Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Princess Yongtai stared in disbelief. She said incredulously, "Is this how your family raises its daughters? Women are supposed to embody the 'three obediences and four virtues'—gentleness, chastity, and virtue. What gentleman would dare marry a shrew?"

Meng Shuping replied indifferently, "What's wrong with girls being a little tougher?"

"You teach girls to be as soft as cotton just so you can bully them more easily? We're all women; why make it harder for each other? Being strong-willed is better than being bullied in someone else’s home, right? Besides, if she managed to find a husband, why would no one dare marry my sister?"

"And it’s not that I want to criticize her, but instead of picking on others, she should spend more time teaching her son. If her son were even slightly normal, given his status, plenty of girls would be lining up to marry him! Why cling so desperately to my sister?"

Princess Yongtai was furious. What did he mean by "clinging to his sister"? This marriage was proposed by the Earl of Anyang’s family themselves! Now that they’re backing out, shouldn’t she have the right to complain?

But after being threatened like this by Meng Shuping, she found herself in a dilemma. If she insisted on the imperial marriage decree, given Meng Shuping’s unruly nature, he might really encourage Meng Qingyun to harm their son, Siming.

But if she backed down, wouldn’t it seem like she was afraid of this brat?

Just then, Meng Houliang finally arrived at the palace. As soon as she saw him, Princess Yongtai immediately vented her anger on him, "Earl of Anyang, this is the fine grandson you’ve raised!"

Meng Houliang was confused, but considering Meng Shuping’s usual behavior, he had a vague idea of what might have happened. He said politely, "Ping Geer is young and hot-headed. If he has offended you, I hope you can overlook it, given his youth."

Meng Shuping chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! She’s such a grown-up, yet she picks on someone younger—where’s her grace? And when she can’t win an argument, she tattles to the elders. Why do they always pull this trick?"

"But does she even realize? My grandfather hasn’t taught me much—who doesn’t know I’ve only recently returned? If we’re talking about teaching, the Emperor has taught me far more. Is she implying the Emperor isn’t a good teacher?"

Princess Yongtai was speechless. She had only said it casually, yet this brat managed to find a loophole in her words?

Emperor Qianyou coughed lightly and said, "Yongtai, this is just his nature. Why bother arguing with him? How about this: I’ll punish him with three days of reflection at home. Let’s consider this matter settled."

Though still somewhat dissatisfied, Princess Yongtai felt somewhat avenged by Meng Shuping’s punishment. Moreover, since Emperor Qianyou had spoken, she couldn’t very well undermine his authority.

So she immediately said, "Very well, for His Majesty’s sake, I will not pursue this matter further."

But no sooner had she finished than she heard Meng Shuping exclaim joyfully, "Wow, wow, wow! Your Majesty is brilliant! I’ve been working two jobs every day lately—I’m exhausted! How did he know I needed a break?"

"Hahaha, three whole days! No socializing, no work—this is pure bliss! I need to plan how to spend these three days properly!"

Princess Yongtai was stunned. How could anyone be happy about such a punishment? Is this kid not right in the head?

Meng Houliang, having arrived late, was still unaware of the marriage situation. He tentatively asked Emperor Qianyou, "Your Majesty, what about the marriage?"

Emperor Qianyou waved his hand dismissively, "Forget about the marriage. If they’re unwilling, we can’t force it. Even if they married, it wouldn’t be a happy union."

Meng Houliang quickly replied, "As you wish."

Meng Shuping couldn’t help praising again, "Your Majesty is truly wise and fair! You know, I really had you wrong before—I thought you were just stingy with rewards and used the marriage decree as a way out. But now I see—this marriage decree was brilliant! Otherwise, if I were suddenly saddled with a terrible marriage, how annoying would that be!"

Emperor Qianyou’s mouth twitched. The real reason he had bestowed the marriage was indeed to avoid giving a reward, but since Meng Shuping was willing to misunderstand, why bother correcting him?

Princess Yongtai couldn’t help saying, "Your Majesty, what about my Siming’s marriage? Are we just dropping it?"

Emperor Qianyou said helplessly, "How about this: I’ll keep an eye out for a suitable match for Siming. When I find one, I’ll bestow the marriage myself."

Princess Yongtai was delighted, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Having Emperor Qianyou personally select a bride would at least soften the blow to her pride.

Meng Shuping grumbled unhappily, "Let’s not ruin some good family’s daughter. Better find him a vicious shrew—if his parents can’t control him, let his wife do it. That’ll keep him from straying further down the wrong path."

Princess Yongtai fumed. Since when was it Meng Shuping’s business to interfere?

Emperor Qianyou chuckled. Such a girl would be hard to find—this kid was really making things difficult for him.

After leaving the palace, Meng Houliang asked Meng Shuping, "What did you say to the Emperor?"

If it were anyone else facing Princess Yongtai, they would likely avoid conflict at all costs. But not only did Meng Shuping oppose her, he got off lightly. This grandson of his was becoming more and more impressive.

Meng Shuping said sheepishly, "I just insisted that our 'eight characters' didn’t match."

Meng Houliang shook his head and laughed, "Well, alright then."

