Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Nine: Young Marquis Mu

Zhao Yang's face froze for a moment, and then he burst into laughter. "Rumors are truly untrustworthy! Brother-in-law, you suit my temperament completely! I have a real sister—how about you become my actual brother-in-law?"

"..." Jiang Lan shook his head, thinking to himself, *I can't even manage to be a cousin-in-law.*

Zhao Yang shoved the box of night pearls into Jiang Lan's arms. "A token of our first meeting. Don't stand on ceremony with me, brother-in-law."

Jiang Lan looked at the box of treasures and his face twitched.

Were they all trying to subsidize his personal treasury?

Since the other party was being so generous, Jiang Lan saw no reason to refuse.

After offering his thanks, Jiang Lan took his leave of this genuine, foolishly wealthy son of a landlord.

Xue Minghao aggrievedly sent his cousin off, then glared at Zhao Yang. "You weren't nearly this nice before!"

"Indeed. But when have my words ever been reliable?" Zhao Yang retorted.

Everyone shook their heads.

Xue Minghao: "..."

As Jiang Lan walked toward the main gates, he saw his Third and Fourth Cousins heading in his direction. Upon catching sight of him, they quickened their pace anxiously and asked, "Are you alright? The servants reported just now that that good-for-nothing from the Zhao family was giving you trouble. Second Brother couldn't get away, so he sent me instead."

Noticing that Jiang Lan's expression remained completely normal, Third Cousin Xue feared he might be bottling up his frustration and hastened to comfort him. "Don't take it to heart. There are plenty of displeasing things in this world. Tell me, how did that fellow provoke you? Even if Third Cousin has to poke a hole in the sky, I'll get justice back for you!"

Standing beside him, Xue Mingshi—the honest and steady youth—also nodded in agreement. "Yes, we'll get it back."

Jiang Lan opened the box he was holding in his arms. "If this is what you call provocation, to be honest... I don't mind it very much."

"..." Xue Ming昉 looked inside the box. There were at least a dozen night pearls, and none of them were small.

Xue Mingshi's eyes widened. "Th-Th-This... Did he bombard you with night pearls, Cousin?"

"That's not the main point here, alright?" Xue Ming昉 remarked. Beside him, Xue Mingshi nodded in agreement. "Right, not the main point."

"How could you just accept them? This is an insult to you! Are you running short on silver? Why didn't you just tell your brothers?" Xue Ming昉 asked, intensely agitated to the point of nearly jumping in place. Madam Zhou's mother came from a prominent imperial merchant family, and the dowry she had given Madam Zhou was extremely generous.

Xue Ming昉 himself was hardly short of money; he simply wasn't as profligate as that fellow Zhao Yang.

"Uhm, uhm, uhm... This is an insult?" Jiang Lan blinked his mismatched eyes at his two cousins.

Seeing both cousins nod in succession, Jiang Lan quickly shook his head. "Actually, I think it's quite alright, really. It's nothing at all. Since he gave them to me, I simply took them. As it happens, I was preparing to expand my business down south and was lacking some funds. This solves my urgent need."

Seeing his two cousins frowning with expressions that suggested they thought he was merely putting on a brave face to comfort them, Jiang Lan immediately explained, "The gifts bestowed upon me by my aunt and elder relatives on ordinary days are all safely stored away. Those items are extremely precious and represent the good intentions of our elders; they must never be casually pawned or given away. The silver I have on hand comes solely from the yields of my estate, and it has to cover my daily expenses. My liquid silver is truly very meager."

As he spoke, Jiang Lan watched both his cousins start patting down their robes. "Are you breaking out in a heat rash?"

Xue Ming昉 fished out several large-denomination silver banknotes from his robes and shoved them straight into Jiang Lan's hands, every single one of them worth more than the ones Xue Mingrui had given him earlier.

"Third Cousin doesn't usually have many places to spend money, so I don't carry much on me right now. Wait right here. Once I'm done with things today, I'll go to the money shop and fetch some more for you. Next time, we'll use these banknotes to bludgeon that fellow surnamed Zhao to death!"

Looking at his breathless Third Cousin, Jiang Lan felt a warmth in his heart. But using banknotes to bludgeon someone to death—just how many sheets would that take?

"Third Cousin, wouldn't that be improper? Actually, I do have money—it's quite enough."

