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

Chapter 98 No Longer the Prefect's Daughter

Unlike yesterday when Bai Wanqing and Meng Zhan had a heart-to-heart talk, things were in complete chaos at Meng Zhan's residence in Huaizhou.

"Husband, my father is about to leave Huaizhou. We should at least go and see him off!" Ever since Liu Feifei learned that her father had resigned from his official post, she had been worried every day. Especially when she saw that Lord Liu looked so haggard, she felt even more sorry for him.

But Madam Fang didn't think so. Seeing that Liu Feifei had been arguing with her son a lot because Lord Liu had lost his official position, she called Liu Feifei and Meng Zhan to her room.

That sentence was said by Liu Feifei in Fang's room.

Fang frowned after hearing this, while Meng Zhan did feel guilty and sighed softly, "It should have been sent."

But Madam Fang was displeased. "Feifei, Zhan'er! How can you go and see Lord Liu off now!"

“If you go to deliver it, wouldn’t that confirm Lord Liu’s mistake? We are resigning voluntarily now. If this is confirmed, wouldn’t it mean we will be dismissed from office?”

“It’s not the same as resigning from office voluntarily. Besides, there are many people criticizing the execution of our son. We should avoid suspicion at this time.”

Fang felt that what she said was reasonable and well-founded, but it aroused Liu Feifei's dissatisfaction.

“Mother-in-law, what are you saying? Even if Father resigned voluntarily, who doesn’t know that he was already quite old? He ended up like this because he used his power to secure a position for his husband. Now that he’s leaving, how can we, as his daughter and son-in-law, not see him off?” Liu Feifei, despite being heavily pregnant, spoke with no sign of weakness.

Fang had long disliked Liu Feifei. During their time in Huaizhou, Liu Feifei, relying on Lord Liu's favor and the child in her womb, never paid any attention to Fang, let alone being as considerate and thoughtful as Bai Wanqing.

"So you mean your father lost his official position because of my son, Meng Zhan?" Madam Fang wouldn't let Liu Feifei pin this blame on Meng Zhan so easily.

Otherwise, not only will Zhan'er be unable to advance further with the help of the Yue family's influence, but he will also be implicated in Lord Liu's affairs. If this blocks his future path, who knows who will suffer more?

Liu Feifei did not answer immediately. She looked at her husband, but at this moment Meng Zhan was also considering things, after all, he felt that what his mother said made some sense.

Liu Feifei was somewhat disappointed, and then said, "My father served as an official in the court for more than ten years. Although he did not have any outstanding achievements, he was upright, honest and incorruptible."

"Even when the Censorate came to investigate Father this time, they only found out that Father used his private power to obtain a private position for my husband. Mother, tell me, if it wasn't because my husband lost his official position, then why was it?"

Upon hearing this, Fang choked and looked at her son.

“Liu, what you’re saying now is just what your father told you. Who outsiders can know the real reasons why you lost your official position? Besides, you keep saying that the Yue family is honest, upright, and incorruptible, but in reality, we’ve been in Huaizhou for quite some time now.”

"Everyone can see clearly what kind of lives these ordinary people are living."

Liu Feifei was shocked and pointed directly at Fang Shi, "You're spouting nonsense!"

Then she looked at her husband, Meng Zhan, and asked, "Husband, do you think so too?"

Meng Zhan remained silent, while Liu Feifei, her belly protruding, burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! Meng Zhan, I'm just asking you, are you going to see Father off out of the city with me or not?"

Meng Zhan thought for a moment and remained silent, but Fang Shi said firmly, "I'm not going!"

Liu Feifei looked at Meng Zhan, who paused slightly before saying, "Feifei! Stop fooling around. Mother is right. Now is indeed not a good time for us to see off Father-in-law!"

“He’s not only bad to me, he’s also bad to my father-in-law.”

Liu Feifei disagreed, "What's wrong with it? It's only the daughter and son-in-law's duty to see their father off. How come you and your son are making such a fuss about it?"

“My husband, now that my father is in trouble, have you forgotten who was willing to guide you when you went to the capital for the imperial examination, and who ran around trying to find you a job after the results were announced?”

Meng Zhan pursed his lips and remained silent, but Liu Feifei persisted, saying, "Do you think that just because you're pretending to be a turtle and hiding your head, no one will know?"

“He is my father and your father-in-law. How can you turn your back on him now?”

Liu Feifei's insults became increasingly offensive, and Fang Shi and Meng Zhan's expressions grew more and more unpleasant, until Meng Zhan could no longer bear it and said, "Liu Shi, watch your status and words. You are no longer the daughter of the prefect."

Liu Feifei choked upon hearing this, while Madam Fang, trembling with anger, said, "That's right, Madam Liu, your father has lost his official position, do you still think you're the daughter of the prefect?"

"You even said you were working for my son, but wasn't it you, you vixen, who seduced him in the first place? Wasn't it you who insisted on giving him that official position? How come now it's us who begged for it from your Liu family?"

