Chapter 1081 – The Grief of the Meng Clan (Part 8)
Unexpectedly, Gu Zhen’s deep affection for this bastard child made Meng Zhan feel as if he’d just been slapped several times in the face—what an utter humiliation.
Furthermore, Meng Heng had taken the title of Eldest Legitimate Son, seizing the position of the Meng Clan’s scion—
A bastard child, and he thinks he deserves it?
“Sigh—how regrettable indeed—”
Meng Zhan’s brows twitched.
He was intrigued to hear what this individual would say next.
“Do you really think Cousin Heng isn’t your son? Besides you, there’s no other man for your concubine. Whether before or after marriage, or even after the divorce, she has never betrayed you. Even if she married my father, they maintained their original relationship,” Jiang Pengji said with a smile, “Moreover, do you know who wrote the ‘Four Books for Women’? If you knew who she was, you’d wish to skin her and drink her blood, how could you possibly feel regret?”
Meng Zhan wouldn’t believe it, a mocking smile twisting at the corners of his mouth.
“You should ask Gu Zhen if she has the face to accept it!”
Meng Zhan trusted his own eyes; Gu Zhen was the only woman he had loved and also hated deeply.
After being betrayed time and again, did she really think Meng Zhan feared the Gu Clan and Liu Clan enough to not act against her?
“Of course, she has the face to accept it; I just fear you lack the courage to admit your mistakes—”
Meng Zhan was extremely confident and obsessively stubborn; such people typically possess a defining trait—neither shedding a tear upon seeing a coffin nor turning back after hitting a wall—because they simply do not believe they are wrong; they only trust the information they derive.
If one were to kill Meng Zhan without any action taken, he would still face death generously because, in his mind, he was not at fault.
Since that’s the case, Jiang Pengji would shatter his confidence with hard evidence!
Let him see who was truly at fault!
Meng Zhan was both angry and amused, his entire face contorted and grotesque, speaking in a chilling tone, “Ignorant wretch, such lowly tactics don’t even match up to one tenth of your father’s! If you want to kill, then kill! If you want to rip apart, then do it! If I take a single step back, let me be struck by lightning—”
For scholars of this era, there were always things that superseded life itself.
Meng Zhan was truly unafraid of death.
Jiang Pengji carefully examined Meng Zhan’s face and suddenly declared, “I can eat anything, but I absolutely cannot tolerate losses.”
“Cannot tolerate losses?” Upon hearing this, Meng Zhan’s aged face momentarily flashed with mockery, “But you’ve already suffered one!”
Besides being stubborn, he had no other cards to play, and Meng Zhan was completely unafraid.
Initially, Meng Zhan had planned to consolidate Cangzhou’s military forces for one last battle, ensuring that Jiang Pengji could not easily take Cangzhou.
After much contemplation, he abandoned that plan and chose to hand Cangzhou over to Huang Song, while also promising benefits to the Nie Clan of Zhong Zhao and the Yi Clan of Beiyuan, using the two families to restrain Jiang Pengji, keeping her from finding Huang Song for revenge.
Such humiliating manipulation and scheming were unbearable to any proud person—
But this loss had to be swallowed; unless she wished to ignore the greater scheme and court death for a moment’s bravado!
No matter how strong she was, she could not withstand repeated major wars.
In the battle for the northern frontier, her strength had yet to be restored.
At this moment, facing pressure from the joint forces of the Nie Clan and Yi Clan, how could she endure it?
Having discerned this, Meng Zhan was emboldened.
Jiang Pengji beckoned towards Meng Zhan, her tone suddenly turning cold, “I have something to tell you—Old Scoundrel Meng Zhan, remember this firmly, even when facing the King of Hell! Anyone who makes me suffer even a little, I will make them swallow back tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold!”
In her two lives, what kind of situations had Jiang Pengji not experienced?
From a lowly genetic warrior to the commander wielding military power, did she really think she rose through sheer brawn, completely devoid of wit?
Meng Zhan was quite exceptional to have conned her into suffering such a loss.
However—
Had he considered her revenge before doing this?
Hearing her grandiose words, Meng Zhan not only did not feel anger but instead laughed heartily.
Since Meng Liang’s death, he had rarely found such joy.
“I await it—”
Jiang Pengji smirked and turned to the struggling Meng Hunyun, “Meng Xiaowei, you may leave and also call for Shi Jiu and Cheng Yun.”
Meng Hunyun hesitated, but he could not disobey Jiang Pengji’s order.
“Yes!”
Upon hearing the name “Shi Jiu,” Meng Zhan paused for a moment before recognizing this was his eldest son, Meng Heng.
As Meng Hunyun exited the jail, Jiang Pengji said meaningfully, “Meng Zhan, open your eyes and see clearly the mistakes you’ve made over the years!”
Meng Zhan paid no mind at first but soon became unsettled, his eyes widening in shock reflecting his inner turmoil.
“What kind of sorcery is this?”
The dark prison cell suddenly lit up, and Meng Zhan instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes, taking quite a while to adjust to the unexpected brightness.
When he lowered his sleeves, the surrounding environment transformed dramatically.
He had leaped from the dim prison into the lavish main hall of a splendid mansion, noticing the decor; many of the furnishings were fit only for royalty.
Confused, he saw a man clad in luxurious garments embracing two palace maids, joking, about to reach for one’s chest.
Just then, a cold huff resounded from nowhere.
“Hmph! You’re still causing trouble here?”
Meng Zhan was horrified to see a charming red figure appear in a previously empty space, its beauty unparalleled. The figure was decked out in elaborate makeup, looking exceptionally enchanting; her beauty could only be described as a “heavenly seductress”!
The man initially present hurriedly bowed, “Mother Empress.”
Mother Empress?
Meng Zhan’s expression remained unchanged as he calmly analyzed the identities of these two individuals.
As the man and woman exchanged words, Meng Zhan’s cold sweat broke out as he dawned on their identities—
One was the deceased Fourth Prince of Dongqing, Wu Ma Jun, and the other was the Wang Guifei who had died eight hundred years ago!
Just as he was left aghast and helpless, a voice he detested and hated with gritted teeth echoed in his ears.
“Yo yo yo—so you really are a cat with nine lives; last time I broke your neck but couldn’t kill you; you’ve come back to life again.”
A cynical voice came from outside, and Meng Zhan turned to look, discovering that “Liu Xi” could not see him.
No, wait—
She wasn’t Liu Xi—
Meng Zhan quickly realized that the Liu Xi he saw now was slightly fresher and more juvenile than the previous.
He had a vague suspicion—
These were all illusions and were very likely someone’s memories!
As for whose memories they were, Meng Zhan had already guessed.
He usually observed and prayed, yet inwardly he disdained such things, but seeing the unnatural phenomenon with his own eyes left him no choice but to believe.
Meng Zhan suppressed his emotions, wanting to see what kind of scheme Jiang Pengji had concocted.
Regardless of whether it was the Red-Clothed Woman, Wu Ma Jun, or the youthful version of Liu Xi, the three were oblivious to Meng Zhan, lost in their own conversation.
As Meng Zhan listened, his shock deepened, and when he discovered that Liu Zhi had adopted Liu Huan and actively promoted the incestuous relationship between Liu Huan and Wu Ma Jun, he laughed.
“Liu Zhi, oh Liu Zhi, you’re not much more dignified than I am—”
The thought of such a plan showed Liu Zhi was also a ruthless character.
However, these matters were merely Liu Zhi’s entanglements with an anomaly, completely unrelated to him.
Just as he entertained this thought, he was quickly slapped in the face.
