Winning Hearts Through Virtue

Hu Qian and Tie Niu followed Meng Yuan to Xun Mei's place, only to see Meng Yuan first ask someone to call out Jiang Tang.

"Brother, why are you here?" Jiang Tang was very happy. Seeing that Hu Qian and Tie Niu were also there, she quickly greeted them, "Sister Qian, Tie Niu, hey Tie Niu, what happened to your arm?"

"I was..."

"He was cut by a knife while practicing martial arts, it's not a big deal." Meng Yuan smiled and interrupted Tie Niu.

"What's up, Sister Qian?" Tie Niu was about to say more when he saw Hu Qian pull him.

Jiang Tang already believed it. She said seriously, "There's medicine at home, Grandpa told me to prepare it. You wait here, I'll go back and get it for you!"

As soon as she took a step, her little braid was grabbed by Meng Yuan.

"Don't rush." Meng Yuan smiled and said, "You go home and wait first. I need to talk to Xun Mei about some things. I'll come back to find you after I'm done."

Jiang Tang nodded obediently and quickly went back.

Hu Qian watched from the side. Seeing Jiang Tang go far away, she said, "She follows Xun Mei and lives near the Training Field, she'll find out eventually."

"It's good to know a little later. She's only had a few good days. When she's two years older, we won't have to hide it from her." Meng Yuan smiled.

Hu Qian nodded upon hearing this. Seeing Meng Yuan's doting on Jiang Tang and how he stood up for them at the Training Field, showing the demeanor of an elder, she said, "She's not young anymore. Your family doesn't have any female relatives, and Mei-jie is too serious. Another day, I'll take her to see my mother."

As she spoke, she blinked at Meng Yuan.

"Thank you." Meng Yuan cupped his hands.

The two smiled at each other, but Tie Niu was completely confused about what they were smiling at.

Entering the courtyard, the three of them saw Xun Mei.

When Xun Mei heard that there was another fight, she didn't find it strange. She first asked Hu Qian and Tie Niu to wait outside and only let Meng Yuan speak.

Meng Yuan naturally said everything without hiding anything.

After Meng Yuan finished speaking, Xun Mei called Hu Qian in and listened to the whole story again.

Finally, it was Tie Niu's turn, but Tie Niu's speech was incoherent, and after a few sentences, he started talking about how his brother was also forced and so on.

"Alright, I understand." After confirming the statements and clarifying the reasons, Xun Mei examined Tie Niu's wound and asked Meng Yuan, "Why did you go to the Training Field so late? Were you drinking with Master Nie again?"

Huh? Meng Yuan was stunned. He had prepared a belly full of words, and at this moment, he should have been talking about the fight, so why was she bringing up drinking?

Women's thinking is always a bit strange. Meng Yuan immediately admitted, "I drank a little."

"He likes to drink, but you are in the process of learning skills, so you must not indulge in it. You should know: learning is like sailing against the current, once you let go, it will flow a thousand miles. A gentleman should have self-control." Xun Mei said.

"Yes." Meng Yuan immediately responded.

"This matter is not your fault. He injured someone first, and since you are in charge of the Training Field, it is right for you to stand up. However, blood was shed after all, and in the future..." Before Xun Mei could finish, she heard the sound of footsteps thumping outside.

"This is truly rebellious!" Nie Yannian's voice arrived before he did. He stepped in and poked Meng Yuan's forehead with his finger, "You're something! Fighting among yourselves, hitting your own people!"

"Master Nie, don't be angry. I asked, the fighting among yourselves was someone else, he used a knife to stop the conflict." Xun Mei said.

"It's still his fault! The medicine money will be deducted from his monthly allowance!" Nie Yannian pulled Meng Yuan out angrily, "Go! Go to the Training Field to receive your punishment!"

"I've already been punished..." Xun Mei wanted to say a few more words, but saw that Meng Yuan had already been lifted out by the back of his neck by Nie Yannian. She quickly instructed Hu Qian and Tie Niu, saying, "Follow them, it's just a slight punishment, don't be too harsh on loyal and pure-hearted people!"

Hu Qian and Tie Niu immediately followed. After leaving Xun Mei's office, they saw that Nie Yannian had already let go of Meng Yuan and even put his arm around his shoulder, showing no sign of wanting to punish him.

"You brat are good! You dare to fight above your rank, you have a bit of my style from back then!" Nie Yannian chuckled.

