Chapter 173 The Hypocrite
"Miss, no..." Dongqing cried on the bed, her small face contorted with tears, "Please don't abandon me..."
Qiuyue threw a package onto the bed, tears welling in her eyes, but her tone was vicious, "Your heart is no longer with Miss. Go as far away as you can. Take this and get out of here!"
"No, I didn't..." Dongqing argued weakly.
Meng Lingge didn't want to waste any more words with her and took Qiu Lan to see Du Yuanhua.
Du Yuanhua was looking at account books in his study when he heard that Meng Lingge wanted to play chess with him, so he immediately changed his clothes and rushed to the front yard.
This time, after my cousin came to Jiangnan and learned of his feelings, she always deliberately avoided him. This was the first time she had ever taken the initiative to seek him out.
When Meng Lingge arrived, Du Yuanhua had already had tea and snacks served, and a chessboard had been set up.
Meng Lingge sat down on the opposite side of the chessboard and said softly.
"Big cousin, I'm so sorry to bother you so late."
"There's no need to be so polite between relatives." Du Yuanhua glanced at Meng Lingge before quickly looking away.
He said to the maidservant who was waiting nearby.
"You all go outside and wait, don't disturb my game of chess with my cousin."
He knew that Meng Lingge must have something important to tell him at this time, but it was against the rules for the two of them to meet alone at night, so she asked him to play chess in the front yard.
The hall was spacious, and the maids could see the two figures from outside the door, but as long as they lowered their voices, those outside could only hear a faint sound and could not make out the content of their conversation.
Qiu Lan also retreated outside the door along with the maids.
Seeing that Du Yuanhua had already picked up the white pieces, Meng Lingge calmly picked up the black pieces to respond.
After three rounds of questioning, Du Yuanhua spoke first: "Cousin, has something happened?"
“There is indeed something.” Meng Lingge continued speaking without stopping, looking at Du Yuanhua with an open and honest gaze: “Before I talk about this, I have to tell my cousin a secret. Neither my grandmother nor I have ever told this to you, so I hope you will keep it a secret for me.”
Meeting Du Yuanhua's slightly surprised gaze, Meng Lingge continued, "I'm pregnant. But now someone has given me an abortion drug, trying to kill me and my child. I remember my cousin said that I took the blame for you many times before and owed me a favor, so I've come to ask for that favor back. I hope my cousin will deal with this person for me."
Du Yuanhua's eyes lit up with surprise, but upon hearing that Meng Lingge was pregnant, his expression instantly fell into disappointment.
He hesitated to place the white piece in his hand, his mind filled with complex emotions.
He really wanted to ask Meng Lingge, whose child is this?
But he felt that the question was too offensive. Given his cousin's personality, she was definitely pregnant with her husband's child. The problem was that she had already divorced Prince Wen, and according to the information he had gathered, Prince Wen had already taken another woman as his concubine.
Does my cousin still want to rekindle her relationship with Prince Wen, or will she raise the child alone?
Regardless of the method, both seem to present numerous difficulties.
However, her cousin clearly didn't want to discuss this issue with him. If it weren't for the fact that someone was trying to harm her child, Meng Lingge would never have told him this secret.
He swirled the words in his mouth a few times, but in the end he swallowed them all and placed the white piece heavily on the chessboard.
"How dare someone commit violence in my Du family! Of course, they cannot be let off. Who is this person?"
Meng Lingge knew that Du Yuanhua had been getting closer to Zheng Qingshan recently. Zheng Qingshan was a smooth and worldly man, and Du Yuanhua regarded him as a chivalrous savior, so he was easily deceived by him.
If we don't remind my cousin now, he might end up getting hurt by it.
So she was straightforward.
"Zheng Qingshan".
Upon hearing this, Du Yuanhua was indeed slightly surprised. "It was him? Is there any witness or evidence?"
