Chapter 59. A leaf before the eyes obscures Mount Tai. ...

Meng Yuanxiao originally wanted to tell Cui Xintang about the trip out of Beijing. However, Meng Zheng threatened her that if she told Cui Xintang, he wouldn't take her out, so she had to give up on the idea.

She didn't tell her mother either, she just left it to her second brother.

On the day they left Beijing, the brother and sister were not in a hurry to travel, and they set off leisurely around noon.

After leaving the city gate, we passed through a larger town before evening and found an inn to stay overnight.

That evening, after Meng Yuanxiao had taken a bath, he was about to rest when Cui Xintang suddenly came looking for him.

Meng Yuanxiao ran over and opened the door. Just as he was about to call out "Second Brother," he froze when he saw him.

Cui Xintang stood outside the door, his handsome face cold and indifferent. The light from the lanterns under the eaves cast a long shadow of him on her.

Meng Yuanxiao swallowed hard, "Brother Tang..."

Cui Xintang watched her silently for a moment, then stepped into the room and closed the door.

Meng Yuanxiao's heart pounded, and she subconsciously took a step back.

Although she was angry, she also knew that she had run away without saying a word, which was really willful. It must have taken Tang-gege a lot of effort to find her.

Seeing him with a sullen face and not saying a word, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

She forced herself to explain in a low voice, "It was my second brother who said he wanted to take me out to relax."

Cui Xintang remained silent, and Meng Yuanxiao was on the verge of tears. She whispered again, "He's also my second brother, and he forbade me to tell you."

Cui Xintang stared at her for a moment and then hummed in agreement.

Meng Yuanxiao had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard him say in a deep voice, "Come back with me first thing tomorrow morning."

"No!" Meng Yuanxiao immediately shook his head.

Cui Xintang: "..."

Meng Yuanxiao nervously twisted her fingers behind her back, keeping her head down and not daring to look at him.

"Brother Tang, I'm unhappy in the capital," she said, forcing herself to speak.

"I was reluctant to part with my mother and you, Brother Tang, but these past few days I've thought about it and realized that it's pointless to keep an eye on you all day and to argue with my mother-in-law and the Lin family."

"I want to go out and see the world. My second brother said that it's much more fun outside than the Meng family mansion, the Cui family mansion, or even the capital city."

After saying that, she raised her head and looked at Cui Xintang with her moist almond-shaped eyes. "Brother Tang, you said before that there are many things I can't do in the capital. So if I leave the capital, I can do them, right?"

"Didn't Brother Tang say he was going to take Yuanyuan away from the capital?" Cui Xintang frowned, and after a long while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice.

"When will we have to wait?" Meng Yuanxiao's eyes welled up with tears. She pretended not to care, but she was still aggrieved.

“I know you’ve been trying to coax me back to the Cui family, but I just don’t want to go back. I don’t like my mother-in-law, I don’t like the Lin family, and I especially don’t like the struggle I have with them.”

"Brother Tang, if you want to take concubines, then take concubines. If you like Miss Lin, then marry her too. I won't care if you fill the Cui family with concubines, but you can't care about me anymore."

"If you don't want to, then we can get a divorce."

Meng Yuanxiao regretted saying that as soon as he said it, and sure enough, Cui Xintang's expression turned even colder.

He walked a few steps to her, looking down at her. "Yuanyuan doesn't like Brother Tang anymore?"

Although Meng Yuanxiao was a little scared, she still stubbornly said, "I don't like it anymore!"

Cui Xintang was amused by her, grabbed her waist with his big hand, and carried her to sit on the table next to him.

Meng Yuanxiao tried to back away, but he pulled her back with a tug.

His long eyelashes drooped slightly, and his eyes stared intently at Meng Yuanxiao.

On the way there, no one knew how panicked he was; his hand holding the reins was trembling the whole time.

When he arrived at the inn and saw Meng Zheng waiting for him downstairs, his heart finally settled down.

Immediately afterwards, anger flared up.

Meng Zheng naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass, and stopped him to deliver a sarcastic remark.

He couldn't be bothered with Meng Zheng. He wanted to bypass Meng Zheng and go directly to Yuan Yuan, but he was afraid that he would lose his temper when he saw her and scare her.

