Hearing the commotion, Mother Meng lifted the curtain and came out. "Son, why didn't you ask Young Master Guan to stay for a simple meal? He did us a huge favor, so you should have had your sister pour him a glass of wine to properly thank him."
Guan Changhong was a fine-looking young man, and today he had pulled out ten taels of silver for the consultation fee without a second thought, showing that his family was not short on cash. Furthermore, since he studied at the same academy as Meng Nanzhou, they shared a bond as schoolmates, which might one day help him pass the imperial examinations and secure an official post.
Such a fine young man—she wondered if he was already betrothed.
Feeling utterly humiliated, Meng Nanzhou said nothing about Guan Changhong leaving in anger, instead using the household trouble as an excuse to bring up the theft in the study.
Mother Meng was shocked. She hurried to the study to take a look, only to find the room thoroughly ransacked. When she heard that the valuable inkstone and jade seal had been stolen, she clutched her forehead in fury and almost took a tumble.
Pushing away Meng Nanzhou’s hand as he tried to steady her, she stormed over to Cheng Nuo’s door and began hammering on it.
"You blind, witless fool! Our family's foundation has been emptied out, and you still have the face to sleep the day away! I haven't even settled accounts with you over Sijing yet, and now you've stirred up another mess for your elders!"
After pounding for a long time without a single sound from inside, Mother Meng rolled up her sleeves, took two steps back, and raised her foot to kick the door open.
Just as she lunged forward with all her might, the door swung open, and her bulky figure pitched forward onto the ground, landing flat on her face.
"Ouch, my back!"
Cheng Nuo put on a show of stretching lazily, leaning casually against the doorframe. "Mother-in-law is back? It's neither New Year nor any festival—what kind of grand bow is this? You'll shorten your daughter-in-law's life with such kowtows."
Meng Nanzhou’s brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly. "Is that any way to speak to your mother?"
Cheng Nuo glanced at him sideways. "How else should I speak? With my mouth, of course. Or what—should I bark like a dog, just like you?"
"You... utterly vulgar!" Meng Nanzhou was a scholar, and scholars never used dirty words when they cursed.
Cheng Nuo didn't care; she was a shrew.
When dealing with shameless people, making a scene and throwing tantrums was far more useful than reasoning with them.
Not wanting to waste any more breath on her, Meng Nanzhou demanded, "I'm asking you, did you go to the study today?"
Cheng Nuo replied with a completely straight face, "No."
"Then why are the inkstone, the writing brushes, and the seal in my room gone?"
"Ah? A thief broke into the house?"
Cheng Nuo crossed her arms over her chest in exaggerated terror, looking as though she suspected the intruder wasn't just a common burglar, but perhaps a roving rake as well.
Mother Meng rolled her eyes up to the heavens. "I'm asking you, what did you do at home after we left? Did you see any strangers lurking around?"
Cheng Nuo propped her chin on her hand in a thoughtful pose. "Xiao Pan'er was sick, so I was busy taking care of her and slept straight from last night until now."
She would take care of that money-losing wretch? She was probably just seizing the opportunity to be lazy.
Mother Meng didn't believe it.
"Oh! I *did* hear some noise in the study in the middle of the night," Cheng Nuo said, clapping her hands together excitedly.
Meng Nanzhou and Mother Meng’s eyes lit up instantly. "And then?"
"And then... and then I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I thought it was you two coming home. Besides, I nearly knocked over an inkstone once before, and my husband told me not to go within half a step of the study. I was just following my husband's orders."
Cheng Nuo blinked innocently, her face the picture of purity—if one ignored the mischievous smile playing at the corners of her lips. Meng Nanzhou might actually have believed her otherwise.
Mother Meng shifted her gaze to the little girl standing obediently to one side.
"Is what your mother said true? Did she never go into the study?"
Ever since Cheng Siniang returned from her maiden home, trouble had followed the Meng family endlessly. Mother Meng always felt that everything was inextricably linked to this woman Cheng Siniang, yet she could never find any proof.
Yunxi Village had great security and honest local customs; no one had heard of any thieves for years. Why on earth would a burglar choose precisely the moment they were away to steal things?
Wasn't it likely that Cheng Siniang was crying thief to cover her own tracks, making fools of them by stealing right under their noses?
Everyone's eyes landed on Xiao Pan'er.
