“Forget it, there’s no point in talking further with someone who doesn’t understand reason.” Meng Jun turned his head to look at Shen Yuan, “Master-in-law, please send Meng Tan’er and this letter to the government office as well.”

“Don’t worry, this matter will be dealt with according to the law.” Shen Yuan patted his arm with concern. The young man in front of him had red-rimmed eyes, but was still bravely holding back his tears.

“Big brother! Are you really going to disregard our brotherly bond?” Meng Tan’er raised his voice in disbelief, “My father just made one mistake, and you’re going to push him to his death?!”

“Both stupid and wicked.” Shen Yuan felt sorry for Meng Jun and immediately waved his hand, saying to Huai’an, “Take him to the government office, there’s no need to waste more words on him. As for you—”

He looked at the smiling Bai Shuang, “Please also go to the government office to testify.”

“Yes.” Bai Shuang responded respectfully. As he was about to leave, he turned and asked, “May I return to my room to change clothes first, esteemed sirs?”

Shen Yuan glanced at Ruo’er, who immediately followed.

In the innermost room on the second floor, Bai Shuang slowly arranged his clothes behind the screen. He glanced at Ruo’er guarding outside the door, beckoned the young servant over, and said in a low voice, “Remember to leave Beijing later.”

“Master, what about you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to testify. As for Yu Hong, she knows what she’s doing. Don’t worry, she won’t say anything out of turn.”

The door creaked open from the inside. Outside, the dark clouds had dispersed, and brilliant sunlight was pouring down.

Bai Shuang raised his head and took a deep breath. He smiled faintly and nodded to Ruo’er, “Let’s go, the weather is just right now.”

It was time to settle the grudge with Han Ziqin from many years ago.

His face was relaxed, causing Ruo’er to unconsciously look up at the sky outside. He had to admit, after half a rain, today’s sky was exceptionally blue.

*

When Meng Jun returned to the mansion, the steward came forward to report that Han Fushi had been taken away by yamen runners. The young master nodded and silently walked back to his own courtyard.

He hid himself under the covers and sent the servants away.

As night slowly descended, Zhiqiu and Zhidong stood guard outside the door, sighing repeatedly with worry. Their young master had never experienced much hardship since childhood, hopefully he hadn’t been frightened by Han Fushi’s despicable scheme.

Zhidong pondered for a moment and whispered in Zhiqiu’s ear, “Why don’t we invite Lady Li to come and comfort the young master?”

“This… is it not too inappropriate?” Zhiqiu also had this thought, but considering that the Meng mansion had just arrested someone during the day, the madam would surely return home for a while. If they happened to run into each other, it would be terrible.

The servants were worried sick, their brows and eyes drooping, until a messenger came from the front courtyard to announce that Meng Xiaozhi had returned.

Only then did Zhiqiu gently lift the beaded curtain and report in a low voice.

In the bedroom, Meng Jun, who had fallen asleep hugging a soft pillow, rubbed his eyes tiredly. He slowly sat up, obviously not fully awake yet, yawned several times in succession, before finally getting up to change clothes with Zhiqiu’s assistance.

The young master was listless all the way to Meng Xiaozhi’s study, only then did he muster some energy.

“Mother.” Meng Jun, who had bowed properly, stood in front of the desk with his head lowered. He knew that over the years, his mother still had some affection for Han Fushi.

Now that his mother had specifically left her official duties to return home, she was probably going to plead for him.

The young master pursed his lips. He had long known that dealing with such schemes was most tiring in terms of the interpersonal relationships involved.

If he had known earlier, he should have eaten some snacks to fill his stomach before coming over.

He was distracted by these messy thoughts, not even hearing Meng Xiaozhi tell him to sit down.

“Jiulang?” Meng Xiaozhi frowned, her hand clenched into a fist on the armchair, feeling irritated again, her expression immediately turning unpleasant.

“Mother, did you call me?” The young master looked up, and seeing her expression, his back immediately felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on it.

Sure enough, mother had come to plead for Han Fushi. Did even she think that he was being too nitpicky about this matter?

The young master’s eyes welled up with tears, his mind filled with that line from the story books: “A child without a father has no one to love them.”

Compared to being reprimanded by Meng Tan’er during the day, Meng Jun felt as if someone had viciously stabbed his heart with a sharp needle, poking holes all over it. When the wind blew, there was a chill that penetrated to the core.

