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

Chapter 12 Wang Qinian’s Wedding and Dialogue with Chen Pingping

"So I guess there's something wrong with Dean Chen?"

"Uh... no problem. There are some things I don't see as clearly as Master Xiaomei."

"A bystander sees more clearly."

Mei Cheng'an secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He spoke too quickly and almost got exposed. Fortunately, his brain was working very fast and he managed to cover it up with a half-truth.

In fact, his speculation just now was not wrong, but the information he based it on was problematic. For example, Wang Qinian was a notorious bandit in his early years, but was later subdued by Chen Pingping himself and brought into the Supervisory Yuan. Even the heads of various departments in the Yuan did not know about this, so how could the mere prefect of Kyoto find out?

In other words, Wang Qinian did not think there was any point in keeping his past experiences secret, and felt that it would not matter even if others knew about it, so he managed to fool people.

As long as he compared his answers with Dean Chen, he would be exposed to Dean Chen.

Fortunately, he knew Wang Qinian's temperament and character. The dean was very high up in his heart, so he didn't dare to just sit there and reminisce about the past with Dean Chen.

Be careful with your words and actions! Be careful with your words and actions! Be careful with your words and actions! Important things should be said three times.

Wang Qinian had long forgotten the conversation just now.

"Master Xiaomei, your maids have already mastered the skills, right?"

"Good eyesight, how did you know that?"

"Miss Xiaomei stopped me just now, her lightness skills were remarkable."

"I also taught them the Qinggong agility techniques you taught me. Do you mind?"

Wang Qinian waved his hand.

"Well, it's just a little trick of using Qinggong, it's not a profound skill, I'll pass it on, it's no big deal."

"It's still you, Old Wang. In one word, open-minded!" Mei Cheng'an gave a thumbs up.

"However, it only took a month to master this skill. Your maids are incredibly talented."

"Um, thank you for the compliment on their behalf."

"No, no, I am speaking the truth. I am very pleased to see that the few skills I found can help the young master's maids."

"........."

So you are here to pick on me?
"This is all thanks to you, Old Wang. These books of skills are so powerful. If you hadn't found them for them, they wouldn't be able to use their talents no matter how talented they are. So, let them set up a table and treat you to a drink someday?"

Wang Qinian achieved his goal and immediately smiled, with wrinkles all over the corners of his eyes.

"No, no, it's all my responsibility!"

"Yes, yes. Old Wang, you are like their second parent."

"Ouch, that's exaggerated, ahahahahaha."

"You really don't need it?"

"Sir, please remember my contribution. I am already very satisfied. It is really not necessary."

"Look at you, Lao Wang. You are so polite. I don't know what to say to you."

"Hey Hey."

……

Wang Qinian's wedding was simple yet grand. Both the couple's parents were no longer around, and there were no relatives present. Those present were mostly colleagues from the Control Yuan who had a good relationship with Wang Qinian, as well as familiar neighbors. There weren't many people.

Mei Cheng'an came here after morning classes. At his age, he couldn't help much if he came too early. When he arrived, he saw Wang Qinian and his wife getting married.

Everyone in the hall stood on both sides. In the hall, Wang Qinian, dressed in a red robe, and the bride worshiped heaven and earth together as the master of ceremonies sang loudly.

When paying his second respects to his parents, Mei Cheng'an looked up and saw a man in his forties, with a fair complexion and no beard. He had a smile on his face and was sitting in a wheelchair wearing a dark robe with gold patterns.

It was Chen Pingping.

Neither of them had parents, and as the master of ceremonies and matchmaker for them, it made sense for Chen Pingping to sit there.

Mei Cheng'an glanced to the side and saw a figure in a black robe with a mask covering his face.

That's right, these two are almost inseparable.

Perhaps because he had been looking at the shadow for too long, the shadow seemed to sense something and looked in his direction.

Fortunately, Mei Cheng'an shifted his gaze away in time and looked back at Wang Qinian.

Shadow looked up and saw a child in extraordinary clothes. He didn't know whose family he was from. The maid beside him didn't look very old either. She turned to look to the side, but didn't find anything unusual, so she lowered her eyes.

At this time, Wang Qinian and his wife had already bowed to each other. After the master of ceremonies shouted and sent them to the bridal chamber, everyone in the audience cheered and watched Wang Qinian and his wife leave.

Under the arrangement of the master of ceremonies, everyone returned to the yard and took their seats.

Mei Cheng'an was just thinking about where to sit when the emcee came towards him and bowed.

"But Master Mei is in person?"

"you know me?"

"Brother Qinian specifically told me to do so."

"Brother Qinian, are you his friend?"

"Colleague."

Mei Cheng'an's attention had just been on the shadows of Wang Qinian and Chen Pingping, and he didn't pay much attention to the emcee. Now, after a closer look, he saw that it was Deng Ziyue who was not immune to the consequences.

"What's the matter with me?"

"The young master has other arrangements for the banquet. Please follow me."

"No need, I see there are still many empty seats here."

"Brother Qinian said that since you are a distinguished young master, you should be given a separate table."

"alright."

Why is Lao Wang giving me such a favor? The problem is that I am not of noble status. Although my father Mei Zhili is the governor of Kyoto, he is only a third-rank official. He is not conspicuous in Kyoto. Why does it feel weird?

Deng Ziyue took him to a side room in the backyard and stopped.

"Why did you stop?"

