Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Following the source of the commotion, the two soon found themselves near a gathering crowd, where a heated argument was underway.

Meng Shuping stood on tiptoe, scanning the faces. He recognized a few familiar figures: Fan Jianhui and his companions.

“Hmph, I told you he has no manners! Even if he fancies someone, he shouldn’t engage in such clandestine dealings!”

“Considering where he grew up, is it really surprising he doesn’t understand the etiquette of noble families?”

“A toad aspiring to swan meat—he should take a good look at himself.”

“Regardless, he shouldn’t act this way. As a man, he might not care, but what about the young lady’s reputation? Is he going to take responsibility?”

“Making him responsible would be letting him off easy! I bet that’s exactly what he’s aiming for.”

Jiang Cihe casually inquired of a bystander, “What’s happening?”

Startled to find Jiang Cihe addressing him, the person hesitated before replying, “They say a love letter was discovered over there, supposedly penned by the Fifth Young Master Meng of Anyang Earl’s estate to one of the noble ladies present.”

Meng Shuping, who had been listening intently, was instantly taken aback. “Huh? Fifth Young Master Meng?”

Catching Jiang Cihe’s gaze, Meng Shuping bristled. “Why are you looking at me? You don’t actually think I wrote it, do you?”

[Break up! If he dares say he doesn’t believe me, we’re breaking up!]

The person who had just spoken was astonished, discreetly sizing up Meng Shuping. Could this be the Fifth Young Master Meng?

Jiang Cihe: “…”

He hadn’t even uttered a word, yet he was already being accused of disbelief? And hadn’t his little money-lover just said he needed time to consider? Now they were breaking up?

He clarified, “No, I was merely contemplating who might be behind this.”

Meng Shuping frowned. [Who knows? I’ve offended so many people—who knows which one it is?]

Jiang Cihe fell silent. The pool of suspects was indeed vast. However, a scheme of this nature would at most subject Meng Shuping to temporary ridicule—it seemed like a petty squabble, suggesting the animosity wasn’t particularly deep.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Let’s go take a closer look.”

Meng Shuping was reluctant. He truly disliked arguing in front of so many people—it was utterly mortifying. But with the accusation now squarely on him, he had no choice.

Stone-faced, he followed Jiang Cihe through the throng. Before they reached the center, they saw Jiang Mingyou step forward, confronting Fan Jianhui. “You claim he wrote the letter, but can you prove it? Who can corroborate that?”

Hearing this, Meng Shuping and Jiang Cihe paused. [Exactly! Then I could just as easily claim Fan Jianhui wrote it! Should he have to prove it too?]

Fan Jianhui brandished the love letter, declaring arrogantly, “See? It bears his signature. If he didn’t write it, then who did?”

Meng Shuping was speechless. [Laughable! Does he have no sense? If signing my name means I wrote it, then if I forge a letter with his name, does that mean he wrote it too?]

Jiang Mingyou also wore an incredulous expression. “Do you honestly find your own argument convincing? If anyone could simply write a letter and sign the name of someone present, would that automatically mean the person whose name is signed wrote it?”

Others chimed in, “That’s right, Master Fan! Do you have any other evidence? A mere name proves nothing!”

Fan Jianhui snorted. “Of course I have more. The handwriting is also Meng Shuping’s. If you don’t believe me, ask the Sixth Young Master—they’re both from Anyang Earl’s estate. Surely he’d recognize it?”

Meng Shuyang glanced at the love letter and affirmed, “Indeed, this is my fifth brother’s handwriting. I’ve seen it before!”

At this, Meng Shuping’s confidence wavered. [Could this really be my handwriting? Did Meng Shuyang steal something I wrote? Ugh… how can I possibly explain this?]

Others also grew suspicious. Perhaps it was true? Didn’t Meng Shuping grow up in the Earl’s estate? Encountering noble ladies from the capital, he might indeed act recklessly.

Pleased that his words were believed, Fan Jianhui smirked. Though he had a grievance with Meng Shuping, he wouldn’t falsely accuse someone without reason.

But just as he began to gloat, he heard Jiang Mingyou declare, “Impossible! You’re lying! This is not Brother Meng’s handwriting at all!”

Fan Jianhui sneered. “You’re close to him, of course you’d say that. But even so, you can’t just blindly defend him!”

Before Fan Jianhui could retort, Jiang Mingyou stated firmly, “I am close to him, which is why I’ve seen Brother Meng’s handwriting. I know his writing is far uglier than the script on that letter!”

Fan Jianhui was utterly dumbfounded. He wanted to refute it, but despite opening his mouth several times, he couldn’t bring himself to praise Meng Shuping’s calligraphy.

He’d sooner insult Meng Shuping than compliment him—what was wrong with him? And now he seriously doubted whether Jiang Mingyou’s friendship with Meng Shuping was genuine. Who would use such a reason to defend someone?

Meng Shuping was equally stunned. [Uh… if you don’t know how to explain, just don’t. Is this helping me or slandering me? Whose handwriting is ugly? My hard-pen calligraphy is actually quite good, thank you very much!]

“Pfft!” The onlookers couldn’t help but burst into laughter. At this point, no one cared whether Meng Shuping had written the love letter; they were all too curious. “Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang, is it really that bad?”

