Ch 26: Writing A Letter

At dinner time, Mr. Meng finished his work and went to Ziwei Courtyard to dine with Madam Meng.

As soon as he entered the room, he was dumbfounded. He withdrew his foot from the room, stepped back a few steps, and asked the maid servant beside him, “Is this Ziwei Courtyard?”

Maid servant: “Yes, Master.”

Mr. Meng’s brows furrowed, “Nonsense, this doesn’t look like Ziwei Courtyard at all.”

Madam Meng, full of resentment, leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, “Master, what are you doing here? This is not a place to eat.”

“Didn’t Tingyue only move a few of the Xiao Family’s belongings back? What happened here?” Mr. Meng frowned.

“A few? Don’t say a few. She almost emptied my courtyard and beat up the servants in my courtyard. She’s like a bandit! I really can’t see how she resembles the Master.”

These words were like a fuse. Mr. Meng’s eyes blazed with anger, and he turned to leave. “This is outrageous! How could she empty her stepmother’s courtyard?”

Meng Tingyue knew he would come to settle the score. He came later than she had anticipated.

Faced with Mr. Meng’s questioning, she calmly put down the medical book in her hand, “Father, do you still remember who originally owned that courtyard?”

As soon as she said this, Mr. Meng was stunned, and his anger subsided a little. “You only said you were moving a few things.”

“That’s also because of Father.”

“Because of me?”

Meng Tingyue nodded slightly, her eyes drooping, her voice extremely soft, “Because Father confined me to the courtyard. I was worried that I would overthink things during this period of confinement, and then I would cry myself sick again. If that affected the Grand Wedding and caused Father to be reprimanded by His Majesty, I would feel guilty.”

“After much thought, the only solution was to retrieve my mother’s belongings. Only by looking at my mother’s belongings all day would I feel some comfort.”

“I know Father loves Jiaojiao, my younger sister, and likes Madam. If I asked to live in the courtyard where my mother lived, Father would definitely not agree because Father doesn’t like me.”

Mr. Meng wanted to defend himself but didn’t have the chance.

“I know Elder Sister dislikes me because I resemble my mother. I dare not disturb Father, so I can only look for traces of my mother’s existence to comfort myself.”

When she spoke of sadness, a single, bright tear slipped from the corner of Meng Tingyue’s eye, and she quickly wiped it away.

Mr. Meng’s heart trembled. The person in front of him seemed to evoke a distant memory, and that blurry face gradually became clear.

He shifted his gaze uncomfortably, “It was this father who neglected you. It was my fault.”

Meng Tingyue shook her head slightly, forcing a smile, “It’s alright. It’s normal for Father to dislike me. I’m weak and have a strange temperament. I even angered Father today. Since Father dislikes me, I’ll just stay in the courtyard and wait to be married. I won’t go out to cause trouble for Father, nor will I interfere with what Father wants to do.”

Hearing this, a rare sense of guilt arose in Mr. Meng’s heart. “Good child, you’ve suffered.”

Mr. Meng was softened by Meng Tingyue’s pitiful act, and he didn’t mention taking back those items until he left Wan Yue Pavilion.

Meng Tingyue pinched the token and wiped away the cold tears on her face, her eyes icy cold.

I have to say, Jiang Qingrou and Meng Qingjiao’s mother and daughter’s trick worked really well. Her father really fell for it.

Qinglan watched her young lady’s rapidly changing expression from the side, speechless in shock for a moment.

After a long silence, she only said, “Young Lady, you’re amazing.”

Meng Tingyue smiled without speaking.

Qingdian asked, “Young Lady, will you really be confined to the courtyard during this period?”

“I’ve already said so. I’ll just stay in the courtyard for a few days. It’s a good opportunity to read the medical books that Master Wei sent.”

Meng Tingyue found a comfortable position to lean on the small couch and read. On the small table beside her was a small stack of medical books, all gifts from Wei Li. Among them were many ancient prescriptions she had never seen before.

“Young Lady cried just now. You should read less tonight. It’ll hurt your eyes.” Qin Mama entered the room with several maidservants, instructing the maidservants to serve the dishes. “Young Lady, eat first. The kitchen specially made Corn and Spare Rib Soup and Carrot and Beef Stew for you tonight to nourish your eyes.”

“Okay.” She put down her medical book and walked towards the table. “It smells so good. Did Mama cook again?”

“I can’t hide it from Young Lady.”

“Mama, you should rest more. Just leave these things to the servants.”

“I’m an old woman, I can’t be idle. This is my only pleasure. Don’t stop me, Young Lady. If you like it, eat more.”

After dinner, Meng Tingyue asked Qinglan to prepare brush and ink.

“Bring the book I bought specially some time ago. It’s the one under my pillow.”

Qingdian took the book from under the pillow. Seeing the name on it, she frowned slightly and hesitated, “Young Lady, are you really going to copy the contents of this book…?”

“What else? Are you going to help me think of the content?” Meng Tingyue directly snatched the book from her hand.

She dipped her brush in ink, pressed the book with one hand, and wrote on the paper slowly with the other.

The beautiful small script was neat and pleasing to the eye, but the content above made Qinglan and Qingdian uncomfortable to look at. Their cheeks flushed, and their expressions were unnatural.

Qinglan: “Young Lady, are such blunt words really suitable to give to the Crown Prince…?”

“For someone as cold and wooden as the Crown Prince, you have to be straightforward and bold, otherwise you won’t be able to get his attention.”

After finishing writing, she carefully examined the content on the paper. “I haven’t written for a long time, my writing has become ugly, but it doesn’t matter, the content is the most important thing.”

She put the paper filled with her true feelings for the Crown Prince aside to let the ink dry.

She took another piece of paper and started writing again, turning a page of the book beside her hand.

After writing fifteen sheets, she stopped.

Qingdian was responsible for folding the letters and putting them in envelopes.

Meng Tingyue solemnly instructed, “Starting tomorrow, send one letter to the Crown Prince’s Mansion every day.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

After giving her instructions, she found another piece of paper and started writing.

Qin Mama came back after dinner and saw a stack of envelopes on the desk.

“Young Lady, you wrote so many letters, are they all for the Crown Prince?”

“Yes.” Meng Tingyue replied without looking up.

Qin Mama nodded, wanting to say something but stopping herself, finally turning it into a sigh.

It’s not something worth mentioning for a young lady to take the initiative to send a letter to a man. If it were an ordinary man, she would definitely stop her.

But the other party is the Crown Prince, the Emperor’s most beloved son, and may even be the future new Emperor. For the young lady to marry the Crown Prince is already a high climb, and the Master does not love the young lady, so the young lady can only plan for herself.

“Be careful when sending the letters. Don’t let anyone know that it was Young Lady who sent them.”

Qingdian nodded.

“Buy these medicinal herbs for me tomorrow when you go to send the letter.” Meng Tingyue handed the paper with a list of several herbal medicines to Qingdian.

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Mama, go back to sleep. I’ll read for a while before sleeping.”

Qin Mama originally wanted to stay with Meng Tingyue for a while longer.

“Qinglan and Qingdian are enough to keep me company.”

After Meng Tingyue insisted repeatedly, she instructed Qinglan and Qingdian a few more times before reluctantly leaving.