Chapter 204: Charming Bones
A noble lady in the palace?
The first person that came to Meng Changyuan's mind was his own sister.
However, the palace announced that Concubine Meng was recuperating in Shanghe Garden. How could she risk the news leaking out and instruct Zhuo Shiquan to set up the situation today?
At that moment, he asked calmly, "This is curious. Meng's family affairs can actually alarm the nobles in the palace."
Zhuo Shiquan smiled and said, "A noble lady surnamed Bai sent me a letter, claiming that before she returned to the capital, the Imperial Concubine had instructed her to inform me if Brother Meng's marriage proposal could not be cancelled. The messenger also produced the Imperial Concubine's palace badge, so I believed it."
At this point, he smiled a bit sheepishly, "That day in Shanghe Garden, I was... captured by the Imperial Concubine herself. She could have taken me and Zheng to the Emperor, but for my sake, she didn't. I remember the Imperial Concubine's kindness. If the palace needs anything, I will certainly be at your disposal."
Meng Changyuan understood what he said, but couldn't help but sigh. His sister, serving the emperor daily, dealing with the complexities of social interaction, and even having to worry about him, was truly burdened. From now on, he would have to work diligently and strive to accomplish a few more major tasks. Only if the Protectorate's Mansion prospered would his sister have something to rely on, and her life in the palace would be much easier.
The two chatted for a while and asked each other about their current situation.
It turned out that Zhuo Shiquan also worked in the capital camp, and the two of them were actually in a superior-subordinate relationship.
After the matter was settled, Ding Anbo came over and invited the two of them to go downstairs for the banquet.
The two of them went downstairs together, followed Ding Anbo through several winding corridors, and entered an open hall.
There were several banquet tables in the hall, and they were already full of guests.
Meng Changyuan glanced around the hall and saw that all of them were young playboys from Beijing, some of whom looked unfamiliar and some familiar.
The hall was bustling with noise, but when the three of them came in, it suddenly became quiet, and countless eyes fell on Meng Changyuan.
Ding'an Bo asked Meng Changyuan to sit in the first seat, but Meng Changyuan refused. After a struggle between the two, the other guests followed suit and said in unison that the hero should sit in the first seat. They hurriedly pushed Meng Changyuan to the first seat.
The banquet started immediately, and the maids in the mansion brought all kinds of delicacies and fine wines.
Meng Changyuan is now a new noble in the court, a favorite of the emperor, and has been newly conferred the title of Duke. Many people are trying to curry favor with him, and they come up to him one by one to toast him. In the blink of an eye, two rounds of drinks have been passed.
The hall was bustling with activity when Meng Changyuan suddenly noticed a person sitting at the northwest table. The person was wearing a navy blue doraemon cloak, with a powdered face and oily hair. She occasionally glanced at him with a bit of disgust.
As soon as he saw Meng Changyuan looking at him, he quickly lowered his head to eat his food to cover his face.
Meng Changyuan then asked Zhuo Shiquan, "Master Zhuo, who is sitting over there?"
Zhuo Shiquan glanced in the direction he pointed and said with a smile, "He's the young master of the Anding Mansion, named Zhang Huai. He hangs out at home all day and doesn't have any work, so Brother Meng, you don't know him."
When Meng Changyuan heard this, he nodded and didn't take this person seriously.
After sitting in the hall for a while, I saw people playing guessing games, singing songs and playing finger-guessing games. It was so lively that it was almost unbearable. Outside, a few children from the Ding'an Earl's mansion were setting off firecrackers, which made the noise even more deafening.
Meng Changyuan felt a little annoyed and felt a soreness in his lower abdomen, so he said to Zhuo Shiquan, "I'm going to go outside to sober up. If the master asks, please let him know for me."
After saying this, he got up and left.
Before leaving, he glanced at the table casually, but Zhang Huai was no longer there.
