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

Chapter 405 Late Night Tea Party (Two in One)

Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian walked up the stairs side by side and came to the door of the empty house. Just as Fan Xian was about to push the door open, Mei Cheng'an's ears suddenly moved and he grabbed Fan Xian's arm.

Fan Xian turned his head and looked at him, giving him a questioning look.

What's up?

Mei Chengan glanced at the house and made some lip movements.

someone.

Fan Xian's eyes fixed and he lowered his hands slightly.

several?

Mei Cheng'an tilted his head to listen, then raised a finger.

One.

Fan Xian regained his composure, gestured an OK, then raised his hands and pushed the door open, stepped over the threshold and walked straight in, and Mei Chengan followed him in.

As soon as they entered the house, they saw a familiar figure. Shen Zhong was standing in front of the house with his hands behind his back, his back to them and looking up at the sky. No one knew how long he had maintained this posture.

The creaking sound of the door opening seemed like a signal, and the footsteps were the switch. As soon as the two stopped, Shen Zhong started.

"Ever since you two disappeared, I've been wondering where I would go if I were you guys."

Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian looked at each other, and the corners of their mouths curved upwards. Shen Zhong was pretending to be cool. They also knew that Shen Zhong was pretending to be cool, but they just found it funny for some reason. The two of them walked towards him with a smile.

Shen Zhong never turned around or changed his posture, and his confident voice echoed in the courtyard again.

"In fact, what you want to do most now is to find Yan Bingyun, but where should you go to find him? If it were me, I should go to the place where he used to live first to see if there are any clues, so..."

At this point, Shen Zhong's lips curled up into a smile, and he slowly turned around, his eyes passing over the faces of Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian in turn.

"I was waiting here, and sure enough, you two showed up."

Mei Cheng'an pursed his lips and smiled, his eyes swept towards the house building behind Shen Zhong. Fan Xian's movements were no different from his, but while he was looking at the house, he also casually asked about Shen Zhong's health.

"Sorry to have kept Lord Shen waiting for a long time. Are your legs numb from standing there?"

The smile on Shen Zhong's face froze for only a second before returning to normal. He looked back at the two of them and smiled.

"Don't be nervous, I'm the only one here."

Mei Cheng'an let out a sound and asked curiously.

"From what Lord Shen said, I mean, we can search this place as we please?"

Shen Zhong glanced at him, his smile deepening. He suddenly turned and walked towards the main house, climbed the steps under the eaves and went to the door. He pushed open the rows of doors one by one and spoke at the same time.

"The day after Yan Bingyun was captured, I ordered people to empty this place and take all the items back to the garrison and tear them to pieces."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the doorways opened and the entire scene inside the house came into view. It was empty just as he said.

Shen Zhong turned and walked down the stairs, looked at the two of them and raised his hand and pointed upwards.

"Every tile on the roof has been replaced."

He pointed down again.

"And the bricks on the ground. Oh, originally there were more than just a few bricks on the ground, and not so many stones. These were all recently laid. I broke those bricks, and I also uncovered each of the remaining ones."

"What did you find after all this trouble?"

Fan Xian opened his mouth and asked.

Shen Zhong looked into his eyes.

"Nothing."

Fan Xian opened his mouth in an exaggerated way and exclaimed "Ah", while Mei Cheng'an raised his eyebrows and then smiled.

Shen Zhong looked at the two of them, then finished his words with a smile.

"He's not hiding anything."

Mei Cheng'an gave a thumbs up, and Fan Xian casually praised him.

"Master Shen, you have worked hard."

Shen Zhong seemed to not care at all about the teasing of the two people, and waved his hand with a smile.

"Hey~ We are all working for the government, so it's only natural that we have to work harder, my Lords..."

He glanced back and forth between the two of them.

"Please help yourself, I'll be waiting for you two outside."

After saying that, he didn't wait for the two to respond and walked out.

"Take your time to look for it. Don't rush. See if you can find anything new."

The two turned their heads and watched him for a moment, then looked at each other, one shrugged, the other spread his hands, and then they laughed together.

Even if what Shen Zhong said was all true, the two knew that there were no clues to be found in the house, but they still strolled around the rooms leisurely. They had not planned to find anything here. Their goal was outside the courtyard, not inside, and they had already achieved it. They came in to complete the show and to visit and pay homage to the former residence of Yan Bingyun, a great hero in the national war. How could they leave without seeing it?

