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

Chapter 68 Chen Garden and Chrysanthemum Appreciation Conference

As we all know, Chen Pingping has a Chen Garden.

Chen Garden is the private residence of Chen Pingping, located in the suburbs of Beijing, on the top of a deep mountain surrounded by mountains and shrouded in green.

Although this garden is hidden deep in the mountains, it is not an ordinary place. It looks plain and even a little low-key on the outside, but it contains endless luxury and refinement on the inside.

The reason why Mei Cheng'an had the opportunity to go there was thanks to the fight with Shadow. The right opportunity and place were not easy to find, so after much choice he chose this hidden place.

Every time after being beaten, Mei Cheng'an would occasionally be invited by Chen Pingping to visit Chen Garden, where they would drink tea, chat, have lunch, and enjoy singing and dancing and pipa music.

Why occasionally? Because it depends on when he finishes fighting Shadow.

Chen Pingping kept many young and beautiful girls in Chen Garden, who were comparable to the three thousand beauties in the harem, as well as a retainer who loved to play the pipa.

These girls were not robbed or captured; they were actually poor people who were taken in by Chen Pingping.

The girls and retainers were not afraid of Chen Pingping at all. The girls could call him Pingping at will and play around as they pleased. The retainers had an even worse temper. They would just say they were in a bad mood and leave in the middle of playing the pipa.

Here, Chen Pingping practices Ye Qingmei's concept of equality for all, and the women here also realize that people are born equal.

So Mei Chengan likes it here and feels very comfortable staying here.

When Mei Cheng'an went to Chen Garden for the first time, he was not as shocked as he had imagined, because he had seen it in the drama before.

Mei Cheng'an's experience at Chen Garden was generally okay, mainly thanks to the crowds of beautiful women singing and dancing. The food was also good. The thing he couldn't stand the most was the guest who played the pipa.

That's right, every time he heard him playing the pipa like a lunatic, he could always feel that this person played the pipa like a rock performance, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, and he was very immersed in it. The key point was that it didn't sound good at all, and there was no melody. The original words of the guest were that he played the pipa with a feeling.

Well, he is quite good at keeping up with the trend, and the feeling is here.

Needless to say, his singing voice is rough, like Tengger's, but the key is that he doesn't have his singing skills. He hums like he is constipated.

Mei Cheng'an was in agony listening to this, but the key point was that Chen Pingping on the side was listening with gusto.

Mei Cheng'an couldn't say anything, after all, it was someone else's personal preference. He could only sigh silently that the generation gap had nothing to do with dynasties, but only with age.

As I went there more often, I naturally became more familiar with the people.

Mei Cheng'an began to plan to benefit his ears, so he intentionally or unintentionally mentioned a pipa master in front of Chen Pingping, who played the pipa to perfection.

Chen Pingping loved listening to the pipa, so he naturally became interested and asked who he was talking about.

Mei Cheng'an told Chen Pingping the name of Sang Wen and the general situation of Miaoyinfang.

Chen Pingping just nodded to indicate that he understood, and didn't say much.

Then Chen Pingping and Yingzi suddenly became busy for some reason and had no time during the day, so the fight was naturally put aside. Mei Chengan also failed to go to Chen Garden for two months, so naturally he didn't know whether Chen Pingping had adopted his suggestion.

After waiting for a long time until Yingzi was free, Mei Chengan was finally able to go to Chen Garden again, and this time he finally got some news.

After that, Chen Pingping did listen to his advice and invited Sang Wen, and was also impressed by Sang Wen's superb skills. Basically, he would invite Sang Wen to play a piece of pipa every night when he was free.

Who is Chen Pingping? He is a powerful figure in the Kingdom of Qing. He also likes the girl who plays the pipa. Is she a simple person?

So soon Sang Wen Miaoyinfang appeared in everyone's sight. They tried to invite her once to see the effect. The result was amazing. No one was not convinced. As a result, Miaoyinfang's business gradually improved. Sang Wen became even more popular in Kyoto. The rich and powerful vied with each other to invite her to play the pipa.

So unfortunately this time Mei Chengan did not meet Sang Wen because she was asked to leave.

But it doesn't matter whether they meet or not. What matters is that Sang Wen has entered Chen Pingping's sight. Once they get to know each other well, with Chen Pingping as his tiger skin, those who want to attack Miaoyinfang or Sang Wen will have to think twice.

……

The continuous rain made one unaware that spring had gone, and the red leaves made one realize that autumn had deepened. Time had unknowingly entered autumn.

Emperor Qing held a chrysanthemum appreciation conference at the Hanging Temple every three years.

The Hanging Temple, according to legend, was the earliest temple in the Kingdom of Qing. It was built brick by brick and stone by wood by ascetic monks who believed in the temple. It took hundreds of years to build it. Its purpose was to spread the supreme light of the temple and persuade people to be kind.

To put it simply, the chrysanthemum appreciation conference is a large-scale cocktail party aimed at socializing and a large-scale team-building activity at the headquarters of Qingguo Group.

Mei Cheng'an was not very interested in such activities, so he did not participate three years ago, on the grounds that he was still young and not suitable for drinking. Emperor Qing agreed.

This time he couldn't use the previous excuses. He was already fifteen years old, and he couldn't find a suitable excuse after thinking for a long time, so he could only claim to be sick.

