Chapter 45 Different Paths "You still harbor thoughts of leaving me?"...
Meng Yu followed Aunt Shen back to Qingli Courtyard. The pear tree in the corner was bathed in sunlight, its oval green leaves tinged with golden light. As usual, two strings of garlic hung at the entrance of the small kitchen, and the lotus leaves floating in the water vat drooped their heads.
Everything seems unchanged, yet everything also seems different.
Even though she had only been gone for two days, it felt like many, many years had passed.
Aunt Shen pulled Meng Yu into the room to whisper, while Huai Yin and Yan'er were made to sit on the platform under the eaves.
Meng Yu and Aunt Shen sat together on the couch, and the room was quiet.
Aunt Shen felt that Meng Yu had been wronged by being forced into marriage, and Meng Yu was worried that Yuan Shi would make things difficult for her after she left, so neither of them spoke first.
As time ticked by, after a long silence, Meng Yu was the first to raise her hand: "Auntie, I won't be by your side anymore. If you are bullied, please don't hide it or endure it anymore. Sometimes, the easier you are to bully, the more they will take advantage of you."
Aunt Shen didn't care about that. She just shook her head and said, "I'm too old to have any more children. Your father rarely comes here either. I don't pose a threat to her. You don't need to worry."
Aunt Shen grasped her hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but ask, "He...he hasn't done anything to you these past two days, has he?"
The "he" here naturally refers to Lu Xiuyi.
Meng Yu raised her hand and said, "He didn't touch me, and we agreed beforehand that he would never touch me until I fell in love with him."
Unexpectedly, Lu Xiuyi could do such a thing. Aunt Shen was shocked and sighed, "He has gone to such lengths for you, which shows his sincerity. Yu'er, things have come to this point, haven't you thought about trying to spend the rest of your life with him?"
She had previously been unwilling for Meng Yu to marry Lu Xiuyi, but Lu Xiuyi had intended to take her as a concubine. Now that she was his legal wife and he was protecting her so much, she naturally had no reason to object.
Meng Yu could hardly believe that these words would come from Aunt Shen's mouth. But then she thought about it and realized that Aunt Shen was born and raised in this era, and her thinking was limited. She couldn't ask too much of her. Besides, things were indeed as Aunt Shen said. On the surface, Aunt Shen was already Madam Lu.
Meng Yu raised her hand with a wry smile: "Aunt, the premise that he won't touch me is based on the fact that I'm within his control. If I were to propose a divorce and want to get away from him, do you think he would still be able to maintain proper etiquette and keep his promises?"
Her few words made Aunt Shen frown deeply.
Meng Yu patiently analyzed with her: "If he could, he wouldn't have chased after us like a madman after we left, and he certainly wouldn't have gone to such lengths and schemes to make me marry him after we returned here. Aunt, love is understanding, love is respect, not like him trapping me in this situation without regard for my wishes. My compromise now is not because I've resigned myself to fate, but because I've considered all the circumstances."
Meng Yu's perspective was one that Aunt Shen had never considered.
In this dynasty, the prevailing custom was to obey one's father at home, one's husband after marriage, and one's son after the husband's death. Apart from not wanting to become a concubine, Aunt Shen never gave much thought to anything else.
But this was what Meng Yu truly desired, and she was willing to try to understand her.
“No matter what you do, whether you want to stay by his side or not,” Aunt Shen covered the back of her hand, took a deep breath, and said gently, “as long as you are happy, as long as you don’t regret it, Aunt Shen will support you.”
Hearing Aunt Shen's understanding of her, Meng Yu felt a lump in her throat and her eyes welled up with tears. She forced back her tears, lowered her eyes, and nodded heavily.
Just then, Zhi Mian's slightly surprised voice came from outside the door: "It's terrible! Madam Qin from the Chengyi Marquis's mansion has come to propose marriage to the Second Miss."
Huaiyin poked her forehead, finding it amusing: "It's a good thing that the Marquis of Chengyi's family is coming to propose marriage. You're here badmouthing the Second Miss. Be careful someone hears this and reports it to the Madam. You'll get a beating."
Zhi Mian rubbed her forehead, which had been poked, and muttered, "Good sister, I haven't finished speaking yet. If it were just Madam Qin who came, that would be fine, but the young master Qin also came. And to make matters worse, he even argued with Madam Qin in front of the master, madam, and second young lady, saying that he would never accept this marriage."
