Chapter 18

When the dishes arrived, Chu Huaiyin personally moved the braised fish in front of Meng Zhou.

But for some reason, the sight of fish turned Meng Zhou's stomach that day. All he wanted was the pork belly with preserved mustard greens on his left.

Sure enough, even the finest things grew tiresome if you ate too much of them. Meng Zhou felt rather wistful. He had thought this day would never come, yet now he could not even bear the smell.

He reached out and quietly nudged it toward Prince Huai. Here, eat it yourself.

When had Meng Zhou ever failed to polish off an entire fish? Chu Huaiyin fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you angry with me?"

Meng Zhou swallowed a mouthful of perfectly cured mustard greens and looked utterly baffled. "Huh?"

Chu Huaiyin glanced at Snow Spot. "Then why aren't you eating it?"

Meng Zhou had not expected Chu Huaiyin to ask about even this. His lips parted. "I'm tired of it."

"You really aren't angry? Then let me pinch your cheek."

What did not being angry have to do with pinching his cheek? Before Meng Zhou could work it out, Chu Huaiyin's hand had already reached over and pinched his fair, tender cheek without a word of protest allowed, leaving two faint red fingerprints.

Chu Huaiyin withdrew his hand in satisfaction. He had thought all along that Meng Zhou's face had grown a little rounder. Now that he had pinched it, there was indeed more flesh than before.

Snow Spot was a good thing. He had fattened up the kitten.

Meng Zhou rubbed his cheek and told Chu Huaiyin, "Please don't send any more of this fish. I'm deeply grateful for your kindness, Prince Huai."

"All right. Whenever you want some, just tell Ji Yang."

Tears welled in Ji Yang's eyes. He had never imagined they might still leave a few bites for the future little prince.

Chu Huaiyin took a towel and wiped his hands. "I have my own way of handling the matter at the training grounds. Chongling is far away, and traveling there and back to investigate will take some time. Ji Yang will handle this." Chu Huaiyin took the map and pointed to two places on it: mobilize troops from here, march swiftly to Mount Chongling, and catch them all in one net.

Meng Zhou's eyes lit up, and he hastily added, "Pay attention to your bearings in the mountains, and bring extra compasses. Ghosts and spirits don't exist if you don't believe in them."

Watching this large-scale troop deployment, Ji Yang's heart surged. Was his master planning to establish defenses?

Mount Chongling was an ancient battlefield and was bound to have geographical advantages. Once the troops encamped there, they would directly sever contact between the capital and the Hexi garrison.

The Hexi garrison answered to Emperor Tianyuan. It was also the only army Chu Huaiyin had any apprehensions about.

On this trip to Chongling, if there were ghosts, they could catch them and win the people's hearts; if there were none, they could train the troops. Pure profit, no loss.

Meng Zhou craned his neck to sneak a look at the map. Seeing how assured Chu Huaiyin looked, he thought, He clearly had this planned all along, yet I'm the one saddled with inciting rebellion. Fine. We're grasshoppers tied to the same string.

"Then what should I do?"

Chu Huaiyin caught the kitten by the neck. "You-until I've dealt with the Liu family, don't show your face in front of Liu Hongbao."

That instruction made him sound like an idiot. Meng Zhou grumbled inwardly, but his expression was all fawning obedience. He picked up a piece of fish for Chu Huaiyin and tilted his head. "Have you finished already? This fish is very good. Have some."

Meng Zhou had forgotten to switch to the serving chopsticks, and Chu Huaiyin did not seem to mind. Although he had already wiped his mouth, he actually tried some.

This was Chu Huaiyin's first time eating Snow Spot. "It really is top quality."

Meng Zhou missed the information hidden in Chu Huaiyin's words-he himself had been eating one every day or two when Prince Huai had never even tried it. His eyes curved, and drawing on two lifetimes of experience eating fish, he swiftly stripped the flesh from the bones with consummate skill. In no time, a small mountain of fish filled Chu Huaiyin's little plate.

Then he picked up the fish head for Jiang Xin and said with a beaming smile, "Give your brain a boost."

Jiang Xin looked at Prince Huai's heaped plate, then at Meng Zhou's dagger-concealing smile, and silently swallowed a mouthful of blood. "Thank you, my dear nephew."

But after just a little taste of the fish head, he was astounded by its heavenly flavor. He looked enviously at Meng Zhou, tears in his eyes-So delicious!

What sort of immortal's life was he living, to get tired of a delicacy like this...

Ji Yang, who was leaving to carry out his orders, caught this scene with his final glance and decided to reconsider his master's relationship with Meng Zhou on the road. It was the first time he had ever seen his master eat food someone else had picked up for him, and with used chopsticks at that.

The road was long. He would surely figure it out.

That dish of fish seemed to have triggered some terrible mechanism, throwing his appetite into utter turmoil. Lately, Meng Zhou had no appetite at all. He craved meat dishes when they were out of sight and loathed them when he saw them, tormented back and forth.

Meng Zhou grew uneasy. Was this a sign of some terminal illness? He wondered whether the medical skills here could diagnose it.

After he had quietly accepted the short end of the stick in the case-file assignments last time, Jiang Liangzhe might have changed his opinion of him. He took the initiative to invite Meng Zhou to a restaurant for drinks.

