A Regular Day

Even without Meng Guoyao present, breakfast was still a stressful affair. Meng Mei had to balance how she acted around Madam Meirong with how she was supposed to act around the Meng brothers.

By the time she was dismissed for classes she was already exhausted. She hoped that the classes would prove to be interesting enough that she could recover from the drain.

She was wrong.

In front of her stood her political history teacher. He was the first person Meng Mei had met who wasn't covered in Libaogong’s vibrant red robes. No, instead he was dressed in robes that were as dull as a pile of rocks.

His voice wasn't much better.

Of course Meng Mei understands why she has to learn political history as the sect heir. But heavens above surely Libaogong could've found a better teacher. She'd read about people who would 'drone' on for hours but she had never understood it until now.

This was what it meant to drone on about something.

She was trying so hard not to just slump over in her seat and take a nap. In fact the only thing stopping her was the System’s reminders.

[A-Mei!! Meng Xiāng paid attention to all of her classes!!]

'Yeah because that brat was a suckup when she wanted to be,' Meng Mei thought humorlessly.

Today was her first real taste of being the Libaogong heir. She'd had an etiquette class, calligraphy class, and finance class so far today.

She'd mistakenly thought that she'd met all of her teachers after spending five hours in lessons. Then she was introduced to her dancing instructor, her speech teacher, and now her political history teacher.

For the first hour she thought she could endure it. Then hour three hit and she'd completely mentally checked out. She just couldn't bear to listen to him anymore.

"—all for today. I want you to write a short paper about how the jade resource scare brought everyone together. I'll expect it to be done by our next lesson."

Meng Mei perked up and hurriedly said her goodbyes to the teacher. He left her alone in the 'classroom'. She knew from the last classes that it'll take Amah a minute or so to retrieve her so she sank fully onto the floor.

She was sprawled out in the most unladylike manner but she couldn't bring herself to care.

“Good heavens above. What a dreadfully boring man.” Amah tutted as she entered the room, “He's the sect heir’s teacher and yet he still dresses in such dreary robes.”

Meng Mei glanced up at the sound of Amah entering the room. She'd slowly been learning that Amah took certain liberties when it was the two of them in a room. She acted less like a proper servant and was more personable.

‘Meng Xiāng really valued her.’ Meng Mei mused as she studied Amah for a moment. ‘Guess that means I have to take extra good care of her.’

“Amah! He talks so slow!” Meng Mei complained readily. “We only went over two topics the entire time he was here!”

“Oh goodness. He's still that bad?” Amah tsked in sympathy as she helped Meng Mei stand. “How unfortunate.”

“Even Li-laoshi makes her lessons interesting. Why can't he?” Meng Mei continued to whine pitifully. If someone could make learning about finances sound interesting then how hard was it to make history interesting? Martial arts and literal magic exist in this world.

“Oh come now Little Miss. Even if he's boring, Feng-laoshi is still one of the most esteemed teachers of his generation.” Amah chastised her lightly.

Meng Mei pictured the man’s gray beard and dull clothes. Deciding to take the high road she didn't mention just how long ago that generation must've been.

“Yes Amah.” Meng Mei agreed with a slight sulk. When she dreamed of being transmigrated she never thought she'd have to spend so much time in lessons.

“I believe it's time for us to get you ready for dinner.” Amah remarked as she smoothed out Meng Mei's slightly rumpled hair.

Meng Mei’s stomach growled at the mention of dinner. Lunch had been an almost disappointing affair since it only consisted of three sticks of meat with a small bowl of rice on the side.

It was barely enough to get her through the afternoon.

“Let's go!” Meng Mei agreed immediately.

Amah laughed at her enthusiasm and ushered her out of the room.

The classroom was only a floor below her bedroom so it didn't take long for them to get there. Amah went to draw Meng Mei a basin of water so she could wash her face and hands.

Washing off the night to have breakfast and then washing off the day to have dinner was one of the customs in this world. It was a way to cleanse yourself before dining with family or friends. Lunch wasn't as important to get ready for since it was in the middle of the two so it was rare to gather for it.

