Chapter 34 There is no way
"In that case, official business is more important. It's hard for the third brother to stay in Beijing for such a long time. You should go and pack your things quickly. You can ask your eldest and second sisters-in-law for anything you need." Song said with forced happiness.
Liu liked to see Song like this. She wanted to be angry but didn't dare to. She had to coax her family. Humph, I'll let you be happy for a few more years. Sooner or later, the position of the wife of Marquis Huainan will be mine.
Liu stood up, bowed to Song, and turned around to leave the room with Meng Juan. Wang and Liu looked at each other, especially Wang. She was the wife of the prince, but she went ahead. This was too disrespectful of her. But she didn't dare to say it out loud, so she lowered her head and led the children out of the room.
"Are you sure your father is okay?" Song watched the children go out, took Mother Wu's hand, stood up and walked towards the couch.
Meng Yuan quickly supported Song's other hand, "Yes, Master Fang Zhi said that he has recovered very well, and my son chanted sutras with the master all night in Qingming Mountain yesterday."
"You are a filial person." Song leaned on the couch.
"This is what a son should do." Meng Yuan sat nearby and took the soft hammer handed to him by Mother Wu and gently tapped Song's right leg.
"I don't know what the third brother took your father to do at the Duke Zhong's Mansion?"
"Father didn't tell his son that my third brother went to father's study at noon, and then they went out, telling his son to come back later to have dinner with mother."
"Hmph, he definitely has no good intentions. He might be planning something bad." Song had no good feelings towards this illegitimate son.
"My son heard that the third son has been there several times in the past month since he came back, but the Duke has never met him alone."
"You two brothers are the same. Why are you both useless? You should at least put him above me. Fortunately, I have been in the West House during the time he has been back, otherwise Liu's behavior just now would have been unfair, as if she were the mother-in-law. Didn't you see that Wang hadn't left yet, but she left the house first? Tell them to get out quickly. They are really annoying." Song said gritting her teeth.
"I heard that they want to keep Sister Juan, but I don't know what arrangements are made for the third brother's wife."
"What? Why?" Song straightened her body slightly, then leaned back as if she had thought of something, "Yes, Sister Juan is already 15 this year. How can she find a good husband in the desolate northwest? She must want to find a good family in Beijing."
"Mother, father had a private conversation with his son about this matter."
"how to say?"
Meng Yuan looked at Song in embarrassment, "She said she wanted to find a good family for Sister Juan, similar to Sister Qi's."
"He's crazy. Sister Qi is going to marry into the Prince's Mansion. How dare she, the daughter of a bastard, dream of that?" This time, Song sat up straight with a look of disbelief on her face.
"I don't know the specific situation, but my father told me so. Maybe he will tell my mother the reason later."
"In that case, perhaps there is something that makes your father embarrassed. The decisions your father makes are always right. He has to worry about such a big family. Where is the second son? I have been back for a long time, where is he?" Only then did Song remember her second son Meng Hao, who loved to pursue women.
"He said that one of his friends had just moved into a new house, and they went to celebrate."
Upon hearing this, Song became even more angry. "We have to go to celebrate the birth of a little boy. What kind of thing is this? It's not a good thing for the second son to hold an empty position like this. He should think of a way to gain some real power or move up a level." Thinking of the group of red and green people in her second son's yard, Song felt a headache. None of them were ambitious. If they were promising, why should she let a concubine's wife control them and show off to them?
As the mother and daughter were talking, someone came in to report that the Marquis had returned.
Song quickly stood up to greet him, but saw only Meng Changfeng coming in. After greeting him, Song asked, "Where is the third brother? Didn't he go out with the Marquis?"
"Oh, he went out to do some work and will be back later." Meng Changfeng rubbed his brows, looking unhappy.
Meng Yuan quickly stepped forward to pour tea for his father and brought it over. "Father, you must be tired. You just need to worry about the hard work. If there is anything, just let your son do it."
Meng Changfeng sat down, took the tea and looked up at his eldest son. Apart from being loyal, honest and filial to his parents, he could not think of any other good qualities of this son.
"You can't do it." These words made Meng Yuan blush.
