"Aunt, please listen to me explain. I didn't poison him. Cousin misunderstood," Jiang Yanli said, looking pleadingly at Madam Meng.
Within moments, Madam Meng understood everything. Though she lived a life of luxury now, she had accompanied Old Master Meng on his travels in her youth and had seen much of the world. She possessed a decisive and resolute nature. It was only when her son grew up and could manage things independently that she stepped back.
While she was very fond of Jiang Yanli, she loved her own son even more. Furthermore, she understood her son's character; he wouldn't say such things without reason. He must have gathered evidence.
Seeing his aunt and uncle unmoved, Jiang Yanli knew he would never be allowed back in after this. In a fit of desperation, he cried out, "I knew your previous claims of love were false. Compared to your own son, I am nothing. I should have seen through your true colors earlier. I was so touched before."
Madam Meng couldn't say she wasn't hurt. She had indeed treated him like her own child, even doting on him more because his parents had passed away when he was young. She never expected him to say such things.
"Are you saying the Meng family raising you was wrong? If I had known, we shouldn't have brought you here, letting the Jiang family swallow you whole. With so much property, do you think those people from the Jiang family would have let you live to grow up? You may leave. The moment you tried to poison me, you ceased to be my kin." Her own father had passed away early, leaving her as the sole heir of the Meng family. Madam Meng had raised her son herself. When he was little, he was very lonely, and Jiang Yanli was his only playmate. She was saddened by how he had turned out, but she knew she had to be strong. Since he was not worth it, it was best to cut ties decisively. Her mother, however, was different. She was old and could not endure too much emotional turmoil.
"You can, but you must return the Jiang family's property to me." He glared at them with hatred. They were the ones who had plundered the Jiang family's wealth to expand the Meng family, yet they dared to accuse him?
"Hasn't the Jiang family's property already been returned to you?" Madam Meng looked at him sadly, not understanding his words.
"Returned to me? I heard our Jiang family was a renowned merchant family in the region. How could we only have thirty thousand taels of assets? In just ten years, your Meng family, with a woman running the business, expanded from five shops to twenty? Those shops were clearly bought with the Jiang family's money." Bringing this up, Jiang Yanli felt indignant. He was an orphan, already pitiful enough, and now his closest aunt had conspired to seize the Jiang family's wealth.
"Did those old fools from the Jiang family tell you this? I didn't expect them to have contacted you long ago, and you kept it from me. It seems you've long considered us outsiders. Since we're speaking frankly, I won't hide it from you. At the time, some members of the Jiang family wanted to divide the family's assets. I led people to help you preserve the property. Think about how they live now. If the assets had fallen into their hands, would you have had any inheritance? Leave now and never appear before me again." Madam Meng, with a distraught expression, leaned on her maid's arm and left. Her once straight back was now bent, making her appear much older in an instant.
Meng Changqing didn't want to say more to him. He had been misled by the Jiang family. No matter what he said, Jiang Yanli wouldn't believe or listen. Only after suffering a loss would he recognize their true nature. He waved his hand, and the steward and servants quickly pulled Jiang Yanli away.
Seeing the passersby on the street casting curious glances, he angrily straightened his clothes. He spat a few times at the entrance of the Meng residence, glaring at the two characters "Meng Family" above the lintel with hatred. One day, he would reclaim everything that belonged to him.
Wu Caiwei wanted to leave this place, but not yet. After all, the Prefect's wife and the Prefect himself were still here. The original owner's revenge must be exacted.
"Madam, you're here." Huaiyi heard the sound of hooves and quickly came out with the child.
"Is the child behaving?" Wu Caiwei quickly took him over. The child immediately nuzzled her neck, nestling obediently in her arms.
"The young master is very well-behaved. Are we being a bit too risky doing this? If Master finds out, he'll definitely snatch him back." It turned out the reason she had readily agreed to the divorce and said nothing about the child was because she had made preparations. Coincidentally, Huaiyi's family had wanted to redeem her for a long time, but she hadn't agreed because she couldn't bear to leave the original owner.
Knowing the original owner wanted a divorce, Huaiyi had wanted to leave. Wu Caiwei, in front of everyone, expressed her sisterly affection for her and gave her two chests filled with various clothes and jewelry. Since she wouldn't be able to attend her wedding, this would serve as her dowry.
Amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, she left, looking back repeatedly. She boarded her own ox cart, left the city, and headed to a secluded spot. There, she impatiently opened the chests. They were indeed filled with many clothes, but lying in the middle was a sleeping infant, none other than the Meng family's young master.
To prevent the child from suffocating, many holes had been poked around the chest. No one had looked too closely. Even if they had noticed something and felt curious, they hadn't dared to speak.
This was thanks to the original owner who, while collecting rent in the countryside, had encountered a child who strongly resembled her son. Knowing he was over a year old and parentless, surviving on the alms of the villagers, the original owner's heart had softened, and she gave him a place to stay. The child was extremely grateful, and even after the original owner's death, he would visit her grave every year to pay respects.
Since she was leaving anyway and couldn't leave the child behind, she had decided to take him away in front of everyone, letting the villagers know he had lived a life of affluence. During these five days, she had found an excuse to dismiss the wet nurse. As long as there was no familiar person around, most people wouldn't be able to distinguish children. Regardless, since Meng Changqing was still alive, his first child would surely be well-taught, and it wouldn't be a disgrace to the child.
"Don't worry, he won't find out. Let's talk about you. What are your plans for the future?" This was a good girl. In the original owner's life, by the time she couldn't bear it any longer, she had discovered Huaiyi had an old flame in the village who had been waiting for her. Initially, Zhou Shaoqiu thought that after waiting for her for so many years, the man would be a good match. Knowing him from the same village, she had given him a substantial dowry to ensure she married with fanfare.
The next time she saw Huaiyi, she was skin and bones. It turned out her old flame was no gentleman. The reason he had waited for her all these years was because he knew she worked in a wealthy family and had a lot of money, hoping to improve his own living conditions once she married him.
At first, those people had cajoled her. But seeing how shrewd she was and unwilling to part with her money, they revealed their true colors, beating and kicking her. Her parents stepped forward to mediate, hoping their daughter would divorce and return home. However, the man drew a knife, threatening to kill her entire family if she didn't obey him.