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

Chapter 407: Action in Progress (Two in One)

"The girl came out."

Seeing Miss Shen’s maid coming out of the pharmacy, Mei Cheng’an reminded her.

Several people turned their heads to look when they heard the words. Fan Xian immediately stood up, patted his butt, and then walked towards the maid.

Several people were watching quietly from behind. Wang Qinian moved closer to Mei Cheng'an, glanced at Fan Xian's back, and said hesitantly in a low voice.

"Master, is this..."

Mei Cheng'an raised his hand and interrupted his question directly.

"Indecisiveness leads to disaster."

Wang Qinian thought for a moment and then kept silent.

Under the gazes of several people, Fan Xian directly stood in front of the maid of Miss Shen's family, which scared the maid. She stopped abruptly and took a step back, saying in doubt.

"Who...are you? What do you want?"

In fact, if Fan Xian wasn't handsome and dressed elegantly, and didn't look like a bad guy, she would have started yelling a long time ago.

Fan Xian spoke to her with a serious face.

"Tell your young lady that if she wants to save someone, she should stop at the second intersection when the carriage leaves again tomorrow."

The maid was startled when she heard this. Her pupils shrank at first, and then her eyes became evasive and erratic, and she was visibly panicked.

"You, who are you? What do you mean by saving people? I don't understand."

Do you really want to hang it like this?

Fan Xian wanted to laugh but restrained himself, his face remained serious.

"If there is any delay, what will happen to him? Your lady knows it well."

After saying this, without waiting for the maid to respond, he stood up, walked past her and left.

The maid hesitated for a few seconds and wanted to stop Fan Xian to ask for more information, but when she turned around, Fan Xian had already walked away.

"Hey, wait!"

The maid's call did not stop Fan Xian, and soon his figure disappeared in the crowd. The maid bit her lip, lowered her head to think for a while, turned around and hurried back to the Shen Mansion with the medicine.

At the corner, facing Mei Chengan's inquiring eyes, Fan Xian grinned and made an OK gesture.

"nailed it."

Mei Cheng'an nodded without asking any more questions. He glanced at Wang Qinian and He Daoren and said something softly.

"Let's go back and talk."

On the way back to the villa, Fan Xian told everyone the maid's reaction as a joke. No one laughed, but Wang Qinian, who had been a little worried, felt a lot more relieved after hearing it.

Returning quietly to the villa and entering the room, Fan Xian told a few people the general plan for tomorrow. After some discussion and gestures to finalize everything, he announced the adjournment of the meeting.

Time passed quickly, and it was the second day in a blink of an eye. This was the fourth day since the delegation arrived in Shangjing, and also the day of action.

It is worth mentioning that today's weather is also very suitable, as if foreshadowing that Yan Bingyun is about to escape from the cage. The autumn air is clear and the wind is gentle, with a clear sky.

It's a good sign, Fan Xian said.

After having breakfast and watching the competition for a while, when it was almost half past the hour of Si, several people set off for the target location.

Outside the gate of the Shen Mansion, Miss Shen was carrying a food box alone. Before getting on the carriage, she looked around with a slightly nervous expression.

Then the Shen family's carriage slowly drove in the previous direction.

At a tea stall at the second intersection on their route, Mei Chengan, Fan Xian and others were sitting there drinking tea.

Seeing the carriage with the Shen family logo appear in his sight, Wang Qinian, who was sitting opposite to him, hurriedly spoke out to remind him.

"coming."

As the sound of horse hooves reached their ears, Mei Cheng'an, Fan Xian, and He Daoren all turned their heads to look, and saw the carriage passing by them with no intention of stopping. Wang Qinian picked up the teacup and spoke while disguising his lip movements while drinking tea.

"What's going on? It didn't stop."

Fan Xian frowned and said nothing, but his eyes followed the carriage.

Taoist He withdrew his gaze and said something.

"No matter how good your plan is, there is nothing you can do if people don't cooperate."

Hearing this, Mei Chengan curled the corners of his mouth and said lightly.

"Don't be impatient. Look again. This is an intersection. Just because they don't stop here doesn't mean they won't stop there either."

He Daoren and Wang Qinian were startled when they heard this, and turned their heads again to look at the moving carriage.

