Making Money

"Big sister, do you know where the Princess Consort came from? I heard Master Nie say that he once served the Princess Consort's elder brother."

With nothing else to do, Meng Yuan poured Nie Qingqing some wine and began asking about the background of his master's household.

"You do not even know about your master's household?" Nie Qingqing asked with a smile, taking a drink.

"I truly do not. Please enlighten me, big sister," Meng Yuan said sincerely.

For Meng Yuan to have reached his current standing, it was certainly inseparable from his own efforts, but the Princess Consort had indeed shown him kindness.

Not to mention that Xun Mei had the grace of promoting him, while Master Nie had the grace of imparting the Way.

Meng Yuan intended to strike out on his own once his wings had fully grown. Naturally, that did not mean he wished to become enemies with the Princess Consort. Rather, he wanted to repay the kindness he had received.

Besides, Meng Yuan knew the Princess Consort was exceedingly knowledgeable and benevolent toward those beneath her, unlike ordinary noblewomen secluded in their inner courtyards.

Though Meng Yuan had never met the Princess Consort, he admired her from the bottom of his heart.

Nie Qingqing, however, was unwilling to say much. She merely said, "When you have the chance, ask my father instead. He once served the Princess Consort's late elder brother and called himself a running dog under the Ying family's gate."

The Princess Consort's surname was Ying, and Master Nie had once followed her brother. With Master Nie's boisterous temperament, the fact that he had called himself a running dog under the Ying family's gate showed just how extraordinary that brother had been.

"Drink," Nie Qingqing urged alluringly and attentively, then began asking about Meng Yuan's own background.

Meng Yuan was an honest man. He did not hide anything and spoke of his experiences fleeing disaster, as well as his skill as a castrator.

Nie Qingqing did not find it vulgar. Instead, she listened while urging him to drink, as though she were using his experiences as drinking accompaniment.

The two chatted happily when they suddenly heard Young Lord Dugu Kang burst into loud laughter, utterly heedless of others' stares.

The second floor was filled with refined guests and scholars, and everyone turned to look.

Meng Yuan looked over as well and saw several of the Young Lord's literary hangers-on fawning over him, inviting Dugu Kang to compose a poem.

Dugu Kang first offered a few modest words, then accepted without hesitation. He rose to his feet, tapped his palm with his folding fan, and paced slowly as if pondering his phrasing. He truly had a hint of a poet's bearing.

Seeing this, many refined guests on the second floor kept looking over, clearly somewhat expectant.

But Dugu Kang shook his head and swayed as he pondered for a long while, yet could not squeeze out a single line. The four scholar-hangers-on were unhurried, all waiting with smiling faces.

Meng Yuan was curious too, but then he saw Liu He had already spotted him. Liu He's face first showed disbelief, then contemptuous disdain.

After quite a while, Dugu Kang paced back and forth, gazing down at the river below and up at the white clouds above. Then he happily slapped his hand and said, "I have it!"

With one hand behind his back and a folding fan held before him in the other, he circled the crowd once and said smugly, "Gentlemen, listen closely."

The four literary hangers-on hastily assumed attentive expressions. The other guests on the second floor of Drunken Moon Pavilion saw that he had produced a poem and also pricked up their ears.

Meng Yuan and Nie Qingqing also wanted to see what sort of poem this Young Lord, who had received a "pure-hearted" appraisal, could compose.

"What is that drifting through the sky? A patch to the east, a streak to the west. Could immortals be weaving cloth? Falling to earth, willow fluff drifts." After Dugu Kang recited it with three sighs to every line, the entire second floor of Drunken Moon Pavilion fell silent.

Then some people snickered, some shook their heads, some dug fiercely at their ears, and some simply flung down their chopsticks and left.

Meng Yuan was impressed. To make even a doggerel poem such a complete mess took real talent.

Nie Qingqing shook her head with a laugh. "Though he has no talent for poetry, being born into a princely household is still a blessing."

Many of the refined guests upstairs looked down on him, but Dugu Kang had brought literary hangers-on to flatter him, and they immediately began praising him.

"Wonderful! The tones are balanced, the rhymes are perfect, and the meaning runs deep! Young Lord, your talent is unmatched in this age!"

"This poem rolls right off the tongue, simple and pure, fitting both the scenery and the feeling! If immortals truly exist, they must wear white clouds as robes and willow fluff as skirts! Marvelous, marvelous!"

As the literary hangers-on urged him to drink and showered him with praise, Dugu Kang grew even more pleased with himself.

Meng Yuan found it boring and was preparing to take his leave when Liu He leaned close to Dugu Kang and whispered a few words, repeatedly glancing this way.

Dugu Kang then looked over twice as well and said a few words to Liu He with a grin. Liu He promptly strode over, brimming with satisfaction.

"Castrator, why are you here? Drunken Moon Pavilion is a place for scholars and refined gentlemen. Is it somewhere a person like you can come?" Liu He asked with a smiling face, unable to conceal his pride.