His teeth chattered from the cold, but he was stubborn and refused to give in.

Since no one cared for him, he would take good care of himself. Meng Jun secretly wiped away his tears and said in a muffled voice, “If mother wants to talk about Han Fushi’s good deeds today, your son has nothing to say.”

“Mother knows you’ve been wronged in this matter.” Meng Xiaozhi sighed, wanting to reach out and wipe away his tears, but the young man who was hanging his head dejectedly suddenly turned his face away.

He was being difficult, so Meng Xiaozhi had no choice but to continue, “Han Fushi has been in the mansion for many years.”

Meng Jun secretly snorted. These words were exactly the same as in the story books. He knew that next, mother would surely say, for the sake of being a family, she would ask the government office to withdraw the case and not pursue it further.

The young master pursed his lips angrily.

Meng Xiaozhi paused and said, “If I had known it would make you so upset, I should have taken action earlier. How could I have let you be frightened like this today.”

She angrily slapped the table and said in irritation, “To think that Li Ruantang still promised me earnestly that she would handle this matter well.”

“Mother, you……” The sudden noise startled Meng Jun and he involuntarily shuddered. Those red-rimmed phoenix eyes looked at Meng Xiaozhi behind the desk in confusion, “Aren’t you here to reason with me emotionally and rationally?”

“After all, Uncle Han is Tan’er’s father.”

He understood how much Meng Xiaozhi valued blood ties. Now that the Meng family had few members, if this case was settled, Han Fushi and Tan’er would surely be expelled from the Meng mansion.

The young master didn’t want to have unrealistic expectations. He pondered for a moment, then lowered his eyes and said, “Mother, if you want to say a few fair words for Uncle Han, you might as well tell me directly.”

“I know Jiulang is saying these things because he blames me for not taking good care of you all these years.” Meng Xiaozhi felt guilty in her heart and softened her voice, “In the past, when your Uncle Han had some small actions in secret, I always turned a blind eye, thinking that he would eventually change. Who knew it would instead encourage his thoughts.”

“It was mother’s lack of thorough consideration that made you suffer quite a bit. Jiulang, you don’t need to worry about this matter. I have already spoken to the government office, insisting that they handle it strictly according to the law.”

“As for Tan’er, mother will send him to the countryside to reflect on his mistakes in the future.”

“Mother, are you really telling the truth?” Meng Jun couldn’t help but hold back his tears of grievance and asked in return.

“Of course.” Meng Xiaozhi nodded, her loving gaze falling on the dark circles under his eyes, “Mother knows you must be both tired and exhausted today. You should go back to your room to rest first.”

The young master came listlessly and left with tumultuous emotions.

The moonlight was like water. He stared blankly at the clear radiance spilled on the ground, clean and gentle. The corners of his eyes, still a bit teary, curved slightly.

Who says that having no father means no one cares!

The young master’s heart leaped for a moment. Before he had walked down the stone steps, someone approached from the front.

So late at night……

His wild guesses turned into undisguisable joy when their eyes met.

He quickly stepped forward, wanting to burrow into her embrace, but mindful of the half-open window in the study, his joyful steps came to an abrupt halt, standing at half an arm’s length from her.

“Tangtang!” Those beautiful phoenix eyes curved like crescent moons, “Why did you come?”

Li Ruantang carefully examined Meng Jun’s expression, and seeing that he wasn’t upset, she finally felt relieved. She lowered her voice and glanced at the silhouette half-hidden behind the green gauze window, “I’ll tell you later. Right now, I need to go to the study to ask for punishment.”

“Eh? Why?!” The young master was confused.

Li Ruantang smiled without answering, but gently coaxed him to return to his room first. Meng Jun walked away, looking back every few steps.

Finally, when the figure of Jiujiu could no longer be seen at the flower-hung gate, Li Ruantang’s expression turned serious. Only then did she gently knock on the half-closed door of the study.

The moonlight was bright, unable to hide the furtive shadow on the ground.

The young master who had just walked out of the flower-hung gate not long ago returned. He tiptoed and crouched, sneaking close to the window, having just found a hidden spot.

The first thing he heard was Meng Xiaozhi saying discontentedly, “After this incident, I absolutely won’t……”

Her voice was extremely low. The young master struggled for a long time before he could barely make out the second half of the sentence, “let Jiulang marry you.”