Chapter 124

Chapter 124

After leaving the palace, Meng Shuping was about to step into his carriage when Jiang Cihe called out, "Wait."

Meng Shuping turned back, puzzled. "What is it?"

Jiang Cihe gestured for him to join him in his own carriage. "Come, I have something to ask you."

Meng Shuping paused, then followed Jiang Cihe into the carriage. Once seated, Jiang Cihe picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, and then asked Meng Shuping, "Would you like some?"

Meng Shuping nodded. "Yes, a cup would be nice."

Jiang Cihe poured a cup for Meng Shuping as well. Setting down the teapot, he casually rested his hand on his knee. Unexpectedly, his hand brushed against Meng Shuping’s.

Meng Shuping flinched, instinctively pulling his hand back. He rubbed the back of his neck with that hand, his gaze darting awkwardly around the carriage before finally settling back on Jiang Cihe. "Didn’t you say you had something to ask me? What is it?"

Jiang Cihe took a sip of tea and looked at Meng Shuping. "My father mentioned you’re quite knowledgeable about foreign lands. How did you come to know about them?"

Meng Shuping was taken aback. After a moment’s thought, he replied, "I heard it from someone."

*Ah... What kind of believable excuse can I come up with? Let me think.*

Jiang Cihe asked with interest, "Who told you? Where is this person now?"

Meng Shuping’s eyes shifted nervously. "It was just a merchant I happened to meet. I heard it from him. But I don’t know where he is now; I only saw him once."

Jiang Cihe’s gaze narrowed slightly. "Is that truly the case?"

Meng Shuping quickly responded, "Of course! What else could it be?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, he realized something. He looked at Jiang Cihe with an indignant expression. "Why are you questioning me like this? Do you think I’m lying to you? After knowing each other for so long, you still don’t trust what I say?"

*That jerk! Why is he interrogating me? Does he suspect I’m deliberately deceiving him? We’ve known each other for so long; surely he doesn’t think I’d harm him?*

*Although I am indeed lying, I really can’t explain it properly. I can’t just tell him I read it in a history book, can I?*

Jiang Cihe looked at Meng Shuping with a faint smile. "I just thought that, given your personality, you wouldn’t chat so much with someone you’ve only met once. It seems you and that person must have really hit it off."

The Little Moneygrubber was truly terrible at lying. Even if he couldn’t hear his inner thoughts, his reactions were far from convincing. No wonder Jiang Cihe doubted the truth of his words.

Meng Shuping also felt his excuse was a bit weak, but for the moment, it was the best he could manage. He replied awkwardly, "Haha, yes, we really hit it off."

Having learned the supposed source of Meng Shuping’s knowledge, Jiang Cihe didn’t press further. Instead, he changed the subject. "So, what else do you know about foreign lands?"

Meng Shuping pondered briefly, then carefully shared what he felt he could. After listening, Jiang Cihe took a sip of tea to clear his throat. Then, as if an idea struck him, he turned his gaze back to Meng Shuping. "It’s fine when it’s just me, but next time you need to lie, you’d better convince yourself first."

Meng Shuping stiffened. After a moment, he grumbled discontentedly, "If you knew I was lying, why did you expose me? Couldn’t you have let me save face?"

*Oh no, oh no! What now? Is he going to keep questioning me? But I really can’t explain how I know these things. What excuse should I come up with?*

Fortunately, Jiang Cihe didn’t press further. He met Meng Shuping’s gaze and said, "It’s better than having someone else see through your lies, isn’t it?"

Meng Shuping paused. "Oh."

For the rest of the journey, neither of them spoke. Soon, the carriage stopped in front of the Ministry of Punishments. Meng Shuping jumped out and bid farewell to Jiang Cihe. "I’ll head in now."

Jiang Cihe nodded. "Mm."

After watching Meng Shuping enter the Ministry of Punishments, Jiang Cihe lowered the carriage curtain and sat back down. He pinched the bridge of his nose. It was one thing for him to know, but if others were to overhear the Little Moneygrubber’s peculiarities, it would be quite troublesome.

Soon, it was early March. One day, while Meng Shuping was out on an errand, his carriage got stuck on a crowded street. He lifted the curtain to look outside and was surprised to see the street packed with people. He even spotted several luxurious carriages parked along the roadside, each guarded by burly attendants eyeing the crowd warily.

Curious, he asked his attendant Wen Shou, "Why are there so many people here today?"

Wen Shou smiled. "Fifth Young Master, have you forgotten? Today is the day the civil service exam results are posted. They’re probably here to check if they made the ranking."

Meng Shuping recalled that the imperial exams had been held not long ago. He hadn’t realized today was results day. Instantly excited, he exclaimed, "Wow, so it’s the posted rankings! I have to go take a look."

He had never seen the results posted before. Since he happened to be here, it would be a shame to miss it.

He lifted the curtain and prepared to get out. Wen Shou quickly asked, "Young Master, what are you doing?"

Meng Shuping jumped down from the carriage. "I’m going to take a look too."

