The moment he plunged into the water, Meng Shuping was so incensed he could barely suppress a curse. Damn it! This is the second time! Do these noble families really need to build ponds in their homes?
After flailing for a moment, he finally stabilized himself in the water. By then, he was no longer the focus of attention; everyone else was frantically trying to pull Meng Ziyun out.
Meng Shuping wiped his face and quietly clambered ashore. Once on land, he sprinted back to his courtyard without a backward glance.
Blast it! The temperature was far too low; if he didn't get back inside soon, he'd freeze to death!
Miaobi and Jinzhan were startled to see him return to the courtyard dripping wet and rushed to greet him. "Fifth Young Master, did you fall into the water?"
Shivering uncontrollably, Meng Shuping hurried indoors. "Quick, send for hot water! I need a bath immediately!"
Hearing this, Miaobi and Jinzhan swiftly divided tasks—one went to fetch hot water, the other to retrieve a change of clothes for Meng Shuping. Fortunately, ever since he had disciplined Mama Guan from the kitchen, the estate's servants no longer dared to neglect him. Soon enough, the hot water arrived.
After his bath, Jinzhan promptly brought a bowl of ginger soup. "Fifth Young Master, please drink some ginger soup to warm yourself. Don't catch a cold."
Having finished the ginger soup, Meng Shuping finally felt somewhat revived. He instructed Jinzhan, "Has dinner been served? If not, go hurry them along."
He had a premonition that trouble was brewing, so it was best to eat now; otherwise, he likely wouldn't have time later.
Jinzhan quickly replied, "I'll send someone to fetch it right away. It should be here very soon."
Meanwhile, Meng Ziyun was pulled out by the others and hastily taken to her room. Upon hearing of Meng Ziyun's fall, Fourth Madam Wu Shi rushed over, her face etched with worry. "Ziyun, what happened? How did you end up in the water for no reason?"
Meng Ziyun had already concocted her story while bathing. With a resentful expression, she declared, "It's all because of that Meng Shuping! He's utterly insufferable! Earlier, I encountered him on the bridge, and he acted so condescending—not only did he refuse to greet me, but he also called me a savage and said 'good dogs don't block the path.' I couldn't bear the insult and argued with him, but he immediately invoked Grandfather's authority to pressure me, claiming that since Grandfather is in charge now, even Grandmother couldn't do anything to him!"
Fourth Madam Wu Shi was incensed. "What? He actually said that?"
Without a shred of guilt, Meng Ziyun tearfully recounted, "Of course! I was afraid no one would believe me if I told them, so I decided to ignore him and leave. But as soon as I passed him, he shoved me into the water! Mother, you must teach him a proper lesson for me!"
After listening to Meng Ziyun's tearful accusation, Fourth Madam Wu Shi erupted in fury. "Indeed! A mere illegitimate son from the second branch dares to bully our fourth branch! I'm going to inform the Old Lady right now. Don't worry, Ziyun—the Old Lady will certainly stand up for you!"
After comforting Meng Ziyun for a moment, Wu Shi prepared to go to the Old Lady's quarters. But just as she stepped out, she saw Yao Qian standing there, looking troubled.
Wu Shi was puzzled. "Qian Geer, what are you doing here?"
Yao Qian hesitated before saying, "Aunt, perhaps we should move out of the Earl's estate."
Wu Shi was even more confused. "Why do you say that, Qian Geer? Are you uncomfortable staying here?"
Yao Qian quickly replied, "It's not that. It's mainly because I just ran into the Fifth Young Master from the second branch. He said our family is shamelessly clinging to the Earl's estate and is utterly unwelcome. He even threatened to drive us out. To spare you any trouble, Aunt, we should leave on our own accord."
Hearing this, Wu Shi's anger flared even more intensely. She immediately declared, "No need! You will stay right here in the Earl's estate. There's no need to move! Since when does an illegitimate son from a secondary branch get to dictate affairs in the Earl's estate? It's not as if everyone else is dead!"
Just as Meng Shuping finished his meal, Nanny Huang, who had visited before, arrived again. "Fifth Young Master, the Old Lady requests your presence!"
He frowned, then adopted a weak expression. "I'm feeling a bit unwell…"
But before he could finish, Nanny Huang interjected, "Don't worry, Fifth Young Master. We've brought a soft sedan chair precisely because we anticipated such a situation. Please, Fifth Young Master!"
Meng Shuping: "…"
They're quite prepared. It seems he has no choice but to go again?
