The reason is rather dramatic. The original body's grandfather, Meng Qingping, was the second master, born to a concubine, of the Duke of Meng's mansion. From a young age, he was suppressed by his legitimate mother and elder brother.
Meng Qingping was a man with ambition. He endured twenty years of hardship and cultivated his talents within the ducal mansion, eventually achieving prominence by passing the imperial examination.
Despite his extensive knowledge and true abilities, he was kept under the thumb of his legitimate brother, relegated to a seventh-rank county magistrate in a remote small county.
Meng Qingping was not disheartened, nor did he complain. For him, it was enough to leave the ducal mansion openly.
He packed a simple suitcase, took an old servant left to him by his concubine mother, and set off for his post, never to return to the Duke of Meng's mansion again.
In the small county he governed, Meng Qingping soon met the woman he admired. Her surname was Fu, and she was the only daughter of a small restaurant owner.
He shared his entire story with the woman he cherished. Moved by his plight, they were soon married.
After their marriage, they were deeply in love, respecting each other greatly, and he finally experienced the warmth of a home.
Calm and happy days passed. Even after their son was born, he did not forget the immense power of the ducal mansion.
Aware of potential danger in times of peace, he insisted that his only son adopt his mother's surname to ensure his descendants would not be suppressed by his legitimate brother. This decision delighted his father-in-law and mother-in-law, who had feared their family line would end.
Time flew by, and circumstances changed.
Clearly, his concerns were not unfounded. Despite receiving excellent performance reviews every three years and governing the small county with utmost efficiency,
he was never promoted or transferred due to his legitimate brother's influence. He remained in this small county for over twenty years.
Meng Qingping was familiar with every street, and the residents of the small county adored their approachable official.
During his days off, he would take his wife and son to the fields to farm. When he had free time, he would leisurely sit on the stone slab at the alley entrance, chatting with the elderly residents.
He believed he would remain in this insignificant small county until his retirement. He had his son renovate the old courtyard left by his in-laws outside the city, and he purchased thirty mu of land, planning to retire after his current term ended in three years.
Then, his family could live a peaceful, simple life, working in the fields from sunrise to sunset.
However, fate is unpredictable. This year seemed particularly troublesome. A heavy rain in late spring lasted for a day and a night, threatening the dam upstream from the county town.
His filial son, seeing his age, voluntarily took over the task of supervising the repair of the dam. His daughter-in-law followed suit to take care of her husband's daily needs.
A few days later, the dam was secured, but the young couple was missing. Holding his grandchildren, he wept tears of grief.
His elderly wife, overwhelmed by sorrow, abandoned him and their two children and passed away. He went three days without food or water, weeping uncontrollably over his wife's coffin.
He had also considered joining his wife in death, but looking at his sensible elder granddaughter and his innocent grandson, his beloved darlings, he gritted his teeth and persevered.
But who could have foreseen that worse was yet to come. The current Duke of Meng, his legitimate brother, was found guilty of corruption and disregarding human life. The Emperor discovered this and stripped him of his title, demoting him to commoner status and confiscating his property.
All male direct descendants aged fifteen and above were to be executed after autumn, and all other members of the Meng clan, regardless of age or gender, were to be exiled to Liaodong.
The once envied Duke of Meng's mansion collapsed overnight. The wronged parties rejoiced, and some bolder individuals even went to the main gate of the ducal mansion with firecrackers to celebrate, drawing onlookers from nearby households.
As for Meng Qingping, the second master of the Meng clan, who had been suppressed by the ducal mansion, he, who had never benefited from the mansion's prestige, found himself imprisoned, implicated by their downfall.
As he despaired, the common people under his jurisdiction petitioned for him. They escorted his family's prisoner cart to the capital along with a myriad of people holding "Ten Thousand People's Umbrellas."
This unusual spectacle was unprecedented. It not only broadened the horizons of the people along the route but also earned the admiration of the officials in the capital.
The commotion caused along the journey was immense. Upon seeing the Ten Thousand People's Umbrellas, the current Emperor was nearly enraged.
How could a clean and upright official, a product of the deeply corrupt Meng family, have been suppressed in a small county for over twenty years?
Was this his oversight as Emperor? Or the dereliction of duty of the officials in the imperial court?
In his great anger, the Emperor, showing shame, loathed the former Duke of Meng even more, wishing he could be apprehended and executed on the spot.
A rival of the Meng family seized this opportunity to submit a memorial: "Your Majesty is the true Son of Heaven; the imperial decree, once spoken, cannot be changed.
Exile is still exile.
They had finally managed to crush the Duke of Meng's mansion; how could they allow the Meng family to rise from the ashes because of this development with Meng Qingping?"
Therefore, even though they knew Meng Qingping was an honest official, they still demanded that he be exiled to Liaodong along with the other members of the Meng clan.
However, they also feared being branded as cruel and criticized by the world for their actions. The official document mentioned that Meng Qingping and his grandchildren were to migrate with the clan members and settle in Liaodong as commoners.
Behold, what a magnificent excuse.
On the day of their exile from the capital, the women and clan members of the ducal mansion were full of grievances, weeping and circling in place, refusing to move forward.
Their stance suggested that if they didn't move, they might be allowed to stay. After more than an hour, they were still lingering at the city gate.
Especially the Duke of Meng's youngest legitimate grandson, who had already reached ten years of age. He was tall and sturdy but refused to walk, insisting that the escorts hire a carriage for him before he would proceed.
Enraged, the escorting officials whipped him twice, causing him to yelp in pain before he grudgingly followed.
Meng Qingping, however, showed no expression. He silently held the small hands of his grandson and granddaughter and walked resolutely forward along the official road.
Finally, with the escorting underway, these officials knew of Meng Qingping's situation. While they admired him, they also pitied him.
But imperial orders were difficult to defy; they could do nothing but lament.
The only fortunate thing was that Meng Qingping was not subject to exile, so he was not shackled with the other members of the Meng clan.
This allowed the three of them more freedom. Even their food was slightly better than that of the exiled clan members, a fact that the Meng clan members found difficult to accept.
Why was it that they, with the same surname Meng, had such different treatment?
Yet, it was rather ironic that these Meng clan members, whether seniors or juniors, were not familiar with Meng Qingping.
Even the half-brother of Meng Qingping from the ducal mansion, who was still young when Meng Qingping left, had no memory of him.