After leaving the living room, he walked west along the wall. The voices behind him gradually faded away, and a cold wind blew on his face, and the effect of the alcohol subsided a little.
After finally finding Dongjing, Meng Changyuan went out to relieve himself and look for water to wash his hands. He walked around a Taihu stone rockery and entered a small courtyard.
There are several white plum trees planted in the courtyard. In winter, they bloom elegantly and elegantly, with a faint sweet fragrance that shades the vermilion lacquered hall.
Just when he was lost in direction, Meng Changyuan suddenly heard a woman's voice coming from the room. He thought to himself that something was wrong. There were two banquets in the Ding'an Earl's Mansion today. The male guests were in the outer hall, and the female guests were in the flower hall in the backyard. Could it be that he had bumped into the female guests of some family?
He turned around and wanted to leave, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt something was wrong.
This place should be outside the second gate, how could there be women here?
He hesitated for a moment, then heard a woman in the room shout, "Zhang Huai, why did you trick me here?!"
But a man snorted coldly, "What do you want? We were engaged a long time ago, and getting married is just a matter of time. What's wrong with me meeting my wife who hasn't even married yet? You little bitch, you're pretending to be noble, showing up in public all day long, but you refuse to see your own man!"
The person who spoke must be Zhang Huai.
Meng Changyuan was puzzled. The Anding Mansion was a wealthy family, so how could the children there speak so rudely and lamely?
The woman continued, "Zhang Huai, what nonsense are you talking about! It was clearly you who did that shameful thing first. My brother had already said he wanted to cancel the engagement, but it was your family that was keeping you in the loop. Now you're trying to turn the tables on me?! If you don't believe me, I'll go back and tell my brother and take your family to court. The woman in your family is pregnant, and the government will know for sure once they send someone to check!"
At this point, she slowed down her tone, "Master Zhang, since things have come to this, wouldn't it be better for you and me to part ways amicably and marry our own wives? Why must we make this a mess? It will be disgraceful for both families."
When Meng Changyuan heard this, he understood about 70% of it.
The couple were engaged, and Zhang Huai must have done something wrong to the girl, hiding a woman in his mansion and even getting her pregnant. Now the girl's family was unwilling and wanted to cancel the engagement, but the Anding Mansion refused to allow it.
This situation is quite similar to his, but as a woman, her situation is more difficult.
Even if the matter was exposed, and it was just as the girl said, and the two families won the lawsuit, her reputation would still be damaged.
This world has never been fair to women.
The woman then spoke a few more words about the past relationship between the two families, and asked Zhang Huai to consider their friendship and not to take things to the extreme.
Meng Changyuan actually felt a little bit of admiration in his heart. A weak woman fell into such a situation, but she remained calm and was able to persuade others with emotion and reason. Such calmness and wit were rare.
That voice is soft, sweet and sticky, like glutinous rice cake.
But, it sounds a bit familiar.
Zhang Huai, however, remained unmoved and snorted twice, "Liu Qilan, stop pretending to be a chaste woman. Do you think I don't know? You're not a clean person either! So what if I took you as a concubine? After I marry you, I'll still make you my principal wife. What's there to be fussy about?"
The woman named Liu Qilan said in a trembling voice, "You... Zhang Huai, stop slandering me! I am a pure and innocent girl from a good family, you..."
Zhang Huai sneered, "Look at what you did on your way to the capital two years ago. Don't I know what you did?! Bah, you made me a living cuckold for two years, and I endured it without arguing with you. Now you come and pretend to be a virgin! Liu Qilan, tell me, who was that man?! Even if I am a cuckold, I have to be clear about it!"
Liu Yilan seemed to have calmed down, and said calmly, "I won't tell you, Zhang Huai. I'm only telling you one thing: that person and I are innocent and clean, and we haven't done anything shameful. Don't use your dirty mind to speculate about a gentleman!"
"gentleman!"
Zhang Huai laughed. "What a gentleman! It turns out there are honest men in the world who rape other people's fiancées!"