Nie Qingqing said nothing. She folded her hands and looked silently at Meng Yuan.

Meng Yuan only found it tiresome. He had no idea what Liu He was so proud of. Did Liu He think he had risen to power again? He was no more than the Young Lord's attendant, yet he had specifically come looking for trouble. It was truly pathetic and ignorant.

Meng Yuan and Liu He were both still registered slaves, but Meng Yuan had advanced step by step, his fists growing ever harder. Though he still lived on borrowed money, things were steadily improving.

Liu He, meanwhile, had changed masters only to tread ever deeper down the road of servitude.

Their paths differed. For Meng Yuan, saying even one more word to him would be a waste of time.

Seeing Meng Yuan remain silent, Liu He assumed Meng Yuan feared him. Smiling smugly, he turned to Nie Qingqing and said, "Miss Nie, the Young Lord wishes to invite you over for a cup of wine."

Not a trace of displeasure appeared on Nie Qingqing's face. Clearly, she had seen this sort of thing many times. Smiling, she said, "Please tell His Highness the Young Lord that I am but a frail willow, unable to hold my liquor. How would I dare disturb the Young Lord's poetic inspiration? Today, with the Young Lord leaving his poem here, my Drunken Moon Pavilion is honored by his presence. The cost of the feast shall be waived in full. Later, I will also send two jars of Dream Lake Spring to the princely residence."

After hearing this, Liu He could find no fault with it. He looked back and saw Dugu Kang carefully examining a piece of calligraphy while the four hangers-on held it up for him. They clearly wanted Dugu Kang to buy it at a high price.

For a moment, Liu He felt ignored by the Young Lord and slighted by Nie Qingqing. His face immediately darkened as he said to her, "I have already told the Young Lord. Miss Nie, give me some face and go offer him a single cup of wine."

Nie Qingqing remained seated, studying Liu He before smiling. "Brother Liu, please give me some face for my father's sake, and do not make things difficult for a woman like me. Another day, I will treat Brother Liu to wine."

"Why should I give you face?" Liu He completely failed to hear the displeasure in Nie Qingqing's words. He only felt that invoking Master Nie showed weakness, so he said, "Back then, before so many people, I knelt before your father and begged him to take me in. Not only did he refuse, he mocked me and left me not the slightest shred of face. Why should I give you any face now?"

Meng Yuan shook his head in disappointment. Liu He truly could not tell what was what. Nie Qingqing had already declined tactfully, waived the bill, and offered wine as a gift. Such goodwill had given him more than enough face. As an attendant, he should have obediently listened, yet he insisted on acting like a dog relying on its master's power.

Could someone who opened a restaurant in this location truly be kneaded and pinched at will?

How capable could the Young Lord of an idle prince really be? If trouble truly erupted, would this "pure-hearted" Young Lord stand up for a mere slave like him?

Moreover, Nie Qingqing's father had old ties with the Princess Consort's brother, was sworn friends with Zhang Guinian, a Hundred-Household Officer, and came from the Demon Suppression Division. The might of his Blossoming Spring Thunder was extraordinary.

Since crossing into this world, everything Meng Yuan had experienced had made him revere fists, blades, and swords beyond measure.

But Liu He had clearly never suffered much hardship and had never left the princely residence. He lacked any understanding of fists. He only knew how to curry favor with the powerful, believing status and power to be everything.

Yet he had not understood that fists were the most direct form of reason. So-called status and power were all piled up from fists, blades, and swords.

Meng Yuan revered violence, and he also knew how precious violence could be.

Thus, he stood and reached out, pressing a hand atop Liu He's head and seizing his hair.

"What are you doing?" Liu He had been brutally beaten by Meng Yuan before. He had not expected Meng Yuan to dare act in front of the Young Lord. He cried out in panic and struggled desperately.

But compared to the first time he had been beaten, Liu He now felt Meng Yuan's strength had grown far greater. That hand gripped the hair at the back of his head so tightly that he could not break free. He grabbed at Meng Yuan's wrist with both hands, but could not budge it in the slightest.

"Young Lord, save—" Before Liu He could finish shouting, immense force surged from the hand behind his head. His entire body was forced bent over, then his head smashed heavily into the table, shattering the dishes.

Liu He felt blood fill his mouth and nose, and darkness swallow his vision. Before he could react, that hand violently yanked up his head again, then smashed it down onto the table once more.

Three times in a row, Liu He's face was covered in blood, his head split open like a blooming flower, and his body went limp. Yet that hand still had not released his head.

Liu He lay sprawled over the table, blood and pastries spread across its surface, when Meng Yuan leaned his head close.

"Who is she?" Meng Yuan held Liu He's head down, pressing his bloodied face against the table directly opposite Nie Qingqing.

Nie Qingqing remained seated and said nothing.

"She is... Nie Qingqing... Master Nie's daughter..." Liu He answered with difficulty, his crooked nose streaming blood.

