Chapter 248 Just Watch
"Why didn't you let me mention you just now?"
After leaving the negotiation hall, Fan Xian asked curiously.
Mei Chengan glanced at him.
"What do you think? They are just trying to curry favor with you, why would they mention me?
Not only is it embarrassing, but it's also forcing people to express their opinions.
Besides, I have been his colleague for several years, so there is no need for that, he knows what is going on.”
Fan Xian tasted it and suddenly realized.
"So that's how it is. I understand. Hey, the social etiquette in the officialdom is so complicated and it's easy to step on landmines if you're not careful."
Mei Chengan smiled when he heard this.
"This is not social etiquette, it's just some small details of how people get along with each other, try to make people feel comfortable, it's good for both people and yourself.
Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore. I see you’ve been feeling miserable all day, go back and have a rest early.”
Fan Xian adjusted his official hat and hummed.
“You know what, after a day, I seem to have gotten used to this official uniform, and it’s not as uncomfortable as it was this morning.
But this official uniform is thick and heavy, and it’s hot, so I’m sweating all over and feeling sticky all over. I have to go home and change quickly.”
As he spoke, Fan Xian couldn't help but quicken his pace.
Mei Chengan smiled and quickened his pace to catch up.
After leaving the Honglu Temple, Teng Zijing and Wang Qinian were already waiting outside in their own carriages.
Seeing the two men coming out, they both jumped off the carriage and moved the horse stools in unison, their movements quite coordinated.
Fan Xian greeted Wang Qinian, and Mei Cheng'an nodded to Teng Zijing, then they got into their respective cars and went back to their respective homes.
Speechless all the way.
After returning to the courtyard, Mei Cheng'an first washed and changed his clothes, then chatted with Wang Qinian for a while. After he left, he went back to the room and wrote a letter to his wife.
There were a lot of interesting things in today's negotiations, and he wanted to share them with his wife, Roujia.
It was already the end of the You hour when I finished writing the letter. It was not yet dark, but it would soon be. The sun had already set in the blink of an eye.
The bluebird and the green ant haven't come back yet, so the job of delivering the letter is given to the cucumber. Sweet potato is washing clothes.
While eating the cucumber and candied haws he bought for him on the way back from delivering the letter, Mei Cheng'an quietly listened to Yingzi, his two beloved disciples who had just returned home, talking about today's training content.
Spitting out the seeds with a "puff", Mei Cheng'an asked the two girls in surprise.
"Dancing? Training your endurance. Hidden weapons are fine, they can be used in assassinations. What's the point of dancing? Let you pretend to be dancers and assassinate me in person? Do you have to learn the methods of low-level assassins?"
Green Ant Road.
"No, no, Master, you misunderstood. The teacher said that practicing dancing can improve the body's flexibility, which is necessary for hiding."
Bluebird echoed.
"That's right, sir."
Mei Chengan thought about it.
"Are you two the only ones learning? Who's teaching you?"
After a pause, Mei Chengan's face looked a little strange.
"Will Shadow teach you personally?"
A shadow in a black robe suddenly appeared in his mind, posing and dancing erotically. Mei Chengan felt a chill.
Bluebird Road.
"It wasn't the teacher who taught us. He just sent us there and left. The one who taught us was a female senior. She taught more than just the two of us. There were more than a dozen people in total."
Mei Cheng'an let out an "oh" and felt relieved, thinking that Yingzi, as a teacher, still had some moral integrity.
"Okay, you two have been tired all day, go back and wash up and change your clothes, it's time for dinner."
"Yes, Master."
……
After eating a bunch of hawthorns before the meal, Mei Chengan had a great appetite after the meal and ate an extra bowl of rice.
After dinner, the family chatted for a while, and then Mei Cheng'an was called to the study by Mei Zhili.
"Play chess with me."
"Okay dad."
The father and son sat opposite each other without guessing who would go first. Mei Zhili chose the black chess piece first and threw the white chess piece to his son.
Mei Cheng'an's mouth twitched, and he took the white piece without saying anything more.
Heizi moved first, and the two took turns moving.
"Did the negotiations go smoothly?"
Mei Zhili asked casually.
Mei Cheng'an filled in a white piece.
"There was a little accident, but overall, it's not a big problem. We can probably settle it in two days."
Mei Zhili nodded without asking any more questions. He didn't care what kind of accident had happened. He only cared whether things related to his son's future went smoothly. Since his son said there was no problem, he was relieved.
The father and son played a game of chess for a full hour. It was not because the game was too tense, but because Mei Zhili frequently regretted his moves.
Mei Cheng'an had long been accustomed to his father's habit, so he remained calm and patient, and finally achieved victory.
Amidst his father's constant criticism of him as a rebellious and unfilial son, Mei Chengan returned to his own courtyard contentedly.