But it must be said that the Jinyiwei's ability to clean the house is not exaggerated. Not even a hair was left. It was like an unfinished house. There was really nothing to see. It was not as interesting as the courtyard paved with white stones and decorated with bluestone slabs. The two of them took a quick look around, checked in, and then left.

Shen Zhong, who kept his word, sat on the ground at the highest point of the long steps outside the door, waiting for them. He turned his head to look at the two of them when he heard the noise.

"It came out so soon, why don't you look for it more carefully?"

The two were also casual people, and sat down side by side next to him. Fan Xian sat next to Shen Zhong and waved his hand when he heard what he said.

"What are you looking for? How can we not trust you, Lord Shen? If you searched the places and said there is nothing there, then there is nothing. There will be no omissions. We won't waste our efforts."

Shen Zhong smiled and nodded without saying anything more, and turned to give advice.

"Master Fan, Master Mei, honestly, I advise you to give up."

Mei Cheng'an propped up his chin and scanned the street scene, ignoring what Shen Zhong said. With Fan Xian between him and Shen Zhong, it was not easy for them to communicate face to face. According to the rules of the martial arts world, whoever is closer should deal with it.

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian tilted his head to glance at Shen Zhong, but said nothing.

Shen Zhong said earnestly.

"This is Shangjing, the territory of the Imperial Guards. There are only two of you. No matter how much trouble you make, you won't be able to make any waves. To paraphrase what you just said, why waste your efforts?"

Fan Xian spread his hands.

"We don't want to make a fuss. If it weren't for the Queen Mother's birthday celebration, we wouldn't be able to stay in Shangjing for a few days. We might have listened to Lord Shen's suggestion. Yan Bingyun has been tortured for so long, so it doesn't matter if he endures it for a few more days. But it can't be done. We have to stay in Shangjing for three months. If we don't do anything for such a long time, it will be difficult to explain when we return. You know what I mean, right?"

Shen Zhong's expression froze when he heard this. It was his idea to leave the delegation to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday. From what Fan Xian said, it seemed that they were not looking for trouble on purpose, but he forced them to do so?

This…

The smile on Shen Zhong's face slowly disappeared.

"Decided?"

Fan Xian grinned.

“Although it’s difficult, we still want to try.”

Shen Zhong shook his head expressionlessly and looked at Fan Xian. When persuasion failed, he turned to threats.

"Shangjing City is very big. Many people go deep into the streets and alleys and disappear from there. You two should be more careful."

Fan Xian smiled when he heard this and suddenly said.

"Master Shen, do you know who caught Sean when he escaped?"

Shen Zhong was stunned for a moment, looking at him with flickering eyes without saying anything.

"I brought him back myself."

Fan Xian said with a smile, a hint of teasing in his eyes.

"I don't need to tell you how strong Sean is. The fact that you were able to break his legs is purely... never mind, let's get back to the point.

I'm not bragging, but with my skills, unless there's a ninth-rank master in person, who can do anything to me?"

"..."

Shen Zhong stared at Fan Xian's face. He could feel that Fan Xian was telling the truth, so he was speechless. He wanted to show his ability to intimidate the other party this time, but it seemed that he failed. He also wanted to persuade the other party to give up but failed. Even threatening the other party ended in failure. The other party was not afraid at all...

He felt that Fan Xian's words "It's all in vain" seemed to be perfectly embodied in him. Although the problem was not big, it really made him upset!
……

That night.

The lobby of the Jinyiwei guard station.

On the table in front of Shen Zhong was a plate of peanuts, a pot of wine and a tray full of round-headed arrows. He was playing the game of tossing arrows into a pot.

The deputy was standing behind Hu, reporting something.

"Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an then went to the Mei family cafeteria. Not long after, Wang Qinian showed up there. His whereabouts during the time he disappeared have not yet been traced. The three of them finished their meal in the Mei family cafeteria and went straight back to their residence. There has been no unusual movement since then."

Shen Zhong said nothing and just kept throwing arrows into the pot. However, there was not a single arrow in the pot. All the arrows were scattered around the pot. After throwing the last arrow, Shen Zhong sighed, picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

The deputy squatted down and collected all the arrows on the ground, walked forward and put all the arrows on the tray, then took out an arrow and held it in both hands and handed it to Shen Zhong.

"My lord please."

Shen Zhong put down his wine glass, took the arrow, and his deputy turned back to his previous position and continued speaking.

"Sir, although Wang Qinian's whereabouts have not been found, I have ordered all important positions to be closely guarded. In such a short time, he should not be able to do anything, so you don't have to worry."

