Chapter 195 His Majesty summons
"Brother, Lin Gong is dead."
Fan Xian glanced at her.
"I just heard about it."
Fan Ruoruo asked him curiously.
"Brother, how did you do it?"
"..."
Why do everyone suspect him?
Fan Xian became a little anxious.
"How did I do that? I just heard about this. It has nothing to do with me!"
What does it matter? Never mind.
Fan Ruoruo said.
"Whether it was me who did it or not, I have to be careful, Prince..."
Before he could finish his words, a servant suddenly came to report.
"Master Fan Xian, the prince has sent people to block the door and specifically wants you to go to the East Palace!"
"Prince?"
Fan Ruoruo felt that what she feared would come true, and looked at Fan Xian worriedly.
"Brother! You..."
Her words were interrupted again because another servant arrived with the news.
"Master Fan Xian, the sedan chair from the Prime Minister's Mansion has arrived at the door. Prime Minister Lin wants to see you!"
"..."
When Fan Xian was confused, Fan Jian came out of the study and waved his hand to send away the two servants who came to report the news.
"It should be all because of Lin Gong's death."
"..."
Fan Xian took a deep breath, feeling extremely helpless.
"This matter really has nothing to do with me. Why are you all looking for me?"
Fan Jiandao.
"I'm afraid they already know about your night trial of Si Lili. They probably asked you to go to test what you found out that night. I think you know what to answer."
Helpless as he was, he still had to deal with it. Fan Xian thought about it and nodded.
"I know what to say, but if these two come at the same time, which one should I go first?"
Fan Jian paused and said.
"Powerful Minister Lin Ruofu has always been very clear with the Crown Prince. Whichever side he goes to first will offend the other."
"..."
Just when Fan Xian's face was about to turn into a mask of pain, the third servant arrived with the news.
"Master Fan Xian, the imperial guards have arrived. His Majesty has ordered that you appear before him!"
After hearing this, Fan Jian chuckled, stroked his beard and looked at Fan Xian.
“You don’t have to choose now.”
The corner of Fan Xian's mouth twitched.
……
the other side.
Mei Chengan was processing official documents at his workstation when Xiaohong suddenly called him.
"grown ups."
Mei Cheng'an stopped writing, looked up at him.
"what happened?"
Xiao Hong bowed.
"Sir, the eunuch Hou from the palace is here."
Mei Cheng'an was stunned for a moment.
"What about people?"
Before Xiao Hong could answer, the voice of Eunuch Hou was heard from downstairs.
"Master Xiaomei, Master Xiaomei."
Upon hearing this, Mei Cheng'an immediately put down his pen, stood up, walked to the guardrail and looked down. Eunuch Hou was standing at the door looking around.
Mei Chengan spoke.
"Eunuch Hou, I'm here, why are you here?"
Eunuch Hou looked at him.
"Master Xiaomei, His Majesty has summoned you to an audience. Please follow me into the palace."
Mei Cheng'an was stunned for a moment, nodded, turned around, gave Xiao Hong a look, pointed at his desk, motioned him to help clean up, and then went downstairs.
He will know what Emperor Qing has summoned him for when he goes.
The two men rode quickly to the Qianbu Gallery, dismounted and walked into the palace.
Although Eunuch Hou did not show it on his face, he walked very quickly and seemed very anxious. It would be easy for Mei Cheng'an to do it, but he felt it was unnecessary.
"Hey, Eunuch Hou, why are we in such a hurry? Why are we walking so fast?"
Lord Hou announced the crime.
"Please forgive me, Lady Xiaomei. I am really in a hurry. His Majesty has not only summoned you, but also Fan Xian. I have to send you to the imperial study immediately, and then I have to pick up Fan Xian."
"I see!"
Faced with Eunuch Hou's implicit reminder, Mei Chengan understood what he meant and said no more. He also had some guesses about what Emperor Qing wanted to talk to him about.
Outside the imperial study, Mei Cheng'an met Gong Dian, the deputy commander of the imperial guards, whom he had not seen for a long time, and greeted him.
Time was tight and there was no time for a detailed chat, so Mei Chengan's greeting was a bit casual. Gong Dian didn't mind and responded with a smile and a nod.
After entering the imperial study, Mei Cheng'an slowed down his pace, walked through the corridor, and around the entrance. He immediately saw Emperor Qing sitting behind the operating table and wiping the arrowhead.
"Your Majesty, Lady Xiaomei has arrived."
After Eunuch Hou finished speaking, Emperor Qing waved at him without even raising his head, and Eunuch Hou bowed and walked out.
Mei Cheng'an took two quick steps forward, knelt down and bowed.
"Your Majesty, I am Mei Cheng'an, here to see you!"
Emperor Qing glanced at him and said softly.
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Mei Cheng'an stood up and looked at Emperor Qing.
"Your Majesty has summoned me urgently. Is there something wrong?"
Emperor Qing blew on the arrowhead that had been polished to a shiny finish, wiped it again, took a look at it, and put it down with satisfaction. Then he looked at Mei Chengan, sizing him up and down, and then opened his lips slightly.
"The night before yesterday, you and Fan Xian went to the Overwatch Council together?"
That’s exactly what happened!
Mei Chengan admitted it directly.
"Yes!"
Emperor Qing asked the question even though he knew the answer.
"What to do?"
Mei Chengan said frankly.
"Meet Si Lili."
Emperor Qing glanced at him with a smile.
"Meet? Meet or interrogate?"
Mei Chengan said, "Well, Your Majesty, although we went together, our purposes were different. I went to meet him, and Fan Xian went to interrogate him."
Emperor Qing glanced at him.
"Oh? What did you do to see Si Lili?"
