Chapter 95: Elder Peacock

Chapter 95: Elder Peacock

The banquet was held at the Drunken Moon Tower.

There were over ten people in total, including the junior officer and several young junior commanders who were Zhang Guinian's trusted subordinates.

Even Yang Huaiyi, the Chief Flag Officer, was present.

After a round of toasts and lengthy, pointless chatter, the gathering finally dispersed.

The banquet was held in honor of Meng Yuan, who naturally drank quite a bit.

However, Meng Yuan was careful not to get drunk and remained clear-headed, only slightly tipsy.

"Why don't you come to my place to rest for the night?" Nie Qingqing suggested softly.

Meng Yuan noticed that Nie Yanyan was still outside the Drunken Moon Tower talking to Zhang Guinian, so he thought it wouldn't be feasible.

But when he caught a faint whiff of a delicate fragrance and observed Nie Qingqing's chest, his heart stirred, and he quietly squeezed her hand, saying, "Wait until I'm off duty tomorrow."

Nie Qingqing nodded, a faint blush appearing on her face.

"I plan to buy a house. Do you have any recommendations, sister?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Why waste money?" Nie Qingqing smiled, "You can stay at my place. It's not too far from the garrison, and you can even come over for lunch at noon."

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate? Is Nie willing?" Meng Yuan asked softly.

"There's another house on the martial path side. He prefers to stay there, so you don't have to worry about him," Nie Qingqing assured him.

"I'll do as you say, sister." Meng Yuan couldn't refuse such a kind offer from a beauty.

Meng Yuan was shameless, relying on Nie Qingqing at home and the Third Miss outside, which wasn't a big deal.

The two chatted for a while longer, and then Meng Yuan bid farewell to Zhang Guinian and Nie Yanyan.

On the way back to the Wang Fu, he noticed that the kitchen was lit, and Jiang Tang was still busy.

"Brother?" Jiang Tang happily approached and sniffed, "I just made some soothing wine soup."

She gestured towards the main hall, "The Prince has been waiting for you, along with Mr. Wang. Grandfather has been chatting with them for a while."

Meng Yuan had already heard the commotion and said, "You go to sleep first. Don't worry about it."

"I'll boil some water," Jiang Tang said cheerfully, "and give you a foot bath later."

"Okay." Meng Yuan rubbed her head and went to find Du Gukang, but he didn't enter the room; he only peered inside from the window.

Inside, he saw Du Gukang and Mr. Wang sitting on opposite sides of a table, eagerly listening to Jiang Tang's knowledge about castrating oxen and sheep.

Meng Yuan listened for a while before pushing the door open and entering.

"Oh my! Meng Sage has returned!" Du Gukang was overjoyed.

Meng Yuan felt utterly helpless.

Du Gukang had probably been holding back for too long, pretending to be innocent for too long. Few people spoke seriously with him, and no one engaged in witty banter.

Therefore, after learning of his identity, Du Gukang frequently sought out Meng Yuan. Even if Meng Yuan didn't respond, he would bring up random topics, hoping for Meng Yuan to chime in so they could exchange some extremely boring witticisms.

"Prince." Meng Yuan couldn't be bothered to bow in greeting.

"Did you drink outside, Teacher Meng?" Mr. Wang asked with a smile.

"I had a little," Meng Yuan replied bluntly, "I'll send the Prince back."

"Stay a little longer," Du Gukang said, his face as thick as ever.

"Then I'll take my leave." Wang Xiucai, being quick-witted, made a direct exit.

Meng Yuan pulled Du Gukang along and left the courtyard.

"Where did you go today? I came up with a wonderful sentence," Du Gukang said with a smile.

"I'm now a junior officer at the Demon Suppressing Bureau," Meng Yuan said softly, "specializing in capturing demons and not letting any evil-doers off the hook."

"Amitabha Buddha, may the benefactor refrain from creating more karma," Du Gukang said, seemingly unaffected by the threatening words.

"From now on, you're not allowed to come looking for me," Meng Yuan laid down the rules, "Old Man Jiang is getting on in years and can't stay up late. The young lady follows the Third Miss everywhere, and she needs to leave at dawn, so she must sleep early too."

