Meng Shuhe shook her head slightly and said, “Mother, there’s no need. Shen Qian looked down on me because I was raised in a merchant family. I imagine other gentlemen will surely feel the same. It would be better for me to return to Jiangnan and find a husband there to marry.”
Marchioness Pingyuan gripped Meng Shuhe’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears. “I worked so hard to find you and bring you back. We haven’t even been reunited for a few years. I will never agree to you leaving Chang’an for Jiangnan.”
Seeing the tears in Xie Qing’an’s eyes, Meng Shuhe had no choice but to compromise. “Mother, then I will stay with you for a few more days. But at the latest, I must return to Jiangnan in two months.”
Indeed, leaving so abruptly today was a bit rushed.
Besides, her parents wouldn’t let her go.
“A poor home, but a rich journey”—she still needed to prepare enough clothes, food, and medicine for the trip to Jiangnan.
When she came to Chang’an from Jiangnan last time, she traveled on an official boat. This time, returning to Jiangnan, she could only take a merchant ship. Therefore, it would be best to buy a few sturdy maidservants and older nannies, as well as two guards who knew martial arts for protection on the road.
Xie Qing’an held Meng Shuhe’s hand tightly. “Your father and I won’t feel at ease with you returning to Jiangnan alone. Moreover, your foster parents are just pastry street-vendors. We fear you won’t live a good life if you go back.”
Meng Shuhe smiled softly. “Mother, I have plenty of money now. Since the Shen family treated me that way, they certainly had to compensate me well. That is why I demanded a hundred thousand taels of silver from them.”
Xie Qing’an was astonished. “A hundred thousand taels? That Shen Guogong Fu could actually produce a hundred thousand taels of silver all at once?”
Meng Shuhe took out the silver notes to show Xie Qing’an. “So, Mother, you don’t have to worry about me living a life of poverty back in Jiangnan.”
“Father, Mother, you’re finally back.”
Meng Wang’s voice came from the courtyard entrance.
Clad in a blue robe, Meng Wang strode into the courtyard. Seeing the Marquis and Marchioness, he immediately began to complain. “Father, Mother, this Meng Shuhe was raised in the wilderness; she has no sense of propriety and is incredibly greedy. Just now, she actually extorted a hundred thousand taels of silver from Zhenguogong Fu!”
Meng Wang glared at Meng Shuhe. Seeing the silver notes in her hand, he said, “You should return such a large sum of money to the Shen family immediately.”
“Why?” Meng Shuhe scoffed. “This hundred thousand taels is what the Shen family owes me. Setting aside the three years of my life they wasted, they have also burdened me with the reputation of a divorced woman. Finding a husband in the future will only be more difficult. This is the compensation the Shen family ought to give me.”
Meng Wang said, “If you had any self-awareness regarding your marriage, why would finding a husband be difficult? As a girl raised in the countryside, even marrying the nephew of a minor official in Chang’an Cheng would be considered climbing the social ladder for you. Yet you actually had the delusional fantasy of becoming the wife of a Shizi! It’s truly a joke.”
“I’m so angry!”
Lu Xiu’s voice rang out irritably from within Meng Shuhe’s belly. “My mother could even be the Taizifei! How is she not worthy of being the wife of a Shizi? How is that a delusional fantasy?”
“If it weren’t for that bastard Lu Jing being such a sub-human, willing to sacrifice our lives for the woman in his heart, Mother, you should have entered the palace to become the Taizifei and taught them a harsh lesson. Unfortunately, Lu Jing is no good man either. It’s better if we don’t fight for that pride; saving our small lives is more important.”
Meng Shuhe heard her baby’s angry voice. She looked at her parents and then at Meng Wang; this voice was something only she could hear.
“Wang’er!” Marquis Pingyuan glared at Meng Wang. “Your sister is the daughter of our Pingyuan Houfu. How is being the wife of the Zhenguogong Shizi ‘climbing the ladder’? Why should she only marry the nephew of a minor family?”
Meng Wang said, “Father, there must be a limit to how much you and Mother favor her. You feel indebted and want to make it up to her, but you should also see how unpresentable her actions are! Extorting money from Zhenguogong Fu in broad daylight is simply too much. What noble family would be willing to marry such a greedy and mercenary woman into their home?”
