SGEIRS -Chapter 159 The Meng Family Is Haunted

After hearing this, Meng Jinyao suddenly widened her eyes in shock. “He’s the Heir of Wu’an Bo?”

Princess Jingning was a little confused by her reaction. She glanced at her and nodded. “Yes, he is the Heir of Wu’an Bo. What’s wrong?”

Meng Jinyao frowned slightly. Her mother-in-law had once told her and her sister-in-law that the Wu’an Bo Residence had a complicated family background. No respectable young lady would want to marry into such a household and suffer endless troubles. Judging from her sister-in-law’s reaction back then, she had already given up on forming ties with that family.

So how could Gu Xuanyi be boating on the lake with the Heir of Wu’an Bo?

Could it be that Gu Xuanyi and the heir had taken a liking to each other and were secretly seeing one another?

Seeing that something was wrong with her expression, Song Xinning grew concerned. “A-Yao, what’s wrong?”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao snapped back to her senses. She shook her head slightly. Since this involved family matters and a young lady’s reputation, it wasn’t appropriate to spread it around—even among close friends.

So she said, “Nothing. I just suddenly remembered something about my family. Where were we in our conversation? Let’s continue.”

Seeing that she didn’t want to talk about it, Song Xinning didn’t press further. Since it was her family matter, it must be something unsuitable to share.

Princess Jingning asked, “Is it about your natal family?”

Meng Jinyao smiled. “No. I don’t bother with my natal family’s affairs, except for my second brother. They can do whatever they like. They wouldn’t listen to me anyway.”

If it wasn’t her natal family, then it must be her in-laws.

Song Xinning and Princess Jingning exchanged knowing looks. Matters involving one’s in-laws were even more unsuitable to discuss. If she offended them, and her natal family wasn’t reliable either, her future days would be difficult.

Suddenly, Song Xinning said, “A-Yao, speaking of your natal family, I just remembered something. I’m not sure if you’ve heard about it.”

Meng Jinyao thought of what she had instructed Nanny Qiao and Chan’er to do. She narrowed her eyes slightly but pretended to know nothing.

“My natal family? What happened? I haven’t paid attention to them for a long time.”

Song Xinning replied, “I heard that the Yongchang Marquis Residence is haunted. Your stepmother, Madam Sun, invited a Taoist priest to hold a ritual. Just yesterday, he set up an altar in the residence.”

Meng Jinyao already knew about this, but she couldn’t publicize it. With two friends and several maids present, it was even more inappropriate. The fewer people who knew, the safer it was.

She feigned surprise. “My natal family is haunted?”

Song Xinning nodded repeatedly. “Yes. The news came from inside the residence. Several people claimed to have seen a ghost—a female ghost. Your stepmother saw it too and was badly frightened, so she hired a priest to drive it away.”

Meng Jinyao looked stunned. “I really didn’t know about this.”

Princess Jingning suddenly became excited and asked curiously, “Are there really ghosts? Do they really exist in this world?”

Song Xinning thought for a moment and replied with some certainty, “It’s hard to say for sure. But judging from what’s happening there, maybe ghosts really exist. If only one person saw one, it could be an illusion. But several people? That can’t all be imagination.”

Princess Jingning nodded in agreement and looked at Meng Jinyao with relief. “That’s really scary. Luckily, A-Yao is already married. Living in a haunted house would be terrifying.”

Meng Jinyao smiled brightly. “If you don’t do anything with a guilty conscience, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at midnight. I haven’t done anything wrong, so I’m not afraid. But as for my stepmother… who knows if she did something bad and attracted spirits.”

Princess Jingning nodded again. “That’s true. Our A-Yao is upright and honest—no need to fear ghosts. If ghosts want to harm someone, they’ll go after bad people.”

Song Xinning added, “I wonder if that priest is really capable. Can he actually drive the ghost away?”

Meng Jinyao’s smile deepened. “He must have some skill, or he wouldn’t dare take money for the job. Whether he can get rid of it completely depends on his ability. If he isn’t strong enough, he can only drive it away temporarily.”

“I hope he isn’t strong enough,” Song Xinning said with a chuckle. “That sounds a bit mean, but someone like Madam Sun deserves to be scared a little more.”

Meng Jinyao shot her a reproachful look. “You… but I like that about you.”

Song Xinning laughed. Then she added, “By the way, there’s another thing about your natal family.”

Meng Jinyao asked, “What is it?”

With a gloating smile, Song Xinning said lightly, “Your father took a beautiful concubine—extremely pretty and very favored. Since your stepmother has been seeing ghosts, he doesn’t stay with her at night anymore and spends every night in the concubine’s room. That made Madam Sun furious, so she sold the concubine off, calling her a temptress. When your father found out one day, he was furious and had a huge fight with your stepmother, accusing her of being jealous.”

Meng Jinyao was slightly stunned. She hadn’t paid much attention to her father’s affairs. Chan’er had mentioned it briefly, but she wasn’t interested. Her focus was on revenge and whether Nanny Qiao was doing her job properly.

Song Xinning clicked her tongue. “I really didn’t expect this. Your father always seemed to care most about your stepmother, yet now he’s quarreling with her over a concubine.”

Meng Jinyao curled her lips into a mocking smile. “When they were young, he might have truly liked her. But as people age and beauty fades, affection weakens. Naturally, he prefers young, gentle, and beautiful concubines. Besides, he allowed my stepmother to pawn her dowry to repay my late mother’s dowry money to me. That shows he never loved her that much. He only loves himself. Now that she has no dowry to rely on, she can only depend on him and can’t act tough. My father won’t bother restraining himself either. In the end, she’ll be the one begging for reconciliation. Otherwise, if he dislikes her, he might even cut off her monthly allowance.”

Hearing this, Song Xinning and Princess Jingning fell silent.

For married women, dowry was their backbone.

Without it, they couldn’t stand firmly in their husband’s household. If the husband was loving and the in-laws kind, it was fine. Otherwise, they had to live at others’ mercy—unable even to buy jewelry freely.

With no dowry to subsidize her expenses, Madam Sun would live much more frugally when she fell out with her husband.

That was why loving parents always tried to prepare generous dowries for their daughters.

First, it gave them face in their husband’s family.

Second, it provided security in life.

Even without relying on their husband’s family, they wouldn’t starve.

Because if a woman relied solely on her husband’s household and lost favor, she might not even have money to bribe servants—let alone live comfortably.