"Master Nie, Mei-jie was about to let the matter go, but you unnecessarily stirred things up, and now the medicine fee is on me." Meng Yuan ate and spent a lot, and his income was still low, so he was particularly stingy with money.

"You're so stingy! What's a few coins!" Nie Yannian opened his mouth without saying anything nice, "Let's go! I'll treat you to a drink!"

"Then let's just give everyone a day off." Meng Yuan smiled and glanced at Hu Qian and Tie Niu.

"You're the one who's good at doing favors!" Nie Yannian cursed, and said, "I'll give you face!" He kicked Tie Niu's butt, "Go call everyone out, let's eat at the Drunken Moon Pavilion!"

"Master Nie, the mess hall has almost finished cooking by now, why go eat outside?" Tie Niu was used to living a hard life and couldn't stand waste.

Hu Qian smiled upon hearing this.

"You're also useless! The Drunken Moon Pavilion can cost..." Nie Yannian was originally angry and slapped Tie Niu's head, but stopped when he said this, "Then let's go back to the Training Field to eat, Tie Niu is still knowledgeable!"

He praised him instead.

"You two go buy two jars of wine outside!" Nie Yannian patted Meng Yuan's shoulder, "I didn't bring any money, Scholar Meng, give me some money for wine."

Meng Yuan saw that Master Nie was planning to save money, so he simply didn't want to spend a single cent. He could only spread his hands, "My money is managed by my maid at home, I didn't bring any with me."

"I still have a little silver." Tie Niu was the most honest and immediately reached for his sleeve. Hu Qian slapped him hard.

Tie Niu didn't understand what she meant yet when he heard Nie Yannian laugh heartily, "Then it's just right to make a detour to your house!"

Seeing that he was cornered, Meng Yuan could only obediently lead the way.

When they arrived home, Jiang Tang heard that Meng Yuan was going to treat his colleagues from the Training Field and Master Nie to drinks. She directly gave her purse to Hu Qian, "Sister Qian, I don't understand wine, please buy some good ones, don't save money for me."

"Don't worry, I won't lose face for your good brother." Hu Qian smiled and took it, took Tie Niu with her, and ran off in a flash.

When Jiang Tang heard the words "good brother," her face immediately turned red. After seeing Tie Niu run far away, she took out a small medicine bottle again, "Brother, remember to put medicine on Tie Niu, it will heal faster."

"Even a little girl is more presentable than you!" Nie Yannian escorted Meng Yuan outside the Training Field and then said, "Tell me in detail how you fought."

Meng Yuan naturally told the truth. He could win simply because he was strong, fast, and persistent!

Of course, it was also because he dared to fight, while the opponent's morale plummeted after a slight setback.

"Winning against a higher rank is common on the path of a martial artist, but it's usually between lower ranks. Once you reach the Seventh Rank, it becomes extremely difficult to defeat a Sixth Rank. Pay attention," Nie Yannian advised. "Don't casually fight opponents of a higher rank in the future. Running away and admitting defeat isn't shameful."

"I know. When I was at the Medicine Manor before, I said that it's fine if he has a prejudice against me, as long as he doesn't provoke me, I don't care. Even if he bullies me, I'll endure it. I'm an honest person, after all," Meng Yuan sighed. "This time, I was truly forced into a corner."

"You've read a few broken books, but you haven't learned anything good. You've only learned the hypocrisy of a stinking scholar. You wanted to take him down a long time ago, didn't you?" Nie Yannian poked Meng Yuan's nose and said, "You have a flaw: your hands are ruthless, but your heart isn't! If he provokes you, just go ahead and take him down. You insist on having a reason before you fight!"

"Master Nie, this is called being upright and winning hearts through virtue," Meng Yuan wasn't angry about being exposed. Instead, he had a different opinion. "I am Princess Consort's person. Princess Consort loves books, is knowledgeable, and pities the lonely and weak. I see that Princess Consort also acts reasonably, so I should be the same. This is called emulating the virtuous."

"Emulating the virtuous?" Nie Yannian stroked his chin and smacked his lips. "There's actually some twisted logic to that!"

He looked at Meng Yuan and praised, "Scholar Meng is indeed Scholar Meng! Not only loyal, hehe, but also virtuous. You didn't flip through those books for nothing. Impressive, impressive!"

"Master Nie, you flatter me," Meng Yuan accepted the praise readily.