Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1299 Jealousy, Resentment, and Embarrassment

While Yu Shizhang and Meng Huailin were talking, Shen Zheng got out of the carriage.

Initially, she really didn't want to face the Meng family directly—because she wasn't prepared and didn't know how to deal with them.

But after sitting in the carriage for a while, she suddenly felt that she had clearly not done anything wrong, so why should she avoid them?

Regardless of whether they were real or fake, and regardless of why they abandoned the original owner, she and the original owner have always had a clear conscience.

Her unhurried step as she lifted the curtain and stepped out of the car instantly silenced the conversation outside.

Meng Huailin stared at her, his eyes suddenly widening.

He swallowed back all the words he hadn't said.

picture......

so similar.

His eyes surged with emotion, and almost instantly he became certain that the girl with slightly cold eyes in front of him was his second younger sister, whom he had lost for many years, simply because her eyes were exactly the same as his mother's.

Shock.

ecstasy.

sorrow and grief.

There is also a hint of caution.

Overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, Meng Huailin trembled as he raised his hand and called out, "Second Sister..."

Shen Zheng took a half step back without making a sound.

Yu Shizhang immediately stepped between the two: "What are you yelling about?"

Meng Huailin's gaze passed over Yu Shizhang's shoulder, his rationality gradually returning, his voice trembling: "I...I'm sorry...it's just that Lord Shen's features are too similar to my mother's..."

Meng Zhu, standing behind him, also glanced at Shen Zheng.

Upon seeing Shen Zheng's face clearly, Meng Zhu's expression suddenly froze.

Like.

It really looks like that.

Although she only saw her mother once this year and spoke less than ten words to her, she still had to admit that the eyes in the other woman's eyes were exactly the same as her mother's.

Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with complex emotions and couldn't look away for even a moment. She couldn't help but think of the courtyard in her house that had been empty for many years and was eventually occupied by her second wife and third cousin.

That courtyard should have belonged to her and her second sister.

The ground is covered with blue bricks, and wind chimes woven by my mother hang under the eaves. In spring, crabapple blossoms can cover the entire courtyard.

However, after his father passed away, his second uncle took over the family business, and the status of their eldest son's branch in the Meng family plummeted.

The first thing my third cousin did after moving into that courtyard was to throw away the wind chimes under the eaves.

Over the years, she has lived cautiously in the Meng family. Her cousins ​​from the second branch of the family always secretly bullied her, making fun of her for not having any sisters to support her.

She had secretly thought countless nights that if her lost second sister could come back, then someone would stand beside her, and she wouldn't have to watch the expressions of her second sisters all day long, fearing that they would ostracize or bully her.

But at this moment, she felt a little resentful towards her second older sister.

She resented that she didn't appear earlier or later, but only when she had learned to read people's expressions and was barely able to gain a foothold in the Meng family.

She resented her older sister even more. She appeared with the title of "fourth-rank official in the capital," dressed in fine clothes, with a cold and arrogant expression, and exuding a confidence that she had never had before.

She couldn't understand why, even though they were sisters, they lived such different lives.

Is it simply because my second sister left the Meng family early on?

Looking at the indifference in Shen Zheng's eyes, Meng Zhu clenched her sleeves tightly with her fingertips, barely managing to suppress the surge of jealousy and grievance.

She suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

The older sister she had cherished since childhood now cared nothing for the Meng family or for her, her younger sister. She had traveled a long way with her older brother to Liuyang Prefecture to claim kinship, only to become a laughingstock.

“Big brother…” Meng Zhu looked away and tugged at Meng Huailin’s sleeve: “I’m sleepy. Let’s hurry to the inn so that Lord Shen can get some rest.”

Meng Huailin suddenly realized what was happening.

He quickly composed himself, took a deep breath, and said, "Lord Shen, we truly have no ill intentions, nor do we wish to curry favor with you. It's just that after you were lost, my father felt deeply guilty until his death... He kept calling out your name, and finding you to return to your family was his last wish, something that my siblings and I have been longing for day and night."

"By the way, as for the elders in the family..." He seemed to remember something and looked at Yu Shizhang: "Lord, before we set off, my second uncle said that he would come to Liuyang Prefecture after he had dealt with his business matters. I suppose he should be on his way now."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shizhang's expression darkened.

What kind of kind person could a family head be who sends a junior to lead the charge?

Before they even met, he had already come to dislike the head of the Meng family.

At that moment, his desire to prevent Shen Zheng from being recognized as a member of the family reached its peak.

A chilly night wind swept by, and the lights in front of the Shen residence flickered gently.

While Yu Shizhang remained silent, Shen Zheng spoke her first words after getting out of the car: "Young Master Meng, there are countless people in this world who look alike. How can you conclude that I am your family's lost second young lady just because my eyes and eyebrows resemble your mother's?"

Yu Shizhang also realized: "That's right, words are not enough, and seeing is not necessarily believing."

He stood in front of Shen Zheng again, his expression unchanged, and asked, "Can you produce any evidence? A token? A birthmark? Or witnesses who took her away back then?"

Meng Huailin was stunned for a moment, then immediately reached into his pocket: "I have a token!"

Shen Zheng and Yu Shizhang both looked at what he was holding.

After peeling back the layers of velvet, he handed half of the broken jade pendant to Shen Zheng.

"This jade pendant! This jade pendant is one you've worn since you were little. After you lost it, your father found half of it at the border of Yanzhou and Shangjing. The other half should have been with you at the time; your adoptive father had it..."

“I’ve never seen it.” Shen Zheng interrupted Meng Huailin and shook her head without hesitation: “My father never said that I had any token on me when he found me.”

This sentence is true.

The original owner's adoptive father rarely talked to her about finding her, and never showed her any tokens of affection.

Meng Huailin froze abruptly, holding the broken jade pendant forward in disbelief: "You...you should take another look at this jade pendant. You must remember something from it..."

Shen Zheng really took a closer look.

He shook his head again: "I'm sorry, I really have no memory of this jade pendant."

Meng Huailin stumbled.

Meng Zhu supported him, "Brother, let's go first. Lord Shen has to go to the yamen tomorrow."

“Miss Meng is right.” Shen Zheng glanced at Meng Zhu, then turned and stepped onto the stone steps, saying, “Young Master Meng, it’s getting late, and you must be tired from your journey. Why don’t you go to the inn to rest first? As for the matter of recognizing relatives, we can discuss it again once you can provide evidence.”

"Second, second sister..."

Just as Shen Zheng was about to step into the mansion, a faint shout came from inside the carriage.

Yu Shizhang looked at the carriage and suddenly remembered that Meng Huailin had a younger brother.

"Meng Huaishi, is that his name?" He turned to Meng Huailin and asked, "Why isn't he getting off the carriage?"

A trace of sorrow flashed in Meng Huailin's eyes: "Huai Shi... is in poor health and often falls into a deep sleep. It's not that he's being pretentious, and I hope you will forgive him, Lord."

Yu Shizhang secretly shook his head.

The Meng family... doesn't seem to be a lucky place at all.