Chapter 57 Mutual Blame
At this moment, the manager of the opium den finally appeared, inquired about the matter, and instructed the staff to leave.
"Lord Guan, please forgive the waiter for his rudeness. Your order is a bit pricey, but that's because the dishes are unusually expensive. Our Nanyan Restaurant doesn't make much profit, so we really can't offer credit. How about this, I'll have the waiter go back to your residence with you to get it? Is that alright?"
Guan Yi'an, unable to bear the stares of the onlookers any longer, quickly agreed and went out with the shop assistants, while Meng Huanyan followed behind them, sobbing.
As soon as they left, the diners who had been whispering just moments before couldn't help but start discussing loudly, though most of them were mocking Guan Yi'an and Meng Huanyan.
Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge stood behind the diners, watching Guan Yi'an and Meng Huanyan leave in a disheveled state. Wen Zhiming asked in confusion, "Wife, why was Meng Huanyan beaten again?"
The last time they met at the Meng residence, Meng Huanyan was whipped by Meng Xingyuan.
This time at the opium den, Meng Huanyan was slapped in the face in public by Guan Yi'an again.
Wen Zhiming rarely saw women being beaten, and it was truly rare to see the same person beaten twice, which piqued his curiosity.
Meng Lingge said calmly, "Because she likes to make a fuss and can't live a peaceful life."
Back at the Meng residence, it was Meng Huanyan who tried to frame her, and she reaped what she sowed. In today's situation, if Meng Huanyan hadn't been constantly making things worse, Guan Yi'an wouldn't have been so humiliated.
Didn't Guan Yi'an say at the time that he and Meng Huanyan were deeply in love?
They disliked each other so quickly.
Meng Lingge estimated that after these two went back, there would be another big battle.
Wen Zhiming felt somewhat flustered upon hearing Meng Lingge's reply.
"My wife, I also like to make a fuss, but I can live a peaceful life."
Meng Lingge smiled and took Wen Zhiming's arm with her slender hand.
“My husband is different from her. She likes to think she’s clever, but my husband is wise in a seemingly foolish way.”
Wen Zhiming didn't quite understand the meaning of "great wisdom appears as foolishness," but he instinctively knew that his wife was praising him.
In recent years, not many people have genuinely praised him, but he could feel that his wife was definitely the most sincere among them.
Wen Zhiming's panic vanished instantly, replaced by joy and satisfaction.
The couple returned to their residence hand in hand. In the carriage, Meng Lingge felt a sense of satisfaction as she recalled Guan Yi'an's embarrassment and disarray that day.
Although Zhang Luo had been following Guan Yi'an for some time and hadn't found anything unusual, she still believed that neither of them were trustworthy and that they would eventually reveal their true colors.
...
After the opium den's employee followed Guan Yi'an to the Guan family's residence, Guan Yi'an still couldn't come up with enough money to pay the bill.
They had no choice but to lead the shop assistant to the storeroom and let him select the gifts that the officials had given him a few days earlier. These were all rare and valuable items, but the shop assistant didn't know their value. Unable to get his money back, he could only take as much as he could to offset the debt. After some back and forth, he had taken almost all the gifts from the storeroom.
Guan Yi'an was heartbroken beyond words, but he couldn't renege on his debt.
Today has already been embarrassing enough. If it gets out that the Vice Minister of Rites held a promotion banquet without paying, and other officials report it, then his official position will be over.
Although he managed to get rid of the servants, the gifts ended up in the market, and the officials who gave them would inevitably look down on him when they found out.
But he couldn't worry about that for the time being.
After the shop assistant left, Guan Yi'an sat on the warehouse floor, feeling both pain and regret.
He shouldn't have held this promotion banquet, shouldn't have invited Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge, and of course, he shouldn't have brought along that idiot Meng Huanyan!
If it weren't for the fact that Eunuch Wan still had his eye on this woman, he would have wanted to kill Meng Huanyan.
Meng Xingyuan's situation is no longer a major problem. There are too many ways to kill a weak woman, and he now has a way to ensure that Meng Xingyuan will not suspect him.
He had felt a little guilty towards Meng Huanyan before, but now that he thinks about it, Meng Huanyan couldn't even be a good concubine, she deserved to be played with by a eunuch!
When Meng Huanyan found the warehouse, the viciousness in Guan Yi'an's eyes had not completely faded. When he saw Meng Huanyan's red and swollen eyes from crying, he felt no pity, but instead felt even more resentment.
Kneel down!
The stern shout startled Meng Huanyan, making her forget that she had come to settle scores with Guan Yi'an. Her body instinctively knelt down in fear.
“What do you mean by this, my husband? Today I was trying my best to share your burdens, and I really don’t know what I did wrong to make you so angry. You beat me in front of everyone, and then you made me kneel when we got back. Even the government has to give a reason for killing someone. If you beat me and punish me like this, at least tell me why.”
She wept bitterly, her face streaked with tears, a sight that evoked pity in me. But Guan Yi'an was in no mood to appreciate it; instead, he found Meng Huanyan increasingly despicable.
Even now, she still doesn't know where she went wrong, and that is her biggest mistake!
The opium den's employees have all come to the storeroom demanding money. If Meng Huanyan still doesn't understand why he's angry, then she's foolish. If she does know and still insists on a reason, she's just rubbing salt into his wounds.
Either way, it was enough to enrage him.
Guan Yi'an grabbed Meng Huanyan's chin and said fiercely.
"You want a reason, right? Because you're such a disgrace, no wonder your father doesn't like you. You're not even as good as one of Meng Lingge's fingers. If I had married Meng Lingge instead of you, she would have helped me out of this predicament at today's banquet, instead of cutting off my escape route and making me lose face like you have!"
When men and women are deeply in love, they are most likely to confide their vulnerabilities and secrets to each other to show honesty and hope for approval.
Little do they know that while such matters are a bonus when the relationship is good, once problems arise, the unpleasant and secret things they once shared will become weapons for the other party to attack.
Meng Huanyan is now suffering the consequences of this backlash.
She longed for Meng Xingyuan's approval and hoped to surpass Meng Lingge in every way, so she disregarded her reputation and stole Meng Lingge's man.
Now, the man she stole tells her that it's no wonder her father doesn't like her; she's not even as good as Meng Lingge. This is undoubtedly the greatest hurt she can suffer.
That's what she can't accept the most.
She had already reached her limit by now.
It was clearly Guan Yi'an's own incompetence that led her to go out to a banquet without bringing enough money, causing her to lose face as well.
Now, however, they're putting all the blame on her.
She wanted to be gentle and tender, to share hardships with Guan Yi'an, but this man was selfish and looked down on her from the bottom of his heart. He didn't give her any face outside the mansion or in front of the servants. Why should she pretend to be a loving couple with him?
Meng Huanyan flung Guan Yi'an's hand away and then swiftly scratched Guan Yi'an's face with her other hand.
"Guan Yi'an! You think I'm a disgrace? Was it because I told you not to bring enough money today? Was it because I let Prince Wen order the food first? You have no ability, so you take it out on a woman!"
"You regret marrying me instead of Meng Lingge? On our wedding day, I only summoned you; I didn't take off your clothes! You regret it now? It's too late! I finally understand why Meng Lingge would rather marry a fool than you—because you're even worse than a fool!"
"Let me tell you, I regret it even more than you do. You're just a pretty face, all show and no substance, but in reality, you're a beast who abuses women!"
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