As expected, after missing the shot again, Shen Zhong raised his hand and pointed at the pot bucket under his deputy's feet, then hooked his finger and pointed to a certain position in front, signaling his deputy to move the pot closer.

The deputy immediately did as he was told and moved the pot directly to the position designated by Shen Zhong himself, which was one step away from the table, and then retreated.

Shen Zhong pulled out an arrow, and at such a close distance he aimed again and again, speaking at the same time.

"Wang Qinian is just following orders. What's important is Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an. They will not give up on saving Yan Bingyun."

As soon as he finished speaking, the arrow left his hand and with a soft thud, it was finally thrown into the pot. However, maybe the pot was too close, the arrow bounced back out after entering the pot. Shen Zhong could not help but let out a "hey".

I won’t vote anymore. It’s so annoying. I might as well drink.

The deputy looked down at the arrow on the ground, held back his laughter, raised his head and spoke.

"Let them go ahead and look for him. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack to find someone in such a huge city like Shangjing. Besides, we are keeping a close eye on him."

Shen Zhong took a sip of wine and swallowed it bit by bit before speaking.

"It's better not to have any accidents."

The deputy bowed.

"Don't worry, sir. I have increased the number of secret sentries and will not let them disappear from our sight again!"

Speaking of this, Shen Zhong suddenly remembered something.

"Fan Xian reminded me of one thing today. He is quite skilled, and Mei Cheng'an is probably not bad either. They can't fake their confidence. Ordinary sentries may not be able to keep an eye on them. They need a ninth-rank master to keep an eye on them."

"Ninth grade?"

The deputy looked embarrassed.

"Sir, we don't have a ninth-rank expert in our garrison. Although Sir Langtao has a post in the garrison, he is not here now."

Shen Zhong picked up the wine jug and said as he poured the wine.

"There's nothing to borrow."

"borrow?
The deputy didn't expect this to be possible, so he was very surprised.

Shen Zhong suddenly raised his eyes, put away the wine jug abruptly, and slammed it on the table with a bang. The slight sound of flowing water from pouring the wine stopped abruptly.

"coming!"

After saying this, he stood up.

The deputy was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and subconsciously turned around to look back. He heard footsteps coming from afar and gradually becoming clearer. Along with the footsteps, a figure appeared in front of him. After seeing the person clearly, a hint of realization flashed in his eyes. So that's it.

When the man approached, the deputy bowed and saluted.

"Mr. He!"

That’s right, the person Shen Zhong borrowed was Taoist He.

Shen Zhong stood in front of He Daoren and said with a smile.

"Mr. He, I asked you to come here from the Queen Mother because I hope you can help me keep an eye on two people."

Taoist He frowned when he heard this.

"Watching someone?"

Shen Zhong laughed.

"I know that this is too much of a waste of talent for Mr. He. The person we need to monitor is really illegal, and it is very difficult for the people in the guard post to monitor him. In order not to mess up the task, we can only invite you, just because you are the most suitable person."

His words successfully smoothed over Mr. He's frown.

"Who do you want me to watch?"

Shen Zhong smiled slightly.

"Nan Qing, Fan Xian, Mei Cheng'an!"

……

As the night deepened, the chirping of insects could be clearly heard from the corner of the window on the second floor of the villa, and candles were brightly lit in the house.

Mei Cheng'an, Fan Xian, Wang Qinian, and He Daoren sat around a small tea table and started tonight's tea party. Wang Qinian was pouring tea for them. Mei Cheng'an tapped the table to signal him that it was ready. He picked up the teacup and blew away the white mist coming out of the cup. He gently took a sip of the tea. The tea was the top-grade snow mountain tea popular in Northern Qi. After taking a sip, the tea fragrance filled the air and made his lips and teeth salivate.

Fan Xian glanced at Taoist He and smiled.

"Shen Zhong is right. You are indeed the most suitable candidate."

Taoist He held the teacup with his hand to make it easier for Wang Qinian to pour tea. He glanced at him when he heard the words, then looked away and tapped the table lightly with his fingers.

"You are lucky."

"Ok?"

Fan Xian pushed the teacup forward.

"It's not luck. The reason I said those things to him today was to deliberately remind him that if he wants to keep an eye on me, he has to find Jiupin."

Taoist He held the teacup and did not drink it, and said after hearing this.

"There are so many ninth-rank officials in Shangjing City, how do you know he will definitely look for me?"