Yan'er was shocked and could hardly believe it: "Don't the people all say that Prince Qin is as gentle and refined as jade, like a precious tree? How could he embarrass the Second Miss in public?"
Huaiyin had witnessed firsthand how Qin Musui protected Ning Sui at Xunmanlou that day, and she already understood the situation then. Therefore, she was not surprised to hear these words now: "Perhaps he already has someone he likes, but Madam Qin has taken a liking to the Second Miss and wanted to act first and inform him later, coming over to propose marriage before telling him. Who would have thought that he would find out, and that's why he rushed over here, publicly humiliating Madam Qin and making the Second Miss lose face."
"Huaiyin, don't talk nonsense." Meng Yu opened the door, and Aunt Chen raised her voice, pretending to be angry as she scolded him.
The three of them hurriedly stood up from the platform. Huaiyin shut her mouth and said awkwardly, "Yes."
Meng Yu gestured to Yan'er: "Where is the general?"
"The general was also in the front hall, originally there to help smooth things over, but he was scolded by Prince Qin instead, and even the master didn't dare to say a word."
That's strange.
Given Lu Xiuyi's temperament, he would be lucky if he didn't torment the person; how could he allow someone to trample on him? But recalling Lu Xiuyi's attitude towards Qin Musui at Xunmanlou that day, it wasn't surprising.
Just as she was thinking this, Aunt Shen said to her gently, "It's getting late, why don't you go and take a look? I wonder what kind of commotion is going on up ahead."
Meng Yu nodded and raised her hand: "I'll come back to see you another day when I have some free time."
After saying that, she instructed Yan'er to take good care of Aunt Shen and to come to the General's Mansion to find her if anything happened.
The wild geese responded repeatedly.
Meng Yu led Huaiyin and Zhimian through the covered corridor. Just as they passed through the moon gate, they heard Qin Musui's angry voice from afar: "You want to be my brother-in-law? I don't want to be your sister's brother-in-law. Stop pretending to be a good person. If you think she has a fair face and a beautiful complexion, why don't you divorce your sweetheart and marry her?"
Lu Xiuyi laughed in anger at his words: "How can this be compared? Meng Yu is my wife, that's a done deal. Look at Ning Sui, you originally thought that Beiliang was a barbaric land, and the people of Beiliang lived by primitive means. It was not safe for a young woman to lead troops there, so you suggested to His Majesty to send someone else. Who would have thought that she would take your good intentions for granted and repeatedly speak ill of you? Not to mention what your aunt would think of her, even I, an outsider, feel sorry for you."
Lu Xiuyi spoke clearly and earnestly, seemingly with reason and evidence, but to Meng Yu, he only made her feel nauseous.
Ning Sui's lifelong wish was to fulfill her father's wish and fight against Bei Liang.
He and Qin Musui, however, stood from their own perspectives, thwarting her dreams and extinguishing her wishes, all while claiming it was for her own good. Little did they know that Ning Sui would rather die on the battlefield to reclaim lost territory than live a life of subservience in the inner quarters, bowing and scraping before her mother-in-law and scheming against others.
Meng Yu had no way of knowing what they talked about after that. After hearing Lu Xiuyi's words, she turned around and went back to Qingli Courtyard.
Not long after, Lu Xiuyi came to find her, and the two of them got into a carriage and returned to the mansion together.
***
Meanwhile, Meng Shuang was publicly humiliated by Qin Musui. Ji Shi was furious and raised her hand to slap Qin Musui, but Meng Shuang quickly stepped in to stop her. On the surface, she still forced a smile and politely said to Ji Shi, "It's alright."
Despite being humiliated like this, she showed no resentment whatsoever. Madam Ji was surprised that Meng Shuang was so understanding and felt deeply ashamed, feeling even more guilty towards her.
After seeing Ji off and returning to her room, Meng Shuang was overwhelmed by a torrent of grievances, which felt like a massive boulder, making it hard for her to breathe. She couldn't control herself and burst into tears.
Yu Yan felt sorry for her mistress and frowned as she offered a few words of advice, but Meng Shuang ignored her and continued to sit by the bed, covering her face and sobbing.
