First and foremost, he had to coax her into signing, so that in the future, if he wanted to add some more intimate content, she couldn’t back out.

The young gentleman narrowed his eyes proudly.

He brought a pen and watched Li Ruantang sign her name neatly before happily and carefully placing the small booklet in a brocade box on the bookshelf.

“Jiujiu, I have one more thing to discuss with you.” Li Ruantang rubbed the top of the obediently sitting young gentleman’s head and whispered a few words in his ear.

Seeing Meng Jun’s face turn pale, Li Ruantang felt pity in her heart and said softly, “Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged for guards around your courtyard.”

The young gentleman pondered for a moment, then shook his head gratefully, “Tangtang, I want to handle this matter myself.”

He habitually nuzzled Li Ruantang’s shoulder and explained, “In the future, when I enter the Xujin Prince’s mansion, similar things might happen. This time I have mother and you protecting me, but if in the future—”

“I will never let you fall into such a situation.” Li Ruantang frowned. Her Jiujiu had a pure nature and shouldn’t have to experience such misfortunes at all.

Meng Jun lightly pecked her neck, feeling sweetness in his heart, “I know you’re good to me, but even the best-laid plans can go awry. No one can predict what will happen in the future. I want to be your consort, so I need to have matching abilities.”

He embraced the sulking Li Ruantang and pleaded, “Besides, this time you and mother are still here. If I really can’t handle it, you can step in, alright?”

“Tangtang.” The young gentleman tugged at her sleeve, “Why don’t we set a secret signal?”

Li Ruantang sighed helplessly. She had always been unable to refuse him, and what Jiujiu said did make some sense, “What kind of signal?”

Smooch—

A heavy kiss landed on her cheek. Meng Jun praised the young lady in front of him with delight, “I knew Tangtang was the best!”

But since it was a secret signal, it should be something uncommon and known only to the two of them.

The young gentleman pondered for a moment, then suddenly had an idea, “Kisses?!”

As soon as he spoke, a shadow fell over him. Li Ruantang pressed heavily on his lips. After a while, she released the panting young man and responded.

As a woman, she shouldn’t stay too long in a man’s bedroom.

However, Li Ruantang was truly worried. When she was almost at the pearl curtain, she carefully instructed the young gentleman who still seemed a bit dazed.

Meng Jun smiled so much his eyes almost became crescents. His heart was sweet as he watched the graceful and潇洒 young lady leap over the wall. Only then did he call Zhiqiu and Zhidong back in.

Before a storm, it’s always eerily quiet.

The Meng mansion was the same these two days. Although Han Fushi was under house arrest, his son Tan’er was still a master of the Meng household.

On this day, just as the sky was starting to lighten, Zhidong, who was guarding the flower-hung gate, was miserably trying to persuade Meng Tan’er, who insisted on barging into the courtyard.

“Second Young Master, our Young Master really hasn’t woken up yet. Please don’t make it difficult for this lowly one.”

“You worthless thing, you know I’m the Second Young Master, yet you dare touch me with your dirty hands?” Meng Tan’er had been spoiled by Han Fushi for years and was unruly in the mansion, except when he saw Meng Xiaozhi and lost his temper.

He kicked Zhidong, and seeing the servant boy rolling in pain, he spat a few times, “Really unlucky.”

Meng Tan’er strode towards the corridor. Zhiqiu, who was guarding the door, hurriedly knelt down when he saw this, “Please stop, Second Young Master.” His voice was loud, startling Meng Tan’er into actually stopping.

“Zhiqiu, who’s outside?” From inside the room came a lazy, clear voice.

“Big Brother.”

“Oh, it’s Tan’er. Zhiqiu, please invite the Second Young Master to wait in the side room.”

Meng Tan’er suppressed his irritation. He still remembered his father’s instructions for today, so he patiently followed Zhiqiu to the side room.

After drinking three cups of tea, Zhidong, pale-faced, finally limped in to invite him to the bedroom.