When he arrived at the Old Lady's residence via sedan chair, he saw Old Lady Fu Shi seated sternly in the center. To her left was an enraged Fourth Madam Wu Shi, to her right a worried Feng Shi, and a frustrated Meng Wenxiu.
Meng Shuping was not the least bit surprised. "Hmph! Is this a triple interrogation?"
Seeing that he showed no sign of remorse, Old Lady Fu Shi was beside herself with rage. She bellowed, "Kneel!"
Meng Shuping was startled. "Yikes! The Old Lady's voice is really loud—my ears are ringing!"
"But who does she think she is? Ordering me to kneel? Is she even worthy?"
Old Lady Fu Shi's lips trembled with anger at his words. She roared again, "Didn't you hear me? I said kneel!"
Meng Shuping immediately tilted his head and cupped his ear, feigning deafness. "What? You're asking if I've eaten before coming? Oh, yes, yes. I just finished eating before coming."
Seeing that he dared to play deaf, Old Lady Fu Shi slammed the armrest in anger. "Don't think you can fool anyone by pretending to be stupid! Guards! Bring the family discipline tools!"
"What? Go play?" Meng Shuping quickly waved his hands at Old Lady Fu Shi. "No, no! The Emperor just assigned me an important task. If it gets delayed and the Emperor blames us, none of us can bear the responsibility!"
Everyone was stunned. Meng Shuping had met the Emperor? And was assigned a task by him? How was that possible? Fourth Madam Wu Shi sneered, "Ping Geer, if you're going to lie, at least find a better excuse! The Emperor is extremely busy—it's not like you can just see him whenever you want!"
"What? You're asking if the Emperor is that petty?" Meng Shuping declared loudly. "Don't you know that serving the Emperor is like serving a tiger? If you don't believe me, go ask Lord Cao, the Minister of Justice. The other day in the palace, he bruised his forehead from misspeaking! And there's also Lord Fan from the Military Hall Department—the Emperor punished him with a month of reflection at home and docked half a year's salary!"
"The Emperor made it clear this time: anyone who delays my work is obstructing official business! They'll definitely face severe consequences!"
"Would I lie about something like this? Come on, why would I tell a lie that's so easily exposed? If you don't believe me, go ask those surnamed Cao and Fan!"
Initially, no one believed that an illegitimate son just brought back from the countryside could possess the capability to be assigned a task by the Emperor.
But now, they had no choice but to consider it. If what Meng Shuping said was true, they would inevitably face repercussions.
Old Lady Fu Shi was furious. Was there truly no way to deal with this boy? She suppressed her rising anger. If physical punishment wasn't an option, then surely disciplinary action would work?
She scolded angrily, "Well, well, well! So I can't discipline you, is that it? In that case, go kneel in the ancestral hall right now!"
Meng Shuping said in surprise, "What? You want me to go find Prince Zhao now? No, no! Although Prince Zhao said he'd stand up for me if anyone in the estate bullied me, even he can't do anything against the Emperor!"
"If you dare punish me, just watch—I'll whisper a few words to the Prince and make sure Meng Ziyun never gets married!"
Old Lady Fu Shi trembled with rage, unable to speak for a long time. This is rebellion! Absolute rebellion!
Utterly unable to deal with Meng Shuping, she suddenly turned and vented her anger on Meng Wenxiu. "Second Son, this is the fine son you've raised!"
Meng Wenxiu quickly said, "Don't be angry, Old Lady. This boy has always been disrespectful. I'll discipline him properly when we get back!"
Old Lady Fu Shi said coldly, "No need to wait until you're back. A father is to blame for his son's lack of discipline. Since Ping Geer's poor upbringing is your fault, you'll be the one kneeling in the ancestral hall!"
"What?" Meng Wenxiu was speechless for a long time. After a while, he forced a dry laugh. "Old Lady, that's not really appropriate, is it? Ping Geer grew up in the countryside—even if I wanted to teach him, I couldn't!"
Meng Shuping laughed heartily inwardly. "Hahahaha, appropriate? Why wouldn't it be? I think it's very appropriate! If a son isn't raised well, it's the father's fault! I suggest punishing him severely—hahaha!"
Meng Wenxiu was furious. He glared angrily at Meng Shuping. This brat actually wanted him to be punished—how unfilial!
Old Lady Fu Shi looked impatiently at Meng Wenxiu. "What? Are you going to be as unfilial as him? If you don't want to kneel, you don't need to go to duty anymore. I'll publicly declare you unfilial!"
