Chapter 87
Chapter 87
“Look at Li Wenzheng. I simply cannot teach a student as untalented as you.”
Before striking a student, the teachers of Xuanwu City would always say that, followed by the crisp *smack, smack, smack, smack* of a ruler. From a young age, Shen Lang, too, had heard Li Wenzheng’s name right before he was hit. Thus, in his memory, the name ‘Li Wenzheng’ became a signal that a beating was imminent. Of course, the current Shen Lang was a soul who had transmigrated from Earth, but upon hearing the name, he felt an inexplicable, intense displeasure.
Li Wenzheng was a newly minted Advanced Scholar of the second rank who had passed the imperial examination this year at the age of twenty-eight, the same examination as Tang Yun. Twenty-eight was by no means old. To become an Advanced Scholar at that age was a remarkable achievement. Thanks to this, Li Wenzheng, much like Shen Lang, was a household name in Xuanwu City.
Of course, Shen Lang’s fame was of the notorious kind. A simpleton, a freeloader, a god of gambling, and now, he had likely added the title of a rising star in the world of erotic literature to his name. In contrast, Li Wenzheng had just one title: the Pride of Xuanwu City! What a grand and magnificent title it was.
Both he and Shen Lang were from commoner backgrounds. While Shen Lang coveted wealth and glory, his laziness and love for leisure leading him to choose the path of a live-in son-in-law, Li Wenzheng had studied diligently, refusing to rely on others, and ultimately became an Advanced Scholar of the second rank through his own efforts. He was a paragon for all to follow.
However, when the Count of Xuanwu's Estate was seeking candidates for a son-in-law, they hadn't even considered Li Wenzheng. His reputation was so stellar that they wouldn't have dared to take him in as a live-in son-in-law.
After the palace examination, Li Wenzheng returned to his hometown in glory, and the streets were thronged with people who came out to see him. He was later appointed as a Silver-Clad Imperial Censor, a position that required him to inspect the various prefectures of the realm. While his official rank was not particularly high, his power was immense, to the point where even the Prefect had to treat him with deference.
That was why Li Wenzheng, the Advanced Scholar of the second rank, was seated in the third most honored position at Zhang Jin and Xu Qianqian's engagement banquet today, a full six places ahead of Shen Lang and Jin Mulan.
***
“Young Master Nangong Ping of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate has arrived!”
This time, the announcer’s voice was so impassioned it could stir the soul. The final guest to arrive was a true heavyweight. At his appearance, the successor to the Count of Jinhai's Estate, Tang Yun; the successor to the Great General of Pingnan, Zhu Wubian; the son of Prefect Zhang Chong, Zhang Jin; the Advanced Scholar of the second rank, Li Wenzheng; and the Lord of Xuanwu City, Liu Wu'am, all five of them, stepped forward. Only these five were qualified to greet the second young master of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate. Though Xu Guangyun and Xu Qianqian were the hosts of today’s banquet, even they were not qualified to step forward.
At that moment, Tang Yun’s gaze fell upon Jin Mulan. As the rightful daughter of the Count of Xuanwu, her status was also noble.
“I won’t be going.”
At Shen Lang’s light reply, Mulan nodded.
“Then I shall go.”
Mulan knew that this was a time to be particularly mindful. The Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate was a leader of the military faction and, in a way, belonged to the old nobility. Although they currently leaned towards the New Policies Faction, Jin Mulan, as a representative of the old nobility, could only hope to greet the second young master of the Marquis of Zhenbei and sway their hearts.
The six distinguished individuals went forward to greet him. A moment later, Nangong Ping, the son of the Marquis of Zhenbei, entered the main hall, and a hush fell over the room. Shen Lang glanced at him. The Marquis’s second son was not as handsome or imposing as Tang Yun, but his smile was like a spring breeze, and he was quite good-looking in his own right.
Beside him stood another man who, if Shen Lang’s guess was correct, had to be Shu Tingyu from the Hidden Yuan Society. His name suggested a handsome man, but in reality, he was fat. A fat man whose face was whiter and smoother than a steamed bun.
