Chapter 194: The Stingy Family >

if you can."Gu Jingxi said lightly, "First take the person back to the cell and interrogate him thoroughly. I have some private matters to attend to, and I'll return to Dali Temple tomorrow morning."H...However, Sun ultimately still felt disappointed.

Meng Dongyuan directly ignored what she had just said, only hearing her question and immediately launching into a complaint, her words laced with resentment: "Today I wanted to have a good talk with this son-in-law, but who knew he would, in front of all the other guests, discuss academics with the younger generation. He said it wouldn't disturb our elders chatting, but at his age, what academic discussions could he possibly have with those kids in their teens I think he's deliberately avoiding me."

“And that rebellious daughter, she only gave me a summer outfit, claiming it was handmade. The fabric is decent, but the color is too dull, something a man in his forties and fifties would wear. I suspect she just bought a random set from a clothing store to get rid of me. There's no sincerity at all, not even buying something suitable for my age.”

“By the way, Gu Jingxi sent me a set of tea ware. I thought it was some precious object, but it turned out to be ordinary tea ware. It's just exquisite. Gu Xiuming is the same. He only gave me a pair of paintings of longevity written by himself. Their birthday gifts are not as good as other guests'. A dignified Marquis' Mansion sent this kind of thing. They were as stingy as giving alms to beggars. Fortunately, I was foresighted and didn't show it to my relatives and friends.”

"You're saying they just don't see me at all, that's why they treat me like this"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun's face grew complex, and she felt choked up inside. She hadn't expected her husband to only care about whether she was happy, completely disregarding her current health.

However, it's no surprise that the Meng family is so stingy. She didn't send any expensive gifts because she didn't want them to make a fortune off of her. These three birthday presents are also flawless. If they, as elders, went out and talked about it, others would ridicule them for being greedy.

Meng Dongyuan whispered angrily, "What an unfilial daughter! I raised her for so long, and after marrying into a good family, she doesn't even respect her father. The whole family is stingy, deliberately belittling me. They truly aren't kin, not fit to be under the same roof!"

Though Sun felt her husband's words were reasonable, she wasn't happy with his lack of attention towards her lately. She didn't want to please him and decided not to go along with his wishes. Instead, she said, "My dear husband, don't be angry. A gift from your child is more valuable than its price. As parents, how could we possibly dislike it And besides, what your son-in-law said is also true. He's a younger generation and should spend time with his peers."

Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan was taken aback. While it didn't seem entirely wrong at first glance, it sounded incredibly harsh to his ears. He retorted angrily, “Wife, are you siding with me or with them”

Mrs. Sun said softly, "My husband, I'm naturally helping you. Why get angry with them They are juniors. We elders should be more generous and not mind too much about them. Ayao is still young and will understand later."

Meng Dongyuan, hearing this, felt a tightness in his chest, as if he couldn't exhale. Looking at Mrs. Sun's face, which had aged considerably, with wrinkles around her eyes, sunken eye sockets that were the color of crow feathers, and a pale complexion that even rouge couldn't mask, he sensed an oppressive atmosphere. He couldn't fathom what she had done to be haunted by such a spirit.

He said softly, "Madam, you look very tired. Rest well. I have something else to attend to."

He left without waiting for Sun's response.

Sun Shi saw him leave like that, and she felt very resentful in her heart. She couldn't help but complain to Qiao Mama: "You said how could I have fallen for him in the first place And even...for him..."

She stopped mid-sentence, realizing the truth. The less people who knew about Zhou's death, the better. Even though Grandma Qiao was trustworthy, she couldn't bring it up herself. Instead, she said, "If I had known this would happen, I should have listened to my father. At first, I thought marrying him was a good idea, but in the end, I still couldn't escape the fate of fading beauty and waning love."

Before she got married, her father said that Meng Dongyuan was mediocre and wouldn't achieve much in life. He only had one title to his name. The young man her father had chosen for her was a second-place scholar, only ranked below the top scholar, and was already serving in the capital. He had a bright future ahead of him.

Unfortunately, she only had eyes for Meng Dongyuan. After Zhou's death, she married Meng Dongyuan as his secondary wife. Now, over ten years have passed. The former top scholar is now a fourth-rank official, while Meng Dongyuan only holds an insignificant post. Truly, he only has one title that stands out.

She reckoned that Zhou's father had chosen this marriage for her daughter with the intention of protecting her. Since Zhou wouldn't have siblings to support her, marrying into a powerful family might lead to oppression. Therefore, he chose a more ordinary husband, but one with a noble title. At least he was a member of the aristocracy, and even if they fell into poverty, they would still be considered noble. The Zhou family had also given Zhou a generous dowry, ensuring she would live a comfortable life.

When Grandma Qiao heard the regret in her voice, she didn't know how to judge for a moment and could only comfort her: "Madam, both the second daughter and the young master are so grown up. You should look forward. When the second daughter marries a good family, and the young master has a promising future, everything will be fine. Even if the concubine is favored by Master again, she's just a concubine who can't get on the stage. If you don't want them to give birth to children to make things difficult for you, let them drink abortion soup."

Mrs. Sun also knew this was the reason, but she just couldn't accept it. Ever since she started seeing ghosts, her husband's attitude towards her had clearly changed. He used to be so nice to her before. But after thinking about it carefully, she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed like after she lost her dowry, her husband didn't seem to care for her as much anymore.

"Grandma Qiao changed the subject: “Madam, you just said that you were going to the temple to get a talisman to ward off evil spirits. I think Lingyun Temple is pretty good. I just don't know when Madam plans to go”

Mrs. Sun thought for a moment and set the date: "Two days later will do, two days later it's the fifteenth day of the lunar month. Going to the temple to burn incense is just right, and we can stay there for two days. I don't believe that Lady Du's vengeful spirit could even go to the temple to cause trouble."

Grandma Joe's eyes flashed, and she replied respectfully: "Then this servant will inform them later and arrange for the travel arrangements in two days. You've been busy all day, why don't you take a nap first This servant will call you when it's time for dinner."

"Don't call me, let me have a good nap."

Having said her piece, Sun stood up, turned and went into the inner room to change into her nightclothes. She was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as she lay down.

When Grandma saw that she had fallen asleep, she left the room.

In the evening, as darkness fell completely and lights flickered inside, it was late at night. All the servants had gone to rest, but Sun Shi hadn't woken up yet. She was still sleeping deeply and showed no signs of waking up in the near future.

Grandma Qiao was guarding the house. Seeing the young woman in white, with disheveled hair and a face so pale it was frightening, standing there expressionlessly, she felt a chill run down her spine. She swallowed nervously, hurried forward, and called out in a low voice: "Young Miss Chan".

Chan'er asked, "Grandma Qiao, is there something the matter"

Grandma Qiao lowered her voice and replied, "Miss Chan, madam will be going to Lingyun Temple in two days and staying there for another two days. You should tell the eldest Miss and see if she has any other plans during this time so that I can cooperate.

Chan'er nodded: “I will tell our mistress tomorrow. You can leave now.”, and his brow furrowed: "Madam, there's no need to come and bring me food next time. The Dali Temple has cooks who prepare decent meals."Meng Jinyao's smile faltered, her mood instantly plummeting to...