Chapter 1

“Gulp, gulp—”

From complete darkness, Meng Xizhao gradually regained consciousness.

Before he could open his eyes, he first heard a group of women wailing.

“Waaah—”
“My lord, what will become of your maidservants if this happens…”
“If anything happens to my lord, I’ll risk my life to avenge you!”

Already groggy, Meng Xizhao instinctively opened his eyes at those words.

With a swoosh, a crowd of young women gathered at the bedside, all dressed in bright, flashy traditional clothes, overwhelming his senses.

They looked at him with delight.

“Ah, awake at last!”
“Jinzhu, you’re amazing! One word and the lord wakes!”
“Buddha bless, our lives are safe now.”

The speaker was a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl, outspoken and honest, which caused a slightly older girl nearby to scowl, yanking her sleeve harshly.

The younger girl quickly realized her mistake, paling and lowering her head to reduce her presence.

It was unnecessary—Meng Xizhao was already completely stunned.

He had never been observed by so many beautiful women at once. He reached out a trembling hand, pointing at the jewels on their heads, his lips quivering, yet no sound came. After a while, he shakily pointed to himself: “I am the lord?”

The girl called Jinzhu, wiping her tears weakly, was shocked and looked up, revealing a face without a single tear. “Lord, what do you mean by this?!”

Realizing a possibility, she quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief and whispered to those around her, “Oh no, it seems the Young Master of Ningyuan Marquis went too far—he’s knocked the lord senseless!”

Another girl looked utterly despairing: “Will the master and lady forgive us now?”

Meng Xizhao: “Uh… the master and lady are…”

Jinzhu, evidently the leader of the group, frowned in thought for a moment, then shook her head. “We can’t hide it. Yinliu, fetch the doctor. Zitong, go to the east wing and fetch the eldest young master. Remember, cry while you go!”

Zitong nodded, lifted her skirt, and ran off bawling.

Meng Xizhao was completely amazed.

These are all talented people.

However, just as Zitong stepped past the threshold, she froze. Outside the door, a well-preserved, beautiful woman in her thirties glared at her.

Recalling the report from the servants, the woman didn’t have time to scold the maid. She waved Zitong aside and rushed in, face full of concern.

The young women instinctively parted like the Red Sea, making room for her.

The beautiful woman sat at Meng Xizhao’s bedside, stroking his face with affection. “Second Young Master, how are you feeling?”

Meng Xizhao: “…”

How am I supposed to respond? Who is this?

Her demeanor was like his mother’s, her face resembled his sister’s, and her movements were like his grandmother’s.

Meng Xizhao could only mumble vaguely, “I’m… okay, feeling alright.”

The woman didn’t believe him. “Alight? Look at your face—you’ve lost all color.”

Then she spun around and shouted angrily, “Audacious maid! Something happened, and instead of coming straight to me, you took matters into your own hands! It’s only because Second Young Master spoils you that you’ve become so reckless, so insolent, and so disrespectful! Spread my orders and sell them all! Send them to Baihua Street—don’t leave a single one behind!”

The young women froze, as if the sky had fallen, and all dropped to their knees, begging for mercy.

When Meng Xizhao heard the name “Baihua Street,” it was like a bolt of lightning splitting open his mind. His expression turned to sudden realization.

Baihua Street—he remembered from a book he had read—was famous for its countless brothels. As the saying went: any man worth his salt had to go to Baihua Street. If you hadn’t been there, your life was basically garbage.

The young women continued to beg, shooting him teary-eyed looks that practically screamed please help us!—but all their seductive glances were aimed at the blind spot; Meng Xizhao remained deep in thought. Come to think of it, this scene felt eerily familiar.

Jinzhu looked at her master and realized he was lost in a daze instead of instinctively protecting her like before. Perhaps he was truly knocked senseless. She had no choice but to fend for herself.

“Madam, please forgive us! It was all so sudden. We were worried about the lord’s injuries and took him to Doctor Cheng at the Rejuvenation Hall. Doctor Cheng said he was only frightened and would wake soon. In our haste, we placed him in the bedchamber and forgot to inform you immediately. Only now did we remember and sent Zitong to the south wing to fetch you. You’re so perceptive, nothing escapes your eyes. We were a step slow and must humbly apologize.”

Meng Xizhao looked at the girl, who was the most finely dressed among the group. He wanted to give her a mental thumbs-up.

Her words were flawless: every sentence centered on concern for the “lord,” directly hitting the beautiful woman’s heart, while subtly flattering her. Who could resist that?

Sure enough, the beautiful woman’s expression softened considerably. “Hmph, naturally. No one could care more for my son than I do.”

Meng Xizhao silently nodded. Alright, this woman was his mother.

She shifted her tone. “But my care for my son doesn’t excuse your negligence. You’ve all grown careless. Keep spoiling you, and sooner or later, you’ll cause trouble for Second Young Master! Where’s the Zhang family maid? Looking at all of you gives me a headache. Quickly drag them out! And as for you—”

She pointed at Jinzhu, whose face immediately changed.

“Sharp-tongued and clever, this mess today must be your doing. I trusted you before, and look at the trouble you’ve caused. Drag her out too, and give her a good thrashing!”

Meng Xizhao was shocked, glancing between the woman and Jinzhu. He still didn’t know who he was, so he couldn’t intervene. Besides, this scene was extremely, extremely familiar…

Jinzhu screamed, “Madam, have mercy! My lord! My lord, save me! Today’s incident is not my fault. I’ve been in the mansion all along. It was someone else who brought the lord to see Sang Fanyu. I’m innocent!”

