SGEIRS -Chapter 564 Truly Heart-Piercing

Seeing him shiver—and even look at her with a hint of fear—Meng Jinyao couldn’t help finding it amusing. She said with feigned concern, “Father, are you feeling cold? Mornings in autumn can be a bit chilly. Please take care to keep warm, or you might catch a cold.”

Meng Dongyuan nodded awkwardly. “I’ll be careful.” Then he got to the point. “That wretched thing—your third brother—angered your grandmother to this state. Let him kneel in the ancestral hall for now and repent, praying to our ancestors to bless your grandmother with a swift recovery. When she’s doing a bit better in a few days, I’ll submit a memorial and make another trip into the palace. Given the current situation, I can’t set my mind at ease about her.”

A trip into the palace?

Meng Jinyao was surprised. With her father’s rank—a mere sinecure—even with a noble title he wasn’t qualified to attend court. Submitting memorials, however, was allowed, and with imperial permission he could enter the palace to report important matters. Bringing it up now meant that it was almost certainly about the heir’s position.

She had originally planned to scheme a little herself. Who would’ve thought her usually useless father would, for once, be so proactive—saving her quite a bit of effort and completing it for her without even realizing it. It was an unexpected delight.

She nodded lightly. “Father has always handled matters fairly. We’ll follow your judgment. I’d like to go see Grandmother.”

Meng Dongyuan nodded repeatedly. “Good, good. At this hour your grandmother should be awake and have finished breakfast. Now is the perfect time—later she may fall asleep again.”

The group followed Meng Dongyuan to Rongfu Hall.

Madam Zhao quietly observed the father and daughter. They clearly understood everything in their hearts, yet could still put on such a performance—it was genuinely impressive.

When they arrived at Rongfu Hall, Meng Jinyao walked to Old Madam Meng’s bedside. Seeing the woman before her—mouth crooked, eyes askew, lying motionless in bed, her vitality drained away, her face sickly and lifeless—she froze for a moment. It was hard to reconcile this pitiful old woman with the sharp-tongued, selfish, narrow-minded Old Madam Meng she remembered.

The first person Old Madam Meng saw was her daughter-in-law, Madam Zhao. Joy welled up in her eyes, and she was about to struggle to express something when, the next instant, she saw her wretched son. The joy vanished at once. Then she saw her eldest granddaughter and grandson-in-law, and an ominous feeling rose in her heart. Among these four, aside from her soft, easily bullied daughter-in-law, Madam Zhao, the other three were all bad news.

Meng Jinyao paid no mind to what she was thinking. With maids present, and to display filial piety, she committed fully to the act. She sat by the bed and said with aching concern, “Grandmother, you’ve suffered so much. At your age, you should be enjoying family happiness and peaceful retirement. Who would’ve thought you’d be saddled with such an unfilial person, angering you to this state?”

Old Madam Meng was shocked. She hadn’t expected this disliked granddaughter to be speaking up for her. Could it be because of the discord between father and daughter that the granddaughter was siding with her? Regardless, as long as it benefited her, from this moment on this eldest granddaughter would be a good granddaughter in her eyes. Ecstasy surged through her. She shot her son a vicious look, then nodded at her granddaughter, agreeing with her words.

Meng Jinyao raised a hand to dab at the nonexistent tears in the corner of her eye, then took Old Madam Meng’s hand and continued, “Don’t worry. Father will certainly punish Third Brother properly.”

Old Madam Meng went blank. “?”

This was her rebellious son’s doing—what did it have to do with her good grandson?

“Grandmother, Father has already told me everything,” Meng Jinyao sighed softly, a trace of anger lacing her tone. “Third Brother used to seem quite filial and treated you very well. Who would’ve thought he was one way in public and another in private—lying to you that he was studying diligently, secretly skipping classes, keeping company with scoundrels, and even spending nights at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, angering you like this. It’s truly outrageous. No wonder during the provincial exam Second Brother took first place, while he failed—turns out he never studied properly at all.”

As her words fell, a storm raged in Old Madam Meng’s heart. Shocked and furious, she glared at her son. What was there she didn’t understand now? Because Madam Dong miscarried and quarreled with her son over divorce, she had chosen to protect Chengxing, and in the end Madam Dong and her son divorced. Her son hated her—and hated Chengxing too. Now he finally had a chance to retaliate against both grandmother and grandson. How could this rebellious son let it go? The one who had angered her into illness was clearly this son, yet now he was shifting the blame onto her precious grandson.

Gu Jingxi, seeing how his young wife wore the most concerned expression while delivering the most heart-piercing words, couldn’t help feeling grateful he’d never offended her. Being “pierced to the heart” by her would be utterly unbearable.

Seeing his mother seething with rage, Meng Dongyuan wanted to say something but could only panic, unable to form a complete sentence. A sense of vengeful pleasure rose within him. Suppressing the upward curve of his lips, he said gently, “Mother, please calm your anger. I already sent people last night to bring that wretch back and punished him by making him kneel in the ancestral hall to reflect.”

It would’ve been better if he hadn’t said that. The moment he finished, Old Madam Meng—overcome with fury and heartbreak for her grandson—saw darkness close in and fainted dead away.

Meng Jinyao jumped in fright, thinking she might have died. She hurriedly called out twice, “Grandmother? Grandmother?”

Meng Dongyuan’s heart pounded. For a fleeting instant, he wished his mother would just die like this—she was useless in such a state anyway; dying would even save on medicine costs. He rushed forward to check, reaching out to feel her breath. When he sensed she was still breathing, disappointment washed over him. He then said, “A-Yao, don’t worry. Your grandmother just fainted. It’s all your Third Brother’s fault. Now whenever she hears about him she flies into a rage. From now on, we’d better not mention him in front of your grandmother.”

Madam Zhao hurriedly sent someone to summon Physician Ling to treat Old Madam Meng.

Before long, Physician Ling arrived with his medical case and examined Old Madam Meng.

Meng Jinyao asked, “How is my grandmother?”

Physician Ling answered truthfully, “Miss, please rest assured. The old madam is fine—she merely fainted from emotional agitation. In her current condition, she needs quiet rest and must not be stimulated. Any further provocation may worsen her illness.”

Meng Jinyao asked again, “Given her state, is there still a chance for recovery?”

Physician Ling glanced at Old Madam Meng lying in bed. In truth, even speaking normally would be difficult in such a condition, let alone recovery. But as a physician, he couldn’t bluntly say there was no hope. He replied, “It varies from person to person. Some may recover with careful convalescence, while others see no improvement no matter how much medicine they take. For now, the best outcome is to maintain her current condition.”

Meng Jinyao nodded. “Then I’ll trouble Physician Ling to help my grandmother recuperate in the future.”

Physician Ling quickly said, “Miss, you’re too kind. It’s my duty.”