Chapter 37: Storming the Minister's Residence

Ever since Mei Xianghan had been severely wounded, the Minister’s residence had kept its doors tightly shut, refusing all visitors.

Mei Songtao, the Minister of Works, could at least distract himself from the pain with his official duties, but his wife, Madam Jin, spent her days drowning in tears, acting as though she were on the verge of death. With the legitimate son of the Mei family suffering such a catastrophe, the entire household was plunged into misery.

Haitang spent some coin to bribe a servant at the back gate to call out Chunxi. When Chunxi saw Jian Aozhu, the warmth he once showed was gone. Before, he had assumed the eldest young master favored her and that she would eventually become the lady of the house, so buttering up a future mistress had seemed only natural. Who could have imagined that Jian Aozhu would turn out to be such a walking disaster? She had not only dragged the reputation of the Minister’s residence through the mud but had also brought ruin upon his young master.

"Chunxi, how is Young Master Mei’s condition?"

Chunxi’s mouth drooped. "If you truly cared for our young master, Miss Jian, you would stop coming here. The Madam hates you more than anyone else right now."

Jian Aozhu froze.

"You insolent boy, how dare you speak like that! Is this whole mess entirely our young lady’s fault? Are you saying that when they were caught in that secret meeting, the blame lies solely with her? Does your young master bear no responsibility at all?" Haitang stood up for her mistress, having endured enough grievances over the past two days to reach her breaking point; she refused to be lectured by a mere servant.

Chunxi shrank back, intending to slam the back gate shut, but Jian Aozhu fixed him with a sharp, piercing glare.

"Chunxi, I have only one request: I must see him. Help me."

Jian Aozhu was not one to make people work for free; she signaled Haitang to hand him ten taels of silver—a sum equivalent to a year’s wages for the servant.

"Take it!" Haitang shoved the money at him with a scowl.

But Chunxi reacted as if the silver were a burning coal, thrusting it back and waving his hands frantically. "Miss Jian, if the Madam finds out about this, she’ll skin me alive. Please, have mercy!"

He tried to retreat and bolt the door, but Jian Aozhu had come prepared. When soft tactics failed, she resorted to force. She gathered strength in her palm, morphing her hand into a claw, and pinned Chunxi by the throat.

"Ouch… Miss, Miss Jian, what are you doing?"

"I don't wish to hurt you, but take me to see Young Master Mei, or I will cripple you."

Chunxi could tell she wasn't bluffing, and he had no desire to lose his life. Under his forced guidance, they slipped through the back gate and reached the Drizzling Herb Hall, where Mei Xianghan resided. Unlike the residences of royalty, the Minister’s house was modest; Mei Xianghan was attended only by Chunxi and a personal maid named Lü Nong, who served as his concubine-in-waiting. Aside from them, there was only the family physician, whose presence was essential to manage Mei Xianghan’s epilepsy.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and the physician only made his rounds in the morning and evening. Jian Aozhu handed Chunxi over to Haitang to hold, whispering, "Haitang, keep your wits about you. I am going in to see the young master."

"Don't worry, Miss."

Jian Aozhu burst into Mei Xianghan’s room.

"Who are you?" The maid, Lü Nong, had just finished applying ointment to Mei Xianghan and turned to find a stranger barging in. Without a word, Jian Aozhu delivered a swift chop to her neck, knocking her unconscious.

Mei Xianghan heard the commotion and struggled to pull back the bed curtains.

"Aozhu..."

Their eyes met, and a flicker of intense longing appeared on Mei Xianghan’s pale, bloodless face. Seeing him in such a state, Jian Aozhu’s gaze turned cold. She focused her mind, silently commanding the system to check Mei Xianghan’s reputation score.

"System, what is Mei Xianghan’s current reputation score?"

The system’s mechanical voice chimed: [8,020 points.]

"8,020 points?"

It had dropped, just as expected. It seemed that Zhang Yan’s public disruption had indeed negatively impacted Mei Xianghan’s future prospects. Fortunately, the drop was minimal. 8,020 was still an impressively high figure.

Jian Aozhu had once visited the Cangqi Academy, and among those favored sons of heaven, none—save for Crown Prince Mo Ming—possessed a score exceeding 4,000. At the time, Mei Xianghan had boasted 8,500 points; it was nothing short of extraordinary. There was still a great chance he would one day rise to the rank of a marquis or prime minister, making him worthy of Jian Aozhu’s commitment.

But... could Mei Xianghan still function as a normal man?