The news of a man running naked through the streets due to hysteria spread quickly through the city. Even Lady Meng reminded her three children at the dining table: “Da Lang, Er Lang, be careful when going out. Jiao Jiao, you shouldn’t leave the house these days.”
Meng Jiao jutted out her lips in protest: “Why can my older brothers go out but I can’t?”
Lady Meng: “You’re just a young girl. If you encounter such a vulgar person, what will happen to your reputation?”
Meng Jiao tried to argue further, but Lady Meng raised an eyebrow. One more word and she would likely get a beating.
Lady Meng wasn’t the type to merely punish by making children copy texts; when angry, she could—and would—hit, regardless of gender.
Pouting, Meng Jiao turned to look at her older brothers for support. Her eldest gave her a helpless glance, while her second brother was fully occupied with the chicken leg on his plate.
Meng Jiao: “……”
Not a single reliable ally in sight!
Keeping Meng Jiao confined in the household was an unexpected boon. Meng Xizhao knew, however, that it wouldn’t last long. His sister was bold; she was merely obedient these few days. Once the attention died down, she would surely find ways to sneak out.
Meng Xizhao didn’t think much of it.
Although Meng Jiao’s taste was terrible, her intelligence was sharp. Raised under Lady Meng’s strict tutelage, she had cunning and strategy. Unlike some sheltered girls, who would hand over their hearts at the first deception by a man, she only struck when she could be sure of the outcome. Everyone might get taken advantage of, but she wouldn’t.
A few days later, after some idle days at the Imperial Secretariat, Meng Xizhao sent Jin Zhu to check on Deng Qin. She learned that Deng Qin had been rescued from the cell by the Grand Secretary, given travel funds, and sent back to his home in Guocheng County.
However, Deng Lao’s elder was no longer there to receive him; he would likely wander for some time yet.
Upon hearing this, Meng Xizhao was in high spirits and rewarded Jin Zhu with a roasted goose.
Holding the golden-brown, tender goose, Jin Zhu twitched slightly, then handed the plate to another maid and stood by Meng Xizhao, praising him: “Sir, you are truly clever. With minimal effort, you severed Deng Qin’s connection to the Grand Secretary and tarnished his reputation. From now on, thinking of trying anything will be harder than ascending to the heavens.”
Meng Xizhao puffed his chest proudly: “Of course! Listen, I’m not stupid, just not fond of studying. If I put my mind to it, passing even the highest honors—let alone a modest imperial ranking—would be effortless!”
Jin Zhu: “……”
That’s called achieving the top three ranks, thank you. And, you, a man who can’t even read, why are you so confident?
Shaking her head, she realized that compared to before, Meng Xizhao hadn’t really changed at all: still arrogant, still overestimating himself.
…
Two days later, the singing girls selected by Fu Jicai arrived. Following Meng Xizhao’s instructions, he had sent over thirty people—fifteen men and fifteen women—ranging in age from six to sixty, lined up according to height.
Seeing a broad-shouldered, thick-waisted, shifty-eyed middle-aged man standing beside his favorite stunning beauty of a songstress, Fu Jicai felt his eyes sting.
He could not understand. “What do you want with these men and old women? Back at our Ningyuan Marquis Manor, they just do the rough work.”
Meng Xizhao thought: what a waste of talent.
These were all promising seedlings born into families of professional performers! Just because they were older did not mean they could not sing. And did he not know how marvelous a tenor voice could be?
…
Meng Xizhao could not be bothered to explain music to someone who had never received nine years of compulsory education. Fu Jicai did not care about the answer anyway. Their family kept more than two hundred singing girls. They had been raising them since his great-grandfather’s time. The less talented ones were married off once they reached a certain age; the truly skilled ones were kept in the manor, matched with husbands, and allowed to raise children. In the past, the Ningyuan Marquis Manor had been wealthy and powerful—supporting a few hundred extra mouths had been nothing.
Now, however, it was growing more and more difficult. He had heard his mother complain several times that the singing girls, along with their families, were a tremendous financial burden. She was always looking for an excuse to dismiss the artists’ relatives.
Now things were perfect. Meng Xizhao had taken them off his hands, and from what he said, these thirty might not even be enough—he might come back for more in the future.
