Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Tao Zifan and Tang Jiefei immediately recoiled in disgust. Who would want physical contact with that guy? They weren't out of their minds!

Wait, did that mean this was how others saw them? Gross! So creepy! At that moment, both decided: next time, they must keep their distance to avoid people getting the wrong idea.

But not today. After all, they’d already squared off. Backing down now would just make them a laughingstock.

Thinking back to what that person said about him stealing the sachet because he was broke, Tao Zifan felt seriously offended. He lifted his head and declared, "Server! I'm paying a thousand *wen*—this private room is mine!"

Meng Shuping was surprised. "Wow! Why is he suddenly so generous this time? Did he come into money somewhere?"

Tang Jiefei looked at Tao Zifan in disbelief. "Tao Zifan, have you lost it? You’re actually paying?"

Getting provoked into spending an extra thousand *wen* for nothing—how dumb is that? Their monthly allowance was only two taels of silver. Even with additional subsidies from their parents, shelling out a thousand *wen* like this would sting.

Just because their families were wealthy didn’t mean they could spend freely. The family money stayed with the family; what they could use each month was limited.

Tao Zifan shot back smugly, "If you don’t want to pay, then leave. No one’s forcing you."

Meng Shuping thought to himself, "Exactly! If he doesn’t want to pay, why stop others? If he can’t afford it, he should just skulk off!"

Tang Jiefei stiffened. "Who said I won’t pay? I’ll pay 1,200 *wen*! Server, hurry up and show them out!"

Who did he think would skulk away? Losing face in front of others was one thing, but losing to Tao Zifan? He couldn’t bear that shame!

Meng Shuping was amazed. "Huh? Didn’t he just call the other guy stupid? Then what’s he doing now? Tsk tsk tsk. Looks like Young Master Tao is the one who has to scram now!"

Tao Zifan balled his fists. "I’ll pay 1,300 *wen*!"

If anyone’s leaving, it’s that Tang guy!

"Ooooh, 1,300 *wen*! Any higher bids? If not, just let it go. Isn’t it just eating humble pie? Why fight over money?"

Tang Jiefei sneered. "Hmph! I’ll pay 1,400 *wen*!"

A little over a thousand *wen* to make him swallow his pride? No way!

"Yo yo yo, it’s up to 1,400 *wen*. Ah, what are they doing? Just back down—so what if the other laughs at you for a few days? Is pride really more important than silver?"

Tao Zifan and Tang Jiefei: "..."

A mere thousand *wen*—how could it be more important than their pride?

Just as Tao Zifan was about to raise the bid again, before he could speak, Meng Shuping’s voice continued, "But aren’t they bidding weakly? When others bid, they multiply the amounts. These two? They’re adding a hundred *wen* at a time. Hahaha, you can tell their pocket money isn’t much!"

So Tao Zifan immediately said, "I’ll pay double! This room is mine!"

Tang Jiefei stared at Tao Zifan in disbelief. "Have you gone crazy?"

Couldn’t he tell that person was egging him on?

Tao Zifan gave him a sidelong glance. "You’re the one who’s crazy. I’m happy to pay—what’s it to you? If you’re broke, just scram!"

Meng Shuping sighed. "Sigh, if he knew it would come to this, Young Master Tang shouldn’t have gotten into this bidding war. He fought and still lost—isn’t that even more embarrassing? Now the rumors in and out of the capital will say Young Master Tang lost to Young Master Tao."

Tang Jiefei’s anger boiled over instantly. He bit his tongue repeatedly but finally couldn’t restrain himself. "I’ll pay triple!"

Even though he knew it was a taunt, being told he couldn’t compare to Tao Zifan—how could he stand that?

Meng Shuping: "Go on, fight!"

Tao Zifan: "I’ll pay four times!"

Tang Jiefei: "I’ll pay five times!"

Meng Shuping: "Go on, fight!"

"Six times!"

"Seven times!"

Meng Shuping: "Go on, fight!"

Jiang Cihe: "..."

Tao Zifan and Tang Jiefei: "..."

Meng Shuping was puzzled. "Huh? Why did they stop? I haven’t had enough yet!"

Tao Zifan and Tang Jiefei quickly turned their heads, staring in the direction of Meng Shuping’s private room. Then they turned and stormed toward that room. Hmph, if he enjoyed watching their show so much, why stay hidden in the room? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to watch outside?

The waiter hurried after them. "Young Masters, what are you doing? There are still guests in there!"

Tao Zifan pushed the waiter aside. "Get lost! Don’t meddle in my business!"

The waiter could only watch them anxiously. Ah, what should he do now?

Seeing both of them charging over, Meng Shuping was startled and took a few steps back. "Holy shit! What are they doing? They’re not coming to take our room, are they? But these two are something else! Why can they even synchronize their movements and expressions at a time like this? You could say they’re a match made in heaven!"

Tao Zifan and Tang Jiefei froze, then grew even angrier. A match made in heaven with him? If he doesn’t know how to talk, he should shut up! They quickened their pace, and as soon as they reached the door of the private room, they kicked it open.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they saw the person behind the door, their expressions turned to shock. "Pr—Prince..."

