Chapter 225 It’s too outrageous
Mei Chengan smiled shyly.
Concubine Shu suddenly turned her head and looked at Fan Xian again.
"I heard you opened a bookstore?"
Fan Xian was speechless, thinking that Concubine Shu was deliberately trying to put him down. He was stunned again by Concubine Shu's sudden question.
"Uh, ah, yes."
Concubine Shu leaned forward.
"Is there a single copy?"
Fan Xian would say.
"All of them are novels and stories. There are no ancient books."
Concubine Shu said "oh" and moved her body back. After a pause, she asked again.
"I heard that you wrote Red Mansions?"
"Uh, yes!"
When Fan Ruoruo heard him admit it directly, she was surprised for a moment, then smiled knowingly, thinking that he finally stopped pretending.
This time, Fan Xian did not say the same thing as before. He had already recognized the poem, so why was it wrong for him to recognize the book? Anyway, everyone around him thought that he had made it up. The most important thing was that it would save trouble and he didn't have to waste so much time and effort.
Concubine Shu nodded and looked at Fan Xian with burning eyes.
“It’s very well written.”
Fan Xian responded honestly and modestly.
"Ah, thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."
After she finished speaking, the room fell into silence for a short time. Just when the embarrassment was about to spread, Concubine Shu spoke again.
"What books are you reading recently?"
Mei Cheng'an answered first because his eyes were on him.
"My Lady, I'm currently reading Zhang Jin's Chronicles of the Ancient Kingdoms."
Concubine Shu became interested after hearing this.
"Which one?"
Mei Cheng'an said.
"I just finished watching the Qi Kingdom chapter, and I'm currently watching the Snowy Northern Barbarians."
Concubine Shu said.
"I haven't read the Northern Barbarians chapter yet. Is it interesting?"
Mei Chengan nodded.
"The cultural customs and geographical environment are very different from those in the Central Plains. They are quite interesting. Your Majesty can take a look when you have time."
Concubine Shu nodded and moved her eyes to Fan Xian. She didn't say anything, but just stared at him, as if waiting for him to answer.
Fan Xian was very angry. How could he have such a thing to do? He had never read any books since he came to Beijing. After racking his brains and searching, he suddenly thought of the bookstore that Concubine Shu mentioned before, so he answered in a flash of inspiration.
"The account book."
Concubine Shu blinked.
"The way of businessmen."
What nonsense! It seems a little lofty.
Fan Xian agreed with a smile.
"Ah, yes."
Concubine Shu shook her head slightly.
"In the end, it was due to vulgarity!"
"..."
Fan Xian quickly put away the frozen smile on his face and spoke with lowered eyebrows.
"My Lady, I am teaching you a lesson."
Concubine Shu looked at him and said.
"Wan'er grew up in the palace since she was young. We all treat her as our daughter, so we want to see you."
Fan Xian didn't know how to respond to this, but fortunately Concubine Shu looked at Mei Cheng'an again.
"Roujia was very active when she was young, and she was not as well-behaved as Wan'er. She also didn't like reading, so she didn't come to my place very often. This time I came to see you because I like your poems very much, and Chengze also praised you highly, so I wanted to meet you in person."
Although his wife was criticized again, Mei Cheng'an did not feel embarrassed. Instead, he felt relieved. As long as there was no bad debt, everything would be fine.
Concubine Shu looked at Fan Xian again.
"Chengze has been praising you a lot lately."
Fan Xian wanted to ask this question just now.
"Who is Chengze?"
Concubine Shu stopped talking and just looked at him quietly.
Fan Ruoruo coughed lightly, and when she saw Fan Xian looking at her, she gestured to him with the number two.
Fan Xian suddenly realized.
"Oh, it's the Second Prince."
Only then did Concubine Shu continue to speak.
"My son is very proud. He can praise others, which is rare."
Fan Xian strikes the snake while he is at it.
"The Second Prince and I hit it off right away."
Concubine Shu was silent for a moment and said quietly.
"Then you must have been deceived by him."
"Ah, ah?"
Fan Xian was a little confused that it was possible to chat like this.
Concubine Shu had a deep gaze.
"He is a man of deep thoughts, and never strikes a chord with anyone. I won't say much about his affairs, but you will understand them after spending more time with him."
"..."
Fan Xian now suddenly felt that his previous idea that Concubine Shu was targeting him was a bit ridiculous. She was attacking indiscriminately, not even sparing her son.
Concubine Shu glanced at the three of them.
"There's something you may not know."
Mei Chengan was fine, but Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo were intrigued and looked at Concubine Shu with curiosity.
Concubine Shu's eyes were deep and peaceful as she spoke quietly.
"I love reading."
Fan Xian: "..."
Fan Ruoruo: "..."
Mei Cheng'an quickly lowered his head, closed his eyes tightly, and pinched his thighs frantically. He was holding it in with great difficulty, because if he laughed, he would be doomed.
Concubine Shu seemed to have come out of her previous state. She looked at Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an and said, "You are the younger generation. I should give you some gifts when you come here. I don't like vulgar things. So, I will give you some rare ancient books."
Fan Xian: "Uh..."
Concubine Shu: "I don't know what you like."
Fan Xian: "Actually, we..."
Concubine Shu: "But I may not be willing to give you what you want."
Fan Xian: "..."
Concubine Shu: "Let me pick a few and give them to you. It's not convenient for you to carry them. How about this? After I pick them, I'll send someone to deliver them to Concubine Yi, and you can take them with you when you leave. How about that?"
Fan Xian forced a smile and nodded.
