Chapter 113: A Single Marriage Ruined Everything! (Part One)

Even though the Old Madam had always treated Lady Meng with icy disdain and occasionally even made things difficult for her, the Marchioness had remained consistently respectful, docile, and quite sensible throughout all these years.

Mother Zhou was caught off guard, having been struck in the face by the abacus beads. Shu Rong was even more surprised by her sudden arrival. Startled, she hurried out and stammered, "Mother Zhou, are you alright?"

Inside the room, Lady Meng felt her heart skip a beat at the commotion. She immediately steadied herself, composed her expression, and stood up.

"I'm fine!" Mother Zhou recovered, though she didn't put on a sour face. She simply asked, "Is the Madame free at the moment?"

Shu Rong felt quite awkward. Just as she hesitated to respond, Lady Meng emerged herself, wearing a smile. "Mother Zhou, my apologies. I was just angered by this girl and lost my composure. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"The Madame is too kind," Mother Zhou replied with a smile, not intending to hold a grudge. She curtsied and said, "The Second Young Master has been kneeling before the Old Madam for quite a while. I can see the Old Madam is furious and hasn't even touched her supper. I took the liberty of coming here—if the Madame is free, could I trouble you to go over and persuade her?"

Lady Meng knew full well that this was merely a pretext. If the Old Madam were truly angry and needed persuading, Mother Zhou would never come to her; the old woman disliked her so much that her presence would only add fuel to the fire. Lady Meng knew this was the Old Madam’s way of summoning her to vent her frustration, but she didn't point it out. She simply said, "There is no such thing as being free or otherwise; matters can be set aside and dealt with later. Mother Zhou, you may return first. I will change my clothes and be there immediately."

"Very well! I shall trouble the Madame, then!" Mother Zhou said politely, leaving without making things difficult for her.

The moment she left, the smile vanished from Lady Meng's face. As night had fallen, the lanterns at the entrance cast a fleeting chill in her eyes. Shu Rong watched Mother Zhou leave the courtyard, but when she turned back, she saw nothing.

Lady Meng went back inside to add an outer garment and tidy her appearance, then hurried to the main courtyard without a moment's delay. The courtyard gate was wide open, and upon stepping inside, she saw Wu Qingyu kneeling with his back straight. Wu Qingyu turned when he heard the movement behind him. Mother and son exchanged a look. Wu Qingyu’s expression was serious, not a trace of his usual playfulness, and he remained silent.

Lady Meng felt a sudden constriction in her chest. She could feel the distance between her and her son. He hadn't been like this as a child; he had been lively, mischievous, and very attached to her. He had only changed after they arrived in the capital. It wasn't just toward her, but toward his father as well, as if a rift had suddenly appeared between him and his parents. She had her own unspoken grievances and could not explain them to him, and over time, the boy had grown distant from everyone in the household. It was precisely because of this that she had been caught completely off guard when her son colluded with that girl, Wu Tan, to cause such a disaster!

She walked over to Wu Qingyu. He had already turned his gaze away, fixing it on the door of the Old Madam’s room. Lady Meng opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but hesitated several times. In the end, she let out a heavy sigh and went inside.

The Old Madam was sitting on the heated kang in the warm chamber, stewing in her anger. Lady Meng actually dreaded meeting her. Previously, because the Old Madam found her an eyesore, she had never required her to pay morning and evening respects. Thus, even though the Old Madam disliked her, there were few occasions where she had to endure her temper; she only came when absolutely necessary.

"Mother!" Lady Meng took a deep breath at the threshold of the warm chamber before stepping inside.

The Old Madam glanced at her sideways and gave a cold snort, but did not immediately attack. Lady Meng knelt directly on the floor. "Mother, please calm your anger. It is all this daughter-in-law's fault. I failed to discipline my son and was negligent, which led Yu’er to cause such trouble. Mother, please don't let this affect your health. If you were to fall ill, my son and I would truly be guilty of an unforgivable crime..."

Before she could finish, the Old Madam cut her off coldly: "Don't give me these empty words! If I hadn't called for you today, were you planning to pretend you knew nothing? You don't need to speak in platitudes; I only ask you, what do you intend to do about today's matter?"