Fu Jicai was delighted. The ones he had sent were all house-born servants who had lived in the manor since birth. That alone saved a large sum of silver. Meng Xizhao was equally pleased—he had obtained the descendants of first-rate songstresses without spending a single coin. From now on, he would no longer bully Young Master Fu.
Once the servant contracts were handed over, Fu Jicai left. The thirty stood in the main hall under the leadership of the stunning beauty whom Fu Jicai had specially introduced. Meng Xizhao sat at the front, surrounded by a flock of charming maids.
Both sides sized each other up, hearts full of unease.
The maids were thinking: Has the young master changed his tastes? Is he no longer fond of women, but instead taken to listening to music? Would they lose their positions? That would never do. Where would they find another master as foolishly rich, undemanding, and protective of his maids as he was? Impossible. From now on, they would have to work even harder and coax him back into appreciating beauty again.
The troupe of singers, meanwhile, thought: So this is the famed Second Young Master Meng. He does not look lecherous, but his behavior certainly is. Liking beautiful women is normal. Liking old ladies… barely acceptable. But liking old men and children too? That was going too far.
A man should have limits. At the very least, he should not have such indiscriminate appetites.
…
Fortunately, Meng Xizhao could not read minds. Otherwise, he might have coughed up blood from indignation on the spot.
After surveying their appearances, several thoughts turned over in his mind. Then he nodded at them. “Come forward one by one and sing a few lines for me.”
The singers glanced at each other, but none dared disobey. They lined up and stepped forward obediently.
The musical style of Great Qi was like its customs—refined and expressive, with an emphasis on elegance and emotion. If one listened closely, it was actually quite down-to-earth, not the incomprehensible tunes Meng Xizhao had imagined.
Having formed a preliminary judgment, he began listening in earnest.
Not bad. Out of the thirty, only two sang off-key. Even the children could carry a tune smoothly. As expected of descendants of top-tier songstresses.
However, staying on pitch was the limit of their skill. Without proper training, even a fine voice could not reach a truly stunning level. Aside from the leading beauty and two elderly women who had once been songstresses and now served as matrons, the rest were simply belting out notes at the top of their lungs.
Still, there was one pleasant surprise.
The very middle-aged man whom Young Master Fu had described as broad and shifty-looking.
The moment he opened his mouth, even the stunning beauty—who ranked among the very best in the Ningyuan Marquis Manor—turned to look. Meng Xizhao’s eyes lit up. “Have you trained?”
The man scratched his head shyly. “When I have nothing to do, I just like to sing a few lines.”
Meng Xizhao gave him a thumbs-up. “Excellent. From now on, you will be the principal performer among the singers of the Administration Office.”
The man was overjoyed and immediately knelt to thank him. Beside him, the stunning beauty stood dumbfounded.
Was there something wrong with him?
That man’s appearance was barely tolerable, and he could see his worth. Yet here she was, a breathtaking beauty, and he did not even spare her a second glance?
Meng Xizhao did not care what she was thinking. After registering all thirty and dividing them into teams by gender and age, he led them into a grand and secret training campaign.
He shut the gates to his courtyard tight. No one was allowed inside. One day, Meng Jiuyu and Madam Meng grew too curious to bear it. They dismissed the servants and pressed their ears against the crack of the door.
“Ahhh—”
Meng Xizhao: “Higher.”
“Ahhh—”
Meng Xizhao: “Higher.”
“AHHH—!”
Meng Jiuyu: “…”
Madam Meng: “…”
They did not understand a thing, and that worried them deeply.
When Madam Meng worried, Li Huai was summoned once more. The last time she had called him over, Meng Xizhao had been smiling within two days. Presumably, this time would be no different.
Upon hearing that Meng Xizhao had once again shown signs of withdrawing into himself—and was even leading a group in what looked suspiciously like occult behavior—Li Huai thumped his chest confidently. “Rest assured, Aunt. I have always kept my cousin’s affairs close to heart. I have not been idle these past few days either. I have been searching everywhere for a way to restore his spirits. Now I have found it. I guarantee he will return to his former self!”
Madam Meng was greatly comforted. “With those words, I am at ease.”
With her approval, Li Huai sauntered over to Meng Xizhao’s courtyard and tried to drag him out for amusement.
