SGEIRS -Chapter 50 Reaping What You Sow

“See you in court?”

The house steward’s heart skipped a beat at these four light words. He stared at her in disbelief.

Children suing their parents—he had never even heard of such a thing. This was sheer filial impiety. Even if parents were at fault in countless ways, one should not act like this. Was the eldest miss really willing to go all out and become such an unfilial daughter?

After a moment, the steward stammered, “Eldest miss… but Lord and Madam are still your parents.”

Meng Jinyao’s expression turned cold as she corrected him, “Meng Dongyuan is my father, but Madam Sun is not my mother. My mother’s surname was Zhou, not Sun.”

“Stepmother is also a mother,” he thought, but he dared not say it aloud. The eldest miss, as the legitimate first daughter, had endured worse treatment in the Yongchang Marquis residence than the second son born of a concubine. The second son could still earn a bit of favor from Lord Marquis and the matriarch, while the eldest miss was despised and harshly treated by her elders. It was no wonder she could be so resolute and ruthless.

“There’s nothing else for now. Have them carry all the items to Weirui Hall,” Meng Jinyao said, then instructed Ningdong, “Ningdong, lead the way for them.”

“Yes, Madam,” Ningdong replied obediently.

Meng Jinyao had made such a loud scene, naturally drawing the attention of the first and second branches of the family. Her unorthodox actions left both houses astounded. They didn’t know whether to call her foolish or simply too young and impulsive.

Wasn’t this essentially announcing to her husband’s family that without her maternal family backing her, she was at their mercy and could be bullied at will? No matter how flawed her maternal family might be, they still had to maintain appearances in front of her husband’s family—otherwise, they’d be looked down upon.

Not only the first and second branches, even the usually reclusive matriarch, Old Madam Gu, had caught wind of it.

Shou’an Hall

Old Madam Gu lightly flicked the prayer beads in her hand and sighed, “This child, A-Yao, has suffered so much, having such a father and stepmother.”

Nanny Feng sighed along, “The way she acted will have thoroughly offended her maternal family. A weak girl—who would dare burn their last bridge unless absolutely necessary?”

Hearing this, Old Madam Gu recalled how composed yet bold her daughter-in-law had been on her wedding day. A look of admiration appeared on her face: “Many stepmothers seize the dowries of the daughter born to their steps, but few girls are as courageous as she is. With this kind of spirit, she is capable of fulfilling her duties as a matriarch.”

Nanny Feng nodded in agreement and added, “Madam, I heard that yesterday Lord and Madam returned together. I suppose the Lord must have gone to the Yongchang Marquis residence as well.”

Old Madam Gu was quite surprised, then smiled in relief, “It seems he did heed my words.”

Nanny Feng smiled gently, “Lord has always listened to you.”

Old Madam Gu snorted with mock irritation, “If he had really listened, he wouldn’t have waited until now to marry. It was only because Xiuming ran off and A-Yao insisted on marrying him that he lucked out.”

Nanny Feng comforted her softly, “The timing of fate hadn’t arrived before; this year, it has.” Saying that, she picked up the teapot and refilled Old Madam Gu’s cup with thoughtful care.

This remark struck directly at Old Madam Gu’s heart. Being a devout Buddhist, she believed in fate. Everything was governed by ‘yuan’ (fate and destiny). If one gains something, it is fate; if one loses it, it is a destined mismatch. Nothing can be forced.

Yongchang Marquis Residence – Rongfu Hall

The steward returned and reported the events at the Changxing Marquis residence to the family, nervously handing over the list of missing or incomplete items.

Meng Dongyuan glanced at the list and was instantly furious. He slammed the table, the list flying with the force of his anger, and shouted, “Ungrateful wretch!”

It wasn’t just him; Madam Sun and Old Madam Meng were also visibly angered, their faces alternating between red and pale.

Who would have expected Meng Jinyao to act so ruthlessly, opening the chests in front of the Gu family servants and inspecting the items, trampling the Meng family’s pride in the dust and grinding it mercilessly?

If everything had been intact, it would have been tolerable—but there were indeed missing items. This invisible slap struck the Meng elders painfully.

Old Madam Meng’s blood pressure rose as anger surged. She had to take several deep breaths to calm herself before motioning for the steward and maids to leave. Gritting her not-so-strong teeth, she cursed, “If I had known this ill-fated girl would bring ruin to the entire Meng family, I should never have let her grow up. All for a few items, she’s going to ruin us all!”

Madam Sun’s tears flowed freely, her voice choked, “Mother… what should we do now?”

She was truly terrified, overcome by a panic she had never felt before.

After this, whenever she went out, people would point and whisper. Even at home, the servants would secretly look down on her. Chengxing is a boy—he can still turn things around by achieving honors.

But her A-Yu had reached the age for marriage. Influenced by her, her daughter’s prospects would suffer; she would be forced to marry poorly, with no hope of a socially suitable match, let alone a high-status one.

Old Madam Meng, already irritable, was even more vexed by her cries. She scolded sharply, “Why are you crying? You’re a senior in the family, yet you can’t even deal with a little girl, and now you’ve made yourself look bad? The whole family has to suffer because of you!”

Madam Sun wiped her tears and said aggrievedly, “I didn’t expect she still had a copy of Madam Zhou’s dowry list.”

“Aggrieved?” Old Madam Meng gave her a sharp look, more scolding than before. “Whether she had that dowry list or not, you should have prepared two sets of accounts and planned ahead!”

Madam Sun whimpered softly, not daring to argue. “Mother… we could have settled for the cash value of the items, but she insisted on counting the profits from the estates and shops as well. Most of that money has already been spent. It won’t be easy for our family to produce such a huge sum. My husband has business obligations, and A-Yu will be married off in a couple of years. The dowry must be prepared properly so that the husband’s family doesn’t look down on her.”

Upon hearing this, Old Madam Meng’s expression darkened terrifyingly. Such a huge sum, just handed over—who could be willing? And that stubborn girl wanted to involve the authorities. It was already humiliating enough, but to drag it to court made it even worse.

She glanced at Madam Sun, still wiping her tears, and suddenly an idea struck her. “Don’t you have a dowry of your own? Convert it to silver to cover part of the gap. It won’t be enough to completely cover it, but whatever is lacking can come from the household funds.”

Madam Sun was stunned. “My… my dowry?”

Meng Dongyuan also thought it a good plan and chimed in, “Madam, you know the situation in the household. I have business obligations outside, and three children are unmarried. Dowries and betrothal gifts are a huge expense. Use your dowry first; when the children are successful in the future, we will repay you.”

Hearing this, Madam Sun felt as if a thunderclap had struck her. A dowry is a woman’s private funds; even a husband is not supposed to touch it. And now her in-laws were asking her to hand it all over, converted to silver, to cover that hole?

The substantial dowry left by Madam Zhou had been managed by her. But the profits from the estates and shops were not solely for her use. Her husband needed to maintain appearances outside and spent extravagantly. The matriarch was used to the best of everything and demanded nothing less. Even valuable vases and jade pieces were used by her husband to curry favor with others. How could it come down to her having to shoulder the entire burden?