Chapter 302 - Do you have a big grudge?
Chapter 302 - Do you have a big grudge?
Chapter 302 Do you have a big grudge?
The note with Run Xiang’s death scene and her last words fell off from a window when He Danggui opened it to call Chan Yi to bring her some porridge. She didn’t know who put it there, nor did she know the person’s intention. However, she was deeply sad for Run Xiang and intended to seek justice for her.
She heard that Run Xiang was an orphan and had a bad relationship with other servants and maids. Run Xiang’s lover, Zhang Xian, was the only one close to Run Xiang. He Danggui wondered who sent her the note. Did the person want to redress an injustice for Run Xiang or set up her?
He Danggui was still confused, but it was not important anymore. Anyway, Sun Meiniang’s life was almost over. Even if she could survive, in the long years to come, except for the water well in Bitter Bamboo Grove, she couldn’t go anywhere. Without Sun Meiniang’s protection, Luo Baiqiong would soon meet her sad fate. That would be exciting!
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The constant sounds had made He Danggui happy enough. For the sounds, she had rushed over here from another time and space three years ago. Now, her long-cherished wish was fulfilled. She just felt that she had nothing to worry about even if she left the Luo’s Family right away.
“Crack!” A corner of the bed collapsed. A servant immediately rushed out to repair it.
That servant was very old with incense ashes on his face. He Danggui made that face this morning. She frowned and asked in a low voice, “Ma San, what the hell are you doing here? Why did you break my bed?”
Meng Ying cushioned the foot of the bed with a brick and muttered, “Isn’t this too much? Do you have a big grudgeagainst her?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Hey! She’s a pregnant woman and your aunt.” Meng Ying, of course, did not believe that He Danggui’s words. He persuaded, “I don’t like this woman as well, but you have done too much. I’ve never seen a crueler method than yours! Maybe you should stop now?” He raised his face to look at her.
He Danggui had to get out from the joyful mood and looked at Meng Ying’s charming eyes. She said word by word, “She deserves this. The punishment even doesn’t match her evil-doings. If you don’t like it, just leave here.”
Meng Ying gritted his teeth, “I’m doing this for you. I’m afraid that you take the wrong path and have no way back.”
He Danggui said coldly, “Childe Meng, I don’t know why you insist on staying at Luo’s Mansion, nor do I understand how you are like a woman who likes gossiping. However, if you want to restore your beautiful face, don’t get in the way of my plan. The great show is only halfway through.”
Meng Ying stared at He Danggui’s eyes and blurted out, “You are a ruthless woman.”
“Go away! I won’t say it a third time.” He Danggui said impatiently.
Meng Ying said angrily, “How would Duan Xiaolou love you? Even Luo Baiqiong is better than you! He Danggui, I will tell him what you have done to reveal your true face!”
He Danggui’s face changed sharply as she heard it. She immediately rushed out and rolled her eyes on Meng Ying. Then, she walked through the side door and got to the small woods behind the ancestral hall. Meng Ying also followed her regardless of the “show” in the hall. In the end, they stopped in the woods. There was no one else around.
He Danggui suddenly turned around and looked at Meng Ying. She asked, “Did Meng Xuan really send you to protect me? When was the last time you saw Duan Xiaolou? In the capital? Or Yangzhou City?”
Meng Ying judged her emotional eyes and the heaving of her chest, and then he came to his conclusion, “When I mentioned Master Duan, you suddenly changed your face. When I mentioned Brother Xuan, you were always calm. Besides, you treat me, Meng Xuan’s elder brother, so rudely. You don’t like Meng Xuan at all! Your love belongs to Master Duan.”
He Danggui avoided Meng Ying’s gaze and looked at a bare branch in the distance. She repeated, “Did Meng Xuan send you?”
Last night, Meng Ying insisted on staying in the Depositary of Buddhist Texts even at the expense of putting on the servant’s clothes. He Danggui felt a little weird. Why would Meng Xuan send the idiot Meng Ying to protect her?
The last time they met, she and Meng Ying had some conflicts. Meng Ying picked a hole in her and also believed that the abnormal behavior of Duan Xiaolou and Zhu Quan was caused by her. The second time they met, Meng Ying pulled Meng Xuan away impolitely and left her alone. After that, she didn’t have more contact with Meng Ying. They were almost two strangers. Therefore, how would Meng Xuan send Meng Ying here?
