That evening, at dinner, Meng Xizhao made a startling declaration:
“Father, Mother, do we have a shop on Baihua Street? If so, give it to me—I want to go into business.”
Meng Jiuyu: “……”
Madam Meng: “……”
Meng Xian froze for a moment, then quickly intervened. “Er Lang, running a business isn’t as simple as you think. It’s exhausting.”
Meng Xizhao looked at him, puzzled. “How do you know? Have you done it before?”
Other members of the Meng family glanced over as well.
Meng Xian: “…No, I only heard about it from others.”
Meng Xizhao: “Then it’s not trustworthy! Besides, how will I know unless I try? Mother, isn’t that right?”
Madam Meng wiped her mouth with her handkerchief. “There are indeed two shops on Baihua Street, but Er Lang, why do you suddenly want to go into business?”
Meng Xizhao put on a wounded expression, as if about to cry but not quite: “They all look down on me, unwilling to see me. So I’ll open my own place—my own people will always be willing to see me, right?”
The Meng family: “…………”
Opening a brothel yourself, though?
Baihua Street was famous and extremely valuable. Of course, the Meng family wasn’t the only one owning property there. Dukes, princes, and nobles all had holdings there—they only collected rent. No one dared open a business there; it would be like handing the Censorate a complaint on a silver platter.
Meng Xizhao understood their concerns and quickly added: “It’ll just be a singer’s hall for playing the qin, listening to music, and a few things ordinary people enjoy—nothing messy or improper.”
Meng Jiuyu and Madam Meng exchanged a doubtful glance.
But seeing Meng Xizhao’s pleading expression—“Please, just let me do this”—they couldn’t bring themselves to say no.
Madam Meng nodded her approval at the table, then immediately sent someone to her natal family, to the Marquis of Ning’s household, to ask what to do.
The Marquis, Madam Meng’s younger brother, laughed upon hearing that Meng Xizhao had suddenly changed. Not only heartbroken over women, but now wanting to run a business? “It’s nothing serious. He’s just been stirred up. Let Da Lang and Er Lang go visit their nephew for a few days. That’ll get him to stop thinking about doing anything serious.”
…Listen to that—like doing proper, serious things was a bad idea.
The next day, Meng Xizhao’s two cousins came to the Council Office.
First cousin Li Ping, second cousin Li Huai—one greedy, one lustful. Basically, lesser versions of Meng Xian and Meng Xizhao.
Li Ping didn’t have much in common with Meng Xizhao. After exchanging a few words, he went to chat with Meng Xian, who, despite still being greedy and reclusive, had a radar that drew them together.
This left Li Huai, sitting opposite Meng Xizhao, who wore his usual faint, teasing smile.
Li Huai: “…Cousin, could you not smile like that? It’s scary.”
Meng Xizhao couldn’t help it—Li Huai was the very person who introduced the household guest to his elder brother. Thinking of that alone made him smirk uncontrollably.
A total liability.
A top-tier liability.
When the Council Office fell, the Duke’s household gained nothing. The Duke of Wu died of anger. His uncle leapt to save his sister’s family, only to be betrayed by the household’s concubine son, losing his heirship and being exiled to Jiangzhou. Jiangzhou remained peaceful for now, but two years later, rebellion turned it into a living hell. The outcome was tragic.
Meng Xizhao forced himself to stay calm and spoke gently to Li Huai: “How about this?”
Li Huai: “…………”
Oh no… even scarier.
Li Huai sat uneasily, thinking that his aunt had not exaggerated. His cousin had clearly been pushed to extremes. Strange—was it just Sang Fanyu? She wasn’t even in the top three among the Yingtian Prefecture courtesans. How could she affect his cousin so profoundly?
Could it be… that his cousin had fallen in love at first sight?
No, no—that wouldn’t do. For noble families like theirs, casual fun is fine, but putting someone on your mind seriously? Not good.
He had to intervene, to pull his cousin back.
If Meng Xizhao knew what he was thinking, he would have laughed in disbelief.
