If Lüzhu hadn't stumbled in behind Tang Baixin, Tang Zhuyun would never have imagined that it was Meng Yulan who was injured.
"Quickly carry him to my room."
Tang Zhuyun asked Xiu'er to take the two children next door, while she quickly checked on Meng Yulan's condition.
Meng Yulan had already fainted; she had a large gash on her forehead, and blood was flowing continuously.
How did you do that?
"She... ran into the wall." Tang Baixin's voice was heavy with sorrow and anxiety, his concern overflowing. "How is she? A-Yun, how is she? Is her life in danger?"
His white robe was almost entirely stained red with Meng Yulan's blood, and large blood flowers bloomed on his robe. However, Tang Baixin, who always loved cleanliness and always dressed neatly even in the most tattered clothes, now had only the dying Meng Yulan in his eyes.
"She's not in any danger, brother, please step aside. I need to treat Sister Meng's wounds."
"Oh, okay." Tang Baixin hurriedly stepped aside, almost tripping over himself; he was clearly in a state of panic.
Tang Zhuyun instructed Lüzhu, "Go out and find Xiu'er, and fetch some warm water."
Lüzhu knelt down with a thud, grabbing her legs and pleading, "Miss Tang, please, please give our young lady a quick death! Don't save her, please don't save her..."
Tang Baixin was furious and grabbed Lü Lüzhu's arm. "Get out of the way! You're delaying the rescue, you're trying to kill someone!"
Meng Yulan such a good person, yet her maidservant actually wished for her death. Tang Baixin was unusually furious, even more furious than if she herself had been betrayed.
Tang Zhuyun vaguely guessed what was going on and said in a deep voice, "Wanting to die is easy, it's just a matter of one poison pill. Once your young lady wakes up and explains herself, if she still wants to die, I'll send her off."
"A-Yun!"
"Brother, take Lüzhu with you and go out."
"A-Yun..."
"Get out!" Tang Zhuyun calmly and forcefully.
Not to mention Lüzhu, even Tang Baixin had never seen her sister like this before. She gritted her teeth and dragged Lüzhu out.
Tang Zhuyun cleaned Meng Yulan's wounds, applied medicine, and bandaged them. Seeing that she was covered in cold sweat, she sighed and said, "Sister Meng, it hurts so much, how much longer are you going to pretend?"
Meng Yulan had been awake for a while, ever since she chased those two people out.
But during the wound cleaning process, even though it hurt so much, and even though the veins on her forehead were throbbing and she was covered in cold sweat, she still didn't open her eyes.
"A-Yun, you shouldn't have wasted the medicine to save me." Meng Yulan opened her eyes, her once gentle and resolute, sparkling eyes now like the aftermath of a wildfire, leaving only a deathly silence.
"Medicine, if used to save lives, is never a waste," Tang Zhuyun said calmly as she packed her things. "Sister Meng, you're not afraid of death, so why are you afraid of living? Just for someone who doesn't love you, you're willing to give up your life. Don't you think you're being too despicable?"
"Normally, even among noble ladies, those who are competitive and eager to get ahead would feel bad if a single extra word was said, and they'd get their revenge next time. How could they just let a man bully them like this?"
"To die for love is one thing, but to die for not loving is truly a disservice to one's life."
Meng Yulan looked at the ceiling above the bed, tears streaming down her face.
She was heartbroken and couldn't be persuaded with just a few words.
However, at this moment she was overwhelmed by deep guilt and her conscience was troubled.
"I'm sorry, A-Yun, I'm afraid I've harmed your older brother."
Upon learning of the past events she had never known before, she was filled with despair and impulsively went to find Jiang Beihan, wanting to make him remember her for life through her death. However, it ultimately turned into an uncontrollable farce and a joke.
Fate can be unpredictable, and the human heart is fickle.
Meng Yulan has two maids who have served her since childhood: one is named Lüzhu, and the other is named Yingxue.
Lüzhu is innocent and lively, while Yingxue is steady and thoughtful; both are Meng Yulan's confidants.
When the Marquis of Wuyang's Residence was in trouble, Meng Yulan was extremely anxious. She secretly sold her belongings and managed to scrape together two thousand taels of silver. She then had Yingxue deliver this letter, along with her letter expressing her determination, to Jiang Beihan.
Yingxue sent a letter back saying that Jiang Beihan had accepted it and would definitely do as the letter said, so she shouldn't be sad.
A few days later, Yingxue's family came to beg for Yingxue release from servitude.
Although Meng Yulan was reluctant to part with her, she was willing to go home to get married, so she borrowed two hundred taels of silver from her sisters to send her off.
Unexpectedly, Yingxue went to find Jiang Beihan, and the person she married was also Jiang Beihan!
She is the biological mother of Jiang Beihan's three children!
Tang Zhuyun was shocked when she heard Meng Yulan say this, but all of this was not incomprehensible.
Ultimately, it was because Meng Yulan trusted the wrong person that led to what happened later.
Even calling Jiang Beihan a scumbag is untenable; it's simply incredibly foolish.
"You think that's all?" Meng Yulan said softly, her face as pale as paper.
Tang Zhuyun didn't understand; wasn't this bad enough?
It's impossible for Meng Yulan to still be thinking about getting back together with Jiang Beihan and becoming a stepmother.
"Is it that you still wanted to clarify the facts and let Jiang Beihan punish Yingxue, but he refused?" Tang Zhuyun asked tentatively.
"No." Meng Yulan gently shook her head. "If Yingxue is to be punished, I will do it myself. Jiang Beihan and I... there's no future for us."
How could she bear the thought of those three children in between?
Even if she were willing, what would Yingxue do? Kill her? What would the three children think? If she didn't kill her, would she share a husband with Yingxue? Meng Yulan wasn't willing to trample on herself like that.
So when she learned the truth, fate had already drawn an insurmountable chasm in front of her, forever separating Jiang Beihan.
"Since you know that, why are you so upset?" Tang Zhuyun said, "If there's no Jiang Beihan, isn't there still the Prince of Jin? The Prince of Jin will do!"
Song Jingyang, who was eavesdropping, gritted his teeth. "Your Highness, I don't want to be the one left holding the bag!"
What do you mean by "also acceptable"? Your Highness must be extremely capable!
"If it were before," Meng Yulan said with a self-deprecating smile, "Even if my heart were aching and I was in pain, I wouldn't have been able to confront Jiang Beihan in the street. But now..."
Tang Zhuyun suddenly realized that Meng Yulan had always been concerned about Madam Meng's situation, and would rather die quietly than do something so reckless as to reveal everything in front of so many people on the way to court and then bang her head against a wall.
"It was my mother who instructed Yingxue to do that back then." Meng Yulan burst into tears.
Madam Meng hadn't expected that Yingxue had a backup plan.
Madam Meng asked Yingxue to tell Meng Yulan that Jiang Beihan wanted her to give up, but unexpectedly Yingxue told Meng Yulan to wait.
As for Yingxue marrying Jiang Beihan, it was Madam Meng's idea to make Meng Yulan give up completely.
"My mother and Yingxue are both the instigators," Meng Yulan said quietly, "And Jiang Beihan underestimated me too much."
Doesn't he know anything about the true nature of the person he loves?
Wasn't his hasty marriage to Yingxue a way to get revenge on her?
He couldn't even send a letter to find out the situation before hastily sentencing her to death.
Her mother, her maid, and her lover all pushed her to the edge of the cliff, leaving her with no choice but to stay.