Without waiting for Fan Xian to react, Mei Cheng'an couldn't help but burst out laughing. Fan Xian glanced at him and also laughed.

Taoist He frowned and looked at Mei Chengan.

"why are you laughing?"

Mei Chengan smiled and waved his hand.

"Nothing, I just couldn't help myself when I heard you exaggerate. I have a weird sense of humor, don't mind, you two can continue."

Taoist He still had a frown on his face.

"Where's the exaggeration?"

Mei Cheng'an shrugged, too lazy to waste any more words, so he glanced at Fan Xian and motioned him to explain it to this illiterate man.

Fan Xian didn't waste any time and spoke immediately.

"In our Qing Kingdom, less than five is not considered a lot. You just open your mouth and say there are so many ninth-grade masters in the capital. I don't know if you think there are ninth-grade masters everywhere here. Whether it's an exaggeration or not, you can tell me for yourself."

"this…"

Taoist He was stunned for a moment and was speechless.

Fan Xian smiled.

"To answer your question just now, the reason why I am sure that Shen Zhong would look for you is because there are only a few of the ninth rank officials in Shangjing. You, Shangshanhu, and Haitang Duoduo, it is impossible that the Saint Lady is following him personally, and Shangshanhu wants to strangle Shen Zhong to death now. After all the calculations, it can only be you. First, you are a disciple of the Queen Mother of Northern Qi, and second, you have no status and no job at the moment. Who else can I look for if not you?"

Lies have no power, only the truth can hurt people.

The doubts were resolved, but I felt even more heartbroken and speechless.

He Daoren was confused and felt a severe chest tightness.

Fan Xian smiled, with no intention of comforting him. He picked up the teacup and drank leisurely, with an expression of great enjoyment.

The place fell into silence for a moment.

Seeing that Fan Xian had killed the competition over there, Mei Cheng'an glanced at Wang Qinian.

"Tell me about the situation over there."

Wang Qinian nodded.

"I can't get in. The closer I get to where Young Master Xiaoyan is imprisoned, the more guards there are against Yue Yan. The density of spies is terrifying two or three streets away. Since I can't get in, I circled around the place where Young Master Xiaoyan is imprisoned, but I didn't find any gaps. I guess Shen Zhong has transferred most of the Jinyiwei to the south of the city."

This situation was within the expectations of the two, so when they heard the news, Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian showed no disappointment but were quite calm. They sent Wang Qinian on this trip just to confirm it and to give themselves up.

Taoist He was stunned when he heard this.

"Wait, so..."

As he spoke, he looked around and finally looked at Fan Xian.

"You already knew where Yan Bingyun was imprisoned?"

Fan Xian nodded.

"Yes what's the matter?"

what happened?
Taoist He widened his eyes.

"Knowing that, why did you ask me what I did that day?"

Fan Xian cried out in fear.

"Just a casual question, to see your strength."

"..."

He Daoren made a big statement. I still remember that he emphasized to others in a serious tone that very few people knew about it.

He asked in confusion, his face turning a little dark.

"How did you know that?"

"Well..."

Fan Xian took a sip of tea and smiled slightly.

"The source of the information is a bit special, it's hard to tell, please forgive me."

Taoist He was silent for a moment, but did not ask any more questions. He just skipped the topic and changed the question directly.

"Now that you know where he's being held, what are you going to do next?"

"certainly…"

Fan Xian glanced at him.

"I'm trying to sneak in."

"Sneak in?"

Taoist He thought about it and glanced at Wang Qinian.

"He just said that the security there is extremely tight, with almost no openings. How are you going to sneak in?"

Seeing how concerned he was, Fan Xian was a little surprised. He observed him out of the corner of his eye and answered casually.

"Sneak around? We are quite skilled."

Taoist He didn't think much about it and frowned when he heard it.

"It's a bit risky, isn't it? If you show any trace, Shen Zhong will be alerted immediately. The southern part of the city is so vast, he can move people away at any time. By the time you rush in, the people will be gone. I advise you to consider it carefully."

Huh? It seems that he really didn't lie when he promised to help. He really put himself in their shoes. He is a good person. He will help without any discount, no matter how much he can help. Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an also felt it. They looked at each other and nodded secretly. Fan Xian pretended to think about it, pretended to think about it, and nodded solemnly.

"Yes, indeed, what you said makes sense. It was our fault for not considering it carefully. I will listen to you and cancel this plan!"

Taoist He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It would be good to just listen to the advice. If he really rushed forward and something unexpected happened, he would not be able to explain to Chen Pingping.

