SGEIRS -Chapter 47 Arriving Just in Time

When Meng Dongyuan saw that his eldest daughter’s attitude was firm and unyielding, he knew there was no room for compromise anymore. There were only two possible outcomes now: either return the dowry, or meet in court. No matter which it was, it would damage the family’s reputation. In the future, the Yongchang Marquis’s household would surely become a laughingstock.

People would mock them for raising a shameless daughter—unable to marry the son, she ended up marrying the father. If not for Marquis Changxing valuing that unfilial girl, he would have severed ties long ago. That way, at least, it wouldn’t be so humiliating.

Now that his wife had secretly taken the dowry left behind by his eldest daughter’s birth mother, the entire Meng family would be implicated. It would also affect Chengxing’s and A-Yu’s marriage prospects. With such a mother, how could others not think, “Like mother, like daughter and son”?

Enraged and flustered, he stepped forward and shouted angrily, “You unfilial wretch!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly raised his hand. In the next instant, his palm was about to land mercilessly on Meng Jinyao’s face, venting his fury.

The incident happened so suddenly that Meng Jinyao froze on the spot, forgetting to dodge. Qingqiu and Ningdong were also stunned, while Meng Chengzhang abruptly stood up.

“Stop!”

At this critical moment, a deep male voice rang out, tinged with restrained anger. Meng Dongyuan’s raised hand froze midair. He turned to look and saw Gu Jingxi standing at the doorway, staring at him with displeasure.

Meng Dongyuan was startled. He hadn’t expected Gu Jingxi to suddenly appear at his home. When he saw the butler behind him, he instantly understood. Earlier, he had instructed that when his eldest daughter and son-in-law returned, they were not to be stopped and must be welcomed inside. Now, he had truly lifted a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

The butler hadn’t expected this situation either. He had assumed that the young master-in-law had come to see the eldest young lady, so he had specially led him to the main hall. He wondered whether the Marquis would scold him afterward.

With Gu Jingxi present, Meng Dongyuan could no longer strike his daughter. He awkwardly lowered his hand, and the anger on his face vanished instantly. Forcing a smile, he said sheepishly, “Good son-in-law, what brings you here?”

Gu Jingxi replied calmly, “It seems that, to Marquis Meng, my arrival was ill-timed. I interrupted you while you were showing off your authority as an elder and preparing to slap my wife.”

“Good son-in-law, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!” Meng Dongyuan said awkwardly. He shot a warning glance at his eldest daughter, hoping she would be sensible and not embarrass the family before her in-laws. “This unfilial girl was disrespectful to her elders. I only wanted to discipline her so she’d remember her place and not offend her in-laws after returning home.”

Gu Jingxi merely glanced at him lightly, then said to Meng Jinyao, “Madam, come here.”

Although Meng Jinyao didn’t know why he had suddenly appeared, his presence meant she could finally escape her troublesome father and leave unharmed. Her mood immediately brightened. She walked toward him briskly, affectionately hooking her arm through his, smiling sweetly.

“Husband, why did you come?”

Gu Jingxi was slightly taken aback by her sudden intimacy and wasn’t quite used to it, but he didn’t push her away. Seeing her radiant smile, the corners of his lips lifted as well.

“I came to take you home. What just happened?”

Without hesitation, Meng Jinyao complained to him, laying everything out: “Husband, they secretly kept my mother’s dowry. Not only do they refuse to return it, but they even became furious and tried to hit me. Luckily, you arrived in time. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have escaped that beating.”

Since her grandfather’s passing, she hadn’t complained to anyone like this. Yet now, telling Gu Jingxi everything felt strangely natural. She secretly thought: He really is like an uncle-like presence. The moment he appears, people feel at ease.

Hearing this, Gu Jingxi’s face darkened visibly. His sharp gaze swept over the Meng family members before settling on Meng Dongyuan and Madam Sun, his eyes turning icy.

He asked in a low voice, “Marquis Meng should know that, according to our dynasty’s laws, privately occupying another person’s property is treated as theft.”

The words shocked everyone, especially Meng Dongyuan and his wife. They had only been thinking about losing face and had ignored the fact that if this reached the court, it could lead to imprisonment. That ungrateful girl was truly heartless—after raising her for so many years, she actually wanted to send her elders to jail.

Seeing their faces turn pale, Meng Jinyao spoke up at the right moment: “Husband, since they’re unwilling to return it, let’s forget it. Anyway, I have solid evidence and have already prepared a complaint to submit to the authorities. Then we’ll see how the officials judge it.”

Gu Jingxi nodded. “In that case, let’s go back first. It’s getting late. We should return for lunch.”

Meng Jinyao smiled. “Alright. I’m hungry anyway.”

“Wait!”

Meng Dongyuan hurriedly called out to them and stepped forward, sighing.

“A-Yao, Madam Sun is still your mother. Why must you make things so ugly with her? Since you insist on her returning it, you should at least give her some time to sort out the belongings, don’t you think?”

With just a few light words, he shifted all responsibility onto Madam Sun in front of Gu Jingxi.

Meng Jinyao sneered inwardly. No matter how much her good father favored Madam Sun, when his own interests were at stake, he would push her out to take the blame.

She replied calmly, “Fine. Then give her three days. Within three days, I want to see my mother’s dowry. Otherwise, we’ll meet in court.”

“Alright, alright. Three days it is,” Meng Dongyuan agreed repeatedly, nodding.

But when he turned to Madam Sun, his expression changed instantly. He scolded harshly, “Look at what you’ve done! You still have the face to cry? Hurry up and sort everything out and deliver it to Marquis Changxing’s residence!”

After losing so much face today, Madam Sun felt utterly humiliated. She hated Meng Jinyao for being merciless and hated her husband for pushing all the blame onto her. With a flick of her sleeve, she stormed out of the hall.

Only then did Meng Dongyuan notice his other three children. His irritation deepened. As a mother, Madam Sun had lost all dignity before her children. How would she face them in the future?

He snapped, “Enough. You all go back to your own courtyards.”

Meng Chengzhang had maintained an aloof, uninvolved attitude throughout. Madam Sun’s troubles had nothing to do with him. As long as his elder sister didn’t suffer, that was enough. Now that his brother-in-law had arrived, his father couldn’t bully her anymore. He cupped his hands in salute and left.

As for Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing, when had they ever witnessed such a scene?

The siblings were still dazed. After hearing their father, they snapped back to reality, answered quickly, and hurried away from this place of trouble.

Just as Meng Jinyu was about to pass by, Meng Jinyao suddenly spoke: “Wait.”

Meng Jinyu and Meng Chengxing stopped instinctively.

Meng Jinyao looked at Meng Jinyu’s neck, her gaze falling on the necklace there. She reminded her calmly, “Second Sister, don’t forget—although that necklace was given to you by Madam Sun as a birthday gift, it’s actually part of my mother’s dowry. Remember to return it to her for recording. Otherwise, if anything is missing… we’ll meet in court.”