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

Chapter 401: Say hello first (two in one)

When the noise was gradually becoming more and more intense, the gate of the villa suddenly creaked open again. The people who were making trouble outside and the complaining warriors all quieted down in an instant. The latter's bottom line was that it didn't matter if they couldn't duel for the time being, but the gate could not be closed. Seeing the gate open again, they naturally shut their mouths.

When the people in Chang'an Marquis' Mansion who were causing trouble saw that the person who came out was not Fan Xian, who had injured their young master, and his "follower", they followed the leader's shout and rushed forward against the Imperial Guards, shouting at the delegation to hand over the murderer Fan Xian.

The person who came out from behind the door was Wang Qinian. He was not flustered at all in the face of the aggressive situation. He smiled slightly and bowed to all directions.

The people who were causing the trouble were stunned when they saw this, and they put down the bricks, sticks, etc. in their hands a little, preparing to listen to what the man from the Southern Dynasty wanted to say, and at the same time to rest their throats that had been roaring for a long time.

However, they were dumbfounded a moment later. They saw Wang Qinian, with a smile on his face, raised his hand and waved, and whispered a word.

"beat!"

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen people rushed out from behind him like tigers emerging from the mountains, holding mops, sticks and other things in their hands, and rushed towards the people from Chang'an Marquis Mansion in the field.

Commander Wei of the Imperial Guards' pupils shrank, and he thought something bad was going to happen. He was just about to step forward and say something, but unexpectedly Wang Qinian took a step forward, took his arm in a very affectionate manner and dragged him to the side, while talking with a giggle.

"Oh, Commander Wei, you have worked really hard today. If I have free time in the future, I will definitely invite Commander Wei to go to various flower alleys and have a good time."

"Eh, no."

Being pulled by Wang Qinian, Commander Wei was unable to issue any orders for a while, and his royal guards were also dumbfounded. Their duty was to protect the safety of the Qing Kingdom delegation. How could they have expected that this delegation acted so strangely, hiding and then rushing out with sticks in their hands? So the question was, which side should they protect?

Just as they were stunned, bursts of screams and wails like pigs being slaughtered soon rang out from the open space in front of the mission's villa. Sticks were waving in the air, and evil slaves were crying on the ground. It was a very lively scene.

Commander Wei became anxious when he saw the tragic scene over there. He broke free from Wang Qinian's arms and said angrily.

"Sir Wang, it would be fine if your delegation didn't want to calm the situation down, but instead you wanted to make things worse. Don't you consider the consequences?"

"You're talking nonsense. Do we want to make a big fuss?"

The smile on Wang Qinian’s face disappeared and he spoke with disdain.

"Did you see that brat sneak attack my master? Didn't you hear that a brat was ready to have a super friendly relationship with our master's mother? Who is causing trouble?"

"this…"

Commander Wei opened his mouth, somewhat speechless. The sneak attack was witnessed by many people and was an indisputable fact. However, it was too outrageous to use an ordinary street swear word to imply something beyond friendship. Of course, he could only complain in his heart. They could do nothing if people insisted on making a big deal out of this kind of thing. After all, the young master of the Marquis's Mansion did curse, and he did so in front of hundreds of people.

Thinking of this, Commander Wei began to blame the Marquis of Chang'an Mansion. He thought that the people of the Marquis of Chang'an Mansion were also inexplicable. If they had sent someone to duel, it would have been fine, but how could they let that famous playboy in the capital come to launch a sneak attack? The world is no longer the situation of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the envoys from the Qing Kingdom are not easy to deal with? They really hurt others and themselves, and they don't know how to live or die!

Wang Qinian looked at him coldly.

"You have nothing to say, right? Now it's my turn. I want to ask you something. The diplomatic envoys just arrived in Beijing yesterday, and today a bunch of people came to cause trouble. What exactly does the Northern Qi court mean by that?"

"..."

Commander Wei is so stupid. I am just a small commander of the Imperial Guard. Why are you asking me this instead of asking the adults? How can I know what the court means? No one told me...

The one-sided beating continued, with screams coming one after another. Although the dozen people who rushed out did not hold swords, each of them was very skilled. Beating up some slaves of a wealthy family was really a very unskilled task.