"If I ever hear you speak of Master Nie or Master Nie's daughter like that again, I will cripple you."

Meng Yuan lifted Liu He's head again, then slammed it forcefully onto the table. "Do you remember?"

"I... I remember..." Liu He did not dare refuse to answer. Blood and snot streamed over his entire face.

The commotion here was too great. There had been no verbal clash at all before they simply began fighting, leaving everyone on the second floor stunned. Even people from the first floor came up to look. Several attendants hurried to Nie Qingqing's side and awaited her orders.

Young Lord Dugu Kang remained where he sat, looking bewildered, proving just how pure-hearted he was. His martial guard did not step forward to help, merely standing behind Dugu Kang with one hand resting on the sword at his waist.

Meng Yuan swept his gaze around the second floor and cupped his fists to all four directions. "I have disturbed everyone's refined enjoyment, and I truly should not have. I am willing to offer each table a jar of Dream Lake Spring as an apology. I ask all you gentlemen for your forbearance."

Seeing Meng Yuan speak thus, some ignored him, some smiled and nodded, while several young scholars smiled and returned his salute.

Meng Yuan then cupped his fists toward Young Lord Dugu Kang. With one hand resting on his sword at his waist, he said, "Young Lord, do not worry. I am a guard under the Princess Consort."

Though Dugu Kang was pure-hearted, he was not foolish. Hearing this, he was somewhat reassured and frowned as he asked, "Even so, you cannot beat my dog!"

"..." Meng Yuan felt Liu He was not worth it. Keeping calm, he said, "This man is Steward Liu's son and a servant of the Princess Consort. He spouted wild words and spoke rudely here, damaging the Princess Consort's virtuous reputation. I disciplined him, not out of any disrespect toward the Young Lord."

"Is what he said true?" Dugu Kang actually turned to ask one of the elderly hangers-on beside him.

That old hanger-on saw that Meng Yuan's hand remained on his sword and that his words were reasonable. Nie Qingqing showed no panic, and all the refined guests upstairs were watching. He therefore spoke softly with a middle-aged guard.

After exchanging a few words, the old hanger-on leaned close and whispered to Dugu Kang. Then Dugu Kang said blankly, "I have not even bullied anyone yet, and they will not let me join the poetry gathering because of this?"

"That is right. We need not cause trouble outside. Those stinking scholars are the best at spreading nonsense," the old hanger-on soothed him.

"Do not call them stinking scholars!" Dugu Kang clearly considered himself a scholar and refined gentleman. "Then I will listen to you. We will deal with him after we return!"

Dugu Kang snorted twice and did not even ask Meng Yuan's name. Muttering about crude martial men, he immediately headed downstairs. Several attendants came forward, propped up Liu He, and followed after him.

The old hanger-on remained behind at the end. He studied Meng Yuan once more, smiled, and nodded. "Young people have fiery tempers, but you have offended the Young Lord, so this may be difficult to handle. Come find me after you return. I will help smooth things over before the Young Lord and turn a major matter into a minor one."

Having said that, the old hanger-on headed downstairs.

Meng Yuan could not make sense of what the old hanger-on meant. Why had he suddenly shown goodwill? Or was he hiding a knife behind his smile?

"Big sister, what did he mean?" Meng Yuan asked Nie Qingqing curiously.

Nie Qingqing laughed and shook her head. "My father said that sometimes you are clever and sometimes dull-witted. It seems he was right. That man was asking you for silver. Why else would these literary hangers-on circle around the Young Lord if not for that little bit of filthy lucre? Liu He has nothing to do with them, so why would they stand up for him? They only want to seize this chance to get more money. The Young Lord is pure-hearted and likes to play at elegance. Though you hurt his pride, he cannot think that far ahead. In the end, it is still those beneath him who offer the ideas."

That was right. They had come out to fawn over the Young Lord for a few coins. There was no need to make enemies with an impulsive young martial man, especially one serving the Princess Consort. If some silver could smooth this matter over, it would be good for everyone.

Having understood the crux of it, Meng Yuan could not help laughing.

"You should go back first. No matter what, we must inform Xun Mei of this matter. I have already sent someone to find my father, so do not worry. My father still has some standing before the Princess Consort." Nie Qingqing's voice was soft and gentle. Smiling, she carefully looked Meng Yuan over.

"I have caused you trouble, big sister. Then I will head back first." Meng Yuan nodded and walked toward the stairs.

But just as he reached the railing, Nie Qingqing spoke again behind him. "Young Master Meng, you promised each table a jar of wine, but you have not left the money."

Her smile was bright and sweet.

"Please let me put it on credit just this once, big sister." Meng Yuan readily acknowledged the wine debt and smiled. "Once I have borrowed the money, I will definitely come settle the account."

"Living on borrowed money is not a long-term plan." With her hands folded, Nie Qingqing smiled dazzlingly. "Did you not just ask whether you could follow my father and make money? Now I will tell you: making money is merely a minor path. In my father's place, I agree."