The Young Master has obtained the script for Daji

Meng Huan: "?"

Unbeknownst to her, he skillfully drew explicit illustrations, depicting not only sexual scenes but also featuring Lin Bozhou and his own face.

"..."

Meng Huan quickly crumpled the drawings into a ball and hastily threw them into the trash bin.

This was too terrifying.

The thought of engaging in sexual activities with Lin Bozhou would make Meng Huan cry in fear.

At the entrance, someone entered and reported, "Madam."

"What's the matter?"

"The Lord requests your presence."

Meng Huan was puzzled, "Isn't Lin Bozhou receiving guests? Why would he summon me?"

The servant replied, "I'm not entirely sure. It seems a relative of yours has come to visit."

A relative?

The original host indeed had relatives, but they were merely close friends and acquaintances from the Ministry of Rites. Who could have such connections and come directly to the Regent's residence to see her?

Perplexed, Meng Huan put down her brush, washed her hands, and followed the servant to the tea room where Lin Bozhou was waiting.

In the reception hall of the mansion, Lin Bozhou sat lazily on the prominent seat, his arm resting on a carved pear wood armchair. Despite his youth, he carried himself with an air of sophistication, exuding an unattainable elegance that surpassed most young aristocrats.

"The Madam has arrived."

"Husband," Meng Huan greeted appropriately.

Upon calling him, she noticed another middle-aged man by his side.

Dressed in silk garments, with a flowing beard and well-proportioned facial features, his hair adorned with a cicada coronet, he wore a faint smile that carried an air of amicability.

This must be the formidable relative, right?

Meng Huan paused for a moment, unable to recognize who he was, and could only nod and force a smile.

That smile instantly reddened the eyes of Lu Shi, the Minister of Rites. He appeared as someone who understood everything without words: "Huan... Madam."

Meng Huan still couldn't remember who he was, but sensing the awkward atmosphere, she reluctantly put on a sorrowful expression.

Lin Bozhou spoke, "Minister Lu inquired about my eye condition earlier and recommended some remedies. He happened to mention that he was a close friend of your late father, having watched you grow up since childhood. As you coincidentally came to the mansion, Minister Lu wished to meet you and reminisce about the past."

"You two can chat at your leisure."

With lowered eyelashes, Lin Bozhou wore a faint smile, as if he were not involved in the tragic events at all. He seemed to enjoy the spectacle of a wife separated from her husband and children.

Meng Huan finally recalled who he was. Lu Shi, the Minister of Rites and her father's good friend. He appeared sorrowful, almost on the verge of tears. Meng Huan attempted to say a few words to ease the tense atmosphere, but couldn't come up with anything suitable, so she awkwardly said, "Uncle Lu..."

Lu Shi's eyes welled up with tears, but held them back due to the presence of Lin Bozhou, the treacherous villain responsible for it all. He asked, "How have you been, Madam?"

Representing her father, who had been exiled and sent to Fengxiang due to accusing Lin Bozhou, Lu Shi had come to express his concern. Even if Meng Huan were slow, she knew that her father had offended Lin Bozhou. If her father's friend appeared sympathetic and regretful, it would displease Lin Bozhou and potentially harm him as well.

In order to prevent him

from becoming too angry, Meng Huan decided to share only good news and conceal the bad: "Uncle Lu, I'm doing well in the mansion. The Lord treats me generously. There is an abundance of food and a wide variety of dishes every day. I eat well. The Lord also gave me a large courtyard and many servants to attend to me. I don't have to do anything all day; I have food and drink, living a perfect life."

To please Lin Bozhou, Meng Huan gritted her teeth and added, "Being able to marry the Lord as his concubine is the good fortune I've acquired."

This statement was quite audacious.

Lu Shi nodded, his expression turning into one of restrained anguish.

Meng Huan felt anxious, as she could guess why he was displeased.

Her father had been exiled and sent to Fengxiang due to his accusations against Lin Bozhou. While her father's friend showed regret and pity, it would also provoke Lin Bozhou's displeasure and potentially harm him as well.

Although dissatisfied, Lu Shi didn't show it on his face. He bowed and ended the pleasantries, "Please take care of yourself, Madam."

"You too, Uncle Lu."

After their small talk, Lin Bozhou smiled ambiguously at Meng Huan's response, lifted the tea lid slightly, and Lu Shi immediately understood that he was being dismissed: "Lord, I shall take my leave."

"See him off."

Lu Shi slowly retreated from the entrance. Meng Huan didn't mention Lu Shi at all and changed the subject, "Lord, when will we have our meal?"

With deep and penetrating eyes, Lin Bozhou observed him for a moment, then inexplicably curved his lips and said, "Let's go now, Madam."

Outside the Regent Prince's Residence, Lu Shi walked out with a gloomy expression on his face.

