Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
He tottered off the horse and almost collapsed on the ground. He was in a really wretched condition.
He stuck his tongue out and licked his bottom lip to alleviate the stinging pain from his dry lips. His red eyes were wide open and he kneeled on the ground with his back straightened. He was preparing his lines to report to the County Chief while he was slowing his respiration.
After a while, there were a bunch of footstep sounds coming from a distance. He pinched his thigh to get rid of his dazedness. His heartbeat was loud like a drum. He couldn’t hear the people approaching.
He had his head down and he took a peek at a shadow in greenish brown walking past him and seated at the seat of honor. There was a sense of fragrance left in the air.
As the head of the Mengs’ clan, County Chief of the Meng County, regardless of what kind of turmoil Meng County had been through, Meng Zhan never quit the extravagant and exquisite lifestyle.
A moment later, the man sitting on the honor seat asked, “So Second Langjun already arrived at the Capital City?”
His voice was sedated, like his age, and his tone was genteel and mild and held a unique elegance. It sounded like he was reading poetry.
The way he talked was trending in the recent years, which was fashionable among the gentry clans and aristocrats. It propelled the rest of the people to copy the tone to help them merge in.
Some of them could not grasp the tone and they made it sound pretentious and very much like ducks quacking. That made other people suspect that they had a throat issue.
But some of them had the privileged voice for the tone and they made it sound like the tone was originally from themselves. It was elegant if the tone was from them.
The entourage leader’s face went dim and he kowtowed to Meng Zhan harshly. The sound of him smashing his head on the ground was deep and the ground even shook.
All of the entourage leader’s blood rushed out of his face after he heard Meng Zhan’s question. He had his forehead against the ground and his fingers were shaking.
Soon, his palms were soaked with his sweat, indicating how anxious he was.
“Please forgive my incapability. I’m so sorry I couldn’t complete the mission you assigned to me, Laoye… Second Langjun was captured by that traitor Meng Hun…”
Meng Zhan put on his aggressive face, and flung his tea cup at the entourage leader’s forehead. The hot tea splashed all over his face.
“Second Langjun was captured by Meng Hun?” He slightly opened his slender eyes wider and there was some cruelty in them. He asked the messenger in a bleak tone, “I sent a whole team to protect Second Langjun and you still failed? What’s the point of keeping trash like you?”
The entourage leader, who was arrogant towards the normal civilians and even with He Jiang County Chief, suddenly felt like a cat had caught his tongue.
As Meng Zhan’s entourage leader, he knew exactly what he was supposed to do. Speaking for himself was not going to save his a**, instead, it would provoke Meng Zhan more and get himself killed.
There was a cut on his forehead and it wouldn’t stop bleeding. His blood was mixed with the hot tea dripping off his face, but he was too scared to wipe it off.
Meng Zhan’s temper started to cool after a bit. The entourage leader responded tremulously, “Please ease your anger, Laoye. It wasn’t that we didn’t put all our effort to protect Second Langjun. The cause of this incident was still that sneaky and sinister Meng Hun and his troops.”
Meng Zhan didn’t bother to believe his excuses and he kept talking straight. “What does that ungrateful traitor want from us that he had to capture Meng Liang?”
There was a reason for him to be the head of the clan and the County Chief of Meng County. It was transparent for him to understand that they were aiming for something.
The cowardly, cheap entourage leader was never going to come home if Meng Liang was already dead. He would flee for his life and be long gone.
“God bless your wisdom, Laoye. That traitor did ask for money and grain as ransom to keep Second Langjun as hostage. I was afraid that son of b*tch would mistreat Second Langjun, that’s why I spurred on the horses to come back as soon as possible to notify you, Laoye. The trip cost me ten horses to get back in time.”
And then he took an object wrapped in a piece of silk and lifted it up above his head with both his hands respectfully. “This is for you to examine, Laoye.”
Meng Zhan gave the servant next to him a look and she went to get the package for him.
He took a careful look of the inside and noticed there were two letters inside.
One of them was from Meng Liang, which was full of complacent and destain against Meng Hun’s actions. The other one was of unfamiliar handwriting. It briefly explained that Meng Zhan had to satisfy their requirements if he didn’t want Meng Liang to be killed.
“Meng Liang only agreed to pay five hundreds dans for his ransom, but the other letter asked for two thousands dans… Pariahs are greedy.”
Meng Zhan threw the letter aside. He hid how much he despised and scorned the contents of the letter.
The head of the entourage swallowed and said, “Are we really going to trade the grain with him… Laoye?”
Meng Zhan leisurely answered as an arrogant expression spread across his face, “Why not?”
The head of entourage was startled by the decision.
“It was only two thousand dans of grain anyway. Only those people from the slums would value it so much,” Meng Hun said in a cold tone, “Follow my orders and transfer three thousand dans of grain from the granary, and dispatch a team to transport the grain over. The key is to keep Second Langjun safe… The moment he receives the grain, all the connections between us and Meng Hun will be gone. Just consider this is the last paycheck he gets from me.”
The head of entourage was totally lost. Three thousand dans of grain? All to Meng Hun? He had only asked for two thousand dans, even though he was being avaricious.
Meng Zhan didn’t bother to explain the reasons when he saw the head of entourage’s puzzled face.
Where did Meng Hun betray the Mengs’? Why did he set a fire and burn down the County Military Chief’s place? Why did he pursue Meng Liang and never stop trying to assassinate him?
He had been constantly using the idea of getting revenge for the death of his wife and daughter, and he would like to give up killing Meng Liang for only two thousand dans of grain. What did that mean?
It meant that the life and innocency of his wife and daughter was just worthy of two thousand dans of grain––such a low price.
If it was so, he might as well just show his generosity and consider it a donation to charity.
Meng Hun sold his wife and daughter cheap; he would just give him a bit more.
It seemed like some actions were honorable, but it was truly mockery and humiliation.
These three thousand dans of grain was just a drop in the ocean. If Meng Hun was bold enough to accept the food, he would spread the words once Meng Liang was safe.
Ever since then, the name of an upright man getting revenge for his wife and daughter would be replaced by a scandalous cheater. He had sold his wife and daughter just for some grain.
Meng Zhan’s wife, who was sitting in the backyard, was rather frightened when she heard the news. But she was soon at peace in her mind.
She twiddled a piece of dessert gracefully, but the words that came out of her were full of scorn. “Pariahs are still pariahs and boneless. They would do anything just for a bite of food. He basically just sold his wife and daughter for cheap. If he knew this is what he would end up with, he wouldn’t have done something as stupid as that. You lost your family, but it is never too late to have more. He lost his job position and his social status after the incident, then made my baby son suffer and my husband worry.”
Meng Hun’s wife and daughter were just part of the pariahs. How could they compare to the noble aristocrat Meng Liang?
She didn’t even blame the wife and daughter for destroying Meng Liang’s reputation.
“Ah…Tin––” Meng Hun sneezed and pinched the tip of his nose, which somehow caused everyone else to glance at him.
“You guys finish burying him…” He gave them the instructions tersely. “I will go around and check on the other places.”
