Chapter 378 The Luo Family

Chapter 378: The Luo Family

One of Lu Su’s companions abruptly shoved his book into Lu Su’s arms and pushed him aside, his face dark with fury. “We’ve heard enough of your nonsense! It’s simply because Lord Song’s rise has been too rapid and his preferences are hard to fathom. You fear you cannot cater to his tastes, and in your anxiety, you slander his policies to soothe your own base hearts!”

Another companion squeezed Lu Su behind him as well. “Exactly! The policy wasn’t proposed by Lord Song alone—it was deliberated by the entire court of senior ministers before His Majesty approved its implementation. Why don’t you criticize the Emperor… why don’t you criticize the other ministers, and instead single out Lord Song?”

A close call—very close indeed—that almost bordered on treason.

The two of them were one tall and one short, one thin and one stout. Though there were only two of them, they lost nothing in presence, craning their necks and squeezing Lu Su until he had no room to stand.

A few wild scholars from some remote backwater dared to talk back to him? Had they not heard him announce he was from the Luo family?

Young Master Luo’s emotions churned. He flicked his wide brocade sleeve—white with embroidered patterns—and let out a mocking laugh. “I fear I cannot cater to his tastes? He’s merely an official with no roots or foundation, temporarily serving as a second-rank Vice Minister. How can he be compared to the other ministers? It’s only you Lingnan people, who dwell in deep mountains and wild forests, uncultured and unenlightened, who would revere him as a sage.”

Powerful families had deep roots and tangled marriage alliances that could not be eradicated overnight—even nobles and marquises had to tread carefully around them. Still, to openly criticize a second-rank court official was indeed audacious of this Young Master Luo.

Surrounding him were friends and servants alike, plus a few fawning scholars—together they had strength in numbers. Lu Su’s two companions could at least trade words with them, but Lu Su himself was not skilled at arguing and could only stand behind them, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Both sides were locked in their positions, about to argue the matter to a conclusion, when suddenly a clear, gentle voice came from behind.

“The Luo family of Lin’an Prefecture… why does that sound so familiar?”

Meng Wan had unknowingly stepped closer to these scholars, feigning confusion as he asked Chi Yu beside him.

Chi Yu was bewildered. What Luo family of Lin’an Prefecture… was it familiar?

Meng Wan didn’t wait for his answer, as if merely talking to himself. “Oh… now I remember. When the current Emperor ascended the throne, he executed a batch of aristocratic sons who had aided Prince Lian’s rebellion. Weren’t many of them from the Luo family? What was the charge again?”

When the new Emperor took the throne, he had spared Prince Lian, who should have been executed. The Nie family’s private soldiers, having surrendered voluntarily, merely had their commanders demoted and their ranks dispersed.

All of Prince Lian’s hidden forces had been uprooted—those who should die were killed, those who should have their households confiscated had them confiscated. When the Luo family, deeply entangled with Prince Lian, learned of the Crown Prince’s ascension, the family head himself went to the capital to confess their crimes, bringing over a hundred members of both the main and branch lines to weep and beg before the new Emperor. In the end, all one hundred of them hanged themselves outside the imperial city. As for the remaining Luo family members in Lin’an Prefecture, the Emperor did not order the clan’s extermination.

At this metropolitan examination, of the four major aristocratic families, the Yuezheng family had been wiped out entirely and had no one left. Of the remaining three, the Wu family had sent no one to the capital, the Xiang family had sent only a few cadet-branch members, but the Luo family had sent four members of the main line.

Meng Wan suspected the examination was merely a pretext—their true aim was to test the Emperor’s stance on the Luo family. But sending such an arrogant, self-important man… one could only wonder at their intent.

“Who dares spout such nonsense!”

The Luo family members, who had their backs to Meng Wan, turned, faces ashen, upon hearing this. Among those who died in Shengjing last year were many of their relatives and friends—these words were like a knife to their hearts.

“You… who are you?” The man who had been so arrogant moments ago, upon turning and seeing Meng Wan standing not far behind them, suddenly felt half his fury extinguish.

Before him stood a xiaoge with a bearing as straight and elegant as a bamboo, features as finely drawn as a painting. He wore no unnecessary ornaments—only a white jade hairpin held his topknot in place.

The winter cloak he’d worn against the cold was gone; he wore a sapphire-blue padded robe under a black outer jacket, exuding a unique charm honed by years of weathering storms. He was impossible to tear one’s eyes away from.

No one had expected to encounter such a beauty in a bookshop, and for a moment, even his provocative words were forgotten. The room fell into an unexpected hush.

Not all four Luo family members from Lin’an were arrogant fools, however. Among them, a man in purple robes around thirty years old let his gaze linger on Meng Wan’s striking face, his suspicion barely concealed.