While Amah was busy drawing the water, Meng Mei went to pick out her outfit. It was considered rude to show up in your everyday wear, especially if you were from a noble household. But since Meng Xiāng was still a child, Meng Mei just had to find a hanfu with a few more gems and embroidery on it.

She picked out one that had beautiful phoenix motifs embroidered on the outer robe.

“I've prepared the water Little Miss.” Amah announced as she came back into the bedroom, “Is that what you want to wear tonight?”

Meng Mei nodded in confirmation. Amah smiled and exchanged the basin for the hanfu. Meng Mei busied herself with washing off while Amah prepared her clothes.

Once she’d finished washing her face and hands Amah helped her change. Her hair was decidedly too unkempt for such beautiful robes so Amah got to work rebraiding it. She tied it off with a ribbon and clipped a phoenix hairpin in her hair to keep her slight bangs under control.

“Amah, will my brothers be at dinner?” Meng Mei asked as Amah did some finishing touches. Amah's face tightened and she didn't look at Meng Mei when she answered.

"The second young master will be there but the first young master had some issues to take care of so he left at around lunch time today."

"Oh. Will Er-ge have his hair down again? He looked funny at breakfast." She snickered, not even replying to the news of Weiyuan having left without saying anything.

"I don't know, why don't we hurry down to see?"

With that Amah stood and offered her hand to Meng Mei.

The dining hall was on the second floor so it was a bit of a hike down for the two of them. Meng Mei was slowly getting used to all the stairs and all the walking though.

Entering the dining hall was a whole other experience. The sheer grandness of it had been astounding the first time she had walked in.

Silk tapestries hung from the rafters, a mural of the founding of Libaogong stretched across one of the walls. Sitting cushions were stacked carefully in the corners. Incense made the air slightly smoky. It was as beautiful as it was extravagant.

At every breakfast and dinner the Meng family sat around a large circular table covered in all kinds of dishes. The table itself was big enough to seat twenty people comfortably so they all just spread out around it.

Madam Meirong always sat with her back to the tapestry that depicted a dragon. Meng Yong would sit pretty far to her left under the and Meng Weiyuan would usually sit close to him.

Somehow Meng Xiāng had decided that sitting across from her Er-ge was a great idea so Meng Mei was the most isolated at the table.

When she and Amah walked in, Madam Meirong was already seated and Meng Yong was piddling around, apparently looking for a new seating cushion.

His hair was indeed still down and it was so curly and out of control he looked feral. The hair plus his excited grin that had way too many teeth was truly amusing.

"Child stop laughing at your brother and come sit down." Madam Meirong ordered without so much as a glance in her direction. Feeling caught, Meng Mei clapped her hand over her mouth to cover her snicker at seeing Meng Yong.

Amah snorted but quickly smoothed out her face.

"Go on Little Miss, I'll wait for you outside."

Meng Mei looked up at Amah for a second. She was slightly unwilling to part with her. Even though it'd only been three days, Amah was quickly becoming a comforting presence.

Though she was unsure if those were her own feelings or if they belonged to Meng Xiāng.

"Did you not hear me? Come sit down, food will be served soon." Madam Meirong's voice startled her.

"Ah! Coming A-niang!" She hurried to drop Amah’s hand and rushed over to her seating cushion. She sat down as elegantly and as quickly as she could.

She peeked at Amah out of the corner of her eye as she left the dining hall. Did the ruthless Meng Xiāng let her walls down around Amah? The Meng Xiāng from Seasons of Sorrow didn't even trust her beloved fiance as far as she could throw him.

But it wasn't just around Amah was it? It was also around Meng Yong. He expected her to be a little silly, and easily poked fun at her. That spoke of an easy relationship between the two.

She'd been staring at Meng Yong as she thought. He'd finally found a suitable cushion and settled down. When he noticed her staring he patted his face.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No Er-ge. You don't have anything on your face." She giggled in response, hiding her expression behind her sleeve.

Maybe there was more to Meng Xiāng than she originally thought.