Chapter 11

As soon as Chu Huaiyin left, Meng Zhou's face crumpled. Grimacing, he flopped back onto the bed and secretly began planning something big.

His investigations over the past two days had yielded quite a lot. He had more or less narrowed down his target.

Meng Huaihan had tried to steal a chicken only to lose her rice, and at this point, Meng Zhou would not pity her. Her crazed, twisted face yesterday merged with the cold-blooded mockery in the eyes of the yellow-clad girl on the bank when he first arrived, sending a chill through him.

A girl of fourteen or fifteen could actually be this vicious. He had overestimated Meng Huaihan's humanity and nearly plunged himself into eternal ruin.

The wet nurse had first been stopped by Lady Zhou's people, then by Chu Huaiyin's. Seeing Meng Zhou huddled all alone under the covers now, she was terribly worried. "Young master, are you all right?"

With Meng Huaihan in trouble, the wet nurse feared Meng Zhou would get caught up in it too.

"I'm fine. Has Meng Huaihan come around?"

"She woke up early this morning. She's been smashing things and screaming in Lady Zhou's rooms. The whole household heard her."

Meng Zhou shifted a little and felt reasonably well. Chu Huaiyin's technique needed improvement, but his medicine was good.

"Where are you going, young master?"

"To check on Meng Huaihan. I'm afraid she'll pull something else." Meng Zhou felt he really needed to find an attendant with some martial skills. Otherwise, he was truly too pitiful, having to do everything himself.

Then he lamented the prices in the Capital for a moment and cheerfully abandoned the idea.

Porcelain, tables, and chairs lay scattered across the floor of Lady Zhou's room. After two hard slaps, Meng Huaihan had quieted down and sat holding her face without a word.

Exasperated by her failure to live up to expectations, Lady Zhou scolded, "Why are you throwing a fit now? You've stripped the Meng family of every last shred of dignity! I told you long ago not to set your sights on Prince Huai. You can't untangle the intricacies of court politics, but you-you... Meng Huaihan, why won't you spare a thought for your mother and brother? Your brother is about to negotiate a marriage. What girl would be willing to marry into our family now?"

"Mother! Your daughter is about to marry a brothel doorkeeper, and all you can think about is my brother's marriage..." Meng Huaihan's lips trembled, a trace of hatred in her eyes. She clutched Lady Zhou's sleeve, veins bulging. "It's all Meng Zhou's fault! If it weren't for that bastard, I would never have fallen this low!"

"Why didn't you strangle him the moment he was born? You let him live perfectly well until now, and he's ruined your own daughter!" Meng Huaihan had lost all semblance of logic. Ridiculously enough, Lady Zhou agreed with her.

"Yes... Back at Guang'en Temple, Jiang Yao actually pulled through and even gave birth to that bastard Meng Zhou! I deliberately sent the midwife away and dispatched a servant to provoke her. Who knew she'd be so hard to kill!" Lady Zhou sneered. That was just as well. Had Jiang Yao died too quickly, from whom would she have exacted repayment for all the grievances she had suffered?

"If you hadn't gone out of your way to provoke him, none of this trouble would have landed on you!"

"Mother, I did it for my brother! You don't know this, but whenever you aren't there, those ladies ask me about Meng Zhou. They say he's making something of himself now, just as you'd expect of the combined bloodlines of Chancellor Meng and the Jiang family. My brother hasn't been in the Capital these past few years, and they all think Meng Zhou is the Meng family's eldest young master!"

Lady Zhou's eyelid twitched. Meng Huaihan had hit a sore spot. What she hated most in her life was Meng Zhou usurping what belonged to them. She had clearly married Meng Fushan first and borne the Meng family's eldest son, yet none of that could outweigh the marriage His Majesty had personally bestowed upon Jiang Yao and Meng Fushan. Those lofty ladies of the Capital addressed her as Madam Meng to her face, but which of them did not secretly mock her for being treated as a discarded wife by Meng Fushan? If Jiang Yao had not died, she would never have had her turn!

"Stop howling. Once your grandfather arrives, we'll find a way."

Meng Zhou had not expected to hear Lady Zhou spill the truth of what had happened over a decade ago after lurking outside the door for only a little while.

That supposedly tactless servant had deliberately tried to kill both Jiang Yao and her unborn child!