As expected, as soon as the words were spoken, the Shen family's carriage that was passing the intersection actually responded and slowly stopped by the roadside.

"Hey, Master, your words really work. It really stopped over there."

Seeing this, Wang Qinian was extremely surprised and quickly looked away, gave his young master a thumbs up and started to flatter him.

Taoist He glanced at Mei Cheng'an and drank his tea in silence. He really had nothing to say.

Mei Cheng'an smiled and looked at Fan Xian. Fan Xian's brows had relaxed at this time. He exhaled silently, then retracted his gaze to look at Wang Qinian and He Daoren.

"We will go over there, and you two can do what we agreed on yesterday."

"Then be careful, young master, be careful, sir."

After saying this, Wang Qinian put down his tea bowl, stood up and left.

Taoist He just nodded, but he was not in a hurry to leave. His mission was not very urgent, so it didn't matter if he went a little later.

After Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an each drank a bowl of tea, they looked at each other, stood up together and walked towards the Shen family's carriage.

Three of the four people left, and the area around the tea table was instantly empty. Taoist He held the tea bowl and watched the two people go forward, until the two people got into the carriage one after another and disappeared from his sight. Then he drank the tea in the tea bowl in one gulp, paid a few copper coins, and got up to leave.

In the Shen family's carriage.

Miss Shen held a dagger in both hands, with the sharp tip raised high, pointing it at Fan Xian on the left, and then at Mei Chengan on the right. Not only were her hands shaking violently, her face was full of nervousness, and even her voice was trembling.

"You, you, you, who are you?"

Fan Xian leaned against the left wall, ignoring the blade in front of him.

"Fan Xian!"

Mei Cheng'an leaned against the right wall, his right arm resting on his supported right leg, his left arm lightly resting on the food box, blinked and followed.

"Mei Chengan."

Miss Shen would point her dagger at whoever spoke. After Mei Cheng'an finished speaking, she frowned slightly. She always felt that these two names sounded familiar, and she remembered them after a little thought.

"The Nanqing Mission?"

"Take us to him!"

Fan Xian hummed lightly and said.

Miss Shen quickly moved the dagger over so that the tip of the knife was facing him.

"Who to meet? I... don't understand!"

Mei Cheng'an curled the corners of his mouth, wanting to laugh but holding it back, he looked at her and Fan Xian with interest. It must be said that the experience of watching a show up close was really interesting.

Fan Xian was speechless in his heart, but his face showed sincerity.

"If you really don't understand, you wouldn't have stopped here to wait for us. You have to help us. We need to save Yan Bingyun."

Miss Shen's eyelashes trembled and her eyes looked panicked when she heard this.

"Why should I help you Qing people?"

Fan Xian's expression became more sincere and serious, and his voice became deeper.

"Is he seriously injured?"

Miss Shen's eyes were slightly moved when she heard this, but she didn't respond.

Fan Xian took advantage of the victory and pursued.

"We are the only ones who can save him now."

Miss Shen's eyes sank, with complex emotions in them, including confusion, hesitation, pain, guilt, and reluctance.

Fan Xian could understand her inner struggle very well. Choosing between her country and her beloved was a difficult and painful choice, but she would have to face it sooner or later. What he had to do now was to give her a reason to convince herself and strengthen her heart.

"Now that the two countries have made a deal, Yan Bingyun will return to Qing sooner or later, a few days earlier or later will not matter. If you help us save him now, it won't count as treason!"

Miss Shen's expression changed slightly when she heard this.

"Well, since it doesn't matter a few days earlier or later, why should I help you now?"

Seeing that she had successfully caught the hook he had deliberately left in his words, Fan Xian fluently spoke out the reason he had already thought of, without any pause.

"Before he leaves, the Jinyiwei will definitely increase the punishment. Can you really bear to see Yan Bingyun become a cripple?"

Miss Shen went to deliver meals every day. She knew exactly whether Yan Bingyun's sentence had been increased, so she ordered the maid to buy medicine for his injuries.

As expected, Miss Shen's heart was in turmoil when she heard this, and tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably. She avoided his gaze and continued to speak stubbornly with a crying voice.

"He is a spy from the enemy country. Why can't I be ruthless?"

