What did he mean by that?
To speak with such certainty, just where did he get his confidence?
In mid-April, the royal family would hold a horse-riding and hunting competition at an external hunting ground, and Meng Junxuan would surely arrange for Meng Xueran to meet with him. On one hand, he wanted to see how the boy had been living outside the palace all these years. On the other hand, he wanted to see whether the Prime Minister’s Estate had ruined Meng Xueran and whether he still possessed the qualifications to be an imperial prince.
Although he had been strict with Meng Xueran over the years, when it all came down to it, Meng Xueran himself was clear-headed and hardworking enough; he had never given up on himself.
Mei Jinshu was not worried about Meng Junxuan’s probing, but rather worried that Meng Changqi might meet with an accident during the royal hunt.
All the crucial turning points from his past life stemmed from the memories of the deceased Mei Jinshu, and they were neither complete nor detailed enough. He only knew that in the past life, the sweat-bleeding divine steed ridden by the Crown Prince suddenly went berserk and charged at Meng Xueran’s white horse.
The Crown Prince only suffered scrapes, whereas Meng Xueran broke his left leg.
This scheme was clearly aimed at the Crown Prince, yet the person who ended up the most severely injured was Meng Xueran. He genuinely wanted to know what had happened, but his points balance had not been cleared yet, making it entirely impossible to access the memories of his past life.
He guessed it must have been the Mei Jinshu of his past life who cast Meng Xueran aside and left him to fend for himself, which was why the boy ended up hating him so much, hating Meng Changqi.
So, just who had tampered with the Crown Prince’s sweat-bleeding steed?
Was it Noble Consort Wu, who had always coveted the position of Crown Prince, or Noble Lady Lin, who was currently high in imperial favor and carrying a royal heir? Lacking evidence, he could only guess for now, but Noble Consort Wu undoubtedly bore the greatest suspicion.
It seemed he needed to make preparations in advance.
“My Lord, there is a letter for you,” Ye Ting said from outside the door.
“Come in.”
“Pillar, it was delivered by a servant from the Marquis of Yi’s estate.”
“Understood.” Mei Jinshu opened the letter, glanced at it, and tossed it aside. “The Marquis of Yi’s estate has already caught wind of the news about arranging a marriage match with the Prime Minister’s Estate. I am afraid they are going to make things difficult for me once again.”
Ye Ting said, “The news is already spreading wildly all over the capital now.”
Mei Jinshu said, “The Marquis of Yi’s estate certainly looks down on this match. Since they dare not voice objections against the person who issued the imperial decree, they can only vent their frustrations on me. They probably want to force the Prime Minister’s Estate into a corner so we take the initiative to petition the Emperor.”
“Looking down on an adopted son is quite reasonable.”
“Yet I am the one stuck taking the brunt of this absurd mess, what a wretched fate. The day the Emperor refuses to acknowledge Meng Xueran’s true identity is probably the day we stay suppressed under the thumb of the Marquis of Yi’s estate.”
“I pity the young master,” Ye Ting sighed.
“Why do you not pity me?” Mei Jinshu massaged his brow, feeling a headache coming on.
Ye Ting said, “I hear the Marquis of Yi’s estate is utterly arrogant, completely looking down on ordinary households. How much suffering will the young master have to endure once he gets married in the future? Besides, the eldest young master of the Marquis of Yi’s estate even forcibly took a commoner’s daughter as a concubine, stirring up all sorts of disasters.”
“As the saying goes, things at their peak must decline.” Mei Jinshu was unconcerned and said, “They can only rely on the Empress’s influence for now. Though they obtained the title of a State Duke as imperial relatives, it is not a hereditary title. The son is a playboy without any academic achievements or merits to his name, and the daughter, despite holding the title of a Princess, is wildly spoiled beyond reason.”
“Besides, they were both born of the stepmother.”
“Originally, the Marquis of Yi’s estate had a legitimate son by the first wife, but his birth mother passed away early, and the Marquis was so impatient to take a second wife that it resulted in the first-wife’s legitimate son getting lost. Thinking about it, that really is something.”
