Consequences

It was safe to say that Meng Mei had messed up pretty badly. 

How was she supposed to know that Zhong Changming was actually a super annoying bully? Sure he hadn't been the absolute greatest in Seasons of Sorrow but Meng Mei certainly doesn't remember anything like this! Han Xiaolian made him sound like a misunderstood angel. 

Even though she knew that he bullied Lai Huang in advance, she genuinely hadn't expected it to be quite so bad.

Almost immediately after it was revealed that the annoying kid she was fighting was actually her fiance they were escorted to the reception tent. All of the guards, save for two at the entrance, had been dismissed. Which left just an injured Meng Mei and Zhong Changming alone with their very angry parents.

Madam Meirong was fuming. Meng Guoyao was suspiciously quiet considering his tendency to be loud no matter the situation. Zhong Shoushan was pacing back and forth in front of them, nibbling on his thumb as he thought. And Zhong Jiayi was tenderly looking at their wounds.

Meng Mei had forgotten that since she was a herbalist she was also considered a doctor in this world.

Meng Mei had bruises developing on her jaw and her stomach. Thankfully she'd only received one cut on her lip from Zhong Changming. The rest of the cuts on her arms were from their struggle on the ground. A couple of sticks and small stones hand managed to scratch her as they tussled.

She was proud to notice that Zhong Changming was in a considerably worse state.

Blood dripped from a cut on his forehead that Meng Mei had managed to make with her nails. His cheek was already red and would soon develop into a nasty bruise. He could barely bend over without wincing from the pain. Tears and stains from the dirt and grass littered his sleeves.

He kept shooting furtive glances in Meng Mei’s direction, clearly he hadn’t expected the annoying girl to be his fiance. To be fair, Meng Mei hadn’t expected him to be Zhong Changming either.

Speaking of…did that mean the boy they were bullying was Lai Huang?!

Meng Mei grit her teeth in frustration. There were too many people around, she couldn’t ask the system if she had completed the special event side quest. She hadn’t noticed any notifications coming in while she was fighting Zhong Changming but she’d also been very focused.

Truthfully she kind of hoped that the boy was Lai Huang. And if it wasn’t, that meant Zhong Changming was just a massive bully.

“Meng Xiāng. You speak first. Why did you leave Zhu Huiqing’s side?” Madam Meirong’s eyes were still blazing with barely contained anger.

“Well…” She winced and mentally sent Zhu Huiqing an apology. He was sure to be reprimanded for losing sight of her. “Guard Zhu was talking to Zhong Qingling and I heard laughter coming from behind the tents. I was curious about what was happening so…I went to investigate.”

“That doesn’t explain why we found you fighting your fiance. Or why you’re soaking wet!” Madam Meirong snapped.

Meng Mei shifted uncomfortably on her seat. She shot Zhong Changming a hateful look before clearing her throat.

“I found Zhong Changming and his two little friends bullying a servant boy. I got in between them and asked what they were doing but he started threatening me!”

“I did not!” Zhong Changming shouted.

“You.” Zhong Shoushan whirled around so that he was facing his son. “Don’t speak until I say you can.”

Zhong Changming obediently shut his mouth. Meng Mei felt a thrill of victory as she looked at the constipated look on his face. She wasn’t going to let him get away with this.

“Meng Xiāng. Continue.” Meng Guoyao tiredly waved her on.

“As I was saying.” She shot Zhong Changming another venomous look, “I was just stopping him from bothering the servant boy when he threw water on me.”

All four adults turned to look at Zhong Changming to see if he had a rebuttal. When he just stayed silent both of the Meng’s grew visibly enraged and the Zhong’s looked disappointed.

‘Take that.’ Meng Mei thought vindictively.

“So why were you fighting?” Zhong Shoushan asked tiredly. 

Meng Mei’s expression soured and Zhong Changming suddenly looked a little more smug.

“Because I hit him after he threw the water.” Meng Mei reluctantly admitted. Madam Meirong gaped at her, seemingly too angry to think of a response. Beside her Meng Guoyao just nodded as he processed the information.

“Zhong Changming, just what do you have to say for yourself? Not only were you bullying a servant boy, you laid hands on your fiance?” Zhong Shoushan demanded coldly.

“It wasn’t just any servant boy it was the bastard—” Zhong Changming cut himself off, his eyes growing wide. He snuck a glance at Madam Meirong and Meng Guoyao, his face paling considerably.

Zhong Shoushan’s expression mirrored his son’s and for the first time Zhong Jiayi looked angry as she turned towards her husband.

“I told you he should’ve stayed behind. Now look at what's happened.” She hissed, her expression stormy.

“A-Yi, not here—”

“What.” Madam Meirong cut off Zhong Shoushan’s hurried explanations. Her face was eerily calm. “Are you talking about?”

Zhong Shoushan winced as Zhong Jiayi just raised an eyebrow at her husband. She waved him on, telling him that he could explain.

“Guard He! Bring in the other boys!” Zhong Shoushan called out as he covered a side of his face in shame.

A moment later one of the YuHu guards walked in with the three other boys that had been at the scene of the crime. Now that Meng Mei’s vision wasn’t clouded by righteous fury she recognized the two cronies.

The one that had stood on Zhong Changming’s right was Bai Qixuan. He was the son of one of the YuHu sect’s advisors. He and Zhong Changming had been close since before they could walk.

The one who had stood on his left was Guo Haoyu. He was the little brother of one of Zhong Qingling’s close friends. He and Zhong Changming had become close through coincidence and proximity.

Following behind guard He and the two boys was a slightly smaller boy. His hair was matted with sweat and dirt. His face was so dirty Meng Mei couldn’t make out a single one of his features. But she knew in her gut that he had to be Lai Huang.

“Bring the servant boy forward.” Zhong Shoushan ordered as the group stopped a few feet away. Guard He roughly grabbed Lai Huang’s arm and pulled him forward.

“Show his face.” Zhong Shoushan sighed, already averting his eyes. Wordlessly the guard pushed all of Lai Huang’s hair out of his face and roughly scrubbed off most of the dirt.

When Lai Huang hesitantly looked up at the assembled group Madam Meirong let out a gasp of shock. Even Meng Mei had to admit the family resemblance was much stronger than she had been expecting.

Looking up at them were the same green eyes that all members of the esteemed Zhong family had. Even at this age Lai Huang's nose followed the same slope as Zhong Shoushan’s and his cheekbones were at the same height.

Even if Meng Mei hadn’t already known that Lai Huang was Zhong Shoushan’s affair child, his appearance was hard to ignore. It was surprising that it had taken so long for Lai Huang to reveal himself when he had a face like that.

“Zhong Shoushan!” Madam Meirong hissed in schock. “How could you? How could you do this?"

“Shoushan! What is the meaning of this?” Meng Guoyao demanded, more furious than he had been even moments ago. 

Zhong Shoushan sighed and met the two accusing glares head on.

“This child…is my bastard.”