Seeing how she looked fierce but was actually weak, Fan Xian raised his eyebrows.

"Do you dare to say that you didn't buy those typhoid medicines?"

Miss Shen moved her lips and fell silent.

At this moment, Mei Cheng'an suddenly reached out and patted the food box, looked at Miss Shen's hurriedly pointing the dagger at him, smiled and said softly.

"This should be the food you prepared for him. How is his appetite lately?"

"..."

Mei Chengan smiled.

"If you don't believe us, you can kick us out of the car."

Fan Xian followed up with a sentence.

"Just one word from you and we'll be gone."

Feeling that the time was right, the two decided to force the emperor to abdicate.

Miss Shen looked left and right, her lips trembling slightly, and her blinking frequency suddenly increased. After a long struggle between her conscience and her desires, she finally compromised.

With her arms hanging down, Miss Shen tilted her head and whispered something to the carriage house outside.

"Let's go."

Fan Xian breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that. He leaned his head against the wall and relaxed. Then he turned his gaze and looked at his fellow villager.

Mei Cheng'an was still in the same posture as before. When Fan Xian looked at him, he happened to be looking at Fan Xian as well. When the two of them looked at each other, the corners of their mouths curved upwards.

……

Guard station.

Shen Zhong was having a drink while his deputy was reporting.

"Sir, Yan Bingyun still refuses to give in."

Tsk~

Shen Zhong finished his drink, put down the cup, and thought for a moment.

"Just keep getting more severe and leave some breath."

The deputy nodded.

"Yes, oh, by the way, sir, Lord Langtao will be arriving in Shangjing soon."

Shen Zhong picked up the wine jug.

"Well, once he arrives, this matter will be foolproof."

After saying this, he was about to pour the wine, but his hand suddenly stopped and he turned his eyes to the door.

Seeing this, the deputy subconsciously turned around to look. When he saw He Daoren's figure, he was stunned for a moment, his eyes full of confusion.

How could he be here at this time?
Shen Zhong thought so too and asked as he poured the wine.

"Sir...shouldn't you be at the diplomatic corps right now, keeping an eye on Fan Xian and the others?"

Taoist He stood in front of the hall.

"Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an, along with that Wang Qinian, have all disappeared." As soon as these words came out, the deputy suddenly turned his head and looked at him in surprise. Shen Zhong, who was pouring wine, was also startled when he heard this and looked up at He Daoren.

Except for the sound of pouring wine, the hall was silent until the sound of the wine overflowing from the cup changed. Then Shen Zhong suddenly realized and put away the wine pot and put it aside.

"How could this be?"

Taoist He replied.

"Today they slipped out of their residence, and I followed them secretly. I don't know when they realized I was following them, but they suddenly attacked me halfway."

"Are they together?"

"No, just one person."

"A person? Who? Fan Xian? He..."

"No, it's Mei Chengan."

Shen Zhong stood up and widened his eyes when he heard this.

"Who are you talking about???"

The deputy also looked incredulous.

Taoist He repeated it very calmly.

"Mei Cheng'an! He suddenly attacked me and fought with me, then quickly fled. By then, Fan Xian and Wang Qinian had already disappeared."

"this…"

The deputy hesitated to speak, and from his expression he did not seem to believe it.

Shen Zhong stood up, walked around the table, stood in front of it, looked down at He Daoren with a burning gaze, and pointed at him.

"You are ninth rank!"

Taoist He remained calm.

"Mei Chengan too!"

It's no wonder Shen Zhong didn't believe it. In fact, when Fan Xian asked him to say this yesterday in the villa, he was very disdainful and felt that Shen Zhong was treating him as a fool. However, after fighting with Mei Chengan, he had nothing to say.

"..."

Shen Zhong's eyes were filled with doubt and uncertainty, and he inexplicably thought of another thing that puzzled him, a person, that was Shang Shanhu. Although there was no definite news, all signs indicated that during the time when Shang Shanhu disappeared, he took his cavalry to the border to snatch Sean.

So the question is, with Jiushanhu's strength, who in this world can defeat him, and who can leave that horrible wound on his neck? This is something that he has been puzzled about before.

