12dz Chapter 341 Towards the Golden Palace (45)
Chapter 341 Towards the Golden Palace (45)
After understanding the pros and cons, Cui Lan said admiringly, "Miss has considered everything very thoroughly."
Meng Zhenyue smiled and said, "This wasn't my idea."
It was Lady Cao who gave her the idea.
Although it was regrettable that the world could not know Xie Zhao's disgusting true colors, a little patience would bring her real benefits, making it a worthwhile deal for her.
As the master and servant were talking, Cheng Qingshuang's cries came from outside: "Get out of my way! You bunch of dog slaves! I'm going to kill that vile woman who drove my son to his death! I'm going to make her pay for my Zhao'er's death!"
Then came the sounds of the old woman and servants trying to stop Cheng Qingshuang.
Ever since the news of Xie Zhao's death came back, Cheng Qingshuang has come to Meng Zhenyue's courtyard almost every day to make a scene, hurling all sorts of foul language and insults at her to the best of her ability.
Even though Meng Zhenyue tried her best to tell herself not to take it to heart, she was still annoyed by the noisy voice.
She got up from the bed: "Let's go, let's go see her."
Once inside the courtyard, Meng Zhenyue gestured to the old woman and servants to let Cheng Qingshuang in.
Cheng Qingshuang immediately rushed into the courtyard and lunged at Meng Zhenyue with a ferocious expression.
"I'm going to kill you, you vicious, venomous woman!!!"
Meng Zhenyue neither dodged nor flinched, standing still. As soon as Cheng Qingshuang got close, she raised her hand and slapped her across the face.
Cheng Qingshuang had been unable to eat or sleep well these days, and the grief of losing her son in middle age had made her extremely thin. Meng Zhenyue's slap knocked her to the ground.
Cheng Qingshuang fell to the ground in a disheveled state, quickly turned her head, looked at Meng Zhenyue who was high above her, her eyes filled with resentment and venom, and she made a move to rush up and beat her to death.
But as soon as she got up, Meng Zhenyue said lazily, "If you keep biting people like a mad dog, I'll kill you right now."
Cheng Qingshuang paused, then went even more frantic, screaming hoarsely at her, "Come on! Kill me! Zhao'er is dead, my support is gone, and I don't want to live anymore anyway. Even if I die, I'll take you down with me! I'll die in your courtyard today, and I'll see how you explain yourself to the world! I don't believe you can hide the real cause of Zhao'er's death and deceive everyone about your murder of your mother-in-law!"
Meng Zhenyue sneered: "What will happen to Xie Zhaolin and Xie Wanfang if you die?"
Cheng Qingshuang was stunned. All her grief and resentment seemed to be paused, and her expression froze on her face.
"Xie Zhao also wants my life, but even he can't kill me. What makes you think you can?" Meng Zhenyue said. "If you dare to shout for help again, I won't mind sending you to meet Xie Zhao. But once you're dead, do you think I'll willingly support those two ingrates, Xie Zhaolin and Xie Wanfang?"
Cheng Qingshuang: "..."
“You have to live well.” Meng Zhenyue approached her, her eyes full of mockery. “Otherwise, Xie Zhao’s last bloodline in this world will also perish in my hands. At that time, he will really have nothing left.”
Cheng Qingshuang stared intently at her, her eyes filled with such resentment that they seemed to bleed.
"Meng Zhenyue, you will die a horrible death!!! I curse your entire family to die a violent death, and your whole clan to be wiped out! May all the men of your Meng family meet a terrible end, and may the women of your Meng family be prostitutes for generations to come..."
Before she could finish speaking, two observant old women stepped forward, pressed her down, and gagged her with a rag.
Meng Zhenyue turned away from Cheng Qingshuang and ordered, "Drag her away and keep a close eye on her. She is not allowed to leave the courtyard. If any guests visit, tell them that your mother-in-law is heartbroken and has fallen ill. She is bedridden and should not see guests."
The two old women responded and roughly dragged Cheng Qingshuang away.
-
Three months after Xie Zhao's death, news spread from the Xie family that Cheng Qing Shuang, unable to bear the blow of Xie Zhao's untimely death, had gone mad and accidentally fell into the pond in the backyard of the Xie family in the middle of the night, drowning.
Upon learning of this, Yan Zhen sighed softly and instructed the head steward to send a sum of money to the Xie family in the name of Meng Zhenyue's friend.
The housekeeper attended Cheng Qingshuang's funeral on her behalf and brought back news—Xie Zhaolin and Xie Wanfang had passed away.
Meng Zhenyue claimed that the Xie family couldn't bear to see her, a widow, struggling to raise two children, and they were also worried that the children would be mistreated if Meng Zhenyue remarried in the future, so they took the brother and sister back to Ningzhou to raise them.
“Those two children ran away secretly,” said the manager.
Xie Zhaolin and Xie Wanfang witnessed the tragic drowning of Cheng Qingshuang and knew that they had no support in the Xie family anymore. If they continued to stay, they might follow in the footsteps of Xie Zhao and Cheng Qingshuang and die at the hands of this ruthless foster mother.
In order to survive, the brother and sister packed up their valuables and secretly ran away on their way to school.
Meng Zhenyue only knew that the two had fled southwest, but she didn't know exactly where they went, nor did she send anyone to inquire.
The manager hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Manager, should we send someone to look for them?"
"Looking for them? Why are you looking for them?" Yan Zhen was playing chess with A Bao in the flower hall when he heard this and asked in surprise, "From the moment they conspired with Xie Zhaocheng and Qing Shuang to kill me, my mother-son relationship with them was severed."
People often say that kinship is a bond etched in one's bones and blood, which can never be severed.
Even Meng Zhenyue couldn't resist the temptation, so she had the head steward bring back news of Xie Zhaolin and Xie Wanfang's escape and even pointed out the direction for her.
But Yan Zhen doesn't think so.
She has always abhorred moral and familial blackmail, let alone compromising on it.
As an accomplice in the death of the original owner, she was already merciful by not holding Xie Zhaolin and Xie Wanfang accountable, considering they were just children.
Find them and treat them well, then use gentle persuasion to win them back and mend the old relationship...
impossible!
It is absolutely impossible.
The butler immediately understood: "I get it."
Yan Zhen put down the chess piece in his hand, walked out of the flower hall, and the early winter sun shone on the entire courtyard, warming him.
She felt the task on her wrist complete, the wound healing with a warm, comforting sensation, and closed her eyes to take a deep breath.
What a nice weather today.
-
Yan Zhen stayed in this world until he was sixty years old.
She spends half of her time each year dealing with business, and the other half either traveling all over the country or staying at home to rest and recuperate.
Over the decades, "Cao Ji's" business has grown bigger and bigger, and the Cao family has become the most unshakable top-level power and wealth family in Da Ji - the wealth comes from the Cao family's increasingly prosperous business, and the power comes from Xue Lin.
Xue Lin steadily climbed the ranks in the court, entering the cabinet at the age of thirty-one and becoming the prime minister, a truly powerful minister.
To outsiders, Xue Lin and Cao He were a married couple, one a businessman and the other a wielder of power, a perfect match of two strong individuals, even the current emperor had to give them some face.
However, Cao He had been childless for many years, and Xue Lin was already in his thirties with no children. Some people then set their sights on him and tried to persuade him to take a concubine.