Twenty-four

Under the shocked gazes of the three Meng family members, the servant hurriedly recounted what he had seen and heard that day.

At the end, he added with trepidation, "I saw it clearly, sir. As soon as the young master entered, a male courtesan immediately approached him... and the way he looked... he was truly even more handsome than our young master..."

Seeing that his parents were on the verge of fainting, Meng Changle quickly scolded in a low voice, "Shut up! Who told you to be so detailed?"

The servant immediately fell silent. Meanwhile, the Marquis of Huainan and his wife were stumbling, their steps unsteady, and they would have collapsed if not for the quick-acting matron behind them who caught the two elders.

"My Lord, please restrain your grief. My Lady, please restrain your grief..."

Madam Meng seemed to finally regain her composure, her unfocused eyes slowly narrowing as if she had finally processed what had happened. She sank into a chair and burst into tears, "What a sin! What a sin! How did I give birth to such a son..."

The Marquis of Huainan was, after all, more experienced and worldly, yet at this moment, he was gripped by sheer disbelief. His face cycled through shades of blue and purple. After a long silence, he spat out, "Someone, bring that disgrace back to me!"

Within half an hour, Meng Xingzhou was politely "invited" back to the Meng estate. When it was discovered that he had been found by the servants at a pleasure house, he had been holding a handsome young man in his arms, with another fair-skinned male courtesan sitting on his lap.

The Marquis of Huainan was instantly enraged and hurled a vase at him. "You disgrace! You still dare to come back!"

As Meng Xingzhou entered the room, the vase flew toward him, but he side-stepped and dodged it. He then walked forward hesitantly, "Greetings, Father. Greetings, Mother."

Another vase was thrown at him. "Greetings? With a rebellious son like you, how can your mother and I be at peace!"

Madam Meng was already weeping uncontrollably. Seeing her son standing there, tall and elegant like a pine tree, she could not fathom how he had gone astray. She rushed toward him, grabbing his sleeves and arms, sobbing, "My son, tell your mother this isn't true... tell me this isn't true..."

"Mother, it is true."

With that single, simple sentence, Meng Xingzhou ignited the anger in the hall once more. Madam Meng was so enraged she nearly fainted, pointing a trembling finger at him, "Are you trying to be the death of your parents! You disgrace... you disgrace... I would have been better off giving birth to a turtle than you..."

Meng Changle was also frantic. She could not imagine what had come over her brother today, so she kept pushing him, "Brother, tell Father and Mother that you will never go to those places again..."

Meng Xingzhou gave her a puzzled look, then turned back to the Marquis and his wife. His voice was neither loud nor soft, yet it struck like a thunderclap: "Father, Mother, I am in love with Shuangshuang. I want to redeem him and bring him to live in the Meng estate!"

With a dull thud, Madam Meng collapsed straight to the floor. The Marquis fared little better, slumping into his chair, speechless. The hall fell into chaos as they called for a doctor and pressed on Madam Meng’s philtrum. After a long while, she slowly regained consciousness. Recalling what had just happened, she burst into fresh wails, "A family misfortune! A total misfortune!"

She had previously pitied the Censor’s wife for having a son who frequented brothels, but she never imagined her own son would be even worse. At least those others went to legitimate brothels, but... but where Xingzhou went... what kind of place was that!

As Madam Meng thought this, she wailed it aloud. Meng Xingzhou’s heart stirred, and he asked, "Mother, do you mean to say that it would be acceptable if I went to a brothel?"

Madam Meng was stunned. She had wanted to say that brothels were also off-limits, but upon second thought, if Xingzhou had already fallen so far, what did it matter if he went to a brothel, provided it could straighten him out? Anything was better than a pleasure house for men!

Gritting her teeth, she said, "If you can truly break this... this peculiar habit of yours... even if you bring home a woman from a brothel, I will allow her to enter our family!"

Just as expected.

Meng Xingzhou smiled with relief. When Brother Qiao had told him that if he wanted the other party to agree to open a window, he should first threaten to tear down the house, he had been a bit hesitant. Now it seemed this method was indeed excellent. If he had directly asked to marry Qingyue, his parents might have refused out of concern for social decorum. But by first declaring his preference for men, his parents, in their desperation to find a cure, would naturally overlook everything else.

Now that his mother had even conceded to a woman from a brothel—the very thing she had previously looked down upon—surely Qingyue... would be easier to accept than a brothel woman?

For a moment, Meng Xingzhou felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted; his mood was quite buoyant. Since things were sorted here, all that remained was to deal with the other suitors around Qingyue, and there would be nothing left to worry about. The time was ripe; he was just waiting for the right moment.

Madam Meng was so angered by Meng Xingzhou that she was bedridden for two full days. When friends came to visit, she turned them all away, feeling too ashamed to face anyone after such a scandal had befallen her house.

It wasn't until a servant brought over a gold-stamped invitation that she had no choice but to face the world.

"An invitation to a banquet hosted by the Imperial Concubine?" She took the invitation with suspicion.

Beside her, Meng Changle’s attention was elsewhere. She was gripping her embroidered handkerchief so tightly it was nearly shredded, unable to fathom, "Why would the Imperial Concubine specifically request the invitation of Qingyue?"

The servant naturally did not know.

Meanwhile, Madam Meng suddenly remembered that Qingyue was still locked in the woodshed. She hurriedly ordered her release and sent for a tailor to come to the estate to make her some new clothes.

"Your sister does not think much of Chen Sheng. If she can meet a good family at the palace banquet and they catch each other's eye, that would be for the best," Madam Meng said to comfort Meng Changle, failing to notice the flash of malice in her daughter's eyes.

A palace banquet? Only those of great wealth and status attended such things. What right did Meng Qingyue have to be there? Did she even deserve it?

After some thought, once she returned to her room, she instructed her maid to convey today's news to Meng Xingzhou.

The next day, the tailor arrived at the Marquis’s estate. It happened that the Marquis and his wife were away, so he came to consult the young master about tailoring dresses for the two young ladies for the palace banquet the following day.

Meng Xingzhou was silent for a long time, seemingly deep in thought, before he suddenly smiled. He called one of the tailors over and whispered a few words into his ear.

The tailor looked troubled and asked, "Young Master, but if the dresses I make cause any trouble at the palace banquet, then..."

Meng Xingzhou replied coldly, "It doesn't matter. Any faults will be my burden to bear. Just do as you are told."

The tailor hesitated for a long time, unable to understand why this young master of the Marquis’s house would treat his sister this way. However, when he saw the fifty taels of silver offered as a reward, he held his tongue.