Lady Meng felt a deep, hidden resentment, but she bit her lip, maintaining a submissive and humble expression on her face. She said with feigned difficulty, "This... I know Yu’er acted without consideration, but now that things have reached this point... we cannot let the Dingyuan Marquis Manor be known for going back on its word. It would damage the Marquis's official reputation. The Lin girl is also quite pitiable; if this were to happen again, it would be pushing her to the brink. This daughter-in-law thinks that if the Lin family does not object, please, Mother, lower yourself to accept this—it could be considered a virtuous connection."

She blamed everything on the Lin family for being shameless! To think they would have the audacity to force a daughter with a ruined reputation onto her son after such a scene!

If she were asked if she was willing? Lady Meng would rather die than agree, but she had no choice but to say it. For one, she couldn't control her stubborn son; for another, she knew exactly what the Old Madam was planning. The old woman had clearly already made up her mind to accept this marriage; otherwise, she wouldn't have delayed handling it. By calling her here to demand her stance, she was merely calculating to shut her mouth and force her to say it aloud, so that it would be Lady Meng who "agreed" to it. This way, she wouldn't be able to blame anyone later, and the old woman could avoid the reputation of forcing her daughter-in-law.

Even though she knew the Old Madam was manipulating her, Lady Meng could only swallow her anger and accept it. Who else was to blame but her own son?

The Old Madam’s anger did not dissipate in the slightest. She was indeed forcing Lady Meng to concede, but Lady Meng was a woman of deep, hidden thoughts who always acted clever, only to put on a mask of obedience while harboring other intentions. It was true the Old Madam disliked her, but Lady Meng never considered the Old Madam and the two children left behind by the late Lady Lin as family. They were all just living under the same roof, acting out a play for outsiders.

Lady Meng truly didn't care what the Old Madam thought of her. Since things had come to this, she just wanted a quick resolution. She immediately added, "However, Mother, as for the Lin family... you know that it might not be appropriate for me to go. I fear it would still require you to make a personal visit?"

The Lin family hated her guts. Although they needed to use her son to save their face, that family of self-proclaimed "upright scholars" would certainly never treat her as a true in-law. Lady Meng was self-aware enough to know that.

Inside the room, the two women were talking when Wu Qingqiong ran in frantically from the courtyard. Recently, Lady Meng had kept her strictly confined to the Yunlan Pavilion to study etiquette and the "Admonitions for Women," which delayed her receiving news. When she finally heard about the massive incident in the manor at dinnertime, she rushed to the South Courtyard, only to find it empty. Learning that Lady Meng was with the Old Madam, she dashed over here.

She had intended to tell her mother that she must never agree to let her second brother marry that woman with the ruined reputation from the Lin family. To her surprise, upon entering the courtyard, she saw Wu Qingyu kneeling there.

Wu Qingqiong was so furious that she forgot about finding Lady Meng and rushed straight to Wu Qingyu, shouting, "Brother, have you lost your mind? Are you really going to marry that cousin of Wu Tan’s? That woman is already notorious..."

When she was anxious, her voice became piercingly sharp, sounding particularly grating.

"Shut up!" Wu Qingyu interrupted coldly. He had always been impatient with this willful and pampered sister. Seeing her rush up to use such foul language and order him around, he didn't give her a pleasant look either. He warned her coldly, "From now on, she is your Second Sister-in-law. Watch your tongue and mind your manners!"

"You..." Wu Qingqiong shrieked. But she knew Wu Qingyu wasn't close to her, and seeing the warning in his eyes, she felt a tremor of fear. After acting tough for a moment, she could only stomp her feet in anger. "I... I will never acknowledge it! Even if you insist on marrying her, I will never admit she is my Second Sister-in-law."

"Whatever," Wu Qingyu scoffed, turning his gaze away from her face. "You'll be married off in a few days anyway. Our family’s affairs won't concern you anymore."

"You!" Wu Qingqiong was choked by his words, her eyes turning red. She pointed at him for a long time before bursting into tears. "Am I even your own sister? Don't you realize Wu Tan and the Lin family are using you? They are forcing a woman with an unclean reputation on you, and you are so happy to be played like a fool by them! Wake up!"

She truly couldn't understand why things were this way. Wu Qingyu was her own brother! Wu Qinglin was so good to Wu Tan, so obedient to her, why couldn't he be like that? She had endured his cold words since childhood, but now he was actually siding with the outsider. Thinking of this, Wu Qingqiong was so angry she wanted to beat Wu Tan and ask her why she had to steal her brother. But she knew she was no match for that crazy girl and didn't dare act rashly.

