Chapter 7: Standing Out

The last shred of sanity remaining in her mind collapsed completely at that moment.

Fortunately, when Meng Renping heard Li Shou call Meng Liangchen "cousin," a flicker of doubt surfaced in his heart, and his peripheral vision instinctively drifted toward Meng Meijing. Just as she opened her mouth to scream and bitterly shout that she was the one who was His Highness's cousin, he acted swiftly and covered her mouth.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph..."

That was close.

Meng Renping gave an awkward smile. "Responding to Your Highness, this is indeed Liangchen. Liangchen, hurry and pay your respects to the Crown Prince."

"Liangchen greets Your Highness," Meng Shisan said, following the lead and performing a proper formal salute.

Li Shou had never liked Meng Meijing, and he liked her even less now. Seeing that Meng Renping was tactful enough to silence her beforehand, he felt quite satisfied. "Rise."

He then looked at the large wooden bucket that Baozhu had been clutching tightly from beginning to end. "Does my eldest cousin intend to carry that back to her courtyard to raise it herself?"

"No, I want to eat it," Meng Shisan replied honestly.

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Meng Renping looking at her with a look of bewilderment. She followed up with even more honesty: "I'm hungry."

That evening, Meng Zhinian was summoned to the main house by Old Madam Meng and lectured for a full half-hour. Lady Wu was also punished, forced to kneel in the Buddhist hall of the Changchun Courtyard for an entire night. Even Lady Shang, who managed the household affairs, was implicated, forced to stand in the main house under Old Madam Meng's grim expression for half an hour.

Only Meng Zhidu, the Vice Minister of the Left in the Ministry of Revenue, escaped punishment.

During lunch, Baozhu and Jinyin feasted on various delicacies prepared from the large golden carp. Although they were cooked using the small red stoves from the Taichen Courtyard, Jinyin's culinary skills were well-trained; she simply made up for the lack of specialized equipment with sheer creativity.

The result was delightful.

The master and her two servants all ate until they were round and full.

By dinnertime, the three of them experienced an unprecedented, fresh, and sumptuous meal.

This was because, starting from the moment Meng Shisan told Li Shou to his face that she was hungry, Li Shou had personally sought out her grandmother, Old Madam Meng, to speak with her. Subsequently, from the masters down to the servants, a profound and silent transformation had taken place throughout the entire Meng household.

Although Meng Zhidu was not in the manor, he was not the last to know.

As the eldest legitimate son of the Meng family and currently the second-in-command of the Ministry of Revenue, if Empress Meng had brought glory to the family, then his responsibility was to ensure that glory continued.

And the most important, core figure in continuing that glory was his nephew, the Crown Prince.

The Empress's elder sister had passed away early, and his father was growing old. Once his father could no longer control the Ministry of Personnel, the Meng family's influence would inevitably decline significantly.

If his political rivals did not occupy the position of the Heavenly Official, it might be manageable; but if that position unfortunately fell into the hands of a political enemy, the Meng family's influence in officialdom would surely face a massive purge.

At that time, he might find himself unable to hold up the family alone.

He had originally hoped his second brother could join him in the officialdom so that once their father retired, the two brothers could support each other and uphold the Meng household together. Unfortunately, his second brother lacked ambition and was naturally muddled; even though he was now a father, he still lacked any sense of order in his affairs.

As the eldest brother, he had not forced the issue, thinking that since his brother's eldest legitimate son was now by the Prince's side—currently a confidant of the Eastern Palace and a future close minister to the Emperor—the Meng family would have enough support with those two as its pillars.

He never expected that while his second brother was incompetent in external affairs, the inner household had been allowed to run so wildly under Lady Wu!

When Meng Zhidu returned home from the office, the Heavenly Official Meng had also just arrived. After the father and son met in the outer study, he went straight to the main house in the inner courtyard.

