Chapter 166 How many years have we known each other?
"Your outfit looks good today. Finally, it doesn't look so tacky anymore. Are you going to meet Lin Wan'er?"
After talking about the case, Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian changed seats and lay on recliners in the corridor outside the hall, chatting leisurely.
"Well, no, who are you calling unsophisticated?"
"Only those who are unsophisticated know."
"Okay! I'm unsophisticated! You guys are the trendy ones."
"You guys? Lin Wan'er also said that to you?"
"How is that possible? It's that girl Ruoruo. Wan'er has a much better vision than you, and she has more character than you."
"Haha, maybe."
"Hey, I saw Princess Roujia in the Royal Courtyard this morning. I called her sister-in-law and she blushed."
"That must have made her very happy."
"As expected of a couple, you know her well. Princess Roujia may be blushing, but she is genuinely smiling from ear to ear."
"She didn't interrupt your conversation with Lin Wan'er, did she?"
"No, I don't call you sister-in-law for nothing. Not only did she take the initiative to make room for me and Wan'er to chat privately, she also took Ye Ling'er away with her. She was really considerate."
"Oh, she is so useless. She was bribed by the mere mention of sister-in-law. I will talk about her later."
"Hey, what's the matter? You can't stand it if my brother is not being made difficult, right? You have to make it difficult for me?"
"so smart."
"cut!"
"I plan to take Roujia on an outing in the next two days. Do you want to come with us?"
"Is it just you two?"
"My sister will be there, um... maybe Wang Qinian and his family will be there too, but I haven't asked yet, so I'm not sure if they have time."
"Okay, then Wan'er and I will join in the fun, and we can bring Ruoruo and Versace along. Oh... or we can invite Teng Zijing's family as well, so that we can get to know each other and become familiar with each other."
"I have no objection. More people is better and more lively!"
"Okay, have you chosen a place? Where are you going?"
"I haven't decided yet. I'll ask Roujia for her opinion later. If you have any good suggestions, you can also put them forward. They can all be considered."
"Okay, that's settled. I'll ask around when I get back. We can always communicate if you have any ideas."
Mei Chengan closed his eyes and made an OK gesture.
After Fan Xian left, Mei Cheng'an no longer felt like taking a nap. They chatted for an hour and the lunch break was long over.
Thinking about the outing, Mei Cheng'an got up and went back to the room to write a letter to Roujia.
……
At the end of the You hour, it was already completely dark.
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.
After reading the memorial handed over by the Supervisory Council, Emperor Qing threw it on the table with a calm expression, as if he was thinking about something.
Eunuch Hou said.
"Your Majesty, I just received news that the ambush by the Overwatch Council was successful and they captured two swordsmen. The swordsmen used the same sword technique as Si Gu Jian and they should be Si Gu Jian's disciples. The Overwatch Council has now taken the two swordsmen back for emergency interrogation."
Emperor Qing's eyes moved and his voice was flat.
"Si Gu Jian, people from Dongyi City have come to join in the fun."
There was a pause.
"Let the Overwatch Council act faster. I want to know the result as soon as possible."
"Yes!"
……
Mei Cheng'an didn't receive a reply from his daughter-in-law until before dinner.
The reply was also very simple.
She fully agreed with the outing, but she had no idea about the location. She just wanted Mei Chengan to make his own decision. She trusted Mei Chengan's choice unconditionally.
She said that she had no problem with the many questions her companions might have, and even thought of calling Ye Ling'er along.
In the past two days, she and Ye Ling'er have been teaching Lin Wan'er together. The three of them are laughing and playing together. Their already good relationship has become even closer.
Mei Chengan didn't know whether to laugh or cry after reading it. He originally wanted his wife to have some sense of participation, but it turned out that he liked his wife so much that she was too lazy to use her brain.
That's fine. After all, she's my biological daughter-in-law. What else can I do? I have to pamper her.
After dinner, Mei Cheng'an was strolling in the yard with his hands behind his back, enjoying the night view and digesting his food. Suddenly, he looked towards the yard wall. A moment later, a person suddenly jumped in from the wall.
There was only a crisp sound followed by a thud, and the man fell to the ground.
Mei Cheng'an raised the corners of his mouth and spoke softly.
"Old Wang, Old Wang, why don't you learn from your mistakes?"
Wang Qinian stood up swiftly, looked back at the broken jar, straightened his clothes, and said as he walked towards Mei Chengan.
"No, your jar is still here."
Mei Chengan laughed.
"I'm guarding against you. Two jars, one hundred taels."
Wang Qinian's face changed.
"No, I haven't had much income recently. Please forgive me this time. I promise I won't do it again next time."
Mei Chengan smiled.
"It's okay, I'll pay it off first. I'm not in a hurry. What do you want from me so late?"
Wang Qinian had a bitter face.
"I originally came to report the situation to you, but I ended up inexplicably carrying a foreign debt of 100 taels, and suddenly I'm not in the mood to talk."
Mei Chengan smiled, turned and walked towards the front hall, leaving behind a sentence.
"It's up to you. One hundred taels is inevitable."
Wang Qinian was speechless. He complained to himself, "You are even more evil-minded than me, and you deserve to be richer than me." Then he followed him into the front hall.
After the two of them sat down at the tea table in the front hall.
Mei Cheng'an picked up the teapot and poured two cups of tea. Wang Qinian took the initiative to pick up a cup, smiling with wrinkles on his face.