Song stepped forward and asked softly, "I heard that you went to the Duke Zhong's Mansion? But was there anything wrong?"
Meng Changfeng looked up at Song, thought for a moment and said, "I wanted to find out what he meant, but he kept his mouth shut. He also said that we are three generations apart from them, and five generations apart from Lang Ge, so we don't need to discuss anything with them in the future. Humph, he is trying to distance himself from us."
"What are they talking about? If something really happens, even the nine clans won't be spared. This is only the fifth degree of mourning." After Meng Yuan said this, he saw Meng Changfeng looking at him sideways and realized that he had said something wrong. Who would curse him like this for no reason?
Song was also angry that her eldest son couldn't speak, so she rolled her eyes at him and said, "What does the third son mean?"
"Since they won't discuss with us, nor listen to our opinions, then we'll do it ourselves. Fortunately, the third brother has paved the way for us, and he has gradually gained the appreciation of that person, and he has the King of Zhenbei behind him."
"King Zhenbei? Could it be that he also supports..." Meng Yuan said.
"I don't know whether he supports it or not, but the third brother is now his most capable subordinate, and he was the one who asked for the title for the third brother for this military achievement. The third brother's wife is the princess' niece, so from the outside, it seems that they are one."
After hearing this, Song's heart began to beat loudly. It seemed that it was still unknown whether the person Meng Hai was going to rely on was instructed by King Zhenbei. The risk was too great.
"My lord, do we really have to do this?" Song asked worriedly.
"What else? I heard that the emperor was not conscious for half of the past month, and during the half month when he was conscious, he always brought up the past. For example, the emperor mentioned our family's past incident twice."
Song and Meng Yuan looked at each other and saw the panic in their eyes.
"What kind of thing is this? It wasn't a big deal back then, so why has the Emperor remembered it for so many years?"
"We all know how the emperor got through when he was a prince. How many times did he go to the gates of hell? It was because of father's inaction that our family has the status in the capital now... Well, now we have to face the same situation as before. Are we just going to wait and see? If that happens, you should pack up your things and go back to your hometown to be an old woman."
Song lowered her head and dared not say anything. Meng Yuan said, "Third brother is right. It is easy to add flowers to a beautiful woman, but it is difficult to help someone in need. Besides, third brother has been out there for so many years, so I think he must have thought it through carefully before deciding to lean on that person."
"That's right. There is no other way now. Even if we don't agree, the third brother will do it. If he succeeds, all the credit will be his. If he fails, none of us can escape."
Meng Changfeng stood up and said, "Let the third brother arrange the outside affairs, and the family will fully cooperate with him. Now that the decision has been made, we cannot regret it, and we cannot regret it either."
After reaching the door, he turned around and said to Song, "We can only rely on the third brother to keep this mansion. Sister Juan lives here and should pay as much attention to it as Sister Qi, no, you should pay more attention to it than Sister Qi. Tell the eldest and second wives, as well as the granddaughters-in-law, that no one is allowed to embarrass Sister Juan. If I know, I will make them pay."
"My Lord, is this the only way? Can we only rely on the third brother?"
"I don't want to either, but what can I do? It's a rare thing that he can stand there and listen to me honestly. Who of us can hold him back?" Meng Changfeng sat back in his chair and sighed, thinking about the afternoon at the Duke Zhong's Mansion. Look at the other people's two sons who were so flawless when they spoke. Then look at his two legitimate sons, one who only knew how to play, and the other still knew how to play. Fortunately, there is also a promising illegitimate son, but he is not close to him. If he had known that Meng Hai would be so promising, he should not have treated him like that.
According to the current situation, we can only act according to Meng Hai's idea. The emperor's health is a mystery. No one knows what the specific situation is. If he gets sick again, who knows if he will be interested in talking about the things like the past few days. The emperor's order is above heaven. If that is the case, demotion is good. It is not impossible to depose him as a commoner if he is unhappy.
Therefore, I have to choose a side. Although I am not very capable, I am lucky to have the third brother. I didn't expect the attitude of the Duke of Zhongguo to be so firm. Since they disdain to stand in the same camp with me, forget it. According to the third brother's inference and the current situation of the person he supports, if I plan properly, I can't escape the favor of following the dragon.