Upon hearing the noise, Madam Yuan came in and gave Deng Mama a wink. Deng Mama quickly led all the maids out of the room and left the door slightly ajar for them.
"Your mother has already said this before. Madam Qin may not be able to go against Prince Qin's wishes. Since you already know the answer, why bother?" Madam Yuan sat down next to her and sighed.
Meng Shuang sobbed, clutching the handkerchief in her hand tightly. The veins on her slender white knuckles bulged as she couldn't help but rebuke, "Madam Qin has delayed for so long without coming to propose marriage, and I was already prepared for that. There are plenty of good men in the capital. I, Meng Shuang, am not so bad that no one wants me. Even if I don't marry into the Chengyi Marquis's family, I can find another way. It's just that Qin Musui has gone too far. Even if he has many grievances, he should have considered my situation and not humiliated me in public. If this gets out, how am I supposed to face people?"
“The Chengyi Marquis’s family has been distinguished for generations and has excellent relations with the prominent families in the capital. Even so, we have no choice but to swallow our anger. Shuang’er, although you have been wronged,” Madam Yuan was also extremely indignant, but she could not express it due to the disparity in their status, “this matter is not all bad!”
"What does Mother mean by that?"
Madam Yuan patiently explained, "The way Prince Qin treated you in front of others just now, and you were so magnanimous, which only makes Madam Qin feel indebted to you and to the Meng family."
Meng Shuang frowned in thought, and gradually stopped crying.
After a long pause, she wiped away her tears, her expression resolute, as if she had regained her former pride. She stood up and slightly curtsied to Madam Yuan: "Thank you for your guidance, Mother. I understand now."
Madam Yuan quickly got up to help her up, and said gently with a smile, "I already found out that Young Master Lu will be hunting in that forest on the outskirts of the city the day after tomorrow. Since you're in a bad mood, why not take this opportunity to go out and clear your head?"
Meng Shuang looked up abruptly, only to see a glimmer of encouragement in Yuan Shi's eyes.
Thinking back to her meeting with that person at Lin'an Temple that day, he was dignified and noble, no less than Qin Musui in the slightest, so Meng Shuang nodded.
***
On the way back to the manor, the atmosphere was somber. The person next to him lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked out. Lu Xiuyi thought that Meng Yu was sad because Meng Shuang was rejected by Qin Musui, so he didn't dare to say much and wanted to give her some time to calm down.
As soon as he arrived at the manor, Meng Yu had someone summon Zhang Zhuangtou. He quickly stopped him, saying, "Since you're in a bad mood, let's put the manor matters aside for now. We can deal with them when you're in a better mood."
Meng Yu asked in confusion, "What's wrong with me? Why do you say that?"
Lu Xiuyi stammered, "You must have heard about Madam Qin's visit today to propose marriage to the Second Miss, only to be rejected by Qin Musui. Isn't that why?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Yu smiled and shook her head.
Lu Xiuyi was puzzled: "If it's not because of Meng Shuang, then why are you looking so miserable in the carriage?"
He had assumed that this was why she was so upset. Meng Yu found it amusing but didn't want to argue, so she casually said, "I've never been separated from my aunt since I was a child. Now that I'm married, it's natural that I'm sad."
She sat in the carriage with a somber face, naturally saddened by the separation from Aunt Shen, but most importantly, her mood had been further dampened by Lu Xiuyi's words. But then she thought again, weren't his words just like his personality? It wasn't like she was meeting him for the first time; why ruin her day over this?
It's not worth it.
After thinking about it this way, Meng Yu suddenly understood.
She and Lu Xiuyi, Ning Sui and Qin Musui were never on the same path, so why should she care about what they said?
If our paths diverge, how can we make plans together? If you want to do something, just go all out and see it through to the end.
Lu Xiuyi, however, believed this wholeheartedly and reassured her, "We're both in the capital. If you want to see her, you can go back anytime."
Meng Yu was slightly surprised, and without much thought, she subconsciously raised her hand: "Can I move around freely?"
"Why not?"
His question snapped Meng Yu back to reality, and she regretted raising her hand too quickly.
She paused for a moment, then didn't answer.
Lu Xiuyi stared intently at her, a dangerous aura suddenly spreading around them. He slowly spoke, "Or perhaps, you still harbor thoughts of leaving me?"
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