In the end, Meng Yu Tang stayed behind due to physical discomfort. Meng Ruan and the other two, being unrelated men, were assigned to a side room in the palace for the night.
As soon as they opened the door, a gust of cold wind rushed into their collars, and they shivered in unison. “It’s so cold. Isn’t there underfloor heating in this room?”
The young guard leading the way replied, “Young masters, this room was temporarily assigned to you. There is no underfloor heating.”
How could anyone survive in such freezing weather without underfloor heating? The three grumbled among themselves. Soon, they also discovered a large crack in the ceiling, and even the window paper was torn. When the cold wind blew, it rushed into the room with a rustling sound.
Shivering from the cold, they wanted to ask for another room, but the guard had already left.
They had no choice but to make do and sleep. It wasn’t until midnight that they finally felt somewhat warmer.
While unconsciously tugging at the blanket, Meng Fan’s hand touched something soft. In the dim moonlight, he squinted and looked, and immediately, a heart-wrenching scream pierced the night. “There’s a lizard!!”
“There are rats, too! And rats!”
All three panicked. “Ah! And snakes! So many snakes!!”
“Don’t come closer!! Ahhh, don’t come closer!!”
The night was chaotic and tumultuous.
The next day, Meng Yunwan woke up early.
With the help of her maids, she washed, combed her hair, and tidied up. Yunyue Hall was orderly and dignified, showcasing the majesty and grandeur of the royal family everywhere.
Seeing this, Meng Yu Tang felt another pang of bitterness.
Such a good life had once been hers.
In her previous life, although she was ostracized everywhere in the palace, with princes and princesses looking down on her and the Empress Dowager and Empress ignoring her, she was never mistreated in terms of food, clothing, shelter, or transportation.
She didn’t have the status of a princess, yet she still enjoyed the luxuries and privileges of one, living in opulence.
But in this life, at the marquis’s mansion… well, it was better not to dwell on it.
Seeing Meng Yunwan finish dressing and prepare to leave, she hurriedly asked, “Where are you going, sister?”
“To pay respects to the Empress Dowager.”
Meng Yu Tang could hardly contain the mockery in her eyes. “The Empress Dowager is just an old woman, not even the Emperor’s birth mother. Why are you so eager to please her? Do you really think that by treating her like your own grandmother, she’ll abandon her own granddaughter and care for an outsider like you?”
Her words weren’t meant maliciously; she simply wanted to remind Meng Yunwan not to waste her efforts.
But to her surprise, after hearing this, Meng Yunwan gave her a thoughtful look. “So that’s how it is. No wonder.”
No wonder what? Meng Yu Tang frowned. She felt that Meng Yunwan was subtly mocking her, but she couldn’t find any evidence.
She could only watch helplessly as Meng Yunwan left.
At Shoukang Palace, after accompanying the Empress Dowager in taking her medicine and reciting several volumes of Buddhist scriptures to her, the Empress Dowager reluctantly let Meng Yunwan go. Before leaving, she specifically instructed, “Remember to come and keep me company again tomorrow.”
Somehow, the Empress Dowager’s affection for Meng Yunwan had surpassed that for her own granddaughters.
Of course, it was a matter of mutual sincerity.
Yun Guan treated her with genuine care, and she, in turn, genuinely cherished her.
“Don’t worry, Imperial Grandmother. Your granddaughter will come first thing tomorrow morning,” Meng Yunwan replied sweetly with a smile.
Returning to Yunyue Hall, she was about to go back to her bedchamber to rest when she saw Meng Yu Tang sneaking out of the bedchamber.
She watched as Meng Yu Tang cautiously looked around, and after confirming no one was there, she carefully closed the hall door.
Having done this, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Until Meng Yunwan’s voice suddenly rang out, “Sister, what are you doing?”
Meng Yu Tang’s knees went weak, and she nearly flung out the object hidden in her sleeve in fright.
“N-nothing.”
She stammered, changing the subject, “Sister, weren’t you paying respects to the Empress Dowager? How did you return so quickly?”
The forced smile on her face was too deliberate, and Meng Yunwan looked at her suspiciously, sensing something amiss.
She discreetly glanced at Meng Yu Tang’s sleeve but made no outward show of it, only asking, “What are you doing in my bedchamber?”
Meng Yu Tang adjusted her sleeve and forced a smile, “I see how brilliantly you perform in every imperial examination, and I admire you deeply. I came specifically to seek your advice, but you hadn’t returned for so long, so I decided to leave.”
Perhaps even she realized the contradiction in her words.
Thus, she hurriedly added a dry, compensatory remark, “Speaking of which, you truly are remarkable. Even the princes cannot surpass you in the exams. With your breadth of knowledge, if you were a man, you would undoubtedly achieve great things.”
She was guilty and anxious, so she flattered Meng Yunwan to cover it up.
Yet, to her surprise, Meng Yunwan’s eyes held a faint trace of self-mockery at these words, “Yes, if I were a man, how could I…”
“How could you what?” Meng Yu Tang instinctively followed up.
“Nothing.”
Meng Yunwan frowned and turned away.
Meng Yu Tang pursed her lips and soon left the palace as well.
She sought out several elderly scholars from the common folk and showed them the stolen examination papers of Meng Yunwan, urging them to judge her abilities impartially and objectively.
For some reason, she felt something was off.
In her previous life, her three elder brothers had smoothly advanced through the imperial examinations, but in this life, they showed no signs of literary talent. Meanwhile, Meng Yunwan, who had never been known for any academic achievements, was now shining brilliantly in the imperial examinations.
Was it merely a coincidence, or…
Or was there something in her previous life that she had been unaware of?
Meng Yu Tang fixed her intense gaze on the elderly scholars. Seeing their expressions grow increasingly astonished as they held the examination papers, she felt uneasy, “Is this good or bad?”
After reading the papers, the scholars remained silent for a long time.
They earnestly told Meng Yu Tang, “If this person were a man, they would possess the talent of a zhuangyuan.”
The talent of a zhuangyuan?
Meng Yu Tang was stunned.
How could that be?
The one with the talent of a zhuangyuan in the Meng family was clearly her eldest brother. How could Meng Yunwan, of all people, possess such talent? She was merely a woman!
In a daze, she returned to Yunyue Hall and sat down to study without a word.
But today, the knowledge seemed particularly dull, refusing to enter her mind.
The phrase, “If they were a man, they would possess the talent of a zhuangyuan,” kept surfacing in her thoughts.
For a moment, she felt as though she had grasped something, but it slipped away just as quickly.
Her ingrained disdain and disregard for women made her instinctively dismiss the seemingly most improbable possibility.
After restlessly pacing for half the day, she decided to seek out Meng Yunwan once more.
As she approached the main hall, she glimpsed a faint candlelight through the crack in the door. The young woman sat with her profile turned toward her, her long hair loosely cascading down her waist as she studied.
Meng Yu Tang had never seen Meng Yunwan like this before.
Focused, serene, composed—she stared at the lines in the book as if the entire world had narrowed down to those few words.
The sense of dissonance in her heart grew stronger. For some reason, seeing Meng Yunwan like this made her feel uneasy.
It felt as though something had slipped beyond her control.
……
For several days in a row, Meng Yu Tang had been absent-minded. Meng Fan approached and asked, “Yu Tang, what’s wrong?”
Meng Yu Tang stared at Meng Fan.
In her past life, he had entered the prestigious White Deer Academy, eventually becoming a renowned scholar and bringing great honor to Meng Yunwan.
But now, looking at Meng Fan—strong in body but simple in mind—she saw no sign of future success. A wave of disappointment washed over her heart.