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

Chapter 67 Questions and Answers before the Emperor 2
Emperor Qing asked immediately, his tone light.

"What do you think?"

Hiss~ This question is not easy to answer. Who knows what His Majesty really means? After thinking it over again and again, Mei Chengan decided to retreat in order to advance.

Mei Chengan bowed.

"I dare not speculate on your majesty's thoughts, but I feel that I am still young and my behavior is not thoughtful enough. The Spring Examination is the most important exam in my Daqing Imperial Examination. It is also the most important stage for your majesty to select talents and officials for my Qing country. Although I have some talent, I feel that I do not have the ability and qualifications to preside over such a major national event. I hope your majesty will understand."

Emperor Qing admired Mei Cheng'an's self-awareness and his ability to remain sober and not greedy in the face of such a huge temptation. He was extremely satisfied and a smile appeared on his face unconsciously.

He walked closer and patted Mei Chengan's shoulder gently with a kind tone.

"Haha, that's enough, get up. You are still sober and not carried away. Yes, hosting the Spring Examination is indeed not a trivial matter. Your talent is enough, but you are too young, and I dare not take the risk. Calm down and gain experience for a few more years. I am very optimistic about you."

Emperor Qing has already mastered the art of giving a sweet date after hitting someone with a stick.

Mei Chengan showed just the right amount of emotion on his face, "A man must die for his friend," and knelt down to express his gratitude.

"Thank you for your highness's regard for me. I will definitely live up to your high expectations."

Emperor Qing pretended to be angry.

"Get up, get up. Stop kneeling all the time. If you don't mind kneeling, I'll mind calling you to get up."

Mei Chengan stood up and said, "Whoever is willing to kneel, yes. I'm cooperating with you."

"It's my fault."

Emperor Qing looked at the well-behaved Mei Cheng'an with a smile. The more he looked, the more satisfied he became. Suddenly, he had some feelings for her.

"You are fifteen this year."

"Yes."

"Has Mei Zhili ever proposed marriage to you?"

Isn't this too much concern? Is he starting to chat about family matters? Mei Chengan is a little uncomfortable.

"Um... never."

"That's good. Go back and tell Mei Zhili that I will personally take care of your marriage, so he doesn't have to worry about it."

Mei Cheng'an was completely stunned by Emperor Qing's words. Wasn't this just a casual chat? The topic change was so inexplicable.

This Emperor Qing must be suffering from some serious illness. He does whatever he wants and especially likes to make surprise attacks. From the sudden assessment and promotion last year to suddenly letting him take part in the Spring Examination at the early morning court after the New Year, now he is even interfering in his own marriage, which makes Mei Chengan very worried.

No, the marriage is in the hands of his parents, and he still has a certain degree of autonomy, but if it is in the hands of His Majesty, he will have no autonomy at all. Although he knows it is difficult to get Emperor Qing to take back his decision, Mei Chengan still wants to give it a try.

"Um... well... Your Majesty is already very tired dealing with so many government affairs every day. If Your Majesty has to worry and work hard for such a trivial matter as my marriage, I would be unworthy of being a minister."

Emperor Qing glanced at him with a half-smile.

"What's the matter? Are you still not happy? Do you have a crush on someone?"

Mei Chengan waved his hands quickly.

"No, no, I'm mainly worried about tiring Your Majesty."

Emperor Qing said "oh".

"I'm not tired."

"..."

Well, Emperor Qing has made up his mind.

Seeing that things were impossible, Mei Chengan decisively lowered his head.

"I will tell my father when I get back."

Emperor Qing was satisfied. You know what, this kid is different from ordinary people. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been grateful to tears, but he was still reluctant. After all, he was a child he valued. After thinking about it, he decided to explain.

"Your poetry has long been known throughout the world. Some even say that the fortune of Qing's literary virtues depends on you. Your marriage is no small matter. It is under the spotlight of the public. How can we be careless? I will not feel at ease if I don't choose for you personally."

Mei Cheng'an showed an expression of realization when he heard this.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

I really wanted to slap myself in the face. If I had known earlier, I would not have pretended to be so arrogant in the Ministry of Rites. If I had not written that poem, His Majesty might not have remembered this matter.

Oh no! Oh no!

Seeing that he understood his intention, Emperor Qing nodded with satisfaction and suddenly changed the subject.

"Have you met the Crown Prince and the Second Prince after the morning court session at the beginning of the new year?"

"Yes."

"Did they invite you to be their guest?"

"Your Majesty has a keen eye, it is true, but I refuse."

Emperor Qing's tone was calm.

"Oh? So you don't think highly of either of them?"

"Your Highnesses are both princes, both of whom are outstanding. How dare I judge you? My father always told me that loyalty is the most important thing for a subject. Everything we have now comes from the grace of Your Majesty. It is enough for us to be loyal to Your Majesty. I deeply agree with you."

Emperor Qing was impressed by Mei Zhili's remarks. He had promoted Mei Zhili to the position of prefect of Kyoto against all odds. This was what Mei Zhili wrote in his first memorial.