The autumn wind is bleak and I feel cold occasionally. I am afraid of infecting my colleagues.

Emperor Qing only responded with two cold words.

No!

……

The carriage was rumbling along the mountain path. Mei Cheng'an lifted the curtain and looked out at the unknown mountain road covered with fallen leaves. He sighed heavily. What's wrong with a cold? A minor illness is still an illness.

This time he did not ride in the same carriage with Mei Zhili, because they were going different ways. Mei Zhili was a third-rank official, so he took the shortcut, while he was only a fourth-rank official even with his honorary position, so he took the long way.

Mei Zhili had told him that the long and short roads both lead to the Hanging Temple in the end, just one is ahead of the other, and the views of the chrysanthemums are different.

When they reached the fork in the road, the two carriages of the Mei family separated under the command of the guards, one to the left and the other to the right.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage finally reached the foot of the mountain. There was already a row of carriages parked there. Mei Cheng'an saw the one his father was sitting in. As expected, they had arrived early in the morning.

There were imperial guards directing traffic, leading Mei Cheng'an's carriage to a parking space. Mei Cheng'an got off the carriage and stretched his body, looking at the long mountain trail guarded by many imperial guards in the distance. The steps were densely packed, extending all the way up to the mountain gate.

After waiting there for a while, Xin Qiwu and Wang Sicheng arrived one after another, and the three of them went up the mountain together.

Climbing the long steps and passing the mountain gate, a temple standing on a steep cliff suddenly appeared in front of Mei Cheng'an.

Looking at the thin temple built with layers of wood stacked up, Mei Cheng'an's first reaction was not shock, but whether this thing was safe and whether it would be blown away by the wind.

The moment Mei Cheng'an actually stepped on it, he confirmed that there should be no problem. It felt very solid, just like stepping on the ground.

The upward cableway varies in width, with the longest one being nearly ten feet long and the narrowest one being only the width of two people's shoulders. The guardrail on the right is not high. If you can climb higher and stand next to the guardrail looking down, it would still be quite creepy.

It’s a pity that they can only go up to the fourth floor and can’t go any higher, as the levels above are the third rank and above.

A eunuch led them to the pavilion belonging to the Honglu Temple. Standing by the railing and looking at the golden chrysanthemums all over the mountains below, he felt quite shocked. The view was not as bad as he had imagined.

Xin Qiwu smiled and said beside Mei Chengan: "How is it? It's quite shocking, isn't it?"

Mei Chengan nodded.

"really!"

Xin Qiwu laughed.

"Yeah, it's a good thing you didn't come last time, otherwise it wouldn't be so fresh this time."

Mei Chengan looked at him.

"How many times has Lord Xin been here?"

Xin Qiwu thought about it.

"Five times, including this time."

Five times, which means he has been an official for at least twelve or thirteen years. After coming here so many times, no matter how beautiful and exquisite it is, he should be tired of it.

“This is your fifth time here. Is it still fresh?”

Xin Qiwu laughed.

"Yes, although not as strong as the first time, but every time I come here, I still feel fresh. The location is different, the scenery is different, and the people I travel with are also different. How can I say there is no freshness?"

Mei Chengan nodded, yes.

The three of them did not sit down. They took some drinks and stood there, admiring the chrysanthemums and chatting.

We chatted for half an hour and drank quite a lot of alcohol. The autumn wind was bleak and the temperature was low, so drinking more wine did make me feel warm.

Just as they were talking, a eunuch hurried into the pavilion.

"Master Xiaomei, His Majesty invites you."

Mei Cheng'an looked back and saw, hey, it was an acquaintance.

"Xiao Ming?"

Xiao Ming smiled.

"Yes, Master Xiaomei, please follow me. His Majesty is waiting."

Mei Cheng'an turned around, signaled to Xin Qiwu and Wang Sicheng, then followed Xiao Ming out of the pavilion and walked upwards.

"Xiao Ming, long time no see."

"It's been a long time indeed, Master Xiaomei."

"Why are you calling me? Where is Eunuch Hou?"

"This is all thanks to Master Xiaomei. I have worked for Master Xiaomei for several years without much trouble. After Master Xiaomei left, I was noticed by Eunuch Hou and now I am working for him."

"Congratulations, congratulations, but the fact that you were favored by Eunuch Hou is because you work hard, and it has nothing to do with me."

"Without Master Xiaomei, I might still be cleaning the palace. Without Master Xiaomei's care over the years, I wouldn't be able to do my job so easily, not to mention that Master Xiaomei often speaks well of me in front of Eunuch Hou. Otherwise, I wouldn't be where I am today. I can't express my gratitude to Master Xiaomei in words. I keep it all in my heart."

Mei Cheng'an touched his nose. Why didn't he remember praising Xiao Ming in front of Eunuch Hou? He thought it must be an excuse made up by Eunuch Hou, but he couldn't expose it because it would be bad for everyone.

"It's just a small favor, don't take it to heart."

Xiao Ming obviously didn't listen.

"Lord Xiaomei, His Majesty looks calm today, but with a hint of happiness. He must be in a good mood."

Mei Cheng'an nodded, then was startled.

"Xiao Ming, you should be more careful when following Eunuch Hou, and don't try to guess His Majesty's intentions for my sake. It would be terrible if you were caught. I can't use it."

Xiao Ming paused and felt even more grateful.

"I've made note of it."

(End of this chapter)