Chapter 29: The Scandal of Mei Xianghan

Upon hearing that her son was still alive, a glimmer of light returned to Madam Jin's eyes, and she hurriedly ordered for Mei Xianghan to be brought back to the manor.

Behind the veil of secrecy maintained by the Minister's manor, the truth of what exactly happened to Mei Xianghan remained unknown to the outside world. Currently, only the divine physician Sun, Doctor Wang, and Mei Songtao were aware of the details. Jian Aozhu and Zhang Yan looked like death; they knew full well what had transpired. That kick from Zhang Yan had been lethal. Mei Xianghan’s life had been saved, but...

That night, the Minister's manor was plunged into unprecedented despair. Madam Jin fainted and did not wake until noon the following day, only to collapse again from the shock. When Mei Xianghan awoke that afternoon and learned of his condition, he went into a state of total madness, wailing and cursing in his room in a frenzied delirium.

"Ah... what is the point of me living like this!"
"I might as well be dead."
"I don't want to live anymore!"

There are no secrets in Shengjing. Even though the Minister's manor tried to keep it under wraps, rumors still leaked out.

At the Duke of Yu’s manor, Lu Lan had just been reborn yesterday. He had not slept well all night, haunted by dreams of Gu Xingwan hacking him into a thousand pieces. He woke up in a cold sweat several times and only managed to drift off at dawn. By noon, Tong Yan and Yourong were helping him dress and wash.

Xian Yu came scurrying to the door of Lu Lan’s room, carrying a food box, his mouth stretched into a grin he couldn't hide.

Lu Lan glanced at him. "Have you been drinking cat urine? Why are you so happy?"

"My Lord, a piece of shocking news broke in Shengjing last night. Can you guess who it involves?"

Xian Yu laid out the dishes from the food box, carefully setting them down one by one, clearly wanting to keep the suspense alive.

"Let’s hear it."

Gossip was always interesting, and Tong Yan and Yourong pricked up their ears to listen.

"Hehe!" Xian Yu used a pair of white jade-inlaid gold chopsticks to feed a piece of crispy pork to Lu Lan. "That son of the Minister of Works, Mei Xianghan—the one who had an engagement with the Second Miss of the Gu family—was caught having a secret tryst with a woman by the Mirror Lake last night. That woman was also betrothed to someone else, and as a result, her lover hunted them down and beat Mei Xianghan half to death."

The outside world did not yet know the identity of the woman. However, a scandal involving the Minister’s son was more than enough to capture everyone’s attention.

Lu Lan remained silent.

"Ugh, what a shameless man. Didn't the Gu family break off their engagement just yesterday? He was already out philandering that same night. He must have been unprincipled for a long time," Yourong spat with disgust.

"Mei Xianghan could actually do such a thing? Didn't everyone in Shengjing praise him for being as lofty as a mountain and as pure as jade?" Tong Yan’s eyes were bright and innocent.

Yourong rolled her eyes. "That’s just reputation-seeking. A gentleman on the surface, but capable of all sorts of filth in the shadows."

"Looking at it this way, our young master is the most straightforward. When he does something bad, he never hides it. If he likes a girl, he just snatches her off the street."

*Cough, cough!*

Lu Lan nearly choked on his food. Was that a compliment or an insult? He usually stood on little ceremony, and his servants were often unrestrained in his presence.

"Hey, hey, hey! If you two keep spouting nonsense, I’ll have to serve you a whipping."

Tong Yan and Yourong lowered their heads, their faces flushing red. "My Lord, please don't! This servant dares not speak again."

Yesterday, Qi Cong had been brutally beaten with a python-hide whip; it was a miserable sight that had left everyone in the manor trembling with fear.

Lu Lan had lost his appetite. After taking a few bites, he had them summon Uncle Zhong.

"Young Master, what are your orders?" Uncle Zhong, having been spared by Lu Lan once before, was now exceptionally meticulous and thorough in his work.

Lu Lan handed him a letter. "Deliver this letter to Xue Zhao, the heir to the Duke of Qing, and withdraw sixty thousand taels of silver from the manor to give to him. Tell him he has three days to return the Upper Pillar State Manor."

Uncle Zhong was stunned. It was true that Qi Cong had sold the Upper Pillar State Manor for sixty thousand taels, but when he turned around and sold it to Xue Zhao, the heir to the Duke of Qing, it had been for a solid eighty thousand taels. There was a difference of twenty thousand taels; would the noble heir Xue really agree to this?

"Young Master, what about... the missing twenty thousand taels?" Xue Zhao had moved into the Upper Pillar State Manor six months ago and had already settled everything. Did the young master expect them to just take it back because he said so?

"That is why I gave you a letter," Lu Lan said, lightly scraping the lid of his teacup. "Remember, if you want to keep your head on your shoulders, never privately open the envelope. The contents hold Xue Zhao’s life in the balance."

Uncle Zhong dropped to his knees with a thud. "Oh, Young Master, even if you gave me ten thousand guts of a dog, I would never dare to open the envelope privately."

"Tell Xue Zhao that he and I are the same breed of person. If he dares to make me look bad, I will certainly make him suffer."

"Yes!"