He chose Mei Zhili not because he valued his abilities. Mei Zhili's ability to do things can only be said to be average, but Mei Zhili has a skill that some people do not have, which is that he is very good at smoothing things over. Putting him in the position of Kyoto prefect can effectively calm down conflicts among all parties, making big things small and small things disappear, saving him a lot of trouble.

Apart from that, he did not have a very deep impression of Mei Zhili. After Mei Chengan said this, Mei Zhili's image in his mind was greatly elevated. There were not many court officials who were so sensible.

"I understand your intentions, father and son."

All I want is for you to understand, so that all my words won’t be in vain.

They had almost finished talking about everything, and Emperor Qing no longer had the interest to continue.

"Okay, I'm tired after talking for so long. You can go now."

"My minister retire."

……

After leaving the palace, Mei Cheng'an lost interest in looking at the list, so he hurried back home and repeated his conversation with Emperor Qing to Mei Zhili.

Mei Zhili's expression was relatively calm when he heard the part about the Spring Examination. However, when he heard the part about marriage, his eyes showed surprise and joy. Then, when he heard about the question of taking sides, he was so moved that he burst into tears after His Majesty understood his intentions. He was so excited that he even knelt down and kowtowed towards the direction of the imperial palace.

Mei Chengan, who was relaying the story, was stunned. But there was no need to be so exaggerated.

Besides, Emperor Qing just understood, but it was your son who delivered the message. Dad, you are thanking the wrong person.

Mei Cheng'an quickly helped Mei Zhili up.

"Dad. Apart from anything else, aren't you angry that you have no right to control my marriage?"

Mei Zhili wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and smiled.

"What's there to be angry about? Your Majesty's vision is beyond my reach. With Your Majesty choosing for you, my future daughter-in-law will definitely be right."

"..."

"What about me? Dad, don't you consider your son? What if I don't like the person His Majesty chooses?"

Mei Zhili looked him up and down.

"You... Hey, the one His Majesty picked for you must be first-rate in terms of family background, knowledge, appearance, and personality. Why don't you like it? What qualifications do you have to dislike it? What else can you do besides writing a couple of crooked poems? People may not even like you, and you're still picking on them."

"........."

Mei Chengan had a complicated expression.

"Dad, I am really your biological child, right?"

Mei Zhili glared at him.

"Nonsense! If you weren't my biological child, I would have broken your legs long ago."

Mei Cheng'an was unhappy when he heard this.

"No, Dad, you're going a bit too far. What did I do to deserve breaking my legs? What did I do to deserve breaking my legs?"

Mei Zhili rolled his eyes at him.

"Why do you need so many excuses? Didn't my precious Zi Yi suffer an unprovoked disaster without provoking anyone? You see, I didn't say anything."

"..."

My goodness, this happened such a long time ago, but dad is still brooding over it. He is too vindictive.

What else could Mei Chengan say? It was absolutely impossible to ask him to return Zi Yi. He had raised her for so long that he had developed feelings for her, so he could only play dumb.

Mei Chengan's expression suddenly returned to calm, as if the previous conversation had never happened, and he smiled obediently.

"Dad, I have relayed everything that happened in the palace. If there is nothing else, I will go back to read."

Mei Zhili looked at him strangely, wondering how he got so thick-skinned.

"Go."

Mei Cheng'an bowed respectfully, then walked out of the study slowly and helped close the study door.

Mei Zhili saw everything and suddenly laughed.

This brat.

……

After the Spring Examination, Mei Cheng'an returned to the Honglu Temple and his life became peaceful again.

As expected, the poem about willows spread throughout the streets and alleys again. A few days later, Mei Cheng'an even met a group of children around four or five years old on his way home from get off work. They were reciting the poem in unison while playing games. It can be seen how popular this poem is. It is even more popular than the previous two poems.

Mei Cheng'an had his own guess as to why this happened. What about those two poems? Without a certain level of cultural literacy, one would not be able to appreciate their profound meaning, so they were only widely circulated among scholars.

But this poem on willows is different. Its meaning is simple and straightforward, and it describes the natural scenery in a plain and straightforward manner. Even people who have never been to school can understand its meaning at once. It can be said to be appreciated by both the elite and the masses, and suitable for all ages. That is why it has such an exaggerated level of popularity today.

Mei Cheng'an only paid attention to it for a moment and then forgot about it. It was a natural thing and there was nothing to be surprised about.

What gave Mei Cheng'an a headache was that Guo Baokun came to him from time to time to discuss poetry. At the beginning, he received him warmly a few times, but after too many times, he became impatient and could only deal with him reluctantly every time, racking his brains to change the subject.

Mei Cheng'an was not able to escape until Guo Baokun's selection for the Ministry of Personnel was finalized and he went to the palace to take up his post.

That's right, Guo Youzhi still arranged for Guo Baokun to have an official position as a palace compiler. This so-called palace compiler was actually a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a noble and leisurely position.

Guo Baokun wanted to follow Mei Chengan's path to promotion, while Guo Youzhi was worried that Guo Baokun's temperament would not allow him to handle other positions.

The father and son hit it off immediately.

(End of this chapter)