Worried that Meng Liang might drag the conversation off-topic with irrelevant chatter, Ye Jiaxing finished speaking and dramatically pointed his finger at Meng Chengwei, declaring loudly: “Do you dare deny that you colluded with bandits to rob our family’s tea money and injure my father? Do you dare swear an oath? Ha! You don’t dare, because that’s exactly what you did.”
“Why should I swear anything? I know nothing about any tea money or bandits!” Meng Chengwei’s gaze was venomous, as if he wished he could kill Ye Jiaxing with just his eyes.
“As for you, Ye Jiaxing, I saved you on that mountain, and this is how you repay me? I came to Lin’an for leisure, planning to stay just a few days before returning to the capital tomorrow, yet your Ye family comes to slander me—what are you trying to achieve?”
What? Meng Chengwei saved Ye Jiaxing?
What melodramatic twist was this? Could it be hatred born from love—two young masters fighting over a young lady? Or did they have some deep-seated grudge or emotional entanglement?
The excitement level of the spectators rose another notch.
“Hah! What do you mean you saved me? Was it not your trap on the mountain that caused me to fall from my horse? Then you pretended to care, escorting me back to the villa. You just wanted to get close to my grandfather to frame us, didn’t you? Fortunately, I was clear-headed and didn’t fall for your trick.”
“As for whether this is slander, you know best. Not only do you and we know the truth, but the authorities know it as well. Let me tell you, Meng Chengwei, your day of reckoning has come. Constables! Where are the constables?”
Ye Jiaxing turned his head to look around.
They had orchestrated this scene for two purposes: first, to damage the reputations of Meng Chengwei and Yang Hong, avenging their previous grievances; second, to have the constables arrest him in public view, cementing Meng Chengwei’s reputation as someone who colluded with bandits. This would prevent Imperial Consort Min’s faction and the Meng family in the capital from reversing black and white, bailing Meng Chengwei out behind the scenes, and pretending nothing had happened.
But with public opinion in play, and so many witnesses—all idle gossips—it wouldn’t take half a day for these rumors to spread throughout Lin’an. Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for Imperial Consort Min and the Meng family to pretend nothing had happened.
Imperial Consort Min was one of the four consorts in the palace and had a daughter. Even if she wasn’t favored, there were many who held grudges against her and wanted to bring her down. Once this news spread, someone would surely poison the Emperor’s mind against her. Then Imperial Consort Min’s days would become difficult.
Taking down Meng Chengwei’s greatest backer was their ultimate goal.
Ye Chongming and Ye Jiaxing had come here to coordinate with the authorities’ actions. They wanted as many people as possible to witness Meng Chengwei being taken away by constables. They were distracting the Meng and Yang families’ attention here, while constables secretly entered. Once they had clarified the situation with their words, the constables would appear.
Sure enough, when Ye Jiaxing called for the constables, they appeared, throwing iron chains around Meng Chengwei’s neck: “Meng Chengwei, your collusion with bandits to rob merchants and endanger lives has been exposed. Come with us.”
The onlookers erupted in a commotion.
“Is this… true?” Even storytellers didn’t come up with such strange tales.
“How could it not be true? The constables are here, could it be fake?”
To prevent any problems during Meng Chengwei’s arrest, Magistrate Qi had sent eight constables. Despite Meng Liang and Gu Jie’s desperate attempts to intervene, the constables still managed to arrest Meng Chengwei, dragging him in chains back to the magistrate’s office.
Ye Chongming and Ye Jiaxing needed to go to the magistrate’s office too, as Ye Hongchang was the plaintiff, so they followed the constables directly.
Behind them trailed a group of idlers from the teahouse. Along the way, more onlookers joined in, and by the time Meng Chengwei was escorted into the magistrate’s office, the crowd had swelled to several hundred. Those from the teahouse who knew the full story were busy explaining it to others.
Thus, in less than an hour, nearly half of Lin’an knew about Meng Chengwei’s alleged collusion with bandits to rob the Ye family’s tea money and injure the Ye family’s eldest master—even though he hadn’t yet been tried or convicted.
This news also connected with the rumors about the Ye family from a few days ago, further confirming the truth of the matter.
Meanwhile, back at Yang’s teahouse, after watching Meng Chengwei being dragged away by a group of constables, the teahouse instantly emptied. Yang Hong, his son Yang Tai, the manager of Yang’s teahouse, and the attendants all stood there, stunned like wooden chickens.
“It’s over, it’s over,” Yang Hong muttered.
The last time he had gone to antagonize Ye Chongming, he was pushed out the door by Jixiang Pavilion’s attendants and became a laughingstock. He hadn’t dared to go out for days.
Now, having finally curried favor with Meng Chengwei, he had been planning to hold his head high and wipe away his previous shame, pulling Ye Chongming down from his position and making those who had laughed at him come begging for favors. But what happened? Meng Chengwei was arrested in front of so many people by constables.
And the Yang family had just signed a contract with him!
His face was ashen with despair.
Yang Tai’s mind worked faster. With a jolt, he reacted and quickly said to his father: “Father, the one who signed the contract with us wasn’t Meng Chengwei, it was Gu Jie!”
Yang Hong, like a drowning man catching a glimpse of light, fixed his eyes on Yang Tai as he too realized this fact.
He was overjoyed: “Yes, yes, yes, it was Gu Jie, not Meng Chengwei.”
Previously, he had been full of resentment that Meng Chengwei hadn’t signed the contract himself but had used a puppet instead. Now, it had become a floating log in water, giving him hope for survival.
…
Meng Chengwei’s arrest and the resulting damage to his reputation throughout Lin’an were exactly what Ye Yaming had wanted to see, but it wasn’t convenient for her to go watch.
If that madman Meng Chengwei spotted her and publicly said something inappropriate, her reputation would be completely ruined. The idle men of Lin’an were far more interested in scandalous affairs than in tea money robberies. Their interest in the Ye family’s third miss was also greater than in Meng Chengwei, whom they didn’t know.
In that case, her reputation would become even worse than Meng Chengwei’s.
So she didn’t dare appear in front of Meng Chengwei. To prevent the very scenario she feared, she had Ye Chongming bribe the constables to stuff a rag in Meng Chengwei’s mouth, preventing him from spouting nonsense along the way.
However, she was busy now and had no time to kick a man when he was down.
“Really? Are you certain?” she asked Nanny Xia.
“Really,” Nanny Xia was excited. “I could hardly believe it myself, so I went to see with my own eyes before coming to report to you, Miss.”
She had been distant from the young miss for two years, and now that she was back at her side, she discovered the young miss had changed significantly: she was more rational than before, never lost her temper, and never spoke ill of anyone.
Besides this, Nanny Xia also found that Ye Yaming commanded significant authority. In her presence, Nanny Xia felt even more pressure than when facing Old Madam Ye. Every word Ye Yaming said required one’s complete attention and serious consideration.
The Third Miss had, unknowingly, grown into such a person.
Nanny Xia was deeply impressed.
She composed herself and continued: “That Miss Zi Jin truly has remarkable skill. Initially, seeing that she wasn’t particularly beautiful and had fallen into such circumstances, I had my doubts about her. But who would have thought that in just ten short days, she would make Young Master Song take the initiative to visit her.”