Chapter 173: Zero Frame Start
Mei Cheng'an looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, closed his eyes and felt the gentle breeze on his face.
"It's better not to have a carriage. My limbs are almost degenerated from sitting in a carriage all day. The weather is so nice, why not walk there and feel the atmosphere of the street scene at the same time."
Fan Xian thought about it and shrugged.
"That's fine with me, but the distance is a bit far. Can you handle it?"
Mei Cheng'an stepped down the stairs.
"Let's go for a walk and see. If it doesn't work, just carry me on your back."
"..."
Fan Xian rolled his eyes and gave Mei Chengan's back a middle finger.
……
The Supervisory Council is located on Tianhe Street, which is the quietest, cleanest and most beautiful street in the whole of Kyoto. In addition to the Supervisory Council, the six ministries are also gathered here, on both sides.
It is beautiful, but compared with other streets, it is much quieter. The few vendors are mostly gathered in front of the government offices of various ministries, with the exception of the gate of the Supervisory Yuan.
No one can tell whether these vendors are real vendors or spies. They mainly serve officials from various departments, and there are very few pedestrians.
Mei Mansion is actually not far from Tianhe Street, but being on Tianhe Street does not mean it is close to the Supervisory Yuan, because Tianhe Street is very long and the Supervisory Yuan is at the end of Tianhe Street.
So what Fan Xian said about being a bit far-fetched was not a joke.
Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian walked through the streets of Kyoto City in the warm spring breeze. They looked left and right along the way, turning into playboys and commenting in a low voice on the smooth faces of the girls on the street and the figures hidden under their slightly loose ladies' clothes.
Two handsome and well-dressed young men were walking alone on the street. It was not a big deal that they received many flirtatious glances. Some bold women even stopped them and wanted to get to know them.
The bold and open behavior immediately made the two guys who only dared to whisper blush and flee in panic, causing a group of female perverts to laugh wildly.
They fled around to the next street, and the teasing voices disappeared from their ears. The two talkative kings patted their chests and breathed a sigh of relief. They straightened their appearance, regained their composure, and continued walking. However, they dared not to mess with girls anymore.
After a while, everyone had a string of candied haws in their hands. They ate as they walked, smelling the various aromas wafting from the many restaurants on the street.
Otherwise, the two of them had already eaten lunch and a lot of snacks and desserts, so they had to show off all of them from beginning to end.
The two walked through the streets and alleys until the noise on the street suddenly became much quieter and there were fewer pedestrians. Finally, they turned into Tianhe Street.
When they reached the gate of the Supervisory Council, the two did not stop this time. Fan Xian only glanced at the stone tablet left by his mother.
Mei Cheng'an casually placed the stick left over from eating the candied haws into the open mouth of the beast sitting at the door.
Fan Xian said with contempt.
“What poor quality!”
As he said this, he put his stick into the mouth of the beast on the other side and clapped his hands.
"It looks better if it's symmetrical."
Mei Cheng'an gave him a middle finger and walked into the door first.
Fan Xian chuckled and followed closely behind.
……
In a document room, Wang Qinian was copying documents when the door was suddenly pushed open, making a loud noise.
Wang Qinian was so frightened that his hand holding the pen paused and he almost drew a big line on the document. The questionnaire he had copied with great effort was almost ruined when he checked the last few words.
Wang Qinian widened his eyes and quickly put the pen away. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked up with an unhappy tone.
"Who is it? Uh..."
The look of surprise on his face was fleeting, and Wang Qinian hurriedly pushed the tip of his pen back and stood up.
"Master Mei, Master Xiao Fan, why are you here?"
Standing at the door of the document library were Mei Chengan and Fan Xian.
Mei Cheng'an walked in with a smile and said at the same time.
"I came to check whether you are working hard."
Fan Xian greeted Wang Qinian as he walked in.
"Hello, Lao Wang, long time no see."
Wang Qinian groaned, put down his pen, walked out of his workstation and bowed to the two of them.
"Greetings to the two Lords!"
After saying that, he turned his head and looked at Fan Xian.
"Long time no see, Master Xiao Fan!"
Mei Cheng'an came closer and patted his hands with a smile.
"Okay, why are you being so polite to us? Get up."
Wang Qinian straightened up, looked at Mei Chengan and then at Fan Xian.
"My Lords, this is..."
Mei Cheng'an pointed at Fan Xian and said.
"Nothing. He wanted to know the progress of the investigation into Cheng Jushu's case, so he asked me to come along. He came to see you before he went to find Zhuge. By the way, please lead the way."
Fan Xian asked from behind.
"Who is Jug?"
Mei Cheng'an gave Wang Qinian a look, and Wang Qinian took the initiative to explain to Fan Xian.
"The dean is not in Kyoto. All matters in Kyoto are under the charge of the Chief of the First Division, Lord Zhuge Zhu."
Fan Xian said "oh".
"What is this place for?"
Wang Qinian glanced at Mei Chengan and said.
"Since you are looking for Lord Zhuge Zhu, please follow me first. I will introduce Lord Xiao Fan to you on the way."
Mei Cheng'an had no objection, and Fan Xian had no objection either, so the two of them followed Wang Qinian out of the file library.
