Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There was a Chinese saying that if one wandered around a lot at night, they would naturally encounter ghosts. Meng Liang had fooled around so much that he naturally left traces of his deeds.
It was a pity that, even though the Meng family was a huge name in the Cang Prefecture, they suppressed their own suffering. Any who dared to rise up against them were defeated, their families torn apart, and they had to bear the brunt of humiliation.
With the family’s overprotective ways and Meng Liang only receiving several lectures for misconduct, it was easy for him to go astray.
“...That day, a military officer brought his wife and daughter to the Meng residence to celebrate the old master’s birthday. Meng Liang lusted after the beautiful women and tried all means to get them. They were not ordinary women, so they saw through his schemes. He bore a grudge against them and used his father’s name to get the officer out of town under the guise of official business. Then, together with his cronies, they entered the officer’s residence to rape those women.”
The officer’s wife was still alive, but she had lost her mind when her daughter had passed away from the ordeal.
The officer got news of his wife and daughter’s deaths when he returned three days later.
The Meng family kept the deeds under wraps and dealt with the bodies on their own. Meng Liang was kept in the residence until everything blew over, then he was allowed out again.
The officer found out about everything in the end. He torched his office and led an attack against the Mengs. His people were no match for the Mengs’ private army, however, and he was quickly defeated. He then fled to the mountains and had not been seen since.
Yet, the issue was still far from over.
“Meng Liang may be the cause of this, but the Mengs had always suppressed the public and ripped off the merchants. The people in Cang Prefecture and Meng County were unhappy with that family. Meng Liang’s family is protective of him and they decided to send him away from Meng County. Their plan was for him to hide in the capital until everything blew over. The family blames those friends of his, and said that they were the ones that led their son astray. But those friends of his had followed Meng Liang out of the prefecture...”
“Such a ridiculous...” Feng Jin was shocked speechless by what he heard.
He had always thought he knew quite a bit about the inner workings of prominent old families, but Meng Liang helped shed more light into how the old families really worked.
“The Mengs are loyal and upright––of course they aren’t as strict as their old master’s––but they would not have such filth as their son!” Wei Yuan was furious.
When he thought of his daughter, he felt like puking blood.
“Meng Liang may be a bastard, but he still values his life and is a cunning one. To ensure that no one can reveal his identity, he made sure that these people of his have the least possible contact. That way, they won’t know each other’s hiding place...”
That was to say that, even if they had caught two people, it was impossible to apprehend them all.
“But... This has its perks as well...” Jiang Pengji suddenly smiled.
Wei Yuan looked at her. How could there be any perks in such a situation?
Qiguan Rang suddenly thought of something and his eyes flashed. “Indeed.”
The better his hiding spot, the easier it was to end his life. By then, the Mengs could not find out who killed him.
Hejian County was vastly different from Meng County. It was surrounded by dense forests and mountains. It was not uncommon for people to lose their lives to the wild beasts.
Feng Jin understood Jiang Pengji and Qiguan Rang’s thinking. However, when he opened his mouth to speak, he quickly stopped and kept his opinion to himself. He was not close to either of the two men present and it was rude to voice critical opinions. As long as Jiang Pengji got her point across, it was enough.
“I’m sorry to bother you tonight, sir. I will return tomorrow with some gifts as a token of apology. I hope you can forgive me for my rash behavior tonight,” Jiang Pengji said while she flipped through Liu Lanting’s memories.
Her meaning was clear: “It’s too late now. I shan’t bother you anymore, so I’ll return home for my much needed rest. Hope you’d agree to that.”
On the surface, she was apologizing, but internally, she was not apologetic at all. Wei Yuan saw through it and felt stifled by it.
That night’s events was too much for Wei Yuan to handle, thus he did not continue to pursue Jiang Pengji’s insolence.
“What’s there to blame? Your actions have good intentions.”
Wei Yuan let Jiang Pengji off, but her viewers, on the other hand, were not so willing to let the older male off.
Nao: “That’s it? He doesn’t seem like he’s planning to do something about this? What the hell?”
Hongjun Laozude Juhua: “So upset about this. Wei Yuan is the host’s mentor. I thought he was some awesome dude. He’s not fit to be the host’s mentor! His concubine was raped and he’s just leaving it alone?”
Aidedi Lingling: “Upset +1. At least the officer that burned his office had more guts.”
Zaixia Yeliangcheng: “That man has no balls. If it was me, I’d crack that Meng Liang’s head open.”
Zaixia Longaotian: “Hahaha... Liangcheng, I admire you.”
Jiang Pengji calmly read the comments and pondered for a moment before she decided to comment.
Host V: “Even though I don’t like Wei Yuan’s reaction, based on this era’s style, I regret to inform you that he’s already behaving pretty manly. It’s not that he has yet to come to a decision, but rather, he can’t voice it out in front of Feng Jin and I.”
Jiang Pengji’s words quickly fired up her viewers.
Aokesi Kongtiao: “I may not have studied much, but I’m pretty sure that’s not manly.”
Jiang Pengji looked out the window, as she had no words.
Based on Liu Lanting’s memories of Wei Yuan, it seemed that most of his anger was due to his daughters being frightened and his reputation being ruined––it was not because he was cuckolded by his concubine. Why? Simply because that culprit had seduced Wei Yuan’s “cheap concubine.”
“Cheap concubine,” “expensive concubine,” and “legal wife” are three terms that bring different meaning to Dongqing’s men. “Legal wife” was the first woman they married, while “expensive concubine” was something akin to a mistress. They had some status in the family. A “cheap concubine” was mostly bought for fun.
For example, if a close friend of Wei Yuan’s were to visit and stay over, he may send the “cheap concubine” over to serve and accompany his friend.
Even in a rural area, the master of the house might even send a pregnant concubine to serve their guests––or even exchange concubines for fun. The “cheap concubines” had no standing and were deemed as “walking products.”
If one were to touch them without permission, anyone would be pissed, but it would not be at a point where someone had to die.
If Meng Liang had touched the military officer’s concubine instead of his wife, the officer would obviously be furious, but he would have tolerated it due to loyalty to the Mengs.
In that situation, what was Wei Yuan’s concubine in his heart?
Wei Yuan sought revenge for his daughter and not for that concubine, but the concubine knew in her heart that Meng Liang would soon be a dead man.