“What a terrible household,” Ye Ting could not help muttering. “What kind of people are these? A nest of jackals and leopards.”
Mei Jinshu said, “Pretty much.”
Fanghua Academy.
In a small pavilion surrounded by blooming flowers and shaded by lush green leaves, a single figure sat alone. Dappled sunlight flickered over him as he leaned against a pillar, gazing blankly at a purple pendant in his hand.
The pendant cast a faint glow, swaying within the boy’s dark pupils.
Meng Xueran often drifted into a daze looking at it. Whenever someone approached, he would quickly tuck it away against his chest, never parting from it for even a moment. Sometimes, even he himself could not understand whether this was a case of looking at an object to remember the person, or perhaps something more.
Perhaps he should have returned it back then, but he simply had not done so.
Because that was the only time he had ever seen Mei Jinshu dressed up to look so extraordinarily handsome.
Even though it wasn’t meticulously dressed up for his sake, it at least left him with something he could permanently keep. Perhaps Mei Jinshu would never realize he had lost an item, or perhaps he simply didn’t care at all.
Meng Xueran thought to himself that since he had kept his adoptive father’s brow pendant, when his birthday arrived, he would use an excuse to gift something back.
He wondered if his adoptive father would accept it.
“Mei Jiu?” Baitang called out to him from beneath the stone steps.
Meng Xueran hurriedly put the pendant away and replied, “I am here.”
“Let us go to the library together.” Baitang was carrying her book bag and seemed to be in a rush as she urged him, “A music master has arrived today, invited specifically by the Dean to teach us the art of the zither.”
Meng Xueran asked, “So, why are we heading to the library?”
Baitang said, “To pick out zither scores. The music master said that everyone has different preferences and he can only teach the basics, while the rest depends entirely on oneself.”
Meng Xueran said, “Alright.” In truth, he had no interest whatsoever in those romantic literary arts, but since the academy insisted on teaching the six arts of a gentleman, he had no choice but to follow along and learn a bit of the surface level just to pass the time.
The library was massive, standing a full six stories tall. The zither scores were kept on the fifth floor, while the lower floors housed ancient classics, famous scrolls, and numerous paintings, which he often browsed for books he liked.
The library was very crowded today, presumably because everyone attached great importance to the newly arrived music master.
What should he pick? Meng Xueran only enjoyed reading a bit, and then practicing martial arts and swordsmanship to learn how to fight from General Mei. He casually pulled out a zither score, but reading it left him completely baffled.
“Dragon Spirit Melody. This looks so difficult.”
“Baitang, have you chosen yours yet?”
“Mn, I have chosen.” Baitang was holding a volume of Qinghe Short Tunes. Just as the two of them were about to leave, they were intercepted from behind by an enraged Bu Jinyu. She came with ill intent.
Meng Xueran had zero desire to see her. Every encounter with her meant nothing but trouble. Grabbing Baitang, he turned to leave. The three of them chased and hurried all the way down to the ground floor of the library. Furious, Bu Jinyu hurled a bamboo slip straight at Meng Xueran, striking him squarely.
Bu Jinyu roared, “What are you running for!”
Meng Xueran retorted, “If you were not chasing me, would I be running?”
Bu Jinyu snapped, “If you were not running, would I be chasing you?”
“You are out of your mind.” Frustrated beyond measure, Meng Xueran picked up the bamboo slip from the floor and said, “Destroying academy property without authorization. Even acting willful should have its limits.”
“I have not even settled scores with you yet, and you have the nerve to lecture me!” Bu Jinyu looked him up and down with utter disdain and sneered, “Mei Jiu, you must be feeling quite pleased with yourself right now, huh? A mere adopted son of the Prime Minister’s Estate, with no family background or relatives. How could you possibly be worthy of this Princess!”
“As for your looks, just look at that face full of pockmarks, it makes people sick to look at you!”