Marchioness Pingyuan said angrily, “Meng Wang, say less! Your father and I haven’t even blamed you yet. While we were away from home, you actually allowed Ruoli to marry Shen Qian? And you stood by while the Shen family divorced your own biological sister? When we left, we instructed you to take good care of your two sisters. Is this how you care for them?”
Facing Marchioness Pingyuan’s reprimand, Meng Wang only said, “Mother, this marriage contract originally belonged to Ruoli and Shen Qian. It was Meng Shuhe who insisted on interfering and breaking up the couple. I was merely setting things right.”
Xie Qing’an said in a rage, “What do you mean ‘setting things right’? Go to the ancestral hall and kneel for the night as punishment.”
“Mother!”
Marquis Pingyuan glared at Meng Wang. “Your mother’s words are useless now, are they?”
In the end, Meng Wang did not dare to defy the Marquis and Marchioness. He could only go to the ancestral hall to kneel. Before leaving, he gave Meng Shuhe another fierce glare.
Xie Qing’an took Meng Shuhe’s hand and led her into Jinxiu Ge. “This was your room before you were married. Nothing much has changed. Stay here comfortably for now, and stop thinking about returning to Jiangnan.”
Meng Shuhe did not argue further with Xie Qing’an and replied, “Mother, then I shall stay in the Fu for a while.”
Once she had prepared the ships, clothes, food, and servants to return to Jiangnan, she would slip away in secret. By then, it would be useless for her parents to stop her.
After Xie Qing’an left, Meng Shuhe felt only relief that she hadn’t revealed her identity as the young miss of Pingyuan Houfu to Lu Jing earlier.
Lu Jing only knew that she had been married and was divorced last night, but he didn’t know she was the daughter-in-law of Zhenguogong Fu.
Furthermore, all the servants at the manor had been replaced. The current servants only knew she was the master, not her true identity.
In the outskirts of Chang’an Cheng, at the manor.
Lu Jing sat in the room reading, waiting until the lamps were lit at dusk, but there was still no sign of Meng Shuhe’s return. His cold, deep phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.
Meng Shuhe and her maid had been missing since they got up early in the morning, and they hadn’t returned even by nightfall.
Could it be that after sleeping with him, Meng Shuhe didn’t want to take responsibility and simply ran away?
Just like four years ago, when she left Jiangnan without a word, vanishing without a trace.
Lu Jing put down his book and called for the guard outside: “Wen De.”
A shadow moved from outside to inside, kneeling before Lu Jing. “Your Highness, what are your orders?”
“Rise. Go and investigate the lady’s whereabouts. Why has she not returned yet?”
“Yes.”
Lu Jing continued to flip through the book in his hand.
After waiting for about an hour, Wen De returned from outside and reported, “Your Highness, the hidden guards have reported that the lady has returned to stay at her maiden home.”
Lu Jing looked up at Wen De. “Maiden home? Has she returned to Jiangnan?”
Wen De said, “Your Highness, the lady appears to be the true daughter of Pingyuan Houfu who was found four years ago. She has already retired for the night in Pingyuan Houfu.”
Lu Jing smiled. “She is actually the young miss of Pingyuan Houfu? Return to the palace.”
By the time Lu Jing rode back to the Donggong, it was already late at night.
As soon as he returned, Lu Jing saw Empress Qin, her hair in a high bun and wearing purple silk robes, entering the hall.
“Mother.”
Lu Jing bowed respectfully.
Upon seeing Lu Jing, Empress Qin complained, “Where have you been? You haven’t been seen for the past two days. Even when I look for you, I don’t know your whereabouts.”
Lu Jing said with a faint smile, “I have had important matters to attend to these days. If Mother has any instructions, you can have Wen Lu pass them on.”
Empress Qin said, “You are nearly twenty. The matter of marrying a Taizifei can no longer be delayed. Your elder sister is hosting a poetry gathering at her villa on the third day of the third month for the Shangsi Jie. She has invited all the young ladies of Chang’an Cheng. On that day, you shall go to your sister’s villa and pick a suitable Taizifei.”
Lu Jing smiled faintly. “Mother, I already have a candidate for Taizifei.”
The Empress asked curiously, “Who is it?”
Lu Jing parted his thin lips and said, “The daughter of Pingyuan Houfu.”