"actually…"

Fan Xian glanced left and right at Taoist He and Wang Qinian.

"We haven't gained nothing today. Perhaps we can use this to find another way in."

Taoist He opened his mouth to ask immediately, but was still a step behind the professional supporting actor Wang Qinian.

"Did you find any clues in that house?"

Fan Xian shook his head.

"No, Shen Zhong cleaned the house very well, but what he didn't know was that what we were looking for was not something in the house at all."

Taoist He was completely confused.

"What do you mean?"

Fan Xian glanced at him.

"The Imperial Guard can clear out an old house, but they can't kill all the residents on the entire street. Today, we had tea with someone near that house and chatted with them for a while, and heard an interesting story."

"story?"

Wang Qinian regained the right to be the supporting actor.

Fan Xian took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, put down the teacup, and leisurely recounted the story he had heard about Yan Bingyun.

"This Yan Bingyun, after arriving in Shangjing City, called himself Young Master Yun. It is said that he spends money like water and has made many friends. His house is very popular."

He Daoren sees the essence through the phenomenon and speaks frankly.

"It's just to gather military intelligence."

Fan Xian did not comment and continued to preach.

"Later, when he got into trouble, he was taken away by a group of big men in ordinary clothes."

Taoist He thought about it and began to annotate it for him.

"A spy from the Imperial Guards."

Fan Xian nodded.

"It is said that Mr. Yun is a romantic man with lots of money, and he also met a nice girl. The most coincidental thing is that on the day of the accident, the girl came early, trying to make Mr. Yun escape. Later, when those big men arrived, the girl was crying like a pear blossom in the rain. I felt sorry for her, it was really..."

Mei Chengan interrupted him by knocking on the table.

"Stop, stop, stop. Just tell the story. Can you not expand on the lines and add your own personal opinions? Do you feel pity when you see it?"

"..."

Fan Xian coughed lightly and touched his nose with a wry smile.

"Sorry, I can't hold back my literary youth syndrome. Let me continue talking... Hey, where was I just now?"

When he asked this question, Wang Qinian and He Daoren looked up collectively, recalling what they had remembered. It seemed that they had also lost track of time.

Mei Cheng'an rolled his eyes, rewound the tape for Fan Xian, and deleted some unnecessary words.

"Pear blossoms with rain."

"Oh, yes, she was crying like a pear blossom in the rain. She beat and kicked those big men and tried her best to stop them. However, they had more people than her, so they took Master Yun away."

Taoist He sneered.

"That's all you've heard. Aren't all the stories in erotic picture books like this? What's so special about them?"

Wang Qinian was listening attentively, and became unhappy when he was interrupted. He immediately reached out and pressed down on him, signaling him to listen patiently and not to rush to disagree.

It doesn’t matter whether the story is old-fashioned or not. What matters is that since the young master has tacitly agreed to let the adults tell this story, it must not be told in vain. There must be some useful clues hidden in it.

Fan Xian looked at He Daoren speechlessly. He had just affirmed his attitude, but now he started to act like an ordinary man without using his brain, right?

Impressed.

"Look, Mr. Yun is Yan Bingyun, and the man who arrested him is a Jinyiwei. So how did this girl know the news in advance and rush over to help him escape?"

Taoist He was stunned when he heard this, and seemed to be thinking about something.

"When the Jinyiwei arrived, the girl kicked and beat them. What's even more bizarre is that the Jinyiwei, who were feared like tigers in the streets, actually accepted it and didn't fight back. What does this mean?"

He Daoren and Wang Qinian spoke almost at the same time.

"There's something wrong with that woman!"

"That girl is not a simple person!"

After saying this, the two of them looked at each other, their eyes separated as soon as they met, and they looked at Fan Xian again.

Fan Xian slapped the table and laughed.

"Oh, that's right."

It was worth all his efforts to talk and guide her. Finally, her brain circuits were in line with the target. At this moment, he felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Fan Xian looked at Taoist He.

"Are there any young girls in the Jinyiwei?"

Mr. He's attitude was much more serious at this moment.

"Absolutely not!"

Fan Xian's eyes flashed, he glanced at his fellow villager and asked again.

"Does Shen Zhong have a daughter?"

Taoist He shook his head again.

"No, Shen Zhong is not married, but..."

After a pause, the situation took a sudden turn.

"He has a sister!"

Fan Xian curled the corners of his mouth and snapped his fingers.

That's right~

……

(End of this chapter)