Just as Shen Yanxiu was about to follow Meng Nanzhi into the carriage, a servant dressed in black said, "Shizi, if we don’t go to the Ming Family soon, I’m afraid we’ll be late."
Shen Yanxiu glanced in the direction of the Ming Family, hesitating.
Before leaving, he had argued with his father and vowed to break off the engagement today.
Meng Nanzhi pretended to cough lightly.
Shen Yanxiu quickly asked, "What’s wrong, Mother? Are you feeling unwell?"
Then he coldly scolded the servant, "Can’t you see my mother has returned? We’re not going."
The two servants in black exchanged glances. One of them, a servant with pockmarks on his face, hinted subtly, "But, Shizi, the Houye’s wife has already passed away. This one is likely an imposter."
Shen Yanxiu kicked the servant to the ground, his tone fierce, "You’re asking for death, daring to curse my mother!"
The two servants hurriedly knelt and begged for forgiveness, "We deserve to die, Shizi. Please spare us."
Shen Yanxiu flicked his sleeve and snorted, "I’m in a good mood today. Each of you will receive fifty hard slaps."
"Thank you, Shizi."
After kowtowing in gratitude, the two servants in black began forcefully slapping each other.
Meng Nanzhi frowned. It seemed straightening out her eldest son would require some effort.
As she pondered this, a servant came running from the far end of the street, panting heavily and shouting from a distance, "Shizi, wait for me!"
Shen Yanxiu hurriedly pushed Meng Nanzhi into the carriage, "Mother, let’s go."
Such urgency clearly meant something was amiss.
Meng Nanzhi smiled, "Isn’t someone calling you? Let’s wait a moment."
Before the person even reached them, his voice of persuasion could be heard, "Shizi, don’t go to the Ming residence. Houye said…"
When he caught sight of Meng Nanzhi beside Shen Yanxiu, his voice suddenly faltered as if he had seen a ghost, stammering, "Hou… Houye’s wife?"
It was Guanqi, the study companion Meng Nanzhi had personally chosen for Shen Yanxiu when he was three years old.
Three years older than Shen Yanxiu, he had a clearer memory of Meng Nanzhi.
Meng Nanzhi looked at Shen Yanxiu, who awkwardly rubbed his nose.
It was because Guanqi would report everything to his father whenever something happened, causing him to be constantly under his father’s control.
Meng Nanzhi asked, "What did Houye say?"
"This humble servant greets Houye’s wife and pays respects."
Guanqi quickly bowed, hesitating for a moment before saying, "Houye… Houye said that if Shizi breaks off the engagement today, he will immediately go to the palace and beg His Majesty to strip Shizi of his title, demote him to a commoner, and send him to Bei Rong."
Shen Yanxiu was indeed furious, "Let him go! I don’t care for his title!"
Meng Nanzhi: "How dare he?!"
Shen Yanxiu: ?
This Marquis Zhenbei, knowing full well that his son was in the critical rebellious phase of adolescence, instead of helping to solve the actual problem, used such threats to add fuel to the fire, forcing his son to irrationally break off the engagement.
What a clever scheme!
Meng Nanzhi snorted coldly, not sparing Guanqi another glance, and pulled Shen Yanxiu into the carriage.
As the carriage began to move, Guanqi hurriedly followed a few steps, wanting to speak on behalf of Houye, but then mysteriously slapped himself and ran off in the opposite direction.
After sitting down, Shen Yanxiu noticed the damp clothes in the corner that his mother had worn on the day she drowned.
He still remembered when his mother put on this dress, asking him if it looked elegant.
He laughed and said it wasn’t nice, resembling funeral attire, and was slapped by his mother for it.
Thinking of this, Shen Yanxiu’s voice suddenly choked up, "Mother, you…"
Earlier, he had been too overwhelmed to think logically.
Could it really be true that his mother, who had drowned ten years ago, had suddenly reappeared?
Ten years ago, he had witnessed his mother fall into the lake with his own eyes. His father had dived in to rescue her, but the person he lifted out was someone else’s mother.
Just past his sixth birthday, he ignored everyone’s attempts to stop him and, small as he was, plunged into the lake dozens of times in an attempt to save his mother. In the end, his father slapped him unconscious and locked him inside the house.
Ten days later, his father finally released him, only to deliver the news that the lake had been drained, and his mother was nowhere to be found—neither alive nor dead.
If his father hadn’t saved that other woman first, his mother, who was an excellent swimmer, would never have drowned.
He cried day after day and resented his father year after year.
From that day on, a rift had grown between him and his father.