Liu Qilan said calmly, "You don't have to provoke me. I won't tell you."
But Zhang Huai gritted his teeth and said, "Well, you are completely devoted to that lover. It's a pity that you are my woman. Today we have made it a done deal and we will become husband and wife. I wonder how you can still have the nerve to call off the engagement!"
But Liu Qilan was shocked and said, "You...what did you do..."
The voice was soft and ethereal, with a hint of coquettishness.
Zhang Huai's malicious laughter came, "How is it? Do you feel your bones are all soft? Do you want a man? Take off your clothes, and I will give you some love."
not good!
Meng Changyuan said inwardly and leaped up the stairs in one leap.
He was hesitant when he heard them arguing with each other just now. After all, it was someone else's private matter and it was not appropriate for outsiders to interfere.
But when he heard that Zhang Huai actually intended to rape Miss Liu, he could no longer sit idly by.
No wonder there is a sweet fragrance in the yard, it turns out it is that dirty and filthy thing of Mei Gu Su!
Burning this aphrodisiac incense can make a woman's bones and body soft and her desires extremely aroused. There was once a rapist in Beijing who used this to commit a crime, and the news only became known to the world after he was arrested.
The most sinister thing about this substance is that after a woman smells it, her body will become hot and aroused, and she will be robbed by the rapist. After she wakes up, she is often too ashamed to report it.
Later, the rapist managed to get hold of an old nun who had been observing the precepts for many years, and the case was finally solved.
Meng Changyuan had participated in the handling of this case, so he knew about this Mei Gu Su.
But the smell of this thing was mixed with the fragrance of plum blossoms, and he couldn't tell them apart for a moment.
Meng Changyuan walked up the stairs, raised his long legs, kicked the door open with a flying kick.
In the room, Liu Qilan had collapsed on a throne chair, and Zhang Huai was standing with his back to the door, intending to do something bad.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise and Zhang Huai turned around hurriedly to see what was going on.
But then he saw a fist as big as a bowl coming towards him. He felt a pain on his face and something hot flowed out of his nose.
Zhang Huai yelled, and before he could see who was coming, he was punched in the face. His eyes went black, and all the bitter, sweet, sour, and salty feelings came to him. He fell backwards, unconscious.
Meng Changyuan tore off his clothes, wrapped them around his head, tied a knot, carried him out of the yard, and threw him far away to the side of the road.
In this way, even if this guy wakes up, he will not be able to tell the directions for a while, let alone think of causing trouble for Miss Liu again.
He hesitated for a moment, but thinking that Miss Liu was intoxicated by the incense and there was no one guarding nearby, he returned to the house for fear of trouble.
When I stepped into the room, I saw Liu Qilan with a blushing face, breathing slightly, slumped in the armchair, her eyes as if drunk.
Meng Changyuan quickly turned his back to the wall and said, "Don't worry, Miss Liu. I knocked that guy unconscious. He didn't see my face clearly, so he won't use this to embarrass you."
After saying this, he paused slightly, then opened the window wide to let the cold wind in.
"Miss Liu, let some cool air blow, and the discomfort will gradually subside."
He is still exactly the same as he was back then, his temper hasn't changed at all.
This was the second time he saved her.
Liu Qilan leaned against the chair with difficulty, looking at the tall figure in front of her, her heart full of gratitude.
He didn't say a word to embarrass her, nor did he even look at her current appearance, thus saving her from much shame and embarrassment in the future.
"Thank you, Lord Protector of the Country. Your Excellency, please rest assured. I will never tell anyone about what happened today once I leave this door."
Listening to the soft voice, Meng Changyuan's heart moved and he suddenly remembered an old story.
"Miss Liu, two years ago...was it you in the wild cave on Jiming Mountain?"
Liu Qilan was caught off guard by his sudden words. Her heart tightened and she looked stunned.
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After explaining my brother's affairs, I returned to the palace.
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