The nails Prince Huai had just trimmed gouged a scratch into the smooth pillar. A bee kept circling Meng Zhou, and he waved it away irritably, inadvertently making a little noise.

"Who's there?" Perhaps Lady Zhou had done too many wicked deeds; she was exceptionally alert to her surroundings. "Xiaoxia, go look."

Meng Zhou imitated a couple of meows and slipped away without a sound.

Meng Huaihan had her hands full with her own troubles now. Before the Zhou family elders arrived, she probably would not stir up more trouble.

Meng Zhou fell into thought. While tailing Boss Huang, he had once overheard him drinking with an out-of-town visitor in a brothel. He had vaguely caught something like "Brother Zhou."

Was it connected to the Zhou family coming to the Capital?

That lead could wait. The urgent matter was that he had discovered the batch of weapons was connected to the Liu family.

The Lius were a newly risen military family responsible for the Capital's defenses and supervision of its four gates. Meng Zhou had happened to pass their training ground, a spacious place bristling with blades and swords. The head of the family, Liu De, enjoyed the emperor's favor and had received generous rewards, so the training ground rivaled the Jiang family's in scale.

As a training ground, it could commission weapons with the Ministry of War's approval and cultivate military talent in all aspects. On the surface, it seemed perfectly reasonable.

But Meng Zhou's sharp eyes noticed that the finish of their weapons was exactly the same as those at the gambling den. Every mine was unique. Slight differences in the rare metals or other elements mixed into the iron ore would be faithfully reflected in the final finish. People in ancient times lacked the means for high-purity refining, so the finished products differed in color, luster, and hardness.

Ordinary people would not pay attention to such things. Meng Zhou had recently developed a greater interest in weapons and went up to tap and compare any he saw.

After General Jiang died in battle over a decade ago, Liu De had succeeded him as general. Unfortunately, his military talent was unremarkable. Things had been all right at first, but the longer it dragged on, the more defeats he suffered. In the end, Chu Huaiyin went to the front, and Liu De submitted a petition requesting his resignation in disgrace. Yet for some reason, Emperor Tianyuan had treated him with particular favor, recalling him to the Capital and vigorously advancing his career.

If the Liu family was up to something, the troops in the Capital under his command would be a grave concern for Chu Huaiyin.

And according to reports, Liu De was seriously ill and probably had little time left. Emperor Tianyuan had expressed his concern and intended to pass his post to Liu De's eldest son.

Before Meng Zhou could devise a good approach, Liu De actually breathed his last that very morning. White mourning silk went up throughout the Liu residence, and officials arrived in an unending stream to offer condolences.

Naturally, Meng Zhou was among them.

Liu De's eldest son was named Liu Hongbao. Fat and honest-looking, he forced himself to organize the funeral despite his exhaustion, his eyes red and swollen with dark circles beneath them. Every visitor praised him as a filial son.

That was only on the surface.

Everyone in the Capital knew that the Liu family relied on Emperor Tianyuan's favor to throw their weight around in private, behaving with utter unreasonableness. Who knew how many innocent commoners' blood had stained their training ground?

Meng Zhou heard him instruct the steward in a low voice, "Sort out all the master's belongings. Burn a batch tomorrow."

By Great Wei custom, on the seventh day after a death, the deceased's possessions were burned for him, both to comfort his spirit in heaven and to put the household in order and dispel ill fortune.

On the third day, generally only things such as paper houses, spirit money, paper ingots, and new clothes were burned.

Was there some special reason Liu Hongbao was in such a hurry to burn the old possessions?

Disrupting someone's funeral without cause was damaging to one's hidden virtue. Unless he was certain something was amiss, Meng Zhou did not want to act rashly.

After making inquiries, Meng Zhou first ruled out an infectious disease. Early the next morning, the wind was fierce. He waited downwind of the Liu residence, and sure enough, incompletely burned ashes rose on the wind and drifted his way.

He heard Liu Zhong berating the servants. "With the wind this strong, couldn't you take it indoors to burn? It's all over the courtyard. My nose is full of smoke, cough, cough..."

Meng Zhou peered into the distance and pinpointed a small scrap of white paper. His feet followed his eyes as he ran foolishly after it, only to see it land on an imposing, luxurious sedan chair.

He had actually run all the way to Gathered Fragrance Restaurant.

The sedan chair's owner appeared to be someone of standing, so Meng Zhou dared not climb onto it. That would be tantamount to openly riding on the man's head, and some people took such etiquette very seriously.

