Chapter 11 Completely Shameless
The following day at noon, Meng Qingci arrived as promised and stepped into the Ganlu Tea House with its plaque hanging high above.
The quick-witted waiter, all smiles, gave a crisp bow. When Meng Qingci mentioned Song Bojian's name, the waiter enthusiastically stepped aside and said, "This way, miss."
Meng Qingci entered the private room on the second floor and saw that Song Bojian was already waiting and drinking tea at the tea table by the window. She smiled and stepped forward: "Bojian, you've lost weight. How are you and your brother? He should be coming to the capital to take the exam this year, right? If he passes this time, all your hard work over the years will have been worthwhile."
Song Bojian had delicate features and a naturally gentle and approachable appearance, making him a natural businessman. He smiled and invited Meng Qingci to sit down, poured her a cup of tea, and said in a calm and gentle voice, "He—is very good. I came here to see you. When do you plan to leave the Marquis's residence? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Meng Qingci: "Of course, the sooner the better. I am already of good birth, and the young lady, remembering our years of friendship, has even set up a separate household for me. I plan to leave the Marquis's residence in the next few days. Your arrival is just in time. I wonder if you are going straight home or going elsewhere to purchase goods? If it's on your way, you could give me a ride."
A hint of surprise flashed across Song Bojian's eyes: "You...don't want to stay in the capital?"
Meng Qingci replied vaguely, "Being confined in the Marquis's mansion has made me numb. I want to go out and see the scenery and landscapes outside. You can tell me about your experiences along the way. It's been a long time since we last met."
Song Bojian lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze, remained silent for a moment, and then asked softly, "Do your previous words still stand?"
Meng Qingci was stumped by the question, having no recollection of it at all. She put down her teacup and frowned in confusion: "What did you mean?"
Song Bojian and Song Wenjing were twins. Unfortunately, the two brothers lost their parents early, and their family property was completely seized by their uncles and aunts, leaving the two brothers to be kicked out of the house.
The two brothers were also tough, and they resolutely severed ties with their relatives and clans. Song Bojian took his younger brother Song Wenjing from the countryside all the way to the city, gritted his teeth and sent himself to work as an apprentice in a silk shop, and did his best to support his intelligent younger brother Song Wenjing's education.
The silk shop where Song Bojian worked always had to send freshly patterned brocades to the ancestral home of the Marquis of Anyi. At that time, Song Bojian was only eleven or twelve years old. He was young, clean-cut, and handsome. The ladies of the Marquis's mansion liked him because he was reliable and knew how to handle things. So the silk shop often asked him to do this job.
Over time, Meng Qingci and Song Bojian became acquainted. One time, when Song Bojian didn't come, Meng Qingci casually asked and learned that Song Bojian had a high fever but no money to buy medicine. So she asked the servant at the gate to buy medicine and send it to him.
When Song Bojian recovered from his illness, he looked extremely thin, almost skin and bones. He personally went to the back gate of the Marquis's residence to thank Meng Qingci.
Meng Qingci only then learned that Song Bojian's wages had all gone to his younger brother's education. The silk shop owner refused to extend credit, and he had to grit his teeth and endure his illness. If it weren't for her kindness, he might have gone mad from the fever or simply died.
Later, seeing that Song Bojian showed business talent at a young age, Meng Qingci became Song Bojian's mentor and angel investor. She invested and contributed her technology as shares, allowing Song Bojian to do business on his own. With her, the eldest daughter of the Fu family's head maid, helping him gradually establish himself.
Song Bojian covered his lips with his fist and coughed lightly to hide his cough. His ears turned slightly red. He still didn't dare to look at the increasingly beautiful girl in front of him. His voice was very soft: "Back then... one of the conditions you mentioned was that you wanted to marry me."
Meng Qingci suddenly realized that she had considered that if she were to redeem herself and leave the manor one day, a single woman would have little place to stand, since the security here couldn't be easily compromised. Over the years, she had accumulated a considerable amount of wealth in the Marquis's manor, which would be difficult for her to protect on her own.
