Chapter 216: Jade Bracelet

Chapter 216: Jade Bracelets

After dressing up Chang Jinhua, Meng Wan also brought two servants, Qiuse and Gui Cheng, along with Huang Ye, Zhu Tong, and Zhu Yan. Song Tingzhou rode ahead on horseback, and the whole party proceeded in a grand procession to the Zeng residence.

The banquet was set to begin at noon, but Meng Wan had spent too much time fussing at home, so they were already late.

Xiao Qin Shi and her husband, Zeng Hengshu, were greeting guests at the Zeng family gate. They knew the Song family hadn't arrived yet and couldn't help feeling impatient.

Zeng Hengshu, however, was quite curious about the much-debated Meng Fulang and wanted to see him for himself.

Having been married to him for years, Xiao Qin Shi knew his habits well. Usually, even for his grandmother's birthday banquet, he couldn't be bothered with hosting guests and would have disappeared to drink somewhere. But today he was honestly waiting at the gate, all because of Meng Wan's notoriety—he wanted to see him personally. Although most people said Meng Wan had no business sense, there were plenty who praised his stunning looks.

"Keep your eyes in check. This is Grandmother's birthday; can you at least show some respect?" Xiao Qin Shi said with frustration.

Zeng Hengshu was completely unfazed. "Stop pretending. When have you ever been filial to Grandmother? You only ever ship cartloads of gifts to your own family. And now you're lecturing me?"

Xiao Qin Shi ground her teeth in anger. "You!"

"Madam, please don't argue with the young master. Lord Song's carriage seems to have arrived."

The couple turned to look outside and indeed saw the Song family carriage.

At the front, driving the carriage, was Qiuse. He was clever and observant, and when he saw the couple's sour expressions, he gave Meng Wan a subtle warning as he got down.

Meng Wan gave him a blank look. Qiuse's smile faded, and he lowered his head, saying nothing.

Xiao Qin Shi walked down the steps and caught this scene. She sneered inwardly at Meng Wan's arrogance—arriving late, and still disciplining his servants right at her doorstep. She turned her head and saw her husband, who was supposedly greeting Song Tingzhou as he dismounted, but his eyes kept drifting toward Meng Wan. This infuriated her even more.

So she said sarcastically to Chang Jinhua and Meng Wan, "How early the Song dowager and Meng Fulang have arrived! I was afraid our Zeng family home was too humble to welcome such an honored guest!"

Chang Jinhua could tell the hostess was upset they had come late and felt uneasy, instinctively touching her wrist hidden under her sleeve.

Meng Wan's expression didn't change at the veiled insult. With a face as if carved by divine artistry, he smiled slightly and said, "Madam Qin, why be so modest? My husband may have many accomplishments and has indeed received the emperor's praise, but Prefect Zeng is older and more senior. How dare we juniors overstep?"

Xiao Qin Shi's face twisted with rage. "Are you saying my grandfather is old and incompetent?"

Meng Wan's eyes widened, the corners of his eyes rounding. "No, no, no, Madam Qin, you misunderstand me completely. How could I imply such a thing about Lord Zeng? As juniors, we should be humble and respectful before our elders. If someone were to be unreasonable, jealous of the able, wouldn't that be like a mad dog?"

Chang Jinhua gave Meng Wan a gentle pinch. Stop it, or you'll make Xiao Qin Shi faint from anger.

On the other side, Song Tingzhou's expression was no better than Xiao Qin Shi's. "Does Young Master Zeng have an eye condition?"

"Huh... ah? What did Lord Song say?" Zeng Hengshu was staring intently at Meng Wan and thought he had misheard Song Tingzhou's angry tone.

Song Tingzhou let out a heavy sigh. "Nothing. Since we came late today, I'll trouble you to take me to see the prefect."

Zeng Hengshu, a wastrel at heart, detested dealing with these solemn officials. He said dismissively, "Lord Song is too polite. I'll have a servant—"

"Young Master Zeng!" Song Tingzhou's deep voice cut him off. His eyes were dark and frosty, and something dangerous seemed to churn in his ink-black pupils. "Please lead the way."

Zeng Hengshu's words died in his throat. Meeting Song Tingzhou's pitch-black gaze, he swallowed nervously. "Then... Lord Song, please come in."

The Song family was ushered into the courtyard. Gui Cheng followed Song Tingzhou to the front hall, while Xiao Qin Shi led Chang Jinhua and Meng Wan to the rear courtyard.

Along the way, Xiao Qin Shi kept glancing at Meng Wan, trying to find fault in his attire, but he was dressed resplendently. His clothes were fine silk, and his outer cloak was a snow-white fox fur without a single stray hair. On his head, he wore only a single cloud-shaped hairpin, but its texture was pure and translucent—top quality. That one pin alone was worth more than her entire headful of jewels.

