Chapter 232 All kinds of charm
One day in late April.
The civil war came to a temporary end, both sides signed a truce, and the Northern Qi delegation entered the capital.
Many scholars in Kyoto heard the news and rushed to the city gate to welcome them in advance. Of course, they were not welcoming the Northern Qi delegation.
It was a member of the delegation, Zhuang Mohan!
Two days later, the Dongyi City delegation also entered the capital.
Mei Cheng'an did not go to receive the delegation, as Wang Sicheng was mainly responsible for it.
One of the two families came to make peace, and the other came to apologize. There is no need to give them a grand reception, as long as they are polite.
Control Yuan.
Chen Pingping's office.
Zhu Ge, the head of the first department, reported to Chen Pingping while turning the hinge to open the skylight on the wall.
"The Northern Qi delegation has already arrived in Beijing, and Zhuang Mohan is among them."
After fastening the lock, Zhu Ge walked towards Chen Pingping, who was tilting his head, squinting his eyes and smiling to welcome the sudden light, and continued.
"Dean, all the scholars in the world respect Zhuang Mohan as their teacher. I'm afraid he came here to influence the pros and cons of the negotiations."
Chen Pingping smiled when he heard that, and softly kneaded his knees with both hands.
"How can we talk? Your Majesty has decided that scholars can't play any role."
Zhuge nodded and said nothing, but did not leave either.
Chen Pingping tilted his head towards him.
"Why, is there anything else?"
Zhu Ge had a worried look on his face. After hesitating for a moment, he squatted down beside Chen Pingping and whispered.
"Dean, there have been undercurrents in the hospital over the past few days. I have heard that many people are eager to disrupt this negotiation."
After hearing this, Chen Pingping thought about it, leaned towards Zhu Ge, rested his arm on the right armrest, and spoke with interest while looking at Zhu Ge squatting in front of him.
"Want to restart the war and pacify Northern Qi in one fell swoop?"
Zhuge nodded.
"Please understand, Dean."
Chen Pingping looked at him and said softly.
"We should investigate what needs to be investigated, deal with what needs to be dealt with, and kill those who need to be killed. The risk of success in one battle is extremely high. Your Majesty should adopt a strategy of nibbling away at the enemy, which is the safest strategy.
The war is over. Those who clamored to capture Northern Qi are all traitors to the country and cannot be refuted."
There was a pause.
"You are in charge of all matters concerning Kyoto, so you should keep a close eye on them."
Zhu Ge hesitated, raised his head and looked into Chen Pingping's eyes and asked.
"What if the person behind this secret plot is a colleague in the hospital?"
Chen Pingping sat up straight, stopped looking at him, and continued hammering his legs.
"This is a matter of state, there is no mercy."
After thinking for a moment, Zhuge stood up and bowed.
"My subordinate understands."
……
In a secluded corridor in the Supervisory Council, Yan Ruohai walked out from a gap on one side, looked left and right, and walked to the left.
"What's the matter? What's the matter with calling me here all of a sudden?"
Zhu Ge, who was standing by the wall with his arms folded and his eyes closed, opened his eyes and looked at Yan Ruohai, then opened his mouth and said.
"The dean needs to find out who among the six departments in Kyoto is aggressively seeking war and intends to disrupt this negotiation."
Yan Ruohai didn't even blink when he heard that.
"That's your business, why are you telling me this?"
Jug looked him in the eyes.
"In recent days, officials from all over the country have held secret meetings and are preparing to submit a joint petition, begging for the cancellation of the negotiations and the destruction of the country in one fell swoop."
Yan Ruohai said casually.
"Oh, that needs to be checked carefully."
Zhu Ge didn't see any panic or nervousness in Yan Ruohai's eyes, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
It's really hard to tell anything from the old friend's expression. If you don't know, you would think this matter has nothing to do with him.
Zhuge was helpless and stopped beating around the bush.
"Last night, people from my Overwatch Council also joined the Ministry of Justice's office, including you."
Yan Ruohai stopped talking, but his expression didn't change much. He just looked at Zhu Ge quietly.
Oh, even after being exposed, you can still remain so calm?
Zhu Ge was somewhat surprised in his heart and looked even more puzzled.
"Do you know what you're doing?"
Yan Ruohai said calmly.
"My son is still in the capital of Northern Qi. The sooner Northern Qi falls, the sooner he can escape the brink of life and death."
"..."
Zhu Ge didn't know what to say about this reason. What else could he say since his father didn't want his son to take any risks?
Thinking of this, Zhuge sighed.
"I haven't told the dean about this yet. Stop it now. There's still time."
Yan Ruohai was unmoved and asked back.
"How many years will it take to conquer Northern Qi?"
Zhuge said after a moment of silence.
"That's not something you and I can decide."
Yan Ruohai said with great righteousness.
"Everything I did was for Qingguo, and my son was just a byproduct."
Zhuge was unhappy when he heard this.
"So do the Dean and I!"
"He's old."
"enough!"
Zhuge glared.
"Don't make me catch you myself!"
Yan Ruohai stopped talking, looked at Zhu Ge quietly twice, then turned and left.
Zhuge looked at his back, the anger in his eyes disappeared, and a trace of confusion flashed across his eyes.
……
Honglu Temple.
Mei Cheng'an was rubbing his fingers, leaning over the desk, studying the latest territorial map.
"Busy Chengan?"
Xin Qiwu's voice suddenly came from the stairs. Mei Cheng'an looked up when he heard it.
"Master Xin? Come up, why are you hiding on the stairs? I'm not busy, I'm looking at a map, what's wrong?"
