Chapter 113 Join in the fun
In the private room on the second floor of Yishiju, several people sat down again.
Fan Ruoruo was briefly introducing Prince Jing to Fan Xian.
"Prince Jing's son, Li Hongcheng, has a good reputation. He has always loved literature and often holds poetry competitions, which are often attended by children from famous families. I just didn't expect you to agree. I thought you looked down on such things."
Fan Xian sighed.
"I can't avoid it. It's clearly coming for me. If I turn it down this time, there will be another time. I might as well just accept it and see what they have up their sleeves."
After saying that, he turned and looked at Mei Chengan.
"Hey, this Prince Jing is not from the crown prince's line, right? I don't think he and Guo Baokun had discussed this beforehand."
Mei Chengan took a sip of the craft beer.
"No."
"Second Prince?"
Mei Cheng'an looked at him and said nothing.
Fan Xian understood. That was right. It didn’t make sense that the Crown Prince’s men were all here, but there was no movement from the Second Prince’s side. He then felt that something was wrong with his fellow villager’s attitude.
"Why, is the status of Prince Jing very special? Is it inconvenient for you to speak frankly?"
Mei Chengan nodded.
"He is my eldest uncle."
"???"
Fan Xian was stunned.
"Brother-in-law?"
This time, before Mei Chengan could explain, Versace spoke first.
"Didn't Dad tell you? You and Boss An were married on the same day by His Majesty. Boss An's marriage partner is Princess Roujia of Prince Jing's Mansion, who is Prince Jing's biological sister."
Fan Xian opened his mouth wide and looked at Mei Chengan.
Mei Chengan smiled and nodded.
Fan Xian was puzzled.
"No, then why didn't I hear you mention this yesterday?"
Mei Cheng'an glanced at Fan Xian.
"You didn't even ask."
"..."
After thinking about it, Fan Xian slapped the table.
"Why didn't I ask? I remember it clearly. I asked you about my engagement, but you said you didn't know?"
Mei Chengan spread his hands.
"I really don't know. Of course I only pay attention to my wife. Who has time to pay attention to your wife?"
"..."
Fan Ruoruo couldn't help laughing.
Fan Xian glanced at her, and Fan Ruoruo quickly lowered her head to eat.
Fan Xian pointed at Mei Chengan.
"Don't talk nonsense. It's not certain whether she is my wife or not."
Mei Cheng'an picked up the serving chopsticks and picked up a lion's head for Fan Xian.
"Okay, okay, I was wrong. I know you care about your chicken leg girl. Eat it quickly or it will get cold."
"That's pretty much it."
Fan Xian looked at the round lion's head in the bowl, picked up the chopsticks, took a bite, chewed it twice, and his eyes lit up.
"Yeah! This lion head is good!"
Mei Chengan laughed.
"Of course you should. This is the signature dish here. You will never get tired of eating it. Just eat it without making a sound."
Fan Xian hummed twice and began to eat with relish.
Mei Chengan leisurely poured himself a glass of craft beer and filled up the glasses for Versace and Fan Xian as well.
When Fan Xian had almost finished stuffing his glasses, Mei Cheng'an raised his glass.
"Come on, friends, let us raise our glasses together to welcome Fan Xian back to Kyoto."
Versace hurriedly raised his glass, looked at Fan Xian and spoke sincerely.
"Welcome to Kyoto."
Fan Ruoruo also put down her chopsticks and raised a cup of tea.
"Welcome home, bro."
Fan Xian picked up the wine glass.
"Thank you thank you."
After saying that, the men clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp. Fan Ruoruo gestured from a distance and also took a sip.
Versace put down his glass and wiped his mouth.
"Boss An, Brother Fan, is that the end of that? I don't think the story of the Red Mansion was explained clearly in the end. Can I still do my book business?"
Mei Chengan put down his wine glass and said.
"Don't worry, you should sell your products. You have already said that he is the editor of the palace. It is not his decision whether to ban or not. This matter is under the jurisdiction of the Supervisory Council."
Versace suddenly realized.
"Then I feel relieved. If I had known this was the case, I wouldn't have gotten angry with that Guo guy. I could have just treated him as a barking dog."
After a pause, Versace asked again.
"By the way, the book seller downstairs said that this is a banned book, and the Supervisory Council will not..."
Mei Chengan smiled.
"You don't have to worry about this. First of all, there is nothing wrong with the Red Mansion itself. The banning of books is just a rumor. Secondly, your brother is a senior official of the Supervisory Council. It's up to him to decide whether to ban or not."
Versace glanced at Fan Xian. "Big official?" He just arrived yesterday. Never mind. If that's the case, then the book business will be a sure thing. We'll make a fortune.
Why did the word "senior official" sound so inappropriate when it came from the mouth of a fellow villager? Fan Xian rolled his eyes at Mei Cheng'an, looked at Versace, and asked curiously.
"Why do you want to sell books so much?"
Versace didn't think twice.
"Of course it's to make money, that's even a question."
Fan Xian asked.
"Then why do we need to make money?"
This question stumped Versace, who was stunned for a moment.
"What do you mean? Just make money... just make money. Why?
Seeing that he didn't understand, Fan Xian asked in a different way.
"Let me put it this way. Do you want to use the money to buy something expensive, or do you want to go to the casino or the brothel to have fun?"
Versace shook his head.