He believed Meng Lingge, but he was also worried that there might be some misunderstanding. After all, Zheng Qingshan had given him a good impression recently and didn't seem like the kind of person who would use such cruel methods against women.
Meng Lingge knew that Du Yuanhua had gained some trust in Zheng Qingshan, so she simply told him about the pot of stew.
Then he added, "I didn't pour out the soup. If you need, you can have someone check it again. Although it's not 100% certain that it was him, it's at least 80-90% likely. It's easy to confirm. You can send someone to check who bought abalone, ox knee, and blister powder these past two days, and interrogate Xiao Huan properly. The real culprit will be found out. Besides, although this person made Dong Qing take the back path, the distance from the guest room to Juyunxuan is not short. There should be other eyewitnesses."
This is the Du residence, and it's not convenient for Meng Lingge to investigate these matters herself; it's most appropriate to leave it to Du Yuanhua.
After listening to Meng Lingge's explanation, Du Yuanhua also felt that Zheng Qingshan was the most suspicious.
Moreover, he had a motive.
The first time Du Yuanhua met him, he heard him say that he liked Meng Lingge. The idea that a man who likes a woman pregnant with another man's child, and who, unable to accept this outcome, wants to force Meng Lingge to have an abortion, is a common tactic used by many insidious men.
Zheng Qingshan argued that liking someone means protecting her secretly, cherishing her forever, and respecting her! Not using despicable means to possess her or humiliate her!
His words that day are the exact opposite of his actions now. If this was indeed Zheng Qingshan's doing, then he is a complete hypocrite.
Regardless, he trusted his cousin Meng Lingge more than Zheng Qingshan.
To be precise, he would trust Meng Lingge more than anyone else.
“I’ll handle this. If it really was Zheng Qingshan who did it, how do you want to deal with him, cousin?”
Du Yuanhua had lost all interest in the chess pieces. With Meng Lingge's black piece falling, he had no chance of turning the tide.
"Actually, I've always suspected that Zheng Qingshan was responsible for the carriage breakdown on the way to Jiangnan and Xiao Songyan's death, but I have no evidence for either of these things, and it's difficult to verify them now. I don't want others to know that I'm pregnant, so this matter can't be blown out of proportion. After you find out the truth, cousin, just kick Zheng Qingshan out of the mansion. Of course, if possible, it would be best to kick him out of Jiangnan."
The Du family were merely merchants and had no right to punish others. She didn't want her pregnancy to be known, nor could she report it to the authorities.
Although her cousin might send someone to beat Zheng Qingshan up or even secretly eliminate him for her sake, there was no need for her cousin to take such a risk and get the Du family into legal trouble.
Since Zheng Qingshan has ulterior motives towards her, she should drive him far away first. She came to Jiangnan to avoid trouble, and now that she is pregnant, she should keep a low profile in everything she does.
But Zheng Qingshan was too vicious, causing Dongqing to lose her health and almost harming her child. This matter cannot be left unresolved.
After her cousin kicked the people out, she then instructed Chen Luo and Chen Ling to secretly do something sabotage to teach Zheng Qingshan a lesson.
Zheng Yuanhua nodded, then asked, "What are you going to do with that treacherous little girl of yours?"
“Set her free. Dongqing hasn’t betrayed her master, she’s just confused.” Meng Lingge said, “She’s still not fully recovered, and I’m afraid she’ll have a hard time surviving outside. If it’s convenient for you, cousin, please help me look after her appropriately, but don’t let her know that it was me and the Du family who helped her.”
"That's easy, I'll just give the order later."
After Du Yuanhua finished speaking, he didn't dare to look Meng Lingge in the eye. After thinking it over and over, he finally mustered up his courage and said...
"Cousin, you can't hide your pregnancy for long. If you're willing, you can marry me first. I can give you and your child a legitimate status. Don't worry, I'm just worried about what others will say about you. I'm definitely not taking advantage of you. I will never touch you if you don't agree."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
