Xue Miao'er's mouth opened so wide that one could fit an egg into it.
"Slow down. I can't keep up," Xue Miao'er said. "Let me sort this out. You mean that the restless concubine in the Meng Mansion brought in a woman to secure her favor, but Meng Qinghai got there first and snatched his father's woman?"
Seeing Yi Qing nod, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Goodness me! Do officials' families really play like this? No wonder my father said I wouldn't be able to adapt. I really can't."
Seeing her look of utter disbelief, Yi Qing said calmly, "In the mansions of the wealthy and powerful, with so many people in the inner courtyard, they have nothing better to do but cause trouble. There are many things you haven't heard of yet!"
"Like what? Tell me. You've been so quiet these days," Xue Miao'er complained. "You know I'm clueless about everything."
Yi Qing said coolly, "Do you want to continue hearing about the Meng family or do you want me to tell you some unknown stories from the storybooks?"
Xue Miao'er waved her hand. "The Meng family. Talk about them first. You haven't finished yet. I thought I'd heard it all. Keep going. And don't forget the other things. I've got them all in mind!"
Yi Qing rolled her eyes at her and then continued, "Madam Meng was furious when she found out, but she couldn't tell Lord Meng that the woman was originally prepared for him by Concubine Liu. After all, if it got out that the son had snatched his father's concubine, her eldest legitimate son would be ruined."
"The happiest one must be Concubine Liu," Xue Miao'er said. "She really lives up to her surname. It's like she planted a willow tree casually and it grew into a big one."
"Of course she was happy," Yi Qing said. "After this incident, Madam Meng had no more interest in vying for her husband's favor. She focused all her energy on getting her son back on the right track."
"She didn't succeed, did she?"
"Of course not. Otherwise, where did Concubine Liu's children come from?" Yi Qing said disdainfully. "It's a pity she didn't understand men. So she neither won back her husband nor understood her son."
"Judging from what you said," Xue Miao'er said, propping her chin on her hand. "You seem to understand men well. Tell me about it."
"Some men are like dogs. You tell them that shit tastes bad and they should eat proper food, but they just can't stop eating shit. So it's better to just let them eat it!" Yi Qing said.
Xue Miao'er burst out laughing. "Your analogy is so interesting. Then let me ask you, what about your husband?"
Thinking of Xiao Tian, the lines of Yi Qing's mouth softened.
"My husband is like an ox. Even if you let him roam freely, he'll just obediently eat grass and then come home on his own when it gets dark. And what he gives is milk."
Only after she said it did she realize that the words might sound a bit vulgar, but in fact, she really hadn't thought of it in a dirty way.
In front of her, Xiao Tian was really so hard - working and self - less. He gave her all the good things and never burdened her with anything.
He also gave her a strong sense of security, steadily carrying her towards a more promising future.
"Hey," Xue Miao'er teased her. "You're smiling secretly when you talk about your husband?"
Only then did Yi Qing notice that she had unconsciously shown a smile.
She put away her smile and said seriously, "I haven't finished yet. Don't interrupt."
"Go ahead, go ahead—"
"Madam Meng had to put in a lot of effort to arrange Meng Qinghai's marriage to Miss Lin. After all, Meng Qinghai's affair with his mistress had been quite a scandal. She also had high hopes for Miss Lin, hoping that she could bring Meng Qinghai back from the outside world. But in fact, she was disappointed."
Miss Lin failed to do so. Moreover, she was so unwilling that she always thought she could succeed. She refused to accept Madam Meng's suggestion of taking another concubine for Meng Qinghai.
As a result, Meng Qinghai didn't change his ways, and the mother - in - law and daughter - in - law were constantly at odds at home. Their relationship was extremely tense.
"I thought families like this valued rules. How dare Miss Lin argue with her mother - in - law? I really wish my father could see this. Maybe he'd stop worrying about me all the time," Xue Miao'er said, clearly unconvinced.
"Rather than saying they value rules, it's more accurate to say they value family status. They treat people differently according to their backgrounds. In Miss Lin's mind, she might think her mother - in - law was unreasonable. After all, she was the legitimate daughter of the Lin family and had been deeply loved since childhood."
"At least she was loved. In the end, she got such a marriage," Xue Miao'er pouted. "If my father didn't have his own difficulties, he would never push me into the fire pit."
"The reason for that incident back then is impossible to verify," Yi Qing said. "But the marriage was arranged, and Miss Lin felt very bitter."
It was already remarkable that Xiao Tian had managed to find out so much. It was impossible to expect him to figure out every detail in such a short time.
Some things, especially the struggles among women, were actually very hard for men to understand.
Most of what she had said just now was based on her reasonable speculation and imagination, and it was basically about 80 - 90% accurate.
"If she's so bitter, she should just get a divorce," Xue Miao'er said indifferently. "It's not like she'll starve to death if she leaves the Meng family."
Yi Qing was too lazy to explain to her that this was the thinking of a bandit. In normal families, it wasn't that easy to get separated or reconciled.
"From my observation just now, Miss Lin is a very strong - willed person. Even if she has a lot of bitterness in her heart, she'll swallow it on her own and won't let others laugh at her."
If she got divorced and returned to her parents' home, what would her family think of her? Wasn't there also a mess in the Commander - in - Chief's Mansion? Didn't Miss Lin's mother also have to deal with the competition among concubines?
These people would never show weakness.
"I didn't see that at all. I just thought she wasn't a good person," Xue Miao'er pouted.
"She has a deficiency of qi and blood. I could tell at a glance," Yi Qing said. "It shows that her condition is quite serious. She's been busy handling so many things these days, which means she's just holding on. She doesn't want to hand over the power of managing the household."
"She's really stubborn," Xue Miao'er muttered. "Isn't her own life the most important thing?"
"For some people, their lives are really not as important as what others think of them."
As she was speaking, Yi Qing seemed to be deep in thought.
Xue Miao'er noticed this. "Yi Qing, is there something else? You look a bit strange."
"You're only good at dealing with the people around you," Yi Qing couldn't help but say. "I'm just thinking, what is Miss Lin so panicked about? I have a feeling that if she's really pregnant, the child in her womb might not be Meng Qinghai's."
"Ah?" Xue Miao'er was shocked. "I'm a bit impressed by her then. They can just play their own games. Since Meng Qinghai likes other women, she dares to find someone else. That seems fair."
Yi Qing: "… Are you stupid? People might just laugh at Meng Qinghai and say he's just a young and amorous fool. But if Miss Lin does such a thing, she'll be drowned in a pig cage! Even if her family is noble, they'll be disgraced."
"Then... it actually has nothing to do with us, right?" Xue Miao'er said in a low voice.