Sang Fanyu—

Just those three words cleared the fog from Meng Xizhao’s mind.

He finally realized who he had transmigrated into:

A lovesick, late-stage, useless playboy with the same name—someone who hadn’t even survived to the paid chapters in the book!

Meng Xizhao sighed with tears.

The book had been shared by a classmate, who warned him there was a character with the same name, suggesting he read it to prepare. He did read it but never really remembered that character, too busy enjoying the exciting plot twists.

Now recalling, what happened to that Meng Xizhao? First, someone shattered his leg bones, then threw him into prison to endure endless torture. Eventually, the emperor showed mercy, but he was still sentenced to hanging.

He remembered the scene vividly: when they pulled him from the cell, his legs had already been eaten by maggots, his height reduced. Guards devised countless ways to get him into the execution apparatus, torturing him almost to death before finally succeeding. A truly miserable death.

If memory served, it wasn’t just him—the entire family met a similarly horrific end.

His mother—Madam Meng—had finally exhausted her patience. With a wave, she had Jinzhu dragged away. Meng Xizhao suddenly snapped awake and shouted, “Wait!”

Hope flared in Jinzhu’s eyes, while Madam Meng, unfazed, advised him, “It’s alright. Send them away. Later, your mother will find even better ones for you.”

Meng Xizhao thought: Truly the wife of a schemer. How lightly human life seems to weigh on her lips.

“Mother, Jinzhu is right. This isn’t her fault, nor the others’. To be precise, this injury is my own doing.”

Of course it was his own fault. Lovesickness wasn’t a crime, but wandering the streets while lovesick—especially targeting an already claimed courtesan—was asking for trouble. He barged in while she was entertaining a client. Getting beaten was deserved.

Apparently, the Young Master of Ningyuan Marquis had been trying to meet Sang Fanyu for nearly three months. For a playboy to persist that long could be called true love. But just as he met her, before he could even hold her hand, another notorious playboy interfered. Honestly, surviving the encounter without death was lucky.

Clearly, Madam Meng didn’t think the same. Shocked, she looked at Meng Xizhao. “Second Young Master, what nonsense are you talking? I’ve already learned the full story. You were only trying to snatch a courtesan. That she got snatched is her luck. She didn’t yield willingly, even ordered her servants to hit you. Son, don’t ever think this is your fault. That’s not how the Meng family operates. Wait until your father returns—you’ll see. If he dares bully my son, your father will bully him right back.”

Meng Xizhao: “…………”

How can you say something like that so seriously? Don’t you see how completely warped your values are?!

He was too shocked to speak. At that moment, someone entered the room—a picture of elegance and refinement, moonlight in his embrace, looking around twenty, with a scholarly air from head to toe. This must be what modern people call a dashing gentleman.

The gentleman spoke: “Mother, I heard Second Young Master was beaten? Who did it, and was he sent to the magistrate’s office?”

This had to be his eldest brother. Meng Xizhao hurried to explain: “Big brother, it was my own fault—I provoked them first.”

His brother gave him a strange look. “I know. You always provoke them first. So, was he sent to the magistrate’s office? Remember to reward the prison warden so they keep him in line—half-dead is enough.”

Meng Xizhao: “…………”

You really are your mother’s son!

At that moment, another person entered. Even among all the beautiful women in the room, she managed to stand out in beauty—a bit younger, probably not yet of marriageable age.

From her attire, it was clear she wasn’t a servant. Indeed, she rushed in without looking carefully at who was present. “Second brother, I heard you were knocked out? Was it a knockout or just fright—hey, Jinzhu, Yinliu, why are you all kneeling on the floor?”

Madam Meng replied, exasperated: “I made them kneel! These maidservants have ill intentions. With Second Young Master injured like this, they dared to hide it from me. I’ve already had the Zhang household sell them off.”

Meng Xizhao: “…Mother, isn’t that a bit much?”

His younger sister furrowed her brows but nodded. “Second brother is right.”

Meng Xizhao was surprised. There’s actually a normal person in this family?

Then, his younger sister shared her own opinion: “Selling disloyal maidservants straight away is too merciful. I think we should first beat them a bit, let them feel some pain, then make them do dirty work for a few months, and only then sell them. That way, they’ll learn their lesson and won’t repeat their mistakes elsewhere. We don’t want outsiders thinking Meng household maidservants are ill-behaved, do we, Mother?”

Meng Xizhao: “……”

Madam Meng shook her head. “Why bother making others’ clothes for them?”

Eldest brother said: “Forget it for now. I’ll go to the magistrate’s office and have them fetch the culprits.”

Younger sister: “They haven’t even been caught yet? What are they doing?”

The three of them continued arguing over who should act first. Meng Xizhao tried to intervene, but no one paid him any attention—not even Jinzhu and the others on the floor. His playboy reputation was so entrenched that anything he said was dismissed as worthless.

Several times, he couldn’t get a word in.

Finally, he snapped.

“Enough!!!”

The three fell silent and turned to look at him.

Meng Xizhao flared his nostrils in anger. “This matter, none of you are allowed to touch! If anyone does, I—I will never forgive them!”

The room fell completely silent.

Then, the three simultaneously sighed.

“Alright, alright, Mother/Eldest Brother/Younger Sister won’t interfere.”

With that, they turned and left, shaking their heads with practiced disappointment. Even Madam Meng didn’t glance at Jinzhu on the floor again.

…

Meng Xizhao was stunned.

Turns out being a playboy has its perks after all, huh?