However, she thought of another explanation. Maybe Meng Xuan was worried about Zhu Quan who lived in Luo’s Mansion. So, he asked his brother to monitor her in case she would risk her life to spy on Zhu Quan. After all, no one would rescue her every time.
As a result, He Danggui kept him without much resistance. In the “one-year” long dream, she met the Meng Xuan from three years later and received his jade pendant and a letter. Since that, she had secretly made up her mind to keep her promise to Meng Xuan in the seventh stage of Qizhen Fantasy Dream. She would be nice to the current Meng Xuan, marry him and protect him. Since Meng Xuan had his arrangement, she should just obey his wishes. She had no need to bother him.
But now, Meng Ying suddenly mentioned Duan Xiaolou and said that he would tell Duan Xiaolou what she had done. Hadn’t Duan Xiaolou given up yet? Was he in Yangzhou City? Did Meng Ying meet him? Or, the person who wanted to know her information was not Meng Xuan but Duan Xiaolou?
That was a possible assumption! Last night, those three people thought that she was a “pregnant woman.” After seeing the red spots on her face, Zhu Quan ran away immediately in disgust. Zhu Quan’s friend Chang Nuo couldn’t understand Zhu Quan’s thoughts and was afraid that Zhu Quan would regret it afterward. So, he stayed and comforted her. He said that Zhu Quan would be responsible before he left.
However, Meng Ying’s attitude was the strangest. He didn’t even ask a single question, nor did he care if she was really pregnant or who was the father. He used Meng Xuan as an excuse to stay here for a night. Wouldn’t a qualified brother identify whether she was a virgin for Meng’s Family? Or, Meng Ying did not intend to let his brother marry her at all. Instead, he was entrusted by others to do something by her side?
Under He Danggui’s suspicious gaze, Meng Ying stroked his gray beard and said, “Yes! Before Brother Xuan left yesterday afternoon, he did ask me to stay here to take care of you. If Lord Ning proposes a marriage, I will try to sabotage it. However, before that, I was commissioned by Master Duan. He begged me to see if you are doing well now and if you like any other man.”
Now, He Danggui had heard the truth, but she was at a loss.
Was she doing well?
…Fine.
Did she like any other man?
…No for now. However, she was working hard to love Meng Xuan and planned to marry him.
The last time when she parted with Bai Yangbai, he told her that he had peeped at the official document of the imperial guard at their stronghold in Yangzhou City. The document said that Duan Xiaolou was about to go to Yangzhou City on the 10th of January. It was January 4th. Was Duan Xiaolou already here? After hearing about Duan Xiaolou’s misfortune, she planned in her heart to compensate Duan Xiaolou and help him avoid the trap from his boss, Geng Bingxiu. If possible, she would love to help him do something more. However, would he accept this compensation? Did he hate her very much?
Looking at He Danggui, who was not as calm as usual but pretended to be cool, Meng Ying opened his mouth in surprise, “I knew it! You really like Master Duan!”
He Danggui wanted to refute, but she felt that it was unnecessary. Did her guilt towards Duan Xiaolou plus the crush on him three years ago equal love? In fact, it was a stronger and more complicated emotion than love. She couldn’t say it to a stranger. To be more specific, she once loved Duan Xiaolou.
He Danggui asked bitterly, “How is he doing?”
Meng Ying opened his fan and closed it immediately. After repeating the action several times, he asked reluctantly, “If you like him… why don’t you marry him?”
He Danggui was silent. To marry…Duan Xiaolou? Meng Xuan’s elder brother asked her to marry Duan Xiaolou?
Meng Ying fiddled with his funny pointed beard with the fan and said in a muffled voice, “Compared to Lord Ning, I have a better relationship with Master Duan. However, I have spent most of the time in the north in the past two years, and I have less contact with him. When I saw him again, he almost became another pathetic person. It was hard to imagine that he did that for a woman. When I first met him, he didn’t know what was love. He thought love was a game and didn’t give a shit to the women arranged by his mom…”
He Danggui listened to him in silence. In fact, she had already known that.
Meng Ying fanned himself and continued, “So, if you still like him, why not consider marrying him? I can help you tell him about your situation. Though you are pregnant and abandoned by Lord Ning, I guess he will immediately come here to marry you.”
Looking at He Danggui who was stunned, Meng Ying persuaded, “Miss He, it is never too late to become a good woman. If you do now, I will help you marry Master Duan.”