"Your Majesty is right. I'll listen to you."
Concubine Shu smiled and said nothing.
Mei Chengan understood what he meant and patted Fan Xian's shoulder as he stood up.
Eunuch Hou, Fan Xian, and Fan Ruoruo all looked at him in confusion, not understanding why he suddenly stood up.
Mei Cheng'an stood up, simply adjusted his clothes, and then bowed to Concubine Shu.
"In that case, we will no longer bother the Imperial Concubine and will take our leave now."
Eunuch Hou subconsciously looked at Concubine Shu, and seeing her satisfied expression, he suddenly realized that Lady Xiaomei was the one who reacted quickly.
Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo came to their senses and stood up hurriedly. After they paid their respects, Mei Cheng'an took the lead and walked out of the hall. The two of them quickly followed, waiting for the eunuch to finish up behind him.
The moment they stepped out of Concubine Shu's palace, Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo both breathed a sigh of relief.
Mei Cheng'an glanced at the two of them and smiled.
"How is it? Are you still curious now?"
Fan Xian shook his head and waved his hands.
"No, no, I am young after all. I never thought that the temperament of this Concubine Shu is so different from that of the Second Brother.
I feel like she’s a little…how do I put it? Oh yeah, kind of weird.
Oh my god, the topic changed so quickly, without giving me any time to react, it was so clear, my back was almost soaked."
Mei Chengan burst into laughter when he heard this.
Fan Ruoruo couldn't help laughing.
Eunuch Hou soon came out, and without further ado, the three of them continued on their way.
On the way, Fan Ruoruo once again acted as a tour guide and introduced the two to the owner of the next destination.
"Next is Concubine Ning, the biological mother of the eldest prince."
Fan Xian was a little curious.
"Hey, since she is the mother of the eldest prince, why is her position the lowest? Is there something wrong with her identity or did she make a mistake and was demoted?"
Fan Ruoruo smiled.
"Brother is really smart, he guessed it right away, but what I said is not accurate in one thing, it's not an either/or choice, it's both!
Ning Cairen was a Dongyi person, who was brought back by Your Majesty during the Northern Expedition. Your Majesty was injured on the battlefield at that time, and Ning Cairen took care of him day and night, so he was able to escape from slavery.
Later, she entered the palace and gave birth to the eldest prince. She was originally a concubine, but many years ago, something happened and she was stripped of her honorable position and demoted to a talented lady. "
Fan Xian suddenly understood, and these words explained his two doubts.
"I see, no wonder, I was wondering why the eldest prince was leading troops outside, holding military power, and was the eldest son.
Why doesn't he try to fight for the throne? It's not that he has no interest, but that he is not qualified.
He has half the blood of another country, and he has lost the qualification to inherit the throne since the moment he was born."
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Hou cleared his throat vigorously, signaling Fan Xian not to talk about such a sensitive topic anymore.
Fan Xian smiled.
"It's okay, Eunuch Hou. If you don't tell anyone, no one will know."
"you…"
Eunuch Hou was speechless and looked at Mei Chengan helplessly.
Mei Cheng'an shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he could do nothing to help. Even if he could control the whole world, he couldn't control what others said or did.
Eunuch Hou sighed, turned around and led the way.
Fan Ruoruo smiled and said.
"It is precisely because of this that Ning Cai has never been favored by the Queen Mother."
Fan Xian thought about the story she had just told, and his heart was moved.
"And then she looked for an opportunity to seize someone else's honored position?"
Fan Ruoruo smiled but said nothing.
Fan Xian chuckled.
"This old lady is quite narrow-minded."
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Hou coughed twice again, and the fake cough almost turned into a real cough.
After taking a breath, Eunuch Hou turned around with a sad face, looked at Fan Xian, clasped his hands together and begged.
"Master Fan, I haven't lived long enough."
Fan Xian winked at her and patted his shoulder.
"Oh, don't worry, father-in-law. I won't say that in front of her."
When Eunuch Hou heard this, he almost cried.
"Mr. Fan, please don't. Can I call you Uncle Fan? You still want to say that to my face? You should be careful with your words at ordinary times!"
Fan Xian's tone was very perfunctory.
"Okay, okay, be careful with your words. Don't get excited. Take a deep breath first. If you keep doing this, I'm worried that you'll run out of breath and pass out, and then I'll be guilty.
If you ask me, you should worry too much. There are so many old ladies out there. Who knows I am talking about the Queen Mother?"
The first half of the sentence sounds like a reasonable thing to say, but the second half is simply outrageous!
Eunuch Hou snorted, very angry. He gritted his teeth and decided not to waste any more words with him. He was also afraid that he would be pissed off if he continued talking to him.
I decisively turned around and walked forward quickly, intending to stay away from him. If I couldn't afford to provoke him, I could just avoid him.
Seeing this, Mei Cheng'an shook his head helplessly, took a few quick steps to catch up, and put his arm around Eunuch Hou's shoulder.
"Father-in-law, let's go together. I'm also afraid of being implicated by him."
Eunuch Hou couldn't help but complain.
"It's not that I am being nosy, it's just that... Alas, Master Fan is really too unreasonable!"
Fan Xian, who was at the back, looked at the two people talking quietly in front and became suspicious, so he shouted from behind.
"Are you two saying bad things about me? I heard it!"
Eunuch Hou quickly covered his mouth, Mei Cheng'an turned around to glance at him, then nodded heavily at Eunuch Hou.
"My father-in-law is right. It is indeed outrageous!"
……
(End of this chapter)
