SGEIRS -Chapter 257 Husband and Wife Quarrel

After that, Gu Jingxi went to the study, leaving only Meng Jinyao and Chan’er in the room.

Chan’er touched her own face and asked curiously, “Madam, do I really look like Concubine Du? Madam Meng called me ‘Concubine Du’ the moment she saw me today, in broad daylight.”

Meng Jinyao carefully examined Chan’er’s face and replied honestly, “Your temperament is similar. You both have oval faces and willow-leaf brows. At first glance, you do resemble her a little. With makeup shaping your features, you’re about sixty to seventy percent alike. Since her mind isn’t clear, she mistook you for someone else. But anyone who’s clear-headed wouldn’t confuse you with Concubine Du.”

Chan’er nodded in understanding and said, “No wonder she gets scared half to death every time she sees me—kneeling and kowtowing to apologize. Sometimes, when she only sees my back, she starts imagining things, thinking I’m your mother’s ghost. She curls up in a corner of the bed, crying and confessing her sins, begging for forgiveness.”

Meng Jinyao gave a mocking smile. “She has a guilty conscience. If she hadn’t done anything wrong, she wouldn’t be so terrified even if she really saw a familiar person’s ghost.”

Then she asked again, “Chan’er, are you really going to do chores like cleaning the courtyard and fetching water?”

Chan’er replied, “I think this work is quite easy. It’s much more relaxing than carrying out the tasks my lord used to assign.”

Meng Jinyao fell silent for a moment, then said, “There’s something even easier.”

Chan’er hurriedly waved her hands and shook her head. “Madam, please spare me. I’m a rough person—I can’t handle delicate work. It makes me uncomfortable. This time, I only managed to scare people because it was fun. If you have errands, just tell me. If you need me to accompany you outside, I’ll tidy myself up and follow you, and I can pretend to be a first-class maid. But I can only keep it up for a short while like today. I can’t pretend long-term.”

Seeing her firm attitude, Meng Jinyao didn’t force her and nodded. “Alright, then.”

Chan’er lowered her gaze and looked at her outfit. Today, she had followed Madam out, pretending to be a senior maid by the Marquis’s wife’s side. Her clothes were more splendid than those of minor officials’ daughters. Though pretty, they were inconvenient for work.

“Madam, I’ll go change my clothes first.”

Meng Jinyao nodded. Suddenly recalling something, she instructed, “After changing, go keep an eye on Madam Sun’s every move.”

“Yes, Madam,” Chan’er replied respectfully.

Just as Chan’er was about to leave, Meng Jinyao remembered something else.

“By the way, Chan’er, has everything been handled properly on Nanny Qiao’s side?”

“Rest assured, Madam. All the incense has been destroyed. I secretly searched Nanny Qiao’s room—she didn’t keep any. Madam Sun’s room has also been changed to another kind of incense today.”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao felt relieved.

Yongchang Marquis’s Residence

Today’s incident not only damaged the reputation of the Yongchang Marquis’s household, but was also a major blow to Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing. The impact on them was second only to that on their mother, Madam Sun.

Though the Meng family had declined, they still held a noble title. One sibling was a young lady of an marquis’s household, the other its heir. Compared to fallen families without titles, they still felt superior.

Now, however, their mother had become the murderer of their father’s lawful wife and had also harmed his concubine’s son. Who knew how outsiders would mock them?

Worse still, their mother had been divorced. No one was managing household affairs. Their grandmother was old, and their father was only thirty-five. It was very likely he would take a new wife to manage the household.

Near dusk, Madam Sun slowly woke up. Seeing her two children keeping watch by her bed, she felt deeply comforted. Even without a husband, she still had two sensible children.

Seeing her open her eyes, Meng Jinyu said happily, “Mother, you’re awake?”

Madam Sun nodded. “A-Yu, Chengxing.”

Thinking of her miserable situation without her mother’s support, Meng Jinyu couldn’t help crying.

“Mother, Father said that once you wake up, you must return to Grandfather’s home. If you go back, what will happen to us?”

Madam Sun comforted her gently. “Silly child, why panic? A-Yu, you’re still the second young lady of the Marquis’s household. Chengxing, you’re the heir who will inherit the title. If you miss me, just visit me at your maternal family’s home. If I stayed in the Meng family, it would be worse. Your father would send me to a remote estate, never to return. At your grandparents’ home, your uncles and aunts will look after me.”

But Meng Jinyu had another worry. “B-But what if Father remarries? Second Brother and Third Brother are only thirteen and twelve. They’re not old enough to marry. Grandmother is elderly. Without daughters-in-law to manage the household and social relations, Father will have to marry again.”

Hearing this, Madam Sun’s heart tightened. She hadn’t thought of this because her mind had been unsettled by recent events. Meng Dongyuan was only thirty-five—remarrying was inevitable. Many men remarried even after forty.

She herself had once been a stepmother. How could a stepmother truly love her husband’s children from a previous marriage?

If her children were mistreated by a stepmother, what would they do? Especially A-Yu—she was of marriageable age. If a stepmother casually arranged a bad marriage for her, it would ruin her life.

Chengxing was slightly better off. As long as he didn’t commit major faults, his position as heir was secure. But in the inner household, there were many schemes. A capable stepmother might even plot his death—just as Madam Sun had once plotted against Chengyu.

Her thoughts raced as she wondered how to prevent Meng Dongyuan from remarrying.

At that moment, Meng Dongyuan’s voice sounded outside. The three immediately fell silent.

Soon, Meng Dongyuan entered. Seeing Madam Sun awake, he wasted no words. He threw the divorce letter at her.

Coldly, he said, “Madam Sun, since you’re awake, take this letter and get back to your Sun family. You’re not allowed to take anything belonging to the Meng family. Even your jewelry belongs to us.”

Seeing his ruthlessness and lack of marital affection, Madam Sun suddenly sat up and hurled a pillow at him.

“Meng Dongyuan! What about my dowry? You and that old hag of a mother of yours cheated me out of my dowry—return it!”

Meng Dongyuan was furious. “Who told you to touch Madam Zhou’s dowry? Since you used hers, you should use yours to make up for it!”

Madam Sun was beside herself with rage and no longer cared that her children were present.

“Why did I touch Madam Zhou’s dowry—don’t you know? Your family was poor but pretended to be rich, caring only about face! Without Madam Zhou’s dowry, could you have kept up appearances?”

Seeing his face darken, she grew even more aggressive.

“I only touched that money because you and your mother tacitly allowed it! If you hadn’t agreed, would I have dared? Would I? All that money was spent on your Meng family, and now you blame me? You took all the benefits, and I bear all the blame! When things were exposed, you mother and son pushed me out to be scolded. Do you have any shame at all?”