https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-157-A-Couple-Through-Thick-and-Thin/12582656/
Chapter 156: Drama Queen
Chapter 156: Drama Queen
It was still early in the day; how could it be late at night?
This young lady was clearly implying that her visit was ill-timed.
At that moment, more onlookers had gathered, but Meng Qianqian's voice was soft, and they couldn't quite make out what she was saying.
However, they weren't blind, and they could tell that Meng Qianqian's attitude towards them was cold.
Being treated this way by her biological daughter, Yu's embarrassment turned to annoyance.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head in first. Please feel free to stay, Madam Yu."
Meng Qianqian gave Yu a slight nod, a polite gesture from the mistress of the Ducal Palace to a stranger.
Yu hesitated, wanting to say something more.
Lu Mama quickly intervened with a smile, trying to smooth things over, "Young Miss, it's been many years since you last saw Madam, so you probably don't recognize her, right? And Madam, you've been so emotional on your journey here. It seems your emotions are still running high."
Meng Qianqian glanced at Lu Mama. At Lady Xing's banquet, Yu had a different maid attendant, and now, combined with her seemingly respectful yet authoritative demeanor when speaking to Yu, Meng Qianqian deduced that she was most likely the head mama of the marquis mansion.
Most likely one of Madam Lu's people.
So, it was Madam Lu who sent Yu to acknowledge her daughter. Yu, carrying herself as the birth mother, was unwilling to lower herself, choosing to remain in her carriage and waiting for Meng Qianqian to take the initiative to call her 'mother.'
But when that didn't work, she finally lost her temper and showed herself.
How laughable.
Meng Qianqian looked at Lu Mama and said bluntly, "Mama Lu, do you want to shout louder so that all the citizens of the capital can hear you?"
Lu Mama was taken aback.
Meng Qianqian continued, "Do you think making a big fuss will force me to acknowledge this young miss as my sister? I lost my mother at a young age, and if I hadn't risen to my current position, I wouldn't have known that my birth mother was still alive. It's true what they say—when one person prospers, their whole family benefits, and all sorts of distant relatives come out of the woodwork."
Her words were certainly blunt and unwelcoming.
Yu's expression darkened.
Lu Mama spoke up first, "Young Miss! Madam Yu is your birth mother!"
Meng Qianqian let out a cold laugh, "A birth mother who hasn't cared about me for over a decade, and as soon as she heard I married into the capital, she fled in the middle of the night for fear that I would cling to her. I wish you many more birth mothers like her, Mama Lu."
Lu Mama: "You—"
Meng Qianqian's gaze swept over the two women's uncertain faces, and she said indifferently, "Let me guess, are you going to say, 'Madam has her own difficulties. These years, she has written you countless letters, but you haven't replied to a single one. Madam thought you didn't want to see her, your birth mother. Madam even secretly returned to Yuzhou, but she didn't dare to meet you. She could only hide in her carriage, her eyes brimming with tears as she watched you from a distance. All these years, Madam has thought of you day and night. She has made clothes for you since you were little, and they are all stored in the yard. When no one is around, Madam holds those clothes and sheds silent tears. In this world, is there a mother who doesn't love her children?'"
Lu Mama was left speechless.
Did Meng Qianqian go to Madam Lu's yard to eavesdrop? How else could she have guessed every word she would say?
Meng Qianqian said indifferently, "Of course, you can produce the clothes. After all, she is that well-praised stepmother with a son and a daughter. It's only natural that she would make clothes for them, and it wouldn't be a problem to give a few to me and my brother."
How could she have guessed this as well?!
Lu Mama took a big step back, looking at Meng Qianqian as if she had seen a ghost.
Tan Er swung the sugar-coated haws in her hand, "Sis Meng is super smart, you can't fool her! You should just go back to where you came from. Otherwise, I won't care whose relative you are!"
Lu Mama had never seen Tan Er hit anyone, so she didn't take her words to heart.
However, Yu remembered Tan Er. At the Shangshu Mansion, she had chased butterflies everywhere, treating Meng Qianqian as an equal and calling her 'sister' at every turn.
The Meng family didn't teach their daughters manners, and their servants didn't understand rules either.
