After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 150 Let him wait
Meng Zhan was naturally resentful that a respectable official had become Miss Hai's bodyguard and servant.

But did he dare to speak up? He didn't dare; he could only politely go to Lord Hai's courtyard to receive his orders.

Unfortunately, Hai Shengyang was an extremely opportunistic person. When he saw Meng Zhan, he did not regard him as the prefectural magistrate at all, but only as a servant sent by his father.

Meng Zhan came to greet her as soon as he learned that he was going out with Miss Hai.

But he still didn't see anyone. Then, the Hai family's servant led him directly to the front hall, and the person disappeared.

Meng Zhan sat there for an hour before finally giving up.

He walked out of the front hall and randomly asked a servant in the front yard, "Please tell Miss Hai that I have other matters to attend to. If you have any instructions, please send them to the Meng family."

"I will make all the arrangements for you, Miss."

The servant was somewhat troubled, for he knew his young mistress's temperament best.

"Sir, why don't you wait a little longer? Miss will be out soon. You can talk to her yourself then, how about that?"

Meng Zhan was furious. What was going on? Even the servants of the Hai family looked down on him like this?

The clever servant said, "Lord Meng, it's not that I'm unwilling to relay your message, it's just that I'm a lowly person with little influence, and I'm not good with words. I'm afraid I might say something wrong and cause a misunderstanding."

The servant looked troubled as he spoke.

What else could Meng Zhan do? He had just offended Lord Hai, and now he had offended Miss Hai as well. He was really in deep trouble.

"Understood!" Meng Zhan sat back down in the front hall and waited, drinking pot after pot of tea.

In the backyard, Hai Shengyang was admiring chrysanthemums with his maids.

"I never expected the chrysanthemums in the north to be so beautiful. We've never seen these kinds of chrysanthemums in the capital," Hai Shengyang said with a smile, pointing to a pot of white chrysanthemums.

"Yes! Why don't we take a few pots with us when we go back this time, and show them to Madam and the Empress? They'll surely be delighted," the maids said.

Hai Shengyang nodded, "Right, right! I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. Let's explore the city one more time before we leave, and find some interesting things to bring back. My sister will definitely love them."

"Yes!" the maids replied in unison.

Hai Shengyang and the others chatted for a while longer before a young maidservant came out to remind them, "Miss, Lord Meng has been waiting in the front hall for two hours already, you see?"

Hai Shengyang smiled and rolled his eyes. "It's about time."

"Let's go, let's have a good talk with our guards."

Hai Shengyang looked down on Meng Zhan from the bottom of her heart. Everyone knew how Meng Zhan became the Tongzhi. How could a mere Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) possibly catch her eye?

However, she did think that such a person was a good match for Bai Wanqing, it's just a pity!

Bai Wanqing is incompetent; she can't even keep someone like that, let alone someone of Lin Yunche's status.

Hai Shengyang strolled leisurely into the front hall, just as Meng Zhan finished another pot of tea.

"My lord, I apologize for keeping you waiting." Hai Shengyang said this casually, without explaining why he was late.

Meng Zhan, of course, could not press the matter and could only swallow his anger.

“It’s not too late. Since escorting the young lady is my duty, I just need to complete this task well,” Meng Zhan said, straightening up.

Hai Shengyang carefully examined Lord Meng before him.

No wonder Bai Wanqing took a liking to this man in the first place. If she hadn't known what he had done, he would have seemed like a handsome and talented man at first glance.

"You're too kind, Lord Meng. I hope you'll take good care of me on this journey."

Hai Shengyang smiled brightly, making it impossible to tell that he had done it intentionally just now.

In her own words, some people are arrogant, but they are of low status. She would wear down their temper and slowly erode their pride and self-esteem until they could be used by her.

Meng Zhan suddenly felt that Hai Shengyang wasn't as tyrannical as he had thought, and he felt much better.

"Miss Hai is too kind."

Hai Shengyang and Meng Zhan agreed on a departure time for tomorrow. Hai Shengyang also told Meng Zhan that they would be bringing two carriages and asked him to arrange the necessary personnel. After everything was settled, Hai Shengyang looked at the sky outside.

"Lord Meng, it's getting late. Why don't you go back and make your preparations soon?"

Meng Zhan's face stiffened. The two of them were chatting happily just now, so why were they suddenly being asked to leave?
But Meng Zhan did not hesitate and immediately stood up. "I forgot the time and was rude to you, Miss. I will go back now and come to pick you up early tomorrow morning."

Hai Shengyang watched Meng Zhan leave the courtyard, and smirked slightly, "What a country bumpkin. Does he really think he'll gain my favor just because I said a few words to him?"

"He doesn't even know who he is. Does he even deserve it?"

“It’s normal that Miss doesn’t like him, but I heard that the Bai family was very fond of Lord Meng. Madam Bai and Madam Meng had the two families meet once and then decided on him.”

"It seems that Miss Bai is satisfied."

Hai Shengyang covered his mouth, finding it amusing. "This Bai Wanqing is just brainless, and she can't even judge people properly."

"I wonder if she can still let go of her ex-husband now."

