Meng Shuping was startled. "Huh… are there others here? How are their ears so sharp? I didn't hear a thing."
He immediately held his breath, trying to minimize his presence and avoid making any sound that might draw their attention.
Of course, he absolutely refused to believe they were talking about him. He was certain that neither he nor his two servants had made the slightest noise.
If they could still detect them, that would truly be supernatural.
Meng Shuping stared wide-eyed as these people found their way behind the rockery, internally screaming. "Aargh, why did they have to come here! Couldn't they have looked somewhere else? All I wanted was a quiet place to stay—what's wrong with that! Why me! Tell me why!"
The young masters who had been speaking earlier had intended to question Meng Shuping about why he was hiding there eavesdropping, but they were startled by this sudden voice. What made their hair stand on end was that they hadn't seen Meng Shuping's mouth move at all.
After a moment of tense silence, one of the young masters bravely asked, "Who are you? Why are you eavesdropping on us?"
The others chimed in, "Yeah, lurking around like that—what are you up to?"
Another looked at him suspiciously, "You didn't sneak in here, did you? With that shifty, suspicious look, you don't seem like a decent person."
"I don't think I've seen him before either."
Meng Shuping had been a bit nervous at first, but upon hearing this, he immediately grew displeased. "Wait a minute... is it possible that I was here first? I haven't even blamed them for disturbing my peace, so how do they have the nerve to blame me?"
"Honestly, they're really thick-skinned. They were caught gossiping behind someone's back, but instead of feeling guilty, they're acting so self-righteous. For all their well-dressed and proper appearances, how can they be so shameless?"
"And it's not like I'm the one to say this, but a bunch of grown men, all they know how to do is gossip about others. Don't they feel like they have too much free time? Even the village gossip isn't as gossipy as them, right?"
After being bombarded with Meng Shuping's sarcastic rant, these men were so angry they forgot their earlier fear. One by one, they began shooting daggers at him. Fan Jianhui stepped forward, giving him a scrutinizing look. "Which family are you from? How come I've never seen you before?"
Meng Shuping immediately stiffened. Fidgeting with the hem of his robe, he stammered, "I just got out after spending a few years in prison, so this is my first time meeting you all."
"What? You've been to prison?"
Everyone was shocked. Although Meng Shuping had been quite annoying when he mocked them earlier, he seemed to have an innocent air about him—nothing like someone who had been to prison.
Besides, he looked no older than eighteen. If that were the case, wouldn't that mean he might have gone to prison in his early teens?
Fan Jianhui completely refused to believe it. He questioned skeptically, "How old are you that you've already spent years in prison? What crime did you commit?"
Meng Shuping, too guilty to look anyone in the eye, continued spouting nonsense, "Back then, I was hot-headed and young. I heard someone talking bad about me, and in a fit of rage, I stabbed him."
"Ah, since you disturbed me, you can't blame me. Screaming, twisting, crawling darkly, hissing, writhing, creepily rolling around!"
Fan Jianhui and the others stepped back in unison. Now, when they looked at Meng Shuping, he seemed even more sinister, with a vicious glint in his eyes.
One of them even stammered, "Wh-what do you want here? This is—this is the Marquis Cheng'en's estate! You can't cause trouble here!"
Meng Shuping was incredulous. "You're kidding me? There are so many of them, yet they're still so cowardly? It's not like I'm going to eat them."
Fan Jianhui and the others thought about it and realized he had a point. There were several of them, and only three on the other side—what was there to fear?
But just as they lifted their heads proudly, they heard the voice again, "Heh heh heh, I'll just stab them!"
The courage they had mustered shrank back down. For some reason, they felt a chilling cold around them, as if with the slightest carelessness, Meng Shuping would pounce and stab them.
After saying this in his mind, Meng Shuping amused himself. "Hahaha, my tone just now was so eerie—it had that vibe of a yandere villain!"
Although they didn't know what "yandere villain" meant, they could guess it wasn't a friendly term. Their legs quaked, but they could only put on a brave face. Meng Shuping seemed completely unhinged.
Fan Jianhui watched Meng Shuping warily, his voice stern. "What exactly are you doing here? Why are you hiding so sneakily? You'd better come clean, or we'll call for help!"
Seeing them treat him like a criminal, Meng Shuping was highly displeased. "Who's being sneaky? I think they're the ones with sharp tongues and thick skin—they don't seem like good people! Thinking I'd be afraid just because there are more of them, huh? Watch me shut them down!"
He covered his mouth and coughed violently twice, then said weakly, "I didn't want to hide, but I accidentally caught TB in prison. The doctor said it's highly contagious."
"What? You have TB?"
Fan Jianhui and the others immediately covered their noses with their sleeves and quickly backed away. "How vile of him! Coming to a banquet while sick—does he want to infect others?"
"Who let him in? Hurry! Let's find someone from the Marquis Cheng'en's household and have him thrown out!"
"No wonder he's so abnormal—he doesn't have long to live! Serves him right!"
"Never mind that for now, let's hurry and find a doctor. What if we've been infected?"
After they left, Xing Lai cautiously asked Meng Shuping, "Fifth Young Master, do you really have TB?"
Jia Yue was also worried. "Have you really stabbed someone before?"
"Of course not," Meng Shuping said lightly. "I was just making things up. Who knew they'd be foolish enough to believe it?"
Xing Lai and Jia Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief. Meng Shuping had sounded so convincing they had almost believed him themselves.
Worried that those people might come back, Meng Shuping had to find another out-of-the-way corner to hide until it was almost time for the banquet before returning.
