NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20
Being associated with the label of “cut sleeve” was never a good reputation, especially for an unmarried man. If the family couldn’t suppress the news in time, the man might never find a good marriage prospect. After all, few women could tolerate their husbands having feelings for someone else, especially another man.
As for Liang Jue, who was already married, it was even worse. While he could endure the rumors circulating among others, even within the household, and even reaching Shen Meng’s ears, he couldn’t help but become increasingly uneasy, fearing that his wife might mistake the rumors for truth and believe him to be the kind of person associated with male-male relationships.
Although he tried his best to stop the rumors from spreading within the household, with the help of the Liang family members suppressing the gossip outside, such rumors quickly reached Shen Meng’s ears nonetheless.
Shen Meng’s initial reaction upon hearing these rumors was disbelief. However, as the details of the rumors were presented vividly, she couldn’t help but waver a bit, even seriously reconsidering whether she had misremembered things from her past life. The Third Prince’s desire to marry her wasn’t because he was attracted to her, but because he was attracted to her legitimate husband.
It was a case of “if I can’t have you, then I’ll marry the same woman as you, so we’ll always be together.” As for her eventual death, it might have been because she divorced Liang Jue, preventing them from being together, which might have angered the Third Prince, who then pushed her to her demise.
Once this idea surfaced, Shen Meng’s thoughts involuntarily veered into chaotic territory, but there were more details that shattered this particularly absurd notion.
In her past life, Liang Jue was overwhelmed with managing household affairs and had no situation of attending gatherings, let alone having any interaction with the Third Prince. She remembered that the atmosphere between them in their past encounters was far from cordial.
Moreover, if the two were old acquaintances, it’s impossible that not even a word had been mentioned. If Xue Ning truly married into the household for Liang Jue’s sake, then she shouldn’t continue staying there. After all, if he had such intentions, he should have parted ways with her when she divorced Liang Jue, rather than marrying her after the divorce.
Of course, in her past life, she didn’t believe that the other party married her solely out of affection. In fact, she always thought that the other party had ulterior motives, whether for profit or other considerations.
But in this lifetime, she hadn’t considered such a situation. Liang Jue himself wouldn’t let such rumors spread wildly in the neighborhood, and no one else would dare to make such jokes about the Third Prince, favored by the emperor.
After much thought, she could only conclude that the rumors must have been spread by Xue Ning himself. But what benefit could Xue Ning possibly gain from doing so?
Shen Meng pondered over this puzzle but couldn’t find an answer. Eventually, she returned to her own mansion with a belly full of questions. When she returned, Liang Jue seemed nervous. During dinner, she casually asked, and Liang Jue became flustered, looking like a guilty thief.
This was worth delving into. Shen Meng put down her chopsticks and stared straight at her husband, as if trying to discern something different from his eyes.
Liang Jue felt even more uneasy under her gaze, but he dared not speak too much. No matter how eloquent he was outside, in front of his wife, he always seemed clumsy, as if his brain had turned into mush.
He feared that if he got nervous, he might say something wrong and cause a misunderstanding. So he waited for Shen Meng to speak first, answering each question carefully to clear up the misunderstanding between them.
After composing herself, Shen Meng carefully chose her words and finally asked, “What’s the deal with the rumors about you and Xue… the Third Prince?”