Chapter 226 Don’t Be So Serious
Eunuch Hou also nodded heavily.
"Ok!"
Fan Xian shouted again.
"I really heard it this time! How dare you two speak ill of others behind their backs? If you have the guts, say it to my face."
Mei Cheng'an glanced back at him and shouted back.
"How can someone who can be bad-mouthed by the two of us behind his back be a good person? I suggest you reflect on yourself first."
Eunuch Hou excitedly stood in front of him, blocking Fan Xian's view, secretly gave Mei Cheng'an a thumbs up, and whispered.
"Well said! It's so satisfying!"
Fan Xian, who was standing behind him, was very upset when he heard this.
Now no one on the cricket's side carries anyone on his back?
And let the victims of crickets reflect on themselves?
How absurd! How arrogant!
Where is the law of the land? Where is justice?
……
The palace where Ning Cairen lived was slightly smaller than the previous two.
main hall.
Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian stood side by side, quietly watching Ning Cairen practicing martial arts with a sword in hand.
To be honest, when I practiced Tai Chi sword with the old men and women in the park, my movements were slow, and there was no intention or even form.
After the dance, Ning Cairen struck an ending pose. Mei Chengan smiled and took the initiative to applaud. Fan Xian and his sister, as well as Eunuch Hou, quickly followed.
Following the thunderous applause, Ning Cairen let out a long sigh, retracted her stance, and put the sword into the hands of the maid who took the initiative to step forward.
She took a handkerchief from another maid and symbolically wiped her forehead.
After completing the whole process, Ning Cairen suddenly turned around and looked at Mei Chengan and Fan Xian. After taking a glance, he took a few steps forward.
"Which one of you is Fan Xian?"
Mei Cheng'an glanced at Fan Xian, and Fan Xian took the initiative to salute.
"Your Majesty, this humble servant is Fan Xian."
Ning Cairen hummed, looked him up and down, then turned his head to look at his side.
"So you are Mei Cheng'an?"
Mei Cheng'an bowed and saluted.
"Yes."
Ning Cairen looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly stepped forward, pinched Mei Chengan's shoulder, and hummed.
"You look thin, but your arms are broad and strong. I heard that you are a great poet. As a writer, this is pretty good."
Mei Chengan smiled shyly and bowed.
"Thank you for your praise, Madam."
Ning Cairen snorted and waved her hand.
"What are you thanking me for? I'm just telling you the truth. Roujia is a lively girl, and she's a perfect match for a scholar like you who's not too weak. It's a perfect balance. Well, not bad. I'm quite satisfied with you."
Mei Chengan was pleased with this positioning and nodded in agreement with a smile.
Fan Xian, who was standing aside, didn't show it on his face, but he was actually complaining madly in his heart.
Literati? What a bullshit literati, a weak scholar, stop it, the silver needle is more than ten feet away, and it will fly wherever he points. He is weak? It's so funny!
He was just complaining when Ning Cairen suddenly looked at him, which made him realize that he had no time to complain anymore and just waited for the interrogation.
"Although you look stronger than him, it's still limited. Have you ever practiced martial arts?"
Fan Xian nodded and answered honestly.
"My lady, I have been practicing martial arts since I was young."
Ning Cairen looked him up and down.
"Practicing martial arts since childhood? Doesn't look like it. What's your rank?"
"It's almost less than the eighth rank."
Ning Cairen was very surprised when he heard this.
"How old are you? How can you have a strength close to the eighth rank? Why don't I believe it?"
"Forehead…"
Fan Xian didn't know how to prove it for a moment. He couldn't just fight with Ning Cairen.
At this time, Eunuch Hou, who was standing behind, spoke.
"Your Majesty, Master Fan once fought against the commander of the Palace of Palace Rules and never lost."
Ning Cairen looked at Eunuch Hou in surprise.
"Gong Dian? He is an upper eighth rank expert."
As he spoke, he looked at Fan Xian and sized him up, his eyes full of suspicion.
"Just you? Even if you really have a strength close to the eighth rank, you shouldn't be a match for Gong Dian."
Fan Xian smiled.
"Your Majesty is right. Commander Gong just responded hastily with a palm strike. In addition, my inner energy is somewhat special, so I was able to fight back. In terms of true strength, I am naturally far from being a match for Commander Gong."
Ning Cairen suddenly realized.
"That makes sense, but even so, it's still shocking that you have such strength at such a young age, um..."
As he spoke, Ning Cairen came forward and looked him up and down, pinching his shoulders and arms. Finally, he walked up to him and took a look at his face, his tone sounding a little incredulous.
"With your strength, how can you still be so thin? Maybe you don't eat well at home. Your arms are too thin!"
"..."
Fan Xian looked down at his arm and scratched his head in confusion.
"No, no."
Ning Cairen shook his head, took a step back and looked him over.
"You should be stronger and more rugged, grow a beard or something, in short, not like you are now."
"..."
Ning Cairen thought about it and waved his hand.
"Forget it, since Wan'er likes it, let's just leave it like this."
After saying that, he turned around to leave.
Fan Xian was confused.
"Is this the end?"
Compared with the previous two, this one is too sloppy.
Upon hearing this, Ning Cairen turned halfway and then turned back, laughing in silence.
