What’s more, her youngest daughter Meng Yu was especially concerned about this matter, so Madam Meng had the idea to call Meng Fu back and ask clearly.
Li Yue stood in place. Looking at Madam Meng’s expression, she did not at all seem like someone who missed Meng Fu.
Meng Fu had been wronged so badly in the Xuanping Marquis Manor, yet the Meng family never sent anyone to check in on her — and now they suddenly remembered her? Truly interesting.
He casually replied, “Yeah, so what?”
Li Yue’s nonchalant attitude made Madam Meng, who had been anxious over this matter, feel a bit awkward. But there were still some things she had to ask clearly. She said, “Then in front of you, did the Empress Dowager mention your father?”
“Nope. Why would she mention him?” Li Yue figured this Madam Meng wouldn’t let him leave anytime soon, so he randomly pulled out a chair and sat down, saying to Madam Meng, “After so many years, His Majesty probably forgot about him.”
What he said was true. If not for swapping bodies with Meng Fu, he honestly wouldn’t have remembered there was such a person as Meng Yanxing.
Madam Meng felt as if a sharp arrow had pierced her chest upon hearing those words, and was speechless for a moment. Her daughter used to be quite clever — why was she talking like this today?
Did she suffer grievances in the marquis manor? Was that why her words were full of barbs? But she never used to be like this.
Madam Meng felt that the Meng Fu she saw today was a bit strange, but didn’t think too deeply about it — after all, it had indeed been quite a while since she last saw this daughter of hers.
She thought for a moment, then asked again: “Then why would the Empress Dowager take you to stroll through the imperial garden?”
Li Yue raised his hand and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, saying to Madam Meng: “Maybe it’s because the Empress Dowager likes me.”
Madam Meng: “……”
When did this eldest daughter of hers become so lacking in modesty? She could actually say something like that with such righteous confidence?
What was she thinking? The Empress Dowager likes her? On what basis would the Empress Dowager like her?
Madam Meng’s face sank, and she said to Li Yue: “I’m asking you seriously.”
Li Yue gave an “mm,” and said, “I’m answering you seriously too.”
Madam Meng had thought her body was already mostly recovered, but today she realized that may have been an illusion. She’d only talked to Meng Fu for a few minutes and already felt a terrible headache coming on — she might need to drink two extra bowls of herbal medicine tonight.
“Let’s not talk about this.” Madam Meng instinctively felt that this matter certainly wasn’t as simple as Meng Fu said, but since Meng Fu didn’t want to say, there was no way she could force it out. They always say a married daughter is like spilled water [idiom meaning a daughter married off no longer belongs to the natal family], and that saying really wasn’t wrong.
Madam Meng sipped some tea to calm herself and said to Li Yue, “Actually, there’s one more thing your mother would like to ask for your help with.”
Li Yue didn’t respond, just sat there waiting for Madam Meng to continue. Since he’d been here this long, Madam Meng hadn’t once asked if his journey was tiring, whether he’d eaten, or how he was doing in the Xuanping Marquis Manor. All she cared about was how the Meng family was doing.
Seeing he didn’t reply, Madam Meng felt a little embarrassed, but still continued with what she had to say: “A’Yu is already at that age and still hasn’t married. Is there any suitable young man around you who hasn’t yet taken a wife?”
Li Yue’s hand, which had been holding the teacup, paused in mid-air. He turned to ask Madam Meng: “Are you suggesting I tell Xie Wenzhao to take her as a concubine?”
Madam Meng hadn’t expected Li Yue to say that. She choked with anger on the spot, coughing for quite a while before finally stopping, then slapped the table in exasperation and said angrily: “Meng Fu, how could you say that? Meng Yu is your blood sister!”
Li Yue found this line somewhat familiar — just a while ago, Xie Wenzhao had said the same thing. He put down the teacup, leaned back in his chair with an exasperated expression, and asked Madam Meng: “Then what? Is Xie Wenzhao supposed to marry her?”
Madam Meng hadn’t been this angry in a long time. Her originally pale cheeks flushed red with rage, and even the ground beneath her seemed distorted to her eyes. She gritted out: “Why must you always bring up Xie Wenzhao? Are there no other men in the world?”
Li Yue let out an “oh,” and put on an enlightened look, dripping with sarcasm: “So there are other men in the world. Then how come Meng Yu always likes going out with Xie Wenzhao? She must like him, right? What am I saying that’s wrong? She can’t be taken as a concubine, can’t be married — then what? Do you want Xie Wenzhao to adopt her as his goddaughter, or recognize her as his godmother?”
Standing behind Li Yue, Qingping didn’t know that Xie Wenzhao often met with Meng Yu in private. Hearing this now, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes and look at Li Yue — Madam, is this something you can actually say out loud?
Madam Meng was both shocked and furious, looking quite flustered. Her expression didn’t seem fake — it appeared she really was hearing for the first time that Meng Yu often met with Xie Wenzhao in private.