Seeing Jiang Lan attempt to push the money back, Xue Ming昉 instantly grew anxious. "Don't be like that! Are you looking down on your Third Cousin? What's improper about it? Just treat it as Third Cousin depositing the funds with you. Didn't you say you want to do business in the south? Do it properly. If it's not enough, come to your cousin again. What is money, anyway? Third Cousin has plenty of it!"

Facing such grand and heroic determination from his Third Cousin, Jiang Lan was momentarily at a loss for how to refuse.

"Cousin Lan, this is Fourth Cousin's share."

Watching the honest youth empty out his entire personal fortune, Jiang Lan felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'll give you brothers a dividend at the end of the month, then."

Xue Ming昉 waved a hand dismissively. "Forget about that. Even if we lose ten or twenty thousand a year, your cousin can easily shoulder it. We can talk about the end of the year... when the end of the year actually arrives."

Xue Mingshi also shook his head. "No rush, no rush."

When Xue Mingrui returned, he distinctly sensed that his cousin Jiang Lan had grown much closer to his younger cousins.

Xue Mingrui lowered his voice to remind them, "The Marquis of Liu and Princess Changle are scheduled to arrive today. Moreover, since it's a day of rest, it looks like Marquis Mu will be coming as well. You all need to keep an eye on the female guests' side to prevent any unseemly disturbances."

Observing the troubled, heavy expressions on his cousins' faces, Jiang Lan sensed there was a story behind this.

"Is there some sort of history here?" Jiang Lan asked, his bright eyes wide with curiosity.

After a brief hesitation, Second Cousin Xue Mingrui nodded, prompting Third Cousin to speak up. "Does Cousin know Marquis Mu?"

"What a coincidence!" Jiang Lan thought to himself, and then replied, "Could it be that Military Commander of the Five City兵马司, Mu Changfeng?"

The three of them looked at Jiang Lan with a look that Jiang Lan understood all too well. He explained, "When I was waylaid by assassins last time, he was the one in charge of the matter. That's how we've met."

The three of them nodded, then pulled Jiang Lan aside into a secluded corner to whisper among themselves.

"This Marquis Mu, well, there's nothing specifically wrong with him. He's upright in character and a proper marquis's son, but... how should I put it..."

Noticing the sudden hesitation and stammering in Xue Ming昉's expression, Jiang Lan knew there was juicy gossip coming.

Ultimately, Xue Mingrui could no longer bear the suspense and stated, "Marquis Mu comes from an exceptionally prestigious lineage and is highly driven. Cousin Lan, surely you've heard of the Four Young Masters of Capital Jiankang?"

Jiang Lan nodded, counting on his fingers: "Uncle Gu, Eldest Young Master Fang, Marquis Mu, and the great-grandson of Prince Qi. Ah, yes, exactly four."

Xue Mingrui gave a dry cough. "Indeed. Although our uncle ranks at the very top of that list, the one most aggressively pursued by young women is actually not him."

Jiang Lan's eyes lit up. "Could it be Marquis Mu?"

All three cousins nodded in unison.

Xue Mingrui said with a heavy, earnest tone, "Every single young woman in Jiankang pursues him relentlessly. If one isn't careful, he gets surrounded and intercepted everywhere he goes. Alas—"

"And worse still, they resort to all sorts of bizarre tactics to frequently declare their affections: flying embroidered sachets, perfumed pouches, deliberately falling into water, love potions... Tsk tsk, endless tricks, appearing over and over again," Xue Ming昉 added.

Even the honest youth Xue Mingshi chimed in, "Troublesome."

Hearing this, Jiang Lan finally understood why his cousins' faces had twisted into such grim expressions the moment they heard Marquis Mu was coming.

The absolute greatest taboo at any banquet was precisely those sorts of unexpected incidents. No wonder they had to guard against the female guests, but could such things truly be prevented?

"Alas—" Xue Ming昉 sighed. "If only Eldest Brother were here. With Eldest Brother standing guard in the gardens, who would dare step out of line?"

Jiang Lan recalled Xue Mingzhao whom he had seen the other day at Chunyi Residence—that chilling, murderous aura that made people's souls tremble—and couldn't help nodding. "He certainly deters thieves."

"Then what are we going to do?" Jiang Lan looked at his deeply distressed cousins.

Suddenly, Xue Ming昉 struck upon an idea. "Our Cousin Wu looks like a man of few words who means business; he's not a whit inferior to Eldest Brother, especially given that sword of his—tsk tsk! Should we ask him for help?"