“You…”

“Meng Fulang! What brings you here?”

Lu Su squeezed out from behind, his voice full of surprise.

A faint smile curved the corner of Meng Wan’s lips. “I’m exactly one of those uncultured, unenlightened Lingnan folk who dwell in deep mountains and wild forests. I’m here to broaden my horizons, of course.”

His words were for Lu Su, but they equally answered the Luo family’s earlier remark.

Unless they were deaf, the Luo family couldn’t have missed the mockery in his tone.

The man in purple, who had been about to step forward, drew back instead, his brow furrowing in deeper confusion.

“What does this Fulang mean by that? We’ve never met—surely we haven’t offended you?” Even the beautiful enjoy certain privileges; even the white-robed Young Master Luo who had been so aggressive moments ago softened his tone somewhat.

Meng Wan kept his smile in place. “Though we’ve never met, I’ve heard of the illustrious Luo family. Are all four of you from the main line?”

The white-robed Young Master Luo’s expression turned proud. “Indeed. Though we’re of different generations, all four of us are from the Luo family’s main line.”

Meng Wan’s brows furrowed slightly. “Hmm… truly the main line. That makes things tricky.”

Lu Su and his two companions felt their hearts skip a beat. In Hexian County, Meng Wan’s prestige was even higher than Song Tingzhou’s. Hearing his words, they feared their own remarks had brought trouble upon him, and regret began to creep in—perhaps they shouldn’t have argued so fiercely over momentary pride.

It was the way of the world: if you lowered yourself an inch, others would press down a yard. What had started as a scholarly debate now saw the white-robed Young Master Luo, sensing Lu Su’s trio retreating, raise his own posture another notch, looking down his nose at them. “For the sake of the Fulang’s acquaintance with them, if these three apologize to us, today’s matter shall—”

“The Luo family’s main-line sons have already been cut down left and right. If the four of you were to fall here as well, wouldn’t the Luo clan face extinction?”

Meng Wan, however, interrupted the white-robed Young Master Luo’s words with a tone of genuine concern, analyzing the situation for them with all seriousness: “The Deposed King Wen Xu is still confined in his residence. The four of you are making such a spectacle of yourselves, recklessly discussing state affairs. I truly fear that His Majesty, in a spare moment, might recall the Luo family’s former close friendship with the deposed king, and then your lives would…”

Meng Wan smiled with ill intent. “Be in grave danger.”

The Luo family was like a startled bird—outwardly strong but hollow within. Though they could still maintain the facade of aristocratic dignity before ordinary scholars, the four true Luo members were a mix of shock and fury. The eldest among them looked back and forth between Lu Su’s trio and Meng Wan several times, then suddenly understood. “Well, well—a sharp-tongued little xiaoge, aren’t you? Since they say your surname is Meng, is Lord Song your husband?”

Married xiaoge were rarely known by name, but Meng Wan’s influence in Lingnan ran too deep, and he was beloved by countless xiaoge and women alike.

Moreover, the Shijian Post Station ran north to south and had been taken over by the court. Even if common folk in the south rarely knew who owned the Shijian Post Station, the aristocratic families who dealt with officials knew well enough—the station’s backer was none other than Meng, the husband of the new Vice Minister of Justice.

Meng Wan didn’t directly confirm it. Instead, he said slowly and deliberately to the assembled scholars, “I see you’ve all been heatedly discussing my husband’s essay from the palace examination. You must all be quite confident about the upcoming metropolitan examination, yes? Then I wish you all the best in discussing matters face-to-face with the examiners at the Qionglin Banquet (the imperial feast for new scholars)!”

What caliber of people were these, treating themselves as important before even passing the metropolitan examination?

At the Qionglin Banquet held once every three years, even those who had passed the jinshi examination (the highest imperial examination) couldn’t guarantee they’d break into the Shengjing court. For most, it was their first and last time ever seeing the Emperor before being posted to the provinces—some toiling away until death at the seventh rank.

These people hadn’t even passed the metropolitan examination, yet they were already puffed up with self-importance. Had Song Tingzhou or other high officials heard their words today, they would only seem childish and naive—far from the caliber of the top jinshi candidates who had stood out alongside Song Tingzhou at his own examination.

Only a fool would fail to catch the mockery in Meng Wan’s words, yet no matter their shame or fury, none dared argue further. Even the fervor with which they’d debated state affairs moments ago cooled instantly.

Meng Wan watched them fall silent, no longer spouting nonsense, and let out an unreadable laugh. That laugh was like an invisible slap across all their faces, leaving them flushed with humiliation.

Before leaving, he left a parting remark for Lu Su and his companions: “Focus on your studies. You’re scholars from our Lingnan after all—regardless of how the examination turns out, you should pay a visit to Lord Song when the time comes.”

