Chapter 309 Still eyeing my Zhou family's title?
"Mother, you're overthinking it."
Zhou Congxian's voice was very soft.
He paused for a moment and then said, "I eat the king's food and bear the king's worries."
"The situation is still uncertain, and as a subject, I do not know when I will be summoned to leave the capital."
"The British Duke's mansion is large and powerful, and it cannot be without a leader."
He didn't explain it too clearly.
With Xiao Shu by his side, the court was in turmoil, and the situation was far from settled.
He couldn't tell his parents these things.
"My second brother is calm and composed, and is capable of shouldering great responsibilities."
Zhao's voice suddenly rose, "The best arrangement?"
She gripped Zhou Congxian's arm tightly, her nails digging deep into the fabric, as if grasping at the last straw.
"Xian'er, do you know what you're saying?!"
"You are my greatest hope in this life!"
Her tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string.
Her voice was full of resentment.
"You are skilled in both literature and martial arts; in what way are you inferior to others? This title should have been yours all along! Your brother... how can he be compared to you?!"
"Now that you've married into the Meng family, you've already made the Zhou family a laughingstock throughout the capital! And now, you're even going to hand over this only title to someone else?"
Zhao cried her heart out.
The Duke of England, who had been watching coldly, finally lost his temper and let out a cold sneer.
He pulled Zhao away, who was crying uncontrollably.
"wishful thinking!"
"He is now a member of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, born a member of the Meng family, and will die a member of the Meng family."
"You still covet my Zhou family's title?!"
Zhou Congxian's back was still ramrod straight.
He didn't look at his father's face again, which was filled with the word "humiliation".
He slowly stood up and helped his swaying mother.
"Father, please calm down. Mother, please take care of yourself."
He paused, and finally a hint of warmth, befitting a human being, appeared in his voice.
"My son has been away from home for a long time and misses his grandmother very much."
He said no more, took Meng Shilan's hand, and waved to Fu'er.
"Fu'er, take your younger brother and follow."
"Let's go and pay our respects to Grandmother."
The family of four walked out of the oppressive and suffocating main hall in silence, under the complex gazes of the servants.
To get from the main hall to Songhe Hall, where the old lady lived, one had to pass through half of the Duke's mansion.
The pavilions and towers within the mansion remain unchanged, but for some reason, they always exude an air of desolation.
Songhe Hall is the most scenic courtyard in the entire British Duke's Mansion, and it was also the old lady's favorite place.
It was late autumn, and the ground in the courtyard was covered with golden ginkgo leaves, like a beautiful brocade.
A gust of wind blows, and golden leaves flutter down, creating a breathtaking scene.
Fu'er was so captivated by the sight that she couldn't help but reach out her little hand to catch the falling leaves.
The old lady was a devout Buddhist, and the incense in the small Buddhist shrine burned continuously throughout the year.
In the past, one could always smell a comforting sandalwood fragrance from afar at Songhetang.
But today, that familiar sandalwood scent has vanished without a trace.
Instead, there was an overwhelming, bitter medicinal smell.
It washed away all the fragrance of flowers, grass, and even the scent of the golden autumn sunshine.
All that remains is a heart-wrenching bitterness.
"Young...Young Master..."
An old, weak, yet shrill voice came from the inner room.
Who's here?
The maidservant replied tremblingly, "Madam, it's the eldest young master... he's brought Miss Meng and the two young masters."
The words had barely left his mouth.
"Clang!"
With a crisp sound, a fine white jade teacup flew out from behind the curtain and smashed into pieces on the bluestone slab at Zhou Congxian's feet.
"roll!"
The voice, hoarse and unpleasant from extreme anger and weakness, was now filled with intense rage.
"Get them out!"
"You killed Yun'er, and now you still have the nerve to come back! Get out of here, all of you!"
The roar was followed by a heart-wrenching cough.
Zhou Congxian parted the curtain and strode inside.
Meng Shilan's heart tightened, and she quickly pulled the two children back, signaling them to wait outside the door.
As Zhou Congxian stepped across the threshold, he immediately saw the figure reclining on the soft couch by the window.
However, after only a few months, my grandmother had become so thin.
The once vigorous and kind-looking old man is now just skin and bones, with sunken eyes and a sallow complexion.
Despite being covered with a thick brocade quilt, she still resembled a flickering candle in the wind, as if she might be extinguished at any moment.
Zhou Congxian felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly, causing him so much pain that he could barely breathe.
From a young age, his father was strict with him and would often punish him with family discipline.
Every time he was punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall and not allowed to eat, it was his grandmother who would tremblingly carry a food box and secretly slip him a bowl of hot lotus seed soup or a few pieces of his favorite osmanthus cake.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was somewhat dry.
"grandmother."
Madam Zhou, who was on the soft couch, heard this voice.
She slowly, with great effort, turned her head.
After a long while, she suddenly turned her head away, unwilling to look at him again.
“I am not your grandmother.”
Her voice was squeezed out, one word at a time, through her teeth.
“I don’t have a heartless grandson like you.”
Madam Zhou's voice trembled.
"Even if... even if Yun'er's brother is guilty of heinous crimes, what about Yun'er? How innocent is Yun'er?"
"I treat her like my own granddaughter. I know her character better than anyone else!"
"She's kind, she's gentle, and you're the only one in her heart! How could you... how could you treat her like this!"
Zhou Congxian lowered his eyes. "Grandmother, the turmoil in the capital is no longer suitable for her."
"She...has left the capital and gone to a quiet place."
"A quiet place?"
As if she had heard the biggest joke in the world, Old Madam Zhou turned around abruptly and pointed excitedly at Meng Shilan's figure outside the door.
Her fingers trembled violently from the force, and were as withered as chicken claws.
"It was you! You were the one who drove her away!"
"No, it's that vicious woman next to you!"
The old lady's gaze, like a poisoned arrow, shot straight at Meng Shilan.
"It's all her fault! That vixen, I don't know what despicable tricks she used, to bewitch you so much that you can't distinguish right from wrong!"
"Xian'er, open your eyes and look! What have you done for her!"
Her voice grew increasingly agitated, and before she could catch her breath, she began coughing violently again.
She pointed at Meng Shilan, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust.
"If it weren't for the Zhou family's kindness, you would have starved to death in some backwater ditch long ago!"
"The Zhou family saved your life, yet you are ungrateful and repay kindness with enmity! You stole Yun'er's marriage and caused her to become homeless. A person like you doesn't deserve to live in this world!"
These words were extremely harsh and unpleasant.
Meng Shilan stood at the door, her face growing paler by the minute, her hands hanging at her sides slowly clenching into fists.
Madam Zhou was panting, her gaze passing over Meng Shilan and landing on the two small figures behind her.
Fu'er and Pang Xi peeked out from the left and right, their clear eyes filled with confusion and fear.
She propped herself up, struggling to sit up, her voice becoming increasingly shrill with agitation.
"I'm telling you, Meng Shilan!"
"As long as I have a breath left, you will never be able to step into the Zhou family's door with any dignity!"
"Our Zhou family will never acknowledge you! Don't even think about letting you into the Zhou family's door or into our family genealogy!"
"Get out of here! Get as far away as possible!"
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