Is this never going to end?
The first time she was stopped, Meng Jun’s favorability toward her was sixty, mostly boosted by her looks and family background.
The last time, when she drove him off in anger, she had specifically checked again, it had dropped straight to thirty.
And now? Even better. It was down to twenty.
And yet he still wanted to treat her like one of his “fish,” playing her like she was an idiot?
Even the usually good-tempered Ping’an now showed an indignant expression.
Although her young miss was normally lazy, gluttonous, and occasionally unhinged, that didn’t mean she could be bullied like this!
Exposed so directly, Meng Jun was clearly panicking, glaring at Xue Yutang with an expression that clearly said: “Xue Yutang! Don’t talk nonsense!”
Xue Yutang sneered. “Whether it’s nonsense or not, you know it in your heart. We’re all from the same circle, who doesn’t know what the other is like?”
There were only so many pleasure houses in the city, and their social circles overlapped to an absurd degree. Information inside those establishments spread extremely fast, how could he not know exactly what kind of person Meng Jun was?
The so-called “well-hidden” history of Meng Jun was nothing more than something that could fool an uninformed young lady from the Shen family.
Meng Jun had already been holding back anger from before with Shen Taohua. Xue Yutang’s words just gave him the perfect outlet.
“And what kind of decent person are you?” Meng Jun snapped. “Don’t tell me you’re just bitter because I stole your marriage prospect?”
Xue Yutang laughed coldly. “She wouldn’t even look at trash like you. You may want to steal, but do you even have the ability?”
Meng Jun shot back, “And like you’re any better, just because I can’t get her doesn’t mean you can!”
Xue Yutang replied, “Even if I can’t succeed, at least I can prevent one more person from being tricked by you.”
Meng Jun sneered, “What does this have to do with you? Who are you to stick your nose in other people’s business?”
Xue Yutang lazily brushed his hair with his folding fan. “A damsel in distress calls for help, of course I step in. Do you think everyone is as vile as you?”
Meng Jun flew into a rage. “Who are you calling vile?! You—”
The two of them argued back and forth more and more heatedly, completely forgetting Shen Taohua’s existence.
She listened with great interest for a while, then suddenly and loudly interrupted:
“Don’t fight over me!”
The argument abruptly stopped. Xue Yutang and Meng Jun both turned to look at her at the same time.
Although the fight had indeed started because of her, something about that line still felt… off.
Shen Taohua casually asked Xue Yutang, “You said he’s been meeting several women at the same time, do you know who they are?”
Being unwillingly treated as one of the “fish in a pond” made her quite displeased, but at the same time, she was also a little bit curious about what rank she held in Meng Jun’s “pond.”
Even an imperial selection of consorts would have tiers, so what category did she fall into?
Empress was out of the question, but there were still imperial consorts, right? Or maybe the four noble consorts?
Xue Yutang naturally had no intention of covering for Meng Jun.
However, to avoid damaging the reputations of those women if word got out, he did not mention names, only roughly described their family backgrounds.
She counted on her fingers and tried to rank herself, and immediately got angry, her pretty face filled with indignation.
“He’s tricking so many innocent women at once! That’s too much! He’s not even human!”
She could only barely rank as a “concubine”, who was he looking down on?!
Xue Yutang didn’t know what she was thinking, but Shen Taohua’s sharp tongue was already formidable on its own. With the two of them working together, and Meng Jun already feeling guilty and exposed, they quickly managed to drive him away.
After venting for a while, Shen Taohua suddenly came to her senses.
She didn’t even like Meng Jun, why was she getting caught up in jealousy and ranking herself against other innocent women? Was he even worthy of that? Tch!
She glanced sideways at Xue Yutang and noticed he looked rather pleased with himself.
She asked in confusion, “You seem very satisfied?”
Xue Yutang lifted his chin slightly, fanning himself leisurely, smiling brightly and proudly. “Of course. Now you should see that I’m far superior to him.”
Shen Taohua was speechless.
Both of them were playboys, what was there to feel superior about?
Seeing her expression shift, Xue Yutang raised a brow. “Don’t tell me what I said isn’t true. If you had to choose between him and me, would you choose him?”
Shen Taohua delivered a soul-piercing question: “Why do I have to compare which one of two rotten people is slightly less rotten?”
Xue Yutang’s expression stiffened slightly. He couldn’t help but defend himself. “I’m not that bad. I part amicably with all my confidantes. That guy is different, he goes around accusing people and abandoning them after messing with their feelings.
Even though those women from pleasure houses may have low status, most of them are just forced by circumstances. Yet he not only toys with them, but also deliberately humiliates them afterward because of their status. He’s simply unworthy of being called a man.”
Shen Taohua nodded. “That’s true.”
Having a messy private life is just a matter of personal lifestyle, but deliberately humiliating others is a matter of character.
By the third time Meng Jun appeared in front of Shen Taohua, she was honestly starting to get a bit fed up.
Shen Taohua: Am I really being too nice to him?
With that persistence, if he applied it elsewhere, wouldn’t he have already succeeded at something?
Meng Jun looked like he was there to question her. “All the families I went to meet with have rejected the Meng family, and some of them even came to my door demanding explanations. Did you do something behind my back out of resentment?!”
Shen Taohua gave him a baffled look.
What is this? Trying to extort me?
“I don’t even know which ‘fish’ you were meeting. Even if I wanted to interfere, where would I even start?”
