Joy of Life: The Mei Family's Son Grows Up

Chapter 101 Fan Xian Enters Beijing
As soon as Emperor Qing mentioned this matter, Mei Cheng'an immediately had a bad premonition. Damn, is he going to go back on his word?

"I have not delayed the work. Your Majesty can send someone to verify it at any time."

Emperor Qing was immediately amused when he heard this. This kid was quite alert.

"Is that what I'm asking? Just answer whatever I ask, don't talk nonsense to me."

Mei Chengan was sweating profusely.

"Uh...yes."

Emperor Qing threw out a sentence without even blinking.

"I'll fine you three months' salary."

"..."

You don't even need to conduct a trial, just close the case, right?

But then again, I hadn't realized it before, but now after hearing what Emperor Qing said, it seems a bit unreasonable for me not to go to the office for a year. No wonder Emperor Qing wanted to punish me.

Okay, okay, go ahead and fine me. It’s just three months’ salary, just a drop in the bucket.

"Yes."

……

After the morning court session ended, even though he had just been punished by Emperor Qing, it did not stop many officials from congratulating him enthusiastically.

In their opinion, that little bit of punishment was nothing. Few officials in Kyoto lived solely on their salaries.

They were not the only ones who had this idea. Even Mei Zhili did not take it seriously, so when Mei Chengan returned to the Mei Mansion, he had no intention of calling him to the study to talk.

Others think that the problem is not big, but Mei Cheng'an thinks it is a big problem. A salary deduction is nothing, but he has to go to work at the Honglu Temple again. At least he has to go to work honestly for the first month, and he can't let His Majesty's warning be ineffective.

After having breakfast at home, Mei Cheng'an sighed, changed into his official uniform and went to the Honglu Temple.

Although he had not set foot in the Honglu Temple for a year, in Mei Cheng'an's eyes, everything in the temple was the same as before. He did not feel strange at all, but only familiar and friendly.

The subordinates were not surprised to see him and greeted him enthusiastically. Mei Chengan responded with a smile.

When Mei Cheng'an walked through the conference hall and into the main building in the backyard, he not only saw Xin Qiwu but also Wang Sicheng.

Wang Sicheng had not planned to come today. Unlike Xin Qiwu, he had adapted well to life at home. However, he was frightened by the punishment that the emperor gave to Mei Chengan during the morning court session and he dared not not come.

So the three of them finally met again in the main building after a year. They were all old acquaintances and hadn't seen each other for such a long time, so they started talking right away.

This conversation lasted for more than an hour, and they drank several pots of tea. If Xin Qiwu hadn't said that they would be too drunk if they continued talking, Mei Chengan felt that the three of them could have continued chatting for another half an hour.

After the three of them went to the toilet together, they returned to their respective places. Mei Chengan also stepped onto his own second floor again after a year.

The furnishings here are no different from when I left. If there is any difference, it is probably that the pots of green bamboo seem to be more lush than before. Xiao Hong takes good care of them.

After looking around one by one, Mei Chengan returned to his seat and sat down. Ah, the familiar cramped feeling. Although he missed it, it was also really uncomfortable. Mei Chengan moved his chair back and felt much better.

Not long after he sat down, Xiao Hong brought him a lot of documents, which piled up into a small mountain on the table in front of him.

Mei Chengan looked at Xiao Hong in surprise.

"so much?"

Xiao Hong answered.

"Most of the content in each document is the same as before, but there are small changes. It seems a lot, but in fact, you only need to look at the changed parts."

Mei Cheng'an breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"I see. I'll take a look. Oh, by the way, Xiaohong, I almost forgot to thank you. I'm sorry for troubling you last year."

"It's all my duty, sir, no need to thank me."

"Well, that's what I said. I should thank you. You've worked hard. Just go do your thing."

"It's not hard. If you need anything, call me."

"it is good."

After Xiao Hong left, Mei Chengan took a document from the top, opened it and began to read it quietly.

Until lunch time, Mei Cheng'an had only read a few copies in total. It was not because there were many updated contents, but mainly because Mei Cheng'an had almost forgotten the parts that had not been changed after not reading them for a long time. In order to consolidate his memory, he read very slowly and carefully.

After eating the lunch brought by Bluebird, Mei Chengan rested for a while and then continued to read the documents.

The afternoon passed in a flash. At the beginning of the You hour, Mei Chengan politely declined Xin Qiwu's invitation to the first dinner of the new year and went straight home. He was anxious to go home to write a letter to Roujia, and he was so engrossed in reading documents in the afternoon that he forgot about this matter.

After returning to the courtyard, changing into comfortable home clothes and washing up, Mei Cheng'an went into the room to write a letter.

He wrote down the situation in the mansion on the night of the Lantern Festival and the interesting things he heard from his father. He then talked about what happened before and after the morning court today. Finally, he added a short love story. He wrote three or four pages in total and sent it over by Bluebird before dark.

The next morning, Mei Cheng'an received Roujia's reply on time. The letter gave him feedback on everything he said. He will not repeat the rest. However, he still has to mention Roujia's feedback on the punishment given to him by Emperor Qing, because it was so adorable.