Jiang Cihe said expressionlessly, "Young Masters Tao and Tang, quite the show of force. What, are you planning to attack this prince?"

Meng Shuping laughed heartily. "Hahaha, they’ve bitten off more than they can chew now, haven’t they?"

Tao Zifan and Tang Jiefei were furious, but they no longer had time to settle scores with that person. They never expected Jiang Cihe to be in this room. Remembering Jiang Cihe’s reputation sent chills down their spines. Why did they have to run into this vindictive prince?

They hurriedly said, "No, no, we apologize for disturbing you. We’ll leave right away."

But as they took a few steps back, Jiang Cihe said, "Stop!"

They immediately stopped. "Do you have any other instructions, Your Highness?"

Jiang Cihe glanced at the door. "Pay for the door repairs."

Not daring to argue, they replied, "Yes, yes, we’ll pay the shopkeeper right away."

Jiang Cihe nodded. "You two can bicker all you want, but don’t disrupt the business. You may leave now."

They had no choice but to agree. "Yes."

As soon as they left the room, they quickly paid up and then made a quick exit with their attendants. Tao Zifan decided to stay home for the next few days to avoid running into any more of this kind of trouble.

After the two left, Meng Shuping and Jiang Cihe sat back down at the table. Jiang Cihe glanced at Meng Shuping. "Are you cold?"

Meng Shuping rubbed his hands. "It’s okay."

At that moment, the server brought what Jiang Cihe had ordered. Jiang Cihe served him a bowl of soup, "Drink some soup first to warm up."

Meng Shuping quickly took it, "You should have some too."

Jiang Cihe nodded and asked him, "Have you offended Lord Shi in any other way?"

Meng Shuping shook his head, "No, I don’t even know why he keeps targeting me. Even if he simply dislikes me, it shouldn’t be such a deep grudge, right?"

"Maybe he has a twisted mind? Jealous that I became an official at such a young age?"

Jiang Cihe pondered, could it really be that? If so, this Lord Shi is truly narrow-minded. He sighed again, "I have some bad news for you."

Meng Shuping looked up in surprise, "Huh? What news?"

"Could things get any worse than they are now?"

Jiang Cihe chuckled, "Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother will likely be released soon. It won’t be long until the New Year—they can’t keep them locked up forever."

Meng Shuping said gloomily, "Alright then."

"Ah! Let the storm come harder!"

Jiang Cihe couldn’t help but laugh, "No need to go that far."

...

A few days later, in the general’s mansion, Hong Da angrily kicked over a stool, "Didn’t you say they would definitely fight? It’s been days now—tell me, where is this fight you promised?"

Hong Da’s subordinate was also frustrated, "Sir, I never thought those two would suddenly stop leaving their homes these past few days! Even if we wanted them to fight, there’s no opportunity!"

Hong Da felt like kicking him too. Aren’t Tao Zifan and Tang Jiefei supposed to be on bad terms? How could such a simple task fail?

Furious, he paced back and forth in the room. What are Meng Shuping’s preferences or weaknesses? He doesn’t care for beauty, wealth, or socializing, and he rarely goes out. It makes it hard to set him up.

Unaware that someone was scheming against him, Meng Shuping was on his way home in his carriage that day. As the carriage turned a corner, someone suddenly rushed toward them. Xing Lai quickly pulled the reins to stop the horse.

Unexpectedly, the person rushed close to the carriage, then cried out and fell to the ground, clutching his leg.

Meng Shuping quickly lifted the carriage curtain, "What happened?"

Xing Lai frowned, "Young master, I’m not sure what happened. Our carriage was moving forward, and he suddenly rushed over and then lay down here."

Meng Shuping was surprised, "Is this a setup?"

At that moment, the middle-aged man, seeing Meng Shuping lean out, cried out even louder, "Aiyo! My leg is broken! It hurts so much!"

Meng Shuping looked the man up and down, "Is he not right in the head? The carriage is so high—how could it hit his lower leg? Why is he clutching it? If he’s going to scam someone, he should at least put some effort into it. How’s anyone gonna buy this? He might as well just rob people outright!"

"Hmm..."

"I get it. At his age, he’s out here scamming people—maybe he’s too frail for honest work? Or maybe he’s a fool, but he has an advantage in the scamming world! Tch tch, that’s actually quite pitiful!"

The middle-aged man paused his cries. Who’s weak? Who’s a fool? And since he’s scamming someone, couldn’t he get a normal reaction? Usually, when rich young masters are scammed, they come out and start cursing him out. Why is this kid different?

He cried out even louder, "Aiyo! You broke my leg! How am I supposed to work now?"

Meng Shuping looked around, "Now I’m sure—he’s really a fool. There’s no one else here—who’s to say we even hit him? I could say he scared me! And his acting is so exaggerated—who does he think he’s fooling? Himself?"

"But since he wants money so badly, maybe I should just actually hit him and make it real? After all, he’s trying to scam me—if I play along, he probably wouldn’t mind, right? By the way, what’s the going rate for this sort of thing?"