SGEIRS -Chapter 21 Have You No Shame?

When these words were spoken, it was as though thousands of waves surged through Chunliu’s heart. A sense of foreboding rose within her, and regret flooded her instantly. If she had known this would happen, she would never have told her mistress about it just to curry favor.

She stammered, “Ma… Madam, you—you really want to go see the Heir right now?”

Meng Jinyao nodded, wearing the demeanor of a gentle, loving mother. In a soft voice, she said, “Yes. The child has returned. As his mother, how could I not go and see him? Isn’t that right?”

Chunliu choked on her words and thought to herself: You’re two months younger than the Heir! By age, you could even be his little sister. Are you sure you’re not going to take revenge on him?

Meng Jinyao curled her lips into a smile. “Come on. You’ll come with me.”

Seeing that smile, Chunliu felt a chill run down her spine. The madam was clearly planning to use her status as an elder to trouble the Heir. Yet she didn’t dare refuse. She knew very well what had happened to those two maids yesterday. She hurriedly nodded. “Yes, Madam.”

In truth, Meng Jinyao really was going there to make someone uncomfortable—and to watch a good show. She wanted to see how her former fiancé would react when his fiancée had become his “mother,” and whether he would be frightened.

Faced with a man so irresponsible that he could elope on his wedding day, she even felt some pity for the girl who had run away with Gu Xiuming. A proper betrothal makes one a wife; elopement makes one a concubine—unworthy of presiding over ancestral rites.

If Gu Xiuming were truly a good man, he should have broken off the engagement first and then married his beloved honorably, instead of fleeing on the wedding day and turning his fiancée into a laughingstock while condemning his lover to never become a proper wife. With a family like the Gu household, it was impossible for an eloped girl to become the main wife. No matter how much he loved her, at most he could only take her as a concubine.

As the dignified heir of a marquisate, his actions were recklessly immature. Perhaps he had been spoiled, or perhaps he felt that as the heir who would one day inherit the title, he had the capital to act willfully. Or maybe, since the marriage had been arranged by the late Marquis, he lacked the courage to cancel it and hesitated until the last moment, only to regret it and impulsively elope.

In fact, the late Marquis had never specified which son must marry her. If he had dared to withdraw, they could simply have changed the groom. There was no need to create such a farce.

Meng Jinyao and her maid arrived at the door of the study in the front courtyard. The door was tightly shut, with a servant standing guard.

Seeing her, the servant was surprised and hurried forward to bow. “Greetings, Madam.”

Meng Jinyao nodded lightly. “Open the door.”

The servant hesitated for a moment, then obeyed. The two second-rank maids in the Marquis’s courtyard had been sent off to work on an estate yesterday—he didn’t want to suffer the same fate. Serving in the study was a respectable post.

Inside the Study

After Gu Xiuming was captured by his father’s men, they hadn’t said a single word to him. They bound him directly and stuffed his mouth. His heart sank halfway—this meant his father was furious. Since being adopted into the Marquis’s household, he had always been doted upon. He had never been treated like this before.

The young woman beside him was terrified. When she heard the door open, her face turned pale. Her heart leapt to her throat as she subconsciously edged closer to Gu Xiuming, seeking protection.

That small movement made Gu Xiuming ache for her. He wanted to comfort her, but his mouth was gagged.

Meng Jinyao entered the study and saw them sitting on the floor, tightly bound, their mouths stuffed with coarse cloth. The man looked tense; the woman’s eyes brimmed with tears as she leaned timidly against him.

She froze slightly. She hadn’t expected to see the dignified Heir in such a state.

Gu Xiuming lifted his head and saw Meng Jinyao’s beautiful, delicate face. When he noticed her married woman’s hairstyle, his eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t expected that even after he fled the wedding, she would still shamelessly marry into the family and become his wife, occupying the position that should have belonged to Wan’er.

Soon, disgust appeared in his eyes, as if he were looking at something filthy.

Meng Jinyao noticed his change in expression but didn’t care. She smiled faintly and instructed the servant, “Untie their mouths.”

The servant responded respectfully and removed the cloth.

After being unable to speak for so long, Gu Xiuming finally could. Facing the woman he despised, he said coldly, “Miss Meng, you’ve seen it yourself. My heart belongs only to Wan’er. In this life, I will marry no one but her. If Miss Meng is willing to divorce, I’m willing to acknowledge you as my sworn sister. If you ever encounter difficulties in the future, I won’t refuse to help.”

He didn’t think he was heartless. He had tried to resign himself to marrying Meng Jinyao and taking Wan’er as a concubine, but in the end, he couldn’t bear to wrong Wan’er.

Li Wan’er looked at him in surprise through tear-filled eyes. She had thought their situation was hopeless, but he was willing to divorce his wife for her. Her heart was deeply moved.

Meng Jinyao was stunned. She had assumed he already knew the family’s situation. Instead, he was completely clueless. She found it rather amusing.

Looking down at the miserable lovers, she smiled meaningfully.

“My child, I’m afraid you don’t get to decide whether I divorce.”

Gu Xiuming ignored the first two words. Thinking she was unwilling and using his father to pressure him, he said, “I don’t think Miss Meng wants to waste her life in a marriage that exists in name only.”

Meng Jinyao replied gently, with hidden meaning, “I think you’ve misunderstood. Whom you can’t live without has nothing to do with me. And whether I divorce has nothing to do with you either. Also, since I’ve already married your father, you should call me Mother, not Miss Meng.”

Mother?

These two words struck Gu Xiuming like thunder. His head buzzed. Staring at the smiling young woman, he darkened his face.

“Miss Meng, I know you resent me for running away on the wedding day. You can vent your anger on me, but watch your words. Don’t tarnish my father’s reputation.”

Meng Jinyao leisurely watched his expression shift from shock to rage. She said calmly, “Didn’t they tell you after bringing you back that I’ve married your father? The Meng and Gu families had an engagement, but it never specified which son I would marry. Besides you, there are three other unmarried men in the Gu family. I chose your father.”

Gu Xiuming stared in disbelief and turned to look at the servant beside him.

The servant glanced quickly at Meng Jinyao. Seeing her nod, he hurriedly confirmed, “Heir, Madam isn’t lying. The person she married the day before yesterday was indeed the Marquis.”

His fiancée had become his mother?

Gu Xiuming was dumbfounded. He couldn’t process it, nor could he accept it. His acknowledged fiancée had married his father on their wedding day and become his mother. It was absurd beyond belief and filled him with indescribable humiliation.

After a long silence, he exploded in anger and sneered, “Meng Jinyao, have you no shame? If you couldn’t become my bride, you decided to become my mother instead?”