First of all, it was definitely not the grandmaster who took action. If it was the grandmaster, Shang Shanhu would never have come back alive. Secondly, he secretly ordered people to investigate privately. During that period, all the ninth-rank masters from all sides did not make any unusual movements, except for his own saint and Yan Xiaoyi from Nanqing. Although his own saint had no trace during that period, she had no reason to take action against Shang Shanhu anyway. As for Yan Xiaoyi, he was a possibility, but I heard that he was from the eldest princess's lineage and had a very bad relationship with Fan Xian. It didn't make sense for him to let Fan Xian go and help him deal with Shang Shanhu. It didn't make sense.

Then there is only one answer left, it was done by the mission.

Hiss~ Could it be Mei Chengan? Is he so powerful?

Shen Zhong, who sorted out his thoughts in a flash, suppressed the surprise and shock in his heart and asked hurriedly.

"What is Mei Cheng'an's strength? What path does he take?"

Taoist He thought for a while and said.

"His specific strength... should be upper ninth rank, I'm not sure. Anyway, when he was fighting with me, I could clearly feel that he could easily suppress me, but he didn't use his full strength.

As for his style, he uses the fast sword. Not only is his sword fast, his body movements are also incredibly fast. I can say that up to now, I have never seen anyone whose body movements can be as fast as his.

He is simply a monster!
When he got away after fighting with me, it wasn't that I didn't want to chase him, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye, so I could only rush back to the guard post to inform you."

Nine of his words were true and one was false. Except for the last part which he made up on the spot, the rest were all from his heart. He really thought that Mei Chengan was not a human being. How old is he?

He Daoren had said this much, so Shen Zhong and his deputy had no choice but to believe it. In fact, the deputy's jaw almost dropped after hearing it.

"He, he, he's so skilled? Isn't he a poet???"

Shen Zhong: “…”

He Daoren: “…”

Yeah, isn't he a poet?!
What the hell are you doing in the martial arts circle?!

Silence, only silence remained in the hall. Shen Zhong and He Daoren were not in a very good mood at this moment, they were just thinking about different things.

"Sir, Mei Cheng'an attacked Mr. He just to show his power to our Jinyiwei. So what if he is a ninth-rank official? This is Shangjing, and the Qing people cannot act recklessly. Do you want me to send people to search the whole city for him?"

The deputy asked in a muffled voice.

Shen Zhong pondered for a long time and waved his hand.

"No, there's no need to bother. There are only three of them, and they can't cause any big trouble. They will show up sooner or later. I'm just a little curious..."

As he spoke, his eyes flickered, as if thinking about something.

"Where will the three of them go after they escape?"

……

the other side.

In the Shen family's carriage that was moving towards the south of the city.

Miss Shen looked speechlessly at the two very rude guys in front of her. They actually opened the food box she prepared for Yan Bingyun and started eating, and even commented on him.

"I can only give this tomato scrambled eggs a five, the taste is too bland."

After tasting the dish, Fan Xian put down his spoon and made a comment.

Mei Chengan glanced at him.

"You know nothing. It's better to have a light taste. Ren Yan Bingyun is injured now and can't eat food with a lot of oil or salt."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian slapped his forehead and cried out in surprise.

"Sorry, I forgot about that. I'll re-cook it. Hmm, six points. The eggs were a little overcooked and hard, and the tomatoes were not fried well. The flavors didn't blend well."

Mei Cheng'an picked up an egg, tasted it, and nodded.

"Que Shi!"

Miss Shen: ???
I'm still here.

You guys are really impertinent, do you know that?

At first, she felt a little embarrassed when her first dish was commented on, but gradually, her shame was completely replaced by speechlessness.

After rolling her eyes, she lifted the car curtain and glanced out the window through the gap. She turned around and saw that the two were still eating. She couldn't help rolling her eyes again and said speechlessly.

"Can you guys stop eating? We're almost there and I don't have time. Can we talk about business?"

Hearing this, the two of them turned their heads to look at him, and put down their cutlery, chopsticks and spoons.

Fan Xian wanted to wipe his mouth with the towel in the food box, but he was a step too slow and the towel was snatched away by Mei Cheng'an. Fortunately, there was no food residue on his mouth. After all, the food was really ordinary. He only took a small bite each time, wiped it casually with his hand, rubbed it on the carriage, and then looked at Miss Shen and smiled.

