Quick Transmigration: The Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character's Revenge

Chapter 385 Swapping a Sister for a Child 28

Hearing Qi Ning angrily berate Meng Jiyang, Meng Shaoqing couldn't help but smile.

He quickly chimed in, "That's right. Meng Jiyang is a morally questionable person. He covets power and wealth, abandoned his wife and mother, and is not even human. He is not worthy of entrusting one's life to him."

Qi Ning did indeed look extremely angry.

She was still cursing: "And Chen Hehua is no good either. Her son died and she wasn't in a hurry to hold a funeral. Instead, she was afraid that no one would take care of her after I remarried, so she forced me to have an affair with Chen Dahu."

"If it weren't for you," Qi Ning said, looking up at Meng Shaoqing, "if you hadn't saved me, I probably would have been driven to my death by that mother and son long ago!"

"They are indeed of the same bloodline."

When talking about what happened before, Meng Shaoqing looked at Qi Ning with tenderness in his eyes and reached out to hug her.

Qi Ning added, "You should have told me about this sooner!"

Meng Shaoqing hadn't expected Qi Ning to react this way. If he had known earlier, he would have said so long ago.

He hesitated before saying, "I thought you would consider our past relationship..."

"Pah! What old feelings!"

Qi Ning chuckled and said, "Meng Jiyang never treated me as his wife. He just wanted me to serve him and his son and to weave cloth to sell and support them. I was worse than a servant in their house. At least servants get a monthly salary, but I was paying them extra."

"Besides, not long after we got married, Meng Jiyang left Mengjia Village to take the imperial examination. What feelings could we possibly have for each other?"

That makes sense.

Meng Shaoqing's original concerns vanished without a trace. He hugged Qi Ning tightly and said, "Now that my wife has seen through Meng Jiyang's true colors, let's stop thinking about him and live our lives well from now on."

Qi Ning pushed Meng Shaoqing away, looked up and said, "No way!"

"W-what?"

"What I mean is, we can't just let this go. Meng Jiyang almost killed me. We can't let him off so easily. Are we just going to ignore him and watch him become that high-ranking official's son-in-law?"

Meng Shaoqing breathed a sigh of relief; he had thought something was wrong.

He certainly didn't intend to let Meng Jiyang off so easily, but he hadn't had a chance to say so yet.

Otherwise, if Meng Jiyang finds out about his relationship with Qi Ning in the future, he might retaliate against them, so it's best to take precautions early.

“My lady is right. Chen Hehua just died last year, and Meng Jiyang is still in mourning. Yet he has participated in the imperial examination, which is against the law. Why don’t I expose him and let him be punished? What do you think?”

Previously, Meng Shaoqing thought it was somewhat despicable to expose others behind their backs, but now that he knew what Meng Jiyang had done, he felt that no one could be more despicable than Meng Jiyang, and that he deserved to be punished.

But Qi Ning shook her head slightly after hearing Meng Shaoqing's words: "That won't do."

"Why not?"

After a pause, Meng Shaoqing asked again, "Could it be that you can't bear to let him be punished by law?"

Qi Ning was both amused and exasperated. She reached out and tapped Meng Shaoqing's forehead with her finger.

"You idiot, ever since you found out Meng Jiyang was still alive, you've become so suspicious and worried about this and that. I've already said I don't want to let him off easily, so how could I not want him to be punished, and how could I not bear to?"

Meng Shaoqing grasped Qi Ning's hand: "So what do you mean?"

"I'm worried about you."

"Worried about me?" Meng Shaoqing's eyes lit up slightly.

"Yes, think about it. Meng Jiyang has been in the capital for so long. He must have curried favor with and gotten to know countless powerful and influential people. Not to mention anything else, just take that Miss Wu and Lord Wu."

Qi Ning knew that although Meng Shaoqing eventually rose to the highest position in the original story, it was not something that could be achieved overnight. It was not like becoming a high-ranking official immediately after passing the imperial examination.

Although the original plot did not describe Meng Shaoqing in detail, it is easy to see that Meng Shaoqing was not born into a prominent family, nor did he receive any kind of education from a young age.

Born into a farming family, he was too simple and straightforward, untouched by worldly influences and unaware of the darkness of officialdom.

For example, there's a saying that "children from poor families learn to be independent early." But children from poor families only learn trivial life skills like chopping wood and making fires at a young age, which aren't very useful.

The children of those aristocratic families were different. They were served from a young age and seemed unable to lift a finger because they didn't need to chop wood or fetch water. From birth, they learned how to follow rules and regulations and how to conduct themselves in society.

The difference between ordinary people and children from aristocratic families is enormous.

Meng Shaoqing may have some talent in academics, but that doesn't mean he can surpass those scions of noble families in other aspects. Even if he eventually rises to the highest position, he will inevitably have to go through many setbacks before he can learn those methods and climb the ranks step by step.

Qi Ning believed that Meng Shaoqing had the ability, but he was still just a greenhorn who hadn't experienced the harsh realities of society and officialdom.

Furthermore, he now sees Meng Jiyang as a thorn in his side and is eager to remove him, which makes him too hasty and simplistic in his thinking, without considering the consequences.

Qi Ning carefully analyzed the situation for Meng Shaoqing: "Think about it, if you rashly expose Meng Jiyang, someone might cover for him before things get out of hand. Miss Wu might plead for him, and his future father-in-law might help him out of trouble."

"As for us, we've only been in the capital for a short time, we have no connections, and we're not protected by any high-ranking officials or nobles. We're just ordinary people. It would be easy for them to scheme against us. Don't you think that makes sense?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Shaoqing slowly nodded.

He couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. In many ways, Qi Ning considered issues more comprehensively and was more quick-witted than him.

For example, when they were taken to the county government office, he was still thinking about how to plead his case and get away with it, but Qi Ning thought of bribing the county magistrate from the very beginning.

If Qi Ning were not a weak woman, she would surely have accomplished great things.

Of course, even if she was just a woman, she was still a hundred times better than the average woman. Otherwise, how could she have woven cloth and sold it to support her family in a place like Mengjia Village, and then so quickly built up a Jinxiu Pavilion in the capital?

If Meng Shaoqing's feelings for Qi Ning were previously only pity and infatuation, now he has become somewhat convinced of her worth.

"My wife is right. I was too rash and didn't think of these things. It's thanks to your wisdom that I was reminded."

Qi Ning gave a light snort: "It's good that you know."

Fortunately, Meng Shaoqing was neither a chauvinist nor a stubborn mule. He didn't think it was shameful to be inferior to a woman. Moreover, he knew how to humbly seek advice.

"Please advise me, my lady, what do you think should be done with Meng Jiyang?"

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