His wife put down the bowl helplessly and murmured blankly.
"Leave?"
Meng Heng heaved a long sigh and wrapped his wife's hands in his big palms.
His hands were warm and dry, which made his wife feel more at ease.
"Cangzhou is not a place to stay for long. I tried to persuade my father to admit defeat so that the people of Cangzhou would be spared from the war. But …" Meng Heng's mouth was slightly bitter. "My father no longer cares about the people. Cangzhou will inevitably be affected by the war. Cangzhou might not be afraid of Huang Song alone. But with Cousin Xi, Cangzhou has no chance of winning. "
His wife pressed her lips tightly, her eyes filled with a sense of loss about the future.
"Cousin Xi? I often hear you mention her. Since you are relatives, why can't you talk about it calmly? "
Meng Heng smiled bitterly. He stroked his wife's hair with one hand and sighed faintly.
"It's not that simple, Zhaodi. Even if we are blood-related, this relationship is fragile in front of the world, let alone a cousin." Meng Heng said, "My father's stubbornness will inevitably bring disaster to the people of Cangzhou."
If the Meng family in Cangzhou still had the legacy of their ancestors, why would Meng Heng persuade his father to admit defeat?
The Meng family had lost the people's support and would not last long.
His wife turned around and took out her dowry. The bottom layer of the dowry hid the family's savings.
"But there are only 30 taels of silver. It's chaotic outside. Where can we go?"
Meng Heng looked at the silver pieces and then at his wife's careful posture. His chest could not help but twitch and ache.
He suppressed his emotions and said in a low voice, "I'll spend 15 taels to nourish your body and protect your pregnancy. The remaining 15 taels to buy a carriage, dry food, and a water bag. Let's go to Hanchang Pass. Out of Hanchang Pass, we'll go straight to Hede County at the border of Haozhou and Cangzhou. We'll stay there for the time being. "
His wife's eyes widened and her hands holding the dowry trembled.
"Langjun, isn't there a war there?"
"It's because there is a war there that we have to go there. We don't have much savings. We won't be able to make it to Hejian County, let alone Wanzhou and Chongzhou, "Meng Heng said." Huang Song and Cousin Xi formed an alliance and helped her delay the Meng's troops. Now that the war in Beijiang had ended, Huang Song might not be able to sit still. He would definitely write to Cousin Xi for help. We don't have to go far. We just need to wait in Hede County. "
His wife was at a loss, but she was used to being docile and obedient. She would do whatever Meng Heng said.
Looking at his wife's slightly protruding belly, Meng Heng had a look of realization.
If it wasn't for the fact that Cangzhou had no one to entrust him to, he wouldn't have brought his wife through the war zone. The risk was simply too great.
Although Meng Heng was Meng Zhan's only son, his position in the Meng's was very awkward. He was even less favored than the son of a concubine.
In the early years, the elders of the Meng family had taken good care of him.
As time went by, Meng Zhan's pressure on him became heavier and heavier. Seeing that, the elders of the Meng's were planning to change to another branch.
In theory, Meng Heng's wife should be the matriarch of the Meng's.
However, Meng Zhan was too lazy to arrange a marriage for him, so Meng Heng didn't get married until he was twenty-three. It was because the elders of the Meng's couldn't stand it anymore and took the initiative to arrange it for him. He did get married, but his wife's background was very subtle. She was the daughter of a branch of a declining aristocratic family.
It was a nice way to put it. To put it bluntly, his wife was just the daughter of a butcher.
The aristocratic families were also divided into different classes.
The prominent aristocratic families could control the situation. The declining aristocratic families were even worse than the common people. Except for a famous ancestor, they had almost nothing. Meng Heng's wife was from a branch of a declining aristocratic family. To make a living, her grandfather gave up his pride and became a butcher.
If it weren't for the genealogy, his wife's family would be no different from the common people.
Meng Heng didn't look down on his wife's background, but he couldn't deny that this marriage was indeed a humiliation to him by the Meng's.
Meng Heng had endured all of this.
Now that he looked back, he felt extremely guilty.
No matter what happened in the past, Zhao Di was already his wife. He had the responsibility and obligation to make her live a good life. But what happened?
Fortunately, it wasn't too late to wake up.
Meng Zhan wasn't a good father, but he couldn't be an irresponsible husband and father.
The couple lived in a remote place. There wasn't much in the house, so it wasn't hard to put them away.
Meng Heng drove his wife out of Meng County, Cang Prefecture. Meng Zhan didn't know the news until they reached the border of Meng County.
The subordinate waited in fear, afraid of Meng Zhan's thunderous anger.
"You said … he left Meng County with that lowly woman and went to Hanchang Pass?" Meng Zhan asked with a cold smile.
The subordinate was so anxious that he was sweating. He said anxiously, "Yes … Do you need me to send someone to get Elder Langjun back?"
Meng Zhan looked at the subordinate coldly. His eyes were full of warning.
"Since when do you have the right to make decisions for me?" Meng Zhan snorted and said heartlessly, "Since he doesn't recognize me as his father, I will pretend that I never had a son. Send someone to tell the elders to open the ancestral hall and remove his name …"
The subordinate opened his eyes wide in shock.
No matter what, Meng Heng was still a Zongzi. Since ancient times, there was no reason to remove the name of a Zongzi from the genealogy.
Meng Zhan knew what he was thinking and said with a cold smile, "Zongzi? Look at his wife, a butcher who can't even be seen in public. How can a woman like her be the matriarch of the Meng's? Since he has abandoned the Meng's, then let it be. Oh right, send someone to chase after him. Also, bring a message for me. If he leaves the Meng's, don't come back. He is not a Zongzi of the Meng's, and he has no right to use the surname Meng. Even his surname has been removed. "
The subordinate said, "Yes!"
For safety reasons, Meng Heng tried to take the main road. To take care of his wife, the carriage traveled slowly.
It was only three days away from Hanchang Pass. The pursuers from the Meng's caught up with Meng Heng and brought a message from Meng Zhan.
Meng Heng listened to the message with a pale face. His lips were colorless.
His left eyelid, which should have healed, was hurting. The scene in front of him flickered and he almost lost his balance.
"Elder Langjun, why don't you go back and apologize to the patriarch? There is no hatred between father and son."
The subordinate looked at Meng Heng's pale face and felt sorry for him.
Meng Heng's talent was second to none among his peers.
If any family had such a good descendant, they would have been so happy. But his patriarch was a weirdo.
Meng Zhan didn't feel proud or honored. Instead, he felt ashamed of Meng Heng. He scolded him every few days and tried to suppress him.
They were not father and son. They were enemies!
"There is no hatred between father and son. But what if they are not father and son?" Meng Heng smiled bitterly and held back the hot tears that were welling up in his eyes. He said gloomily, "Allow me to kowtow to him again … If there's a chance, I'll definitely repay him for raising me for over twenty years!"
Meng Heng knelt down in the direction of Meng County in Cangzhou and kowtowed three times. His forehead was blue and red.
The subordinate looked at Meng Heng who staggered to get up and sighed.
"Elder Langjun, the war is still going on. For safety's sake, you should change your route."
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