Chapter 194

Chapter 194

Meng Shuping instinctively flinched, but Jiang Cihe quickly pinned him back onto the bed, leaving only the candlelight by the window flickering restlessly.

When he woke again, it was, predictably, already noon the next day. Meng Shuping shot a resentful glare at the languid Jiang Cihe beside him. "I knew it! He brought me back with ulterior motives! Infuriating! He outsmarted me again!"

"Tch..."

"Honestly, he must have been holding back for a long time, right?"

Jiang Cihe: "..."

Well, between being incompetent and having ulterior motives, he'd rather be the latter.

After a few lazy days of vacation at the Prince's residence, Meng Shuping trudged listlessly back to the Ministry of Revenue. "Sigh, a vacation is great—non-stop vacation would be even better! I really don't want to work!"

The worst part was that after his vacation, his workload had increased significantly. The tasks that had piled up during his break were considerable, all waiting for him to handle, many of which required urgent attention.

At this thought, Meng Shuping let out another sigh of despair.

The other officials in the Ministry of Revenue nearby: "..."

They shot him a look. Talk about asking for a beating! If other court officials had the chance to be as favored as Meng Shuping, they wouldn't mind giving up their days off altogether, let alone taking such a long break.

What was most enviable was that the less Meng seemed to care, the more he was favored. If only they could have such opportunities! They would definitely cherish them!

Meng Shuping shivered under their stares. "Tch! Why are they all looking at me? Do they resent me and want to take me out to get ahead?"

"But I'm truly innocent! It's not like I asked to be placed above them. I didn't want to be parachuted into this position either! Managing officials much older than me is stressful, okay?"

Hearing this, the other officials were even more annoyed. Was it any less stressful for them to be managed by a kid so much younger?

Noticing their increasingly expressionless faces, Meng Shuping had an idea. "Well, if they're so eager to move up—no, if they're so ambitious, maybe I should help them by assigning more work? Misery loves company!"

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Meng Shuping scanned the officials around him and, working up the nerve, fixed his gaze on the one closest to him. But before he could even open his mouth, the official quickly averted his eyes and mumbled under his breath, "Ugh, I'm swamped today, I don't even have time for a sip of water."

"Exactly!" another official chimed in, pretending to rub his lower back. "Sitting for so long is murder on my back. Old Zhang, which doctor did you recommend last time?"

If he was already in such discomfort, surely Meng Shuping wouldn't have the heart to assign him more work, right?

Meng Shuping indeed felt too embarrassed. He silently shifted his gaze, but every official he looked at was either pretending to be busy or complaining about some ache or pain. In the end, Meng Shuping had no choice but to give up looking helplessly. "Sigh, they're truly a lost cause! Can't blame me for not giving them opportunities—they're just not cutting it!"

Seeing that Meng Shuping had finally stopped staring at them, the officials quietly sighed in relief. They did want promotions, but they absolutely did not want more work. Their current workload was already heavy enough!

It had to be said that although Meng Shuping could be strict at times, he was generally pretty easygoing. As long as you didn't mess with him, he wouldn't go out of his way to make things difficult. The officials who had initially resented him gradually began to come around.

By the time he finished handling the more urgent matters, it was already past the end of the workday. Meng Shuping stretched and groaned, quickly packed up, and dashed out. But just as he left the Ministry of Revenue, someone waylaid him.

Meng Shuping blinked blankly at the slightly thin-faced middle-aged man in front of him, then glanced at the somewhat familiar Gao Ran beside him. "Wow, so the younger one called in his daddy? I wasn't even planning to snitch—what's the big deal? How could he have the nerve?"

Gao Ran, standing nearby, nearly flushed with anger at these words. He was facing a salary deduction and possible retaliation from Meng Shuping—and that was "no big deal"?

He took a deep breath, raised his voice slightly, and put on a helpless tone, "Lord Meng, a few measly taels of silver may mean nothing to you, but I rely on that money to survive in the capital. If I've offended you in any way, I'm sorry, okay? Please don't hold it against me. There's nothing going on between Prince Zhao and me!"

Instantly, the officials passing by perked up their ears and turned their attention to Meng Shuping. There was gossip! And it involved Prince Zhao, Director Meng, and this young official! No wonder they had slowed down to eavesdrop!

At the same time, a few people hurried back to their offices, and soon officials from the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Personnel, and other departments crowded around, pretending to just be passing by.