After settling Meng Qingyun’s matter, Meng Houliang finally had time to deal with Meng Wenxiu. Not long after Meng Shuping returned home, he heard that Meng Wenxiu and Meng Shuqi had been sent by Meng Houliang to guard the family tombs in their hometown.

Meng Shuping felt even happier. With these troublemakers gone, he felt much more at peace.

Just then, a servant announced that Feng Shi and the siblings Meng Shuchun had arrived. Meng Shuping hurried to welcome them, "Second Aunt, what brings you here?"

Feng Shi and the others were about to bow to Meng Shuping, but he quickly stopped them, "No, no, no—what are you doing?"

Feng Shi said gratefully, "We heard everything from the Earl. Thank you so much for your help. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have known what to do."

She never expected Meng Shuping to go this far for them. After all, even many high-ranking officials were reluctant to confront Princess Yongtai.

Meng Shuping said modestly, "It was the right thing to do. I couldn’t just stand by and watch Second Sister be thrown to the wolves."

Feng Shi said guiltily, "Speaking of which, we owe you an apology. If it weren’t for helping Qing Yun, you wouldn’t have been punished with three days of reflection."

Meng Shuping scratched his head, "Huh? Three days of reflection is great! Why does everyone think it’s a bad thing? It’s three extra days off! Ah, too bad it’s only once. If only this kind of good thing happened every month!"

Feng Shi and the others were first stunned, then understanding. Indeed, Meng Shuping’s way of thinking couldn’t be judged by ordinary standards.

But even so, their gratitude toward him didn’t diminish in the slightest. Feng Shi immediately took out a small box, opened it, and placed it on the table, "Ping Geer, we’re not sure what you like, so please accept this. Buy whatever you want."

Meng Shuping said bashfully, "This is too kind."

Meng Shuchun smiled, "Just accept it. Otherwise, we won’t feel at ease."

Only then did Meng Shuping stop refusing. He glanced into the box and was shocked to find it filled with a stack of banknotes. He quickly pushed it back, "No, no, this is too much."

"Whoa, I only helped out a little—they’re being too generous! I’ve never seen this much money since I came here!"

Meng Qingyun laughed, "Fifth Brother, just accept it. This amount is nothing to my mother. Besides, you saved me from a terrible fate—I was worried you might think it too little."

Feng Shi also said, "Yes, Ping Geer, I have plenty of dowry money. Don’t worry about saving for me."

In fact, they felt they had gained from this situation. Although the incident had caused some negative impact on Meng Qingyun, having a brother who was favored by the Emperor and had a good relationship with her meant she wouldn’t have trouble marrying into a good family in the future.

Moreover, Feng Shi had only shown Meng Shuping some ordinary kindness, yet he had gone to such lengths for them. Whether from a practical or emotional perspective, Meng Shuping was worth befriending.

Seeing them all urging him to accept, Meng Shuping finally said, "Alright, thank you."

"Hehe, I’m rich! Thanks for the sponsorship, rich auntie!"

Meng Shuqi and Meng Qingyun couldn’t help bursting into laughter. Feng Shi sighed helplessly. What was this "rich auntie"? This child was so happy he forgot his manners. But it seemed her gift had hit the mark.

After three days of lazing at home, Meng Shuping reluctantly returned to attend the morning court. After the officials and Emperor Qianyou exchanged greetings, he stood in his corner as usual, lost in thought, "Sigh, with such a windfall, I feel like just staying home and doing nothing. But wouldn’t that be too decadent? Still, if I didn’t work every day and just ate and drank at home, that would get pretty boring too!"

Emperor Qianyou couldn’t help glancing at Meng Shuping. Such a windfall? What kind of fortune could Meng Shuping have come into?

The Minister of Works and others pondered—had Meng Shuping accepted bribes? They listened intently, but Meng Shuping’s thoughts had already drifted elsewhere, "Let me think carefully about how to spend this money. Maybe I’ll start by trying all the delicious food in the capital?"

The Minister of Works scowled. "Eat, eat, eat—is that all he ever thinks about? Can't he focus on something serious?"

Just then, a young eunuch hurried over to Eunuch Yang and handed him a memorial. Eunuch Yang glanced down at it and quickly approached Emperor Qianyou. "Your Majesty, an urgent eight-hundred-li dispatch."

Emperor Qianyou opened the memorial and, after reading just a few lines, his expression turned grave. He looked back at the officials below. "My esteemed ministers, I have just received an urgent report. Continuous heavy rain in Yunzhou has caused the Jin River embankment to collapse."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd buzzed with surprise. If they remembered correctly, hadn’t that embankment been built just a few years ago?

The Minister of Revenue stepped forward. "Your Majesty, under these circumstances, I propose that an imperial envoy be dispatched immediately to comfort and aid the displaced people and investigate the cause of the embankment’s collapse."

Emperor Qianyou asked, "Do any of my ministers have a candidate in mind?"

Meng Shuping immediately lowered his head, trying to make himself inconspicuous. "Ugh... This is just like being called on by the teacher in class. I have no idea who to recommend—please don’t call on me!"