The maidservant, remembering something, chimed in, "Miss, she probably hasn't let go yet!"

Hai Shengyang raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What do you mean?"

“Yesterday I went shopping in town and ran into Liu from the Meng family. I overheard the shopkeepers talking about her.”

"It is said that when Lady Liu had a difficult childbirth, all the doctors in the city were helpless."

"In the end, they found Madam Lin, who personally came to deliver the baby and saved her life."

"If she had let go, why would Madam Lin have gotten involved in this mess? It's clear she hasn't let go yet."

Hai Shengyang's expression changed. "You mean, Meng Zhan went to see Bai Wanqing?" "Bai Wanqing went to see Liu Shi because she had feelings for Meng Zhan?"

"Probably! Otherwise, what woman would ask her enemy to treat her illness? That would be courting death."

"Putting everything else aside, if I had the chance, I would definitely want the other person dead. How could I possibly save her?"

Hai Shengyang thought about it and realized that this made sense. It seemed that although Meng Zhan was ruthless, it did not mean that Bai Wanqing was ruthless.

Just as she had inquired, although she angrily drove the Meng family mother and son out of the Meng family, she ultimately did not get back some of the dowry that had already been given away.

“The key point is that she was originally in Huai’an County, but now she has come to Huaizhou City.”

"No matter how you look at it, it's clear that he hasn't let go."

The maids chattered amongst themselves, while Hai Shengyang began to make plans in his mind.

Meng Zhan, who had just left the Hai family, was still somewhat bewildered. For some reason, he found the day extremely difficult to endure.

He originally intended to go home, but the thought of the two women at home gave him an even bigger headache. So he simply went back to the yamen first, ordered two yamen runners to go with him the next day, and arranged everything before going home.

It was past midnight when they got home, and it was already dark in Fang's and Liu's courtyards.

Great, they're all asleep, at least he can finally have some peace and quiet.

But as soon as he entered the room, he saw a person sitting on his bed. Because there was no light on, just a shadowy figure sitting there really startled him.

"Who...who are you?" Meng Zhan's voice trembled slightly.

The person on the bed stood up and walked towards Meng Zhan step by step.

Meng Zhan looked at the person in front of him in horror. For every step she took forward, he took a step back.

"Ah!!! There's a ghost!" Meng Zhan screamed and ran out of the courtyard.

In an instant, lights were lit in the courtyards of Madam Fang and Madam Liu, and the servants all got up and rushed over.

"Master!" The servants of the Meng family surrounded him.

Meng Zhan pointed to the room and said, "There are people inside!"

"Arrest him immediately!"

The servants were also frightened! They lit lanterns, carried them inside.

Before I even entered the house, the woman inside had already rushed out.

His disheveled appearance terrified everyone present.

"Meng Zhan, you're a beast!" the woman shouted, then lunged at Meng Zhan.

Fang, who rushed over, hurriedly sent people to pull him away, saying, "Quick, quick, see where this madman came from and what he's doing in Zhan'er's courtyard."

Everyone rushed forward, creating a barrier between the woman and Meng Zhan.

The woman tossed her hair aside, revealing her face. "Hmph! Look closely, see who I am!"

"Who dares to touch me!"

Meng Zhan was taken aback, and so was Fang Shi.

"Peiran! What are you doing here like this?" Meng Zhan pushed aside the servant in front of him and strode over.

Yang Peiran glared angrily at Meng Zhan, then laughed loudly, "Why, Meng Zhan, don't you know why?"

Upon seeing Yang Peiran's posture, Meng Zhan immediately dismissed the servants and said to his mother, who had rushed over, "Mother, you should go back first. I will talk to Peiran."

Fang was furious when she saw that one of her concubines was pretending to be a ghost in the middle of the night to scare her husband. She originally wanted to teach Yang a lesson.

Meng Zhan stopped Fang Shi, saying, "Mother, please don't get involved anymore."

"Let me ask what happened first, and I'll tell you when I have time. It's so late, you should go home and rest."

Fang felt sorry for her son, and seeing how exhausted he looked, she had no choice but to give up.

But as she left, her gaze towards Madam Yang was unfriendly. "Hmph! A mere concubine, so what if she's from the Yang family?"

“If you don’t take good care of your husband, you will still be criticized.”

Meizhu, who was standing to the side, supported Madam Fang and said, "Yes, Madam, but let's go back first tonight and hear what Master has to say later."

"After all, the master's future is still the most important thing."

Fang Shi naturally knew this, so she said nothing more and followed Mei Zhu back to the courtyard.

When Liu heard the commotion outside, she sent Xiao Cui to check it out.

"What happened?" Liu Feifei asked.

Xiao Cui told Liu Feifei what she had just seen.

"Ha! What karma! Did Meng Zhan really think that all the women in the world would be as devoted to him as I was?"

"Madam, shall we go and add some more fuel to the fire?"

Recently, the Yang family has been using their family background to suppress Liu Feifei, and Liu Feifei is turning a blind eye to it.

"No need! Let them do what they want! But I think the Meng family's ship won't go far."

(End of this chapter)