage. And after my mother clearly refused, you still demanded that my third sister come out to meet you, saying that you wanted to hear her opinion. Madam Xiao, go to the capital and ask around, which family does things like this?"
"As for Madam Xiao's statement that I am of noble status but have a bad reputation, that is even more ridiculous. Madam Xiao thinks that my current divorce and staying at home is damaging to the reputation of the Meng family, but this divorce was personally ordered by the Emperor. Does Madam Xiao mean to question the Emperor's wisdom?"
The barrage of questions and accusations against the Emperor frightened Madam Xiao so much that she hurriedly stood up: "I didn't mean that, Miss Meng, please don't make false accusations!"
Xiao Songyan's face also turned ugly as he said, "Miss Meng has misunderstood. I have indeed come with sincerity. In order to marry Xi Yao, I have broken off my engagement with the Prince of Anshun's family. As long as Xi Yao enters the family, she will be my wife."
Actually, he was already getting a little impatient with the repeated visits from the illegitimate daughter of the prime minister's family. However, Meng Xiyao was just too beautiful, even more beautiful than the top courtesan he had seen in the brothel. He couldn't forget her after just one glance, and he couldn't sleep or eat if he didn't marry her.
He could understand why Meng Xiyao was unwilling to be a concubine before, but now that he was willing to marry her as his principal wife, he didn't understand why the Meng family still disagreed.
Meng Xiyao wasn't opposed to him at the time, and his family background and talent were quite impressive.
Meng Lingge slowly sat down opposite the two, took the tea handed to her by the maid, blew on it to cool it down, and took a small sip.
“Young Master Xiao, that’s not how it works. This isn’t the first time you’ve come to the Meng residence. You’ve said many times before that you would break off the engagement with the Prince of Anshun’s family, but it was all just talk. As far as I know, before the Prince of Anshun’s family got into trouble, you not only didn’t mention breaking off the engagement to them, but you even kept it a secret. The Prince of Anshun’s family didn’t hear a word about it. Now that the Prince of Anshun’s family has been sealed off, you’re afraid of being implicated, so you went to the Emperor to break off the engagement, but you’re blaming my third sister for this, saying it was to marry Xi Yao. Our Meng family will not take the blame for this.”
Hearing this, Madam Xiao finally had a handle on Meng Lingge's words.
"Speaking of breaking off an engagement, we are nothing like Miss Meng. After being married for several months, her husband, with whom she lived day and night, just wanted a divorce. When Miss Meng broke off the engagement, only Prince Wen came to her rescue. The two of them were usually very loving. But what happened? As soon as the Prince of Anshun's mansion was sealed off, some people completely dropped their pretense. If we really want to talk about it, our Xiao family is much more benevolent than Miss Meng."
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