Chapter 77 Part 1: Feast
Not long after Ming Yi Hall’s examination ended, the Jiang residence very soon received an invitation for a night feast in the palace.
Hong Xiao Emperor was fond of simplicity since young and didn’t like extravagance; however, the current Empress Dowager loved excitement. Although Hong Xiao Emperor and the Empress Dowager weren’t related by blood, the two people got along harmoniously. Hong Xiao Emperor’s birth mother, Xia guifei, pa.s.sed away early. With no children born under the Empress Dowager, the late Emperor let Hong Xiao Emperor grow up under the knees of the Empress Dowager. With so many years of friendship, it could be regarded as filial piety.
This time, aside from inviting the courtiers to a banquet, everyone knew that Hong Xiao Emperor was going to reward the top scorers of the examinations. No matter towards the student themselves or their family, this was the greatest honor. Thus, even though old madam Jiang wasn’t very fond of Jiang Li, she still instructed the person by her side to put in their effort to prepare clothes and jewelry for Jiang Li to be worn on the palace feast and to be sure not to have the slightest mistake.
Jiang Li’s life had been more comfortable compared to before. At least, after the examination, when the people working in the Jiang residence discussed her, they wouldn’t talk carelessly and publicly; instead they talked behind her back. Although their hearts were sour, Jiang Li’s status had gone up bit by bit from before. This was a fact that couldn’t be disputed.
For the palace feast, many of the Yan dynasty’s officials in Yanjing city would attend. But the Chengxuan envoy, Meng You De, would not be going.
In the Meng residence, compared to the lively scenery of previous days, the past few days had been desolate. Even the flowers in the garden seemed to be unattended and many had withered. The dried yellow leaves fell outside of their pots and the scorching summertime also felt somewhat harsh.
In the dim light at night, the faint voice of someone speaking was heard from inside a room. They were seemingly in a dispute as a moment later, the sound of a “bang”, something seemed to fall down and break. Someone slammed the door and came out.
It was Meng You De.
Within a few days, Meng You De had undergone great changes and became haggard, no longer carrying the former days’ appearance of success. Someone chased after him from behind, it was Meng You De’s wife, Madam Meng.
“Master, master——” Madam Meng pleaded while running in small steps.
“No need to speak anymore, send her to the village manor to recuperate tomorrow. If she continues this way, sooner or later something big will happen!” Meng You De spoke without turning his head.
“She’s your daughter, how could you be this heartless!” Madam Meng shrieked.
“I’m heartless?” Meng You De’s stopped, suddenly turned around. Finger pointing at the tightly shut doors of a distant room, “Look at her current appearance; will leaving her in the residence make it better? Now I’ve offended Princess Yongning, the Right Minister also no longer pays attention to me. My official career ends here! All of these are disasters provoked by your good daughter! If she had originally known the immensity of heaven and earth and didn’t make whatever wager with Jiang Li, if while on horseback she didn’t shoot the arrow and injure Princess Yongning, I, Meng You De, need to go this far?”
“But…….” What else could Madam Meng say?
“She’s already become crazy now! My own daughter, don’t I feel heartache? But she’s insane! Letting her stay in the Meng residence may not necessarily be a good thing. If news comes out and other people know that she’s crazy, who would dare to marry her in the future? If she stays in the village manor for some time and comes back when she’s somewhat better, no one would know that she’s gone mad. Isn’t this better?”
Hearing him, Madam Meng calmed down. She looked at Meng You De and asked sorrowfully: “What actually happened to Hong Jin while she was at Princess Yongning’s? Do we really have no way to avenge her?”
“Revenge?” Meng You De humphed coldly. Unknown whether the anger was directed towards Princess Yongning or himself, he said: “Cheng w.a.n.g is backing Princess Yongning. At the moment, even His Majesty has a restraining fear of Cheng w.a.n.g’s power. In the future…….” He let out a breath, “the people do not partic.i.p.ate in the official’s fight. The officials do not partic.i.p.ate in the monarch’s fight!”
The frustration and grief in his tone made Madam Meng silent in a flash.
Inside a room, in a corner of a bed, Meng Hong Jin was grabbing the quilt tightly into the nook. She was looking vigilantly at the incoming person and said: “Go away….. Go away!”
There were broken pieces of a bowl containing medicine along with the medicine thrown and spilled on the ground. A servant girl bent down as she tidied the aftermath. Another servant girl was directly facing Meng Hong Jin and softly comforted: “Miss, it’s all right, slave servant will not harm you.”
“Go away!” Meng Hong Jin shrieked and said: “I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it!”
Since Meng Hong Jin was sent back by Princess Yongning three days ago, she had been like this when she woke up.
Meng You De and Madam Meng were afraid that Princess Yongning had tortured Meng Hong Jin and the first thing they did when she returned was to let someone examine Meng Hong Jin’s body to see if there were any bruises or scars. After inspection, there were no bruises whatsoever, yet when Meng Hong Jin woke up, she looked like this, hiding whenever she saw a person. It was as if she had received a huge fright and no longer recognized people around her, perhaps she had even forgotten herself.
n.o.body knew what happened to Meng Hong Jin in Princess Yongning’s place. All of these were only known to the mad Meng Hong Jin and Princess Yongning. No one dared to criticize Princess Yongning publicly. Even if it was Meng You De, as long as he still cared about his future, Meng Hong Jin was bound to suffer a meaningless sacrifice.
……