So, suppressing his emotions, he asked Meng Zheng for a set of clothes, then asked a waiter to book a room for him, and washed away the dust and fatigue before coming to find Yuanyuan.

Fortunately, he had been keeping an eye on Yuanyuan and noticed that she was acting strangely when she returned from the Meng residence that day. He then learned that Meng Zheng had resigned from his post at the Imperial City Guard.

He was careful and kept an eye on Meng Zheng; otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to pursue Yuan Yuan today.

Thinking about this, I felt a wave of fear.

Before coming in, he had intended to scold her, but seeing her red eyes, his heart softened.

However, she was still angry inside, so she pinched Meng Yuanxiao's waist a little harder.

Meng Yuanxiao winced in pain and reached out to push him away.

When her hand landed on his chest, Cui Xintang let out a muffled groan, his face suddenly turning paler.

Meng Yuanxiao paused, then subconsciously looked at his chest.

Cui Xintang paused for a moment and said, "Meng Zheng made the call."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

She pursed her lips, frowned, and asked, "Did you inflict the injuries on my second brother's face?"

“No,” Cui Xintang denied outright.

Fearing she wouldn't believe him, he added, "Even if I hit him, I wouldn't hit him in the face. How could I let Yuanyuan know?"

After saying that, she said, "Meng Zheng is strong, so Yuan Yuan isn't worried that Brother Tang will get hurt by him?"

Meng Yuanxiao remained silent, and Cui Xintang said helplessly, "Meng Zheng is unreliable. Yuanyuan, stop making a fuss and come back with your brother Tang, okay?"

“It doesn’t matter if he’s unreliable,” Meng Yuanxiao said. “If my second brother is unreliable, I’ll suffer outside and maybe then I’ll want to go back.”

"..." The thing Cui Xintang regretted most at this moment was that he had been too hasty and had spoken ill of his mother-in-law and Meng Xu to Yuan Yuan several times, repeatedly probing her to see if she was willing to leave the capital with him.

Also, he coaxed her by saying that after leaving the capital, she could do whatever she wanted.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have developed the idea of ​​leaving the capital so early on.

Regret was useless. Cui Xintang remained silent for a moment, then grabbed Meng Yuanxiao's hand, stuffed it into his clothes, and slowly moved it down.

Meng Yuanxiao almost burned his fingers, and his face turned red instantly, but he couldn't bear to take them out.

“Yuanyuan really wants to go out and play, Brother Tang won’t stop you.”

Meng Yuanxiao was stunned for a moment. Cui Xintang lowered his head and kissed her, coaxing her as he whispered in her ear, "But Yuanyuan is outside, so you can't touch her anymore. Is Yuanyuan willing to let go?"

Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but swallow.

When Cui Xintang lowered his head to kiss her again, Meng Yuanxiao raised her hand to push him away.

Helpless, Cui Xintang grabbed her hand and said, "I just took a bath. Even if Yuanyuan wants to go out to play, she should at least put Tang-gege at ease."

After saying that, he said, "When Yuanyuan learned that Brother Tang was going to leave the capital for a year, didn't she also want to squeeze Brother Tang dry?"

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

Her face turned as red as if it were about to bleed, and Cui Xintang took her glossy pink earlobe into his mouth and bit it.

“Yuanyuan will be scared, and Brother Tang will be even more scared. Yuanyuan is so lovable, will she be coveted by others outside, or will she fall for someone else and abandon Brother Tang?”

As he spoke, he tore open Meng Yuanxiao's clothes and pressed him closer to himself.

Meng Yuanxiao was reluctant to part with him, and she did indeed desire his body, so she did not push him away.

As their breaths mingled, Cui Xintang chuckled softly and whispered in her ear, "Didn't Yuanyuan say she doesn't like Brother Tang anymore?"

After saying that, he noticed that Meng Yuanxiao's cheeks were even redder, and her wet eyes were staring at him. Cui Xintang smiled and kissed her, then pressed her for an answer, "Yuanyuan hasn't said yet whether she'll fall for someone else outside and leave Tang-gege."

“Maybe,” Meng Yuanxiao said, clinging to his neck. “There are so many handsome young men out there. If I see a few more and broaden my horizons, maybe I won’t care about you so much.”

That's exactly what she thought.

