The Meng Brothers

The sun had just started to peak over the horizon when she made it to the ground floor. Sneaking out of Libaogong was another ordeal because every single door was absolutely massive. So it was obvious to nearby guards whenever one opened.

She just barely managed to slip out without attracting any attention. What the system said was true, Meng Xiāng was not supposed to up this early without permission. So Meng Mei didn't want to run into anyone who could question her.

Once she was finally outside, finding the training grounds wasn't hard. She headed for the courtyard and followed the sounds of swords clashing.

The size of the training grounds was enough to make her pause. They were hidden by a wall of bushes for privacy but like everything else at Libaogong the training grounds were gigantic.

Rows upon rows of practice swords and other various equipment lined the farthest wall. Cloth dummies were piled up in a corner. There were even low tables for food and mediation.

In the center of it all was a giant circular stone slab. It was laid flat on the ground and had etchings around the rim of it. In the center stood two clashing swordsmen. Meng Weiyuan and Meng Yong.

They hadn't noticed her approach so she took a few steps back before stumbling forward loudly. She heard the sword noises stop before one of the brothers called out.

"Who is it?"

She peaked around the corner of the bushes just enough to be visible.

"Um. Good morning." She grinned sheepishly. The shorter one with a long fluffy ponytail broke into a grin. He looked to be about thirteen. The boy across from him was about a head taller and had perfectly straight hair. He looked like he was probably closer to seventeen.

"Meimei! Come over here!" The younger one laughed, dropping his sword.

"That's Yong right?" She asked as she ducked her head and started making her way over.

[Correct!! Meng Weiyuan is the taller one with straight hair]

Knowing that she quickened her pace. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Meng Weiyuan's face contract and he quickly turned away from her.

She reached Meng Yong and let out a squeak of surprise as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up.

"Er-ge!" She squealed, placing her palms on his collar bone to balance herself.

"Ahh, sorry meimei." he grinned, "I was just excited to see you. I can't believe A-niang kept you in the library for a full day! Four meals without you sitting across from me trying to look all proper. It was terrible." He lamented, dramatically throwing his head back.

She had to hide a wince at that. She had finished her transcriptions a little around lunch time but she'd made no effort to leave the library until Amah brought her dinner. She'd spent her afternoon reading as many cultivation manuals as she could. She had no grasp of even the core basics since she wasn't from this world.

If she wanted to be successful during her studies at YuHu she would have to have at least an idea of what to do.

"Sorry Er-ge, I should've listened to A-niang and not gone out to play like that. Then I wouldn't have been put in the library." Meng Mei tried to sound remorseful. Without much of an idea of how Meng Xiāng was at this age she just acted how she thought an eight year old would. An eight year old who was being trained to be a leader one day that is.

"No! You should be allowed to play. If I had been here I would've covered for you." His passionate declaration turned into a grumble at the end.

Meng Mei decided that he was now her favorite person. If he didn't believe an eight year old trying to go out and have fun was a bad thing then he was the second best person she'd met so far. Of course Amah had taken the first spot. After a few meals with her Meng Mei understood why Meng Xiāng liked her so much.

"What? Did she catch you in the reeds again?" Meng Weiyuan snorted from behind them.

Meng Mei felt her spine stiffen. Although she had no problem with him, Meng Xiāng did. And Meng Mei had to respect that.

With a huff she turned away from him and just didn't respond. There was a derisive laugh from behind her.

"Of course. What did I expect." he mumbled before audibly turning on his heels "Well that marks the end of this morning's practice. I'm going to get ready for breakfast."

And with that he stomped off.

Meng Mei snuck a peak at Meng Yong and found him looking after their older brother with a conflicted look on his face. He caught her looking and gave her a weak smile.

"He means well meimei. It just hurts his feelings that you won't talk to him anymore. But I understand why you don't."

She quickly latched onto the opportunity to get more information.

"Do you?" She asked skeptically.

"Of course. It must've been hard to suddenly become engaged and the heir after what happened. Even though he won't say it, Yuan-ge regrets forcing it on you.” Meng Yong promised solemnly.

That...that explained so much. So something happened that made Meng Weiyuan's position of sect heir be renounced and passed onto his little sister. But why Meng Xiāng over Meng Yong?

The answer came to her in a flash.

The YuHu sect only has two recognized children. Zhong Changming and his older sister Zhong Qingling.

If Meng Mei remembered correctly Zhong Qingling and Meng Weiyuan are close in age. And presumably they were engaged at one point. And when Meng Weiyuan lost his position as sect heir then he wouldn't be able to marry Zhong Qingling.

And the second son, Meng Yong, was too young. To offer him as a replacement was unthinkable.

So the only way to keep the alliance with YuHu was to engage Zhong Changming and Meng Xiāng. And then make both of them the heirs.

‘Okay Meng Xiāng. I'd be pissed too.’ Meng Mei admitted to herself. Maybe just this once, Meng Xiāng’s volatile emotions weren't unwarranted.

If Meng Mei is correct then that explains why she hasn't met Zhong Changming yet. If this was a new engagement then there would've been no time for the two of them to meet.

The entire time Meng Mei was connecting these dots Meng Yong was carrying her back to her room. They were on the third floor before she even realized that they had moved.

"Er-ge, put me down! I can walk!" She finally protested.

"Nope! Because soon you'll be too tall for me to do this." He just tightened his grip on her to stop her from wriggling out.

"Besides, it'll be quicker if I carry you. You still need to get ready for breakfast." Meng Yong grinned.

She made a noise of acknowledgement and just settled down in his arms.

It was a good thing that their father was away to have a political meeting with the YuHu sect. She really didn't want to meet any new people today after this morning. Meng Guoyao wasn't estimated to be back until after Meng Mei had finished the Tutorial Quest. Which means she didn't have to worry about convincing him anyways.