“Pull me back? I might need to pull you back instead!”
…
Madam Meng lost her mother young. The old Duke was busy with state affairs, leaving the household neglected. To make matters worse, six months later, he remarried and continued going off to war.
This made Meng Meng’s childhood harsh—no elders to care for her, servants ignoring her, and a stepmother always sulking or speaking snidely. As the saying goes, difficulties are like a spring—weakness makes them stronger.
Meng Meng grew strong from this adversity. Within a year, she had managed the entire Duke’s household and, when the old Duke returned, she cried, nagged, and threatened until he petitioned the emperor to name her brother as heir.
With this precedent, the Marquis naturally obeyed his sister. Even his father’s authority seemed less than a tenth of hers. He was close to his sister; naturally, his children were close to hers.
So Li Huai wasn’t acting intentionally—he genuinely cared for Meng Xian and Meng Xizhao. Unfortunately, his low intelligence made him a tool for others.
Li Huai: “Cousin, it’s boring staying in the house. Why don’t we go out and see the street?”
Meng Xizhao: “The street’s no fun either. I just came back from there yesterday.”
Li Huai: “Then I recently heard about a few new things. Let’s go check them out.”
Meng Xizhao: “I don’t want to go. It’s annoying.”
Li Huai leaned in. “Come on, tell me—what’s bothering you?”
Meng Xizhao: “……”
He pushed Li Huai’s big face away. “You think telling me will make me less annoyed?”
Li Huai thumped his chest. “Of course! When it comes to fun, no one in Yingtian Prefecture can beat me.”
Meng Xizhao: “……”
I didn’t say it was about fun, though.
Forget it—can’t argue with a native playboy.
He straightened in his chair and sighed heavily. “Honestly… this time, I’m not annoyed because there’s nothing fun to do.”
Li Huai asked curiously, “Then why is that?”
“Do you know that in two months, the Spring Imperial Examination will begin?” Meng Xizhao looked up.
Li Huai nodded. “Yes, but what does that have to do with us?”
Meng Xizhao: “…My elder brother is taking the exam this year. Haven’t you remembered?”
Li Huai chuckled. “Of course I remember, but Xi’ang cousin is so clever, passing is practically guaranteed.”
Meng Xizhao mused quietly: You really trust him… Wait a few more days, and you’ll see him get anxious enough that even you will notice something’s wrong.
He said with righteous indignation, “I know my brother is brilliant—of course he can pass. But I’m worried that someone might try to sabotage him.”
Li Huai: “Huh? What do you mean?”
Meng Xizhao explained: “Think about it. My brother is outstanding, everyone envies him. If someone is bold enough to put a swelling on his jaw so he can’t write at the exam, or beat him up just before the test so he can’t hold a pen, or, at worst, buy the exam questions—how can ten years of studying compare to someone’s one-time cheating? That’s what bothers me!”
Having said that, Meng Xizhao took a sip of tea, subtly gauging Li Huai’s reaction.
Sure enough, Li Huai’s expression turned thoughtful. “Come to think of it, I did hear some rumors…”
Meng Xizhao perked up. “What rumors?”
Li Huai replied, “A friend of mine said he has connections to get this year’s exam questions. He claimed the channel is completely reliable, and if I’m willing to pay, he can introduce me to the person.”
Meng Xizhao: “……”
Scammers really are everywhere.
Li Huai hadn’t taken it seriously—he thought it was a trick to cheat rich but naive people like him. Still, if the other party approached him a few more times with smooth words, who knows what he might think?
Meng Xizhao sneered. “See? Here it comes. The exam is so important to my brother. I can’t take it for him, but I will never allow anyone to sabotage him! Second cousin, you and I will find this person and teach them a lesson!”
Li Huai: “…………”
Why should this concern me? Why am I supposed to teach someone a lesson? And why do you look at me when it comes to sabotaging?
Meng Xizhao wasted no time—he had decided and ordered Li Huai to handle it for him. Li Huai left with a sour expression, thinking his cousin had become even more overbearing and harder to deal with than before.