These words were as good as throwing his protection behind them. At the very least, until the metropolitan examination was over, no one with eyes would dare bully Lingnan’s imperial candidates based on family background alone.

Leaving Kongmo Bookshop, Chi Yu rubbed his hands eagerly. “Fulang, shall I find those who spoke ill of the adult, throw sacks over their heads, and give them a beating?”

Meng Wan gave a cold smile. “Beating people is a last resort—indulging in momentary satisfaction only brings trouble upon yourself. There are far more effective ways to make these people suffer.”

He then recalled the strange look the man in purple robes had given him. After a moment’s thought, he returned home and summoned Xue Sheng, instructing him to discreetly investigate the purple-robed man’s background.

The Luo family was a great clan, and even the main line was subdivided into multiple branches. Though these four men appeared close in age, their generational standings could be vastly different.

“Did you buy the shop for A Xun’s dowry?”

The day was clear, and the last of winter’s snow had all melted. Looking closely, one could even see tiny green sprouts poking through the soil in the flower beds.

Chang Jinhua was taking advantage of the good weather to stretch her limbs in the courtyard. When she saw Meng Wan return, she asked.

“Bought it. Erchong City is truly hard to come by, but fortunately I managed to purchase a shop and a residence near Shuntian Prefecture. Tomorrow I’ll have Ye Geer deliver them to the Ge family in person.” Meng Wan replied, then accepted the tea Zhifan handed him and drank half a cup. After walking for half a day, he was already parched and exhausted.

Chang Jinhua turned over the soil with a hoe, wearing one fewer layer than Meng Wan and still breaking a sweat on her forehead. "Xiao Ci and A Xun are both good children; I doubt they'd care whether it's a second-tier or third-tier city. When you and Da Lang got married, the family was in a tight spot—the gifts we got didn't even pay for half the banquet. If it were now, I could give you a proper dowry too."

Her words carried a hint of regret. If they were still poor now, it wouldn't matter, but the better off they got, the more she felt she'd done Meng Wan wrong when she saw the grandeur of others' weddings.

"It's just a ceremony; a simpler version is less hassle." Meng Wan didn't envy the grand processions of eight-carried palanquins or dowries stretching ten miles. In fact, he was secretly glad his own wedding had been modest. He couldn't imagine how awkward Luo Jining's wedding would be for the other party. If his own wedding had been that fancy, he'd have been just as miserable.

Being brought home in an ox cart by Song Tingzhou back then—that was perfect, absolutely perfect!

Chang Jinhua also thought of Song Tingzhou and asked Meng Wan, "When will Da Lang be back? Can he make it for Xiao Ci's wedding?"

Meng Wan had someone fetch him a hoe to join Chang Jinhua in turning the soil. He figured the timing while swinging the hoe. "The metropolitan exam starts the day after tomorrow and ends nine days later. The examiners will probably hang around the exam hall for about half a month. After grading and finalizing the rankings... at the latest, he'll be home by early next month. He'll make it."

Chang Jinhua relaxed a little. "Good. It's such a big occasion, and our family is small to begin with. If Da Lang weren't there, people might think we don't treat Xiao Ci as one of our own."

Though she had a stern face, she was shrewd and careful about social niceties. There were times Meng Wan took a page from her book.

"We have plenty of friends and relatives here too. Once the exam is over, I'll send out the invitations." Meng Wan quickly got bored of hoeing and talked Chang Jinhua into leaving with him. "Mother, let's stop. I'm starving—can you make me some rice noodles? I'm craving yours."

How could Chang Jinhua refuse? She leaned the hoe against the wall, brushed the dirt off her pant legs, and said, "I'll make some for you. What kind of sauce do you want?"

Meng Wan's flattery came easily. "Anything you make, Mother—I love any sauce. Whatever you make, I'll enjoy!"

---

After the new emperor ascended the throne last year, the reign name for that year still followed the late emperor's. Starting this New Year, it changed from the late emperor's Qisheng to the new emperor's chosen Xuanzheng.

In the first year of Xuanzheng, on the fifteenth day of the second month, the metropolitan exam proceeded as usual.

Though no one in the family was taking the exam, Meng Wan still woke early that morning. With his long, waist-length black hair loose, he sat on the bed listening to the clapper sounds from the alley. Outside, sparse stars reflected on the window, and the cold, pale light of the full moon spilled through the white paper screen, softening the blur of his face.

He drowsily remembered that Song Tingzhou wasn't going to take the exam but to serve as an examiner. Suddenly, he flopped back onto the bed. When he got up again, daylight was already bright—the first day of this year's exam had begun.

Xue Sheng, who'd been tracking the Luo family for days, came back after they headed to the exam hall and reported, "Husband, I've found some details about the four Luos. I also sent word to the Lin'an post station; we should hear back within a month at the latest."