The direct descendants, being somewhat decent, felt ashamed, while the collateral branches were filled with righteous indignation.
Master Meng Wu really wanted to say, of all the people present, who besides the second cousin had the right to be indignant? You all played a part in the inhumane things Meng Qinghong did.
Even he himself had once comfortably reclined under the ornate canopy of the Duke of Meng’s mansion, humming tunes and living a beautiful life.
Alas, he couldn’t think about it anymore; thinking too much made him feel like he had let his ancestors down.
Jiang Tou’er twirled his sparse goatee, squatted down, and listened with great relish. He muttered from time to time, "It's good to be educated; listing so many punishments while scolding someone still sounds quite pleasant." However, he didn’t voice his later thoughts, which were that this didn’t quite fit with Second Master Meng’s usual demeanor.
But then again, even a rabbit would bite when cornered. What would an honest person do when pushed to their limit? Who decreed that refined people couldn't swear? Wasn't Second Master Meng scolding quite well? He should learn more from Second Master Meng in the future.
After Meng Qingping vented his anger, he turned around and realized that a large crowd of people stood not far behind him.
Besides the Meng clansmen, there were also officers and Old Wu and his men. However, Meng Qingping had no regrets. He swept away his previous dejection and loudly greeted Jiang Tou’er.
“Brother Jiang, I see the time is almost up. Since everyone is not sleepy, let’s start our journey ahead of schedule.”
“Alright, brother, I was thinking the same thing.” Jiang Tou’er had always trusted Meng Qingping the most. Seeing him help him out like this now made him as happy as a blooming chrysanthemum mountain.
With Meng Qingping taking the lead and Master Meng Wu bringing his descendants to echo him, none of the Meng clansmen uttered a word, signifying their willingness to travel earlier.
Once everyone had gathered on the main road, Meng Qingping insisted that his granddaughter ride in the donkey cart to rest. “How can one not sleep? No matter what we say today, Ci’er must ride in the donkey cart.”
Fu Xinci saw that her grandfather was resolute, indicating that if she didn't ride, he wouldn't either. So, she said nothing, climbed into the donkey cart, and closed her eyes.
She was also extremely tired. With her head resting on her baggage, she automatically drifted into a deep sleep, completely unaware of when everyone had set off.
The official road stretched endlessly, like the journey to Liaodong, seemingly without end.
…
One evening, Jiang Tou’er looked at the undulating mountains ahead and said with satisfaction, “Not bad, the pace has certainly been much faster these past few days with Young Qi and the others taking turns shouting the commands.”
The dark-faced man was not as optimistic. He pointed to the overlapping mountains ahead and quietly expressed his concerns to Jiang Tou’er, “This large mountain ahead is the famous Erlang Mountain. Not only are wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards frequently found on Erlang Mountain, but there are also bandit strongholds.”
“Zhuzi, how many bandits are there here?” Jiang Tou’er wasn’t afraid of wild animals; he was more wary of bandits and mountain thieves.
It was mostly because most mountain bandits lacked honor.
“The number of bandits here isn’t that high; it's said to be around two to three hundred people.”
“Two to three hundred people isn’t many? That’s quite a lot.” Jiang Tou’er began to worry.
“Boss, let’s rest at the foot of the mountain tonight.”
“Mm. What I’m worried about is what to do tomorrow.”
“We’ll be fine. No matter how fierce those mountain bandits are, they won’t rob us.” The dark-faced man glanced behind him and said, “I’m afraid they might target Old Wu and his men.”
“Isn’t that stating the obvious? Attacking them would be like attacking us.” Jiang Tou’er now regretted agreeing to travel with Old Wu and his group.
“Boss, are you regretting it?”
“Regretting what? I don’t even know how to spell the word ‘regret’.”
“Tsk, a skinny donkey still wants to pull a heavy cart.”
“You, you brat, are you looking for a beating?” Jiang Tou’er then made a gesture of taking off his shoe.
The dark-faced man quickly pleaded, “Brother, you are my dear brother, please don’t take off your shoe. I’m afraid that before the other side falls for your trick, you’ll knock us all out with your smell.”
“…”
The officers, thinking Jiang Tou’er was really going to take off his shoe, positioned themselves as if to run far away, with some even looking for the prevailing wind.
Jiang Tou’er said, “Listen up, you kids, today. Anyone who runs, I’ll have a bone to pick with them.”
“Bone to pick with whom?”
A deep voice, accompanied by a slight laugh, carried from afar, and then a group of people galloped towards them.
Upon seeing the uniform attire, the flying fish robes, and the embroidered spring knives, the Meng clansmen turned deathly pale and knelt on the ground, not daring to move. Some of the more belligerent ones even fainted from fear.
Fu Xinci: Even in her wildest dreams, she never imagined she would encounter real-life, fearsome Embroidered Uniform Guard here.
Damn it, she had been exiled at the start, and just when she thought she was nearing her destination after enduring hardships, here came another group of Embroidered Uniform Guard.
She was truly unlucky!
Along the way, she had heard Meng Yutang and the others talk extensively about how brutal the Embroidered Uniform Guard were, how they had incapacitated all the male members of the Duke’s mansion during their raids.
At the time, she had just smiled, taking it as bedtime stories.
But now, seeing the Meng clansmen kneeling silently on the ground, and recalling the images of the Embroidered Uniform Guard from movies, television shows, and novels she had read, she lowered her head and discreetly leaned next to her grandfather, trying to minimize her presence.
“Whoa…” The leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard reined in his mount.
Jiang Tou’er also hadn’t expected to encounter these powerful figures. He quickly stepped forward, cupped his fists in a salute, and said, “This humble servant, Jiang Mingliang, greets all your esteemed lords.”
“Alright, Old Jiang, stop pretending. It’s as if we don’t know who you are.”
“Heh, forgive my impudence, Lord Liu.” Jiang Tou’er said with a seemingly awkward, wry smile.
“Alright, Chunfeng, stop teasing him. You know as well as I do that this guy is as slippery as a loach, impossible to catch.”
“Lord Yan, please don’t praise me too much. I already feel like the ground beneath my feet is uneven.”
“Haha, keep pretending. Try and pretend to be a cripple for me. If you can’t, I’ll personally break your dog legs and make your lameness a reality.”
“Lord Yan, such a joke is not to be made.” Jiang Tou’er immediately dropped his fawning demeanor after speaking.
“No more pretending?”
“No more pretending.”
“That’s more like it.”
The young Lord Yan, after saying this, swept his gaze over the kneeling Meng clansmen and became serious, “Old Jiang, are you escorting members of the Meng family?”
“Replying to Lord Yan, this humble servant and his men are indeed escorting members of the Meng clan.”
“Oh. Have these scoundrels caused you any trouble along the way?”
“Not at all, they’ve all been quite well-behaved.”
“That’s some self-awareness. Hey? Why do those few lads have weapons in their hands?”
Upon hearing Lord Yan mention that the few lads had weapons, all the Embroidered Uniform Guard looked over.
Jiang Tou’er, fearing they might act, quickly explained, “We encountered hungry wolves in the Mountain God Temple earlier, and it was only through everyone working together that we managed to deal with those four wolves.”