Chapter 51 Good Intentions "What you want may not be what I crave..."
Chapter 51 Good Intentions
The wedding date for Meng Yin and Jiang Xuanli was set on that very day, just ten days later.
After a sleepless night, Meng Yu returned to the general's mansion and rested, but he tossed and turned on the couch for an hour and still couldn't close his eyes.
She lifted the bed curtains, intending to get off and let Huaiyin investigate the matter. But after taking two steps, she suddenly realized that Meng Yin and Jiang Xuanli's affair had already become known throughout the mansion, and it seemed pointless to pursue the truth behind it. Besides, even if Lu Xiuyi was involved in this matter, what could she do?
If she confronted him about it, it would only cause trouble, and she had no other choice but to argue.
After thinking for a while, Meng Yu finally withdrew her foot. Lu Xiuyi was suspicious by nature, and she didn't want to ruin his trust in her because of something that was already a done deal.
***
The next day, while having breakfast, Lu Xiuyi asked Steward Cao to bring out a pair of jade cloud-patterned bracelets that the Emperor had bestowed upon him two years ago, and handed them to Meng Yu: "Your fourth sister is getting married, so please take these bracelets and give them to her."
Meng Yu glanced at it and saw that the bracelet was smooth, clean, delicate and translucent, without any cracks or cotton-like patterns. When she picked it up and tapped it lightly, it made a crisp sound without any impurities.
She smiled and raised her hand: "Such a fine bracelet cannot be bought on the market unless it is a gift from the emperor. It would be perfect to give it to Fourth Sister."
"Hearing this, I feel a little sour," Lu Xiuyi said with a raised eyebrow and a faint smile.
Forehead……
Meng Yu frowned: "Where did you get the idea that I was jealous?"
Lu Xiuyi immediately retorted, "I didn't say you were jealous."
Meng Yu choked on his food and angrily threw down the spoon.
Lu Xiuyi quickly got up, moved behind her, and massaged her shoulders in a flattering manner: "There is another pair in the storeroom, even better than this one. If you like, I will ask Steward Cao to bring them out."
She hadn't been paying much attention to her sleeping position last night, and had a bit of a stiff neck. But after he massaged it, it immediately felt much better.
Meng Yu took the opportunity to back down: "You know I don't like wearing jewelry; it's heavy and uncomfortable to wear on my hands."
He knew, of course, that she didn't like wearing jewelry. Since their marriage, he had given her several boxes of jewelry, but he had never seen her wear any of them.
Thinking of this, Lu Xiuyi remembered something, turned around and took out the filigree and beaded Lingxiao gold hairpin from before and put it on her: "When you left that day, you left this hairpin behind, and I brought it back."
She reached out to take it.
Lu Xiuyi immediately stopped her, his voice low and mellow: "Meng Yu, just this one, don't take it off."
He stood behind her, and she couldn't see his face, but there was a hint of pleading in his suppressed voice. She could almost imagine the grievance and pitifulness on his face.
Meng Yu slowly lowered her hand, which had been hovering in mid-air.
Almost instantly, Lu Xiuyi excitedly fetched a mirror and placed it in front of her.
The morning sun shone through the window and fell precisely on the trumpet creeper hairpin, reflecting a variety of colors.
This dazzling hair ornament is like a key, locking away her freedom to the outside world.
Lu Xiuyi glanced up and saw that she was wearing a pine-yellow outer garment with a pine-yellow and white cross-collar ruqun underneath. The Lingxiao hair ornament made her skin look as white as snow and her appearance as beautiful as a fairy.
***
Eight days later.
Meng Yin got married.
The Meng residence was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. Although there were many servants and maids coming and going, it was quiet. Meng Yin felt that marrying Jiang Xuanli had brought her shame, so she forbade anyone in the residence to laugh and congratulate her. A few days ago, a new maid who did not know the rules was laughing and joking with people in the corridor. When Meng Yin saw this, she immediately ordered her to be dragged out and beaten with twenty strokes of the cane.
Knowing that she was angry, Meng Yanqing and Madam Yuan did not stop her. They just ordered the door to be closed tightly so that no word would leak out, lest their noble family be accused of mistreating their servants.
Everyone held their breath, heads bowed, hurrying back and forth, not daring to whisper or utter a single word.
Meng Yu came to Meng Yin's room and personally handed her the pair of jade bracelets.
Tingyue opened it and showed it to her briefly.
With just one glance, her expression changed immediately. She felt that Meng Yu was showing off something she couldn't have but had longed for. She picked up the bracelet and wanted to smash it to the ground.
"This was sent by General Lu through Yu'er. If you break it, the general will hold you accountable. You'd better watch out." Before Meng Yu could stop him, a stern shout rang out from behind her.
Meng Yanqing appeared in the room with a stern face, and walked past everyone to Meng Yin's side: "It's fine if you throw a tantrum a few days ago, but today is your big day, and there are guests outside. You should control your temper and not cause me any trouble."
Meng Yin's hand hovered in mid-air for a moment, then she finally frowned and put the jade bracelet back into the box.
Having delivered the gift, Meng Yu did not wish to linger, so she curtsied to Meng Yanqing and said, "I will go to the front hall first to see if there is anything I can do to help Grandmother and Mother."
Meng Yanqing nodded. After everyone had left, he saw Meng Yin still frowning, with her lips downturned and a bitter expression on her face. He sighed and couldn't help but say, "Yin'er, this matter is ultimately your fault. If you hadn't been so careless, would things have turned out this way?"
Meng Yin was shocked. She turned her head sharply and stared wide-eyed at the person in front of her in disbelief: "Father, what are you saying? What do you mean by 'daughter's fault'? Daughter was hurt, daughter is the victim, what fault could daughter have?"