After saying all that, Meng Yuan added, "If you dare to come again, I won't speak another word to you, nor will I engage in a poetry duel or a debate with you ever again."

Upon hearing Meng Yuan's stern warning, Dugu Kang quickly changed his attitude. "I'll listen to you, Layman Meng."

"Then speak, what is it?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Xie Kai Ping must still be alive. There are no rumors in the city about my Buddhist practice, which means he hasn't spread the word about it," Dugu Kang said solemnly. "I reckon his plans are grand, and I'm not even on his radar. You need to be careful."

Meng Yuan rubbed his forehead and asked, "You came all this way just to tell me this?"

"Also, I wanted to ask when you're leaving. Let's go out together and have another debate," Dugu Kang said eagerly.

Meng Yuan sighed in exasperation, "You're too eager. Debating is empty, not debating is empty. We'll talk about it when we have time." Then he added, "Since you're free, go out and gather some information."

"What kind of information?" Dugu Kang asked.

"Anything will do," Meng Yuan said dismissively.

After seeing Dugu Kang off, Meng Yuan returned home.

Old Man Jiang had already retired for the night, but Jiang Tang was waiting for Meng Yuan in his room.

"The water is ready," Jiang Tang said happily as she brought the water over. "Come on, come on."

Meng Yuan didn't want her to wash his feet, but Jiang Tang was determined and insisted on doing it herself.

Unable to resist the young girl, Meng Yuan could only let her take charge.

After Jiang Tang finished washing his feet, Meng Yuan sat cross-legged and said earnestly, "Recently, it's best not to go out. Stay close to the Princess. I've taken on an official duty now, so I won't be coming back tomorrow."

"Then you must be careful," Jiang Tang nodded, then suddenly asked, "Brother, aren't you staying at Sister Nie's house?"

Meng Yuan felt that he was most comfortable with Tie Niu, as he didn't have to worry about scheming.

Squeezing Jiang Tang's hand, Meng Yuan said, "Whether I stay or not, you and I are always together."

Jiang Tang nodded and whispered, "I'm grown up now."

She muttered to herself for a while, and Meng Yuan could only hold her hand and listen. After a while of sweet talk, he finally convinced her to leave.

The next day, after finishing breakfast, Meng Yuan mounted his little red horse and headed towards the garrison.

After signing in, Meng Yuan hadn't even had a chance to chat with Gong Zihua when Zhang Guinian started gathering his men.

"Let's go! We'll talk on the way!" Zhang Guinian was concise and chose Gong Zihua, Zhang Lingfeng, and Meng Yuan, along with twelve other junior officers.

"I want to go too," Yang Huaiyi, the chief flag officer, suddenly spoke up.

"Old Yang, you usually don't like going out. What's different today?" Zhang Guinian asked with a smile.

"All my brothers are going, I can't keep hiding. Don't worry, I won't give any orders. Let the young ones, Zhang and Gong, take charge. I'll just tag along for the credit," Yang Huaiyi said with a smile. "Besides, with Meng as a rising star, I feel even more motivated to strive for improvement!"

"We can't compete with the youngsters!" Zhang Guinian laughed.

As they talked, Meng Yuan and Gong Zihua led the way, heading south.

"What's the mission this time?" Meng Yuan had already been informed by Nie Yannian that he could make a name for himself in the next few days, but he didn't know the details.

"Our informants reported that the Luo Sect is back," Gong Zihua replied.

"When did this happen?" Meng Yuan asked curiously.

"It's been going on for a while, but it wasn't a big deal before. We didn't catch any big fish, so we didn't take action," Gong Zihua whispered. "But a few days ago, we heard that a high-level expert had arrived, and they're holding a sermon today."

"How high-level?" Meng Yuan frowned and asked.

"Who knows?" Gong Zihua became more serious. "We only heard that the high-level expert's name is Elder Peacock."

"Do we have external support for this?" Meng Yuan immediately thought of Xie Kai Ping when he heard the name Elder Peacock.

"Of course," Gong Zihua smiled.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end