Chapter 265: Settle for What Can Be Carried Away
From time to time, discussions floated into Lady Liu’s ears.
“Whose family is this? How could a daughter refuse to acknowledge her own mother?”
“Didn’t you hear the girl? It was the mother who abandoned them first.”
“Well, no wonder then.”
“Oh my, that girl looks very familiar to me, like I’ve seen her somewhere before.”
“Yes, she looks familiar to me too.”
Lady Liu’s face was filled with grief and indignation, but even more so, she was forcibly suppressing her rage. She had never expected that the daughter who was once weak and incompetent would dare to humiliate her like this today. This made Lady Liu hate the Wen family all the more.
If not for them, how could the daughter and son she raised from childhood treat her like this?
Lady Liu returned to the inn in fury, her face looking thoroughly unpleasant. Seeing her state, Meng De asked what was wrong and whether the girl was willing to leave with them.
At this moment, Lady Liu wished she could sweep everything off the table onto the floor. Before she could speak, the elderly housekeeper beside her reported what had just transpired to Meng De.
Meng De remained silent for a long moment. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the serving housekeeper and maidservants, then sat down beside Lady Liu and poured her a cup of water.
“These past two days, whenever I tried to find Magistrate Chen, he blocked me every single time. Madam, it seems taking the children away isn’t going to work out,” Meng De said.
Having been humiliated like that by Wen Xiuyi, how could Meng De swallow this bitter pill? He had tried to find Magistrate Chen to pressure him, wanting Wen Xiuyi to learn the consequences of offending him.
Yet, whether this man named Chen was truly too bold or simply didn’t take him seriously at all, he repeatedly avoided meeting him, giving him no opportunity to even speak.
Forget putting pressure on him—he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the man. Suffering setback after setback, this was the very first time Meng De had encountered such a thing since becoming an official.
Hearing this, Lady Liu raised her head to look at him, her brows furrowing. “He’s just a worthless nobody. Isn’t this magistrate afraid of offending you and having a hard time in the future?”
Meng De didn’t comment on that, merely saying, “I’m afraid taking your children away won’t be an easy matter.”
Lady Liu’s brows knitted even tighter, and she even felt a tinge of regret over returning. If she hadn’t come back, she would still be her high-and-mighty official’s wife.
On the surface, she seemed to enjoy immense glamour. Meng De had extensive connections, and those noble ladies in the capital were willing to give her some face and let her join their social circle. But in private, Lady Liu knew very well that they looked down on someone like her.
Yet what of it? On the surface, others still had to politely address her as Mrs. Meng.
Lady Liu was also well aware that the only person she could rely on was Meng De. Giving birth to a child for him was the only way to hold him completely in her grasp. Yet after two years, there had been no movement in her belly whatsoever. Had she not believed someone’s advice that bringing a child into the home would invite good fortune and fertility, she would never have returned to this place.
“But…”
Meng De patted her hand and coaxed gently, “I know you want a child. If it really doesn’t work out, after we go back, we can adopt one from my clan’s relatives. We’ll raise it like a kitten or a puppy. When we have our own child in the future, it can serve as a companion.”
Lady Liu frowned, seemingly considering the idea.
Meng De added, “However, we can’t just return empty-handed like this either.”
“What does Master mean?” Lady Liu looked at him.
Meng De toyed with Lady Liu’s hand and said, “Your husband has always known that Madam wishes to secure a firm footing among those noble ladies in the capital. But relying solely on the things I’ve bought for you isn’t enough. If Madam wants a firm footing, you must have your own backing.
“In a place like the capital, it’s all about money or power. If Madam can get the secret recipe for the roasted duck from the Wen family’s hands…”
Lady Liu understood the rest without Meng De having to spell it out.
The reputation of Yunwu roasted duck had long reached the capital, further boosted by Prince Fu’s endorsement. If she could truly obtain the secret recipe and open a Yunwu roasted duck shop in the capital, business would surely boom. In a place like that, those people were more than willing to spend money.
It had to be said that Meng De’s words truly struck a chord with Lady Liu. She was genuinely desperate to establish a firm footing in the capital on her own rather than relying on Meng De, which caused those people to act double-faced toward her.
“But as for this secret recipe for the roasted duck, will the Wen family hand it over so easily? I have nothing to do with Wen Xiuyi anymore,” Lady Liu said.
Meng De stroked her hand and said warmly, “That day, Wen Xiuyi said that this roasted duck was created by your daughter, Wen Yao. Whether the rest of the Wen family is willing or not, I don’t know, but she is your daughter. Isn’t it a good thing for you to help her expand her roasted duck shop to the capital and help her earn money? How could she refuse?”
Based on Lady Liu’s understanding of Wen Yao, could this roasted duck really have been made by her? In the past, it was already impressive if the girl could whip up a simple meal. Since when did her culinary skills become so formidable?
“So before this, Yao Yao didn’t even know how to cook. Was this roasted duck truly made by her? Could there be some mistake?” Lady Liu wondered.
Meng De was also pondering this question. Could someone be secretly helping the Wen family from the shadows?
“Regardless of whether it is or isn’t, Madam should just go and give it a try. You are her mother—could you possibly harm her? Aren’t you doing this for her own good? After all, not just anyone gets the chance to open a shop in the capital.”
Wen Yao had unceremoniously made Lady Liu lose face in front of everyone. They originally thought she wouldn’t come looking for her again, and they were even worried these two might do something drastic out of desperation. Yet over the past few days, the two remained quiet and peaceful, not even going to see Datou.
Doctor Jin came to the Wen household almost every day to perform acupuncture on Old Madam Luo. After a few days, the old lady’s complexion finally returned to normal, and the dark clouds hanging over the Wen family over the past few days finally dispersed.
Just at this moment, Lady Liu’s carriage arrived again, though this time only the elderly housekeeper beside her came.
Nanny Shi didn’t even let her step through the door, but the old woman didn’t take offense either. Standing at the entrance, she stated her purpose with utmost respect.
She had come to invite Wen Yao, saying that Lady Liu and Meng De were about to leave Yunwu Town and return to the capital, and wished to see Miss Wen Yao one last time before departing.
Recalling what Lady Liu had said that day, Old Madam Luo was naturally unwilling to let Wen Yao go, terrified that Lady Liu would use force and carry Wen Yao off directly.
However, the old housekeeper also mentioned that this might very well be their final meeting. Lady Liu would no longer force Wen Yao to go to the capital with her; she merely wanted to see her daughter one last time before leaving to instruct her on a few matters.
When Wen Yao learned of this, she also wanted to see what kind of scheme Lady Liu was trying to pull this time.
Wen Yao was a girl with strong ideas of her own, and Old Madam Luo knew she couldn’t keep her cooped up forever. Thus, she instructed Nanny Shi and Nanny Du to accompany Wen Yao, and also had Xun Feng follow along before finally agreeing to let Wen Yao go meet Lady Liu.
With Xun Feng around, neither Lady Liu nor Meng De would dare to do anything to Wen Yao.
Being used by multiple people at once kept Xun Feng exceptionally busy. Fortunately, every time he completed a task, Wen Yao would prepare delicious food for him, so he didn’t feel tired running around. In fact, he even felt that it would be better if the people the Young Master sought for Wen Yao arrived a bit later.
