SGEIRS -Chapter 563 Killing Two Birds with One Stone

Over there, Madam Zhao’s trusted maid learned the news and hurried back to the courtyard to report to her. “Madam, I’ve heard that the Marquis sent people to Baihua House and caught the heir there. They tied him up tightly and brought him back. Afterward, the Marquis punished him by making him kneel in the ancestral hall to repent.”

Madam Zhao frowned, sighing inwardly at how ruthless Meng Dongyuan was. Making such a public spectacle of binding someone at Baihua House had utterly ruined Meng Chengxing’s reputation. Ignorant and incompetent, frequenting brothels—and on top of that, forced to take the blame for Meng Dongyuan without even knowing it, becoming an unfilial descendant in the process.

For a moment, she truly did not know whether her decision to marry Meng Dongyuan back then had been right or wrong.

At the time, she had thought that although the Meng family had declined, they still held a noble title. Moreover, there was a legitimate eldest daughter who had married into the Changxing Marquis’s household. Once she married in, she would become the Countess of the Marquis’s estate, and it would be much easier to arrange a good marriage for her daughter.

But how long had it been? So many infuriating things had already happened. The Meng family had tried to scheme over her daughter’s marriage to gain benefits. Meng Dongyuan showed not the slightest respect for her, his properly wedded wife. He was ruthless even toward his own mother and biological son. A man of such despicable character—who knew what kind of trouble he would stir up in the future? How was this Meng family any different from a wolf’s den?

The trusted maid had no idea what was going through her mind. She thought Madam Zhao was simply worried that the old madam was gravely ill and that, with no one to support her, the Marquis might mistreat her. She tried to comfort her instead. “Madam, I’ve heard that the Marquis will still give face to the eldest young lady. As long as you maintain a good relationship with her, and she offers you some protection, the Marquis should refrain from doing anything to you for her sake.”

Madam Zhao gave a soft “mm” in response. Thinking that Meng Dongyuan would probably come by tomorrow morning to warn her to be careful with her words when speaking to Meng Jinyao, she did not want her daughter to witness such a scene. She changed the subject and said, “Go to Third Young Lady’s courtyard and tell her she doesn’t need to come have breakfast with me tomorrow morning.”

The “Third Young Lady” she referred to was her own daughter, Qiao Yunying, whom she had brought with her when she married in. Since the Meng family’s two young ladies were both older than her daughter, her daughter ranked third.

—

Changxing Marquis’s Residence.

Meng Jinyao received the letter sent by Madam Zhao. After reading it, she was surprised—but at the same time, she felt it was only natural. This was indeed something her father was capable of doing.

Because of his divorce from Aunt Dong, her father bore a grudge against Third Brother. He shifted the blame for Grandmother being angered into illness onto Third Brother. There was an element of revenge, but more than that, it was for his own sake—to wash his hands clean of the matter. In this way, it was killing two birds with one stone.

Her father loved no one but himself. For his own benefit, he could even push his own son out to take the blame.

As for Aunt Dong—her father’s fondness for her had been real, but to say it was deep love would be an exaggeration. His current fixation was merely because she had left when he liked her the most, and because his present wife did not suit him.

Gu Jingxi asked, “A-Yao, what does the letter say?”

Meng Jinyao handed him the letter and smiled faintly. “Good news. Good news that kills two birds with one stone.”

Gu Jingxi took it and skimmed through it, then nodded. “It really is good news. After doing so many things, Father-in-law has finally done one thing that’s satisfactory. Though it’s disgraceful, it saves us from dirtying our own hands. Letting them tear each other apart like dogs is excellent.”

“Exactly.”

Meng Jinyao’s smile deepened. Her father’s drunken, careless words had angered her troublemaking grandmother into illness—she would never again have the chance to harm innocent juniors. As for ruining Third Brother for his own selfish reasons, that was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. Her father had long intended to raise him into a useless person. It just so happened that Grandmother fell ill at this time, and Third Brother ended up carrying the blame.