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if it was because she had three older brothers around her since she was little, and those two were her own brothers, that she could only see Brother Tang.

She also cared about Brother Tang just as much.

Even when she occasionally developed feelings for Lu Erlang, it was only because he looked like Tang Gege.

When her brother Tang said he wanted to marry her, she immediately forgot about Lu Erlang.

Not to mention that her three older brothers would always drive away the young men who surrounded her, leaving her with no one else around her.

To be honest, it's true that they were blinded by a leaf and couldn't see Mount Tai.

Cui Xintang was amused by her and stopped holding back, giving her a good dressing down.

When Meng Yuanxiao couldn't resist and clung tightly to him, Cui Xintang lowered his head and kissed her.

“Yuanyuan, feel sorry for Brother Tang. Go back with Brother Tang. Brother Tang promised Yuanyuan that at the latest, as long as he can get rid of his job in the government office, he will definitely take you away from the capital by this time next year.”

"At that time, regardless of whether Mother agrees or not, Brother Tang will ignore it. If he still can't get rid of his job in the government office, Brother Tang will go to the palace to beg. He'll resign from his post and take Yuanyuan away from the capital. Is that alright?"

Meng Yuanxiao almost agreed in a moment of impulse, but then she couldn't help but think that it was just something he was saying to coax her.

Regardless of what will happen to his mother-in-law, he'll likely be unable to extricate himself from the yamen (government office), and he'll have other excuses to appease her.

She was so scared of him coaxing her.

So she hummed twice, just clung to him, without answering.

The next morning, Meng Yuanxiao was woken up at daybreak. Cui Xintang was already dressed and standing by the bed watching her.

Meng Yuanxiao was stunned for a moment before realizing where he was.

She also realized that she had to part ways with Brother Tang.

Her nose tingled, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Although she was reluctant to leave, she was also terrified of Tang-gege's words, afraid that he would start by coaxing her and make her reluctant to go out and play.

So Meng Yuanxiao pulled the blanket over her face and said, "Brother Tang, you should go back first. I'm not awake yet. Second Brother said there's no rush to travel and that I should wake up before getting up."

Cui Xintang: "..."

Without saying much, he leaned over and scooped the person up from the bed.

Meng Yuanxiao got angry, "What are you doing?"

Cui Xintang kissed her forehead, draped a coat over her shoulders, and said, "Brother Tang is going back, Yuanyuan, won't you see Brother Tang off?"

"Well, I should still give her the clothes," Meng Yuanxiao thought, and decided not to argue with him. She yawned and let him help her get dressed.

After he finished dressing, he didn't go out; he remained standing by the bed watching her.

Meng Yuanxiao waited a moment, "Brother Tang?"

"You really don't want to go back with Brother Tang?" Cui Xintang asked.

“Hmm, I don’t want to,” Meng Yuanxiao said.

Cui Xintang looked at her for a moment before asking, "Where is Yuanyuan going?"

Meng Yuanxiao choked, realizing she hadn't actually asked her second brother about this.

Afraid that her brother Tang would scold her, she said haphazardly, "Let's just go out and have fun, and go wherever we end up."

Cui Xintang frowned as expected. He didn't scold her, but simply took an envelope from the bedside table and handed it to Meng Yuanxiao.

"Inside here is a letter, and a jade pendant that Brother Tang used to wear. The letter was written last night when Yuanyuan was snuggling in Brother Tang's arms."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

She vaguely remembered that there seemed to be such a thing.

Her face flushed slightly. After a moment's hesitation, she took the envelope and looked down at it.

Cui Xintang said, "Yuanyuan clearly doesn't want to leave Brother Tang, is she really not going back?"

"No," Meng Yuanxiao said without hesitation.

"..." Cui Xintang was silent for a moment, then said, "I have a friend who has been a classmate for many years. He is the magistrate of Jinzhou City. Meng Xu is also familiar with him and they often correspond."

“Jinzhou is only three or four days’ journey from the capital. Yuanyuan, go to Jinzhou to play. When you arrive, give him this letter and the jade pendant. He will take care of you.”

After saying that, he added, "Come back when you've had your fun."

Meng Yuanxiao readily agreed, "I understand, Brother Tang, go back now, or you'll get scolded by Shangguan."

