Chapter Forty-Six: In Court

to feign innocence: "Mother, a married daughter should return home every three days. We can't possibly be unprepared."Mrs. Meng coldly snorted in disdain: "She has the face to come back after doing s...This is simply absurd!

No matter where this issue escalates, it's Meng Dongyuan and Mrs. Sun who are unreasonable and shameless.

Where is the logic in privately using a deceased wife's dowry to support children born with a new wife, while withholding it from her biological daughter

Meng Dongyuan was ridiculed by his eldest daughter, his face flushed red and then pale. However, as an elder who valued face, how could he admit his mistakes and shamelessness in front of his juniors

He stiffened his neck and argued defiantly: "Your father is your elder, isn't he Shouldn't he be in charge Alright, let it be this way. If there really is something like that, your mother will apologize to you, and your younger siblings will thank you for this when they get married in the future. Don't be so stubborn."

“My father is still trying to claim a share, even though he’s in the wrong. Why should I give him any ground” Meng Jinyang said coldly, unwavering. “Father, don’t you remember The imperial law clearly states that after a woman’s death, her dowry is inherited by her biological children. If there are no children, it should be returned to the woman’s family. Her husband’s family has no right to control it.”

Meng Dong's face froze, unable to refute. Indeed, there was such a law in our dynasty.

Meng Jinyao glanced at him, then said, “My mother has me, her legitimate daughter, so naturally I should inherit. It’s my property, and it's not up to Father to decide who he gives it to. And as for Mrs. Sun, being a concubine she has no right to override my mother’s dowry.” She curled the corner of her mouth slightly, a smirk playing on her lips as she looked at Mrs. Sun, her mockery unmistakable.

Sun's face was pale, her heart filled with resentment and anger.

Meng Dong was in excruciating pain, but for the sake of his family's honor, he had to keep this matter under wraps. He took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions, saying to Yao: "Ayao, if your mother really did such a thing, are you truly going to make a big fuss about it She took meticulous care of you when you were an infant. Can you bear to let her become the laughingstock of the entire city"

He hesitated for a moment, quickly organized his thoughts, and continued: "Furthermore, since there was an error with the dowry, why didn't you mention it before your wedding Bringing it up now only makes things difficult for your mother. You're already married, so is it really possible to add to your dowry afterwards What kind of propriety is that Even if this dowry remains, it belongs to your younger siblings, not some outsider."

Meng Jin Yao burst out laughing. "I only received the dowry list on my wedding day! I've never even seen it before the wedding. It wouldn't be possible for me to check it over and leave for the wedding, would it If I actually went through and counted every item in my dowry before leaving for the wedding, wouldn't that be a joke"

“……”

During the cold winter, Meng Dong kept silent. He hadn't expected this to happen.

Meng Jin Yao spoke with sharp words, smiling as she asked, "From what I heard from my father just now, he intends to take advantage of the Sun family's private appropriation of my mother's dowry, claiming face by refusing to return it, and then openly seizing my mother's dowry It is shameful for men to use their wives' dowries, and to fight with their children over their deceased wife's dowry is a shameless act. Does Father want to be that shameless wretch"

What a good father she really has!

He wanted to blame Mrs. Sun for embezzling her mother's dowry, clearing himself of any wrongdoing, and yet, he also tried to lessen Mrs. Sun's sentence by claiming she was "forced" to do it. In the end, he placed all the blame on her, saying she was unreasonable and that she shouldn't have demanded her dowry back because it brought shame upon her family

Meng Dongyuan, upon hearing this, seemed as if someone had stepped on his tail. His face flushed red, and he stammered in defense: "What are you talking about How could my father be such a shameless person I just don't want you two to quarrel to such an extent."

Meng Jinyao replied, “Since my father is not that kind of person, I would ask you to return my mother's dowry. My maternal grandfather has already prepared ample evidence for this, so he certainly wouldn't want my mother's dowry to fall into the hands of others."

Seeing her bring out Old Master Zhou, Meng Dongyuan was also helpless. He could only give his wife a look and helplessly said, "My wife, Ayao insists that you didn't add your dowry to her dowry list. For the sake of my husband, let me ask you again, is this truly the case"

Sun saw that her husband was helpless. Even though she felt extremely humiliated inside, she still bowed her head to her stepdaughter in front of the children because even though her husband and mother-in-law were aware of the situation, there was no evidence to prove they participated. Now all the evidence pointed at her, so she could only admit it.

When she looked at Meng Jinyang, she had a look of regret and said apologetically: "A Yao, it's mother who is not good. Don't blame your father, he doesn't know about it. Blame me for not admitting my mistake just now. Mother only thought that since you married into the Changxing Houfu, there would be endless wealth and glory you couldn't enjoy."

Halfway through her words, Mrs. Sun's eyes turned red, and she hurriedly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, choking back her voice and continuing, "And our Meng family lost so much wealth to your incompetent second uncle years ago. We haven't been able to recover these years. In the future, your younger brothers and sisters won't even have decent dowries when they get married. That's why we had this crooked idea."

Meng Dongyuan heard this, and feigned a look of astonishment: "Madam, you, you really did this"

Meng Jinyu and Meng Chenxing were shocked when they saw their mother confess. They felt a mixture of astonishment and panic. If this got out, the Meng family would be the laughingstock of everyone. Especially for them siblings, as they were the mother's biological children, people would likely say "like mother, like daughter/son."

"My husband, with our family's situation as it is, in a few years several of the children will be getting married. I really had no choice but to do this," Mrs. Sun said, tears streaming down her face. "Ayao, please rest assured, your father and I will make up for this in other ways. Please forgive your mother this time, and it's all for the sake of your three younger siblings..."

Meng Jinyao had watched them act for so long, listening to their words, it seemed they had no intention of returning the dowry. She was completely out of patience and said without hesitation: “You keep talking about all this nonsense, you don't even mention returning the dowry, that means you want to encroach on my mother's dowry! Don't you want to return it Since that's the case, there's no need to say more. We'll meet in court three days later. I believe justice will be served in court.”

She said this, then stood up and began to leave.

Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan immediately became flustered. His tone was sharp and laced with anger: "Rebellious daughter, stop right there!"

Meng Jinyao tilted her head and looked at him. "Does Father still have something to do"

Meng Dongyuan was so angry that his face turned red and his neck was thick. He questioned, "Do you really want to take your own elders to court"

"Father, your words are mistaken" Meng Jin Yao curled her lip and smiled mischievously, "It's you who don't want to return them. I'm just using legitimate means to take back what belongs to me. How did it become my fault"

Meng Dongyuan gritted his teeth and said, "That's your mother! If you bring her dowry back now, how will others view our Yongchang Marquis Estate Your sister is of marriageable age. If your mother is ridiculed, how will A-Yu find a husband"

Meng Jin Yao softly corrected, "My mother's surname is Zhou, not Sun." She paused for a moment, then looked at the Sun clan, "As a mother, she stands improperly, clearly not considering her children. Then why should I consider them"cking as changing husbands in the middle of the wedding ceremony, so why would I be afraid of a few rumors"Upon hearing this, Song Xining stared at her in bewilderment and asked, "But you clearly had...