SGEIRS -Chapter 560 Stroke and Paralysis

After discussing the main matter, Madam Zhao did not linger. She took her daughter, Qiao Yunying, and left.

Inside the carriage.

Seeing that her mother was smiling—no longer with her brows faintly knit as when they had arrived, looking weighed down by worries—Qiao Yunying asked curiously, “Mother, you seem to be in quite a good mood. What exactly did you say to Eldest Sister?”

Madam Zhao turned her head slightly, looking at her daughter with gentle affection. She reached out to hold her daughter’s hand, her voice carrying a note of pleasure. “Yunying, this trip was not in vain. Your eldest sister is willing to look out for us a little. Our days ahead won’t be so hard.”

Hearing this, Qiao Yunying froze for a moment, then quickly curved her lips into a smile. Since coming to the Meng family, her step-grandmother had treated her well. Her stepfather neither paid her much attention nor deliberately made things difficult for her, but she could sense it—the way that mother and son looked at her carried, faintly, the air of appraising goods. In her heart, she had some understanding of what they were planning. If her stepsister was willing to protect them, then her marriage would probably not be used casually by her stepfather.

The next moment, however, Qiao Yunying’s smile faded. “Mother, if Grandmother were to—”

Madam Zhao cut her off. “Yunying, didn’t your grandmother say she would be reciting sutras and worshipping in the Buddha hall, and that we are not to disturb her? We’ll go pay our respects in a few days.”

Qiao Yunying was stunned into silence.

Lowering her voice, Madam Zhao instructed, “Yunying, remember this: you know nothing. No matter what happens in the future, listen to your eldest sister’s arrangements. Whatever she tells us to do, we do.”

Qiao Yunying nodded dully. “Your daughter understands.”

Madam Zhao let out a sigh so soft it was almost inaudible, murmuring, “After this, the Meng family is probably about to change.”

—

At dusk, Gu Jingxi returned from court. Seeing Meng Jinyao staring blankly at their sleeping son, he stepped forward and asked with a smile, “A-Yao, is this little fellow really that good-looking? You’re completely absorbed.”

Hearing the familiar voice beside her, Meng Jinyao’s thoughts slowly returned. She shook her head lightly. “It’s not that I’m absorbed in looking at Wanwan—I was thinking about something.”

“What is A-Yao thinking about?” As he spoke, Gu Jingxi reached out to tuck two loose strands of hair behind her ear, then sat down beside her.

Meng Jinyao succinctly recounted Madam Zhao’s visit earlier that day.

Gu Jingxi was taken aback after hearing it, clearly surprised. He had not expected his unreliable yet blindly filial father-in-law to cause such trouble—angering his elderly mother to the point that she fell ill and lapsed into unconsciousness.

Meng Jinyao gave a mocking smile. “Husband, don’t you think he’s despicable? When Aunt Dong was still his wife, he didn’t cherish her. After the child was lost, he was angry, yet because he dared not defy Grandmother, he didn’t punish Third Brother to seek justice for the child. In the end they divorced, and only then did he become obsessed. When he learned that Aunt Dong had become engaged to someone else, he flew into a drunken rage and took it out on his current wife, and that’s how all this happened. When he most needed to stand up to Grandmother, he chose to retreat. Later, without any restraint and speaking recklessly, he angered Grandmother into illness. Now he’s finally afraid again.”

Gu Jingxi said, “He does like his former wife, but more than that, it’s unwillingness to let go. His current wife doesn’t satisfy him, which only deepens that unwillingness until it turns into obsession. If his present wife could satisfy him, he would have long forgotten his former one.” He paused, then asked, “A-Yao, what do you plan to do?”

Meng Jinyao frowned slightly. “He can’t have anything happen to him yet. The ancestral foundation can’t be ruined in his hands. At the very least, it has to be passed on to Second Brother before anything happens.”

Gu Jingxi understood at once. “So A-Yao already has a plan.”

Meng Jinyao nodded. “A preliminary plan, yes. It all depends on whether Grandmother can wake up.”

Gu Jingxi pulled her into his arms. “Whether she wakes up or not, I’ll still make sure A-Yao gets what she wants.”