"Thank you for the tea, sir." Mei Cheng'an glanced at him, picked up the cup in front of him and sipped the tea slowly.
Wang Qinian took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, then looked at the tea in the cup with surprise. This time he drank it all in one gulp, closed his eyes to savor it, and opened his eyes after a moment and said.
"What a good tea! What kind of tea is this, Master Mei?"
Mei Chengan glanced at him and said.
"Oolong."
Wang Qinian nodded after hearing this.
"Oolong, what a good name. The tea is just as its name suggests, delicious, really delicious!"
Mei Chengan curled the corners of his mouth.
"If you like to drink, pour it yourself."
Wang Qinian uttered a "hmm" and picked up the teapot to fill the teacup.
He picked up the teacup and took another sip, looking very enjoyable.
The front hall suddenly became quiet. Wang Qinian didn't say anything, and Mei Chengan was not in a hurry either. They both sipped their tea.
After a long while, Wang Qinian, who had been secretly observing Mei Chengan's expression, finally lost his temper when he saw that he remained calm.
"Master Mei, aren't you curious about what news I'm here to report to you?"
Mei Cheng'an curled the corners of his mouth and looked at Wang Qinian.
"Any progress on the Niulan Street case?"
Wang Qinian widened his eyes in surprise.
"How did Master Mei know about this?"
Mei Cheng'an put down the teacup and asked instead of answering.
"Have those two female swordsmen been captured?"
Wang Qinian looked a little hesitant.
"Has Mei Shao received the news?"
Mei Chengan shook his head.
"Do I need to ask you after receiving the message?"
After a pause, Mei Cheng'an added a sentence to prevent Wang Qinian from continuing to dwell on the matter.
"I was the one who reported this case to Kyoto Prefecture with the child."
Wang Qinian suddenly understood.
"I see. That's right. We lay in ambush for several hours. At half past the hour of You, these two came to deliver food to Cheng Jushu. We captured them in one fell swoop. Judging from the skills they showed, these two female swordsmen must be Si Gu Jian's disciples."
Mei Chengan said "oh".
"Any more?"
Wang Qinian's expression grew more serious upon hearing this.
"Also, a batch of military equipment, including chariots, arrows, etc., was found at the scene."
"Oh, huh? Ordnance?"
Mei Cheng'an recalled and realized that he didn't see it when he went there, so he thought about it and asked.
"Where was the ordnance found?"
"A room."
Mei Cheng'an let out a cry of pain and he didn't go to check on the house, so everything was fine.
Wang Qinian said.
"This batch of weapons is not small in quantity, Master Mei. It seems that the person behind this is quite powerful. He may have connections with the military. He is a disciple of Si Gu Jian and a member of Cheng Jushu of Northern Qi. His power is really shocking. Master Mei, who do you think the person behind this is going through so much trouble for?"
Mei Cheng'an looked at Wang Qinian's mysterious expression and smiled.
"What do you think?"
Wang Qinian looked around and his voice became much softer.
"I think it's directed at Master Xiao Fan."
Mei Chengan glanced at him.
"Why do you say that?"
Wang Qinian uttered a 'huh'.
"Master Mei, don't you think the person behind the scenes of my analysis looks like His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? If it's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, then everything makes sense. He is fully capable of arranging all this. Little Master Fan confronted His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in public, so His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must hate him to the core and want to get rid of him as soon as possible. And because His Majesty came forward to protect Fan Xian, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had no choice but to secretly plot the murder. All of this makes sense and it all fits together."
Mei Chengan nodded seriously.
"That makes sense, but why are you telling me this? Why don't you just tell Fan Xian directly? He might even remember a favor for you."
Wang Qinian waved his hands quickly.
"Hey, let me make it clear first that I'm not asking for any favors. It's mainly because I've only met Master Fan a few times and we're not that close. If I rashly bring this up, it would be a bit too much. I'm afraid Master Fan would suspect I have ulterior motives. And after all, this is just speculation and I don't have any evidence. If I say it directly, I'm afraid it would instigate Master Fan to suspect the Crown Prince."
"And I told you, Master Mei, because you are familiar with Master Xiao Fan, so it is more convenient for us to communicate. There is no other purpose. I just want you to remind Master Xiao Fan and let him know to be alert to this matter."
Mei Cheng'an looked Wang Qinian up and down, and when Wang Qinian felt uneasy, he spoke something.
"Old Wang, you are abnormal!"
Wang Qinian was stunned.
"Ah? What's wrong with me?"
Mei Cheng'an said.
"Your concern for Fan Xian is abnormal. As you said, your concern for him has exceeded the level that your current relationship should have."
Wang Qinian was shocked. Young Mei was too alert. He was stunned for a moment, his eyes started rolling around, and he quickly thought of a response. He soon thought of it.
"Um... Master Mei, you're joking. I'm grateful to Master Fan for not pursuing my selling of pictures and books. I've been suffering from not having the opportunity to repay him. Now that I've encountered this, I thought it would be good for Master Fan to remind me, so I mentioned this to Master Mei."
After saying this, Wang Qinian breathed a sigh of relief. He was able to come up with such a perfect answer in such a short time. He was so smart!
Mei Cheng'an looked at Wang Qinian deeply and suddenly asked.
"How many years have we known each other, Lao Wang?"
……
Chapter 2: A Little Later
(End of this chapter)