Meng Xueran kept silent, enduring her verbal abuse. If he didn’t let her rant her fill today, she probably wouldn’t let up for days. Over all these years, he had long since grown used to Bu Jinyu’s scoldings, feeling zero emotional ripples inside.
“Hey, why are you not saying anything!” Bu Jinyu demanded.
Meng Xueran said, “I have nothing to say.”
Their standoff attracted a large crowd of students who gathered to watch the spectacle, whispering and gossiping among themselves.
“You…” Seeing that the public sentiment was in her favor, Bu Jinyu instantly reacted, pointing at the two of them and cursing, “Aha! I knew you and Baitang were carrying on an illicit affair behind the scenes! For all these years I turned a blind eye, but to think that even when you are about to have a marriage match arranged with this Princess, you are still dallying with this cheap maid!”
“It is not true, Princess! Mei Jiu and I are just friends!” Baitang turned pale with fright, standing frozen in place at a complete loss.
“Friends? Who would believe that!” Bu Jinyu sneered, stepping forward with the intent to strike Baitang.
Meng Xueran blocked her path and said, “If the Princess wishes to spar with someone, I will accompany you to the very end.”
Bu Jinyu couldn’t believe it. In her heart surged anger, jealousy, and the bitter unwillingness of having her authority challenged: “Even if it is someone I threw away and stepped on, it is not the turn of some lowly wretch to touch!”
“The lowly wretch I speak of includes you too! Mei Jiu, do not even dream of climbing up high to cling to this Princess. As long as the Marquis of Yi’s estate stands for a single day, that old fogey of a Prime Minister can forget about helping you fly up the branches!”
“Smack!” Meng Xueran delivered a fierce slap across her face, cutting off her barking.
Bu Jinyu stood stunned in place, clutching her burning cheek as tears instantly gushed forth. A moment later, she widened her eyes and roared, “You actually dared to hit me! My parents have never even laid a hand on me, and you actually dared!”
“Mei Jiu! You are dead!” Bu Jinyu shoved her way through the crowd of onlookers and stormed right out of Fanghua Academy.
Everyone was completely dumbfounded, pointing at Meng Xueran and worrying on his behalf: “He hit the Princess, he is completely finished now.”
“To think he actually dared to strike the Princess.”
“I am breaking out in a cold sweat just watching him. His life is probably in jeopardy.”
Baitang burst into tears in a panic, frantically trying to figure out a solution: “What should we do, what should we do! Mei Jiu, you hit the Princess, she will not let this go. Why do you not run away?”
“Say something! Are you really going to just sit here and wait for the Marquis of Yi’s estate to come knocking?” Baitang tugged him toward the direction of the classrooms, intending to find Mei Shiyi so they could brainstorm with an extra person.
When Mei Shiyi heard what happened, his jaw dropped in shock as well. He said, “Should we head back to the Prime Minister’s Estate first?”
Baitang chimed in, “Yes, go back and hide for now, Prime Minister Mei will surely find a way.”
Meng Xueran remained completely silent throughout, without a single trace of panic on his face. He was actually remarkably calm. He picked up his book bag, walked back into the classroom, and sat down at his desk as unconcernedly as if nothing had happened at all.
“Young master, you…” Mei Shiyi was entirely out of ideas and could only resort to sending a carrier pigeon back to the Prime Minister’s Estate first. “Since we have already crossed swords, we might as well inform My Lord first.”
Meng Xueran said, “Shiyi, you are the only one who truly understands me.”
Mei Shiyi asked, “Are you not scared at all?”
Meng Xueran replied, “Fear is the most useless thing in the world. Whatever consequences come, I will bear them all on my own. In the past, I always chose to endure. But now, I am done enduring.”
This matter could be big or small, and it could even serve as an excuse to call off this marriage match. He was entirely on his own anyway, so what was there to be afraid of! He had never shown any disrespect toward women, and if Bu Jinyu pushed him to this extent, didn’t she completely bring it upon herself?
He had given ground everywhere, enduring all sorts of foul language, sarcasm, and mockery, but when it came to the people he cared about, absolutely not!