Chapter 3812 — No Easy Feat
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
As the chief steward and senior disciple, he had failed to deal with even the two underlings under Wei Zhao's command—a fact no amount of excuse-making could disguise. Meng Jueming felt his face burn with shame, and he dared not offer Xu the Young Master any pretext or evasion.
From his years of seasoned experience, Meng Jueming knew the best response at such a moment was to put on a sincere and contrite face and prepare to take his scolding, without saying anything else—because anything he said would be superfluous.
This Young Master Xu before him was a genuinely clever man. Any attempt to shirk responsibility in his presence was the foolish act of someone fancying himself clever; the more one said, the more one erred. Far better to present a good attitude, which might at least leave a favorable impression of pragmatism.
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Xu Lingchong spoke: "Enough. This young master has a general understanding of the matter now. This is not your fault, Old Meng—after all, those two underlings of theirs suddenly succeeded in building their foundations, and no one could have anticipated that. Besides, it is only natural that Meng Zhou alone could not hold them off. You need not blame yourself too much."
Xu Lingchong was, after all, no ordinary profligate young master; his depth and magnanimity far exceeded those of common men. Once a figure like Meng Jueming had caught his eye, then so long as the man committed no error on a key matter of principle such as loyalty, ordinary mistakes of this sort were entirely tolerable.
For only in this way could he cultivate an image of broad-minded humility, and only then would more talented people come to serve beneath his banner and willingly risk their lives for him.
Moreover, Meng Jueming's case this time was genuinely excusable. If Xu Lingchong clung to it and would not let go, he would only appear petty—not only failing to improve matters, but easily damaging his reputation as well. The loss would outweigh the gain.
"Thank you for your understanding, Young Master Xu. I, Old Meng, will spare you the empty flattery. Please judge me by my conduct hereafter—I shall exhaust my loyalty and wisdom, and never dare disappoint you again," Meng Jueming said, his face awash with gratitude.
Xu Lingchong was plainly pleased by this. Rarely did he stoop so low as to reach out and pat Meng Jueming on the shoulder: "Enough, Old Meng. Your loyalty is plain to this young master's eyes. Serve well from now on, and this young master will never treat you shabbily."
Watching this master and servant pair put on their little show of dying for a true confidant, Shangguan Lan'er at the side could not help but curl her lip in secret disdain. Even with her limited worldly experience, she could sense the affectation in it. Truly, birds of a feather flock together—these people were hypocrisy through and through, not fit to be compared with her own junior brother Wei Zhao!
Little did she know that Xu Lingchong was deliberately putting on this performance with Meng Jueming. His sights were not confined to a mere Wei Zhao of Yingxin Pavilion. He did all this purely to shape himself into the image of a wise and brilliant young lord, to spread his good name through the mouths of those present, and to pave the way for eventually stepping into the hall and taking charge of the Xu family!
Master and servant played their parts for some time, until the whole gathering had fallen into animated discussion and the effect seemed about right; only then did they stop, thoroughly satisfied.
"That said, in the present situation, what do you think should be done, Old Meng? We cannot simply let Wei Zhao and his underlings run wild and insolent like this, can we? If this goes on, where will this young master's face be put?" Xu Lingchong inquired.