Wu Qingqiong wept in grievance. As her willfulness took over, she raised her hand to strike him. Wu Qingyu caught her wrist, his patience finally exhausted. He shoved her aside and said coldly, "Who are you throwing a tantrum for? Don't use the identity of being my sister to demand I treat you well. Mother spoils you because she wants to! Before you question whether I treat you like a sister, you should reflect on whether you ever considered me a brother. Since you were little, you’ve only known how to be willful and arrogant. When you fought with others as a child, I went to help you brawl; did you ever care if I lived or died? When I was going to join the army, did you ever think of my safety? Did you ever say a single word of concern? You only ever care about yourself; you are utterly selfish. You keep shouting about our relationship as siblings, but you only want to use me as a tool to satisfy your own vanity and a capital for your boasting."

When Wu Qingqiong was little, he hadn't been unwilling to be good to her, but this sister had been spoiled rotten by their mother. Not only was she willful and troublesome, but she took everyone’s kindness for granted. Once or twice was fine, but after many times, Wu Qingyu grew truly weary and stopped wanting to engage with her.

He hadn't been using real force, so Wu Qingqiong only stumbled back without falling. Mujin, who had followed her, hurried forward to support her.

Wu Qingqiong had been truly spoiled by Lady Meng. With Wu Qinglin’s attitude toward Wu Tan as the standard, she couldn't reflect on Wu Qingyu’s words at all. Hearing him scold her so mercilessly, she felt even more aggrieved and furious. After steadying herself, she turned back and cried out, "You are the selfish one! I am your own sister, you should be good to me..."

Before she could finish, Wu Qingyu interrupted again: "No one is born owing it to another to be good to them. You should be glad you were born into the Wu family, where everyone at most just quarrels with you but fundamentally gives way to you. If you don't change this temper, just wait until you are married off and see what happens! You won't even know how you died!"

"You!" Wu Qingqiong was furious, screaming as she lunged at him, "You cursed me! I’m your own sister and you’re cursing me..."

The commotion in the courtyard was too loud for Lady Meng to ignore. She rushed out and grabbed the thrashing Wu Qingqiong, shouting sternly, "Qiong'er, stop this!"

Wu Qingyu remained kneeling steadily. Seeing Lady Meng emerge, he restrained himself and looked away, not intending to bother with Wu Qingqiong anymore. But Wu Qingqiong had found her backbone and became even more arrogant, her eyes red as she struggled toward him: "Mother! You must stand up for me! He bullied me, I am his sister, how could he say such things to me..."

Lady Meng was already furious over Wu Qingyu’s marriage, and now she was physically and mentally exhausted by Wu Qingqiong’s tantrum. When she had rushed out, she had heard exactly what Wu Qingyu said.

The people of the Wu family, including Wu Tan, were not truly malicious. They were discordant, yes, but the whole family had been tolerant of Wu Qingqiong to the extreme. If it weren't for that, just counting the two times she helped Huo Yunhua plot against Wu Tan, the retaliation she would have faced would have been enough to kill her...

And the most piercing words were the last two. Wu Qingqiong’s marriage to Xiao Yun was the very thing that had been weighing on Lady Meng’s heart!

Provoked by Wu Qingyu’s words and seeing Wu Qingqiong’s hopeless state, she lost all reason. As blood rushed to her head, she shoved the thrashing Wu Qingqiong and followed up with a slap across her face: "Are you going to stop?"

Wu Qingqiong was left seeing stars. Not only did she stop, but everyone in the courtyard was silenced. Lady Meng’s face was cold, her eyes burning not with anger, but with something venomous. She stared at Wu Qingqiong and scolded, "Can't you understand what is good for you? How many times have I told you, and you still haven't grown up? Aside from being willful and throwing tantrums, what else can you do?"

"Mother..." Wu Qingqiong clutched her face, shrinking into Mujin’s arms. She didn't dare cry anymore, her voice thin as a mosquito’s as she complained, "You... don't stand by me either..."

Before she could finish, she was cut off by Lady Meng: "Your brother is right. You are such an ignorant fool; rather than letting you marry into the Eastern Palace and causing a disaster that implicates the whole family, I might as well strangle you with a rope right now. That would settle everything and give everyone peace!"

