SGEIRS -Chapter 19 Climbing the Social Ladder

Meng Jinyao and Gu Jingxi did not stay for lunch. Meng Dongyuan only made a token attempt to persuade them to stay before letting it go. After seeing them out of the main gate, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Although Gu Jingxi was his son-in-law, his status and position were there for all to see. The declining Meng family simply could not compare to the Gu family, who enjoyed great imperial favor. No matter how aggrieved they felt, they had no choice but to endure it.

Because of this, Meng Dongyuan could not help blaming his eldest daughter for stirring up trouble. Gu Jingxi, who should have been a relative by marriage, had instead become his son-in-law, bringing him invisible pressure. Their Meng family had even become the butt of others’ jokes.

Even though Gu Xiuming had fled from the wedding, the Gu family still held the ceremony as scheduled. If his eldest daughter had not insisted on changing the groom, then it would have been the Gu family who owed the Meng family an apology. That debt could have been turned into future benefits.

Rongfu Hall

Old Madam Meng was furious and cursed angrily, “That unfilial wretch! After climbing a high branch, she’s forgotten her own surname!”

How could Madam Sun not be angry as well?

What happened today made her feel humiliated like never before. She had even been subtly mocked by that bargain son-in-law. Gu Jingxi had praised Meng Jinyao for being gentle, virtuous, dignified, and graceful in her conduct—just like her biological mother. Wasn’t that indirectly saying that she herself was not gentle or dignified, and that her manners were petty and small-minded?

Seeing her mother-in-law’s face turn ashen with anger, Madam Sun’s eyes flickered. She spoke softly to placate her.

“Mother, please calm down. A-Yao is probably still resentful about how, on her wedding day, we knew Gu Xiuming hadn’t personally come to fetch her, yet still forced her into the bridal sedan. Sigh… how could we have known he had run away from the marriage?”

Her words only made things worse.

Old Madam Meng’s anger surged. “We forced her for her own good! A marriage like this with the Gu family is something you couldn’t find even with a lantern. Once you miss it, it’s gone forever! Now that ungrateful wretch has gained power and comes back to her natal home to show off. If I had known, I would’ve helped her cancel the marriage that very day!”

Madam Sun comforted her again and again until she finally managed to calm her down. After leaving Rongfu Hall and returning to her own courtyard, her expression collapsed the moment she entered her room.

Seeing this, Meng Jinyu felt even more distressed for her mother and said angrily, “Mother, Eldest Sister is really too much! You’re her mother, after all. You even held her when she was little. How could she treat you like this?”

Madam Sun sighed unwillingly. “When people climb high, they become different. The Marquis of Changxing holds great power. Now that she’s his wife, even I, her own mother, seem inferior in front of her.”

As she spoke, she looked at her beautiful daughter. Jinyu was only two years younger than Meng Jinyao. If her late father-in-law had not left a safeguard—restricting that marriage to the Meng family’s eldest legitimate daughter, with the engagement voided otherwise—she would have had ways to let her own daughter take that position and become the heir’s wife.

In the end, her father-in-law had been guarding against her. Even before his death, he had arranged a good marriage for Meng Jinyao. With this marriage, Meng Jinyao gained value. No matter how much they disliked her, they had to think twice.

Meng Jinyu said resentfully, “She must have slandered us in front of the Marquis of Changxing. That’s why he treated us like that. Even Grandmother was furious.”

Madam Sun curled her lips into a cold smile and said confidently, “Let her be smug for a while. She won’t be proud for long.”

Meng Jinyu asked, puzzled, “Mother, why do you say that?”

Madam Sun lowered her eyes slightly and replied calmly, “The Marquis of Changxing has a hidden illness. Meng Jinyao will have to live as a widow in all but name for her entire life. She’ll die a virgin, never have children of her own. A woman without children—once her husband dies or she loses favor—will live miserably.”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyu finally showed a long-missed smile, full of schadenfreude.

“Her former fiancé was the Marquis’s heir. She married her former fiancé’s father and made him lose face. The heir must hate her. He probably won’t let her have an easy life.”

Madam Sun nodded and sneered. “For a moment of anger, she married Gu Jingxi. She thought herself clever, but outsmarted herself. Even choosing one of Gu Xiuming’s brothers would’ve been better than marrying Gu Jingxi.”

Then she looked at her daughter again, her tone turning gentle, her calculations obvious.

“Still, her marrying into the Marquis’s household is good for you too. With your eldest sister as the Marquis’s wife, it’ll be much easier to arrange your marriage in the future. Our A-Yu is the jewel of the Meng family—worthy of the best husband. You won’t marry worse than her.”

Meng Jinyu’s cheeks flushed. She lowered her head shyly and said coquettishly, “Mother, I’m still young. I don’t want to get married yet.”

Madam Sun affectionately stroked her daughter’s head, smiling tenderly. “A-Yu may not be in a hurry, but we still need to look for a good match and settle your engagement early.”