—

Meanwhile, Meng Dongyuan had been on edge these past few days, his feelings a tangled mess. He hoped his old mother would never wake up—then he would no longer have to be controlled by her—but he was also afraid that the truth would come out and outsiders would discover that it was he who had angered her to death.

That afternoon, news came from Rongfu Hall: Old Madam Meng had awakened.

Meng Dongyuan’s suspended heart finally dropped—only to leap up again the next moment. With trepidation, he went to Rongfu Hall together with Madam Zhao. Originally, he hadn’t wanted to bring Madam Zhao along, but remembering how satisfied his mother was with this daughter-in-law, he figured that having Madam Zhao present could serve as a shield.

When the couple arrived at Rongfu Hall, they saw Old Madam Meng lying weakly on the bed.

The moment she saw Meng Dongyuan, anger surged within her. She tried to struggle up, but was powerless. She could only glare at him fiercely, her speech slurred. “You… you…”

Seeing that Old Madam Meng couldn’t even sit up—her mouth crooked, one eye askew, her speech unclear, saliva dribbling from the corner of her mouth—the couple listened as she strained to open her mouth, trying to say something. Yet they could only barely make out a single, poorly articulated word: “You.”

At that sight, the two immediately understood—Old Madam Meng had suffered a stroke.

Meng Dongyuan was overjoyed. His old mother was like this now; she would never again be able to interfere in his affairs. From now on, the Meng family could finally truly be under his control. On the surface, however, he wore an anxious expression and asked Physician Ling, “Physician Ling, th-this—what exactly is going on? How did Old Madam become like this?”

Physician Ling dared not speak carelessly. He observed Meng Dongyuan’s expression without revealing anything, then replied with measured words, “My lord, the Old Madam is advanced in years. A fall leading to unconsciousness can have consequences ranging from mild to severe, and the outcome is difficult to control. Now that she has awakened but has difficulty speaking and paralysis on one side, this is a case of stroke. I’m afraid she may have to remain bedridden for many years. However, if she recuperates well in the future, there may still be a chance for her to stand again.”

Hearing this, Meng Dongyuan was secretly satisfied. As long as she was kept alive, that was enough. He looked again at Old Madam Meng, his face full of concern. “Physician Ling, money is no object. Use the best medicine for Old Madam—make sure she gets better.”

Physician Ling understood clearly. Meng Dongyuan definitely did not want Old Madam Meng to recover; he only wanted her life sustained. Knowing what to do, he responded, “Yes, my lord. I will do my utmost.”

Old Madam Meng looked at the culprit who had brought her to this state, now pretending to worry about her while his eyes flickered with delight. She was furious beyond measure, wanting to curse this unfilial son harshly, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t form a single complete sentence. She could only glare helplessly, burning with frustration.

Madam Zhao hurried forward, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the saliva from Old Madam Meng’s mouth. Choking up, she said, “Mother, you will definitely get better. Your daughter-in-law will find the very best physicians and have you cured.”

Meng Dongyuan also said, “That’s right, Mother. You’re blessed by fate—you’ll surely recover.”

Old Madam Meng saw her daughter-in-law glance at her son and then quickly lower her eyes, opening her mouth but saying nothing, as if afraid of her husband and not daring to speak. She cursed inwardly, Useless thing—utterly useless at a critical moment. Then she fixed her son with a fierce glare, her heart filled with both rage and sorrow, tears of resentment streaming down her face.

What a fine son she had raised with her own hands. He had angered her into illness and felt not the slightest guilt—on the contrary, he was happy because of it. It seemed this wretch still bore a grudge against her over Madam Dong’s matter, wishing for her early death. Was a birth mother really less important than a mere Madam Dong?

Now that she was half-dead like this, what would become of Chengxing? This wretch resented Chengxing for causing Madam Dong’s miscarriage. With her own situation precarious and no longer able to protect Chengxing, and with Madam Zhao being weak, obedient to her husband, and daring not resist, she would be even less able to shield him. In the future, Chengxing would inevitably be ground down by this wretch.