"I haven't thought about that. I just like making money."
Fan Xian seemed to be thinking about something. Ordinary people like to make money in order to live a better life. Versace lives a comfortable life and has plenty of money. Logically speaking, he shouldn't be so obsessed with making money. Could it be because of his family background?
Hiss~ It seems that this is really possible. Thinking about how angry Versace was when Guo Baokun was disrespectful to Fan Jian just now, and his father Fan Jian's attitude towards Versace, Fan Xian had a guess.
This child admires his father, and at the same time he also wants to prove himself in front of his father and get his attention.
Tsk tsk, what a poor kid. Fan Xian said.
"Okay, then you just think about how to prepare. Let me make it clear first, you can only rely on yourself for this matter. I can't help you much."
Versace looked relaxed.
"No, no, you just need to provide the manuscript, and I will take care of the preparations. Look, we need to quickly select a printing shop, and then we need to quickly select the paper. And we can't let those who sell Red Mansions privately sell it, otherwise it will affect my sales. And we still have to consider the labor cost..."
Fan Xian listened with great interest and thought that this kid was a business genius. It had only been a short while since he decided to sell books, but he not only had clear ideas but also considered everything carefully.
Mei Cheng'an was not interested in the specific preparatory work, as it was not his business. He tapped the table lightly and looked at Versace.
"Okay, go back and think about it slowly. There's no rush. Let's eat first."
Versace stopped talking.
"Oh, Boss An is right, don't worry, don't worry, hehe."
Seeing Versace's insincere look, everyone present couldn't help but smile.
……
Not far away is a teahouse with elegantly decorated private rooms.
Prince Jing's son Li Hongcheng was standing at the door chatting with the second prince who was squatting on the couch reading A Dream of Red Mansions.
"Recently, there are many fans of this book!"
The second prince stared at the red building in his hand, his eyes full of admiration.
"A wonderful book! Unparalleled in the world!"
Li Hongcheng thought of Fan Xian and smiled.
"This Fan Xian is quite straightforward. He didn't change his expression when he heard my identity. It seems that he didn't care at all. I was actually a little happy to be praised by him."
The second prince was also happy to hear this. He had heard about what happened after Li Hongcheng appeared.
"This person is interesting, extraordinary!"
Li Hongcheng chuckled.
"It's rare for a scholar in Kyoto to receive such praise from you."
After thinking for a while, he suggested.
"How about I arrange for you to meet him tomorrow?"
The second prince didn't say anything, his eyes were on the book, as if he didn't hear anything.
After a long while, the second prince finally spoke.
"hold on."
After a pause, he added.
"Look again."
Li Hongcheng didn't care.
"Row!"
After saying this, he bowed, turned around and started to leave. After taking two steps, he remembered something and turned back.
"Oh yeah, one more thing, my brother-in-law also showed up there."
The second prince finally took his eyes off the book and looked at Li Hongcheng.
"Cheng'an?"
Li Hongcheng nodded.
The second prince became interested.
"He is also interested in Fan Xian, so he went to join in the fun?"
Li Hongcheng shook his head.
"No, I heard a rough outline from the dark. It seems that the reason why Fan Xian went out today was to keep his appointment, and it seems that he is quite familiar with Fan Xian's family."
Upon hearing this, the Second Prince put down the Red Tower in his hand, stood up, got off the couch and put on his shoes. This was a little unexpected for him, but the more unexpected it was, the more interesting it was.
"This is interesting. How is he connected to Fan Xian?"
Li Hongcheng shrugged.
"I don't know that."
The second prince folded his arms and paced back and forth for a few steps. Suddenly, his eyes turned to the Dream of the Red Chamber on the couch, as if he was thinking about something.
"Could it be... a mutual admiration between talented people?"
Li Hongcheng thought about it.
"It is possible."
The second prince pondered for a moment, then said with a smile on his face.
"Fan Xian can get Cheng'an's approval, so the rumors should be true. This book was written by Fan Xian. He is another talented man. He can write well and compose poetry. Tomorrow's poetry meeting will probably be very exciting."
Li Hongcheng was a little puzzled.
"How does Your Highness know that Fan Xian can write poetry?"
The second prince turned and looked at him, somewhat surprised.
"You haven't read this book?"
Li Hongcheng shook his head.
"I don't like reading storybooks."
The second prince smiled.
"You should take a look. Fan Xian also wrote a lot of poems in it. Although the poems are not masterpieces, they are still remarkable. Moreover, the poems are written in the book. I think it is likely related to the plot and may not be his true level. I am looking forward to him giving me a surprise tomorrow."
Li Hongcheng also laughed.
"Then I have to take a closer look."
The second prince sat down on the couch again, picked up the Dream of the Red Chamber, flipped through it, and remembered something.
"Will Cheng An attend the poetry reading tomorrow?"
Li Hongcheng spread his hands.
"I haven't met him, so I don't know. But Your Highness doesn't know him well. He never likes this kind of occasion. I guess it's useless to ask."
The second prince nodded.
"Too."
"but…"
"Ok?"
The second prince raised his head again.
"what happened?"
Li Hongcheng remembered something.
"According to the date, he should be on leave tomorrow, and he should go to your house to see Roujia."
"Oh?"
The second prince thought about it and smiled.
"Then I'll go join in the fun tomorrow."
"it is good!"
……
Chapter 2 A little later
(End of this chapter)
