SGEIRS -Chapter 15 Cutting Off Ties

The Marquis of Yongchang’s Residence.

Meng Dongyuan and his wife, Madam Sun, went to the Rongfu Hall to pay their respects to Old Madam Meng. By the time they arrived, all of the younger generation of the Meng family were already present.

The second daughter, Meng Jinyu, and the third son, Meng Chengxing, were both born to Madam Sun. The second son, Meng Chengzhang, was born of a concubine. The eldest son had been Chengzhang’s twin, but he died young at the age of two. His biological mother came from a humble background and had once been a personal maid. After the eldest son’s death, she fell ill and soon passed away as well.

It should have been a joyful moment for the whole family to gather together, yet Old Madam Meng was in a gloomy mood and showed little sign of happiness.

Seeing this, Madam Sun understood the reason and tactfully asked, “Mother, today is A-Yao’s homecoming day. Do you think we should prepare anything?”

As soon as she spoke, the three members of the younger generation all showed different expressions.

The faint smile on Old Madam Meng’s face vanished at once. She frowned and said coldly, “It’s rare for the family to gather. Don’t mention that jinx—how unlucky! Being able to marry the heir of the Marquis of Changxing was already her blessing. Instead of properly becoming the heir’s wife, she insisted on turning herself into the laughingstock of the entire capital and even dragged down her natal family.”

Everyone in the capital already knew that on her wedding day, the eldest granddaughter, Meng Jinyao, had publicly changed grooms and married her prospective father-in-law instead. Now, rumors about the Meng and Gu families were everywhere, most of them slandering the Meng family—saying they had raised a shameless daughter who stubbornly insisted on marrying her own father-in-law.

Sixteen years ago, Old Madam Meng had already known that this eldest granddaughter was a jinx. She had supposedly brought misfortune from birth, causing her mother’s death. Now that she was finally married off, Old Madam Meng thought she could finally be rid of her. Who would have thought that even on her wedding day, she would still bring disaster to her natal family and make them lose all face?

Hearing this, a trace of secret delight flashed through Madam Sun’s eyes. She continued her hypocritical act. “Mother, according to custom, a married daughter returns home on the third day. We can’t possibly make no preparations at all.”

Old Madam Meng snorted with disgust. “After doing something so disgraceful, she still has the face to come back?”

Madam Sun pretended to hesitate. “Mother, I know you’re angry that A-Yao was so thoughtless. But today is her homecoming day, and the Marquis of Changxing might accompany her. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for us to act like this?”

Old Madam Meng replied indifferently, “She made the Gu family lose face. How could the Marquis possibly accompany her home?”

Meng Dongyuan echoed her words. “Mother is right. That wretch caused such a scandal. If it weren’t for Father’s sake, would the Marquis of Changxing have married her at all? Tell the gatekeepers: if that disgraceful girl comes back today, turn her away at once. Cut off all ties with her. Our Meng family will act as if we never raised such a sinful child.”

As soon as he said this, the three younger members were greatly shocked. Cutting off family ties was a punishment usually reserved for serious crimes.

Meng Chengzhang’s face turned pale. He couldn’t help but argue, “Father, it was clearly the heir who ran away from the marriage first. How can all the blame be placed on Eldest Sister? If she had continued to marry the heir according to the Gu family’s original arrangement, wouldn’t that have meant humiliating herself and desperately throwing herself at marriage?”

Old Madam Meng spoke harshly, “The heir ran away with another woman because she was useless and couldn’t keep a man’s heart. What a waste of her good looks. The Gu family even allowed her to choose between the other two young masters, but she insisted on choosing her prospective father-in-law. Who was she trying to disgust? Maybe she did it on purpose to embarrass her natal family.”

As she spoke, she cast an unhappy glance at Meng Chengzhang and continued, “Chengzhang, it’s not that your grandmother doesn’t want to acknowledge her as a granddaughter. It’s because she caused such a huge disaster through her misconduct. Can our Marquis’s residence afford to offend the Marquis of Changxing’s family now? I’m doing this for your own good, for the sake of your futures.”

At that moment, a maid hurried in to report, “Old Madam, the eldest young lady has returned.”

“She still dares to come back?” Old Madam Meng’s face darkened with fury. “Tell that wretch to get lost! Our Meng family doesn’t have such a shameless daughter!”