Lord Mei had determined in his heart that he could not agree to the Lin family's marriage. He did not expect wealth and glory to last forever, but he always hoped that his clan members could prosper because of him. His branch was not the only one in the clan. Everyone abided by the ancestral precepts and never tried to curry favor with powerful people. This was precisely the reason why the Mei family had been able to maintain its wealth for so long.
Although he felt guilty towards his daughter and was afraid that she would be upset if he could not agree to her request, he still made up his mind after thinking it over. He said to Mrs. Mei, "You should keep an eye on her. She didn't grow up in front of us, so she is willful and different from our other children. I know she has resentment towards us, but there is nothing we can do. We can't indulge her temper in this matter."
Madam Mei pursed her lips and said nothing for a while. After a while, she suddenly asked, "What about Qingya? How are you going to deal with her?"
Miss Mei Si’s words before really broke her heart. Men are different from women. They don’t understand the delicate feelings of many girls, so when Miss Mei Si said it lightly, they thought it was just a trivial matter.
Mrs. Mei knew how uncomfortable her daughter would feel. The feeling of being bullied by the person closest to her but not being able to make decisions for her and having to endure and please others in everything, made Mrs. Mei feel heartbroken just thinking about it.
She listened to her husband in everything, followed the teachings of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues, and always believed in what Lord Mei said, so she had let her child suffer such a great loss.
She couldn't grow up with her parents since she was a child. Now that she has grown up and returned, she was almost kicked out by someone and someone else took over her parents' home. Mrs. Mei felt that she could not swallow this humiliation.
After all, Qingya was not her daughter, so she had a clear distinction between close and distant relatives in her mind. Adding up all the new and old grudges, she wanted Qingya to get out.
In her opinion, such people are ungrateful and have bad intentions. Keeping them around would be a huge hazard.
Master Mei hesitated. He said hesitantly, "It was not easy to raise the child to this age. She was just confused for a moment. After all, the previous incident happened too long ago. I'm afraid even Ah Si herself can't remember exactly what happened. I think we should just forget about this incident. But since Ah Si doesn't like her, that's fine. You can find a husband for her and marry her off."
Mrs. Mei suspected that she had heard wrongly. Someone came to harm her daughter, and the attack was almost vicious. He actually said that he would let it go this time and asked her to find a good marriage for her? !
What's the idea?! Madam Mei couldn't stand it any longer, and sneered with a pale face: "You don't feel bad that your own daughter's marriage is gone, but now you want to find a marriage for the person who hurt your daughter?!"
Lord Mei knew his wife's anger, and he sighed, "It's not easy for us to raise Qingya, why did we have to cause such trouble when we are just one step away from achieving perfection?"
Men's ideas are probably always more realistic. Lord Mei carefully analyzed the pros and cons for Mrs. Mei: "We have raised Qingya for so many years, and we have never heard of anything wrong with her. Everyone says that we have a good upbringing. If we really send her away, what will we say? How can others believe that she has made a mistake? She has been fine for so many years, and everyone praises her. As soon as Ah Si comes back, we say that Qingya is not good and sent her away. What will we become? Will others believe it? They will only say that we are selfish and say this for our own children. What will our hard work for so many years be worth?"
Mrs. Mei was almost convinced by her husband's words. She didn't say anything for a while. After a long while, she shook her head and said, "But she did so many bad things and almost killed my daughter. I still have to find a good marriage for her and a good in-law family?! Who am I disgusting? Ah Si or myself?!"
She refused, and after thinking for a while, she shook her head firmly and rejected Master Mei's request: "With a person like this, do you think everything will be fine after she gets married? I think she is too selfish and narrow-minded, otherwise, she would have been so mean to Ah Si when she was so young?! She is simply jealous of Ah Si. When she gets married, will she instigate her in-laws to deal with us? Have you ever thought about it, Master?! I think Master should give up on this idea. How can the heart of such an ungrateful person be warmed up so easily?"
Master Mei had nothing to say. He just felt that it was a pity to waste all his hard work over the years. If Madam Mei strongly objected, he would certainly not continue to strongly demand it. He hummed, paused, and said, "Since you don't agree, and Ah Si also hates her, why not just send her away."
Mrs. Mei thought about it and nodded: "Just say that she went to see my mother. I plan to ask my mother to find her a good marriage. After all, my mother has some reputation in Suzhou. If I say so, others will believe it."
Lord Mei naturally had no objection, but he told her to be careful not to let the servants spread bad words and affect the family's reputation.
The matter was settled. Mrs. Mei had different ideas from Lord Mei. She truly hated Qingya. Men were always more open-minded, but women were different.
Whenever she thought about how she had neglected her daughter over the years because of this ungrateful man, and even caused her daughter to suffer so much injustice, she felt really bad.
After hearing what Master Mei said, she certainly would not let it go so easily. She called her close confidants in the mansion and told them directly, "Go over and ask Miss Qingya to come over later. Also, prepare a carriage and a few people to accompany the carriage. You will have to work hard on this long journey."
Everyone was a little surprised, not knowing what she meant by that. They looked at each other for a while before they answered yes and asked her where she was going with a smile.
Mrs. Mei did not hide anything. She said straightforwardly: "Go to Suzhou and pay my respects to the old lady for me. Also, send Miss Qingya over. Suzhou is a place of outstanding people and a place of great talent. It is a place that is good for raising people and has produced many talented people. Our family has raised her with great difficulty, so of course we must make sure that she is well taken care of from beginning to end and find a good place for her."
The tone of her words didn't really sound like she wanted to finish the matter well. Her confidants looked at each other, not knowing what she meant, so they all stood aside quietly with their hands down, waiting to hear her instructions.
Mrs. Mei recovered, took a deep breath, and said slowly: "You have to keep a close eye on the people along the way. If there is anything wrong with them, don't blame me for being ruthless." (To be continued)