She had scolded her daughter before when angry, but the worst she had done was behind closed doors. This time, she had been touched at her most vulnerable spot and exploded completely.

Wu Qingqiong was stunned by these ruthless words, her lips trembling. She stared at her mother in terror, not even daring to speak. Wu Qingyu had seen his mother’s fury for the first time. He had to admit, when she was angry, she was a completely different person from her usual silent, submissive self.

"Get out of my sight!" Lady Meng didn't want to see Wu Qingqiong for even a second longer. She turned to glare at Mujin: "If she leaves the Yunlan Pavilion again before her wedding, I will break your legs!"

"Yes... yes, Madame!" Mujin trembled, dragging Wu Qingqiong away without daring to stay a moment longer. Wu Qingqiong, already terrified into a stupor, offered no resistance.

Inside the room, Mother Zhou stood at the window, watching the scene of Lady Meng’s display of power through the gap. Her eyelids twitched—the Old Madam had always said the Madame had a temper, but she hadn't expected it to be like this. The Old Madam sat on the kang, eyes closed, turning her prayer beads, her true emotions unreadable.

After a while, Lady Meng returned to the room. She started to kneel again, but the Old Madam opened her eyes and waved her hand. "That's enough. You don't need to stand on ceremony here. Spending more time teaching your children properly is worth more than anything else."

Lady Meng regretted losing her composure in front of the Old Madam. Her expression stiffened as she lowered her eyes to hide her emotions: "It was this daughter-in-law who lost her composure!"

The Old Madam said, "Children are the debts parents have to pay! Enough. I will go to the Lin family myself tomorrow. However, you must prepare another set of betrothal gifts for Yu’er to take over, and have it paid from the public fund. Given the Lin family’s character, they will surely include those items in the dowry when she is married. Don't bother sending the newly prepared set to the Lin family—it wouldn't look good if outsiders found out. Just wait until the new bride enters the house and swap it for the Tan girl then!"

"Yes!" Lady Meng had no strength left to argue and agreed to everything. "Mother is thoughtful; this daughter-in-law will arrange it properly."

The Old Madam nodded slightly. "Go on with your work, and send that boy in. I have things to say to him."

"Yes, Mother!" Lady Meng curtsied. "Then this daughter-in-law will take her leave!"

As Lady Meng exited, Wu Qingyu, having seen her fury, felt a bit uneasy and looked over immediately. Lady Meng only sighed: "Your grandmother wants you inside. Get up!"

With that, she let Shu Rong support her as she walked away. It was the time for the servants to eat, so the garden was empty. Shu Rong knew she was in a bad mood, but she felt the Second Young Master’s marriage was too much of a mockery. She gritted her teeth and couldn't help but say, "Madame, the Second Young Master’s marriage... is it really settled? Should we send a letter to the Marquis to ask first? After all, this isn't just any matter..."

Lady Meng walked on with a blank expression, her eyes dark and unreadable. She said coldly, "He will agree! As long as it secures his official reputation and the dignity of the Marquis Manor, he will agree to anything now. If he can sacrifice his daughter’s entire life, why not his son’s marriage?"

Shu Rong couldn't understand her indifferent attitude and tried to persuade her: "But isn't the relationship between the Marquis and the Lin family..."

Lady Meng continued walking without looking aside, sneering again: "It’s just a son marrying a wife, what’s the big deal? I feel nauseated because I don't want the Lin family to bask in my son’s glory, but in the end, it is their daughter entering my Wu family. If she isn't to my liking, I can cast her aside whenever I want. In any case, it’s the Lin girl who will suffer. Since the old woman is willing, let it be. I’m too lazy to argue with her. The problem is, with so many things happening lately, how can she keep cooped up at home like this?"

Hearing this, Shu Rong thought of what Lady Meng had been arranging in recent days. She was startled and looked around quickly to ensure no one was nearby before whispering anxiously: "Madame, why are you so against the Young Lady marrying into the Eastern Palace? Even if it's as a secondary consort, that is still the Crown Prince's consort!"

Lady Meng kept walking steadily, her gaze sharp and cold, as she spoke word by word: "A girl is not like a man. Once she is married, she is ruined. I—will absolutely never allow such a thing to happen!"