SGEIRS -Chapter 446 The Annoyed Madam Dong

After the wedding ceremony concluded, the procession gradually departed.

The Meng family still had to continue attending to their guests. Madam Dong was gentle and amiable—more approachable than Madam Sun—and the guests, comparing the two, could immediately tell who was truly kind and gracious.

Truly good people give off a distinct feeling.

The family of Meng Jinyao’s eldest aunt’s husband, the Luo family, had also come. Even though Lord Luo had remarried, his new wife treated Luo Yong’an, the son of his first marriage, as her own. The mother and son got along well. Luo Yong’an’s wife, Madam Xu, also got along with Madam Luo, so Madam Luo had accompanied them to this wedding banquet.

Meng Jinyao had no desire to exchange polite flattery with the other ladies. She instead sat with Madam Luo and her cousin-in-law, Madam Xu, chatting casually. Luo Yong’an’s son, little Zheng, obediently nestled in Madam Luo’s arms, showing the closeness of their grandmother-grandson relationship.

Looking at Madam Luo, Meng Jinyao then glanced at Madam Dong nearby. Not all stepmothers were cruel; many were gentle and kind. Although she hadn’t interacted much with Madam Dong, she could feel the sincerity in her kindness. A woman like Madam Dong, married to her father, was truly a loss for someone of her qualities.

Madam Xu, noticing Meng Jinyao’s slightly rounded belly, asked, “Cousin, you must be over four months along by now, right?”

Instinctively touching her belly, Meng Jinyao replied, “By calculation, I conceived this child in late May. Today is the second day of October, so it’s just over four months.”

Concerned, Madam Xu asked, “Have you experienced any discomfort during the pregnancy?”

Meng Jinyao shook her head. “Not at all. I eat well, sleep well, and don’t feel much of the usual pregnancy symptoms—only that my belly is growing.”

Hearing this, Madam Xu looked a bit envious. She glanced at her son, sitting in his grandmother’s arms, then said, “This child is not only fated to be your family’s, but also comes as a repayment of kindness. When I was pregnant with little Zheng, I suffered from morning sickness the entire time—only after giving birth did it stop.”

Meng Jinyao was surprised: “It was that severe?”

Madam Xu wore an expression that spoke of hardships long past: “Ah, I lost a lot of weight during that pregnancy. Slowly, I managed to regain it afterward.”

Meanwhile, Old Madam Meng, seeing her granddaughter-in-law getting along well with Madam Luo, and her great-grandson bonding with Madam Luo, felt a twinge of jealousy. She was little Zheng’s great-grandmother; blood ties mattered, yet her great-grandson was not close to her, preferring the company of a grandmother with no blood relation.

When her grandson was just two years old, her eldest daughter had passed away, and her son-in-law was still young, so remarriage was inevitable. She had feared that a stepmother without blood ties might treat her grandson poorly. But the new wife had turned out decent; still, her great-grandson wasn’t particularly close to her.

If she had known, she would have matched her niece from her maternal family with her son-in-law, allowing the niece to become the stepmother, ensuring the grandson would be well cared for and the two families would remain close. That way, her grandson wouldn’t have been snatched away by the new wife’s relatives.

It was a miscalculation on her part.

The banquet began, and everyone took their seats.

As a Meng family daughter, Meng Jinyao sat with the Meng women. There were only two Meng women left in the family, and twice, Old Madam Meng had wanted to speak to her, only to be blocked by Meng Jinyao’s conversations with others. Madam Dong had helped Meng Jinyao three times, preventing Old Madam Meng from saying a word, which greatly annoyed her.

Once the banquet ended and everyone had enjoyed themselves, Meng Jinyao knew that lingering any longer would result in her grandmother and father saying unpleasant things to her. So she became one of the first to leave, chatting briefly with Madam Dong before departing with her husband.

After all the guests had left, Meng Dongyuan saw that his eldest daughter and son-in-law had already gone and could not help but scold his mother: “Mother, why didn’t you see them off? I still wanted to say a few words to them.”

Old Madam Meng, displeased, shot Madam Dong a glare. “Ask your good wife what she did. I wanted to speak with that girl, and she blocked me every time.”

Meng Dongyuan thought Madam Dong was excellent—beautiful and never bothersome—but why was she so unaware at critical moments? Frowning, he asked, “Wife, why did you act this way?”

Madam Dong looked innocent. “Husband, Mother, you’ve misunderstood. I just found the eldest daughter easy to get along with, so I couldn’t help talking to her.”

Hearing this, Meng Dongyuan felt that must be the case. “Mother, it’s a misunderstanding.”

Old Madam Meng, annoyed that Madam Dong lacked discernment, snapped, “Who knows if she did it on purpose? She isn’t even your real daughter; why is she trying to get close?”

Madam Dong lowered her head silently.

In truth, she had acted intentionally. Her mother-in-law was unreasonable, her husband mediocre, self-interested, and selfish—she couldn’t rely on them.

Moreover, she had no children; old age would be problematic. Madam Sun’s children were hostile toward her—she could not depend on them.

Only Meng Jinyao and Meng Chengzhang treated her respectfully. If she sincerely cared for the siblings now, they would respect her in the future. When Meng Chengzhang married and had children, she would be surrounded by descendants, receiving care and attention in her old age.

Seeing Madam Dong remain silent, Old Madam Meng grew even more irritated. She said to her son: “You’ll need to educate your wife well. At critical moments, she’s useless, and even pushes away opportunities.”

Meng Dongyuan quickly replied, “Mother, don’t be angry. I’ll educate her properly when we return.”

Old Madam Meng glanced at Madam Dong and thought her more cunning than Madam Sun. When she scolded Madam Sun before, her son sided with her. Now, scolding Madam Dong, her son sided with Madam Dong instead. She looked innocent but had the cunning of a fox.

After a moment, Old Madam Meng asked, “Did you bring up that matter with your eldest son-in-law today?”

At the mention, Meng Dongyuan felt frustrated and shook his head gloomily: “I didn’t get the chance.”

Old Madam Meng was puzzled: “How could you not get a chance? Didn’t you try to find one?”

Meng Dongyuan sighed miserably: “He didn’t want to disturb the elders’ conversation, so he joined those of his own age. Eight or nine boys, teenagers, surrounded him to ask questions, even Luo Shi’an, the son of my eldest sister-in-law and the new wife, joined in.”

Old Madam Meng: “……”

Clearly, he was avoiding the Meng family. Otherwise, what could a thirty-year-old man discuss with a dozen teenage boys?

Meng Dongyuan heaved a long sigh. He had thought today would be a good opportunity to discuss matters with his son-in-law, hoping for help in securing a position to serve the court.

But unexpectedly, the Meng family had produced an ungrateful daughter, and even son-in-law was unfilial.