"Your seat is inside the room, you can go in. I still have to entertain the people in the main hall, so I won't go in."

Now Mei Chengan became even more suspicious.

"Is there a banquet in the house?"

"Have!"

"I have a table by myself?"

"Forehead…"

"Who else is in the room?"

"You will know when you go in, young master."

"Okay, go ahead."

Deng Ziyue bowed and left in a hurry. "Sister Lan, do you think he walked a little too fast?"

"It was very fast, as if it was afraid of something."

"What is he afraid of? He is from the Overwatch Council, who can he be afraid of? It's nothing more than..."

Mei Chengan, who figured it out, smiled unhappily. It's just Chen Pingping. Is it necessary to be so scared?
There is no way to hide now. Instead of being trembling with fear, it is better to be open and honest. Chen Pingping is not Emperor Qing. He still has a good impression of Chen Pingping.

After figuring this out, Mei Cheng'an calmly pushed open the door and walked into the room. There was nothing furnished in the room except for a banquet table in the middle. Chen Pingping was sitting alone on one side, eating, with a shadow standing behind him.

There were a wide variety of dishes on the table. In addition to braised food, rabbit heads, barbecue, there were also many hot dishes. The wine barrel was placed on a chair.

Mei Cheng'an sat down opposite Chen Pingping, picked up a piece of bean curd with chopsticks and started eating.

Xiaolan poured him a glass of burp wine and placed it on his right side.

"You didn't finish what you said just now. He is from the Overwatch Council, so who should he be afraid of?"

Mei Cheng'an picked up another piece of garlic shoots with his chopsticks.

"That's naturally the head of the Supervisory Council, President Chen."

Chen Pingping wiped his mouth and spoke in a gentle tone.

"That's not right. I'm their dean. Why should people of the same family be afraid of people of the same family?"

"Maybe it's because of your terrible reputation or because he feels guilty?"

Chen Pingping turned around and asked Yingzi.

“Do I have a terrible reputation?”

Shadow said muffledly, "It's not very positive anyway."

Chen Pingping suddenly realized.

"However, the people in the Overwatch Council are never afraid of you, they only respect you." Shadow added.

"Oh, if you're not afraid of me, then you're guilty."

"Do you want me to have someone check him out?"

"No, I remember him. I remember that he was admitted to the Overwatch Council with my special approval. He is a man of integrity and passion."

"Then what is he guilty about?"

Chen Pingping didn't reply.

Mei Cheng'an was eating the food in front of him. His arms were not long, so Xiaolan picked up a lot of food for him.

You know what, although they are all home-cooked dishes, they taste extremely good. I don’t know where Wang Qinian hired the chef from.

"What do you say?"

Mei Cheng'an chewed the food in his mouth and swallowed it, took another sip of beer, and wiped his mouth.

"I'm not from your Overwatch Council, how would I know?"

"What's there to be afraid of, just a random guess?"

"That's what you said."

Chen Pingping leaned back in the wheelchair.

"I said."

"Just now you said he was a man of integrity and passion?"

"Yes, I think my vision is pretty good."

"I don't think so."

"Oh?"

"The person you are talking about should be neither humble nor arrogant, with a strong temperament, but the emcee is timid and servile. Can this be a human being?"

Chen Pingping's eyes were still gentle and his face was smiling.

"What if he is just a person?"

"That's a big problem."

Chen Pingping became interested and leaned forward slightly.

"Tell me, what's the problem?"

"What can turn a person into another person?"

"What do you think it is?"

"The Supervisory Council? Or the officialdom?"

"Interesting, keep going."

Mei Chengan shook his head and said, "I can't continue. I'm not an official. I'm just a child. You should know the details better than me."

It's bound to be a bit disappointing when you suddenly stop talking when you're in the mood for something.

Chen Pingping paused for a moment with some disappointment, then nodded and uttered three words without any emotion.

"Makes sense."

Chen Pingping changed the subject.

"How old are you, kid?"

"Nine years old."

"Is this burp wine your property?"

Mei Cheng'an nodded. It was not surprising that Chen Pingping knew this. It would be strange if the Inspectorate of Hiccup Wine, which had become famous in Kyoto recently, would let it go. It was estimated that they had already investigated it thoroughly.

"How did you make this wine?"

Mei Chengan was speechless. Was he asking about business secrets so openly?
"Business confidential, no inquiries."

Chen Pingping smiled and waved his hand.

"I'm not interested in your secrets. I'm asking, how did you come up with the idea of ​​brewing this kind of wine?"

Mei Chengan was stunned. How could this question be so tricky? How could he answer, "Oh, I just learned this. I invented beer when I discovered hops?" After all, he was only nine years old and didn't usually come into contact with alcohol. How could he want to brew beer and how did he brew it? There were many unreasonable things in this.

"I thought about it, so I brewed it. Is there a problem?"

Anyway, he didn't know how to answer, so he just answered casually, secretly groaning in his heart, please, don't ask any more questions, don't embarrass me, Fat Tiger.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Chen Pingping was stunned. She did not ask any further questions, but her eyes were blurred, as if she was lost in some memories.

After a long while, Chen Pingping seemed to have forgotten the previous conversation. His expression did not change much, except that he stopped smiling. He turned around and said to Shadow, "Let's go."

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Would you like to meet the groom?"

Chen Pingping shook his head, took a lingering look at the dishes on the table, swallowed silently under the mask, pushed the wheelchair out of the door, and disappeared.

(End of this chapter)