"Don't, Old Lady!" Meng Wenxiu quickly yielded, gritting his teeth. "I'll kneel. I'll go to the ancestral hall as soon as I leave."
Meng Shuping didn't care about his reputation, but Meng Wenxiu did. If the Old Lady really declared him unfilial, he might as well prepare to be idle at home!
Old Lady Fu Shi then turned her angry gaze to Feng Shi. "Second Daughter-in-Law, your second branch's Ping Geer pushed Ziyun into the water. What do you have to say about this?"
Meng Shuping was speechless. "What do you mean I pushed her into the water? She tried to push me, missed, and fell in herself. How dare she blame me?"
Feng Shi had already suspected that Meng Shuping wasn't the one who did it. Now, hearing this, it confirmed her thoughts. But even though Meng Shuping was in the right, the Old Lady would never take his side.
She asked Old Lady Fu Shi tentatively, "Then what do you suggest we do?"
Old Lady Fu Shi snorted, "Women are different from men; they get sick easily after falling into water, especially in such cold weather. Go back and prepare some expensive tonics, then take Ping Geer with you to personally apologize to Meng Ziyun!"
Meng Shuping had a sudden realization, "So that's why even Second Madame was called over—they just want money!"
"Sigh, I said she was stingy, but she didn't want to admit it. Even coveting her daughter-in-law's money—how low can you get! And she calls herself an Earl's widow? How petty!"
Old Lady Fu Shi wanted to strangle Meng Shuping at that moment. The most infuriating thing was that she could do nothing about him now and couldn't even refute him. She forced herself not to lose her temper. Hmph, there would be plenty of time later—she refused to believe Meng Shuping could stay this arrogant forever!
However, Feng Shi was not as bold as Meng Shuping. After all, as a daughter-in-law, she still had to stay on her good side with Old Lady Fu Shi. If the Dowager wanted to make life difficult for her, she had plenty of ways.
Looking worried, she looked at Old Lady Fu Shi and said, "Madam, the tonics are not a problem. Even if Fourth Sister-in-law doesn't ask, knowing she has no money to buy them, I would help her out. But as for taking Ping Geer to apologize... well... perhaps you could tell him yourself?"
Old Lady Fu Shi said displeased, "What? You're his official mother—can't you even make him listen?"
Feng Shi quickly replied, "Madam, you are his grandmother. Your words have more pull than mine!"
Old Lady Fu Shi was stumped. The problem was, she couldn't make Meng Shuping listen either. Even getting him to come over required sending a sedan chair for him. She had never seen someone who couldn't be bribed or threatened.
Frowning, she turned to Meng Shuping and said, "Did you hear that? Later, you will go and properly apologize to your sister!"
She expected Meng Shuping to talk back again, but to her surprise, he agreed very readily, "Alright."
Old Lady Fu Shi was astonished. Had Meng Shuping finally given in? But the next moment, she heard Meng Shuping's voice say, "Hahaha, she tried to push me? I'll make sure to get a good look at Meng Ziyun looking miserable later!"
Old Lady Fu Shi didn't know whether to be angry or to scold him. In the end, she waved her hand irritably and said, "Enough, everyone out!"
Out of sight, out of mind!
Meng Shuping said cheerfully, "Sure thing!"
Old Lady Fu Shi felt another fit of frustration. She took a deep breath—she had never met such an annoying person! If she had known earlier, she should have stopped this punk from returning!
Now, whenever she saw Meng Shuping, she felt completely fed up!
After Meng Shuping, Feng Shi, and the others had left, Wu Shi said furiously, "Madam, are we just going to let him off this time?"
Old Lady Fu Shi's face was dark. "What else can we do? Didn't you see? He even used the Emperor and Prince Zhao to pressure us! Hmph, if we can't deal with him, we'll just have to find someone else to do it!"
Fourth Madame Wu Shi finally calmed down a little. She sneered, "Don't think that just because the Emperor and Prince Zhao back him, I can't do anything to him. There are plenty of twists and turns in the capital!"
After leaving Old Lady Fu Shi's courtyard, Meng Wenxiu's face was fuming. He roared angrily, "You disrespectful brat! Why did you provoke your fifth sister out of the blue? Do you really think just because Prince Zhao backs you, you can get away with anything? Let me tell you, even if Prince Zhao is powerful, he can't interfere in other people's family matters!"
"Oh," Meng Shuping said sincerely, "You should go kneel in the ancestral hall now."