The next morning, Meng Jinyao returned to her natal home to visit the gravely ill Old Madam Meng. Gu Jingxi happened to be on leave and accompanied her.

Over there, Meng Dongyuan had just finished warning Madam Zhao to watch her words carefully when speaking to the eldest daughter today. A servant then came to report that the eldest young lady and eldest son-in-law had arrived. His heart tightened. His eldest daughter alone was already hard to deal with; now add the son-in-law, and who knew what this couple would extort from him today, coming together like this.

Meng Dongyuan took a deep breath to steady himself, put on a show of marital harmony with Madam Zhao, and went to meet his eldest daughter and son-in-law.

He was already prepared for the couple—who had caught hold of his weakness—to act arrogantly today. In order to conceal the truth that he had angered his mother into severe illness, he could only keep yielding.

Unexpectedly, when he saw the couple, they did not behave at all as he had imagined.

The son-in-law clasped his hands in greeting to him and Madam Zhao. “Father-in-law, Mother-in-law.”

The eldest daughter wore a worried expression. She stepped forward, performed a junior’s salute to him and Madam Zhao, then asked, “Father, I heard from Mother that Grandmother is ill. How is Grandmother now?”

Meng Dongyuan was flattered beyond expectation. When had this couple ever given him a pleasant look before? Could it be that because he had angered his mother into illness, his eldest daughter felt pleased and was therefore deigning to show him a bit of courtesy?

Thinking this way, the weight on his heart lifted by half. Since his eldest daughter said nothing, he continued acting with her, sighing heavily in apparent grief. “Physician Ling says your grandmother suffered a stroke and is paralyzed, unable to speak. I’m afraid she won’t be able to stand up again and will have to spend her days in bed.”

As he spoke, he secretly observed the expressions of his eldest daughter and son-in-law. Seeing their worry deepen after hearing this, he cursed inwardly at this hypocritical couple—more skilled at acting than even himself. He then added carefully, “Your grandmother ended up like this because of that wretch Chengxing!”

Meng Jinyao exclaimed in shock. “Father, how does this have anything to do with Third Brother?”

Seeing that her astonishment did not seem fake, Meng Dongyuan glanced at Madam Zhao beside him. It seemed Madam Zhao had not yet had the chance to inform the eldest daughter. But having come this far, there was no turning back—he had to continue. Whatever demands his eldest daughter made, he would agree. In the end, it was all about power.

He went on, “You know how much your grandmother doted on Chengxing and how high her expectations were. Yet Chengxing deceived her—telling her he was studying diligently while secretly associating with useless friends, skipping classes, and spending nights at Baihua House. When your grandmother learned of this, she was so furious that she suffered a sudden attack, lost her footing, and fell. When she woke up, she was paralyzed.”

“Third Brother actually did such a thing?” Meng Jinyao was utterly shocked. She then turned to Meng Dongyuan. “Then how does Father intend to deal with Third Brother?”

Meeting his eldest daughter’s gaze—one that seemed to see through everything and carried a hint of mockery—Meng Dongyuan felt guilty. He instinctively looked away, not daring to meet her eyes.

The eldest daughter clearly knew he was lying, yet she still pretended to know nothing and played along with him. After pondering her words for a moment, he suddenly understood her intention—she wanted him to punish Chengxing properly?

That made sense. Chengxing was born of Madam Sun. His eldest daughter hated Madam Sun, so how could she possibly like Chengxing as a younger brother? Now, his actions had knocked his mother down and could also punish Chengxing. To the eldest daughter, this was truly a case of killing two birds with one stone. No wonder she was willing to act along with him.

But if his eldest daughter harbored such hatred toward his mother and Chengxing that she could watch coldly as he treated them this way, then what about him—who was also someone she resented? Would he, too, meet a grim end in the future?

In an instant, a chill crept up from the soles of his feet. When he met his eldest daughter’s gaze again, Meng Dongyuan could not help but shudder.