Chapter 374 Opposition

Chapter 374: Confrontation

Second Madam Shen's words were harsh, and even Prince Qin's family, who had hosted this banquet to win people over, was furious. But this woman had both status and background, and was a wild, unbridled brute who barreled through everything without the slightest regard for the occasion, leaving everyone at their wit's end with her.

Princess Qin, maintaining her dignity, would not stoop to squabbling like a fishwife. The Hereditary Princess had just completed her month of confinement and was still weak. Only the Commandery Princess was left to retort coldly, "Our family hasn't been back in the capital a full year yet, and many of our belongings haven't been brought back. We do have bear paws, but the question is whether trash like you is even worthy of eating them!"

She'd meant to take a jab at Second Madam Shen, but wound up dragging all the other visiting ladies and lords into it too. Some faces showed displeasure, but no one made a scene right then. Apart from fools like Second Madam Shen, these ladies and lords were all pros at keeping up appearances.

Worst case, they'd just make an excuse not to show up next time. The Prince Qin manor really has fallen on hard times, sending some young slip of a girl to do the socializing.

The Commandery Princess knew she'd misspoken the second the words left her mouth. She wasn't that old and had a bit of a rash streak. Apologizing now would just prove the point she'd just made, and it would make the manor lose face—and the ladies wouldn't appreciate it anyway. She was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.

Princess Qin had more composure than her daughter-in-law. She fumed for a bit, then, braving everyone's snickers, forced herself to swallow it down, squeezing out through gritted teeth, "Tell the kitchen to make the bear paws."

A relative of the Prince Qin manor by marriage stepped in to smooth things over, "Sure, sure! I'll send someone to the Imperial Pavilion to check. We'll put it on every table. If we run short, please bear with us, ladies and lords."

A full-month banquet isn't a wedding feast; there's no hard rule you have to serve something as pricey as bear paws. But after Second Madam Shen's stunt, serving it or not was a lose-lose. This banquet hosted by the Prince Qin manor hadn't just failed to win anyone over—it had made enemies and lost face.

Only the family of a newly favored imperial concubine could pull a stunt like this without a care. The Shen family really did have "backing" and no "backing" at all.

Meng Wan had watched enough of the show and silently marveled at how entertaining it was.

Over there, Fang Jinrong was actually sticking up for someone for once, "What kind of person is that? Coming to someone's house and nitpicking is bad enough, but going after a baby who's barely a month old?"

Meng Wan squinted, half-smiling, "You forget how you treated your own precious son?" Tong'er growing up normal and alive was half thanks to the Song family raising him and half thanks to his own inherited luck.

"That's totally different, okay?" Fang Jinrong felt a tiny bit guilty.

Meng Wan snorted with a laugh, "Alright, we can't stay any longer. We're not actually going to eat their bear paws, are we? We'll take off in a bit."

"Fine." Fang Jinrong was still itching to stay. He'd figured this would just be a quick appearance, but there'd been drama to watch—so not a wasted trip.

They weren't the only ones thinking this way. Quite a few guests were ready to leave, all making their excuses to Princess Qin, with excuses like "urgent business at home" and "it's getting late, got to get back to the kids."

Princess Qin knew full well these were just excuses, but she kept a dignified, proper smile on her face, nodding to each in turn and telling her servants to "see the ladies and lords out nicely."

The second she turned around, her face went completely dark. Looking at Second Madam Shen, who was still planted there waiting for her bear paws, she was practically grinding her teeth. But the very next second, an even worse piece of news came in.

"Your Highness, Prince Qin... he had too much to drink in the front courtyard and ran off!"

Meng Wan, Nie Zhiyao, and Fang Jinrong left the feast together, heading out through the manor's east side gate. But the moment they stepped out, they saw a big crowd of servants on the street all running east. Going by their clothes, they were all Prince Qin manor folks.

The inner city was only so big, and it was all nobles and royalty living there. Prince Qin's manor sat right next to his younger brother's—the one who'd lost the fight for the throne and was now locked up in his own manor under heavy guard: Prince Lian...

Meng Wan yanked Fang Jinrong back just as he was about to chase after the commotion, as the biting wind cut through his heavy clothes straight to his bones. He shivered and shoved the raring-to-go Fang Jinrong into the Ge family's carriage. "You think you can just gawk at royal family drama? Better get home early."

Nie Zhiyao agreed, urging Fang Jinrong a couple of times before quickly boarding his carriage and leaving.

Though Fang Jinrong was mischievous, he wasn't deaf to reason. Having roamed the jianghu with Ge Quan for so many years, he had his own sense of propriety. Before leaving, he casually entrusted his son to Meng Wan, asking him to have A Yan picked up and bring Tong'er to the Song residence as well.

The sky was dark and boundless, clouds congealed together, swallowing all light. Snow was brewing in the air, and the wind carried frost. Meng Wan hurried home but didn't go inside immediately. Instead, he stood at the entrance, lost in thought. Moments later, large snowflakes began to fall, landing on his long, thick eyelashes and dampening the corners of his eyes and the fur trim of his hood.