"Yes, yes, yes, let's talk business. You go first."

Miss Shen resisted the urge to roll her eyes again, looked at him with disdain, and spoke.

"He was imprisoned in an old house in the south of the city. My brother arranged a lot of people around him."

Very good, that's all known information.

After wiping his mouth, Mei Cheng'an threw the towel back into the food box and asked Miss Shen softly.

"How is he? Is he seriously injured?"

Upon hearing this, Miss Shen's eyes sank slightly and she nodded. Her tone was very low, with a sigh mixed with heartache.

"I have many wounds and I caught a cold..."

As she spoke, she sighed quietly, then realized that now was not the time to be depressed, so she looked up at the two of them and asked.

"Oh, by the way, what are you going to do? When are you going to rescue him?"

The two looked at each other, Mei Chengan shrugged, and Fan Xian looked at her and said.

"Just today."

"today?"

Miss Shen’s eyes widened.

"Night?"

Fan Xian shook his head.

"I mean right now, right now!"

"..."

Miss Shen looked at Mei Chengan.

Mei Chengan smiled.

"You heard that right."

Miss Shen was speechless, especially speechless.

"How can we save them now? Stop kidding me. I just told you that my brother has arranged many men around the house. They have surrounded it like an iron barrel. You can't even get in, let alone save them."

Fan Xian thought for a moment and said.

"Just say we are your followers and are here to help you carry your things."

Miss Shen almost rolled her eyes again.

"With the way you two look and dress, who would believe you are followers? Besides, they only let me in. I can't even bring my personal maid in, let alone you two."

After saying that, he lifted the curtain again and looked out.

"We'll be there soon. Why don't you get off the bus first and bring more people to rescue him later."

Fan Xian spread his hands.

"We do have the manpower, but we have no intention of confronting the Imperial Guards head-on in Shangjing, so only the two of us will take action."

Miss Shen was shocked.

"Then how do you save people?"

Fan Xian grinned, revealing his big white teeth.

"Depend on you."

"Depend on…"

Upon hearing this, Miss Shen's face was filled with pain and she was about to cry.

"Stop it, please. I just said that I really can't bring anyone in. I really can't help you."

Fan Xian was amused by her expression and tone.

"Calm down, calm down, don't get excited. I don't mean for you to lead us in, but for us to lead you in. Understand?"

Miss Shen was startled when she heard this. The mask of pain gradually turned into a confused face as her brain couldn't function properly, and her mouth opened.

"what?"

……

The house where Yan Bingyun was imprisoned was said to be an old house, but in fact it was not new either.

However, there are green trees in front of the door and the scenery is quite nice. In front of the door is a road paved with a mixture of gravel and soil. On the other side of the road is a four-foot-high (more than one meter) wall built with blue bricks. Next to the wall is a long and narrow pergola, under which is a square table and several benches.

At this time, two Jinyiwei were sitting under the awning drinking tea. There were also several Jinyiwei standing at the door of the old house. Two of them were standing on both sides of the door, probably on guard, and the other two were standing right in front of the gate, behaving casually, looking like small leaders or something.

There were only six of them in total, which was not as crowded as Miss Shen had said.

Because of the angle, one of the Jinyiwei under the awning was the first to see the Shen family's carriage approaching. He stood up, holding his sword tightly, and looked at the carriage vigilantly. Another Jinyiwei took a quick look, raised his weapon and stood up. Several Jinyiwei at the door tilted their heads to look, and when they saw the carriage, they all straightened their bodies and held their swords tightly.

It should be said that the Jinyiwei under Shen Zhong were well-mannered and did not let down their guard just because the carriage belonged to the Shen family.

The coachman steered the carriage to a slow stop in front of the house gate. The little leader standing in front of the gate, along with the man behind him, raised their sabers and looked at the window vigilantly.

Don't get me wrong, they didn't know there were other people inside. This is just basic procedure and also to prevent any accidents.

The car curtain was opened with a swish as usual, but there were more people inside than usual.

When the little leader saw the figure holding the knife on Miss Shen's neck, his pupils shrank and he exclaimed subconsciously.

"Fan Xian?!"

……

(End of this chapter)