When they took their seats, Chang Jinhua, by virtue of her husband's rank, should sit next to the elderly Lady Zeng. Green might not be a bold color for jewelry, but the complete set of dark green jadeite head ornaments she wore was so ostentatiously opulent that even someone ignorant of gems could tell it was extraordinary. Lady Zeng's set of white jade, by comparison, seemed plain.

Moreover, Prefect Zeng had spent most of his career in Xiwu Prefecture without any notable achievements. In just one year, Assistant Prefect Song had built two official cement factories and swiftly integrated the largest Zhuang stockade.

At the year-end census, their Xiwu Prefecture had gained 37,000 people out of nowhere, leapfrogging medium-sized prefectures to become the third most populous in Lingnan. For context, Lingnan had a total of 21 prefectures, and Xiwu had previously languished between 12th and 15th place.

Of course, the situation was similar for all—except for Shaozhou, Huizhou, and Nanxiong prefectures near Jiangxi's Ganzhou, the rest were equally impoverished.

Leizhou Prefecture, so poor it felt like barbarians; Qinzhou, bordering foreign lands, attacked one day and robbed by its own the next; and Xiwu, surviving on its lychee and tangerine production—all were brothers in misery.

But after Xiwu's Heshan County started producing sugar, it quietly got rich and secretly broke away from the pack.

Everyone knew who deserved the credit. Song Tingzhou's contributions were undeniable, and the emperor had taken notice; promotion was imminent. Only a narrow-minded housewife like Xiao Qin Shi would still stubbornly compare herself to Meng Wan.

While local officials were busy currying favor with the Zeng family, the newly transferred Vice-Prefect Du had long aligned himself with Song Tingzhou.

Meng Wan sat at the younger generation's table. Xiao Qin Shi took the seat of honor, and Meng Wan sat to her left. Vice-Prefect Du's husband sat next to Meng Wan and whispered, "Why are you so unusually dressed today?"

Meng Wan raised an eyebrow. "Am I? For Lady Zeng's birthday banquet, it's only proper to dress up."

Du Fulang didn't know if he was naive or pretending. He tactfully advised, "It's appropriate to dress up, but not too much..."

Meng Wan, with his striking looks, would make anything he wore look good; people would first notice his face. But Chang Jinhua usually dressed like an ordinary middle-aged woman. Today, glittering in jewels before the birthday lady, others would inevitably think ill of them.

"Ha." Meng Wan chuckled softly through half-closed eyes. "I don't have time to play mind games with these ladies and gentlemen in the inner quarters, but that doesn't mean I'm unaware of their little schemes behind my back."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, and he saw a few faces at the table turn pale and green—amusing.

It was no secret that Xiao Qin Shi disliked Meng Wan; it was evident even at the Song housewarming banquet. Naturally, there were those eager to curry favor with Xiao Qin Shi by stepping on Meng Wan, spreading vague, baseless "rumors."

If someone was as handsome as a rogue, they had to have a rogue's reputation.

Meng Wan currently had no time to pick up a pen; otherwise, they wouldn't be waging a quiet smear campaign.

The weather was fine today, so he might as well deal with them all at once, instead of having them buzzing around his life like flies.

"What a show of arrogance from Meng Fulang! One would think the Song family were hosting today!" Someone timid, someone bold. The speaker was Xiao Qin Shi's sister-in-law.

Meng Wan's lips curled upward. The Qin family... just perfect.

"Madam Qin, you wrong me. My husband serves under Prefect Zeng and has often received his guidance. We both deeply respect Prefect Zeng." Meng Wan faced Madam Qin, resting his cheek on one hand as he spoke. His cloak had slipped off, revealing a light blue silk long gown with slightly wide sleeves. In this posture, his sleeve slid down a little, revealing a clatter of three or four jade bracelets on his wrist.

"These are all New Year gifts that Lady Qin sent our family. I thought it would be a waste to keep them all in the storeroom and ignore the Zeng family's kindness. So my mother-in-law and I dressed up to match Lady Qin's jade gifts."

Meng Wan's heartfelt speech left Madam Qin speechless. She pointed a trembling finger at the bracelets on his arm. "Even if you look down on my practical sister-in-law, you shouldn't humiliate her like this!"

Who at the Zeng banquet, sitting at the same table as the host's grandson's wife, lacked discernment? The jade bracelets on Meng Wan's wrist were the cheapest quality—even less valuable than silver bracelets. Sending something like that, rather than a few bags of grain, was pure spite. How could it possibly have come from the Zeng family?

