“I will divorce her! I must divorce that shrew!” Meng Zhuo held his freshly bandaged forehead, his face flushed with anger.
Beside him, Liu Sisi stroked his chest, her eyes brimming with tears. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t entered the mansion, Young Mistress wouldn’t have quarreled with you like this! Sisi should leave Meng Mansion. I mustn’t let myself come between you and Young Mistress.”
As she spoke, Liu Sisi wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and rose to leave.
Meng Zhuo pulled her into his arms. The soft, delicate Meiren in his embrace greatly stirred his protective instincts, and the masculinity he had lost in front of Chu Yun now surged back in full force.
He spoke with a domineering tone: “If anyone should leave, it’s her! So jealous and petty—she is utterly unworthy of being the mistress of Meng Mansion!”
Liu Sisi secretly rejoiced. She had thought that entering Meng Mansion would mean a tough battle with the Young Mistress, but who knew the Young Mistress would be so fierce? Without much provocation from her, Meng Zhuo was already enraged enough to divorce his wife.
Though she thought this, Liu Sisi’s face was already streaked with tears as she continued to fan the flames: “Meeting you in this lifetime is truly a blessing I cultivated in my past life. She is a noble lady from a prestigious family, while I am but a drifting duckweed. How could she leave because of me?”
Meng Zhuo gently wiped her tears. “What noble lady? She’s merely the descendant of a disgraced official. If not for Meng Mansion taking her in, who knows where she’d be wandering. Not only does she show no gratitude, but she even attacked me.”
The more Meng Zhuo spoke, the angrier he became. With one hand clutching his head and the other wrapped around Liu Sisi’s waist, he shouted: “Someone, bring me pen and paper! I will divorce her! Let’s see what Chu Yun amounts to without the Meng Family!”
“Silence!”
A voice rang out from outside the door, startling Liu Sisi so much that she quickly extricated herself from Meng Zhuo’s embrace and stood properly to the side.
A middle-aged woman dressed in a sapphire-blue buttoned jacket, adorned with jewels from head to toe, walked in. It was Madam Meng, Chu Yun’s aunt.
Upon seeing the seductive and alluring Liu Sisi, she shot a sharp glare her way: “Drag this troublemaking wench out and slap her face.”
Liu Sisi immediately lifted her skirt and knelt on the ground, weeping pitifully: “Madam, spare me!”
Meng Zhuo pulled Liu Sisi behind him: “Mother, it’s not Sisi’s fault. It’s Chu Yun—she’s jealous and vulgar, and she even injured my head…”
Madam Meng’s eyes filled with disappointment. “I know you don’t like Chu Yun, but you can’t use such an absurd excuse to deceive me.”
Madam Meng understood Chu Yun well—educated, reasonable, gentle, and composed. Though she had some petty thoughts that were unlikable, given her temperament, let alone injuring Meng Zhuo, she had never even raised her voice.
Meng Zhuo unwrapped the cotton bandage on his head, revealing the bloody gash: “It’s true!”
Madam Meng first examined the wound carefully. Seeing it wasn’t deep, she temporarily set her worries aside: “Where have you been fooling around? Not only did you injure your face, but you’re also pinning the blame on Chu Yun?”
Madam Meng would rather believe Meng Zhuo had injured himself than accept that Chu Yun had done it.
She dismissed everyone from the room and spoke earnestly to Meng Zhuo: “I know marrying her was a grievance for you. But you must understand what’s important. Eunuch Cai will be arriving soon. If we don’t offer enough tribute, your father’s performance review for the second half of the year will suffer. That matter I asked you to discuss with Chu Yun about the money—did she agree?”
Meng Zhuo pointed to the injury on his head, utterly distraught: “No! Not only did she refuse, she even cursed at me and hit me.”
Madam Meng instinctively ignored the latter half of the sentence and earnestly advised, “She must still be angry about you marrying both a wife and a concubine at the same time. Tomorrow, go find Chu Yun again. A wife should follow her husband—if you treat her gently and considerately, she will naturally submit to you.”
