SGEIRS -Chapter 565 Nothing Else Desired

After leaving Rongfu Hall, Meng Dongyuan could no longer restrain himself. He directly summoned his eldest daughter to the study, saying he had something to discuss. Unless he figured out exactly what his eldest daughter was after, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

Gu Jingxi was uneasy and wanted to follow along.

Meng Jinyao gave him a reassuring look and said gently, “Husband, take a stroll around the courtyard first. I’ll go to the study with Father and come find you shortly.”

Gu Jingxi looked at her steadily. Seeing her give a slight nod, he then glanced at Meng Dongyuan.

Meng Dongyuan felt stifled. He already had leverage in their hands—was his son-in-law really worried he might harm his eldest daughter? Lever or not, he would never rashly do anything to her. This concern was completely unnecessary.

Once they reached the study, Meng Dongyuan got straight to the point. “A-Yao, what do you want?”

Meng Jinyao was taken aback. “Father, why do you say that?”

Meng Dongyuan snorted inwardly, cursing her for putting on an act, but his face remained genial. “A-Yao, we’re father and daughter—why beat around the bush? As long as it’s something I can give you, I’ll agree to it.”

Meng Jinyao shook her head lightly. “Father, please forgive your daughter for being slow-witted. I don’t understand what you mean.”

Meng Dongyuan stared at her with a heavy gaze, his tone no longer as mild as before. “Don’t think I don’t know that Madam Zhao told you everything. After learning the truth, you not only didn’t expose me, but even played along with me in this little act. I don’t believe that, aside from disliking your grandmother and your third brother, you have no other motive.”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao chuckled softly. “Oh, so that’s what Father means.”

Meng Dongyuan said, “Just say what you want.”

Meng Jinyao replied, “Your daughter doesn’t want anything. Father, please don’t overthink it.”

Meng Dongyuan froze. For a moment, he even wondered whether he was getting old and hard of hearing. Could his daughter really be so kind-hearted? He still didn’t believe it and pressed on. “Then why did you still put on this act with me?”

Meng Jinyao said calmly, “Father, you are my biological father. If I were to report you to the authorities for unfilial conduct, that would itself be unfilial. Unfilial children are punished with beatings and imprisonment.”

Her words made Meng Dongyuan abruptly recall the laws of the dynasty: if descendants accused their grandparents or parents, or if wives accused their husbands or their husbands’ grandparents or parents, then even if every accusation was true, the accuser would still be sentenced to twenty strokes of the cane and three years of penal servitude. If the accusation was false, the punishment was death by strangulation.

Therefore, descendants who concealed the crimes of their grandparents or parents, and wives who concealed the crimes of their husbands, could all go unpunished.

But the reverse was permitted. Elders could accuse juniors, and husbands could accuse wives. As long as the evidence was solid, the juniors or wives would be punished according to the law, while the accusing elders or husbands would suffer no penalty.

Once he sorted through all this, Meng Dongyuan finally believed that his eldest daughter truly had no ulterior motive. At the same time, he felt fortunate to be the elder—otherwise, this rebellious girl would surely have turned everything upside down just to see him ruined. Now she was going along with him simply because she didn’t want to drag herself down with him in mutual destruction. That, too, was the sensible choice. Only a fool would give up being a perfectly good marquis’s wife and ruin herself just to accuse him.

Meng Jinyao stood up and said gently, “Father, let’s forget everything we said in this study once we step outside. I should be going back—Wanwan is still young and can’t do without me.”

Meng Dongyuan nodded and left the study with her. After that, together with Madam Zhao, he escorted the couple to the front gate of the residence.

Meng Jinyao worried that by making no demands at all, her despicable father might make things difficult for Madam Zhao. She said, “Mother, the pastries you brought last time were quite good. May I ask which shop you bought them from?”

Madam Zhao’s expression flickered. When had she ever brought Meng Jinyao any pastries? But she reacted quickly and understood that Meng Jinyao was deliberately putting on a show for Meng Dongyuan, to make him wary and help her avoid some unnecessary trouble later. She promptly said, “I made them myself. If A-Yao likes them, next time Mother will make more and have someone deliver them to you.”

Meng Jinyao replied, “So that’s the case. Then thank you, Mother.”

After the couple left, Meng Dongyuan said irritably, “You really know how to keep people guessing. Yesterday I asked you what she wanted, and you wouldn’t say. Today I pressed her again and again, only to find out she wants nothing at all.”

Nothing at all?

Madam Zhao turned her head to look at him and suddenly smiled. She felt her husband was both stupid and malicious—the type who would still help count the money after being sold. What Meng Jinyao wanted, she had already obtained long ago without his knowledge. How could it be that she wanted nothing?

Today, Madam Zhao finally saw things clearly. Meng Jinyao was at odds with the old madam and disliked the equally stupid and malicious Meng Chengxing. She favored only Meng Chengzhang, who was both talented and virtuous. She had likely long been plotting in private how to have Meng Chengzhang inherit the marquisate. Now Meng Dongyuan had eliminated two people in one fell swoop, perfectly aligning with Meng Jinyao’s wishes. So on the surface she wanted nothing, yet in reality every goal had been achieved.

Meng Dongyuan found Madam Zhao’s smile irritating and said darkly, “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing. I just thought of something amusing.” Madam Zhao reined in her smile and continued, “Chengxing is still in the ancestral hall. When will you let him out?”

“Why let that bastard out?” Meng Dongyuan snapped. “Let him come out and keep angering Mother? Just give him something to eat so he doesn’t starve, and let him stay in there and properly repent.” With that, he snorted coldly, flung Madam Zhao behind him, and strode back to Rongfu Hall to continue playing the role of a filial son. There was still another act to perform.

Madam Zhao chuckled softly. Let that fool toss and turn as he pleased—she’d just treat it as a show for her own amusement. Otherwise, life would be far too hard to endure.

On the carriage.

Gu Jingxi asked curiously, “A-Yao, what did Father-in-law say to you?”

Meng Jinyao pressed her lips together in a smile. “Him? He asked what I wanted. He’s really lived in vain for decades—doesn’t he realize what sort of benefits someone like him can even afford to give me now?”

As she finished speaking, the smile faded from her face. She shook her head almost imperceptibly. After all these years as father and daughter, this was the first time he had ever asked her what she wanted—and it was asked under these circumstances. How laughable.

Gu Jingxi noticed the subtle change in her expression. He reached out and pulled her into his arms, looking at her with eyes full of indulgence. He affectionately pinched her cheek and asked softly, “If he can’t give it, your husband can. Tell me—do you want anything right now?”

Meng Jinyao had a husband who doted on her, an adorable child, a kind mother-in-law, and lived a life of luxury. There wasn’t really anything in particular she wanted. She looked up at him, and suddenly felt like teasing him. “What I want, it seems my husband can’t give either.”

Gu Jingxi didn’t believe her. “Go on and say it. Other than things like the sun, moon, and stars in the sky—things far beyond reach—your husband should be able to satisfy you.”

Meng Jinyao smiled slyly. “Tonight, put on a skirt and dance a piece for me.”

Gu Jingxi nodded reflexively and agreed. In the next instant, he realized what she had said and could hardly believe his ears. Staring at her in disbelief, he said, “No—wait, what did you say? You want me to wear a skirt and dance for you tonight?”