Just moments ago her eyes were red, but now she showed no sign of reluctance whatsoever, leaving Cui Xintang speechless.

He had said he was going to leave first, but he stayed with Meng Yuanxiao until they went downstairs for breakfast.

As soon as they pushed open the door, they saw Meng Zheng leaning against the railing in the corridor, glaring at them with a stern face.

Meng Yuanxiao immediately shuddered and lowered his head in fright.

Cui Xintang, however, was not afraid. He still held her hand, calmly nodded to Meng Zheng, and led Meng Yuanxiao downstairs.

After breakfast, Cui Xintang silently helped Meng Yuanxiao into the carriage and said, "I'll have Qingzhu go with you."

"No!" Meng Yuanxiao immediately objected. She wanted to go out and play. What difference was there between Qingzhu following her and him watching her?

Cui Xintang knew exactly what she was thinking. Helpless, he could only back down and turn to Meng Zheng, saying, "I'll trouble you to take good care of Yuanyuan, Second Brother. Come back to the capital as soon as you've had your fun."

"Now you know to call me Second Brother?" Meng Zheng sneered, his face full of displeasure. "When you hit me, why didn't you remember that I was your Second Brother? Also, don't be in such a hurry to call me Second Brother. Maybe in a few days, my little sister won't want you anymore."

Cui Xintang: "..."

He ignored Meng Zheng's words and said to Meng Yuanxiao, "He attacked first. I didn't intend to fight back, but he wouldn't let it go."

He paused for a moment and then said, "I should have known better than to fight back and let my second brother vent his anger."

If he hadn't fought back, Meng Zheng might not have done this to him, deliberately trying to take Yuanyuan away from Beijing and making him anxious.

Meng Yuanxiao: "...Oh."

Meng Zheng, who was watching from the side with his horse, was so angry upon hearing this that he almost fainted and cursed Cui Xintang for being shameless.

Cui Xintang ignored him. He leaned into the carriage and kissed Meng Yuanxiao on the forehead. "I don't care about Mother and the Lin family. I will never see the Lin family again. Yuanyuan, wait for Brother Tang."

Meng Yuanxiao paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."

Cui Xintang added, "There are many bad people outside..."

Meng Yuanxiao interrupted him, "Don't worry, Brother Tang, I might not even meet someone more handsome than you."

Cui Xintang: "..."

Just as he was about to speak, Meng Yuanxiao added, "Even if we did meet him, he might still be a bad person. I know that."

Cui Xintang was amused by her. He pressed his forehead against Meng Yuanxiao's forehead and kissed her lips. "Yuanyuan, don't reject your brother Tang."

Meng Yuanxiao's eyes immediately reddened.

Meng Zheng, who was standing to the side, found it an eyesore. He took a long stride and mounted his horse, ordering the driver, "Aren't we going? Are we waiting until it gets dark?"

The two people in the carriage froze. Cui Xintang straightened up, stared at Meng Yuanxiao for a moment, and then looked at Meng Zheng, "Please take good care of Yuanyuan on the way, Second Brother."

Meng Zheng rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay him any attention.

The carriage slowly drove away, and Cui Xintang's figure gradually disappeared from sight behind him. Meng Yuanxiao suddenly felt extremely depressed.

After the carriage had traveled quite a distance, she felt less uncomfortable. She lifted the curtain and glanced at her second brother, asking, "Second brother, were the injuries on your face inflicted by Brother Tang?"

“No!” Meng Zheng said, glancing at her.

Meng Yuanxiao glanced at him, but didn't believe it. Her second brother looked down on Tang-gege and usually only spoke ill of him; how could he refuse to admit it?

Meng Yuanxiao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Second brother, you can't possibly be unable to beat Brother Tang, can you?"

Meng Zheng suddenly became agitated, "Nonsense, someone like Cui Xintang, I could beat ten of him by myself!"

“…Oh.” Meng Yuanxiao gave him some face. “Then, Second Brother, how did you get the injury on your face?”

Brother Tang wouldn't lie to him. Brother Tang should have beaten up his second brother, but he didn't hit him in the face.

Meng Zheng blushed, a rare occurrence, and refused to speak.