Meng Jun, who had tidied up, was half-leaning by the window. He glanced lightly at the energetic Meng Tan’er and yawned, “What made Tan’er think of coming to see me today?”

“Big Brother, your words sound a bit distant.”

Meng Tan’er was only a child, but his manner of speaking had already learned seven or eight parts of Han Fushi’s style, “Big Brother fell off a cliff earlier, and I was worried for a long time. I finally waited for Big Brother to return, but Big Brother is always running to the palace. Even if I want to see Big Brother, I can’t find you.”

Meng Jun didn’t respond, just sat quietly.

Meng Tan’er’s eyes rolled, and he continued, “Big Brother has been busy before, so you probably haven’t heard some of the recent rumors in town.”

He lowered his voice mysteriously, “I know that when Big Brother was young, you were childhood sweethearts with the Young Lady Li next door. This matter, speaking of it, has some connection to this Xujin Prince’s mansion. Some say that once night falls, a black shadow mysteriously appears sitting on the wall of the Xujin Prince’s mansion.”

Meng Tan’er hugged his arms tightly with a terrified expression, his eyes glancing towards the window, “At the time, I didn’t believe these rumors either, but a few days ago, a servant in the mansion also saw it. By coincidence, it was on the wall of Big Brother’s courtyard!”

“Tan’er, although Han Fushi has been confined, you should always prioritize the reputation of the Meng family in your speech. Blindly following others’ words, where is the demeanor of a young master from a noble family?”

Meng Jun lazily raised his eyes to look at him, “Right now, Her Majesty values Young Lady Li. They made up such rumors, mostly out of jealousy, so they’re using such low-class tactics.”

“Big Brother, you don’t believe it?” Meng Tan’er secretly gritted his teeth. After all, he was young, and his face immediately showed signs of strain.

Meng Jun shook his head, “However, since you describe it so vividly, why don’t we summon that servant who saw the black shadow and question him thoroughly. If it’s just blindly spreading rumors, we’ll punish him according to family rules, leaving him half-alive to be sold to a slave trader.”

“If he really did see something—” he paused, his peripheral vision sweeping over the visibly nervous Meng Tan’er, “then we’ll invite Young Lady Li to judge. After all, it was sitting on her family’s wall.”

Meng Tan’er laughed awkwardly. The matter of the servant was just something he had made up randomly. He had intended to trick Meng Jun, but didn’t expect this person to be so thick-skinned.

One plan failed, Meng Tan’er raised his eyebrows and said stiffly, “Well, this is just a small matter. I mentioned it to entertain Big Brother.”

“Don’t speak nonsense like this in the future. Otherwise, people will say Uncle Han’s discipline is lacking.” Meng Jun added timely.

Meng Tan’er’s face grew increasingly unpleasant. He paused for a moment before squeezing out a smile, “Big Brother, I see the weather is nice today. Instead of staying cooped up at home, why don’t we go out to watch a play?”

*

The sky outside seemed to deliberately oppose Meng Tan’er.

By the time the two of them got into the carriage, the dark clouds hung even lower, and raindrops began to fall with a pitter-patter.

“Big Brother.” Meng Tan’er felt a lump in his throat and secretly cursed the heavens a few times. Just as he was about to say a few more words to save face.

He heard Meng Jun say calmly, “It’s fine, we’ll be watching the play in the garden anyway.”

Meng Tan’er immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He lifted the carriage curtain and gave a few instructions to the coachman, then sat back in the carriage smugly.

He tightly gripped his sleeve, carefully recalling the details his father had instructed.

Not far away, the sounds of cheering from the theater garden faintly drifted over.

Meng Tan’er raised his eyebrows, dismissed the servant who came forward to attend to them, and personally supported Meng Jun with particular attentiveness, “Big Brother, watch your step. If you were to fall or bump into something, I couldn’t bear the responsibility.”