"Yes, today we are just taking a look at you two. Whether we are satisfied or not is up to Wan'er and Roujia to decide. What, do you have anything else to do?" Fan Xian couldn't help himself for a moment. In fact, he regretted it as soon as he finished speaking. It is of course a good thing to be able to pass the test easily. It is completely unnecessary to say this.
"That's all. Your Majesty is still very insightful."
Ning Cairen looked at the two of them again and waved his hand.
"Okay, you go down."
Without waiting for Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian to leave, Eunuch Hou at the back couldn't help it. He first said "oh" to attract Concubine Ning's attention, then took small steps forward and bowed.
"Reporting to Lady Ning, the Queen Mother wants to see Master Fan and Master Mei after lunch, um..."
Ning Cairen raised her eyebrows and looked at Eunuch Hou.
"Yes, I didn't stop you. What's the point of telling me this?"
Seeing that Lady Ning didn't understand what he meant, Eunuch Hou found it difficult to speak. This thing can only be understood but not expressed in words.
It was a bit too embarrassing to ask for a free meal in public, so Eunuch Hou could only smile and stammer.
"Uh, no, it's after lunch! Look, it's already this time, uh..."
Ning Cairen frowned and thought for a moment before suddenly realizing something. He pointed at Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian and shook his fingers up and down.
"Ohhhh~ So you guys are here to eat!"
Mei Chengan: “…”
That’s ok, it’s good enough that I didn’t end up begging for food!
Fan Xian waved his hands frantically and performed three consecutive moves.
"I'm not without you, don't... um..."
……
The place for lunch did not change. Under the arrangement of Ning Cairen, several people sat down at a square table slightly inside the main hall.
It goes without saying that Ning Ziren sat in the main seat, Fan Ruoruo sat on the left, and Mei Chengan and Fan Xian sat on the right.
Dishes were being served one after another on the square table, which was neither too big nor too small. The first ones served were braised pork, stir-fried vegetables, fried lotus root boxes, milk tofu, shredded potatoes, and finally a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, completing the meal.
After the maids serving the dishes left, Concubine Ning greeted Eunuch Hou.
"Hey, sit down too, don't stand."
Eunuch Hou bowed.
"I don't dare, old slave."
Ningcai is a human being.
“I don’t have those rules here.”
Eunuch Hou looked embarrassed.
"There is a difference between the noble and the humble. This old slave really doesn't dare."
Ning Cairen looked speechless and was too lazy to persuade her anymore.
"whatever."
Eunuch Hou smiled and lowered his body.
Ning Cairen swept his eyes across the three people's faces, finally settling on Fan Ruoruo's face, and smiled.
"I've heard that the Fan family has a daughter who is both talented and beautiful. Is she married?"
The smile on Fan Ruoruo's face froze for a moment, and she replied.
"Not yet."
Ning Cairen's smile deepened.
"I have a son who is quite straightforward. Would you like to meet him when he returns to Beijing?"
"what?"
Fan Ruoruo was dumbfounded.
Fan Xian, who had not taken it seriously at first, immediately widened his eyes upon hearing this. He first looked at Ning Cairen in surprise, and then at his sister.
Mei Cheng'an smiled when he heard this, and thinking about the eldest prince, he still felt that he was a better match for the cute and adorable Princess of Northern Qi.
However, it is understandable that Ning Cairen, as a mother, is concerned about her son's marriage. All mothers in the world are the same.
Fan Ruoruo replied in a panic.
"I, I don't want to get married yet!"
Ning Cairen was not disappointed. She laughed twice and said.
"Why are you so nervous? I'm not forcing you. Come on, everyone, start eating."
Mei Cheng'an picked up the chopsticks for a moment, and his peripheral vision was always paying attention to Ning Cai's actions, and a line of words emerged in his mind.
Warning! Warning! High energy ahead!
Sure enough, when Ning Cairen was about to scoop out the milk tofu with a spoon, he glanced at the table and felt something was wrong. He raised his head and shouted outside.
"Hey, where's the staple food? Serve the staple food!"
Hearing this, Mei Chengan felt instantly comfortable.
After all, they had just talked, and Fan Ruoruo thought that Ning Cairen was asking for it for her, so she smiled at Ning Cairen and spoke politely.
"My lady, I don't need staple food."
Ning Cairen glanced at her and explained as she reached out to scoop out the milk tofu.
"Ah, I asked for it for your brother and Mei Cheng'an."
As soon as he finished speaking, two maids came up with rice.
One of them was seen holding a normal-sized bowl of rice.
The other person was amazing. The rice he was holding was more like a basin than the bowl next to it, and it was overflowing. It felt like the rice would fall out if he put one more grain of rice in it.
Fan Xian and Fan Ruoruo were not surprised. It was reasonable for several people to share a bowl of rice. However, they did not know what the separate small bowl meant.
It was not until Ning Cairen gave orders that the two were completely stunned.
Ning Cairen commanded.
"The small bowl is for Mei Chengan, the one outside. The big bowl is for Fan Xian, the one inside."
Fan Xian stared in amazement at the large bowl of rice in front of him, and Fan Ruoruo also stared with her eyes wide open in amazement.
Fan Xian pointed at himself, looked at Ning Cairen and asked stutteringly.
"If I heard you correctly, you mean I should eat this... bowl of rice alone?"
Ning Cairen looked at him.
"Yes, hey, don't be so reserved. You are a martial artist, so you must eat well! Eat, and add more if you're not satisfied."
"..."
……
(End of this chapter)
