Chapter 224 You are modest
"The next place we are going to is Concubine Shu's place. Concubine Shu is the biological mother of the Second Prince."
The three of them walked side by side. Fan Ruoruo, who was walking on the far right, took the initiative to speak after hearing Fan Xian ask Eunuch Hou where to go next.
When Fan Xian, who was walking in the middle, heard this, he immediately became interested and nudged Mei Chengan with his shoulder.
"Hey, it's the second child's mother."
Mei Chengan glanced at him indifferently.
"Yes, that's it. Why are you so excited?"
Fan Xian hissed and turned his head to glance at him.
"The second brother is so free and interesting, aren't you curious about what kind of person his mother is?"
Mei Chengan said calmly, "I knew it a long time ago, there's no need to be curious,"
"What's there to be curious about? You'll see it later."
"..."
Fan Xian was speechless for a moment.
Fan Ruoruo on the side spoke again.
"Shu Guifei is quiet and likes reading. Among the ladies, Shu Guifei is the most strict, but she is also the one I trust the most."
Fan Xian, who was listening carefully, didn't quite understand her last sentence.
"Don't worry? Don't worry about what."
Fan Ruoruo smiled.
"Brother and Brother Mei will definitely have an easy time with her."
Mei Cheng'an raised the corner of his mouth when he heard this, and a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes. You are still a little young, girl.
Fan Xian didn't react for a moment.
"Why?"
Fan Ruoruo first glanced in the direction of Mei Chengan, then looked at Fan Xian and smiled.
"Because both of my brothers are talented people."
Upon hearing this, Fan Xian looked at Mei Cheng'an.
"Are you a great talent?"
Mei Chengan smiled and shook his head.
"I'm not, are you?"
Fan Xian also shook his head.
"Neither am I. It looks like this is going to be difficult for us to pass."
Fan Ruoruo chuckled and gently hit Fan Xian's shoulder.
"Stop it, bro."
Eunuch Hou, who was standing in front of him, also smiled and half turned his head to say so.
"You two young masters really love to joke around."
Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an looked at each other, one spread his hands and the other shrugged, and after feeling helpless, they both laughed.
……
After they arrived at Concubine Shu's bedroom, they were not taken to the main hall, but to a side hall that looked like a study.
The main person, Concubine Shu, did not show up immediately. After Eunuch Hou arranged for a few people to sit down, he got up and left.
Fan Xian looked around curiously at the dozens of three-layer bookshelves that were one meter wide and two meters high and were filled with books. He clicked his tongue twice and said.
"You really deserve to be called Concubine Shu (Book)! You have so many books."
Fan Ruoruo thought about it, nodded and smiled secretly.
Mei Chengan gave him a blank look while holding the teacup.
"Brother, can you speak louder? Are you afraid that others can't hear your bad homophonic jokes?"
Fan Xian didn't take it seriously and waved his hand casually.
"Oh, it's okay, it's okay if you understand. It's not derogatory. Speaking of which, I'm a little curious about what kind of books this Imperial Concubine Shu usually reads. I'll go take a look first."
After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the bookshelf on the side.
Fan Ruoruo was startled and reached out to stop him.
"Hey brother, don't mess around..."
Before he could finish his words, Mei Chengan stretched out his hand and pressed down.
Fan Xian turned around and looked at the two of them, smiled, then turned around and went into the bookshelf.
Mei Cheng'an took a sip of tea, put down the cup and said softly.
"You can read it, but don't mess up the positions. Many book owners don't like this. Remember to put it back neatly where you took it from, so that no one can see the traces."
Fan Xian's response came from the bookshelf.
"Know it."
Fan Ruoruo asked with some concern.
"It would be inappropriate if Concubine Shu saw us."
Mei Cheng'an drank up the tea in the cup, turned the cup upside down, and then answered her question.
"Don't worry, Eunuch Hou will come to inform you before Concubine Shu arrives."
Fan Ruoruo suddenly realized, felt relieved and said no more.
After sitting in meditation for a while, Eunuch Hou came back.
When he walked to the tea table, he saw that only Mei Cheng'an and Fan Ruoruo were left. Fan Xian's seat was empty. Eunuch Hou exclaimed, looked around, and asked the two of them.
"Where is Master Fan?"
Fan Ruoruo pointed to the bookshelf on the side where Fan Xian entered.
"There it is."
Eunuch Hou turned around and looked over there. After vaguely seeing Fan Xian through the bookshelf, he spoke.
"Master Fan, please come back and sit down quickly. Concubine Shu will be here soon."
"I know, I know."
As a voice was heard, Fan Xian walked out of the bookshelf, flipping through a book, and walked towards the few people.
When Fan Ruoruo saw that he was still holding the book in his hand, she suddenly became anxious thinking of Mei Chengan's words.
"Brother, why did you take out the book? It won't be good if Concubine Shu sees it. Put it back."
Eunuch Hou agreed. "Miss Ruoruo has a point."
Seeing both of them say this, Fan Xian came to his senses and remembered his fellow villager's previous instructions, and looked at him guiltily.
Mei Cheng'an didn't expect that this guy still took it out after he specifically reminded him. He was really speechless and didn't bother to talk nonsense with him and just got straight to the point.
"Do you remember where you took it from?"
Fan Xian was stunned when he heard this and turned to look at the bookshelf. He was reading a book when he came out and his attention was all on the book.