As soon as he appeared, Fan Jianhui and the others pointed at him and said, "Young Master Dou, look, it's him! Quickly, have him thrown out!"
Earlier, as soon as they left, they had hurried to find Dou Sen, the grandson of Marquis Cheng'en. But when they brought people back to search, they found the place already empty.
Just as they were worrying about not being able to find the brat, Meng Shuping showed up on his own. Fan Jianhui and the others immediately informed Dou Sen.
However, because they were too agitated, their voices were a bit loud, so others nearby instinctively followed their pointing fingers to look at Meng Shuping.
Being stared at by so many people at once, Meng Shuping instantly felt his scalp prickle. He didn't know what to do with his hands and stood rigidly in place. "Aah! Save me! Save me! What is this? People! So many people! What is this? Ground! Why won't it just swallow me!"
Fan Jianhui and the others looked at him triumphantly. Now he's crying for help? Too late! Just wait to be thrown out! With so many people here now, they weren't afraid!
When Meng Shuyang saw who they were pointing at, he was delighted. Wasn't that his good fifth brother, Meng Shuping? How had he managed to offend Fan Jianhui and the others? Now there was going to be some drama.
He deliberately put on a surprised expression. "Fifth Brother? Where have you been? Why does Master Fan want to throw you out? Is there some misunderstanding?"
Fifth Brother? Everyone looked at Meng Shuping curiously. Was this the Fifth Young Master the Earl of Anyang's household had just found? Wasn't he supposed to be from the countryside—wild, rude, and uncouth? But now, he looked quite polite.
Fan Jianhui frowned unhappily at Meng Shuyang. "He's your fifth brother? The one from the countryside? Humph, no matter who he is, he can't stay at the Marquis Cheng'en's residence. Young Master Dou, you should quickly have him thrown out to avoid him ruining your grandfather's birthday banquet."
Dou Sen hesitated. Earlier, he had thought it was an unrelated intruder, which was why he had brought people along. But now it turned out they were talking about Meng Shuping—this made things complicated.
If what Fan Jianhui said was true, there would be no problem throwing him out. But if it was false, wouldn't that offend the Earl of Anyang's household?
He looked around, hoping to see if Meng Shuyi or others were present. If they were, it would be easier to handle.
Meng Shuchun hadn't spoken earlier, not knowing what was happening. But now, hearing Fan Jianhui wanted to throw Meng Shuping out, he immediately stepped forward. "What does Master Fan mean by this? How has Fifth Brother offended you? Why do you want to throw him out?"
Although Fan Jianhui was angry, he wasn't foolish. Of course, he wouldn't directly say Meng Shuping had TB. If he scared the guests away, wouldn't that offend the Marquis Cheng'en's household?
So he said indignantly, "I should be asking you. Don't you know he's not right in the head? Why did you bring him here?"
Meng Shuping couldn't help shooting back mentally, "He's the one who's not right in the head—his whole family's not right in the head! When I saw him earlier, I never thought he'd be this stupid!"
"Sigh, if I had known it would come to this, I wouldn't have said those things earlier. He's already foolish enough—why did I have to go and bully him?"
"I really am… too brilliant, hahaha!"
Fan Jianhui was fuming. Who was foolish? Clearly, this guy was unhinged! If it weren't for hearing that voice, who would have guessed his mental state was so dangerous? Who knows, he might just lash out with a knife at the slightest disagreement!
Meng Shuchun was just about to rebuke Fan Jianhui when, before he could even muster his anger, Meng Shuping's antics completely threw him off. He had to put on a stern face. "Fan Jianhui! Don't go too far! Fifth Brother is shy and this is his first time in such a setting. He's already nervous—why must you humiliate him like this? Is it just because he's unfamiliar and easy to bully?"
Meng Shuping chimed in eagerly, "Exactly, exactly! Always picking on the honest ones. Just wait till my second brother chews him out!"
"Ahem!" Meng Shuchun choked back a cough. There was really no need to put it that way.
Fan Jianhui sneered, "He's easy to bully? I think you're the one talking nonsense! Everyone here knows that the fifth young master just reclaimed by the Anyang Earl's household is crude, ill-mannered, and eccentric. Did you really think putting on this innocent act would make people forget what kind of person he really is?"
Meng Shuping was both shocked and speechless. "Who said that? I'll beat someone to death! I'm clearly friendly and treat others with respect. Who's so tasteless as to spread rumors about me? If I find out who said it, I'll have their hide!"
"Then again, anyone who believes such nonsense must not be the sharpest tool in the shed. They'll believe whatever people say—if someone told them their wife was cheating on them, would they believe that too?"
"What are you glaring at? Yeah, I'm talking about you, Jian Fan!"
"Ahem!" Meng Shuchun nearly burst out laughing again and quickly pretended to cough accidentally. Being able to hear Meng Shuping's inner thoughts was the worst—it tested his ability to hold back laughter way too much.
Fan Jianhui clenched his fists. You're the foolish one! You're the disgrace! How dare someone who talks about beating someone to death and skinning them alive claim to be friendly? Does he have some kind of misunderstanding about himself?
It's just a shame no one else could hear that voice. Otherwise, everyone would see this two-faced behavior for what it is.
Meng Shuchun struggled to suppress his laughter and pretended to be angry. "Your words make no sense, Young Master Fan. Since Fifth Brother returned to the mansion, he hasn't set foot outside. Where could you have learned about his character?"
"Exactly, exactly! Maybe he's the one spreading the rumors. Tsk, tsk, tsk, why does he love stirring up trouble so much? Even Aunt Wang at the village entrance pales in comparison to him!"
Fan Jianhui stuck his nose in the air. "That's just what everyone's saying!"