"Master, master? The snow is about to get heavier. Shall we return to the main courtyard?"

Huang Ye, afraid he might catch cold, called out softly twice before Meng Wan followed him back to the main courtyard.

"Chi Yu... never mind, go back to your room and rest." Meng Wan started to give an order upon entering the courtyard, then thought better of it. Better to leave well enough alone. If anything happened, Song Tingzhou would inform him when he returned.

He hadn't eaten his fill at the Prince Qin manor, but he had no appetite now either. He found something to occupy himself.

Tang Jinshuang and the others weren't leaving until after Chu Ci's wedding, and recently they had been inspecting the courier stations around the capital on Meng Wan's behalf in Tongzhou and other areas. Meng Wan unfolded the letter Fengzhong had brought—the creases had long been smoothed from repeated reading. He had already read it many times. Now, following the contents of the letter, he wrote a reply, instructing Fengzhong to prioritize rubber wheels for now, focusing on mass production first, and to have all station carriages equipped with rubber-wheeled carts before anything else.

After finishing the letter, he carefully reviewed the account books Tang Jinshuang had brought. He had been busy with preparations for Chu Ci's wedding these past two days and had only given the accounts a cursory glance. Now was a good time to look over the revenue flows of the sugar workshop and the Zhen Guan Workshop.

The sugar workshop's profits had been steadily declining over the past two years, settling at a middling figure. With the rise of sugar workshops in Lingnan, sugar prices nationwide had been dropping continuously, and many dessert vendors had popped up one after another. Though the workshop wasn't earning as much as it had in previous years, production volume had increased to compensate, so the gap wasn't too large.

The Zhen Guan Workshop was in a similar situation, especially after he had petitioned the emperor to make glass accessible to the common people. Merchants would surely seize the first opportunity to establish their own glass factories.

Fengzhong went to Songyun College every month to teach, which was his second greatest passion after research—listening to a crowd of students praise him in every conceivable way.

These students would eventually be poached by wealthy merchants at high prices, and after that, their paths would be their own to walk. Meng Wan only needed to find people to teach them the skills.

Meng Wan estimated that within two years, or perhaps sooner, the Zhen Guan Workshop would be gradually replaced by other workshops, just like the sugar workshop, its fame slowly fading.

He had earned more than enough money over the years. The remaining road construction work would be taken over by the Ministry of Works. Going forward, after deducting the portion of station revenue that had to be submitted to the Ministry of Revenue as taxes and what was needed to maintain operations, he could keep forty percent—even more than what he had left over during the road construction period.

Once the Zhen Guan Workshop settled into obscurity, the Shijian courier station would gradually rise, and his main source of income in the future would come from there.

When the two white candles were nearly burned down, Zhifan lit two more. He secured them in the candlesticks and asked softly, "Master, won't you rest yet?"

With Song Tingzhou away, Zhifan and Zhimao took turns sleeping in the outer room.

Meng Wan leaned against the kang, reviewing the account books and occasionally making notes. "If I get sleepy, I'll just sleep right here on the kang. No need to wait on me—you go to sleep."

Even when Song Tingzhou was home, he was a man of few words. But when he wasn't there, leaving Meng Wan alone, even the silhouette cast on the window carried a hint of loneliness.

Having gone to bed late, Meng Wan slept until broad daylight the next morning. The first thing he saw upon waking was a expanse of white. Snow had fallen all night, and servants were sweeping it off the rooftops with swishing sounds to prevent the accumulation from damaging the tiles.

"It's already after the new year, and yet it snowed this heavily." Zhifan was speaking quietly with Zhimao under the eaves.

Meng Wan sat up, wrapped in his quilt, and called out, "Zhifan."

"Master, I'm here." Zhifan hurried in.

Zhimao handed Meng Wan clothes that had been warmed by the fire while speaking in his clear youthful voice, "Master, it snowed heavily last night. It's freezing outside."

He didn't need to be told—Meng Wan could feel it. Even with the heated floor and the stove burning, the room was noticeably colder than usual.

He layered on thick padded jackets one after another, worrying about Chang Jinhua who was still on the road. If she was stopping in towns to rest, that was fine, but staying in villages would certainly be inconvenient.

However, the escort was from Fourth Master Zhu's escort agency, so they should be adept at handling such situations.

Meng Wan didn't even step outside, washing up and eating in the outer room.

"Did A Yan and Tong'er go to Teacher Zheng's?" Meng Wan asked about his son while slowly sipping his shrimp porridge.

Zhifan was organizing Meng Wan's changed clothes in the bedroom and replied, "Brother Xuesheng took them. They were a quarter-hour later than usual. The roads are difficult to travel in this weather—I wonder if Teacher Zheng will scold them."

"Scolding probably won't happen. The weather is bad, and Teacher Zheng will surely be understanding. At most, he'll make them copy a few extra pages of text." Meng Wan smiled at the corners of his mouth. Watching others study was always a pleasure.

