SGEIRS -Chapter 385 Malicious Heart

Upon hearing this, Lord Wei quickly caught on. Seeing her put on such a righteous expression, his heart churned with a mix of anger and resentment, and he shouted in hatred, “You venomous woman! You did it on purpose! You watched her painstakingly conceive a child, only to make her watch it all vanish in the end? What a cruel, malicious heart you have!”

At this moment, Mei Qingyun no longer wanted to pretend with him. She lifted her head and stared at him provocatively: “I did it on purpose. So what? I have a malicious heart—you’re not finding out for the first time. If you have the guts, then divorce me. Wei Heng, don’t make me lose respect for you. Can’t even produce a single letter of divorce?”

“Divorce you? Set you free?” Lord Wei sneered. “In your dreams!”

Mei Qingyun narrowed her eyes at him, full of venom, curling her lips into a cruel smile: “Wei Heng, you may not divorce me now, but I hope you won’t regret it in the future!”

“I, Wei Heng, have never had cause to regret anything.”

After speaking, Lord Wei simply lifted her up and carried her over to the bed behind the screen that had been set up for rest. He pressed her down onto it and said coldly, “Today you made me lose a child, so you’ll give me one yourself. This time, your belly better behave—don’t be like the past ten-odd years, never once cooperating.”

Mei Qingyun raised her hand and slapped him.

Caught off guard, Lord Wei’s face took the slap. He immediately grabbed her wrists, about to say something, but then heard her declare, “Wei Heng, it’s not that my body won’t cooperate. It’s that you don’t deserve for me to give you a child. That’s why Heaven has denied you a legitimate heir for all these years! If it were Gu Jingxi instead, and his health intact, we surely could have had children—sons and daughters, a full house of descendants.”

Hearing this, Lord Wei’s expression turned terrifyingly dark. He sneered, “Too bad. Your Gu Jingxi is useless. You two—this couple fated but not meant to be—cannot be together, nor can you have your own children. You can only claim children born to others as your own. Tell me—isn’t that punishment enough for you two? The man pines for another’s wife, the woman pines for another’s husband.”

After saying this, he no longer wasted words on Mei Qingyun and acted immediately.

Meanwhile, Yu Chuan, still eavesdropping from the corner, listened to the sounds coming from inside—the kind that could make one’s mind wander—and wrinkled his nose in disgust. He promptly stuffed the two cotton balls he had prepared into his ears. After the previous incident, he always carried them with him to avoid sullying his ears.

Tonight, he heard gossip once again. Not only gossip—he also overheard that Lord Wei continued to have someone watch over their Marquis, clearly acting out of fear that the Marquis might find out what he had done.

This couple was truly abnormal. One sought to harm, the other, fully aware that his wife plotted against his progeny, didn’t care about the child at all and yet ended up taking it to the bed.

To say Lord Wei hated Madam Wei, but did not act against her—wives cannot accuse husbands, but husbands can accuse wives. With enough evidence, he could have sent her to prison, which would have been far more torturous than anything now. Yet he did not do so.

Was this hate—or not?

The next day.

Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao had finished breakfast and instructed the servants to harness the carriage—they were preparing to set out.

Since they were visiting their elders in Deqing County, they had to make it look like a proper family visit and prepare suitable gifts.

Before leaving, Gu Jingxi told Steward Liu that lunch did not need to be prepared for them.

The morning had been pleasant—they bought gifts, wandered around for half an hour, and it was now noon. They were about to reserve a private room at a restaurant for lunch when fate intervened: at the restaurant entrance, they unexpectedly ran into that problematic couple.

Lord Wei and his wife, Mei Qingyun.

Looking at them now, the man appeared gentle and the woman poised and elegant. Standing together, they seemed like a loving couple, showing no sign of discord.

Gu Jingxi looked at them. Had he not heard from Yu Chuan about what happened, nor known what Mei Qingyun had done, he might have thought this couple’s relationship was actually good. But knowing their history—every quarrel somehow involved him—he felt nothing but disgust even from a distance.

He didn’t know what sins he had committed in a past life to be entangled with these lunatics. Whenever they quarreled, he got scolded. Either he was called useless by Wei Heng, cursed to have no descendants, or accused of being attracted to someone else’s wife for over a decade, ultimately shifting his affections elsewhere and being unfaithful in love.

Fortunately, Wei Heng only scolded him in front of Mei Qingyun. Otherwise, if it spread, his reputation—untainted until then—would have been ruined by this couple.

Meng Jinyao was unaware of all this. Seeing Lord Wei and Mei Qingyun approaching, she whispered to her husband: “Husband, it’s Lord Wei and Madam Wei. Let’s greet them first before going inside.”

Gu Jingxi’s expression remained calm. He simply responded with a soft, “Mm.”

In no time, Lord Wei and Mei Qingyun reached them. The four exchanged polite greetings, each careful not to reveal any cracks.

Learning that the couple was about to have lunch, Lord Wei graciously invited, “Marquis Gu, my wife and I are also about to have lunch. Why don’t we dine together? Tonight, it’s on me. What say you and Madam Gu?”

At these words, Mei Qingyun’s face tightened. She had been annoyed earlier at her husband’s sudden insistence on going out, now realizing it was to engineer a “chance encounter” with Gu Jingxi. She knew her husband harbored grudges against him and had no idea what scheme he was plotting. If he said something to embarrass her in front of Gu Jingxi, both her dignity and reputation would be lost.

Gu Jingxi intended to refuse, but since the other party offered to treat them, perhaps to test the waters, he thought it better to endure politely. After all, Jinyao did not know the nasty things about this couple, and even if unpleasant, it would only bother him, the one in the know. He agreed with a smile, “Lord Wei, we are grateful for your generosity and will not decline.”

Lord Wei bowed politely. “It is my honor.”

They reserved a private room. Lord Wei, familiar with this restaurant and its dishes, took the opportunity to introduce the menu, leaving the choice to Gu Jingxi.

However, this time, Lord Wei asked the wrong person.

Gu Jingxi, hearing this, turned to his young wife and asked, “Jinyao, what would you like to eat? Did you like anything Lord Wei recommended?”

Meng Jinyao had been chatting with Mei Qingyun. Hearing this, she earnestly picked two dishes she liked, leaving the rest for the others to choose.

Lord Wei discreetly glanced at Meng Jinyao. This Madam Gu was truly beautiful, a completely different type of beauty from Mei Qingyun. If they had been similar, he might have thought Gu Jingxi was using her as a replacement. But being different, it was clear he genuinely liked her—though honestly, most men would like such a beauty.

After ordering, the four chatted casually while waiting for their dishes.

Feigning nonchalance, Lord Wei asked, “I heard Marquis Gu returned home to pay respects to his ancestors. Having completed the rituals yesterday, are you preparing to return to the capital?”