As for which specific location...
"Um... I roughly remember it."
Mei Chengan rolled his eyes, looked at the confused look in this guy's eyes, and said unhappily, "I remember nothing."
"Forget it. I can tell from the looks of it that you're unreliable. Don't put it back. You'll put it in the wrong place again. Concubine Shu must know the exact location. Let her put it back herself when the time comes."
Fan Ruoruo said.
"What if Concubine Shu doesn't like others touching her books? Wouldn't that make her have a bad impression of me?"
Mei Cheng'an said.
"The wrong location makes a worse impression. A bad impression in person can be resolved, but a bad impression afterward will become a fixed impression."
Fan Ruoruo thought about it, felt that it made sense, and said no more.
Fan Xian knelt down and placed the book upside down on the table.
"There are so many books here. Can Concubine Shu remember the location of each book? Why do I not believe it? What kind of horrible memory does this require?"
Mei Cheng'an had been the master of the Qilin Palace, and he knew very well that this matter actually had little to do with memory. It was simply a matter of practice makes perfect, with the help of many different memory anchor points.
It was a bit troublesome to explain, so Mei Chengan was too lazy to waste time and spoke.
"You'll find out later."
As he spoke, Mei Chengan's ears suddenly moved, so he added another sentence.
"coming."
As soon as he finished speaking, a beautiful woman in plain and elegant palace clothes appeared at the door, followed by a female official and two maids.
Everyone turned their heads to look, and saw that she had a pretty face, with her hair in a high bun and a golden headband wrapped around it in a graceful arc.
Apart from this, there are no other accessories, which complement her pure white and elegant palace dress. This person is none other than Concubine Shu.
Mei Cheng'an and the other two quickly stood up, stood aside, and waited quietly.
Concubine Shu walked into the hall holding a book in both hands, but her eyes were always on the book and she didn't pay attention to anyone else.
Upon seeing this, Eunuch Hou bowed and reminded.
"Greetings to Concubine Shu, Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an have arrived."
Concubine Shu did not stop walking or moving her eyes, and she uttered "oh" softly, her voice was unspeakably soft.
When she walked past the three men, they all bowed in unison, but Concubine Shu didn't even look at them.
Mei Cheng'an was very calm, but Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what was going on.
It was not until they were about to walk into the bookshelf in front that Concubine Shu seemed to have just realized that she still had a reception task today. She stopped and turned back to look at the three people.
The three of them had no choice but to bow again. Looking at the three people, Shu Guifei did not say anything. She walked back to the three people and knelt down on her own.
She raised her clear big eyes and looked at the three people for a moment. Seeing that they were still standing still, Concubine Shu showed a trace of embarrassment. She just remembered that if she didn't speak, they wouldn't dare to sit down, so she said softly.
"Ah, sit down."
Even though Mei Cheng'an had seen this scene before, he still almost laughed at Concubine Shu's cute look when he saw it with his own eyes.
Pinching his thigh and holding back his smile, Mei Chengan knelt down obediently.
Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo looked at each other and sat down obediently.
Concubine Shu glanced casually at the table, was stunned for a moment when she saw her own book, then closed the book in her hand and put it down.
He reached out and picked up the book that Fan Xian had placed on the table. After glancing at the cover, he looked up at Fan Xian.
Fan Xian felt a little embarrassed being stared at and gave a wry smile.
Concubine Shu looked unhappy but too embarrassed to say anything. She lowered her eyes and gave instructions softly.
"Put this book on the second shelf on the left."
The female official who came in with her immediately responded, stepped forward, took the book and put it over. The location was exactly where Fan Xian had been before he came out.
Mei Cheng'an curled the corners of his mouth and glanced at Fan Xian calmly, and Fan Xian just happened to look at him with eyes wide open in surprise.
Fan Xian first gave him a look that said, "Shit, she really remembers this."
Mei Chengan replied with a look that said, "Now I've seen what you mean."
Fan Xian passed on another one, it’s so magical, how did he do that?
This time Mei Cheng'an did not respond and sat upright again, because he noticed that Concubine Shu's eyes were fixed on Fan Xian again.
Fan Xian sensed something was wrong and glanced towards Concubine Shu. Seeing that Concubine Shu was staring at him again, he suddenly felt sweaty.
His palms were almost sweating from staring at her, and Concubine Shu finally spoke.
"You wrote a good poem. I am always a guest in the sad autumn."
Fan Xian was stunned for a moment, thinking that someone was going to hold him accountable, but why was the topic suddenly brought up as poetry? He came to his senses and responded hastily.
"Uh, ah, Your Majesty, your compliment is too great."
Concubine Shu said quietly.
"But I personally don't like it very much. This poem is very sad and makes people feel sad."
"..."
Concubine Shu hadn't finished her words yet.
"What I like more is his poem about tea. There are magical herbs in the world, and tea is the most precious of plants. Drying herbs in the bamboo room is warm, and pounding tea in the pine yard is deep. Strong tea can soothe strong liquor, and light tea can nourish the spirit. I have no reason to hold a bowl of this, so I send it to tea lovers."
As she spoke, Concubine Shu looked at Mei Cheng'an.
"This poem tells the true meaning of tea. I like it very much."
Mei Chengan nodded slightly.
"I am honored that my humble work as a child has been favored by the Imperial Concubine."
Concubine Shu said seriously.
"You're too humble."
……
(End of this chapter)
