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

Chapter 31 Your Majesty, Calm Down

Huh? Are you asking about it so blatantly?
"Uh... just said hello to me."

"Don't listen to him. He has always been a very strict person and has been very strict since he was a child. Just listen to what he said and don't take it seriously."

So you were eavesdropping just now, and you're still asking me. You've already said the words, so what should I say?

"Forehead…"

The second prince also patted him on the shoulder.

"It's okay. I understand. I have a good relationship with the prince, so I can say bad things about him. It's really not appropriate for you to say bad things about him since this is your first meeting with him."

This is the first time I meet you!

"That's what the Second Prince said."

"Your poems are very good. They all love your poem 'Ask the Channel How It Can Be So Clear', but I like your poem 'There Are Fairy Grasses in the World', which sounds like fairyland."

"As long as His Highness likes it."

"Any new works recently?"

"Um, no, I haven't had any inspiration lately."

The second prince clapped his hands.

"How can you get any inspiration if you stay in the Qilin Hall all day? If you have nothing to do, why not attend more poetry gatherings and communicate with your peers? Maybe inspiration will come to you."

"I'm afraid I'll disappoint your Highness. I've always liked quietness and I don't like crowds. I feel uncomfortable."

The second prince was not disappointed, but his eyes lit up.

"You don't like crowds either? Hey, guess what, I don't like it either, we're just like people."

We are different. I don't like being noticed by others, and you simply don't like people.

"Forehead…."

The second prince patted his shoulder again.

"It's okay. There's no rush for poetry. Inspiration is something you can only encounter by chance. When you have a new work, remember to inform me as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to it. Bye."

"Sure! Take care, Your Highness."

Once again, he watched the second prince walk away.

Just as I was about to move forward, I heard the rumbling sound of wheels pressing on the ground behind me.

Mei Cheng'an looked back and saw a eunuch pushing Chen Pingping in a wheelchair towards him and stopping in front of him.

Mei Cheng'an glanced at the palace gate which was only a dozen steps away from him and felt completely helpless. Why was it so difficult to leave the palace? It had been so long since the court was dismissed, but he hadn't even taken a few steps far.

His eyes returned to Chen Pingping, who pointed at him and said to the eunuch behind him, "He will take me there later, you go ahead."

The eunuch looked at Mei Cheng'an, and Mei Cheng'an nodded helplessly.

After receiving the reply, the eunuch bowed and left.

"Hey, Dean Chen, you can let me push your wheelchair, but you have to ask for my opinion first."

Chen Pingping didn't reply, but looked him up and down.

"You've grown up!"

Mei Chengan said, nonsense! Those who can't grow up are called dwarfs.

"It's been three years. How can you not grow up?"

Chen Pingping nodded.

"The power of time is always particularly evident in children like you."

Mei Cheng'an came to the back of the wheelchair, held the handle, and pushed the wheelchair slowly forward.

"That's right. Dean Chen hasn't changed much compared to previous years."

"I'm old." Chen Pingping sighed.

"Whether you are old or not is not determined by age, but by your heart. If your heart is old, then you are really old."

"This is the first time I've heard of this statement. So, if the heart is not old, then it is just fake old age?"

"Time is fair to everyone. The aging of the body is inevitable, but the heart is the only thing that can resist the passage of time. As long as your mentality remains young, you will always be young. Only when your heart is energetic can you feel the beauty of this world and delay the aging of the body in disguise. Look at Wang Qinian, he is nearly 40 years old, but he still has a child's heart. He can play with me, and I don't think he is old."

Chen Pingping seemed to be thinking about something, and he really should change his mindset. He couldn't get old, and he still needed time to protect that man's child.

"Been taught a lesson."

"The dean came to see me specially. Does he have something to ask me?"

"Yes, I didn't expect to see you here."

Mei Chengan shrugged.

"I didn't expect that I would come to court. I was forced to come by my father."

"That's not what you said in court."

"Some things are fine to say in private, but it's indecent to say them in formal occasions."

"Strictly speaking, you are deceiving the emperor."

"Stop it. If this is considered deceiving the emperor, then everyone will deceive the emperor."

"That's right." Chen Pingping nodded.

"You said in the court that you wanted to manage Qilin Palace forever. Was that true?"

"You are a werewolf. You tampered with my words. I only said that I would continue to manage Qilin Palace. When did I say forever?"

"Werewolf, what do you mean?"

"That's not important. What's important is that you misinterpreted what I meant."

"Sorry, so after removing the word forever, are you sincere about it?"

"I really want to say that there is a book I haven't studied thoroughly yet."

"a book?"

"Ah."

"what book?"

"Medical book."

"You're still studying medicine?"

"I have nothing to do anyway, and Qilin Palace is close to the Imperial Hospital, so it's never a bad thing to learn more."

"how long it takes?"

"what?"

"How long does it take you to study that book thoroughly?"

"Need... How should I know? Why are you asking this?" "Nothing, just curious. Have you read all the other books in the temple?"

"Mostly, do you know much about Qilin Palace?"

"The books there are all those I collected for Your Majesty."

