Chapter 287: Chapter 279: You Deserve the Blame

Guard Li felt deeply wronged. He had only done what he normally did, simply trying to keep the Young Master’s journey from being unnecessarily delayed. ’Who could have known this little village girl was actually a friend of the Young Master?’

’The Young Master’s friends have always been nobles from the Capital City. When did he start befriending someone so shabby?’

Guard Li suppressed the anger and resentment in his eyes, forcing a smile as he said, "Young Master, I was reckless. I truly didn’t know this lady was a friend of yours. I deeply apologize for the offense. Please, forgive me."

Meng Nan shot him a furious glare and said irritably, "Go receive your punishment!"

Guard Li quickly acknowledged the order and withdrew. ’The so-called punishment is ten lashes, dealt by the other guards on this trip. But they’re all my subordinates, so of course the ten lashes won’t be too severe. I’m just resentful. The Young Master is punishing me over two complete nobodies. I’m the team leader of the Meng Family’s First-class Guards! Even the Madam shows me some respect, and yet the Young Master...’

Meng Nan asked Bai Zhi, "Are you all right?"

Bai Zhi shook her head. "I’m fine. Thankfully, Hu Feng was here."

A shadow passed over Meng Nan’s eyes. He glanced up at Hu Feng, who was still glaring at him coldly, and a bitter feeling welled up inside him.

"I’m sorry, that must have been frightening. I never expected them to act so rashly. It’s my fault for not being strict enough with my men."

Bai Zhi nodded. "You’re right. You haven’t been strict enough with your men."

When she saw the surprised look on his face, she smiled. "You might just be saying that to be polite, or you might feel you’re being treated unfairly. After all, these guards aren’t usually by your side. You didn’t train them personally, and you don’t really know how they behave. You might think you’re taking the blame for nothing."

"But I’m telling you, it’s not unfair at all. They are the Meng Family’s guards, and you are the Meng Family’s young master. Every single thing they say and do represents your family. It represents *you*, Meng Nan."

"The only reason they dare to randomly attack people on the street is because they’re leaning on their backing. And that backing is your Meng Family from the Capital City. The common folk they hurt and bully don’t know if a guard’s name is A San or A Si. All they know is that they’re guards from the Meng Family. They’ll just assume that everything those guards do is an order from the Meng Family. Wouldn’t you agree?"

Meng Nan wanted to object. ’That’s not true. Everyone in the Meng Family is humble and kind. We would never order our guards to bully the common people.’ But the evidence was right there before his eyes. What could he possibly say?

He had never imagined that the guards, who were always so respectful and subservient in his presence, would reveal such a different, ugly side to the common people.

Perhaps it wasn’t that he hadn’t imagined it, but that he had never bothered to think about it at all.

’Or maybe it’s that I never cared. Before I met Bai Zhi, had I ever once given a second glance to any of the poorly dressed commoners on the street?’

Meng Nan said to Bai Zhi, "I understand. From now on, I’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

Bai Zhi’s stern expression suddenly melted into a smile. "Okay, that’s enough of that. I brought some food for your journey. You can eat it on the road." With that, she turned and walked to her carriage.

Jin Xiao’an hurriedly gestured for two guards to come and help. They brought out two large bundles of food that Bai Zhi had placed in her carriage.

Meng Nan said, "Put it all in my carriage."

Jin Xiao’an was absolutely delighted. ’Just this morning at breakfast in the government office, I was thinking about this. Even though the Young Master said he didn’t want Miss Bai to come see him off, I knew he secretly wanted to see her one last time. He was just too shy to admit it.’

’I never thought that right after we left the city, Miss Bai would be here waiting for him. And she even brought homemade food!’

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