The three of them walked through the Supervisory Office. On the way, Wang Qinian introduced Fan Xian. "This Supervisory Office is divided into eight departments, each with its own duties. One department is located in the capital, supervising all officials. This is the most important position. The two adults, Master Zhu Ge has followed the dean for many years. He is in a high position, powerful, and has a particularly strict temper. This is where we will go."
The three of them stopped in front of a room that was several times larger than the document library. Even the door was much wider and taller.
Wang Qinian was about to go forward and knock on the door, but suddenly turned back and reminded the two in a low voice.
"My two Lords, when you see Lord Zhu later, you must be careful with your words and actions. Don't tell jokes or witty remarks. Lord Zhu never jokes with others."
Mei Cheng'an shrugged but said nothing.
Fan Xian was somewhat unhappy.
"Is it that serious, Old Wang? Didn't they say that the Commissioner is on the same level as the Director of each department? How can you say that? We are his subordinates. Are there so many rules to meet with him?"
Fan Xian's voice was not loud, but it still scared Wang Qinian. He even wanted to cover Fan Xian's mouth. He opened his eyes wide and looked around in panic.
"Oh, be careful with your words, Master Fan. They are equals. The position of the Commissioner is just a nominal one, while Master Zhu has real power. They cannot be compared."
Before Fan Xian finished speaking, a middle-aged man's deep and majestic voice came from the room.
"Who's talking outside?"
Wang Qinian shrank his neck, turned around quickly, bowed, and spoke loudly.
"Master Zhu, Master Fei's direct disciple, Master Fan Xian, the Supervisor of the Supervisory Council, and Master Mei Cheng'an, the Supervisor of the Supervisory Council, request to see you."
The room was quiet for a moment before the sound was heard again.
"Let them in."
"Eh!"
Wang Qinian turned around and reminded again in a low voice.
“Be careful what you say and do!”
After saying that, he pushed open the door and led the two of them into the house.
The three of them stopped three or four steps in front of the desk.
Zhu Ge quietly lowered his head and looked at the documents, neither looking up nor speaking.
Mei Cheng'an was of course not in a hurry. It was not a new tactic to tease the other party and give him a slight warning when they first met.
So Mei Chengan didn't take it to heart at all and just looked around the room.
Well, the place is big, but with few decorations, so it looks a bit empty. It seems that Zhuge likes the simple style.
Fan Xian was not in a hurry either. He had seen this trick in the study of Fan Mansion when he first came to Kyoto, so he was not in a hurry and looked at Zhu Ge quietly.
Instead, Wang Qinian could hardly stand and looked up at Zhu Ge.
"Master Zhu..."
He had just said three words when Zhuge reached out to stop him.
Wang Qinian had no choice but to shut up.
After a while, Zhuge finally put down the paper in his hand and raised his head.
He glanced at the three people, first stopping at Mei Chengan, his expression very relaxed.
"If I remember correctly, the last time we met was probably at the beginning of the year."
Mei Chengan smiled and nodded.
"The eleventh day of the first lunar month."
Zhuge said.
"It was the dean who personally introduced you to us. I remember that he also told you to come to us if you have any problems. You haven't shown up at the Overwatch Council for two months. Did you suddenly come to me today and run into trouble?"
The statement that he hasn't appeared for two months is a bit arbitrary, but now is not the time to be nitpicking. Knowing that he and Fan Xian are together, he still asks this question. It is obvious that he is playing dumb and I am too lazy to play along with you.
Mei Chengan smiled and waved his hand.
"Master Zhu has misunderstood. I did not come to the Overwatch Council because I encountered any trouble. I came here to accompany Fan Xian. He has something to do."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ge shifted his gaze to Fan Xian and looked him up and down.
"Are you Fei Jie's last disciple?"
Fan Xian looked calm.
"Exactly."
Zhuge nodded.
"Among the eight directors of the Overwatch Council, Fei Jie is ranked in the top three in terms of ability, but I really don't like his personality. He is too impulsive and doesn't distinguish between public and private. Since you are his last disciple, you can learn from him as much as you want, but don't learn from his personality."
How to put it? It sounds like a kind reminder to the younger generation, but also like a warning.
As Fei Jie's disciple, Fan Xian found it difficult to respond to this. Mei Cheng'an looked at Fan Xian with interest with his hands behind his back.
Fan Xian glanced at Mei Cheng'an. Are you watching a show?
After a moment of thought, Fan Xian understood. Since it's not easy to accept, then just don't accept it. You do the first day and I'll do the fifteenth.
"Oh? In Master Zhu's eyes, can my teacher be ranked in the top three? May I ask who are the top two? And who are the bottom five?"
Wang Qinian was trembling with fear on the side, while Mei Chengan curled the corners of his mouth and lowered his head to study the shoes.
Zhu Ge's eyes froze when he heard that. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Fan Xian coldly. Fan Xian looked at him calmly, neither humble nor arrogant.
The situation became deadlocked.
Wang Qinian tried several times to smooth things over, but after several attempts, he still lacked the courage and bravery, so he could only desperately wink at Mei Chengan.
Don't be funny, can't you see that the situation is deadlocked? Don't you feel that the temperature has dropped?
Mei Cheng'an had indeed seen enough, and waved at Wang Qinian, indicating that he understood and asked him to stop making eyes.
It's a far cry from Lord Xin, and not funny at all!
Mei Cheng'an started from zero frame and began by blaming Fan Xian.
"What kind of questions are you asking? Why are you so curious?"
……
(End of this chapter)