He didn't say, and Meng Yuanxiao didn't bother to ask. She refused to listen to her brother Tang and go to Jinzhou, so she asked instead, "Second brother, where shall we go to play?"

Meng Zheng said irritably, "Wherever we end up, that's where we'll be."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

After a leisurely four-day journey, we arrived at Songxi County.

Meng Zheng met a friend in Fengzhou. The friend was from Songxi County and his family was in business. Meng Zheng came here because of this friend.

Meng Zheng was a carefree scoundrel, but his friend was very reliable. He received Meng Zheng's letter early in the morning and arranged accommodation in advance. It was a two-courtyard house that Meng Zheng had left unused. It was in a quiet alley and not far from the county government office. Meng Yuanxiao was very satisfied with it.

After settling in, Meng Zheng said, "Songxi County is not far from the capital. We can stay for a few days, and when we're done, we can go back or visit other places."

Meng Yuanxiao didn't respond to that, as she didn't want to go back so soon.

After only one day of rest, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't stay still and dragged his second brother to the street.

Songxi County is a small town, and the sudden appearance of new faces inevitably attracts attention.

The brother and sister were both good-looking, and their clothes and mannerisms were out of place in the small county town. They always attracted curious glances when they walked down the street.

Meng Yuanxiao didn't care about any of that. Just as he was enjoying his stroll, he suddenly noticed a large crowd gathered not far ahead.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an academy.

Curious, Meng Yuanxiao stepped forward and heard the group of people talking all at once, "Is the academy recruiting teachers?"

"That's right! Doesn't it say here that we need to invite a master painter to teach the students the art of painting?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Yuanxiao's eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled his second brother forward to carefully read the notice.

Indeed, they were inviting a teacher. Meng Yuanxiao was overjoyed. She saw that the academy's manager had set up a desk and was sitting to the side. Without thinking, she ran over and said excitedly, "Uncle, I want to apply to be a teacher at your academy!"

The manager, who was dozing off, was startled by her words. He squinted and looked her up and down. "You?"

Meng Yuanxiao blinked, "Yes!"

The steward chuckled, pointed to the academy's gate plaque, and asked, "Can you see where this is?"

“The academy!” Meng Yuanxiao said.

"Have you seen any academy that wants a female tutor?" the steward asked, then chuckled, "Miss, go back to where you came from. Our academy doesn't allow young ladies in, much less invite female tutors!"

Meng Yuanxiao got angry and was about to argue again, but Meng Zheng pulled him away.

"Second brother, what are you doing?"

Meng Zheng: "If I don't pull you away, will you just stand there and be stared at like a monkey?"

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

She frowned, about to speak, when Meng Zheng said, "They've invited a tutor, why are you getting involved?"

Meng Yuanxiao: "I just want to apply for the position of tutor!"

"Stop messing around, aren't we just going to leave when we're done playing?"

“No,” Meng Yuanxiao’s eyes darted around, “Second Brother, I’ve changed my mind. I think this place is quite nice.”

Meng Zheng was so angry he almost fainted, and blurted out, "Isn't your second brother's life a life?"

"You're afraid Brother Tang will beat you up?" Meng Yuanxiao asked in surprise. "So, Second Brother, you really can't beat Brother Tang?"

Meng Zheng: "..."

*

Meng Yuanxiao became increasingly unwilling after returning home, and the next morning he dragged his second brother to the front of the academy again.

As expected, he was laughed at again when he arrived. Meng Yuanxiao was so angry that he simply moved a small low table over and set up a small stall under the big locust tree in front of the academy, where he drew portraits and wrote letters for people.

Meng Zheng was dumbfounded, but Meng Yuanxiao didn't feel ashamed at all.

“What’s there to be afraid of? They don’t even know us. This isn’t the capital. We can’t just sit around doing nothing. I have to find a way to earn some money to support you, Second Brother.”

Meng Zheng: "..." There's no need for that.

He tried to run away, but Meng Yuanxiao grabbed him.

Meng Yuanxiao looked at him expectantly, "Second brother, what if they beat me up after you leave?"

She was so conspicuous sitting in front of the academy that everyone who passed by would take a look. In just a short while, the academy's manager glanced at them several times.

Meng Zheng sighed, "Aren't you afraid they'll beat you up and send you to the county government office?"