Meng Nanzhi offered the explanation she had prepared long ago: “After I fell into the water that day, I lost consciousness. Someone rescued me, but when I woke up, I had lost my memory. It was only recently that I regained some of my memories, which is how I managed to find your grandfather.”
Shen Yanxiu nodded, wanting to ask why his mother looked exactly the same as she had ten years ago but not daring to voice the question.
Meng Nanzhi knew that her unchanged appearance would inevitably raise suspicions sooner or later. For now, she could only pretend not to notice what her son was thinking and instead asked, “Xiu'er, do you want to call off the engagement?”
Shen Yanxiu clenched his fingers.
Meng Nanzhi recognized this as his habit when he was worried and contemplating whether to speak, so she let him think.
Shen Yanxiu took a deep breath and said, “Yes, Mother. I wish to break off the engagement with Miss Ming.”
He had no feelings for Miss Ming, and besides, his heart now belonged to someone else.
Meng Nanzhi nodded and turned to her father. “Father, has something happened to the Ming Family? I just heard Xiu'er mention something about treason and colluding with the enemy.”
Before her drowning, the Ming Family had been a prosperous military household. Although she had learned about her family’s lives through the Giant Screen, the details were hazy, and she didn’t know exactly what had happened to the Ming Family.
Meng Zhengde sighed as he recalled the past. “It all goes back to the Battle of Yongcheng against Bei Rong ten years ago. After your death, rumors spread in the military that the deaths of twenty thousand Da Yan soldiers were caused by General Ming colluding with the enemy.”
“Although General Ming died to prove his innocence, and Tu Rong General Xie Guizhou strongly defended his innocence, the public still believes General Ming was a traitor.”
Meng Nanzhi asked with some confusion, “Xie Guizhou? That slender young man from back then?”
Meng Zhengde nodded. “Yes, Tu Rong General is Xie Guizhou, also known as the young State Uncle. You’ve met him before. Over the past ten years, during the wars between Da Yan and Bei Rong, it was thanks to his exceptional leadership that we pushed Bei Rong back step by step. Now, we’ve even recaptured several cities north of Yongcheng.”
Meng Nanzhi remembered him. When her father, as the Grand Tutor, taught the princes, Xie Guizhou often sat in the corner—slender and quiet. She never imagined he would become the renowned Tu Rong General, famous throughout the land.
Meng Nanzhi said to her eldest son, “Since there is no evidence that General Ming colluded with the enemy, and Tu Rong General has strongly defended his innocence, how can you use treason as grounds to break off the engagement? Do you understand your position?”
Shen Yanxiu remained silent, his tightly pressed lips betraying his stubbornness.
Meng Nanzhi sighed. She knew her son well—he was not a heartless person.
At six years old, a child’s values are just beginning to form. Yet, because of her drowning, he had grown distant from his father.
Coupled with the influence of ill-intentioned individuals, it was no wonder he had strayed further and further off the right path.
Fortunately, the story was only halfway through.
Now that she had returned, she would personally raise and guide her three children back onto the right path.
Meng Nanzhi patted the back of his hand. "You are a scion of a noble family, and your every word and action represent the dignity of the Marquis's Mansion. If you break off the engagement on grounds of treason, what will the common people think? That the Ming Family is indeed guilty of treason? What will His Majesty think? Do you have evidence of the Ming Family's treason? If not, that would be slandering a deceased court official."
On the Giant Screen, Shen Yanxiu had lost His Majesty's favor precisely because of this.
Shen Yanxiu understood, a flicker of guilt flashing in his eyes. He opened his mouth slightly, lowered his gaze, and said, "I was wrong."
After his mother passed away, his father had either beaten or scolded him, and even took a ping wife. When had his father ever taken the time to explain such reasoning to him with care?
Now, he vaguely understood and would not make the same mistake again.
Seeing that he truly recognized his error, Meng Nanzhi comforted him, "Besides, this marriage was originally arranged by your grandfather. The betrothal documents have been formally exchanged—how could it be broken off so easily? As a junior, if you rashly propose breaking the engagement, people will only say you are young and reckless, lacking propriety."
"If you truly feel something is unsuitable, it should be your father and I who step forward. The elders should sit down and discuss it properly—either find a suitable reason or offer some compensation—but we must preserve everyone's dignity. Just stay calm and leave this matter to me. Don’t dwell on it yourself."
During his rebellious phase, she couldn’t oppose him directly. First, she needed to soothe his mind by going along with him, then gradually correct his thinking.
"Yes, Mother. I have learned my lesson."
Shen Yanxiu bowed his head, his eyes reddening. It felt so good to have a mother protecting him.