It was important to note the difference between a fat man and a fatty. A fat man was characterized by his extreme cunning, and Shu Tingyu of the Hidden Yuan Society was just that. There was a saying about a hunter feigning to be a pig to catch a tiger; Shu Tingyu was precisely that kind of pig, stalking a tiger. A different kind of fatty was… someone like Jin Mucong. Shu Tingyu from the Hidden Yuan Society wasn't actually smiling, but he always appeared to be.
Now, all the main players had gathered! Or rather, it was more accurate to say that only the younger main players had gathered. Zhang Chong and the other elders had not appeared. They would only show up for the wedding ceremony itself. The figures at the engagement banquet were all the brilliant and outstanding members of the younger generation.
***
The start of the engagement ceremony was synonymous with the start of the dress rehearsal for the attack on the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. Everyone gathered here was an enemy, harboring intentions to either seize or destroy the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. The opposition was a group of individuals with formidable backing, and the one standing against them was Shen Lang alone.
Mulan quietly asked Shen Lang.
“Husband, what do you think?”
“There is something I’m debating whether to say or not.”
“I want to hear what you have to say.”
“Everyone here is trash, nothing more than scarecrows! Wife, do you know what the most boring part of playing chess is?”
Jin Mulan, as if playing the straight man in a comedy duo, asked him.
“What is it?”
“It’s knowing all of your opponent’s moves before the game even begins. Of course, sometimes, that’s also the most interesting part. The Xu Clan’s first move was to use that courtesan to disgust us. It was a crude, wild swing, and I didn’t predict they would resort to that. But I can predict their second and third attacks.”
“Really? I find that hard to believe.”
Mulan replied with a gentle smile, and Shen Lang dipped his finger in wine and wrote a name on the table. Wang Lian!
“You’re saying the second person to attack us will be my cousin, Wang Lian?”
Shen Lang nodded.
“There’s a ninety percent chance!”
Mulan was filled with doubt. She knew her husband was very intelligent, but matters like these involved the overlapping thoughts and plans of many people, making them difficult to predict. Yet Shen Lang acted with such certainty.
Zhang Jin was about to raise his cup to signal the start of the banquet. Just then, a figure suddenly rushed in. It was the giant Wang Lian, a record keeper of Xuanwu City and a distant cousin of Mulan. He seemed to have had a little to drink as he stormed into the hall.
“Brother Wang Lian, you’ve arrived late. You’ll have to drink three penalty cups later.”
Despite his grudge against Wang Lian, Zhang Jin appeared very friendly. The saying ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ seemed to hold true. Wang Lian paid Zhang Jin no mind and rushed directly in front of Jin Mulan, shouting with a look of lingering attachment and fervent passion.
“Mulan, why? Why did you marry that scoundrel? Have you forgotten our vows? Have you forgotten that night of the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, under the cassia tree, when we gazed at the bright moon and swore to be together for life?”
“That night, under the full moon, we whispered sweet nothings until our hair mingled, we slept in each other’s arms, and promised to be husband and wife in every life to come. Have you forgotten that as well?”
“Why did you forsake me and marry that scoundrel? For you, I gave up the metropolitan examination and came to Xuanwu City to work as a record keeper. I sacrificed my bright future, all for you. Jin Mulan, you are a woman who has broken her faith! Why did you betray me? Was the love we shared that night nothing but a dream to you?”
Wang Lian shouted, his voice hoarse, looking at Mulan with a frail and helpless gaze, as if a cuckoo wailing until it coughed up blood. Hearing his words, Mulan was momentarily stunned. She couldn't imagine someone could be so shameless. She knew Wang Lian had a one-sided crush on her, which was why she had deliberately kept her distance.
Shared a night of love under the full moon? It was complete and utter nonsense. She had barely ever spoken to Wang Lian in private. Yet Wang Lian was claiming they had slept together and had promised to marry. No, it wasn't just a promise; he was declaring to everyone that he had slept with Shen Lang’s wife.
Another splash of filth. And it was the kind that was hard to wash off. Mulan, enraged, shot up to refute him, but Shen Lang grabbed her hand.
