Meng Yao laughed. "You're quite smart, kid."
"Of course, I am." Zhao Dahe was smug
"Madam Lin also said to let Meng Ruyu get closer to Xiaohua," Meng Yao said.
"It can't be." Zhao Dahe pointed at Xiaohua. "They've set their sights on Xiaohua?"
Meng Yao shook her head gently. "They know my personality. I won't ask Xiaohua to go to the Meng family. So, I'm guessing Meng Ruyu will come to our house with all kinds of excuses."
The Zhao siblings didn't quite understand what Meng Yao meant.
"Perhaps, they have set their sights on you?" Meng Yao pointed at Zhao Dahe.
Zhao Dahe was in disbelief. "Mother, are you joking? Why me? They can't exchange me for betrothal gifts. "
Meng Yao also thought of what Madam Sun said, "As for Dahe, his family won't ignore him when he's studying."
A year of studies cost a dozen taels of silver. What was she after if it wasn't Zhao Dahe?
In ancient times, it was normal for cousins to marry each other.
Previously, the news of Zhao Dahe coming in third in the monthly examination spread throughout the village. The Meng family must have asked around behind his back.
Madam Sun felt that Zhao Dahe had potential, so she wanted to strike preemptively.
However, Madam Sun felt Meng Yao would disagree, so she first mentioned something Meng Yao would undoubtedly refuse. Madam Sun pretended to be the bad guy, while Meng Cheng was the good guy. Although Meng Cheng was clumsy and awkward, he showed his goodwill.
That way, even if Meng Yao didn't appreciate Meng Cheng's kindness and didn't return to the Meng family, the Mengs could still be thick-skinned and send Meng Ruyu to the Zhao family.
After all, Meng Ruyu was only a child, and most believed a child could do nothing wrong. No matter Meng Yao's unwillingness, she couldn't vent her anger on her niece, right?
Zhao Dahe paced back and forth anxiously. He gritted his teeth and said, "How and why would they do this? Is that other man someone the Mengs could reach? What are they scheming?"
Meng Yao shrugged. "You're right. That family is great at scheming."
"Then what do we do?" Zhao Dahe asked.
"What do you mean?" Meng Yao asked in return, "These are just speculations. We can only respond when something happens, right? We'll be fine if we know what we're doing."
"Mother, you don't intend on letting go of the past enmity with them, right?"
"Do I look like a person who would put myself in harm's way?" Meng Yao couldn't help but laugh.
"Phew, that's good to hear," Zhao Dahe was relieved.
…
Meanwhile, Madam Sun and Madam Lin gathered and muttered, "Do you think we'll succeed?" Madam Sun still couldn't believe it.
"We must. My second brother wouldn't mistake Zhao Ting's appearance," Madam Lin said with certainty.
"Then why didn't he tell Meng Yao?" Madam Sun asked.
"When Zhao Ting married into the family, he did not do it willingly. Furthermore, my second brother said Zhao Ting already had another woman by his side," Madam Lin said, "Maybe Zhao Ting faked his death and left back then."
"Then how many children do you think he can take in?" Madam Sun was still somewhat worried.
"My second brother has already asked around. Since Zhao Ting left, he hasn't been able to have any children. I don't think I can have children in the future either," Madam Lin said, "Unless he wants to have no descendants, he will undoubtedly acknowledge the child."
"We must settle this marriage before he acknowledges the child. Dahe had always been good at studying, and with Zhao Ting's help, he would surely become an official in the future. How can our family not have good days with Ruru's help then?"
"So, we still have to help Zhao Ting? He doesn't like Meng Yao, so we have to help him send Meng Yao from a distance," Madam Sun said.
"Mother-in-law, do you honestly have the heart to do that?" Madam Lin couldn't help but ask.
Madam Sun gritted her teeth. "She never listened to me ever since she was a child, so why can't I bear to?"
...
Zhao Dahe was delighted when he left home this time because his mother had given him many of his favorite snacks. His mother made them all.
However, Zhao Dahe didn't know if it was because the earrings he bought made his mother happy or perhaps because the Meng family had their eyes on Zhao Dahe, and his mother felt guilty toward him.
In any case, Zhao Dahe felt his mother was someone who loved him the most.
After sending Zhao Dahe off, Meng Yao began to paint. Meng Yao had no choice because she had invested most of the money she got into her pocket dimension and only had a few dozen taels left. Meng Yao panicked when she didn't have any money.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xiaoshu and Zhao Xiaohua weren't interested in painting flowers, so Meng Yao let them do whatever they wanted.
Song Xiu'er was interested, but she lacked the essential talent. She was good at needlework but knew nothing about painting. Similarly, embroidery would not work.
Meng Yao felt regretful because she was about to lose her predecessor's talent in embroidery.
Zhao Dahe returned later that night alongside Qin Zheng. It had only been three days since Qin Zheng last visited, but he had already lost a lot of weight. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and the color of his initially gorgeous clothes was no longer visible, exuding a sour smell. Qin Zheng's hair was messy and covered in withered grass.
Qin Zheng was different from the chubby boy who loved talking and laughing.
"What happened?" Meng Yao couldn't help but ask as she helped Zhao Dahe carry Qin Zheng into the house.
Zhao Dahe shook his head. "I don't know because Qin Zheng didn't say anything."
Zhao Dahe also told Meng Yao he didn't see Qin Zheng after returning to school. Zhao Dahe asked his teacher where Qin Zheng was, but the teacher said he didn't know either because Qin Zheng hadn't said anything.
Zhao Dahe was worried about Qin Zheng, so he asked to be excused and went to the Qins to look for Qin Zheng. However, the Qin residence's door was tightly shut, and Zhao Dahe couldn't open it no matter how hard he tried.
Zhao Dahe returned empty-handed but returned to the Qin residence the following day. By then, the Qin residence's gate was sealed shut.
Zhao Dahe asked around and discovered that the Qin family got exiled from the village.
"Then?" Meng Yao pointed at Qin Zheng.
If the Qin family got exiled, why was Qin Zheng still around?
"I heard that the people who came to reprimand the Qins were quite superficial. I'm not sure how many people there are in the Qin family. Also, they seemed in a hurry," Zhao Dahe said, "I found Qin Zheng next to the Qin Residence."
There was an abandoned courtyard beside the Qin Residence, with a dog hole in the courtyard wall.
"How did you know Qin Zheng was next door?" Meng Yao was surprised.
"I used silver to inquire, and that person said he didn't see anyone taking Qin Zheng away. If someone took someone as chubby as Qin Zheng, the onlookers would surely remember," Zhao Dahe said, "The person I bribed was vague, so I thought it might be true. Sure enough, I found Qin Zheng in the courtyard next door. Don't worry, Mother. No one saw us."
"Have you ever thought your actions might cost us our lives, Dahe?" Meng Yao's expression was severe.
Zhao Dahe nodded. "Of course, I've thought about it. B-But I couldn't bear to leave Qin Zheng there. He would've starved to death if I didn't get him out of that courtyard. Let's help Qin Zheng, Mother."
Meng Yao sighed. She knew she couldn't ignore Qin Zheng's life or death situation.
"Let's clean him up first," Meng Yao sighed.
Zhao Dahe heaved a sigh of relief. "Okay."
Meng Yao found a set of Zhao Dahe's clothes and asked Zhao Dajiang to bring some hot water to help Zhao Dahe clean Qin Zheng.
Meng Yao was still thinking of a way to deal with Qin Zheng when Zhao Dahe's exclamation sounded from inside the room.