“It’s possible! After all, he hasn’t been back for long. Even if he started practicing then, it wouldn’t be enough time to improve!”

“Now that you mention it, that makes sense!”

To lend more weight to his claim, Jiang Mingyou added proudly, “I might as well tell you—even the Emperor himself once remarked on how ugly Fifth Young Master Meng’s handwriting is!”

Meng Shuping buried his face in his hands. [I beg you, what’s there to be proud of? Was that a compliment? It was an insult, alright?]

Fan Jianhui was speechless, even more at a loss for words. Could it be true that the Emperor had—*Pah!*—mocked Meng Shuping’s handwriting? Then perhaps the letter in his hand really was a fake?

Others, however, were fascinated. “Really? Even the Emperor said his handwriting is ugly?”

Before Jiang Mingyou could answer, Pei Mian further corroborated, “Of course! If you don’t believe it, ask your elders—they all heard it during morning court! They wouldn’t all lie, would they?”

They had stumbled upon this gossip by chance. Though it was a bit unkind, they had secretly chuckled about it for a long time. Meng Shuping’s handwriting wasn’t something easily imitated!

The crowd roared with laughter. “Hahaha! Then it seems the love letter couldn’t have been written by him—the handwriting here isn’t that ugly!”

“I think so too! The Emperor wouldn’t lie, would he? Hahaha!”

“Am I the only one curious about how ugly it actually is?”

Jiang Cihe couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. Whoever orchestrated this scheme probably never imagined it would fail for such a reason.

Meng Shuping, mortified, hid his face behind his sleeve. [Pah! So my handwriting is just ordinary—what’s so funny? As if theirs was any better when they first started writing.]

Feeling utterly humiliated, he decided to leave immediately. However, as he glanced at Jiang Cihe, he noticed Jiang Cihe trembling with laughter. Annoyed, he swatted Jiang Cihe’s arm. [Had enough laughing?]

Jiang Cihe turned and saw Meng Shuping glaring at him. He immediately composed himself, feigning nonchalance. “What’s wrong?”

Meng Shuping was too mortified to argue with Jiang Cihe. With a stern face, he whispered, “Let’s go.”

[I’ve already lost enough face today—I don’t need to be further humiliated!]

Jiang Cihe glanced at Fan Jianhui, then turned back. “Alright, let’s go.”

However, they had barely taken a few steps when Fan Jianhui suddenly called out, “Meng Shuping! Stop right there!”

Instantly, Jiang Mingyou and Pei Mian also spotted Meng Shuping. They rushed over enthusiastically. “Brother Meng, you’re here too! They were falsely accusing you of writing a love letter, but thankfully we helped clarify things. Otherwise, your reputation would have been ruined.”

Meng Shuping deadpanned at Jiang Mingyou and Pei Mian. “Let me just say… ‘thank you’.”

[This clarification isn’t much better than no clarification at all! Out of all the possible reasons, why did they have to pick the one that embarrasses me the most? Fine, just let me vanish into thin air right here! I shouldn’t have come here for that bit of silver—now look what happened? How humiliating!]

Jiang Mingyou and Pei Mian: "..."

They felt there was something strange about that "thank you," but never mind—it wasn’t important. The main thing was to protect Meng Shuping’s reputation.

Fan Jianhui rushed up to Meng Shuping and asked, hesitating, "Is your handwriting really that bad?"

Immediately, all eyes turned to Meng Shuping. He took a deep breath, his face flushed with shame and anger. "It's *your* handwriting that’s ugly!"

[What’s with that tone? What's his problem? What does it matter to him how other people write? I haven’t even mentioned how awful his poetry is!]

Fan Jianhui’s face darkened. Since when is his poetry bad? Meng Shuping was clearly biased. He snorted coldly and said, "This love letter wasn’t written by you, was it? I thought it was strange earlier—where did you get all that literary flair?"

Meng Shuping stared at him in disbelief. "Fine, fine, I wrote it, okay?"

[First he says *I* wrote it, then he says *I* didn't—how can he change his mind so quickly? Fine, I admit it! Is there anything else?]

[Wait, could it be that he was the one behind this whole scheme? Either I admit to writing a love letter to someone else, or I admit my handwriting is ugly—either way, I end up humiliated, right?]

Fan Jianhui was dumbfounded. When did he ever scheme? He may dislike Meng Shuping, but he wouldn’t resort to such underhanded tactics. Disbelieving, he said, "I don't believe it. Prove it – write something out for me."

A few others chimed in, egging him on. "Yeah, Fifth Young Master Meng, just write a few characters to prove you’ve been framed! We don’t believe this love letter is yours anyway."

Meng Shuping was exasperated. [Believe what you want... What does it matter if he believes me? Why should I have to prove anything to him?]

Just as Fan Jianhui was about to say more, he noticed Jiang Cihe glance at him lightly. The words he was about to speak stuck in his throat. Then he saw Jiang Cihe extend his hand and say, "The love letter—hand it over."

He automatically handed the letter to Jiang Cihe and explained, "I found this."

Jiang Cihe nodded casually. "Alright, everyone, disperse now."