Sherfoth logged in and chattered on and on.
Finally, Yi Qing got impatient. She stood up and said, "I'll go back to my room to check something."
"I'll go with you!" Xue Miao'er had been scolded by Yi Qing earlier and was still a bit dazed. Now she finally felt like she could get back at her and was in high spirits. So she decided to continue digging for the truth.
Naturally, Yi Qing didn't want her to go in, because Xiao Tian was still hiding in her room.
Just then, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Meng family, Lin Shi, the elder brother's wife of Meng Qinglong, came with her maid. So Xue Miao'er and Yi Qing stopped arguing and united against the outside.
Lin Shi was wearing a bright red ruqun and had delicate makeup. There was a touch of sharpness between her eyebrows, looking imposing even without getting angry.
Dressed like this, she looked more like a new bride than Xue Miao'er.
Although Xue Miao'er was a bit simple-minded, she also realized that Lin Shi dressed like this not to show goodwill, but more like to show off.
She said lazily, "Who are you?"
Although they had met before, since they hadn't officially recognized each other, she could play dumb.
Lin Shi smiled and said, "There have been so many things in the mansion these days that I've been extremely busy. I didn't come to visit my younger sister-in-law. It's my negligence."
"Who's your younger sister-in-law?"
Xue Miao'er wasn't going to tolerate such a self-introduction that also boasted about how capable she was in managing the household.
Yi Qing thought silently that perhaps birds of a feather flock together. Only Xue Miao'er could say such bold and face-slapping words.
The smile on Lin Shi's face froze. Then a hint of coldness appeared in her smile. "Younger sister-in-law, I'm your eldest sister-in-law and can tolerate you. But you should remember your own status and that this isn't your territory. This is the Meng Mansion, the mansion of the Provincial Administration Commissioner. Everything should follow the rules."
"What's it to you?" Xue Miao'er seemed impervious to reason. "Who do you think you are to lecture me?"
Lin Shi's face turned even uglier. The maid behind her stepped forward and scolded, "How dare you! Our eldest mistress is the legitimate daughter of the Commander's Mansion. Now she's in charge of the household and is also the eldest sister-in-law. How could the second mistress be so rude!"
"Oh?" Xue Miao'er dug her ear. "I'm just being rude. What can you do about it? You lowly maid!"
Although she was scolding the maid, her eyes were fixed on Lin Shi.
Come on, did Lin Shi think she could intimidate her? Lin Shi should be thankful that she didn't take the initiative to provoke her.
Suddenly, Yi Qing spoke up, "Second mistress, say less. I see that the eldest mistress looks like she has insufficient qi and blood. She doesn't seem to be in good health."
Xue Miao'er listened to Yi Qing and immediately toned down her aggression. She mumbled, "I'm not feeling well either. Do you believe I'll faint right now?"
Yi Qing ignored her and calmly met Lin Shi's scrutinizing gaze. She said, "In the early stage of pregnancy, many people also have insufficient qi and blood. Eldest mistress, be more careful."
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like the best weapon, directly shattering the noble mask on Lin Shi's face.
Xue Miao'er was stunned. While feeling secretly happy, she really couldn't understand why Lin Shi had such a big reaction.
The look in Lin Shi's eyes when she looked at Yi Qing carried a hint of killing intent, but it disappeared in a flash.
She said to Xue Miao'er, "I came today just to see my younger sister-in-law and tell her that if she needs anything, just send someone to find me. Also, when you have time, you should still pay morning and evening respects to mother. Otherwise, she'll find fault."
After saying this, she left in a hurry with her maid.
Yi Qing was deep in thought.
Lin Shi didn't say that not paying respects was wrong and would invite criticism. Instead, she said that Mrs. Meng would find fault. This was rather thought-provoking. Connecting it with what Xiao Tian had told her last night, Yi Qing suddenly felt that things seemed a bit interesting.
Xue Miao'er said, "What's wrong with her? You didn't say much just now."
Yi Qing looked innocent. "Yes, I also want to know."
Xue Miao'er said, "No, you said that insufficient qi and blood could also occur in the early stage of pregnancy. Do you mean that she's pregnant?"
"Maybe," Yi Qing said indifferently. "I just mentioned one of the possibilities for insufficient qi and blood."
Xue Miao'er was still immersed in her own thoughts. She said thoughtfully, "But that doesn't seem right either. Isn't pregnancy a good thing? She's been married for five or six years and hasn't even given birth to a single child..."
Yi Qing said, "Speak properly."
She didn't like such descriptions, even if they were aimed at someone she disliked.
"I'm talking about her, not you," Xue Miao'er mumbled. "Don't interrupt me! Don't you think her reaction is a bit strange?"
Yi Qing didn't plan to tell her the truth. She said indifferently, "Maybe she has a bad relationship with Meng Qinghai and doesn't want to have a child for him."
Xue Miao'er was easily led astray by her. She said, "Yes, I've heard that their relationship isn't very good. Meng Qinghai seems to have a mistress outside and often doesn't come back. It seems that he even had children with his mistress first."
"Not only did they have children, but there's more than one," Yi Qing gestured three fingers. "Three sons."
"How do you even know this?"
"If I were you, I wouldn't dare to marry into this family without figuring out these things first," Yi Qing said with a look of disgust.
Xue Miao'er felt a bit wronged.
"You know I'm careless. Since you know all this, and these days have been so boring, you could have told me. Come on, tell me quickly. I'm completely in the dark about the Meng family. My father definitely won't pay attention to these trivial matters in the inner courtyard, and my mother died early. Sigh..."
Yi Qing was just a bit touched when she saw Xue Miao'er shamelessly move closer and say, "Sometimes I think it would be nice if my mother was like you."
"If I were your mother, I might have strangled you long ago," Yi Qing said bluntly. "Let's get back to business."
Xue Miao'er was like a badger jumping around in a melon field waiting to hear the gossip. She quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes. First, tell me about the things between Meng Qinghai, Lin Shi, and the mistress."
The Meng family was just a family with bad examples from the top. None of them were good.
Meng Qinghai had a good reputation outside, but no one would have thought he would do such a thing.
Yi Qing selected some of the information Xiao Tian had found out and told her.
It turned out that not only was Meng Qinghai deeply in love with this mistress, but the mistress's background was also quite interesting.
This incident could be traced back to the story of Mrs. Meng's great fight against the concubine more than a decade ago.
At that time, Commissioner Meng had a favorite concubine, Concubine Liu, who seemed to be on par with Mrs. Meng.
Naturally, Mrs. Meng was angry and wished she could tear the other woman to pieces. But Commissioner Meng protected Concubine Liu tightly, and she was helpless.
At this time, after being advised by her family, Mrs. Meng spent a lot of money to buy two thin horses from the south of the Yangtze River to share her husband's favor. And for a while, this strategy seemed to work.
Commissioner Meng was attracted by the two thin horses, and the number of times he went to Concubine Liu's room decreased a lot.
Concubine Liu felt a strong sense of crisis and also had to find a way to deal with it. So she found help from her own family.
— She selected a beautiful distant niece and kept her by her side, planning to use her to consolidate her favor.
Unexpectedly, Meng Qinghai took a fancy to this girl, who was now the younger Concubine Liu outside.