Chapter 157 Brainstorming
"Okay, okay, you are right if you talk too much."
"That's what it is."
With a tsk, Mei Cheng'an sat up and poured himself a cup of tea. He was thirsty after chatting with Fan Xian for a long time.
The warm tea moistened my dry throat and made me feel much better.
Fan Xian is shameless.
"Give me a drink too. I'm thirsty too."
Mei Cheng'an glanced at him, then poured him a glass and placed it next to him.
Fan Xian finished his tea and smacked his lips.
"Hey, what do you think the prince will do to me? It's been two days, and there's been no movement at all."
Mei Chengan lay back down.
"Ask the prince. How would I know?"
Fan Xian finished the remaining tea in the cup and put it on the table.
"Help me brainstorm and think of more possibilities. If necessary, I can make targeted preparations in advance."
Mei Cheng'an's eyes were immersed in the book and he replied casually.
"It takes too much brain cells. I'm too lazy to use my brain."
Fan Xian sighed, sat up, snatched the book from Mei Chengan's hand, closed it and put it on the table.
"I advise you not to be ungrateful and force me to kneel down and beg you."
Mei Cheng was happy.
"Why don't you kneel down and beg me, I'll consider it."
Fan Xian chuckled.
Mei Chengan waved his hand.
"Okay, okay, Bao Bao Bao! Tell me what you think first."
"That's pretty much it."
Fan Xian thought about it, found that he had no ideas, and spoke frankly.
"I can't figure it out."
Mei Chengan encouraged him.
"It's okay, just speak up. It doesn't matter whether you say something outrageous or not. It's a brainstorming session. You speak first and we'll use the process of elimination."
"Emm...Okay, I'll try."
Fan Xian thought about it again and said.
"First of all, it should be impossible to convict me officially. The prince has tried this trick before and it didn't work. Then they can only do it to me privately."
Mei Chengan clapped his hands.
"OK, this analysis is very reasonable, very good, keep going."
Fan Xian felt a little embarrassed.
"I didn't say anything. You're exaggerating. You're just trying to please a child."
Mei Chengan clicked his tongue.
"You are a little bit unconfident. How can sincere praise be called exaggeration? I really think your analysis is correct. Come on, keep going."
Fan Xian felt somewhat helpless, and after thinking for a while he continued.
"Even if they want to do it privately, there are only a few ways to do it: close-range assassination, long-range shooting, poisoning, and accidental killing. Of course, a combination of these methods is also possible."
Um... Mei Cheng'an recalled the Niulan Street assassination. Except for the lack of poisoning, the remaining types are all included. You have revealed the truth again, brother.
Mei Chengan applauded immediately.
"Very good, very comprehensive summary, it really enlightens me and broadens my horizons. Keep going, I feel like you are getting closer and closer to the truth."
"..."
Fan Xian had an expression that showed he couldn't stand it.
"This is common sense, can you please stop praising me so forcefully? It's really embarrassing."
Mei Chengan said in surprise.
"Is this common sense? I've embarrassed the people of Qing. If you hadn't told me that, I really wouldn't have known. What I said was all from the bottom of my heart. It's not forced praise. Hey, why are you always entangled in this? We're about to analyze the key point. Can you stop being distracted and continue?"
Fan Xian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he could only continue talking.
"The next thing is the location. The first one is my home, and the second one is someone else's home, such as your place or Wan'er's place.
Before the prince makes his move, for safety reasons, I don’t plan to wander around anywhere else, so I will only appear in these few places, so let’s talk about my home first…”
Mei Chengan interrupted.
"Wait a minute, are these all the locations? Are you sure you didn't overlook any and mentioned them all?"
Fan Xian was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and spread his hands.
"I've said it all. Didn't I say I wouldn't go anywhere else these days?"
Mei Cheng'an said.
"What if, I mean, someone invites you to meet somewhere else? You can't refuse that person, for example, the Second Prince."
"Um...this..."
Fan Xian was a little conflicted. Although he had some conflict with his subordinates when they first met, the Second Prince himself was very nice to him.
The second time in court, the Second Prince took the initiative to make amends for him even when the situation was still unclear. Although it was of no use, he still had to appreciate the favor.
Although he knew that the Second Prince was trying to win him over, it was still difficult for him to feel disgusted with him, and he even felt that he was a good person.
If the second prince invites me, it would be difficult to refuse.
Fan Xian thought about it. "If he invited me, I might go. I'm not trying to take sides, I just want to repay him for speaking for me in court that day.
But even if the Second Prince invites me, there is no need to worry. The Second Prince must be heavily guarded when he travels, and it is unlikely that the Crown Prince wants to kill me there."
Mei Chengan smiled.
"No matter how big or small, list them first. Don't miss any possibility, even if you have to rule it out later."
Fan Xian remained silent.
"Okay, then add it. I'll continue what I just said..."
Mei Chengan interrupted again.