A young nobleman with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes anxiously awaited him and quickly approached when he saw his figure. "Father, how is Ah Huan?"

Lu Nanxing was Meng Huan's childhood sweetheart. They grew up together, and Lu Shi held a higher position than Meng Xueming. Meng Huan had once served as his attendant.

Lu Shi, with a sorrowful expression, described the encounter.

Lu Nanxing's face changed drastically. "What? Could it be that Ah Huan has been swayed by this treacherous scoundrel's monetary interests and has already started to ally himself with him? This is unreasonable!"

Lu Shi instinctively shook his head. "It's impossible. Meng Huan is not that kind of person."

Amidst the bustling street, the two of them silently confronted each other.

Suddenly, Lu Shi seemed to understand something, and his expression changed abruptly. "I think Meng Xueming is showing such deference to the Prince deliberately. It's inconceivable. Could it be that he is afraid we would worry and intentionally saying these things to appease us?"

Lu Nanxing immediately agreed and clapped his hands. "Ah Huan's character is most similar to Meng Shu's. He would never bow down to the Prince. Moreover, Ah Huan is clever and vigilant... There must be some purpose behind his actions."

The two of them fell into silent contemplation. After a while, Lu Nanxing suddenly grabbed his father's hand. "Uncle Meng's exile to Fengxiang is filled with hardships, and his life hangs in the balance. Could it be that Ah Huan has lost the will to live and intends to feign flattery to the Regent Prince, gaining his favor, and then imitate the beauty who assassinated the monarch to kill him?"

Lu Shi's expression also changed, and after thinking it over, it seemed that this conjecture best matched the reason for Meng Huan's drastic change in temperament.

The two stood in the middle of the street, their expressions filled with a melancholic autumn-like gloom.

After a while, Lu Nanxing stomped his foot and said, "If Ah Huan really has such intentions, then no matter how we persuade him, it's likely futile. Otherwise, I can write him a letter to inquire about his intentions in the mansion. Father, what do you think?"

Lu Shi closed his eyes, envisioning Meng Xueming's disheveled appearance during his exile to Fengxiang. He neither nodded nor shook his head.

Lu Nanxing hurriedly said, "Then I'll immediately write a letter and ask someone to deliver it."

In the waterside pavilion, Meng Huan finished serving Lin Bozhou his meal and carried his painting tools to this cool place to casually paint, honing his landscape painting skills.

Feng Zhi, the maid by his side, looked at the painting and exclaimed, "Madam is truly amazing!"

Meng Huan chuckled. "It's nothing worth mentioning!"

But the maids, who usually only did their chores or played cuju and paijiu, were always fascinated by Meng Huan, murmuring nonstop around him.

After finishing a painting, Meng Huan went to wash his brushes in the water. Finally, the surroundings became quiet. However, a figure appeared behind him. "Madam, you dropped something."

Meng Huan turned around and found a clean little servant holding something wrapped in a cloth. The servant handed it to him.

Meng Huan denied, "This is not mine."

The servant grew anxious. "Please take it, Madam. It

really is yours!" After saying that, he quickly ran away, making sure no one noticed.

What does this mean?

Meng Huan scratched his chin, feeling puzzled, and opened the package to find a letter inside.

A letter? For me? Meng Huan was about to tear it open on the spot but remembered the nervous look of the servant who had delivered it. Obviously, it was sent secretly.

Forget it, Meng Huan put the letter in his pocket and headed back to the mansion.

Late at night, Meng Huan finally lit an oil lamp and opened the letter.

However, as he looked at the characters on the letter, he suddenly felt as if cold water had been poured over him, and he stood there dumbfounded.

Help! It's all in Traditional Chinese characters!

And it's written in classical Chinese!

Meng Huan desperately widened his eyes, exerting all his strength to decipher the key content of this letter using his high school-level classical Chinese reading skills.

But after half an hour, exhausted, Meng Huan walked to the door and looked at the attendants on the left and right. "Have any of you received an education?"

A male servant stepped forward, thin and emaciated. "Madam, I can read."

Meng Huan said, "Come here and help me read a letter."

"Okay." The servant nodded eagerly.

Meng Huan said, "Start reading." He added, "Read slowly and repeat it several times."

The servant slowly read the contents of the letter, word by word.

Meng Huan understood the first paragraph. It was a scolding of Lin Bozhou.

But when the servant read the words "collaborator," "intelligence," and "assassination" in the second paragraph, Meng Huan's eyebrows lightly furrowed, and he looked at the servant in disbelief.

"What does this letter mean?"

The servant wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. "This letter suggests, Madam, that you are staying in the Prince's residence to seduce him, transmit intelligence, and attempt to assassinate the Prince."

Meng Huan: "..."