Even though those being beaten were also Northern Qi people, the Northern Qi warriors watching the show around had no intention of sharing the same hatred with the enemy. Instead, they watched with great interest. The treacherous master and the evil slave were also people they hated very much in their daily lives, and they were already doing their best by not going up to help fight at this moment.

……

The garrison station of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Shen Zhong took off his coat and stood in front of the mirror, cooperating with the tailor to measure his body data. His assistant hurriedly walked into the hall from outside.

"Sir, something happened with the delegation!"

Shen Zhong frowned, glanced at him with dissatisfaction, and reprimanded him softly.

"Why are you panicking? What's there to panic about? What did I tell you before? You should stay calm when encountering difficulties!"

The deputy was stunned for a moment and then quickly bowed and admitted his mistake.

"Your Excellency is right. It was I who was reckless."

Shen Zhong glanced at him with disdain, then looked back at himself in the mirror and asked calmly.

"Tell me, what happened to the delegation?"

The deputy replied immediately.

"Sir, the young master of the Marquis of Chang'an brought people to the diplomatic corps to cause trouble. He clashed with Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an, and his two wrists were broken and all his teeth were smashed. The servants of the Marquis' Mansion were so angry that they kept shouting. Fan Xian was also arrogant and sent more than a dozen of his men to beat the servants to a pulp. There were people lying on the ground in front of the royal family's villa, and they are still being beaten."

Shen Zhong hissed when he heard that, raised his hand to signal a pause in the measurement, and tilted his head to look at his deputy.

"Still fighting?"

The deputy raised his voice.

"Yes, there are wailing everywhere."

Shen Zhong frowned.

"Those Royal Guards and warriors, are they just standing there watching without giving a hand?"

The deputy shook his head.

"The commander of the Imperial Guards was entangled by the envoy named Wang Qinian. Without his order, his subordinates naturally dared not move. As for those warriors, many of them secretly praised the good fight."

Shen Zhong's brows relaxed, and his face showed disdain.

"The righteous will have many supporters, the unrighteous will have few, and retribution will come inevitably."

After thinking for a while, he ordered.

"Send someone to keep an eye on the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion. If the Marquis of Chang'an leaves the mansion, report immediately."

The deputy nodded in agreement.

Shen Zhong glanced behind him and raised his hand to signal the tailor to continue measuring him.

The deputy looked at it for a moment and asked curiously.

"Sir, are you not going to show up?"

Shen Zhong glanced at him.

"Do you have a brain? It's just a minor incident. Why should I show up? Should I help the dandy boy to judge the case and offend the envoys, or should I help the envoys to deal with the aftermath and offend the Marquis of Chang'an?"

The deputy looked surprised and scratched his head with a wry smile.

"It is my fault that I am stupid."

Shen Zhong shook his head and looked away, then asked casually.

"Are there any signs of movement from the two men who escaped from the mission?"

The deputy said.

"Since they slipped out of the convoy yesterday and checked into the Overlook Inn in the south of the city, they have not stepped out of the door. They always order food inside. I sent someone to check on the room and confirmed that both of them were there."

Shen Zhong nodded slightly.

"Well, keep watching. Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an must have had their own intentions in placing these two pawns in advance. I want to see how they do it."

"Yes!"

"Where's Shangshanhu?"

"He is sitting in his house, but his personal guards are trying to find out where Sean is being held."

Shen Zhong smiled when he heard this, but didn't say much.

"I know, go ahead."

"Yes, my subordinates are resigning!"

After the deputy left, Shen Zhong looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly asked helplessly.

"How long will it take to completely change it?"

The tailor behind him calmly put away the measuring tape, walked around to him and bowed.

"The level of detail you requested will take quite a while to revise, so please give me some more time." Shen thought for a moment and let out a sigh.

"Okay, then I'll give you some more time."

……

In front of the delegation gate, Mei Cheng'an, Fan Xian, Gao Da and others came out of the yard again and watched the bustling scene quietly.

They didn't want to make a big deal out of it. They could only blame those stubborn slaves for their relentless pursuit. Now that they had been punished a little, it would be fine to stop them from barking.

Mei Cheng'an was waving his hand and was about to ask his subordinates to retreat and ask the Imperial Guards to restore order in front of the gate. At this moment, a sturdy man, who was not sure whether he came for a duel or simply passed by, looked at the lively scene here and frowned.