"Don't deny it," Meng Yanqing said calmly, his eyes unwavering in the face of her hysterical questioning. "I've already had someone investigate. You asked a servant in the manor to buy that kind of medicine and applied it to the rim of the wine pot that night before pouring it for General Lu. But why did Jiang Xuanli end up on the bed later? I think you've figured it out these past few days. In the end, that child is the victim. If it weren't for Lu Xiuyi's sake, do you think he would have let you off? Do you think you'd still be standing here unscathed?"
Meng Yin bit her lip and remained silent.
Meng Yanqing became even more agitated: "Who is Lu Xiuyi? He is the only surviving direct descendant of Princess Minghua, a person protected by the Emperor, a devil who doesn't even acknowledge his own father. What makes you think you have the guts to plot against him? Do you know that you are gambling with the lives of more than a hundred people in the entire household?"
Every word drips with blood, every sentence pierces the heart.
Meng Yin stared blankly at the person in front of him, paused for a long time, and then took two steps back with a cold smile: "So, so you knew, Father. But I sent the servant who was supposed to buy medicine for me to the estate a long time ago, how did you know?"
The morning sun shone through the window, casting half of Meng Yanqing's face in shadow and half in sunlight. His face, now over fifty, had lost the youthful handsomeness of his younger days. His gaze seemed to pass over what was in front of him, looking into the distance through the window: "That servant, I have already sent someone to beat him to death."
Before the words were even finished, Meng Yin gasped, seemingly unable to believe that the one who said those words was her loving and gentle father, the one who would hold her in his arms and soothe her when she couldn't sleep.
Even when my father was angry, he would only sell people off; he would never be so cruel as to beat someone to death.
The disbelief in her eyes gradually turned into unfamiliarity, but at that moment, she saw him holding his hands, saying expressionlessly, "This matter concerns the century-old reputation of my Meng family ancestors. As their father, I absolutely cannot allow even the slightest detail of this matter to be leaked."
***
Meng Yu glanced around the front hall and, seeing that there was nothing she needed to help with, decided to go back to Qingli Courtyard with Huai Yin to visit Aunt Shen.
Halfway there, Meng Shuang suddenly appeared and blocked her way: "Third sister, what a clever idea."
Meng Yu stopped and took two steps back, raising her hand in confusion: "What do you mean by that, Second Sister?"
Meng Shuang sneered: "Stop pretending. Wasn't it you who did what happened that night? You helped General Lu back to his room, you were the one who reported General Lu's disappearance, and you were the one who sent people to search the mansion. If none of this had happened, how could Fourth Sister have married a poor man?"
Upon hearing her say this, Meng Yu was astonished by her thought process: "Second sister, don't make baseless accusations without any evidence. What good would it do me to do that?"
"Because you hate it. You hate that you can only be trapped in the status of a concubine's daughter for your whole life. You hate that your fourth sister is about to marry into the General's Mansion. You hate even more that Jiang Xuanli, a poor man, doesn't even look down on you." At this moment, Meng Shuang lost her usual gentleness and kindness. Her eyes were twisted and her face was ferocious as she looked at her.
Upon hearing the last sentence, Meng Yu's expression instantly changed.
She had only met Jiang Xuanli once outside of the city.
Seeing Meng Yu's sullen face and silence for a long time, Meng Shuang thought she had guessed correctly, so she sneered and said, "Meng Yu, if you want to keep a secret, the sky will fall. Do you really think that no one knows about your shameless confession to Jiang Xuanli? If I didn't care about the reputation of our Meng family, I would have exposed this matter long ago so that everyone could see what a shameless person you are."
Meng Yu had no intention of arguing with her. Upon hearing this, she simply took a deep breath and slowly raised her hand: "Second sister, I feel deeply sorry about what happened to fourth sister, but this matter really has nothing to do with me. I also don't know why Jiang Xuanli was in fourth sister's room. Furthermore, no matter what you say or think, I only have one thing to say: whether in the past, present, or future, I have never thought of competing with you or fourth sister for anything. I have always truly regarded you as my older sister and fourth sister as my younger sister."
Meng Shuang smiled coldly, recalling the day Lu Jiayan met her at Xunmanlou, which made her even angrier: "Do you still need to snatch? Do you still need to fight? You have already obtained everything without snatching or fighting."
The morning light shone on the eaves, spreading along the corners to behind Meng Shuang. Meng Yu's eyes were misty, and she laughed in exasperation at Meng Shuang's words.
"Second sister, I have never received my father's love, never my grandmother's favoritism, and never the respect of anyone in the mansion. Even when I married Lu Xiuyi, didn't you see clearly whether I did it willingly? In your eyes, what did I gain? Was it a house full of gold and silver jewelry? Or the power and wealth that everyone craved? Second sister, what you want may not be what I crave."
Huaiyin frowned and slowly translated the words. As soon as her voice fell, Meng Yu didn't want to argue with her anymore. She simply walked past her and headed towards Qingli Courtyard without looking back.
Unexpectedly, Tingyue, who happened to be passing by, overheard their conversation.
Upon hearing that Meng Yu had secretly expressed her love for Jiang Xuanli before marrying Lu Xiuyi, Meng Yin suddenly laughed, her palms gripping the hairpin so tightly they almost bled.
***
When the servant secretly passed the note to him, Lu Xiuyi was exchanging pleasantries with the officials who had come to offer their congratulations.
The servant poured him wine, slipped the note under the cup, and handed it back to him.
He stepped aside and looked at the note, which only read: "Good brother-in-law, want to know Third Sister's secret? Meet me at the entrance of the cave in the back mountain."
The handwriting was crooked and messy, showing no trace of a well-bred lady, and it was not signed.
Lu Xiuyi raised his lips, a chill rising in his dark eyes.
It seems she was also worried that the note would be discovered.
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