Meng Wan's lips parted slightly, his eyes rounding in surprise. "How is that humiliation? I truly appreciate the jade materials Lady Qin sent. Although they aren't as valuable as the Yangzhou brocade, jade and jewels, canned lotus root powder, and such that I sent to the Zeng family, that half-cart of jade was her heartfelt gift! She must have gone to great lengths to find those jade materials. How could I not be moved?"

Xiao Qin Shi had just finished greeting the older ladies' table and returned just in time to hear their conversation. Her face was a mix of anger and embarrassment, cycling through shades of red and green—quite a spectacle.

She had intended to disgust Meng Wan. After all, the Song family was beneath the Zengs; people would only say the Songs had failed to please their superior. No one would openly discuss such matters; they'd just have to swallow it.

In her imagination, Meng Wan would receive the Zengs' return gift with trepidation, wondering if his husband had offended the prefect. The couple would worry and fret, planning to come apologize. Then she would scold that Meng fox in front of Lord Song and drop ambiguous words to drive a wedge between them.

She had heard Lord Song was extremely devoted to his husband, without even a concubine. The Qin family had several unmarried girls; marrying them off as concubines might be a slight sacrifice, but with her natal family's influence in Xiwu and her husband's official position, controlling a husband would be child's play. Within three years, the Song matriarch would surely be a Qin woman.

But that unrealistic dream shattered in an instant. Meng Wan wasn't afraid of being accused of offending the prefect—he hadn't sent the gifts, and the shame wasn't his.

He simply spread his hands elegantly on the table, slowly rolling up his sleeves to reveal his pale, slender wrists. Even the cheap jade bracelets looked alluring against his skin.

Ladies and gentlemen, why are you staring so intently at these jade bangles? You've taken a liking to these, have you, and want me to give you a pair to wear?

Unless someone is completely oblivious, seeing Xiao Qin Shi's face flushed bright red, her jaw clenched tight, and Madam Qin's awkward expression—knowing her sister-in-law's temper—they'd catch the tension between her and Meng Wan. These jade bangles are probably indeed a gift from Xiao Qin Shi.

Every household keeps a record of New Year gifts; there's no wiggling out of it.

What a foolish move. Although the Zeng family is not particularly wealthy, as the prefect, they must have taken their fair share of gifts. You'd think they wouldn't be hurting for these paltry gifts.

Is Xiao Qin Shi crazy? Pulling a stunt that hurts nobody and does her no good? After today, the Zeng family will be the joke of the whole prefecture.

Song Fulang doesn't back down an inch. Total baller. Most people would just let it slide, but he shows up wearing that trash to front them at their party.

Nope. When gods fight, mortals get caught in the crossfire. Their husbands all serve under Governor Zeng and Vice Prefect Song. It's fine to quietly side with Xiao Qin Shi and gossip, but they can't be foolish enough to get caught in the open conflict!

A younger wife, the one with the least patience, is afraid of offending either Xiao Qin Shi or Meng Wan, so she quickly declines: "Since these are Meng Fulang’s treasures, how could we be so rude as to take them? You should keep them for yourself, Fulang."

The others, not wanting the conflict to spread to them, chime in as well: "Exactly, exactly. I think Meng Fulang is pretty enough that he looks good in anything, silver or jade alike, better than any of us."

"That's what I say. Xiao Qin Shi has good taste."

"I've been into tacky stuff like gold and emeralds lately, so I won't ask for any from you, Fulang."

"Right, me too."

Du Fulang initially wants to distance himself too, but recalling Meng Wan’s kindness when he first arrived in West Wu Prefecture and his husband’s subtle hints, he silently moves his seat closer to Meng Wan's side without a word.

Madam Qin, feeling humiliated, retreats to another table. Xiao Qin Shi stands awkwardly at the head seat, unsure whether to sit or stand, caught in an impossible position.

Meng Wan acts as if he hasn't noticed, squinting his eyes lazily. He places both elbows on the table with a soft tap, causing the jade bangles on his wrists to clink together.

Behind him, Huang Ye and Zhu Tong immediately present a large box made of yellow cedar wood. Zhu Yan lifts the lid to reveal a boxful of cheap jade bangles.

Meng Wan takes out one bangle, twirling it idly in his hand. His tone is slow and drawn out, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger, yet an overwhelming sense of pressure emanates from him.

"On the very day I received the return gift, I immediately ordered my servants to have all the jade pieces made into bangles. I brought them to Old Madam Zeng's birthday banquet to highlight the close ties between our two families, with no intention of disrespect. If you ladies refuse to accept them... could it be that you look down on Xiao Qin Shi's jade? Or are you looking down on the Song family? Hmm?"