Chapter 194 - 193: Continued Jealousy, a Shocking Secret!

Chapter 194: Chapter 193: Continued Jealousy, a Shocking Secret!

Chairman Meng stared at him, asking word by word, "Meng Shuyan, do you know who is responsible for presenting the award today?"

Meng Shuyan blanked. "This... how could I possibly know everyone?"

"Hahaha, you don’t know! Of course, you definitely don’t know!" Chairman Meng cried and laughed as if he had gone mad. "If you knew, how would you have dared to do this?"

"Uncle Meng..." Meng Shuyan was startled, an inexplicable panic rising in his heart.

Chairman Meng gritted his teeth. "He is the future dean of the Mingjing Cultural Heritage Institute! Forget about you getting out—even I’m going to end up in there with you!"

BOOM! It was as if a thunderbolt had struck, blowing Meng Shuyan’s mind completely blank. The future dean of the Mingjing Cultural Heritage Institute?!

Chairman Meng’s expression was more exhausted than ever before. He had already turned around. "Now let’s see if the Meng Family has the capability to fish you out."

"Uncle Meng!" Meng Shuyan finally panicked, struggling violently. "Uncle Meng, save me... please save me! I didn’t expect... I didn’t expect it to turn out like this!"

Chairman Meng left without another word, running right into Meng Baizhou, who was hurrying over.

"Chairman, I didn’t expect you to arrive first," Meng Baizhou said, still calm. "What is the situation now?"

Weakly, Chairman Meng described what had happened.

Meng Baizhou was also shocked. "That young man is Master Cui Jiu?"

Chairman Meng didn’t say anything else, stumbling away. Meng Baizhou pressed his lips together and went to see Meng Shuyan.

"Dad!" Meng Shuyan was in a panic. "What do I do? Can I still get out? I was wrong, I was really wrong. I’ll go kowtow to Shi Changying and admit my mistake."

Meng Baizhou sighed in disappointment. "Shuyan, wasn’t the last lesson enough for you? Why did you have to do this?"

"I..." Meng Shuyan stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

Meng Baizhou said evenly, "If you make a mistake, you have to pay the price. Take some time to reflect on it first."

"Dad!" Meng Shuyan screamed, finally breaking down. "Are you going to give up on me too? You can’t do this! I am your only son!"

These words made Meng Baizhou pause, but he ultimately disappeared from Meng Shuyan’s line of sight.

***

Meanwhile, on the way back to Jianghuai High School, Cui Jinghan contacted Dean Xu, ordering the Mingjing Cultural Heritage Institute to immediately dispatch personnel to Jianghuai for an investigation.

He didn’t care in the slightest that Dean Xu once again cursed at him, yelling for him to get out of their lineage, because he had just caught Shi Changying finishing her rehearsal and walking out of the dance studio.

However, Cui Jinghan silently glanced at Xie Qingshi, who surprisingly still hadn’t left. Some people were simply eyesores! But Xie Qingshi was also right. Pei Xuan was their biggest enemy right now. Once Pei Xuan was dealt with, he could settle the score with Xie Qingshi.

"Why is Mr. Cui back so soon? Has the matter been resolved?" Xie Qingshi smiled faintly at him, acting as if he didn’t see his murderous glare.

Cui Jinghan replied flatly, "Just a bunch of buffoons. They’re not worth any real effort."

Xie Qingshi looked thoughtful. "It is truly admirable that Mr. Cui is serving at the Mingjing Cultural Heritage Institute."

"Your Majesty, my junior brother... has also caused you trouble these past few days," Cui Jinghan said in a low voice, ignoring Xie Qingshi. "Sometimes, his brain isn’t quite right."

Shi Changying raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Actually, your junior brother is quite nice. He’s very interesting to talk to. He reminds me of Chang’an."

As soon as that name was mentioned, both Cui Jinghan and Xie Qingshi’s expressions turned peculiar.

What kind of person was Ling Chang’an, anyway? Cui Jinghan still couldn’t understand this Jun Xian’s thought process. He remembered Ling Chang’an vividly because of one particular incident.

It was the fifth year of Taichu. The Empress had just reclaimed Jiuzhou, and for a time, there were no wars to fight, so she began seeking their opinions.

Ye Yu said, "Your Majesty, everything requires a justified reason. We are a state of ceremonies. Even if we must fight, we should try diplomacy before force."

Thus, they began flipping through history books to find a good excuse to dispatch the army. They tossed and turned for half a day but couldn’t find anything.

That was until Ling Chang’an rushed over excitedly with a scroll in hand. "Your Majesty, I found a great reason to go to war! In the third year of Chengtian, Grand Ancestor Jing was besieged in the Southern Region."

Hearing this, even Ye Yu fell silent.

Zhuge Mingyue was speechless for a long moment before saying, "...That was sixteen hundred years ago. Isn’t that a bit too far in the past?"

Ling Chang’an spoke with unwavering conviction. "It’s never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. So what if it’s been sixteen hundred years? Even sixteen thousand years would be fine! Besides, if Your Majesty can avenge this, it will prove that Your Majesty is stronger than Grand Ancestor Jing."

These words struck a chord right in the Empress’s heart. She made a prompt decision. "Excellent. We will attack the Southern Region right now to avenge the siege of Grand Ancestor Jing."

Cui Jinghan believed that when it came to bootlicking, no one could catch up to Ling Chang’an. He never expected someone like her to appear four hundred years later.

"Sometimes, using her methods feels far too wicked, but not using them feels like a waste," Shi Changying said lazily. "But someone like Chang’an must never be let go. If she appeared in the enemy camp, I couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen."

Cui Jinghan and Xie Qingshi fell silent once more. After all, Ling Chang’an’s military tactics were incredibly bizarre, yet she truly had repeatedly achieved miraculous feats.

"Let’s go." Shi Changying waved at them. "I’ll treat you to a late-night snack."

***

When Xu Zhao Yu woke up again, it was already the night of the next day. As if suddenly remembering something, she immediately picked up her phone. Sure enough, there was a hidden text message from an unknown number.

[Meet me at the usual place at 11:30.]

Xu Zhao Yu’s heart tightened. With no time to rest, she threw on a coat and hurried out of the hospital, taking advantage of the brief window when the nurses and Old Madam Xu were away.

The "usual place" was an abandoned, unfinished building in Jianghuai, looking somewhat eerie in the dead of night. Xu Zhao Yu pulled her hat down lower and rushed inside.

Someone was already there waiting—an old man with silvery-white hair and a beard, around seventy years of age.

Xu Zhao Yu was both panicked and anxious. "What are you doing here? Aren’t you afraid of being discovered?"

"Xu Zhao Yu, don’t forget exactly how you got the surname Xu!" The old man spat out his cigarette. "If it wasn’t for your old man swapping you with that little bastard back then, you’d be rotting in some ditch by now!"

Xu Zhao Yu took a deep breath. "Yes, I’m very grateful to you. But your appearance here will cause me a lot of trouble. Do you know that?"

"That’s what you owe me." The old man scoffed. "My only grandson is now in prison. Of course I had to come."

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Xu Zhao Yu finally yelled, "I already agreed to register Meng Shuyan as my and Baizhou’s son! What exactly are you still dissatisfied with?"