Meng Xizhao thought: You look like the amusement.
“I am not going. Can you not see I am busy?”
Li Huai said, “What could you possibly be busy with? Did I not tell you there are many new entertainments in town lately? Come, I will take you to see them.”
Meng Xizhao said, “I already told you, I do not want to go!”
Seeing that he was not pretending, Li Huai released his arm and looked at him suspiciously. “You really are not going? How strange. In the past, whenever you heard about something like this, you could not wait to fly over immediately.”
Meng Xizhao fell silent.
The changes he had shown recently were indeed rather obvious. In the first few days after he arrived here, nothing much had happened. But lately, people kept remarking, intentionally or not, how different he was compared to before.
Of course, no one would guess that the person inside this body had been replaced. But this was ancient times. If one was not careful, one could easily be labeled as possessed by evil spirits.
Meng Xizhao’s fingers stiffened slightly. Fortunately, the sleeves of Great Qi were wide, and his hands were hidden beneath them.
After a pause, he put on an expression of annoyance. “Is it not because I have been busy lately? That thing you mentioned—are these new entertainments really that fun?”
Li Huai immediately broke into a grin. “Naturally. How would I dare deceive you, Cousin?”
“Fine, I will make the trip. But if it is not fun, I will never go out with you again.”
Li Huai burst out laughing. “Impossible. You will definitely be satisfied.”
Meng Xizhao thought to himself: Then you truly do not know me at all. No matter what you present when we arrive, I will say it is not fun. From now on, go tease cats and dogs by yourself. This young wastrel has reformed!
…
Li Huai set out from the Administrative Office with Meng Xizhao. After nearly half a stick of incense’s worth of travel, they still had not arrived.
They had already left the inner city and entered the outer city when Meng Xizhao asked, puzzled, “What is there to enjoy in the outer city?”
Li Huai snorted with a smile. “That is where you are ignorant. The inner city is all rich meats and fine wines. The outer city may be filled with plain porridge and simple dishes, but now and then, a delicacy appears that leaves one unable to resist.”
Meng Xizhao: “…”
Why did that sound somewhat strange?
This was the gap between a true wastrel and a counterfeit one. No matter how well Meng Xizhao acted, his thought process could not quite align with that of a genuine libertine. As a well-behaved college student who had never even dated, he had no idea what Li Huai was hinting at.
The carriage stopped before a private residence. The moment they stepped down, a leering gatekeeper approached, fawning over them with practiced ease.
Li Huai asked, “Is everything arranged?”
The gatekeeper nodded eagerly. “Everything is prepared. The two young masters need only enjoy themselves!”
Li Huai walked ahead. Meng Xizhao paused briefly at the threshold and gave the gatekeeper a strange look.
Odd. That phrase sounded familiar. Had he heard it somewhere before?
But in every period drama, servants said something like that. He could not recall where exactly he had heard it. Li Huai was urging him on, so he stepped inside.
They passed the screen wall. Meng Xizhao crossed the main threshold and saw an empty room, devoid of people and even a single dish of food. He turned in confusion. “Where is the fun—”
Li Huai suddenly stepped back and slammed the door shut with a bang. “Inside! Cousin, enjoy yourself. I will come fetch you in an hour!”
With that, he strode off, laughing uproariously.
Meng Xizhao: “…………”
Every hair on his body stood on end. A dreadful premonition took shape in his mind. He stood stiffly for a moment, then turned and rushed toward the inner room.
The premonition proved true.
On the bed lay a woman of ethereal beauty, like an orchid blooming in a secluded valley. Even with her eyes closed in unconsciousness, her delicate, otherworldly charm was undiminished.
Meng Xizhao: “…………”
Li Huai!
You son of a—
If I get out of here, I will kill you!
However, that required getting out first.
He spun in circles anxiously before finally remembering which way the door was. He dashed out, but just as his hand touched the door, he heard the gatekeeper scream outside.
Then came furious footsteps. In the next instant, the door before him was smashed apart with a crack.
Meng Xizhao stared blankly at the young man standing before him—imposing in bearing, upright as iron and steel, his fury blazing—holding in his hand a massive iron hammer that weighed at least twenty jin.
Meng Xizhao: …My good legs, the ones that could walk and even march in step!!!