Roujia told Mei Cheng'an to relax and that if Emperor Qing punished him again, she would go to the palace to argue with her uncle and seek justice for him.

Mei Cheng'an couldn't stop laughing when he saw this. His wife was a bit fierce. She didn't care whether he was right or not. In order to protect him, she even threatened to argue with Emperor Qing. He was almost moved to tears.

In the next few days, Mei Cheng'an kept the rhythm of writing letters after get off work and receiving letters before work. The simplicity and sweetness enriched his life.

On the 21st day of the first lunar month, Mei Cheng'an took advantage of the day off to visit Prince Jing's Mansion. He really couldn't help it.

Li Hongcheng saw that his eyes were somewhat complicated. The famous poet with talent throughout the world turned out to be his brother-in-law. Everyone in the mansion knew about his affair with his sister, but they kept it secret from him. It was not until he heard the news of the arranged marriage that he realized how badly he had been deceived.

Now he doesn't know whether he should be happy or complaining. In short, he is very conflicted.

Mei Cheng'an didn't have time to pay attention to his little emotions at the moment. After chatting with Prince Jing for a while, he went straight to find Roujia.

Roujia sent Xiaotao out, and the two looked at each other lovingly for a long time. Mei Chengan smiled and opened his arms, and Roujia threw herself into his arms.

Neither of them was in a hurry to speak. They just hugged each other tightly and sniffed each other's body fragrance.

After a long time, Mei Chengan took the lead and spoke softly.

"I really miss you."

Roujia rubbed against his arms like a kitten, squinting her eyes comfortably, and replied softly.

"I miss Brother Cheng'an too."

"I miss you more."

"Obviously, I want Brother Cheng An more."

"I miss you even more."

"Brother Cheng'an, you are so childish. It is me who misses Brother Cheng'an even more."

"Roujia."

"Ok?"

"I really miss you."

Feeling the strong and almost solidified affection in Mei Cheng'an's words, Princess Roujia's eyes were so sweet that they almost melted, and she quickly made a bold decision.

She broke free from Mei Cheng'an's arms, and while Mei Cheng'an was still a little confused, she hugged his neck, confirmed the position, closed her eyes, and stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

The moment Mei Cheng'an was kissed by Roujia, his mind went blank. His eyes changed from confusion to disbelief and then to being moved. He slowly closed his eyes, hugged Roujia's slender waist, and responded gently.

……

Mei Cheng'an left Prince Jing's Mansion before lunch. To be more precise, he was driven out by Roujia just because Mei Cheng'an said that she still wanted a kiss.

The next few days were the same as usual, working and writing letters. On the 27th day of the first lunar month, it was another day off, and Mei Chengan once again bravely entered the Prince Jing's mansion.

Unfortunately, this time, Roujia refused to kiss him again no matter what. It was obvious that she was scared after her last impulse. However, Mei Chengan was not discouraged. He believed that with his continuous offensive, he would make Roujia brave again one day.

At the end of the month, Chen Pingping finally set off for her hometown, and Mei Chengan even went to see her off.

It's February now.

Changxin Palace.

Lanxiang hurried into the hall, walked up to the eldest princess, and handed a small roll of paper to her.

"Your Highness, there is news from the Overwatch Council."

The eldest princess put down the cat in her arms, took the note, opened it and started reading. When she finished reading, a smile appeared on her face.

"After waiting for so long, Chen Pingping finally returned home."

Lanxiang had a worried look on her face.

"Your Highness, Dean Chen's whereabouts have always been secretive. This time he returned home with great fanfare. Could the news be a fraud?"

The eldest princess glanced at Lanxiang and smiled.

"Don't worry. Zhu Ge has confirmed that there are his people in the Black Cavalry. There are reports every day, and the time and itinerary are consistent. Chen Pingping has indeed returned home."

After saying that, she stood up and walked two steps to the side, lifted the cover of the lantern, placed the note above the candle and lit it, watching it burn quietly. After it was completely burned to ashes, the princess closed the lampshade and turned to look at Lanxiang.

"Has everything been arranged in Danzhou?"

"Our people forged a letter written by Liu Ruyu and sent it to the housekeeper Zhou over there. We also received his reply. As soon as the people from the Supervisory Council arrive, they will immediately cooperate and take action."

The eldest princess nodded with satisfaction.

"Go and tell Zhu Ge that he can start now."

"Yes!"

……

There is an office of the Supervisory Commission in Yanzhou City. There is a young man named Teng Zijing in the office. He has been very depressed recently.

He couldn't see his wife and children, and all his colleagues had been transferred away. He was the only one left in the entire office.

He has been so busy lately that he has no time to miss his wife and children. He also sent a letter to his direct superior Yan Bingyun to ask what was going on, but Yan Bingyun did not explain the reason. He just said that there was a serious shortage of manpower recently and asked him to be patient for the time being and it would be fine after a while.