However… thinking about how dismissive Xue Yutang had been toward Meng Jun a couple of days ago, it was indeed possible he might have done her a “favor” on impulse.
At that moment, Meng Jun seemed to think of the same possibility. His expression immediately turned complicated as he gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly, “That bastard Xue Yutang, he’s playing dirty! Damn it!”
Shen Taohua didn’t care. “A fly doesn’t bite a seamless egg. If you weren’t rotten yourself, he wouldn’t have had the chance to mess with you. If anything, he was just doing a good deed for his own karma.”
She glanced at Meng Jun’s genuinely resentful expression and curled her lips slightly.
She didn’t believe for a second that the young master of a pawnshop family wouldn’t have thought of this possibility in advance. He was just putting on an act.
Did he think she was an easy target just because she was a woman? Picking on the softest persimmon? Heh.
Shen Taohua said lazily, “Anything else? If not, I’m busy, I still need to go to the bookstore to buy the latest storybook. I don’t have time for you.”
Meng Jun frowned instinctively. “Didn’t I already tell you last time to stop reading those nonsensical things?”
Shen Taohua laughed. “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do? I like reading them. I’m spending my own money to make myself happy, what does it have to do with you?”
I’ll buy it! I’ll read it! Hmph!
“If you’ve got time to worry about my business, you should worry about your own family instead.” Her tone was openly gleeful.
According to the families of Meng Jun’s so-called “fish” that Xue Yutang had mentioned, there were not only merchants like the Meng family or landowning families like hers, but even officials among them.
Although the official rank wasn’t particularly high, dealing with a merchant family like theirs would only take a flick of the finger.
Thinking about how the person who treated her like a “fish in the pond” was about to suffer consequences, Shen Taohua was so pleased she was ready to eat an extra bowl of rice at lunch.
Ping’an had also guessed what was going on and showed a satisfied smile.
Anyone who bullied her young miss deserved what was coming to him!
“Wait! You can’t leave!”
Seeing Meng Jun block her path, Shen Taohua frowned. “What are you doing? A good dog doesn’t block the road.”
Meng Jun glared at her. “If not for you, Xue Yutang wouldn’t have interfered in my business. You must take responsibility for this!”
The other families were already impossible to salvage. The Shen family, although only mid-to-lower tier among his options, was now his only remaining choice.
Meng Jun looked determined. “As compensation for ruining my plans, you must marry me!”
Shen Taohua: ???
What the hell? Is he trying to scam her endlessly?
Ping’an was also stunned by his shamelessness.
What an utterly brazen man, how dare he demand compensation from her young miss? Where did he get such confidence?!
She was about to start cursing when Shen Taohua impatiently cut in first.
“Your brain is a good thing. I hope you remember to bring it next time. Before I lose my temper, get lost, go back wherever you came from. Otherwise, don’t blame me for making a scene!”
Meng Jun completely ignored her threat and stepped forward again, clearly intending to continue his nonsense.
Seeing this, Shen Taohua didn’t hesitate and shouted loudly:
“Help! Someone is trying to abduct a young woman in broad daylight! Come and see!”
The surrounding passersby immediately stirred. The stall owners who recognized Shen Taohua became especially alarmed.
“Why does this guy look familiar? Isn’t he that young noble from last time?”
“I heard he’s the young master of some pawnshop in the city?”
“Trying to abduct a girl in broad daylight, does he think there’s no law here?!”
Meng Jun’s pupils shook violently.
“!!”
He pointed at Shen Taohua in disbelief, shocked beyond words. “You, how dare you, how could you—!”
Shen Taohua lifted her chin in satisfaction.
So what if she couldn’t? Her mouth was on her own face, she could say whatever she wanted. She didn’t care about losing face; it all depended on whether he did.
And clearly, Meng Jun did.
He considered himself a well-known figure in the city and cared greatly about his reputation. If what happened today spread, how was he supposed to continue showing his face in public?
Seeing the crowd’s attention growing more intense, and many already preparing to gather around, Meng Jun was so frightened he didn’t dare say another word. He covered his face and ran off faster than a rabbit.
“Huh? He ran? Not going to snatch her anymore?” someone said regretfully.
Shen Taohua couldn’t help laughing. Looking at Meng Jun’s fleeing figure, she snorted in satisfaction.
She had already said she would make a scene, he just refused to believe it.
Trying to fight her? He was still far too green.
Ping’an, who had just been furious a moment ago, was now completely calm.
She should have known her young miss would never suffer a loss.
After dealing with the nuisance, Shen Taohua did feel satisfied at first. But as she continued her “point-scoring” activity afterward, the more she thought about it, the more she felt it still wasn’t enough.
She was capable of ensuring she didn’t get taken advantage of, but what about others?
Would Meng Jun vent his anger on her and then go on to trick other innocent women again?
For someone like him, just scolding him or embarrassing him once wasn’t nearly enough of a lesson.
Ping’an, hearing her mutter, couldn’t help but ask, “Then Miss, how do you plan to give him a deep lesson?”
Shen Taohua shook her head. “Not me.”
She opened her system panel and looked at the women listed in Meng Jun’s “romantic history,” then said meaningfully, “If there’s a grievance, there’s a source; if there’s a debt, there’s a debtor. For this kind of thing, it’s always more satisfying when the people involved handle it themselves.”
Ping’an seemed to understand.