mtl008 Chapter 11 Old grudges
Chapter 11 Old grudges
Chunlan knelt on the ground, her heart pounding with anxiety.
The room was quiet. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and spoke in a trembling voice, "Miss, I've done everything you asked. Can I... can I go back to Shaoguang Courtyard?"
Shen Jingshu leaned against the couch, flipping through a storybook, not even looking at her. It wasn't until Yaoqin came in and whispered in her ear that someone from the Cheng family had arrived that she looked up at Jinse and instructed, "Go and distract the old woman watching Xie Wanqing, so she doesn't notice anything amiss."
Then he said to Chunlan, "Go and tell her that someone from the Cheng family has arrived."
Chunlan hurriedly got up and rushed to Xie Wanqing's place.
Cheng Wenhao has been making a big fuss about his one-night stand with Miss Xie Wanqing from the Pingyang Marquis's mansion these past few days, making Xie Wanqing the latest topic of conversation among the people.
She wanted to find Fu Zijin, but Song Wan sent people to watch over her, and Fu Zijin never set foot in the Marquis's mansion again.
Xie Wanqing waited and waited, but instead the Cheng family arrived.
At first, Madam Bai, the eldest wife of the Cheng family, had no intention of getting involved in her youngest son's shameful and disgraceful affair.
In Bai's view, her son was a womanizer who had caused countless romantic entanglements. In the past, she had turned a blind eye to it, but this time, he had provoked the Marquis of Pingyang's family, which was a completely different matter.
Although the Cheng family were imperial merchants, in reality, they were just ordinary merchants.
Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—their social standing was vastly different, and they were people you couldn't afford to offend.
Fortunately, when women encounter such scandalous and ambiguous situations, most of them will choose to keep quiet and swallow the bitter pill for the sake of their reputation, and will never make a big fuss about it.
Who would have thought that Bai's wishful thinking, which was going so well, would be completely ruined by this good-for-nothing son?
She entered the Marquis's residence with a group of maids and servants, presenting her visiting card, followed by Cheng Wenhao with a gloomy face.
Upon seeing Song Wan, Madam Bai put on a fake smile, curtsied, and said, "Madam, I am truly sorry. My good-for-nothing son has caused great trouble for the household. I have brought him here today to apologize."
Song Wan sat in the main seat, picked up her teacup, took a small sip, her face as calm as still water, and said slowly, "Although Wanqing is only a cousin of the Marquis of Pingyang, she was raised with the utmost care by me and the Marquis. Regardless of the truth of the matter, just the fact that Young Master Cheng has been spreading rumors about it outside, how can a simple apology suffice?"
Bai's heart skipped a beat, and the smile on her face almost disappeared. She quickly pulled Cheng Wenhao and scolded, "Hurry up and kowtow to the Lady of the Marquis to apologize!"
Cheng Wenhao, looking unwilling, knelt down with a grumble and gave a perfunctory kowtow.
Seeing this, Song Wan sneered, "Young Master Cheng, there's no need to force yourself like this."
Cheng Wenhao looked up, his neck stiff, and replied, "I wasn't lying. It was indeed with her that day..."
Before he could finish speaking, Bai slapped him on the back of the head and snapped, "Shut up! Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"
She hurriedly said, "Madam Hou, things have come to this point, and our Cheng family knows we are ashamed. My good-for-nothing son has behaved improperly, but I think that if he can marry Miss Wanqing as his principal wife, it will be to give her an explanation. I will definitely treat her well in the future and never let her suffer the slightest grievance."
Before Cheng Wenhao could retort, Xie Wanqing had already rushed into the hall.
She ran straight to the crowd, knelt down with a thud, and sobbed uncontrollably, "Aunt, I love Fu Zijin, but now that I'm like this, I know there's no chance. I'd rather become a nun than marry into the Cheng family!"
Upon hearing this, Bai's face immediately darkened.
Cheng Wenhao was even more delighted. Fu Zijin? An old acquaintance!
"Fine, you like him? What were you thinking when you were climbing into his bed? You don't want to marry him, but I'm willing to?"
Although he came from a merchant family, he was extremely concerned with his image, had little formal education, and preferred to feign refinement.
At the Qionglun Poetry Gathering, Fu Zijin's poems and lyrics were exceptionally well-written, with many clever lines, attracting everyone's attention and receiving endless praise, making him the center of attention. However, after struggling for a long time, the poem he recited was riddled with tones and words that failed to express his meaning. The audience was stunned at first, and then burst into laughter.
Fu Zijin chuckled and said directly, "I originally thought it was some child who was just starting out in poetry and was just making things up, but I never expected it to be one of your masterpieces, Young Master Cheng."
As soon as he said this, the people around him laughed even harder. He lost face in front of everyone and was laughed at for a long time.
Young Master Cheng had never been treated like this before, and from then on, he regarded Fu Zijin as a thorn in his side.
Seeing that Xie Wanqing would rather reveal her true feelings to outsiders than marry him, Cheng Wenhao simply used her as an outlet for his frustrations.
He mocked in a strange voice, "Look at your own situation now. You've lost your innocence, and you're still thinking about Fu Zijin! What kind of person is Young Master Fu? Why would he want a woman like you who has lost her innocence? You might as well marry me, and maybe you'll have something to eat in the future."
Song Wan slammed her hand on the table and stood up, pointing at Cheng Wenhao and angrily shouting, "How dare you! You scoundrel, how dare you speak so arrogantly in my Marquis's mansion and humiliate my young lady? Do you really think my Pingyang Marquis's mansion is easy to bully? Guards, throw this Cheng family mother and son out of here, and don't let them set foot in the Marquis's mansion again!"
Upon hearing the commotion, the servants of the Marquis's mansion rushed forward, grabbed Cheng Wenhao and Bai Shi, and dragged them outside.
Bai was terrified and struggled while begging for mercy: "Madam, please calm down. My son is ignorant. Please have mercy..."
Song Wan ignored him completely. Cheng Wenhao wanted to shout a few more words, but the servants covered his mouth. In a short while, the two of them were kicked out of the mansion in a sorry state.
Shen Yuanzhou crouched under the window, listening to everything that was happening inside.
He suppressed a laugh, tiptoed to his feet, and jogged towards Shaoguang Courtyard.
Upon entering Shaoguang Courtyard, Shen Jingshu was leisurely pruning the flower branches.
He strode forward, grabbed Shen Jingshu's sleeve, and vividly recounted what he had just witnessed: "Sister, you didn't see it, did you? Cheng Wenhao was scolded so badly by Mother, and he even spouted nonsense. Mother was so angry that she ordered them to be kicked out!"
Shen Jingshu put down the scissors, took the handkerchief Yaoqin handed her, wiped her hands, and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips. "Just you wait and see, this matter won't end so easily. Xie Wanqing will definitely become Mrs. Cheng."
Shen Yuanzhou blinked, his face full of doubt. "Sister, why do you say that? Cheng Wenhao is so unwilling, and Cousin Wanqing is determined to refuse. How can this possibly work out?"
Shen Jingshu chuckled and nodded at his head. "You're still young, so you don't understand."
Shen Yuanzhou then asked, "What if they absolutely refuse?"
"They have no choice."
Shen Jingshu picked up the scissors again and snipped off the most beautiful peony.
"Once something starts, it can only go on along the established path, and no one can easily get away from it."