Chu Huaiyin had taken over everything that needed doing, so Meng Zhou really did have free time lately. With his poor appetite, he also wanted to try something new outside.

The restaurant stood beside the street, and the elegant window seats offered a clear view of the bustling traffic on Chang'an Street. It was a favorite among the capital's impecunious officials, and occasionally one could hear a little gossip there.

Meng Zhou never mentioned his family when chatting with others. His views were grounded and struck straight to the heart of the matter. He looked like an ordinary minor clerk, but had depths within.

With his prejudice dispelled, Jiang Liangzhe found him more and more agreeable. How had he ever lumped Meng Zhou in with those wastrel sons? He clearly knew at least something of the Meng family's circumstances.

Overcome with guilt, Jiang Liangzhe kept urging him to drink. "Brother Meng, the wine is on me. Let me make amends!"

Meng Zhou was deeply moved. Jiang Liangzhe was the second person to treat him to a meal. But after what had happened with Meng Huaihan, and the unpleasant experience of being muddleheaded and at someone else's mercy, Meng Zhou no longer readily allowed himself to drink too much. He always stopped at a little.

A chubby boy of seven or eight suddenly charged out from the opposite side. He was so fat that his neck was invisible, and he walked with his nose in the air, knocking over two passersby in succession.

Several servants followed him, shouting, "Slow down, young master!"

Jiang Liangzhe snorted. Seeing that Meng Zhou did not seem to recognize him, he began to talk. "Have you heard of the Guan clan? A single heir in each of eight generations, yet they produced four chief ministers in succession. They were illustrious in their day. So many scholars wanted to become their disciples. But the last old chief minister left only one daughter, the present Old Madam Guan. Everyone said the Guan clan's run of chief ministers would end there. Who would have thought they'd take in a live-in son-in-law and have such an accomplished son? He placed third in the imperial examinations at just twenty. What a pity, though..."

Meng Zhou guessed, "Was that the Guan family's young master just now?"

That really was a pity. With such an illustrious family, the young master's upbringing left rather a lot to be desired.

Seeing that he truly did not know, Jiang Liangzhe shook his head, his expression complicated. "There's much more to it than that."

The third-place graduate was named Guan Jiasheng. Before he came of age, rumors suddenly spread that he was impotent. The capital's most sought-after prospective son-in-law instantly became a hot potato. Only Miss Lan, his childhood sweetheart, remained devoted to him. After marrying, the two ignored the gossip outside and remained as loving as ever.

Six years ago, Guan Jiasheng's father suddenly proposed adopting a child who would bear his own surname and be registered as Guan Jiasheng's son. He said he had been a live-in son-in-law for years and did not want the Sun family line to die out. Seeing that he had indeed contributed a great deal over the years, Old Madam Guan turned a blind eye.

Guan Jiasheng clearly felt that his father favored the grandson, taking advantage of Old Madam Guan's absence from time to time to make barbed remarks about how "of the three unfilial acts, leaving no descendants is the worst." Even his wife suffered endless grievances because of him. A son could not speak of his father's faults, so, left with no choice, he submitted a memorial requesting an official posting outside the capital. This was now his fifth year away.

Rumors harmed people. Leaving the capital was not necessarily a bad thing for the couple.

As Jiang Liangzhe spoke, he suddenly stared at Meng Zhou as though possessed, then slammed a hand on the table and exclaimed excitedly, "I knew something was off! I met Lord Guan several times five years ago. You look so much like him-you could have been cast from the same mold. He was only in his early twenties when he left the capital, just your age, Brother Meng. It's been five years. If I hadn't seen the Guan family's young master today, I really wouldn't have remembered."

Meng Zhou unconsciously touched his face. Perhaps because Jiang Liangzhe had said they looked alike, he suddenly felt a sense of shared experience. The more outstanding a person was, the more eagerly people discussed any "stain" they managed to seize upon.

He had experienced that deeply enough as an actor in his previous life.

He just could not understand what Guan Jiasheng's father was thinking. Instead of doting on his own son, he had acknowledged some little fatty from who knew where. The difference between them was heaven and earth. It was simply laughable.

After bidding Jiang Liangzhe farewell, Meng Zhou vaguely wondered whether his face was naturally marked for a bitter life. Why were both he and Guan Jiasheng at odds with the very word "father"?

Built up over generations, the Guan Residence had once been a great family on par with the general's household. One civil, one military, both unrivaled in prestige.

Now... they were alike in their dwindling numbers, too.

As Meng Zhou passed by, he happened to hear a finely dressed, fat old man scolding the servants in a low voice. "These are troubled times, yet you don't keep a closer eye on the young master when he goes out. What use are you?"

Then he lowered his head and coaxed the young master gently. "A-Bao, behave yourself lately. Just wait a few more years, and this whole great courtyard will be yours."

Meng Zhou's gaze sharpened. So this appeared to be Guan Jiasheng's father. Guan Jiasheng was not even thirty, yet he was telling a grandson acknowledged outside the family that "in a few years, it'll all be yours." Who exactly was his biological son?

Something suddenly occurred to Meng Zhou, and he took a closer look at the grandfather and grandson-the same bloated figures, the same narrow, triangular eyes...

This...

Could no one else in the Guan Residence see it? Meng Zhou let the thought go. What standing did he have to meddle in another family's affairs?