Chapter 072
Chapter 72: Dogskin Plaster
Old Madam Xia walked in with help, and behind her came Madam Wan and the Ping’an Marquis.
Xia Meng Yan did not get up. She put a lotus seed into her mouth and frowned: [So bitter.]
Old Madam Xia spoke with polite regret, but her movements showed a hint of pride: “Marquis, it is my failure to teach that made you suffer.”
She did not like Xia Meng Yan, yet seeing a grand marquis lower himself before the Xia Family pleased her.
Lin Ye Lan bowed to Old Madam Xia with respect, his tone mild: “It is nothing. Meng Yan has a temper. Let her vent.”
Madam Wan stood by Old Madam Xia and smoothed things over with a smile: “Marquis, you must not spoil Meng Yan too much, or she will be ruined. Meng Yan, it is not that your second aunt wants to scold you, but you must change this temper. He is a guest. How can you drive a guest away at the door?”
Old Madam Xia put on the airs of an elder and scolded with a stern face: “Your second aunt is right. You are spoiled at home, so you act without rules. Hurry and apologize to the Ping’an Marquis.”
Sitting opposite, Lin Ye Lan kept his eyes on Xia Meng Yan. When she would not even look at him, his anger burned hotter. Because others were present, he forced it down and acted gentle: “Old madam and second aunt, I am fine. Meng Yan is with child and her mood is unsteady. She will be well after the baby is born.”
Old Madam Xia put her prayer beads on the table and sighed as if hating iron that will not turn to steel: “He is the Ping’an Marquis, personally granted by His Majesty, and he handles people and things so well. Meng Yan, a husband like this is hard to find even with a lantern. What are you making trouble for now? Rumors are everywhere outside. If you will not think for yourself, at least think for the child. The Lu Family is not easy to deal with. If you marry into it, are you not sending the child into a wolf’s den?”
Lin Ye Lan had come to try one more time. These days he lived like a stray dog. His manor was a mess, and people mocked him when he went out. The ones who used to crowd around him now watched him as a joke. When he went to social events, without Xia Meng Yan’s money, he could only order the plainest tea. Once, a colleague saw him, and he could feel the man’s contempt.
Since he began coming to the Xia Family to treat his leg, his proud days seemed to return. Everything there was arranged with care. Even the handkerchiefs had his favorite scent. He had not expected Xia Meng Yan to be so ungrateful. Because Lu Rong Fang liked her, she had driven him out with a broom. Luckily he met Old Madam Xia outside, and so he got in.
He followed Old Madam Xia’s words and tried to persuade her: “Meng Yan, if you and the child can live well, I am willing to let go. But the Lu Family is not easy. Lu Rong Fang wants to use you to control the Lu Family. After he succeeds, there will be no place for you and the child.”
Xia Meng Yan glanced at the three and pushed herself up to sit: “Are you done?”
Old Madam Xia froze, then snorted: “What talk is that? We are doing this for your good.”
This granddaughter was as annoying as her father. With the rumors raging, she wanted to use the chance to press down the first branch. Otherwise she would not have come.
She had thought Xia Meng Yan would be worried and afraid. Instead, the girl did not care at all.
Xia Meng Yan neatened her dress, mockery in her eyes: “Is it really for my good, or do you want to keep sticking to my dowry like moths? You know the answer.”
Her words turned all three faces ugly.
Old Madam Xia wanted to scold her again, but Madam Wan tugged her sleeve.
Lin Ye Lan’s eyes went dark: “People say do not bully a poor youth. It is true the Marquis Manor has relied on you these years, but I also gave you His Majesty’s rewards. Is that not enough? Why cling to this point?”
Xia Meng Yan gave a short laugh: “Marquis, stop fooling yourself. Leaning on a woman is leaning on a woman. Do not make it sound pure and elegant. If I were you, I would also want the old days back. On one side you paved your way with your wife’s dowry. On the other, you used your childhood sweetheart to grab military merit. You took all the benefits. Now your wife divorced you, your childhood sweetheart wants to marry someone else, and you have no ability. So you use the child to force me. Lin Ye Lan, you are a dog.”
Lin Ye Lan’s gaze turned cold. [In a past life I must have had a feud with her. Why else would I lose my temper the moment I see her.] He said in a low voice: “No matter my faults, I am the child’s father. What is Lu Rong Fang? He will eat you clean to the bone.”
She answered without fear: “Lu Rong Fang’s plans are laid on the table. You, wanting this and that, are worse than him.”
Old Madam Xia could not stand Xia Meng Yan’s proud air, as if nothing in this world could touch her: “Where are the Xia Family’s rules? How can you talk to a marquis like this?”
Xia Meng Yan looked over everyone with lazy calm: “You all gather here for what, to force me to remarry, leave the Xia Family, and go back to lying flat so you can live off me again? Ridiculous. Do not say I will never marry. Even if I do, I will take everything from the Xia Family with me.”
Old Madam Xia was the first to lose control: “What did you say? You want to take everything from the Xia Family? On what right?”
She was an out-married daughter. How could she take so much?
Xia Meng Yan smiled and reminded her: “Grandmother, did you forget? The first and second branches have not split the family, but they have already split houses. I will take all of my mother’s dowry. And if my father wants to give me all his savings, what does that have to do with you?”
“You… you wicked girl.”
“I am a wicked girl who learned from grandmother,” Xia Meng Yan said with a fox-like smile. “Be selfish. Make others do the work if you can. Spend others’ money if you can. If you can get without labor, do not use your brain. Grandmother, I learned it perfectly. You should be happy.”
Old Madam Xia was so angry she could not speak.
Madam Wan opened her mouth, but when she met Xia Meng Yan’s eyes, she shut it again. If even the old madam could not press her down, anything she said would only get her scolded.
Lin Ye Lan had not expected Xia Meng Yan to become so sharp-tongued after the divorce: “Meng Yan, many things cannot be judged by what is in front of you.” He held down his temper and tried again, “The rumors are bad. If you keep this up, not only you, but Lord Xia and Madam Lin will be dragged down.”
She was said to care about no one. So he would find the people she did care about.
Xia Meng Yan could ignore herself, but would she ignore her parents?
As expected, when he mentioned Xia Ping Yuan, the sharp look on her face paused.
Lin Ye Lan was overjoyed. [Good. She cares about someone.] He spoke quickly: “The capital is complicated. Lord Xia may not say it, but he will be pushed aside by his peers. In this situation, our remarriage is the best ending. It will calm the rumors and give the child a complete home. Do not worry. I will never do what you dislike. After the child is born, the three of us will live a good life together, all right?”
In other people’s eyes, Lin Ye Lan was now humble to the lowest point. In her last life, if Xia Meng Yan had seen the man she loved humble himself for her, she might have agreed. But now she saw only his coldness and his schemes. The gentleness in his eyes wrapped around ambition, and even more around unwillingness. [He cannot stand that the cooked duck flew away.]
Xia Meng Yan said without any emotion: “No.”
The anger he had held down finally broke out: “Why?”
His voice dropped cold and heavy, like a wave hitting a cliff.
Xia Meng Yan flicked her sleeve, her words flat and final: “Rotten, spoiled, throw it away.”
“You are not afraid that Lord Xia will be dragged in?”
She smiled faintly: “My father has long wanted to quit. Make a big fuss if you like. At worst, he will resign and go home.”
Hearing “go home,” Madam Wan could not help speaking: “Xia Meng Yan, what do you mean?”
Xia Meng Yan’s lips curved in a light smile that held three parts mockery and seven parts cold: “Do you really think I do not know what you have done?”