Meng Yuanxiao's eyes darted around. "If we send him to the county government office, he can see the magistrate, right?"

Meng Zheng: "...What idea are you hatching now?"

Meng Yuanxiao smiled, but refused to speak.

After sitting for a while without seeing anyone come over, Meng Yuanxiao got bored, biting his pen and staring at his second brother's face with his hand on his cheek.

As she looked around, something suddenly occurred to her. She dropped the pen from her mouth and immediately sat up straight. "Second Brother, the injuries on your face, were they from being beaten up by the eldest brother of the Li family?"

Meng Zheng: "..."

Meng Yuanxiao asked suspiciously, "Second Brother, you suddenly resigned from your post at the Imperial City Guard, could it be that..."

她话未说完，孟峥先抬手在她脑门儿上弹了一下，“想挨揍了是吧？”

Meng Yuanxiao covered his forehead, speechless with shock for a long time.

She wanted to get information out of her second brother, so after thinking for a moment, she asked, "Second brother, now that you've resigned from your job at the Imperial City Guard, what do you plan to do in the future?"

"Anything is fine," Meng Zheng said lazily, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, as he leaned against the large locust tree behind him.

Just as Meng Yuanxiao was about to ask another question, Meng Zheng turned his head and raised an eyebrow at her, "Or find a capable wife, you can live off her."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

Meng Zheng: "What, do you think I have the ability to live off a woman? Does Cui Xintang have that ability?"

Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but grumble inwardly, "It's as if Sister Li would even look at you. If she did, she wouldn't have let my older brother beat her to it in the first place."

However, if she said that, her second brother would definitely beat her again, so after thinking about it, she swallowed it.

By the afternoon, no one had asked Meng Yuanxiao to paint or write a letter. However, curious women would occasionally come over and ask her a few questions out of curiosity.

Meng Yuanxiao welcomed all who came, and his spirits lifted when he saw someone approaching.

She's talkative and loves gossip. People who came to watch her out of curiosity ended up getting a lot of information out of her with just a few words.

In just over half a day, Meng Yuanxiao learned a great deal about Songxi County.

For example, Magistrate Tang of Songxi County is a newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) this year. He is very young and has only been in office for a short time. As soon as he took office, he solved a long-standing case.

Also, which wealthy families are there in Songxi County, and what businesses do they engage in?

Several murders have just occurred in the county town, all likely committed by the same person, yet the perpetrator remains elusive.

It is said that only one person has seen the bandit, but the bandit's appearance was so ordinary that even though the county government posted his portrait everywhere, it was of little use.

Meng Yuanxiao paused upon hearing this, and the woman assumed she was frightened. "Did I frighten you?"

Meng Yuanxiao snapped out of her daze, her eyes crinkling into a smile, and said, "No."

After saying that, she casually asked, "Auntie, do you need to write a letter? I can write one for you for free."

Who wouldn't take advantage of a freebie? The woman readily agreed with a smile.

Just as Meng Yuanxiao picked up her pen, the academy's manager came over and chased her away.

Meng Yuanxiao looked completely innocent. "I was outside the academy, not inside. If ladies aren't allowed inside the academy, does that mean ladies aren't allowed to stay outside the academy either?"

The steward was so angry at her that he was practically fuming, but Meng Yuanxiao was secretly delighted.

She thought to herself, "Ha, you won't let the young ladies into the academy, but I'll insist on bringing them here, and I'll even call a few more women over to make you furious."

The steward, panting heavily, patiently asked her to go somewhere else, but Meng Yuanxiao remained unmoved, saying, "No, I just love the academy."

The woman standing nearby also spoke up for her, saying, "That young lady is just sitting in front of the academy, she's not bothering you."

As they spoke, people turned to look in their direction. The manager wished he could just throw Meng Yuanxiao away along with his stall, but he was afraid of being accused of bullying a young lady. Seeing Meng Zheng staring at him intently from the side, he could only swallow his anger and leave in a huff.

He stood guard in front of the academy all day, earning not a single penny, but even losing money on paper and ink.

The next morning, Meng Yuanxiao arrived early again. She glanced at the academy's steward a few times, but the steward was already annoyed by her and decided to ignore her altogether.

Meng Yuanxiao was sullen; she had thought that the official was really angry and would send her to the county government office!