Chapter 114 The Supervisory Council Begins
East Palace.
The prince stood in the attic and looked at Guo Baokun downstairs.
"Poetry party?"
"Yes!"
"Fan Xian agreed?"
"accepted."
The prince closed the book in his hand and thought about it.
"Are you sure you can beat him at the poetry meeting?"
Guo Baokun said frankly.
"It's hard to say if I'm alone, but tomorrow the Kyoto talent He Zongwei will go with me."
The prince held on to the guardrail with one hand.
"He Zongwei? I've heard of him. He's quite famous in Kyoto."
"Yes, with him there, nothing can go wrong."
The prince laughed when he heard this.
"Foolproof."
Guo Baokun was a little embarrassed.
"I have failed to do my job well and failed to complete the task Your Highness has assigned me. Please punish me, Your Highness."
The prince was not angry.
"I don't blame you. Some things are beyond your expectation. Besides, this is what my aunt wanted. I think she was a little hasty. It would be best if it succeeds. If it doesn't, it doesn't matter. You don't have to take it to heart."
Guo Baokun was very moved.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The prince nodded.
"I heard that your guard was injured?"
Guo Baokun was stunned for a moment, but he didn't report the matter because he thought it was embarrassing.
"Um... was..."
The prince took over the conversation directly.
"He was beaten by Mei Cheng'an's maid, right?"
Guo Baokun smiled awkwardly.
"Your Highness knows everything, but it's not considered an injury. Maid Mei just wanted to stop my guard from beating that Versace."
The prince smiled.
"I know you have a good relationship with him, so you don't need to cover up for him. I don't blame him for this. He hired the person, so it's only right for him to protect him. Since you are close to him, do you know when he got involved with Fan Xian?"
Guo Baokun thought about it and answered.
"It should be because of the Red Mansion. My Red Mansion manuscript was copied from Master Mei. As for when the two of them got in touch, I don't know."
The prince thought about it and thought that this made sense. Even the most talented scholar in Qing Kingdom loved to read the Red Mansion. It seemed that the rumors were true. He would have to read this wonderful book carefully. As for the matter of destroying Fan Xian's foundation...
After a little thought, the prince came up with an idea.
"Spread the word that Fan Xian committed a crime in the street and injured your guards. His behavior was barbaric and his methods were brutal."
Guo Baokun was stunned.
"Ah? Your Highness, my guard is not him..."
As Guo Baokun was speaking, he came to his senses.
"Your Highness, do you mean to frame him?"
The prince looked at him with a smile and said nothing.
Guo Baokun suddenly understood, but was still confused.
"Your Highness, will this work? Even if it happens to him, he will only injure a guard. Even if the news spreads, he won't be convicted."
The prince turned and looked at the bookshelf, glanced around, picked up a book from a cabinet, and said as he opened it.
"There is no crime, but my character will probably be criticized."
Guo Baokun thought about it and felt that it was still not right.
"Even if everyone in the city knows that he has a bad character, it's just gossip."
After all, he still had things to do, so the prince did not get impatient and explained patiently.
"Fan Xian has just arrived in Kyoto. He has no connections and no reputation. As for Wan'er, although I cannot recognize her, she is the daughter of Prime Minister Lin after all. If she marries a talentless and notorious loser, where will Prime Minister Lin's face be?"
Guo Baokun understood.
"Your Highness, do you mean to cut off its roots?"
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this plan was brilliant. Guo Baokun became more and more respectful to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and bowed in greeting.
"Your Highness's plan is indeed brilliant!"
The prince smiled and didn't care much about Guo Baokun's compliment.
"Next, it depends on how Lin Xiang responds."
……
One stone dwelling.
Everyone was full of wine and food.
Fan Xian looked at Fan Ruoruo.
"Let Teng Zijing take you back home later."
Fan Ruoruo was stunned for a moment.
"What about brother?"
Fan Xian pointed at Mei Cheng'an.
"I'll go with him, and we'll go around Kyoto and then go back. You guys have been in Kyoto for so long, I'm afraid you must be tired of it, so I won't let you accompany me."
Fan Ruoruo glanced at Mei Chengan and nodded.
"I know brother."
Fan Xian looked at Versace again. Versace's mind was on opening the store, so how could he have the time to accompany him to see the scenery? Not letting him follow was exactly what he wanted, so he took the initiative to speak.
"You go ahead and do your thing. I'll go home with my sister in a bit."
Fan Xian nodded.
……
There is a stone house at the door.
Two carriages had stopped by the roadside.
Fan Xian pulled Teng Zijing aside.
"The case file you want to retrieve is number D-534, right?"
Teng Zijing nodded.
"That's right!"
Then he took a look at the Mei family carriage.
"Are you planning to go to the Overwatch Council later?"
Fan Xian indeed planned to do so.
"It's better to hurry up sooner rather than later. I can't let you be my bodyguard for nothing."
Teng Zijing wanted to explain.
"I'm not..." Fan Xian patted his shoulder.
"I understand. I'm just joking with you. Okay, you guys go first."
Upon hearing this, Teng Zijing bowed to him, then walked towards the carriage, jumped lightly onto the driver's seat and sat down.
"Let's go."
Upon hearing this, Fan Ruoruo lifted the car curtain and looked at Fan Xian.
"Brother, let's go back first."
Fan Xian said softly.
"Go."
After watching the Fan family's carriage go away, Fan Xian rushed into the Mei family's carriage, sat down directly on one side of the carriage, and said something to Mei Chengan who was sitting in the main seat.