A long time passed before Madam Meng spoke again. She still didn’t show any intention of blaming Meng Yu, only saying:
“In the end, this matter caused A’Yu [阿瑜, affectionate form of Meng Yu’s name] to suffer grievance on your behalf. The way she is now—”
Li Yue opened his mouth and interrupted Madam Meng’s words, saying: “Hold on, let’s get this straight first. What do you mean by ‘Meng Yu suffered grievance on my behalf’?”
Madam Meng lifted her head to look at Li Yue, then lowered it again with a sigh, saying to him:
“At that time, A’Yu was worried about you, afraid you would feel guilty in the future, so she told us not to inform you. Actually, before that, A’Yu and the Xuanping Marquis were already acquainted. The two of them had feelings for each other.”
When Li Yue heard this, his brows furrowed immediately. He said: “Is she sick or something? If they had mutual feelings, why didn’t she marry Xie Wenzhao?”
This Madam Meng and Meng Yanxing must be sick too!
They knew in their hearts that their younger daughter’s heart belonged to her older sister’s fiancé, yet they were still messing around matching couples?
Madam Meng felt like her illness was about to worsen again. She forcefully held back the urge to faint, and said to Li Yue:
“Meng Fu, have you forgotten what really happened back then?”
Li Yue pressed his lips together and didn’t speak.
In truth, he really didn’t know what had happened back then.
Madam Meng, with some resentment, said: “If a servant hadn’t seen you secretly meeting with Xie Wenzhao back then, would A’Yu have had to marry the late Crown Prince?”
What does this have to do with the late Crown Prince again?! The late Crown Prince has been dead for years, why does he pop up everywhere?
Seeing that Madam Meng wasn’t finished, Li Yue restrained himself and decided to hear out what else he didn’t know.
Thinking back to how Meng Fu once mentioned this marriage, she had only said it was arranged by the parents, matched by the matchmaker, so maybe there were things even Meng Fu herself had been unclear about.
Madam Meng continued speaking:
Back then, Meng Yanxing was the Crown Prince’s Tutor and was favored by the late emperor. Both the late emperor and the late Crown Prince had the intention to marry into the Meng family. Originally, it was decided that Meng Fu would marry the Crown Prince.
Meng Yanxing might have anticipated this marriage early on, which was why he was particularly strict with his elder daughter. As for the younger daughter, Meng Yu, she had been pampered since childhood, was not suited to deal with palace affairs. They only hoped she could find a husband of her own choosing and live out a carefree life.
Who would have thought the incident of Meng Fu secretly meeting with Xie Wenzhao would happen? At that time, the late emperor was already preparing the dowry for the Crown Prince. If he found out later that Meng Fu had once been involved with Xie Wenzhao, the entire Meng family might have been ruined.
Thinking it over, they had no choice but to have Meng Fu marry into the Xuanping Marquis family. The Xie family agreed readily, though Xie Wenzhao seemed reluctant. But not long after, for some unknown reason, he agreed as well.
Meanwhile, the Meng family still did not want to give up the royal marriage. They felt it would be too unfair to send Meng Yu into the royal family. But Meng Yu overheard her parents’ conversation and stepped forward on her own, expressing that she was willing to bear the burden for the Meng family and marry into the royal household.
It wasn’t until long after Meng Fu’s engagement to Xie Wenzhao was settled that Madam Meng found out Meng Yu actually liked Xie Wenzhao — but she didn’t want to cause discord in the family. She cried and begged Madam Meng not to tell anyone. From then on, Madam Meng doted even more on her younger daughter.
Yet Meng Yu’s fate was truly bitter. Meng Yanxing, afraid she might make a laughingstock of herself if she married into the palace without preparation, kept her at home for a period of careful instruction. But before the marriage could be finalized, the late Crown Prince passed away early. Within three months, marriages were prohibited. Then came the national mourning, and later the new emperor’s ascension. The Meng family declined day by day, no longer what it had been. Meng Yu grew older and became pickier, making it even harder to find a suitable husband.
After she finished speaking, Madam Meng let out a long sigh. These matters, she hadn’t wanted to bring up again, but she was afraid that Meng Fu might bear resentment toward Meng Yu. So she said:
“A’Yu could be said to have taken this blow on your behalf. If she’s done anything wrong, don’t hold it against her.”
With that, she waited for Meng Fu to give her a clear affirmation.
However, Li Yue simply didn’t care about Meng Yu’s later tragic fate. What he asked was:
“You said the late emperor collected several famous zithers to add to the dowry — those were originally meant for Meng—for me?”
Madam Meng: “……”
Does she even know how to grasp the main point?!
Madam Meng was rather displeased and said in a deep voice: “They were for the late emperor’s daughter-in-law.”
Li Yue: “Oh.”