Meng Pan'er had slept soundly last night and hadn't heard any noise, but Cheng Siniang’s claim that the two of them had slept until now wasn't entirely true either—didn't she go to the back mountain right at daybreak?
Though she had inspected the bamboo basket Cheng Siniang brought back, and it was cleaner than her own face.
Remembering how the woman had cared for her yesterday, and thinking of the two big steamed buns stuffed into her hands, Xiao Pan'er began to salivate. And then there was the little vest put on her skin this morning—it was so warm.
Taking people's things made one's hands soft; eating people's food made one's mouth soft.
Xiao Pan'er bit her lip, and under Cheng Nuo’s sparkling, glowing gaze, she nodded heavily.
Mother Meng was overcome with disappointment. "Think very carefully..."
Meng Nanzhou waved a hand. "That's enough, Mother. This child wouldn't lie." And she certainly wouldn't lie to cover for Cheng Siniang.
This daughter of his was simple-minded; at five years old, she still couldn't speak clearly.
If you asked who she hated most in the entire family, it surely had to be this mother who gave birth to her but didn't raise her.
Thinking of the chaotic, tangled mess at home, Meng Nanzhou felt a headache coming on. He hoped A'yi's child would be born soon; his own child ought to be the cleverest in the world, certainly nothing like this unpresentable creature Pan'er.
"Even if she didn't steal it, she still bears some responsibility! I don't care—the inkstone and the jade seal are worth at least five taels of silver. Make Cheng Siniang go back to her maiden home for the money; this gap must be filled by her!"
Mother Meng was extremely unhappy as she cleaned up the study.
Meng Nanzhou was still trying to figure out how to mend his relationship with Guan Changhong. "Mother, don't worry. The things that were stolen have my personal mark on them. Once I go to the bookstores and pawnshops in town and give them a heads-up, whoever tries to fence the goods will be the thief. If Cheng Siniang really was the one who stole them, doesn't that play right into our hands?"
That's right. Theft was a serious crime.
When the lawsuit caught up with Cheng Siniang, the Meng family would be fully justified in casting her aside, and no one could say a word against them.
At that moment, Mother Meng wished with ten thousand hopes that the household items had indeed been swiped by Cheng Siniang.
The next day, Meng Nanzhou took Meng Sijing back to Jishi Hall to change her dressings. Doctor Guan refused to see them and instead sent an apprentice to tend to Meng Sijing's wounds, causing her to cry out in agony.
Even when picking up the medicine, there was not a single discount on the herbs—it came to a full three taels of silver.
Meng Nanzhou was strapped for cash. His purse was hollowed out with only two taels left; he had spent most of the silver rewarded by the official magistrate on banqueting his schoolmates and teacher a few days ago, so where on earth was he supposed to get another tael now?
The accountant at the cash counter sneered, "Could the scholar lord be out of money? No worries, our humble shop allows credit."
"No need."
Without lifting his eyes, the accountant clicked the abacus beads. "Fine, consider the one tael a sponsorship from our young master. Running an apothecary and doing business, accumulating virtue through good deeds is our guiding principle. If we were all like those arrogant, snobbish little men who look down on others, how could we ever build up such a large family estate?"
Meng Sijing’s eyes lit up slightly. "The young master of Jishi Hall is..."
"Young Master Guan."
Jishi Hall was the property of Guan Changhong’s uncle, and his family held a stake in it as well. No wonder their family had been able to move through unhindered yesterday. Meng Sijing’s thoughts began to stir.
"Brother, Young Master Guan is righteous and generous with his wealth. We should accept this kindness from him, pay a visit another day, and thank him properly."
Meng Sijing didn't catch the accountant's underlying meaning, but Meng Nanzhou understood that this was Guan Changhong giving him a deliberate snub.
With a little filthy lucre, he dared to look down on him?
For thirty years the river flows east, for thirty years it flows west; who would be leading the way in the future was far from settled.
"I said no need!" His voice carried an edge of anger that startled Meng Sijing.
She sullenly closed her mouth. But she was still short one tael—where on earth were they going to scrape it up?
Just then, two familiar figures walked past the entrance of Jishi Hall.
"Stop right there!"
Halted by the shout, Cheng Ershun and Cheng Sanhu stopped in their tracks. Seeing who it was, their faces darkened, and they quickened their pace.