"Don't go on yet. Just continue now that you've finished speaking."
Fan Xian was very depressed.
"That's not all. I won't go to any invitations other than the Second Prince. What else is there?"
Mei Cheng'an said.
"No matter whether you are coming to my place, Lin Wan'er's place, or to meet the Second Prince, you can't teleport there instantly, right? Don't you consider the safety issue on the way?"
Fan Xian cried out in fear.
"I thought you were going to say something. I've thought about this. If it was somewhere else, I might still be worried, but this is Kyoto, the foot of the emperor, and I basically travel during the day, and the streets are full of people. Under the watchful eyes of the public, the prince would not make such a choice if he has any sense."
Mei Chengan glanced at him and said.
"Do you need me to explain to you again what brainstorming is?"
Fan Xian finished his words.
"Okay, okay, I'll join in, okay? Do you have any other ideas? Or why don't you just say them all at once, so you don't have to interrupt me every time I say something. You interrupt me every time I say something, twice, big brother."
Mei Cheng'an's words are concise and to the point.
"continue."
Fan Xian breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank God. Then I will continue. Let me start with my family. My father is a third-rank official. It is unlikely that he would openly attack the residence of a third-rank official. Creating an accident is ruled out, and long-distance shooting is ruled out.
My father has recently strengthened the defense of the mansion, and the possibility of outsiders sneaking in is almost zero, so close-range assassination is ruled out, close-range poisoning is also ruled out, and the results are out, my home is ruled out as the location, is it okay?"
"No problem, go ahead."
"The next one is Wan'er's place. Considering the relationship between the Crown Prince, Wan'er and the Princess, it is unlikely that the Royal Courtyard will be chosen, so this one is ruled out as well. Is that okay?"
"I doubt it, but continue."
"Then there is your place, the residence of the governor of Kyoto. They dare not make trouble even if they are bold enough. Even if I come to your house, I will only come to your yard. With your maids here, no one can stop me. So I don't need to worry about your house."
Mei Chengan smiled.
"Go on."
"The next thing is the possible invitation from the Second Prince. I thought about it again. If I were the Crown Prince, it would be a bit difficult to take action at the Second Prince's banquet, but it seems quite appropriate. It would not only deal with me, but also point the finger directly at the Second Prince. It doesn't make sense, but it will at least cause some trouble for the Second Prince. After all, people's words are scary."
Mei Chengan smiled and nodded.
"One left."
Fan Xian hummed.
"The last one is on the way. By the way, before I talk about this, I want to ask why you feel suspicious about Wan'er."
Mei Cheng'an said.
"Because even though that's Lin Wan'er's residence, there are a lot of people there. The Princess's people, Prime Minister Lin's people, and Lin Gong would visit Lin Wan'er at any time. You can say that you're basically surrounded by people who don't like you."
Fan Xian thought about it.
"That's true! But when I left today, Wan'er caught the princess's man who had falsely passed on the order and caused trouble. She said she would deal with it privately. I think she is very unhappy about this matter. She should clean up the princess's men for a while."
Mei Cheng'an said.
"Ah, in that case, the doubt is lifted. Since Lin Wan'er is on guard, it will be difficult for them to operate."
Fan Xian nodded.
"Speaking of the way, I still hold the same view as before. I don't have a fixed time to go to see Wan'er or you. I am not sure when to go, whether to go, or how to go, let alone the prince.
If you really want to do it, you can only follow me, and there is no way to prepare in advance. Judging from the prince's style of doing things to me in the past, I think this is unlikely."
Mei Cheng'an stretched out his index finger and shook it left and right.
"No, your time is not fixed, but your route is basically fixed. If I were the prince, I would just arrange for people to ambush and wait on your route. As long as the people stalking at your door give a signal, they can take action at any time.
As for the pedestrian issue you're considering, that's easy. It's easy to arrange a car accident on the road you have to pass and cause a conflict to force you to change your route. It's also very easy to ambush someone on the road. Didn't you watch spy dramas before you came here?"
"..."
"Besides, why did you only mention two routes: coming to my place and going to Lin Wan'er's place? Why didn't you mention it, Second Prince?"
Fan Xian was feeling awkward and became unhappy when he heard this.
"Didn't I analyze it before, Second Prince? Did you listen?"
Mei Chengan rolled his eyes.
"You only analyzed the possibility that the Crown Prince would take action in front of the Second Prince. What about on the way?"
Fan Xian was depressed.
"I have nothing to say about the first two routes. I certainly didn't think of the fixed route, but I have to argue with you about the second prince. The time is not fixed, the location is not fixed, and the route is needless to say. How did the prince ambush?"
Mei Cheng'an looked at Fan Xian with disdain.
"You think the Second Prince is inviting you to go out with him, so you can do whatever you want. He should at least notify you one day in advance. Why can't the time and place be fixed?"
……
(End of this chapter)