“Wife, don’t be hasty. He has only nauseated us. The real attack is yet to come. I will restore your innocence within the hour. And he… will die a most miserable death!”
Shen Lang spoke calmly. At that moment, the people in the hall began to murmur.
“I never would have thought. Jin Mulan, who seems as pure as jade, had that kind of relationship with Wang Lian.”
“What’s so surprising? The more virtuous a woman appears on the surface, the more likely she is to be secretly promiscuous.”
“Poor Shen Lang. His wife cheated on him.”
“What’s so strange about that? Shen Lang comes from a lowly farming family; he’s not even fit to approach Jin Mulan’s bedside. Their marriage is a sham. Whatever man Jin Mulan meets after the wedding, Shen Lang has no right to interfere.”
Shen Lang took out a notebook, looked at the faces of the women spreading slander, and wrote down their names one by one. For the faces he didn't recognize, he asked Mulan and jotted them down.
“Husband, is there really a need to write down their names?”
“Yes. They must be made to understand that their wagging tongues will cost them their lives. I will make them regret ever being born.”
Wang Lian was still looking at Jin Mulan with a face full of infatuation. His eyes were lost in a past love, his expression steeped in old memories, as if recalling that night of love during last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival. Zhang Jin came over and pulled Wang Lian away, urging him back to his seat.
“Brother Wang Lian, the banquet hasn’t even started. How can you be this drunk already?”
Then, Zhang Jin shot Shen Lang a triumphant look.
*Shen Lang, you may be shameless and unafraid of having filth thrown at you, but your wife, Jin Mulan, cherishes her reputation. What can you do when we splash filth all over her? Even if she jumped into the Nu River, she wouldn't be able to wash herself clean.*
Shen Lang dipped his finger in wine and drew an X over Wang Lian’s name. In his eyes, Wang Lian was already a dead man. He then wrote another name. Li Wenzheng!
Mulan asked quietly.
“Husband, is he the one to deliver the third attack?”
This man was a Silver-Clad Imperial Censor, one who inspected the various prefectures of the realm under imperial decree. Though his rank was not high, no one could touch him. As they had just seen, even the Prefect of a prefecture treated him with extreme deference; he was a very formidable person.
“That’s right. And he will deliver the final, fatal blow, likely intending to drive us into a corner from which there is no escape!”
Shen Lang then drew another X over Li Wenzheng’s name. Because in his mind, he had already decided that the pride of Xuanwu City was also about to meet his end. Tonight was a very cruel night.
After the engagement banquet began, Zhang Jin offered words of thanks, particularly expressing his gratitude for the attendance of the various dignitaries. Immediately following, the Lord of Xuanwu City, Liu Wu'am, responded to Zhang Jin’s words with praise and congratulations, calling them an ideal and beautiful couple. After Liu Wu'am, Zhu Wubian also praised Zhang Jin and Xu Qianqian, calling them a match made in heaven. One after another, they poured out words of praise, but most of it was trivial and unimportant.
The reactions of those seated and listening to these congratulatory remarks could be summarized as follows:
Li Wenzheng, the Advanced Scholar of the second rank and Silver-Clad Imperial Censor, said nothing but clapped and smiled. Nangong Ping neither spoke nor clapped, but he did smile. Tang Yun remained expressionless, neither speaking nor clapping. But Shen Lang’s reaction was the most extreme of all. Not only was he expressionless, silent, and not clapping, he was even reading an erotic book. Furthermore, under the pretense of an accident, he stroked Mulan’s leg a few times, for which she secretly grabbed his wrist until he begged for forgiveness, at which point she finally let go.
As time passed, the banquet, thanks to the fine wine and delicious food, began to transform into a very joyous and beautiful affair. Normally, most people at a banquet would be trying to flatter and curry favor with the powerful figures present, but with the common enemies Shen Lang and Jin Mulan in their midst, no one dared to do so. Any act of flattery or sycophancy for personal gain could inadvertently give Shen Lang and Jin Mulan an opening to escape their predicament.