Reborn to marry, the short-lived prince lived a hundred years

"My mother's surname is Xiao." Seeing that he was hesitant to say it, Meng Tingyue's eyes were filled with sadness.

"Yes, my last name is Xiao. Look at my memory. It gets worse the older I get." Meng Dongliang laughed dryly a few times, trying to resolve the embarrassment with self-deprecating humor.

"If I remember correctly, my uncle is only a few years older than me. My grandfather's memory is not as bad as my uncle's." Meng Tingyue sneered.

Meng Dongliang's eyes flickered, as if he wanted to evade something. "Niece, if you have nothing else to do, I will take my leave first. I have some urgent matters to attend to."

"Wait a minute." A steady and powerful voice interrupted his retreat.

Old Master Xiao stared at Meng Dongliang with a deep look in his eyes. He slammed his cane on the ground with a dull thud. "You claim to be Meng Ci's younger brother?"

Meng Dongliang already knew in his heart that these two might be the relatives of his brother's deceased wife.

When he thought of the lie his brother had made up, he couldn't help feeling guilty, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"I... am... that... I..." He stammered, unable to say a complete sentence.

"If you don't want to tell me, then let me, an old man, tell me." Old Master Xiao's eyes were like sharp blades, staring straight at Meng Dongliang.

"When my daughter brought Meng Ci back, she kept saying that his parents were both dead and he had no relatives. How did you come from? You're only a few years older than my granddaughter."

"Having a younger brother this big doesn't prove that his parents are not dead as he said. Instead, your Meng family fabricated a lie and deceived us in order to help the Xiao family."

After he finished speaking, Mr. Xiao slammed the cane in his hand heavily to the ground.

Meng Dongliang's heart trembled. His already shaky confidence shattered like sand under this blow, and he couldn't help but tremble all over.

However, he quickly suppressed his panic and straightened his back, pretending to be calm.

"Hmph, the Xiao family is but a humble merchant family. How dare you act so questioningly in front of me, Meng? You must know that my brother now holds an important position of the fourth rank. Even if he truly has some unavoidable hardship and is hiding something from you, what can you do to him?"

There was a hint of disdain and arrogance in Meng Dongliang's words, and he tried to use the shadow of power to cover up his inner cowardice.

"My brother is an official appointed by the imperial court. It is a blessing for the Xiao family to be able to become in-laws with my brother. Moreover, my eldest niece is now the Crown Princess and will become the Empress of the country in the future. If your Xiao family had not been associated with my brother, even if you burn incense at your ancestors' graves, you would not have received such a great honor."

The more Meng Dongliang spoke, the more confident he became.

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like thunder exploding in the ears of everyone in the Xiao Mansion, making the two of them tremble with anger, their eyes wide open, burning with rage, almost bursting out.

"If I had known that Meng Ci was such a hypocritical and cunning person, my Xiao family would never have formed an alliance with his family." Old Master Xiao stood up angrily, holding the cane tightly in his hand, wishing he could just use the cane to beat the audacious man in front of him to death.

Meng Tingyue witnessed her grandfather's furious expression and felt extremely worried, fearing that he might get sick from the anger.

"Someone, please take my uncle down and take good care of him." There was an unquestionable chill in Meng Tingyue's voice.

Seeing this, Meng Dongliang curled up a smug smile at the corner of his mouth, and like a victorious rooster, he turned his head and left arrogantly, completely ignoring the two people behind him whose faces were ashen with anger.

Xiao Huaifeng's chest was raging with rage, and his deep voice was filled with uncontrollable indignation: "This person is evil to the core. How dare he say such outrageous words."

"If such words were to accidentally reach His Majesty's ears, it would implicate Tingyue and the Crown Prince, bringing about a catastrophic disaster."

After saying this, he turned his gaze to his niece standing beside him. Seeing her calm face, as if she was out of the matter, he couldn't help but feel deeper pity and worry in his heart.

Old Master Xiao was also furious. "If such a person continues to stay in the mansion, it will be like raising a tiger to cause trouble. Sooner or later, he will drag the entire mansion into the abyss."

Hearing this, a cold light flashed across Meng Tingyue's eyes. "In less than half a month it will be my father's birthday. I just have to endure this half month."

After she finished speaking, she gently raised her hand, signaling the servants to carefully clean up the teacup fragments scattered on the ground, her demeanor revealing a sense of determination and calmness.

Xiao Huaifeng breathed in and out slowly, calming the anger boiling in his chest, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"I still have solid evidence in my hands that Meng Dongliang has been harassing innocent women along the way. When the time is right, I will reveal it all. I vow to plunge the Meng family into an abyss of no return."

Meng Tingyue nodded slightly, with a hint of depth and planning in her eyes.

—－

The news of the Xiao family's arrival in Beijing and the news that they had become the imperial merchants of the Great Zhou Dynasty spread quickly to every street and alley in the capital, and the streets and alleys were filled with people's discussions and exclamations.

Upon hearing this good news, many merchants in the capital were filled with envy and sincere admiration, and secretly sighed in their hearts that the Xiao family was so lucky.

The Xiao family's shop in the capital was instantly crowded with people and bustling because of this sudden good news.

When the news reached the Qing Palace.

Prince Qing was staying in the house, looking at the lush green trees outside the window, the dark mist in his eyes growing thicker.

Standing behind him were Mu Xia and Wang Qishen.

After Mu Xia finished reporting the news in detail, King Qing gently placed his fingertips on his thin lips and let out a low and slightly hoarse cough.

Wang Qishen sighed inwardly and said in a gentle and low voice, "Your Highness, things have come to this. I hope you can take care of yourself. Once you recover, you will still have a chance to compete for the supreme position."

"I know." King Qing's voice was very faint, with a hint of vagueness.

He looked at the green plants outside the house and asked, "Besides this, is there anything else happening in the capital?"

Mu Xia's heart trembled upon hearing this, and he then respectfully detailed the results of his recent investigation. "Following the prince's orders, I have begun investigating the mastermind behind the gathering in front of the gate that day. After much painstaking investigation, I learned that the information originally came from a group of beggars in the city, who inadvertently leaked the news."

"Regrettably, these beggars have quietly left the city recently, seemingly intent on avoiding tracking. However, I have quickly dispatched personnel to follow their steps and search for their whereabouts."

Hearing this, Wang Qishen frowned and fell into deep thought. "From this perspective, it seems there's a deeper hidden force behind those beggars. This person is acting so secretly, and his guilty conscience is evident. I'm afraid he has ulterior motives."

Upon hearing this, King Qing nodded in agreement and also fell into deep thought.

"They're promoting the princess's shop like this, yet they're carefully hiding their whereabouts, fearing detection... Could it be that the Ningxiang Pills sold in the princess's shop are hiding some unknown secret?"

A solemn look flashed in Wang Qishen's eyes, and he boldly put forward his own guess.