The scumbag ran away from marriage, I remarried on the spot

Chapter 567: Changing the Crown Prince

For the next few days, Meng Dongyuan stayed by Old Madam Meng's side, taking care of her without taking off his clothes. He fed her and gave her medicine himself. He stayed by her bedside at night and refused to sleep, saying that his mother's condition was not very stable and he was afraid that something might happen to her at night.

After a few days, he looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. He had lost a lot of weight and looked spiritless, as if he had fallen ill along with Old Madam Meng. In the eyes of all the servants in the mansion, he was a filial son, and his filial piety moved them all.

However, because of him, Madam Meng wanted to resist eating every time he fed her something. But he threatened her with Chengxing, saying that if she dared to resist, he would cut off Chengxing's food. She dared not refuse to eat, but after eating she was worried, fearing that this rebellious son would poison her life. She was tormented and wanted to tell him that he didn't need to pretend to be a filial son in front of him, but she had lost her ability to speak and could not utter a complete sentence at all.

Meng Dongyuan left Old Madam Meng's room. He had hardly had any rest in the past few days, so his steps were unsteady and he stumbled when going down the stairs. Fortunately, a servant girl was quick to support him, otherwise he would have fallen.

Seeing that he was exhausted and in a trance, the old woman said, "Master, you are a rare filial son, but you must also take care of your body. If you fall down, the old lady will definitely be distressed."

Meng Dongyuan waved his hand: "I'm fine, as long as mother can get better. Otherwise, I will never forgive myself in this life. I didn't teach my son well and raised such a rebellious son."

After hearing this, the old woman did not dare to respond. After all, it was the prince who did something wrong. How dare a servant discuss whether her master was right or wrong?

Meng Dongyuan sighed, a look of grief and anger appeared on his face, and he walked out of Rongfu Hall with a shaky step. As soon as he walked out of the courtyard gate, a servant hurried towards him.

"Uncle, uncle!"

Meng Dongyuan frowned: "Why are you so rash?"

The servant came up to him, bowed, and then reported: "My Lord, the prince has been on a hunger strike for a day. He didn't eat a single bite of the food sent to him today."

Meng Dongyuan frowned even more tightly: "He did something wrong, instead of reflecting on it, he even went on a hunger strike? Since he doesn't want to eat, there's no need to send him food tomorrow. Wait until he wants to eat and then send it to him."

The servant knew that he was angry, but he also conveyed his words: "Master, the prince said he wanted to see the old lady, and he would rather starve to death than eat if he can't see the old lady."

Meng Dongyuan's face was gloomy, and he was furious: "He still has the nerve to see his grandmother? If it weren't for him, how could his grandmother fall ill? He is afraid that his grandmother will be mad at him to death. Go back and tell him that he can eat if he wants, or he will starve to death if he doesn't eat. If such an unfilial son starves to death, our Meng family will pretend that there has never been such a person."

When these words were spoken, the servants were stunned. They did not expect that the Lord would not care about the life or death of the Young Master. It seemed that the Young Master had completely lost the Lord's heart by causing the old lady to fall ill.

On the other side, Meng Chengxing heard the servant's reply. He, who had originally held a glimmer of hope, was completely despaired. No one in the family would help him except his grandmother, and his father didn't care whether he lived or died. He was so cruel. He was his biological son after all.

The servant was afraid that he would starve to death, and that the master would regret it and hold him accountable, so he advised: "My Lord, you should eat something. The master is angry now. He said that as long as you ask for food, I will let you eat."

Meng Chengxing stiffened his neck and said, "Go back and tell him that I won't eat. If he has the guts, he can really starve me to death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his stomach began to growl, which was particularly abrupt in the quiet ancestral hall.

Although he was very hungry, he insisted on his own opinion. He said nothing and drove the servant out.

However, in the second half of the night, he was so hungry that he could no longer maintain his stubborn attitude and weakly called for the servants waiting outside to bring him food.

It's okay to vent his anger for a while, but he was really afraid of starving himself to death.

Without his grandmother as a supporter, he was gone, but he couldn't really starve himself to death. He was the eldest son of the Earl's Mansion and would inherit the title in the future. When the old man died, the entire Meng family would be his.

He understands the principle that as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.

-

The next day.

At the court meeting, Meng Dongyuan, who held an idle position with no real power and was not qualified to attend the morning court, was allowed to appear at the court meeting with civil and military officials.

The civil and military officials were also surprised to see Meng Dongyuan, who looked haggard and in low spirits. Everyone had heard about the affairs of the Meng family. The incident of Master Meng being tied up and taken back from Baihua Tower had become a topic of conversation among everyone after dinner.

There was nothing important at today's court meeting, and no officials made reports. However, Meng Dongyuan's matter became the biggest event of this court meeting.

He knelt on the ground with a plop, and said with a look of grief: "I am guilty. Please punish me for not managing my family properly."

Emperor Jingwen had actually heard about the Meng family's affairs, but before the censors had a chance to report him, he took the initiative to plead guilty and asked, "Why do you say that, my dear minister?"

Meng Dongyuan replied: "I have failed to educate my son and manage my family properly, and I have raised such an unfilial and rebellious son. Now my mother has become seriously ill and paralyzed. I am guilty."

As he spoke, tears streamed down his face. He described with tears and snot how bad the character of his unfilial son was. He was uneducated, skipped classes and slept in brothels. He made the elders in the family so angry that they had a stroke and became paralyzed. Now his old mother would faint when she heard the name of this unfilial son.

At the end, Meng Dongyuan said: "Your Majesty, my third son Meng Chengxing has bad conduct and is unfilial to his elders. He is not capable of great responsibility. Please strip him of his title of Crown Prince and appoint my second son Meng Chengzhang as Crown Prince instead. In addition, I am guilty of not educating my children properly and not managing my family strictly. Please punish me."

Emperor Jingwen was stunned for a moment, then asked, "What is the character of Second Master Meng?"

Meng Dongyuan wiped away his tears and said: "My second son has a good character and studies hard. He is now studying at Lingshan Academy and has passed the examination to become a scholar."

At first glance, he seems to be a child with both good character and good academic performance.

Emperor Jingwen looked at Gu Jingxi, who immediately stepped out and bowed to the emperor. He then testified for Meng Chengzhang, "Your Majesty, what my father-in-law said is true. My brother-in-law Chengzhang is indeed a man of both good character and excellent academic performance. He topped the list in the last college examination."

Emperor Jingwen nodded and said, "Okay, I agree. Meng Chengxing has a lack of moral integrity and is disrespectful and unfilial to his elders. He will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and stripped of his title of Crown Prince. Meng Chengzhang will be appointed Crown Prince instead. Meng Aiqing has failed to manage his household properly and has not taught his children well. He will be fined one year's salary as a punishment."

Meng Dongyuan was overjoyed. He had not expected that he would succeed so quickly. It was worth it that he had stayed up all night and worked himself into this state. He kowtowed in thanks: "I thank the Lord for His grace. Long live the Emperor!"