As soon as he stepped on the ground, two clouds of dust were raised under his feet. He suddenly rushed into the field, punching and kicking sideways. His moves were clean and neat, without any delay. In the blink of an eye, he had launched seven or eight moves at the thugs of the delegation who had not stopped yet.

The man's punches and kicks were not very advanced, but rather simple. However, they were fast and sharp, and powerful and strong. They actually forced all the good fighters in the delegation to stop and leave the target person. The few people who dodged did not attack again, nor did they have any intention of fighting back at the man. They retreated obediently according to Mei Chengan's gesture to retreat.

Mei Cheng'an squinted his eyes and looked at the man in the field, wondering where this brave general came from. Although his martial arts level could not be seen for the time being, he was born with the iron-blooded power of the army. He could actually force back multiple envoys' guards at the same time. It was quite interesting. Fan Xian, who was standing aside, tilted his head slightly and also looked at the man.

After the man rescued the people from the Chang'an Marquis Mansion, he wanted to seek justice for them in public. However, before he could open his mouth, the servants who had just fallen to the ground and wailed and rolled around suddenly stood up, supported their young master, and without even daring to say a harsh word, they turned around and limped away.

Most of the leaders among the household slaves had some knowledge. Since the name of Chang'an Marquis' Mansion did not scare the other side, it meant that the delegation was not afraid. Even if they stayed, they would not get any good results. They might even be beaten. It would be better for them to go back and report to their own marquis before making any plans.

The man was embarrassed for a moment, standing alone in the same place, with his body straight and his eyes slightly narrowed. He had not thought much about it just now because he was in a hurry. Now he realized that he had attacked fiercely before, but he didn't even touch a single person, let alone knock down the enemy. This made him feel very surprised. Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian, who were standing on the high steps in front of the door, were dressed and behaved very differently from the others. He knew at a glance that the two were the leaders, so he looked at them and said in a deep voice.

"What a majestic Nanqing envoy. All the people they sent out are experts above the seventh rank."

Fan Xian looked at him quietly and smiled slightly.

"When you are on a diplomatic mission to another country, safety is secondary. Not losing the prestige of the country is the primary concern. Since you are a soldier, you should understand this principle, right?"

The man frowned.

"They are just slaves. Even if they are ignorant and rude to you, you can punish them a little. Why do you have to beat them in the street? Do you want to establish your authority by injuring children and slaves?"

Fan Xian was amused and waved his fingers left and right.

"I'm not trying to establish my authority, I just don't want to hear their endless barking. In comparison, I prefer to hear them scream."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone except the people in the delegation frowned, finding these words unpleasant to the ears, especially the man, who was about to say something with his thick brows knitted, but Fan Xian spoke again with a smile.

"From what you said, I guess you arrived not too late and must have seen everything that happened. Do you want me to just let them insult me ​​and swallow my anger?"

The man was stunned when he heard this. I don't know what he was thinking about. His face darkened slightly and he was speechless.

Commander Wei of the Imperial Guards seemed to recognize who the man was. Taking advantage of the momentary silence, he stepped forward and saluted with a respectful look on his face.

"General Tan, why are you here?"

Hearing this, the man looked at him with a confused look, and it was obvious that he did not recognize him as the commander of the Imperial Guards for a moment.

Commander Wei hurriedly introduced himself.

"Your humble servant Wei Wuji."

When Mei Chengan heard this, a light bulb lit up in his head and made a ding sound. Did he trigger a sensitive word? Wuji?
Fan Xian's reaction was similar to his. After a moment of stunned silence, his eyes lit up. The two looked at each other and saw the amusement and smile in each other's eyes.

Not to mention that the two of them had their thoughts interrupted and deviated because of a familiar name. It turned out that the man surnamed Tan was named Tan Wu, a capable subordinate of the Northern Qi war god Shangshanhu. He had been fighting against the barbarians in the ice and snow in the north for many years. This year, as Shangshanhu was transferred back to Shangjing, he was also transferred back. Because the capital needed to be arranged in advance, he went ahead. Who knew that after returning to Shangjing, he had been idle and had no job, only occasionally going to the Ministry of War to report for duty. Although his military colleagues in the capital admired General Shangshanhu's bravery and loyalty, and always treated them with respect and courtesy, he still felt a little uncomfortable after all.