Looking up at the sky, then down at the ground, Meng Zhou waited listlessly for the wind to blow it down.

The aroma of Gathered Fragrance Restaurant's food penetrated everywhere. Meng Zhou felt so thoroughly assailed by it that he could not straighten his back.

Hunger struck without warning, draining every ounce of his strength in an instant.

Two ragged beggars passed the entrance and took deep breaths, their expressions blissful and their steps dragging, though they dared not linger.

As they passed Meng Zhou, one said to him, "Little brother, you're new, aren't you? You can't stay here. The waiter will come out and chase you away." He lowered his voice until only the two of them could hear. "One of our brothers fainted from hunger here last time. Yes, right where you're standing. A guest's carriage ran straight over him! What a sight. Even his guts came out."

Meng Zhou looked down. He had been so intent on chasing the paper that he had not watched the road, and a jutting wooden prong had torn a large hole in his robe.

Had he fallen so low that even beggars pitied him...?

Meng Zhou pressed his stomach. For some reason, he had been getting hungry particularly easily lately, and after standing for so long today, he was nearly fainting from hunger. To avoid the tragedy the beggar had described, he decided to eat first.

Gathered Fragrance Restaurant was utterly beyond his means. He turned his gaze toward the bun shop opposite.

Perhaps the restaurant's kitchen had just finished steaming a fish; an intensely savory aroma suddenly swept over him. Meng Zhou could even imagine the golden-brown sauce clinging to the edges of the smooth, milky-white flesh, and the shapes of the tender green scallion pieces scattered over it.

Fish was what Meng Zhou desired.

The buns suddenly lost all appeal.

Just as Meng Zhou was thinking he should retreat at once, lest he succumb and spend the money Prince Huai had lent him on lavish meat and fish dishes, Ji Yang suddenly appeared before him.

"Prince Huai invites you to dine with him, young master."

Meng Zhou thought he must have fainted from hunger. He swallowed. "Could you say that again?"

"...Prince Huai invites Lord Meng to dine with him."

"This is Prince Huai's sedan chair, isn't it?" Meng Zhou asked. Had he known it belonged to Chu Huaiyin, why would he have wasted all that time watching it?

"Yes."

Meng Zhou followed Ji Yang inside. As they passed the sedan chair, he seemed to lose focus and crashed into its compartment. With a bang, it shook three times, nearly toppling over. Before he hit the ground, Meng Zhou braced himself with one hand so that he did not fall too disgracefully.

"Lord Meng!" Ji Yang hurriedly reached out to help him. Had hunger made him dizzy?

"Sorry you had to see that. I'll go wash my hands." Meng Zhou spread his filthy palm with a wry smile.

Ji Yang had a waiter bring a basin of water. As Meng Zhou washed his hands, he took the chance to glance at the scrap wedged between his fingers. He had deliberately crashed into the chair just now and immediately hidden the paper between his fingers when it fell.

If he could no longer make ends meet in the future, he would be a dab hand at staging accidents in the street. He could specifically stop Prince Huai's sedan chair and lie down stiffly underneath it, and then he would have every delicacy he could want.

All four edges of the scrap had been burned black, leaving only part of a red impression in the middle. It looked like a private seal.

Zhou Han... what?

Half the character had burned away, making it illegible. Meng Zhou gave it a quick look and tucked it into his sash.

"What took so long?" Chu Huaiyin asked.

"Lord Meng fainted outside just now," Ji Yang answered before he could.

"What happened? Should we summon an imperial physician?" Chu Huaiyin looked at him disapprovingly. Surely he had not come running around before fully recovering.

Meng Zhou returned a weak look. "I simply haven't eaten this morning, and my stomach feels unwell."

Before Chu Huaiyin could say anything, Meng Zhou asked, "May I start eating?"

With his host's permission, Meng Zhou raised his chopsticks and plunged them toward the platter of fish in the middle, his eyes sparkling like a starving kitten spotting a basket of fresh fish and reaching out its paw without hesitation.

He likes fish.

Chu Huaiyin quietly committed that to memory. His hand moved beneath the table as he struggled to suppress the little urge to help pick out the fish bones.

...Hmm.

Why was he remembering that?

Author's note:

Kitten Meng: You don't care about me. All you care about is running away with the ball.