"Master, Master Fang has arrived."

Huang Ye's words had barely reached the room when Fang Jinrong pushed through the door curtain and came in. He crossed the main hall and headed straight for the inner room. Seeing Meng Wan eating on the kang, with the kettle on the stove bubbling steam and two deep-red sweet potatoes roasting by the fire, their sweet fragrance spreading through the room...

"Is this your breakfast or lunch?" Fang Jinrong didn't wait for an invitation, sitting down across from Meng Wan of his own accord.

Meng Wan leisurely picked up a bun and took a bite. "I just woke up. What do you think this meal is?"

Fang Jinrong rarely got the chance to mock Meng Wan, so he seized it, "You really can sleep—you got up even later than me."

After saying this, he suddenly took a deep breath. "What's that smell? It's so fragrant!"

"You followed the smell of my sweet potatoes all the way here, huh?" Meng Wan put down his chopsticks and told Zhifan to bring Fang Jinrong a set of bowls and chopsticks.

Zhifan picked out two plump sweet potatoes, set them on a plate, and placed them in front of Fang Jinrong.

Afraid the secret would leak out, Chen Zhenlong had only brought four carts of sweet potatoes to the capital. These four carts were all carefully selected premium sweet potatoes, and even their sizes were similar. Meng Wan only dared to secretly keep one basket—fewer than fifty in total—planning to save them for Chang Jinhua to try when she came.

"Sweet potatoes? How come I've never heard of them?" Fang Jinrong used his chopsticks to peel off a thin slice of the skin. As the orange-yellow flesh was revealed, an even richer, sweeter aroma instantly filled the air.

Ignoring the heat, he carefully blew on it, picked up a bit with his chopsticks, and popped it into his mouth. The soft, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth flavor spread across his tongue. It was so hot he gasped, but he couldn't bear to spit it out, and mumbled with his mouth full, "Wow, this is so good."

"Of course. I only have a little bit myself, so don't spread the word. When you leave, I'll pack a few more for you." Meng Wan remarked, thinking that by next year, they'd have sweet potatoes to their heart's content.

Fang Jinrong was so into the sweet potatoes that he almost forgot the real reason he came. He went to the outer room to wash his hands and rinse his mouth, then came back with a full stomach to chat with Meng Wan. "Guess what happened on the street yesterday?"

Meng Wan's chopsticks froze mid-air as he reached for a dish, his eyes fixed on Fang Jinrong. "What happened?"

He'd almost forgotten that Ge Quan worked in the palace and was always in the know.

Fang Jinrong dropped a bombshell. "They say Prince Qin got drunk at a banquet, got provoked by a few remarks, and for some crazy reason, stormed over to Prince Lian's residence next door."

Meng Wan lost his appetite. He had Zhifan and Zhimao clear the breakfast and bring out tea, fruit, and snacks. He said thoughtfully, "Oh, really? Prince Lian's residence... and then?"

Fang Jinrong really was plugged into the inside scoop. His mouth was dry from eating sweet potatoes, so he downed half a cup of tea in one go before continuing, "Then it seems many people were summoned to the palace—not just Prince Qin's family, but the Shen family as well."

He described it vividly. "The Shen family was all fired up, while Prince Qin's family looked cowed and submissive. Ge Quan said they were reprimanded by His Majesty. The two families' energy was at odds, and they nearly came to blows outside the hall."

Meng Wan raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? The Shen family really is audacious."

No matter how much power he had, Shen Chongshan was just a third-rank salt transport commissioner. How dare he shout at a prince?

Could Shen Chongshan, who had climbed to such a position, be some brainless fool? Could he really not know his sister-in-law was a total loose cannon? Under such circumstances, he made no effort to restrain her and simply let her run wild to Prince Qin's residence? Had Shen Chongshan lost his mind?

Meng Wan tapped the table. "And what about Prince Lian's residence?"

Fang Jinrong said casually, "Nothing happened? Isn't it still the same as before?"

His Majesty was merciful. Even though Prince Lian had committed treason, conspired with a sorcerer, used evil arts to refine pills presented to the late emperor, causing harm to the late emperor's health, then surrounded court officials and led troops to force the abdication... with all these crimes stacked up, he was still willing to spare his brother's life, only placing heavy guards around Prince Lian's residence to confine him there.

Meng Wan pondered for a moment, then turned to caution Fang Jinrong, "Brother Ge must stay vigilant in the palace. And you shouldn't go around leaking what he tells you to others."

Fang Jinrong rubbed his ears. "I know, I'm not stupid. I haven't mentioned it to anyone but you."

The two of them had roamed the martial world together and might have seen more than Meng Wan. Thinking of this, Meng Wan smiled and sighed, "That's good. By the way, how is A Xun doing at your place? As an elder, you should take good care of him for me."

Fang Jinrong's head was spinning. He had come to chat and relax with Meng Wan, but Meng Wan kept bringing up serious matters and even put him in the role of an elder. It was really... so awkward~