"Tan'er, don't you dare lay a finger on her." Meng Qianqian said.
Tan'er thought for a moment and replied, "Okay."
Yu turned her face away coldly, grateful that the girl had some sense. If she dared to lay a hand on her birth mother, the Censor would surely impeach her and Lu Yuan together.
Tan'er tilted her head and asked, "If I can't use my hands, I guess I'll have to use my mouth then."
Yu furrowed her brows, confused. Before she could say anything, Tan'er bounced up and quickly walked down the steps, calling out to the onlooking commoners in the distance, "Come and see! There's a woman who abandoned her child and remarried, telling her child she was dead! For over a decade, she didn't care or ask about her, but now that her child has risen to prominence, she's come back from the dead to claim kinship! How shameless!"
Yu and Lu Mama's faces turned pale.
The commoners, who had originally dared not approach the gates of the Ducal Palace out of curiosity, were emboldened by Tan'er's "invitation" and surged forward.
Lu Mama hurriedly said, "Don't spread such nonsense! Our mistress clearly..."
Tan'er let out an extremely exaggerated wail, instantly drowning out Lu Mama's voice. "Oh no! How shameless! Abandoning her husband and child for over a decade, becoming a marquise, while her daughter nearly starved to death, and she didn't care!"
Meng Qianqian's lips twitched. "Tan'er, that's a bit exaggerated."
Lu Mama pointed at Tan'er, her whole body trembling with rage. "You..."
Tan'er, possessed by the spirit of acting: "Oh no! How shameless!"
There was no way Lu Mama could outshout Tan'er.
Unless she sat on the ground and threw a fit, crying, then making a scene, and finally threatening suicide.
But if she did that, wouldn't she be acting like a monkey? Besides, the little girl clearly knew how to put on a better show than her.
She couldn't outshout or out-act her, and the situation, which had been fine just now, suddenly turned passive.
She could only turn her gaze to Yu, hoping that Yu would step in to stop this.
However, Yu only exchanged a glance with Meng Qianqian before angrily returning to the carriage.
"Mistress!" Lu Mama exclaimed.
Tan'er continued to cry, but secretly peeked through her fingers at the shameless pair of mistress and servant. Seeing that Yu had left, leaving only a lackey behind, she stopped her performance and said with raised eyebrows, "Their marquise has already left, so why are you still here? Are you planning to beg for food?"
Lu Mama gritted her teeth and, amidst the crowd's hisses, got into the carriage in a fluster.
"What's going on? Who was that just now?"
"I heard the little girl call her... Marquise. Which marquis mansion is she from?"
"I don't know, let's find out!"
The commoners chattered among themselves.
Meng Qianqian didn't stop their discussion but instead entered the mansion with Tan'er.
Since the marquise had taken the initiative to come and recognize her as kin, her relationship with Yu would eventually become public knowledge. Tonight was just a test; if Yu was willing to obediently recognize her as her daughter, that would be for the best, but if she refused, news of Meng Qianqian's unfilial behavior would spread throughout the capital tomorrow.
Rather than wait for that, it was better to take the initiative.
This move was called taking the initiative.
Lu Mama was indeed shocked.
She hadn't expected Meng Qianqian to be so reckless, leaving no room for negotiation and directly putting herself and her birth mother on the fire together.
Was she really not afraid at all?
"Mistress..."
Yu said impatiently, "Don't talk to me. I didn't even want to come today. So what if she married into the Ducal Palace? I've heard that Lu Yuan is just an uneducated traitor who climbed to his high position by flattering and betraying his lord. My son, on the other hand, is a top scholar, and his future achievements will surely surpass Lu Yuan's! I don't know what you're fawning over them for."
Although she said this, the current court was indeed under Lu Yuan's control.
Lu Mama felt that Yu's background was a bit low, and some things were difficult to explain to her. The female relatives of truly influential families would easily understand the stakes here.
She sighed, "Mistress, she is your biological daughter."
Yu said solemnly, "I only have one daughter, and that is Bing'er! Bing'er is the young lady of a marquis mansion, with an extremely noble status. In the future, she will marry a true prince of the imperial family!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