"The Overwatch Council is on its way."
Mei Chengan looked at him with a smile.
"Aren't you going to see the magnificent sights of Kyoto?"
Fan Xian imitated Mei Cheng'an and leaned back.
"So many things happened today, I'm not in the mood anymore. Why don't you ask me why I went to the Overwatch Council?"
Mei Chengan smiled and raised his hand to knock on the wall of the box behind him.
"Bluebird, go to the Overwatch Council."
The carriage started moving immediately.
Mei Cheng'an looked at Fan Xian again.
"You definitely can't be just strolling around. You said you're not in the mood, so you must have something to do. Is it because of that Teng Zijing?"
Fan Xian slapped his forehead and smiled bitterly.
"You really can't hide anything from me. How did you guess it?"
Mei Chengan smiled casually.
"He faked his own death and escaped, and even risked his life to follow you back to Kyoto. There must be something going on. Tell me, what happened to him?"
Fan Xian nodded. Without keeping anyone in suspense, he told the whole story of Teng Zijing from beginning to end.
Mei Chengan said after listening.
"So this means that Teng Zijing is a man who can distinguish right from wrong and has a sense of justice."
Fan Xian hummed.
"You think so too, right? So I want to help him."
Mei Chengan smiled.
"It's okay to help him, but the price is a bit high."
"Ok?"
Fan Xian didn't understand.
"Why is the price so high?"
Mei Cheng'an was stunned, looked at Fan Xian who was puzzled, and asked tentatively.
"Do you really not know or are you just playing dumb with me?"
Fan Xian was even more confused.
"My teacher is Fei Jie. My teacher said that the waist badge was given to me by the dean Chen Pingping. With such a strong backer, I shouldn't be in big trouble even if something happens."
What the hell are you showing off for? It’s not a big deal to have so many backers, Mei Chengan rolled his eyes in his heart.
"If this matter was confined to the Supervisory Council, you would be fine. But this matter has already reached the emperor. Chen Pingping has already handed the news you reported to His Majesty. In His Majesty's eyes, Teng Zijing is a dead man. If someone finds out that he is still alive and reports it to His Majesty, then you are deceiving the emperor!"
"..."
Fan Xian became a little anxious.
"No, why would Chen Pingping report such a small matter to His Majesty? There's something wrong with that."
Seeing Fan Xian’s defense broken, Mei Chengan was happy.
"A small matter? Not to mention that your engagement was granted by His Majesty himself, the fact that a member of the royal family interfered with the Supervisory Council directly under His Majesty is no small matter. Even if Chen Pingping had the guts to do so, he wouldn't dare to hide it from His Majesty."
"..."
Fan Xian looked bitter.
“I didn’t think much about it at the time.”
Mei Chengan laughed.
"It's not too late to think about it now. Do you want me to help you kill him and make him a real dead man? Then you won't be considered as deceiving the emperor."
Fan Xian was startled when he heard this, but when he saw the smile on Mei Chengan's face, he realized that he was joking and rolled his eyes.
"You're boring now. It's already this late and you're still teasing me. Help me figure out how...hiss~ No, if it's really as serious as you said, can you still laugh?"
Mei Chengan spread his hands and smiled.
"It's not like I'm lying to you, so why can't I laugh?"
Fan Xian rolled his eyes again and said unhappily.
"You finally got to know a fellow villager like me, and you're willing to let me die? I don't believe it. Oh, tell me the truth quickly. If you scare me again, I'll blackmail you. Do you believe it?"
Meeting such a shameless person, Mei Chengan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Don't worry, His Majesty personally granted you the marriage and intended for you to take over the inner treasury. His Majesty has the final say on whether you deceive the emperor or not. Now that you have just arrived in Kyoto, His Majesty is counting on you to stir up the situation in Kyoto. He is reluctant to let you die at this moment.
I'm not telling you this to scare you, but to warn you that someone who wants to kill you might use this as a pretext."
Fan Xian suddenly realized something, leaned forward and patted Mei Chengan on the arm.
"I see, it's you from the same hometown, so thoughtful, muah."
Mei Chengan felt a chill and his face was full of disgust.
"Ugh~ You're so disgusting."
Fan Xian smiled and didn't take it seriously. Since nothing was going to happen, there was no point in panicking.
"Stop joking and get down to business. Do you know where to retrieve the case file?"
Mei Chengan regained his composure.
"The First Division is responsible for supervising Kyoto. If the case file was transferred by the Supervisory Council, it must be in the First Division's case library. By the way, how many times have you met the person who manages the First Division's case library?"
Fan Xian was stunned for a moment.
"I have seen him? Who?"
Mei Chengan smiled.
"Wang Qinian."
Fan Xian was surprised.
"He is actually from the Overwatch Council?"
"Ah, what's wrong? Is it so unbelievable?"
Fan Xian was speechless.
"What do you think? He's an expert at cheating and deceiving people, but he's also a civil servant. It's hard to connect his behavior with his identity. It's too abstract!"
Mei Chengan laughed out loud.
“It’s a bit abstract.”
Fan Xian thought about it.
"It's better if it's him, so I don't have to look for him. I just happen to have something to inform him. Oh, by the way, there's one more thing. My teacher told me that there is a stone tablet in the Supervisory Council that was left by my mother. Do you know where it is?"
Mei Chengan smiled and nodded.
(End of this chapter)