At the mere thought of that bloodthirsty look in “Chu Yun’s” eyes, Meng Zhuo’s heart tightened: “Chu Yun has gone mad. I can’t get the money from her. If you want it, go ask for it yourself.”
Madam Meng poked Meng Zhuo’s head in frustration, wishing he were more capable. If it weren’t for this father and son, why would she go to such lengths? Yet, one of them showed no gratitude, while the other only caused trouble.
Madam Meng tried to persuade him a few more times, but Meng Zhuo was adamant about not going. She grew annoyed: “Later, I will take Liu Sisi back and properly teach her the rules of being a concubine. Only when you manage to get the money from Chu Yun will I release that wretched woman.”
Without waiting for Meng Zhuo’s objection, she ordered the maids to escort Liu Sisi away.
Liu Sisi panicked and looked at Meng Zhuo: “Young Master, save me… mmm.”
Before Liu Sisi could finish her plea, the maids gagged her and dragged her out. Meng Zhuo was frantic with worry but dared not truly defy his mother.
Returning to Songhe Courtyard, Madam Meng had Liu Sisi taken to the woodshed. Rubbing her forehead wearily, she sighed, “This father and son—neither of them gives me peace of mind.”
Nanny Liu beside her said, “You are the mother-in-law. With filial piety as the priority, there are plenty of ways to discipline the Young Mistress. Why be so impatient and force the Young Master to lower his head and suffer?”
Madam Meng let out a long sigh: “It’s not just because of Eunuch Cai, but also because of that troublemaker Xie Zhaoshen. Although Chu Yun’s rejection of the marriage proposal caused quite a stir back then, over the past three years, he has sent letters to the Meng Family from time to time, all of which I intercepted. It shows he still cares for Chu Yun. If he finds out… that Chu Yun was tricked into marrying Zhuo’er under my schemes, he will not let it go. Only if Zhuo’er manages to appease Chu Yun and pretends to have a harmonious marriage will General Xie have no reason to cause trouble.”
Back then, when Xie Zhaoshen, a good-for-nothing, was sent to the border to face the enemy, everyone thought he would die there. Who would have thought he not only returned unscathed but also achieved great military feats? This time, his detour to Jiangzhou was undoubtedly for someone.
Hearing this name, Nanny Liu’s brow also twitched: “The Young Mistress appears gentle but is actually stubborn by nature, and the Young Master is straightforward and hot-tempered. Getting the two of them to harmonize like a qin and se in a short time will likely be difficult.”
Precisely because of this, Madam Meng found the situation difficult.
Even if Chu Yun had some cunning thoughts, she was ultimately a sheltered woman who couldn’t stir up much trouble. But Xie Zhaoshen was different. If that one got angry, wouldn’t he turn the Meng Mansion upside down?
Nanny Liu said, “This old servant does have a method that could make the Young Mistress accept her fate and also make General Xie give up.”
Madam Meng looked at her: “What method?”
Nanny Liu replied, “That little wretch remains arrogant simply because she believes she was tricked into marriage and hasn’t yet consummated it, which is why she doesn’t serve the Young Master as a husband. If we can make the Young Mistress actively seek intimacy with the Young Master and consummate the marriage naturally, then, with the Young Mistress willingly losing her virtue, she likely won’t have the nerve to seek General Xie’s help anymore.”
Madam Meng frowned: “You make it sound easy.”
Nanny Liu leaned close to Madam Meng’s ear: “This old servant knows that there is a type of aphrodisiac in the pleasure houses outside. Just a tiny amount can turn even the most chaste and virtuous woman into a wanton.”
Hearing this, Madam Meng instinctively tightened her grip on her handkerchief, remaining silent for a long while.
Seeing her hesitation, Nanny Liu urged anxiously: “This servant knows that Madam has always treated her with kindness, but if the money cannot be raised and General Xie comes to cause trouble again, I fear it will be difficult to explain to the master.”
Madam Meng closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, a ruthless glint flashed within: “Enough! She is a woman of the Meng Family, and consummating the marriage with Zhuo’er is only right and proper.”
As the two of them discussed the various details, they completely failed to notice a figure swiftly passing by the window behind them.