Upon leaving the main house, he received a brief sentence from Old Madam Meng: "His Highness said that a grand clan of the imperial relatives must not be prone to extravagance, nor can they be mistreated."

He understood instantly.

His Highness was standing up for his second brother's eldest daughter!

Returning to the Zehui Courtyard, Lady Shang met him. "Did Mother reprimand you, my Lord?"

"You will personally oversee the Taichen Courtyard from now on," Meng Zhidu said as he sat down, took a sip of tea, and then followed it with two large gulps. Only when the cup was empty did the raging fire in his heart slightly subside. "Yaoyao's biological mother is gone, but she is still the eldest young lady of the Meng family. If Lady Wu cannot tolerate Yaoyao, can you, her aunt, not tolerate her either!"

Lady Shang was trembling with fear, her voice quivering. "I am wronged! For you to speak to me this way, my Lord... did Mother say something about me to you?"

"Mother did not mention you a single word, nor was there a need to." Meng Zhidu felt a sense of disappointment that even now, his wife still tried to deflect. He rebuked her coldly, "As the mistress of the Meng household, you should know Lady Wu is no clever woman. The fact that she could mistreat Yaoyao for ten whole years right under your nose—dare you say you bear no responsibility for that!"

Lady Shang stammered, trying to defend herself, but having been married for many years, she knew that if her husband spoke with such certainty, he must have grasped the truth.

What she could not fathom, however, was that today's incident had only just occurred. How could her husband know the full details the moment he returned from the office? If his mother hadn't said anything, could it have been his father?

Lady Shang understood Meng Zhidu, and Meng Zhidu understood Lady Shang just as well. One look at her expression told him exactly what she was thinking.

The reason he knew so quickly was that his eldest son had immediately sent someone to the office to inform him after the incident occurred.

He couldn't help but feel a silent sense of relief; fortunately, his eldest son took after him, knowing the weight of his responsibility as the legitimate heir of the Meng family, and never required him to worry too much.

As the fire in Meng Zhidu's heart subsided, he explained the situation to Lady Shang in detail. "Now that A-Ping is by His Highness's side, he understands His Highness's intentions best. Since A-Ping couldn't even wait for me to finish work to tell me this in person, it is clear that even A-Ping was startled by His Highness's sudden change in attitude."

And then there was his great-niece.

She hadn't said much, but when she did, it was earth-shattering.

Lady Shang nodded repeatedly. Although she did not understand much about court politics, she knew that the Crown Prince's attitude regarding matters of the Meng family's honor and disgrace was of paramount importance.

"If anything happens to Yaoyao in the future..."

"Do not worry, my Lord! From now on, Yaoyao is our own daughter!"

As long as His Highness's attitude leaned toward Meng Liangchen, the attitude of the entire Meng household would have to follow suit.

Lady Shang was not considered a brilliant woman, but she had one great virtue: she knew how to read the situation, how to bend and stretch, and how to listen to unpleasant truths.

Her husband was doing this for her good and for the prosperity of the entire Meng family; she understood this perfectly and naturally had to follow his lead.

***

Many things had happened outside the Taichen Courtyard, all of which concerned Meng Shisan.

Yet, from her grandparents down to her father and stepmother, not a single person came to disturb her.

She thought to herself that Li Shou was not only clever, able to see the whole from a single part, but also extremely reliable and thorough in his dealings.

"Miss, since His Highness treats you so differently, and since His Highness does not yet have a Crown Princess, could it be..." Ever since witnessing the different way Li Shou treated Meng Shisan, Baozhu had been overjoyed, thinking of how many happy marriages had been formed between cousins throughout history!

Although Jinyin was not present, after hearing Baozhu recount the scene, she was also both shocked and delighted, sharing the same suspicion as Baozhu. Her eyes shone with an incredible brightness as she looked at Meng Shisan.

Meng Shisan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It won't."

Li Shou was the heir apparent. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the supreme ruler of the realm.

And the Meng family could not produce another Empress.

(End of Chapter)