Pang Jing lightly tossed the gold nugget up and down, stopping every two or three throws to hold it before his eyes and examine it. He never seemed to tire of it. He did not look like he was studying the clues on it so much as a crooked merchant calculating its purity.
Meng Mingshu sat diagonally across from him, his gaze rising and falling with the gold nugget as though hypnotized. His expression was vacant, and he had completely forgotten that the other man had asked him a question.
The two had met several times already. In Pang Jing's mind, this was probably the process of going from strangers to close acquaintances, so he became even more informal. With one foot on the ground and the other on the chair, he leaned against the backrest. Then he suddenly caught the gold nugget, turned his head, and grinned. "Old Meng, you still haven't told me—is this gold actually from your family?"
The address "Old Meng" reminded Meng Mingshu of his father, and he hurriedly replied, "Forgive me, forgive me. I lost myself for a moment. Uh, it does look like this is indeed from the Meng Family, but..."
"But what?"
"To be honest, my lord..."
"Hey, why so formal? There's no one else here. You can call me 'Little Pang' or 'Brother Pang' if you like."
Meng Mingshu smiled as though flattered beyond belief, but when he spoke, he called him "Brother Pang." That form of address was more generally applicable. "To be honest, Brother Pang, the Meng Family has been beset by internal and external troubles for the past two years. It wouldn't be strange if we had a traitor in the family. So although this gold belongs to my family, I can't be certain whether it was stolen."