"I see."

"It also contains archived records of the mountains, rivers, local conditions, folk customs, and court news from various countries."

"I have read it. I put it in the history section and put it on a separate bookshelf."

"Have you seen it all?"

"Ah, you know what, your Overwatch Council's records are really detailed and look quite interesting."

"Do you remember everything?"

"Remember...why should I remember it?"

Chen Pingping casually asked a few questions about the geographical location and scenic spots of a large city in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

Mei Cheng'an thought about it and gave his answer.

"You have a good memory."

"It's okay, I need to think about it."

"I see."

"What do you know?"

"nothing."

"I always feel like there's something wrong with you. You came to me specifically to ask me a bunch of questions and test my knowledge. What's your purpose? You're not planning anything bad, are you?"

Chen Pingping spread his hands.

"What bad things can I have to hide? I just haven't seen you for a long time. I feel fresh and come to chat with you. Don't think too much about it."

"Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"

"Do I need to lie to a mere proofreader like you, as the head of the Overwatch Council?"

"That's right... No, who are you looking down on here? What's wrong with me being a proofreader? The president of the Supervisory Council is great. I was appointed by His Majesty himself."

"So do I, the president of the Supervisory Council."

"........."

"Is Shadow waiting for you outside the palace?"

"Correct."

"Oh, that's okay."

"Do you want to see him?"

"Oh, no, I'm mainly worried that no one will be waiting for you, and I'll have to take a detour to send you to the Overwatch Council, which is too much trouble for me."

"........."

Not long after leaving the palace, Mei Cheng'an saw a shadow sitting in the driver's seat of the carriage.

When Yingzi saw Chen Pingping coming out, he immediately jumped off the carriage and walked over. Only when he got close did he recognize Mei Chengan.

"Huh? You entered the palace to be a eunuch?"

Mei Chengan rolled his eyes.

"You just became a eunuch. Come, look here. This is called an official uniform! Your eunuch wears an official uniform?"

"I said that wrong. I meant, shouldn't the eunuchs push him out? Why is it you?"

Damn you, if I can't beat you, I would let you, the black-robed monster, have a taste of my iron fist.

"Some people sent the eunuch away and forced me to push him. How dare I, a small proofreader, disobey the order of the head of the Supervisory Council?"

Shadow looked at Chen Pingping.

"What's wrong with him? He's so weird."

Chen Pingping smiled gently.

"There was a misunderstanding."

Mei Cheng'an said with a cold face: "I'll leave the person to you. Goodbye." After saying that, he turned around and left.

Looking at Mei Chengan's departing back.

Shadow said, "You call this a misunderstanding? You have offended him very badly. You look so childish."

Chen Pingping smiled awkwardly.

"This kid is very perceptive. I just hinted at it, but he noticed something was wrong. I have no choice but to suppress it with my identity."

"So that's how it is. No wonder he was so angry. It turns out he was mocked for being a low-ranking official. If it were me, I would have given your wheelchair to Zhou a long time ago. He's just not brave enough."

Chen Pingping had no expression on his face.

"You talk a lot today."

Shadow paused for a moment and stopped talking. He obediently moved the wheelchair carrying Chen Pingping into the carriage, closed the door, drove the carriage and left.

On the other side, Mei Chengan's expression returned to normal, and he seemed to be thinking about something. Chen Pingping seemed to be plotting against him, and seeing that he noticed, changing the subject was a bit awkward.

Mei Cheng'an thought back to everything they had said in their conversation. His first feeling was that Chen Pingping didn't seem to want him to stay in Qilin Palace any longer. His second feeling was that Chen Pingping seemed to care about the fact that he had read the archives of the Supervisory Council, and he even asked Bei Qi about it specifically. He just didn't know what the connection was between the two. Could it be that he wanted to recruit him into the Supervisory Council?
"Master."

Mei Cheng'an was interrupted from his thoughts by the call of the bluebird and smiled.

"I've been waiting for a long time. I chatted with someone inside for a while. I wasted time. Have you seen my dad?"

"The master has returned home."

"Well, let's go and have breakfast. We won't go back home. We have to come back later. Let's go to the stall we went to last time. I want to drink some bean paste and have a few round sesame cakes."

"Yes."

The sound of horse hooves stepping on the bluestone road is crisp and pleasant.

After breakfast, Mei Cheng'an re-entered the palace and went to the Qilin Hall. He wanted to quickly replicate the entire Huayang Acupuncture Secret Manual. Chen Pingping's questioning gave him a sense of urgency. He always felt that he would not stay in the Qilin Hall for long.

One day later, in the imperial study.

"Chen Pingping, do the officials in the court have any opinions on the new policy?"

Chen Pingping nodded.

"No one has openly questioned it, and there are many who have complained privately, but they are harmless. They cannot hinder your majesty's plan to implement the new policy, and they will not affect the overall situation."

"Humph, these are the loyal ministers I rely on. They are afraid that I will affect their interests, so they dare not say a word in front of me, but complain about me in private. How can you call this a harmonious government and a peaceful society?"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

(End of this chapter)