Furthermore, considering that marriage between men and women only protects men and offers no protection for women, it would be difficult to get a divorce. After marriage, women would have to serve the man's entire family, which would be even worse than being a maid for Fu Jingyu.
Seeing that Song Bojian was a decent person and had no parents or relatives, she decided to make him her backup plan after leaving the manor.
Here, men and women generally get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen. Song Bojian's family is small, so they value getting married and starting a family. He not only readily agreed to wait for her for two years, but also readily agreed to her inexplicable request to have a fake marriage.
Meng Qingci's slender, tender fingertips caressed the rim of the teacup, but times had changed. She sighed thoughtfully, unsure of what to say.
Song Bojian pressed further, "What? You've changed your mind?"
Meng Qingci hesitated: "That's not what I meant, it's just..."
Song Bojian suddenly interrupted Meng Qingci in a strange way: "Actually—you have a better choice."
Meng Qingci frowned, not understanding his meaning, and asked in return, "Is it because you have someone you like? So it's inconvenient for you to keep your promise now?"
Suddenly, Song Bojian looked up at Meng Qingci. His usually gentle and non-aggressive eyes were now brimming with excitement, gleaming like obsidian. His hands, which were resting on the table, clenched into fists. "You don't really understand me, and you don't like me that much."
Meng Qingci tilted her head, thinking that as long as the fake marriage looked pleasing to the eye, it would be fine. But in order not to hurt anyone's feelings, she awkwardly covered up, saying, "What do you mean by that?"
Seeing the hint of fear in her eyes, Song Bojian's lips suddenly curved into a smile, revealing his sharp canine teeth. He looked incredibly endearing. He reached out and grabbed Meng Qingci's wrist, his fingers trembling uncontrollably as he could barely contain his excitement. "Because you can't tell the difference between me and my brother, not before, not now. Why did you choose my brother and not me? I can give you something better. Marry me, and you'll be an official's wife. With a little effort, I might even be able to get you an imperial title someday. Why should you condescend to marry a merchant?"
"You...you are Song Wenjing?" Meng Qingci was shocked and subconsciously tried to break free from him, but he stubbornly refused to let go.
Song Wenjing moved closer to her, his gaze sharp, his smile deepening: "Yes, when my brother isn't around, you always mistake me for him. You can't even recognize him, yet you still want to marry him. What secrets do you two have?"
Meng Qingci's soul has always been that of an adult. When she first met the two brothers, they were still struggling teenagers. She did not see them as men, but only as promising juniors.
Now she could finally take a good look at Song Wenjing, who was already eighteen years old. In the past two years, he had grown taller and stronger, and was now a fully grown man who had shed his immaturity.
He was a top scholar in the imperial examination and had a handsome face, so he must have attracted the attention of many young ladies.
Meng Qingci feigned anger and slapped his hand that was clenching hers, scolding him: "You are supposed to be a disciple of the emperor who studies the classics, do you not know the proper separation between men and women? Now you're trying to steal your brother's girlfriend, pretending to be your brother to deliver a letter to me and trick me into coming out. Don't you know shame? Your brother raised you and supported you with great difficulty. How can you face him?"
Song Wenjing blushed with embarrassment after being reprimanded, and released her in shame. But he was no longer a naive young man. Suppressing his shame, he looked up at her and said, "I can give him everything else, and I'll repay what I owe him in my next life. What he can do, I can do too. Can't you... consider me?"
Meng Qingci invested in him to have a future backer, not to marry him. She sighed helplessly and analyzed earnestly: "I know your talent. You will definitely be among the top three. You will become an official in the future. Your wife will have to take care of your social interactions. Even if she is not from a prestigious family, she should be from a respectable family. She must not be from a slave family. If you marry a wife from a slave family, won't you be ridiculed by your colleagues and ruin your future? If you marry someone like me, don't mention it again."
Song Wenjing instantly lost his composure, stubbornly looking at the beautiful face he had longed for for two years: "I'm not afraid. Even if marrying you means being sent to the frontier, as long as I have you, I'm willing."