Wen Shou hurriedly followed him. The two pushed through the crowd toward the most densely packed area. The closer they got, the more crowded it became. Meng Shuping had to jump several times just to catch a glimpse of the results board.

Satisfied, he turned to leave but realized Wen Shou was still several people away. He hurried toward him when suddenly, several large men blocked his path.

Noticing their intense stares, Meng Shuping grew nervous. *Yikes... Why are they looking at me like that? It feels like they want to eat me alive. They can’t possibly know me, right?*

He fidgeted with his hem. "S-sirs, is there s-something you need?"

The leader of the group had already noticed Meng Shuping earlier. Now that he was closer, he scrutinized him more carefully and was quite pleased. Excellent—this young gentleman seemed young, handsome, and most importantly, he hadn’t looked disappointed when he emerged, which likely meant he had made the ranking.

With a wave of his hand, the man said, "Young Master, my lord invites you."

Immediately, Meng Shuping’s arms were seized by the burly men. He struggled fiercely but couldn’t break free. Instead, they began dragging him away. Panicked, Meng Shuping thought, *No way, no way! In broad daylight, with so many people around, are they really trying to kidnap me?*

He desperately wondered who might be behind this. *Could it be Hong Da? Or that Dong Lide? Oh no, oh no! With so many people here, isn’t anyone going to intervene?*

Steeling himself, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help! Someone help me!"

Unexpectedly, his cry attracted even more attention. Several groups of people turned to look at him, and soon, multiple parties swarmed toward him. "Let go of that young man! Leave him to us!"

"How dare you handle this gentleman so roughly!"

"Outrageous! Utterly shameless! Young Master, fear not, we’ll rescue you from them!"

Even a young woman’s voice could be heard among the crowd. "That one! Him! Seize him at once!"

Meng Shuping instinctively glanced in her direction and met the gaze of the young woman. Seeing him look her way, she paused, then beamed all the more. Up close, this young man was even more handsome!

Meng Shuping grew even more nervous, though he also felt a sense of bewilderment. Something felt off, but he couldn't quite discern what.

In the resulting melee, Meng Shuping had no idea who ended up taking him. All he knew was that he was bundled unceremoniously into a carriage, and before he could steady himself, the carriage lurched into motion.

By the time Wen Shou managed to fight his way through the crowd, Meng Shuping had already been spirited away. In alarm, Wen Shou stamped in frustration. "I must seek out Prince Zhao to rescue my young master!"

When Jiang Cihe learned that Meng Shuping had been taken, his expression turned grim. He rose at once and made for the door. "Where was he taken? Who took him? Are there any other clues?"

Wen Shou hurriedly replied, "Prince Zhao, my young master was taken while he was looking at the exam results. But I don’t know who took him!"

Jiang Cihe halted and looked at Wen Shou. "Looking at the results?"

Wen Shou bobbed his head eagerly. "We were going by, and Fifth Young Master said he wanted to see the results. But as soon as he came out, someone abducted him!"

Jiang Cihe’s countenance grew strange. Could it be that the Little Moneygrubber had been mistaken for a newly successful candidate? A case of "catching a groom at the rankings"? He sighed in exasperation and gently rubbed his forehead. Why did he have to go see the results? Did he really love stirring up trouble that much? And now he’s been carried off?

He lengthened his stride. Be that as it may, he still had to bring him back.

Once settled in his seat, Meng Shuping immediately lifted the carriage curtain, but as soon as he leaned out, one of the men said, "Sir, please go back inside. It’s not safe this way."

Meng Shuping jerked his head back inside. *A threat! That was definitely a threat! He’s implying that if I don’t behave, they'll make a move on me!*

*How infuriating! How can I signal for help? So many people came to snatch me, and no one intervened—didn’t they see what was happening?*

He opened the carriage curtain again, trying hard to memorize the route they were taking. Just as he hesitated whether to cry out for help again, he overheard the men outside talking: "Good thing we acted quickly, or this promising son-in-law would have been snatched away by others!"

"Absolutely! To make the exam cut at such a young age—our master is sure to be pleased!"

"Look at how handsome this young master is—our young lady will definitely like him too."

Meng Shuping fell into deep thought. After a while, it finally dawned on him: Had he been caught in a "groom-snatching" scheme?

By the time he snapped out of his thoughts, the carriage had already entered a mansion. Moments later, the front curtain was lifted. "Sir, this way, please."

Meng Shuping climbed out of the carriage, his body stiff with tension. Summoning his courage, he addressed a man who appeared to be the steward, "There must be some mistake. I—I was just passing by! I didn't even take the civil service exam!"

*If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gone to look at the rankings. Who’d have thought that just glancing at the results could put me at risk of getting snatched for marriage?*

The steward looked Meng Shuping up and down approvingly and said, "You jest, sir. If you weren't there for the results, why would you deliberately pass by the rankings?"

Meng Shuping felt like crying but had no tears. He protested weakly, "I really was just passing by."