Liu Feifei felt her blood freeze. She stared in disbelief at the mother and child before her, even more so at the fact that the love of her life, whom she had traded her entire family for, would utter such words. Holding her pregnant belly, she asked Meng Zhan, "Did I beg you? Meng Zhan, tell me, did I beg you back then?"

Meng Zhan glanced at Liu Feifei but didn't say anything. Fang Shi couldn't stand it anymore and pointed at Liu Feifei, saying, "You don't need to question my son here. Everyone knows about your reputation as the daughter of the Liu family!"

“If you hadn’t seduced my son, how could he have done such a thing with you?”

"You've already done it, but you still have the nerve to go out and show off, making the people of Huai'an County laugh at my son. Now you still have the nerve to question my son here. Aren't you afraid that my son will divorce you in a fit of anger?" Fang said fiercely.

"Divorce me?" Liu Feifei found it ridiculous. "How dare you divorce me?"

Fang raised an eyebrow and said, "Why wouldn't we dare? She's just a girl in white. If we can divorce a girl from the Bai family, we can certainly divorce a girl from the Liu family as well."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feifei's body went limp, and she lost all her previous bravado.

"Husband, you can't divorce me! When we first met, you said you would love me for life, have you forgotten that?" Liu Feifei's tears fell in large drops. Seeing that Meng Zhan didn't speak, she continued, "Husband, even if you don't care about our relationship, you can't ignore the child. He hasn't been born yet, you can't just let him go without a mother."

Liu Feifei was truly terrified at this moment.
Now that her father has lost his official position, the public opinion about her has changed. Ever since that banquet, everyone knows about her affair with Meng Zhan. Even though neither of them has admitted it, with the child here, she can't escape it no matter what.

If Fang were to really harden her heart and divorce her now, she felt that she would probably not fare any better than Bai Wanqing, so her attitude immediately softened.

Meng Zhan rubbed his forehead and said, "Madam, you must be tired. I think you don't need to worry about your father's passing. Let Mother handle all these matters."

Liu Feifei felt a pang of pain in her heart, but ultimately she didn't argue back and was helped back to her room by her maid.

Fang was naturally relieved to have won a battle, but then she thought about how her son had lost his backing, and she couldn't help but feel annoyed. "That Liu family is really useless. They managed to handle such a small matter so well that people could find fault with them, and they even implicated our Meng family. It's really infuriating."

Meng Zhan thought the same way, but fortunately, he still held his official position, which meant he still had a chance.

“Mother, since things have come to this, we can only look forward. As for the matter of divorcing my wife, I think you should not bring it up again. After all, I am now an official of the court, and I can't be as casual as before.” Meng Zhan finished speaking and sighed helplessly.

Fang nodded knowingly, "I know, I know everything, I was just trying to scare her."

"In the end, she is not as obedient or as intelligent as Wanqing. If it weren't for her status, I might not have let her into our family."

"However, speaking of this, Zhan'er, you and Liu Feifei have been married for almost half a year now. You can't still be like before, listening to her in everything, with no one to serve you in the room."

"It just so happens that your aunt said the other day that your cousin has just started a relationship. If you ask me, why don't you let her come and serve you in your room? It would be a warning to that Liu woman, so she won't keep bringing up those past favors and causing you trouble."

Thinking back on these past few days, Meng Zhan realized that Madam Liu had indeed been very aggressive, and had even hoped that Meng Zhan would take the initiative to take responsibility and protect Lord Liu.
"Mother, do as you please!" Meng Zhan didn't want to waste any more energy on matters in the inner quarters.

After all, his new superior would be arriving soon, and he needed to prepare all the necessary government affairs in the meantime, so he could make a good impression on his boss.

Otherwise, if he were to lose the official position he had worked so hard to obtain in the fall, he would truly become someone who had lost both his wife and his army.

What Meng Zhan didn't expect was that no sooner had his father-in-law left than Lord Cheng from the capital arrived in Huaizhou for some unknown reason.

Logically, the matters that needed to be investigated before had already been investigated by the Censorate. What is he here for this time?

Meng Zhan speculated for a long time and couldn't sleep for several nights in a row, fearing that he would be implicated.

To everyone's surprise, Lord Cheng didn't even stay in Huaizhou, and headed straight for Huaian County with his servants.

So, early that morning, when Cheng Susu went to the Bai family to find Bai Wanqing, she happened to be caught by Lord Cheng.

At this moment, Cheng Susu had just met Bai Wanqing and was taking Bai Wanqing's arm to go shopping at the market. "Wanqing, you're getting married in a couple of days. Pick whatever you want, and I'll buy it for you as part of your dowry!"

Cheng Susu spoke with such domineering confidence that Bai Wanqing was about to refuse when she heard a roar from behind her.

"Cheng Susu, you're getting bolder and bolder!"

(End of this chapter)