"My relationship with your brother was nothing more than a transaction. I helped him get started, and he gave me an identity. It was all a lie. Don't bring this up again. Pretend today's events never happened, and don't mention it to your brother either. It wasn't easy for him to support you; don't hurt his feelings." Seeing this, Meng Qingci decided to be frank and then turned to leave.
Hearing her heartless words, Song Wenjing's eyes reddened, but he was still unwilling to give up: "If you want, I can be fake too, and you can use me."
Meng Qingci stopped opening the door without turning around, her voice calm to the point of cruelty: "Your value is to become my protector. If you can marry a noblewoman and rise through the ranks, that would be most beneficial to me. Marrying you is the worst option. I don't enjoy managing the household or socializing with the powerful. Although your brother is a merchant, he has fewer constraints. Whether or not we fulfill our promise is between your brother and me. You've come to the capital to prepare for the imperial examinations, so you should focus on that. I hope you pass with flying colors this year and return home in glory."
After speaking, she left without looking back.
As soon as she turned around, she unexpectedly saw Fu Heng coming out of the private room next door. Meng Qingci's surprised gaze swept back and forth between the two private rooms. The room next door was so quiet that she thought no one was there.
Fu Heng's slender eyes were cold and aloof. He glanced down at us from his superior position, his gaze unapproachable and carrying a heavy pressure that made it hard to breathe.
"Greetings to Third Master, this servant will now return to the manor." Meng Qingci reacted quickly. She bowed, not wanting to linger with him any longer, and hurriedly went downstairs.
Fu Heng did not stop her, but stood on the second-floor railing and watched her leave the teahouse as if she were being chased by a ghost.
Meng Qingci was very flustered. She didn't understand whether Fu Heng's appearance in the private room next door today was a coincidence or... She preferred to believe that it was all a coincidence.
Then she thought, it might be better if Fu Heng saw it. In any case, the men here valued a woman's manners and virtues highly. Fu Heng had already seen her being ambiguous and entangled with different men, two of whom were his own nephews. Given Fu Heng's temperament, he would only be more disgusted with her.
The study in Wuheng Mountain House was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with only the occasional sound of Fu Heng's pen as he reviewed official documents.
Mo Jian held his breath, not daring to breathe too loudly, thinking that he shouldn't have switched shifts with that slippery Mo Yu today.
From the moment Qing'er entered the private room next door, every word the master spoke to that 'wild' boy grew colder, yet a cold smile never left his lips.
Today, because of Miss Qing'er, my master's temper became even more erratic, and I got goosebumps all over my body. I was really afraid that my master would kill me afterward.
Fu Heng: "You say she's so unconventional and shameless, who taught her that?"
The sudden sound startled Mo Jian: ... He dared not answer.
Fu Heng: "I heard that she was sold into this household by a slave trader back then?"
Mo Jian, with a strong survival instinct, immediately replied: "Reporting to Master, according to the people in the old house, when Miss Qing'er was sold in, she forgot everything, including her name and where her home was."
Fu Heng scoffed, "Forgot everything? I doubt it."
Mo Jian: ...He dared not respond to this, begging to be let off the hook.
After another long silence, Fu Heng asked again, "How can a girl like her willingly follow a man?"
Mo Jian: Why do you have to like a girl like Qing'er?
"Heh, what do you know?" Fu Heng scoffed, flipping open another official document, his mood seemingly lightening again: "You said the other day that Fu Hongxuan hasn't given up and is still looking for an opportunity?"
Mo Jian replied, "I searched for a lot of medicine outside a few days ago, and tried all sorts of different methods to find it, but our people stopped me every time."
Fu Heng: "Withdraw everyone back."
Ink slips:
A note from the author:
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I updated my rankings before 70,000 words, and I'll update more after that. Thank you for your support; I've been very encouraged. I'll try to write as much as possible. [Three-colored cat emoji][Facepalm peeking][Heart emoji][May you prosper]
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