Xin Qiwu smiled and said "oh", then he walked up the stairs and came close to Mei Chengan.
"There's something I want to talk to you about."
Mei Chengan asked casually.
"Is it business or personal?"
Xin Qiwu tilted his head and thought about it.
"Well... half public and half private."
Mei Cheng'an nodded and glanced at Xiao Hong. Xiao Hong, who had stood up long ago, immediately moved the stool behind him to behind Xin Qiwu.
"Sit down, sir."
After saying that, Xiao Hong bowed to Mei Cheng'an.
"My Lord, I will go collect today's briefing."
Mei Chengan hummed.
"Go."
Xiao Hong also bowed to Xin Qiwu and went downstairs immediately.
Xin Qiwu watched him leave with a smile.
Mei Cheng'an glanced at the back of his head.
"Lord Xin? What are you looking at? Sit down."
Xin Qiwu turned around and looked at him in a daze for a moment, then looked embarrassed when he came to his senses.
"Oh no."
As he spoke, he looked down, dragged the low chair forward and sat down.
"That's the thing, Cheng'an, um..."
As he said this, his expression suddenly showed embarrassment.
"Look, I don't know how to start talking right now."
Mei Cheng'an smiled, took two teacups from the tray beside the table and put them on the table, picked up the teapot and poured tea, then picked up a cup and placed it in front of Xin Qiwu.
"No hurry, have a cup of tea first and talk slowly."
Xin Qiwu smiled and said "hmm", picked up the teacup and took a sip, his eyes showing thought, and put the teacup down after a moment.
"That's right. The Northern Qi delegation has arrived in Beijing. Next, our Honglu Temple will be responsible for negotiating with them."
Mei Cheng'an took a sip of tea, held the cup and looked at him quietly, waiting for his next words.
"Originally, according to official positions, I am the one who receives the official historian during this negotiation, and you are the one who receives the deputy historian, but..."
Mei Cheng'an raised his eyebrows. He already knew what he was going to say, but he didn't show it on his face.
"But during the morning court session, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Lin somehow joined forces to recommend Fan Xian, the Assistant Law Officer of the Imperial Household Department, as the Deputy Receptionist for this negotiation.
The most important thing is that His Majesty agreed on the spot, and the decree has been sent to our Honglu Temple, so...
Hey, Cheng'an, let me make it clear first, I had no knowledge of this matter beforehand. If I had known about it earlier, I would have definitely told you in advance.
What is our relationship, don’t you think?
I just heard about this during the morning court session, and I didn't expect His Majesty to agree on the spot. Look at what a fuss this has caused."
Mei Chengan said lightly, "Oh."
"Does that mean I don't have to participate in the negotiations?"
Xin Qiwu waved his hands quickly.
"No, no, we are still participating in the negotiations as normal, but the identity of the person receiving the deputy historian..."
Mei Chengan took over the conversation.
"But the role of the deputy historian in charge of reception will belong to Fan Xian, and all the fame and credit afterwards will also belong to him."
"Uh...yes."
Xin Qiwu replied embarrassedly and asked nervously.
"Cheng'an, you...are you not unhappy?"
Mei Chengan said expressionlessly.
"What's the use of me being unhappy? The decree has been issued."
"this…"
Faced with this seemingly plain but actually full of resentment sentence, Xin Qiwu was a little unsure of how to respond for a moment.
Or I don’t know how to comfort you.
In this negotiation with the Northern Qi delegation, they were the victorious party, so they naturally had a huge advantage and were almost invincible.
It can be said that half of their bodies are already lying on the credit book, and they can really earn credit even if they are lying down.
Just as the negotiations were about to begin and the credit was about to be won, the position was snatched away by someone else. The cooked duck flew away.
Anyone would feel uncomfortable. If it were him, he would also feel resentful, even more than Mei Chengan. After all, it is not easy to wait for such an opportunity.
So he understood Mei Chengan very well and wanted to comfort him. After all, they were colleagues and had always had a good relationship.
However, his identity and position were somewhat awkward. It was the prince who stole the credit from Mei Chengan, and he was the prince's disciple, otherwise he would not be so embarrassed.
Just when he was still struggling over what to say, Mei Chengan sitting opposite him suddenly laughed.
"Pfft, I was just teasing you, Master Xin. I'm not unhappy and I don't have any complaints. You don't have to comfort me. Look at what's bothering you."
Xin Qiwu was stunned for a moment when he heard this.
"Are you serious about what Cheng'an said?"
Mei Chengan smiled.
"How could this be false? First of all, I am not that keen on taking credit.
Otherwise, he would not have given the Dianke Office to Wang Sicheng and accepted the MC Office. Has Lord Xin forgotten about this?"
Xin Qiwu thought about it and a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.
Mei Chengan continued with a smile.
"Secondly, I have a good relationship with the Crown Prince, and Fan Xian is my good friend, so Lord Xin doesn't need to worry about me being upset.
In the end, since His Majesty has issued an order, we, as subjects, should obey. It is not our place to harbor resentment. What do you think, Lord Xin?"
"Yes, yes, Cheng'an, there is nothing wrong with what you said."
After replying subconsciously, Xin Qiwu felt relieved.
"Huh~ Hearing you say that, I feel relieved. I feel relieved.
To be honest, the resentment in your words just now really worried me, but luckily it was a false alarm.
You too, why are you teasing me for no reason, you're annoying!"
As he said this, Xin Qiwu gave Mei Chengan a coquettish look.
……
Chapter 2: A Little Later
(End of this chapter)