The thought of being punished because of Meng Shuping made Meng Wenxiu even angrier. His face turned livid as he said, "From now on, don't provoke your fifth sister, understand? Even if she really bullies you, you have to endure it!"
Meng Shuping couldn't be bothered to argue with Meng Wenxiu and said dismissively, "Oh, oh, got it."
"So that's why he lives such a miserable life, huh?"
Meng Wenxiu clenched his fists, using all his strength to stop himself from punching Meng Shuping. Once again, he tried to suppress his anger and said furiously, "Even though the Dowager didn't punish you, I can't let you off for harming your fifth sister like that. When you go back, copy the family rules a hundred times. Submit them once you're done, understood?"
Meng Shuping nodded, "Uh-huh, understood, understood!"
"Not listening, not listening, turtle reciting scriptures! Whoever wants to copy it can copy it—I'm not doing it!"
Meng Wenxiu was so angry he was seeing red. He roared, "Meng Shuping! Do you really think I won't hit you?"
Meng Shuping was baffled. "I didn't say that!"
"He's crazy—wasn't I just playing along with him? What else does he want?"
"Oh, oh, I get it. He must be trying to delay kneeling in the ancestral hall, right? How shady! But it's unnecessary, really unnecessary. No matter how much he delays, he still has to kneel. Hahahaha!"
"Maybe I should go back and provoke the Dowager again to make his kneeling time longer?"
Seeing that Meng Wenxiu's lips had turned white with anger, Feng Shi, afraid he might actually harm himself, hurriedly said, "Master, you should go kneel in the ancestral hall first!"
"Hmph!" Meng Wenxiu was also afraid Meng Shuping might actually do it. He flicked his sleeve and marched off angrily!
Meng Shuping looked at him puzzled. "It's just kneeling in the ancestral hall—why the drama? Don't think I won't make you kneel more times in the future!"
Meng Wenxiu tripped over his feet mid-step. You brat, don't push your luck!
After Meng Wenxiu left, Feng Shi said, "Ping Geer, let's go too."
Meng Shuping nodded quickly. "Alright."
"Sigh, I feel worst for Second Madame—making her dip into her savings again. But what's wrong with all of them? They all keep asking Second Madame for money—how cheap!"
Feng Shi smiled helplessly. A few gifts were really nothing. Even if none of this had happened, wouldn't she still need to bring a gift when visiting her niece who had fallen into the water? She was used to it.
After getting the items from Feng Shi, the two went to Meng Ziyun's place together. When Meng Ziyun saw Meng Shuping, she sneered, "What, here to apologize to me?"
"Yes," Meng Shuping nodded sincerely. "I'm sorry, Fifth Sister. I didn't know you were such a klutz. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have dodged."
"Hahahaha, how does it feel to try to cheat and get cheated? What a joke—I've seen clumsy people, but never someone this clumsy. Fifth Sister, you should stop trying to harm others. What if you end up hurting yourself like this again? Hahaha!"
Meng Ziyun shot back, "Who's clumsy?"
Meng Shuping quickly apologized. "Sorry, sorry, I accidentally blurted out the truth. Fifth Sister, don't take it to heart."
"She really isn't that clever—why can't I say it?"
Meng Ziyun kicked off the blankets and tried to get up. "Say that again!"
Feng Shi almost couldn't hold back her laughter. She quickly held Meng Ziyun down. "Ziyun, what are you doing getting up? Hurry and bundle up with the blankets. You just fell into the water—you mustn't catch a chill, or you'll suffer."
Not daring to joke about her health, Meng Ziyun could only grudgingly cover herself with the blankets again. She snorted unhappily. "Fine, hurry up and leave. I'm sick of your face!"
She smirked to herself inwardly: It doesn't matter. Meng Shuping is so angry probably because he was punished by Grandmother. That'll teach him! Who told him to provoke me!
After getting his laughs in, Meng Shuping returned to his own courtyard feeling pleased.
When she saw him return, Miao Bi asked with concern, "Fifth Young Master, what did the Dowager want with you?"
Although Meng Shuping hadn't said anything earlier, she felt that his falling into the water must be related to why the Dowager summoned him.
Meng Shuping said relaxedly, "It's nothing. It's all taken care of."
"Oh, oh," Miao Bi finally breathed a sigh of relief. She said to Meng Shuping, "Since Fifth Young Master is back, you should get warm quickly to avoid catching a chill."
Meng Shuping nodded. "Alright."
However, even though Meng Shuping crawled under the covers as soon as he returned, it wasn't long before he developed a fever.