It was not until Shangshanhu returned that he felt more confident. After listening to his general talk about what happened in the southern border, he regretted not being able to accompany the general to share the pressure. Although his general had no intention of seeking revenge on the two people who seriously injured him, he would not let him go. After all, the fact that he went south secretly to rescue Sean could not be exposed. However, he still could not help but want to see what the person who could seriously injure his general and leave two horrific wounds on him looked like. This morning, he heard that all the warriors in the capital were going to compete with the Nanqing delegation, so he thought of coming secretly to join in the fun. Unexpectedly, he ran into the farce at the door as soon as he arrived.

……

Hearing this, Tan Wu seemed to have some impression of him and looked at him in confusion and asked.

"How can we allow them to run rampant in my capital?"

Commander Wei Wuji said with a wry smile.

"The palace has issued a strict order to protect the safety of the delegation. This is a matter of national importance, and I dare not neglect it."

Tan Wu thought about the Northern Qi's successive defeats, and felt depressed that the Northern Qi would rather use some mediocre people who relied on nepotism to get promoted than let General Hu and himself go south to fight. Now, the southerners were openly committing crimes in the streets of Shangjing, so arrogant and domineering, while the many Northern Qi soldiers and warriors around them just stood by and watched, which made him feel sad and angry.

Unable to contain himself, he suddenly looked up and bowed to Fan Xian on the steps.

"May I ask if you two are the chief envoys of the delegation sent by Nanqing this time, Mr. Fan Xian?"

The reason why he didn't mention Mei Cheng'an was because he had roughly learned about the strength of the two from Hu Shuai, and knew that he didn't have the strength to challenge him yet, so he simply avoided asking.

Fan Xian shrugged.

"Exactly."

Tan Wu's face was solemn and he spoke sternly.

"Tan Wu of Northern Qi, asking for advice from Master Fan!"

After saying this, he took off the knife from his waist and placed it gently at his feet.

Seeing that he referred to himself without any official title, Fan Xian immediately understood that the other party wanted to challenge him in the manner of a folk duel. However, Fan Xian had no intention of giving him any favors. He shook his head, raised his hand and pointed to the small hill of weapons, and said softly.

"Look, you're not the only one who wants to duel with me. I've agreed to all of them, so you won't make a difference. However, you may not know this since you came late. If you want to compete with me, you have to beat him first."

As he said this he smiled and patted Gundam's shoulder.

"I've explained this in advance, and, according to the rules, you have to queue!"

Tan Wu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and glanced at the warriors queuing on the side who were staring at him hungrily. He was silent for a moment and didn't say anything more. He raised his foot and walked silently to the end of the line.

Since he chose not to reveal his identity and go the route of a folk martial arts duel, he has to abide by the rules and line up obediently. There's nothing wrong with that!

After the matter was settled, Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian looked at each other and took Gao Da and Wang Qinian into the yard again.

"Is that Tan Wu?"

Stepping into the front hall, Fan Xian asked in a low voice.

Mei Cheng'an nodded and signaled Wang Qinian to guard the door. Gao Da stayed in the yard outside the door, waiting for the competition to begin.

"Almost certainly."

Fan Xian raised his eyebrows.

"Did Uesugi Tiger send him?"

Mei Chengan smiled.

"What are you here for? To avenge him?"

Fan Xian thought about it and felt that the possibility was not high, so he shrugged and smiled.

“It’s a bit far-fetched.”

The two of them came to the tea table and sat down. Mei Cheng'an picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea. After drinking it in one gulp, he put down the cup and spoke.

"He came just in time. I was wondering how to contact Shang Shan Hu."

Fan Xian was pouring tea and was startled when he heard this.

"Contact...isn't it too early to contact him now? We haven't rescued Yan Bingyun yet, what are we going to talk to him about now?"

Mei Chengan shrugged.

"Say hello first and confirm the contact information. In my opinion, the door-to-door competition method is good and not so conspicuous."

After a pause, he continued.

"Notifying him in advance and letting him see with his own eyes that we found the person and rescued him will have a completely different effect than telling him afterwards."

Fan Xian thought about it and nodded.

"That's right. Fine then. I'll tell Lao Gao about this before we leave."

……

(End of this chapter)