With Yan Bingyun's cold personality, he could say such words to comfort him, which showed that the situation was really urgent. If he asked further, it would seem a bit hypocritical. He could only forcefully suppress all the doubts in his mind, so he became more and more depressed.

One day, he returned to the office after finishing a task. He just lay down exhausted, and before he could catch his breath, he saw a carrier pigeon landed by the window.

Teng Zijing couldn't help but swear, his eyes were full of despair, he was really tired, he wanted to rest, or just pretend he didn't see it, thinking of this, Teng Zijing closed his eyes.

The constant cooing of pigeons in his ears made him feel upset, so he simply covered his ears, but he still couldn't block out the cooing sound that sounded like magic.

Teng Zijing opened his eyes helplessly, pointed at the carrier pigeon and sat up cursing, but unfortunately the pigeon didn't understand and continued to coo while strolling around the windowsill.

Teng Zijing was helpless. He stood up and walked to the window. He took the secret letter off the pigeon's leg, glanced at the pigeon in his hand, sighed, and then let it fly away.

Watching the pigeon disappear into the sky, Teng Zijing reluctantly opened the secret letter. What was this mission?

After reading the contents of the secret letter, Teng Zijing was shocked. This time it turned out to be an assassination mission, and the mission was called "Kill the traitors."

Teng Zijing was confused. This assassination was always the task of the Sixth Division. When did it become their turn to do it? Where were the assassins in the Sixth Division? Were they all dead?
Well, even if that's true, it doesn't make sense. The target of the assassination is in Danzhou, a hundred miles away. There is an office there too. Why go so far away?
Teng Zijing looked at the secret letter in his hand and always felt that there was something wrong with this mission. Just in case, he immediately sent a message to Yan Bingyun to confirm whether the mission information was correct.

Yan Bingyun only replied him with four words, following his orders, and also gave him a copy of Fan Xian's information.

Since the boss said it's okay, what else is there to say? Just take action. This is a good opportunity to relax.

After taking a look at Fan Xian's message, Teng Zijing quickly packed his bag, took all his equipment, and rode on a fast horse all the way to Danzhou...

……

Mid-February.

The Royal Study Room of the Imperial Palace.

Emperor Qing was polishing an arrowhead while listening to Eunuch Hou reading the contents of a memorial. When he heard a certain paragraph, Emperor Qing stopped what he was doing and raised his head.

"What did you say? Kill the traitors?"

"Um...that's what Dean Chen wrote in his letter of apology."

Emperor Qing remembered the eldest princess' words that she would not change her mind, threw down the arrow in his hand, and said without any emotion.

"Nonsense."

After a moment, Emperor Qing picked up the arrow again.

"Keep reading."

When Eunuch Hou read that Teng Zijing received the secret order and immediately set out for Danzhou to carry out the mission, Emperor Qing snorted.

"This Teng Zijing is also a fool. He took action without even knowing Fan Xian's identity."

When he heard that his assassination attempt failed and he was killed on the spot by Fan Xian, Emperor Qing's eyes lit up.

"He just fought back like that? Is Fan Xian injured?"

Eunuch Hou looked down.

"Dean Chen wrote in his memorial that Fan Xian is fine."

Emperor Qing nodded.

"continue."

Eunuch Hou continued to read: "I was negligent in my supervision and someone caused trouble in the Supervisory Council, falsely passed on secret orders, and made a huge joke of assassinating his own supervisor. I admit that I am to blame. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

After reading it, Eunuch Hou folded the letter and placed it on the table.

After hearing this last part, Emperor Qing snorted.

"Write him back."

Eunuch Hou immediately fetched paper and pen, leaned over the table, and looked up at Emperor Qing.

"Chen Pingping, instead of apologizing, you might as well use the time to thoroughly investigate the Supervisory Council. Humph, your own Commissioner has become a traitor to the country. This is simply ridiculous. You must give me an explanation for this matter."

……

Two days later, Chen Pingping gave the first explanation. The killer Teng Zijing's direct superior Yan Bingyun was dismissed for participating in the false transmission of secret orders, and then secretly sent to Beiqi to take over the intelligence network there, accompanied by Fei Jie, the head of the Third Department.

When Mei Cheng'an saw the message that Chen Pingping specially copied to him, he threw it away as if it was hot, and then rolled his eyes. Damn it, I'm not even going to the Supervisory Council, why are you telling me about this?

……

In early March, a carriage with the Fan family logo slowly drove into Kyoto under the escort of red-armored knights.

After buying a map, changing rickshaw drivers, and encountering the chicken leg girl at the Qing Temple, Fan Xian stood in front of the gate of the Fan Mansion with a chicken leg in one hand and a box in the other.

His father who had abandoned him in Danzhou for more than ten years, his concubine Liu who was suspected to be the real murderer, and his younger brother born to his concubine Liu whom he had never met.

If he didn't have so many doubts and confusions, and if there was not a Ruoruo in the mansion, he really would have no interest in stepping into this mansion.

Big guys, there is only one big chapter today, and we are entering the main plot, so I have to think carefully.


(End of this chapter)