……
Palace entrance.
Eunuch Hou received Fan Xian, who was escorted into the palace by the palace guards. He bowed to Fan Xian, who had dismounted from his horse, and said.
"Master Fan, please follow me. The emperor is waiting for a reply!"
Fan Xian looked at Eunuch Hou and said calmly.
"Eunuch Hou was right. We meet again."
Eunuch Hou smiled and waved his hand.
"This is called fate, please!"
The two were on their way to the imperial study.
Fan Xian said casually.
"Eunuch Hou and I do have a connection. When Guo Baokun was beaten up in the lobby of Kyoto Prefecture, it was Eunuch Hou who rescued me. When Fan first arrived in Kyoto, it was Eunuch Hou who drove the car. In other words, sending me to the Qing Temple that day was intentional?"
Eunuch Hou played dumb.
"Mr. Fan, why don't I understand what you said?"
Fan Xian curled the corners of his mouth and said.
"I'll just keep it in mind."
As he spoke, Fan Xian took out a silver note from his pocket and handed it directly to Eunuch Hou.
"Please have some tea, Eunuch Hou!"
Eunuch Hou stopped, stretched out his hand and pushed it back, saying angrily.
"No, no, no, what are you doing? Your Madam Liu was also a descendant of a duke. She has been in and out of the palace all year round. I have watched her grow up. We are all family. How can you exploit the younger generation?"
Fan Xian said in surprise.
"So, Eunuch Hou has such a deep connection with my family. As a junior, I should know some etiquette. Eunuch, please don't think it's too little."
As he said this, he stuffed the money into Eunuch Hou's hand.
"This, this, this..."
Eunuch Hou pretended to refuse while looking around.
After a few rounds of pushing and shoving, Eunuch Hou accepted the offer and made his closing statement.
"I'm so embarrassed!"
Seeing that Fan Xian was so sensible, he continued to move forward and threw Eunuch Hou's words of praise at him without hesitation.
"Your Majesty values courtesy and virtue, and your poetic talent is amazing. No wonder Your Majesty mentions you so often!"
Fan Xian was surprised.
"Your Majesty has mentioned me?"
Eunuch Hou smiled.
"Your Majesty likes the seven-character poem, Thousands of Miles Away in the Sad Autumn, which is very popular with you."
Fan Xian said "oh".
"May I ask, eunuch, His Majesty is looking for me today. Is he happy or angry?"
Eunuch Hou pretended to think.
"Well... today he looked calm and didn't seem angry."
Fan Xian felt a little relieved after hearing this.
"Thank you for the reminder, father-in-law!"
……
Royal study room.
"See…"
After saying a word subconsciously, Mei Cheng'an's voice stopped abruptly. He was a little dumbfounded. He didn't expect that Emperor Qing's focus was so strange.
What a stupid question! This isn't the point!
"Forehead…"
Emperor Qing snorted and commented in a calm tone.
"You're so lustful despite your young age!"
Mei Cheng'an broke out in a sweat upon hearing this, and stopped talking with an embarrassed look on his face.
What are you talking about? What are you talking about? What scholars do can't be called lust, it's called appreciating beauty!
Of course, he only dared to complain in his heart. If it were someone else, he would have directly retorted, but Emperor Qing just let it go.
Seeing Mei Chengan's embarrassed look, Emperor Qing curled his lips and let him go.
"So you didn't participate in his trial?"
Mei Cheng'an breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
"No, no, I just glanced at Si Lili, and then I left the dungeon with Master Yan Ruohai before the trial began."
Emperor Qing suddenly asked.
"Has Fan Xian come to a conclusion on the trial?"
"Forehead…"
Mei Cheng'an hesitated for a moment but decided to tell the truth. Old Deng knew everything. Even if he didn't know, he would have guessed it. There was no point in hiding it.
"The results of the interrogation are as follows. Fan Xian said that Si Lili confessed that the man behind the incident was Lin Gong."
Emperor Qing looked at him for a moment and suddenly said something.
"You just told me that? Didn't Fan Xian ask you to keep it a secret?"
Mei Chengan said decisively.
"I know some things without being told. They need to be kept secret from outsiders, but not from Your Majesty. I don't think there is anything to hide from Your Majesty."
Emperor Qing looked at him deeply and said.
"Lin Gong is dead!"
Mei Chengan looked up in surprise.
"what?"
His reaction was not fake. Although Lin Gong died in the original drama, many changes have taken place in this life. Lin Gong ran away a day earlier and Fan Xian also gave up. How could he still die?
What's the situation?
Emperor Qing was too lazy to repeat himself and asked directly.
"Is Lin Gong's death related to Fan Xian?"
Mei Cheng'an recalled the conversation between the two that night and shook his head.
“I don’t know, but I think it has nothing to do with him. We discussed this matter that night.
Fan Xian was still helpless about Lin Gong's early escape from Kyoto, and he didn't even think about chasing him, because even if he caught him back, he would not be able to convict Lin Gong based on Si Lili's testimony alone!
Besides, Fan Xian and I spent the entire day yesterday outing in the Wild Flower Valley outside the city, so we had no time to kill anyone."
Emperor Qing thought for a moment and nodded.
"After you leave the palace, Prime Minister Lin and the Crown Prince may ask you to verify the matter of Fan Xian's night trial of Si Lili."
Mei Cheng'an understood the elegant meaning just by hearing the string music.
"I did not participate in the interrogation, and Fan Xian never informed me of the results of the interrogation."
Emperor Qing was very satisfied with Mei Cheng'an's response. It was easier to talk to a smart person, so he waved at him.
"Okay, I've asked all the questions I wanted to ask, you can go now."
"I resign!"
……
(End of this chapter)