Under the collective stare of so many people, Meng Shuping froze. But he was still puzzled by Gao Ran's words. "What... what do I think? I don't even know what I'm supposed to think!"

A moment later, it clicked. "Ooh, I see! Is he worried I'll report him for bribing the prince? Let me tell him, if all he gave was some tea and a ham, what's there to worry about? It's not like he stashed banknotes inside the tea, right?"

Meng Shuping looked Gao Ran up and down. "He doesn't exactly look loaded anyway!"

Gao Ran felt even more humiliated under Meng Shuping's scrutiny. If Meng Shuping knew, why was he deliberately making things difficult and having Prince Zhao deduct his salary?

The Minister of Revenue, who had pushed his way to the front, felt disappointed. He had hoped for some juicy gossip, but it was just this?

The Minister of Justice and others also gave Gao Ran disdainful looks. So what if he gave a gift? And such a shabby one at that! Making it sound like he had some shady relationship with Jiang Cihe—was it really necessary?

For some reason, Gao Ran suddenly felt the other officials were looking at him with exasperation. Were they upset he hadn't been clear enough?

Gao Ran grew uneasy. Although he wanted to climb the ranks, he didn't dare say it outright himself. If Prince Zhao were to investigate, he could always claim it was all speculation by others.

Seeing his troubled expression, the middle-aged man beside him felt even worse for him. He glanced around and said sternly, "Director Meng, it's inconvenient to talk here. Shall we move to a teahouse?"

Meng Shuping frowned in displeasure. "...Fine."

"If he knew it was inconvenient, why did he corner me here looking for a fight? He's practically forcing me to go with him! How hypocritical!"

If he hadn't also wanted to avoid the crowd, he wouldn't have bothered.

Du Xi's expression tightened. He hadn't wanted to confront Meng Shuping here either, but his requests to meet at the prince's residence had been ignored. Who would have thought Director Meng would actually take time off, making it impossible for outsiders to see him?

Just as he was about to step aside, someone called out, "Wait!"

He turned to see the Minister of Revenue approaching with a smile. "No need to go to a teahouse. Since you're already here at the Ministry of Revenue, why not talk inside?"

"Exactly! It seems like there's been a misunderstanding. Why not let us hear it? We can help sort things out!"

"Absolutely! Don't worry, if Director Meng has been unfair, we'll certainly mediate!"

...

Before Du Xi could refuse, the crowd urged them inside, eager not to miss the drama.

Soon, everyone moved to a reception hall in the Ministry of Revenue. To Du Xi's dismay, nearly all the officials from outside had squeezed in, making the usually spacious hall feel cramped.

Even more unsettling was that as soon as he was seated, a crowd gathered around him, firing questions: "Du Xi, tell us, what's going on with him and Prince Zhao?"

"Is there some unspeakable—ahem—special relationship?"

"Tsk, tsk, is Director Meng targeting him? Or is Director Meng just jealous?"

"Now that you mention it, that's possible..."

As pairs of eager eyes fixed on him, and some even brought tea and snacks to enjoy while waiting for answers, Du Xi's face stiffened.

These people were utterly unprofessional! Where was the dignity and solemnity of officials? If not for his distant connection to Gao Ran, who seemed to be the victim here, he would have regretted coming altogether!

Gao Ran, meanwhile, was also being questioned by several people. Though he wore a worried expression, he felt quite pleased. As expected, a few vague hints were enough to steer everyone's suspicions in the direction he wanted. Even if Meng Shuping denied it, others would assume Meng Shuping was targeting him. How could Meng Shuping possibly explain it clearly?

Meng Shuping silently observed his gossip-obsessed colleagues. "So, are we going to discuss the actual matter or not? If not, I'm leaving!"

"Wait—" The Minister of Revenue nearly blurted out his eagerness but caught himself and cleared his throat. "Xiao Gao, is it? Tell us your story."

Noticing Du Xi's increasingly uncomfortable expression, he quickly corrected himself, "Ahem, what did you want to discuss with Director Meng? You may proceed."

Though disturbed by the odd behavior of the other officials, Du Xi had no choice but to reluctantly recount the story as he had heard it from Gao Ran. "...Director Meng, you come from wealth and may not understand, but we officials of humble origins rely on our monthly salaries to get by. Even if Xiao Gao has offended you in some way, is it necessary to push him to such extremes?"