Silent all night.
On the second day of May, negotiations between the two countries officially began.
The negotiation team of the Honglu Temple firmly implemented the established policy and did not give the Northern Qi delegation any opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
During the negotiation process, both sides used a series of high-end negotiation skills including face-to-face taunting, tearing, throwing things, yelling, spitting at each other, and wrestling.
After two days of haggling, the two sides finally reached a conclusion and an agreement before the hour of You on the third day of May, and the Qing Kingdom won a great victory!
At the moment the white paper was signed, the two sides, who were originally on the verge of a war, immediately restored their friendship, apologized to each other, and said that they had no choice.
After seeing off the Northern Qi delegation, Xin Qiwu immediately wrote a memorial and sent it to the palace.
Imperial Palace, terrace of the Imperial Study.
Emperor Qing, who was sitting upright reading a book, threw the book on the table, looked up at the sky and took a breath. He was worried about the negotiations and could not calm down.
Just as he was thinking about it, Eunuch Hou came to the terrace with something in his hand and came in front of Emperor Qing.
Emperor Qing immediately looked at him with anticipation in his eyes.
Eunuch Hou immediately knelt down and began to report.
"Your Majesty, the Honglu Temple has already reached an agreement with the Northern Qi delegation. The Dongyi delegation has also handed over all the gifts and is preparing to leave the capital."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing stood up immediately, walked to him anxiously, picked up the memorial from the tray and started reading it.
Looking at the negotiation results described in detail by the Honglu Temple, Emperor Qing laughed, obviously very satisfied.
"Although there have been some setbacks, the Honglu Temple has been doing its job very carefully."
After closing the memorial and throwing it back on the tray, Emperor Qing said in high spirits.
"Issue an order to hold a banquet in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests tomorrow, for the emperor and his subjects to celebrate together!"
"Yes!"
Eunuch Hou immediately stood up and turned to leave.
"Hey, wait."
Emperor Qing had a new idea, so he stopped him and walked up to him and said with interest, "Let the Northern Qi and Dongyi envoys sit with you! Go!"
"I understand, I will do it!"
Eunuch Hou bowed and withdrew.
Emperor Qing watched him leave with a smile, then after watching for a moment he grabbed his belt, turned around and walked towards the terrace with a relaxed look.
Looking at the same scenery again at this time, my mood is very different, how wonderful!
……
A quarter of an hour later.
Honglu Temple.
Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an walked out side by side.
"Have you ever attended such a high-level banquet before?"
Mei Chengan shook his head.
"the first time."
Fan Xian thought about it and asked again.
“Has it been held before?”
Mei Chengan still said the same thing.
"the first time."
Fan Xian clicked his tongue twice.
"I caught up with him. You know what, I'm really looking forward to it. Oh, by the way, are you going to the dinner party organized by Lord Xin later? They say the Northern Qi delegation is coming as well."
Mei Chengan thought for a while and said.
"Of course I'll show up and toast, since the venue I chose is the Mei's Canteen. But I don't plan to stay long. I don't really like this kind of social occasions."
Fan Xian nodded.
"Then remember to call me when you leave. At least you still have some acquaintances. The only ones I know are you and Xin Qiwu."
Mei Chengan agreed readily.
"it is good."
Fan Xian waved to Wang Qinian.
"OK, go home and change your clothes first, and we'll see you in the Mei's cafeteria later."
Mei Chengan nodded.
"You know which one this is, don't go to the wrong one."
Fan Xian waved his hand and got on the carriage.
"I know, I know. It's the one in front of the door. I can't be wrong. Don't worry. Let's go."
After watching the Fan family's carriage leave, Mei Cheng'an also got on the carriage and rushed home.
"Master, are you and Master Xiao Fan going to have dinner later?"
Wang Qinian, who had overheard on the way, asked curiously.
Mei Cheng'an, who was resting with his eyes closed, hummed and spoke concisely.
"The negotiations are over, Xin Qiwu will treat you."
Wang Qinian said again.
"Then can I go in and have some? My wife and daughter haven't had the barbecue in our Mei's canteen for a long time."
Mei Cheng'an rolled his eyes and said unhappily when he heard that.
"What the hell, it's embarrassing enough to be caught, just order whatever you want to eat, I'll pay.
Hey, Lao Wang, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but what did you do with all that money? You can't even afford to buy some pork belly skewers for your sister-in-law?"
Wang Qinian smiled happily after hearing the first half of the sentence, but the smile disappeared after hearing the second half and he spoke seriously.
"My wife won't give me any money if I apply for it normally. I can't buy it with my own money! If I buy it, it will reveal that I have private money, and my wife will kill me!"
"..."
"After you buy it, you can just say you borrowed it from me, right?"
"..."
"No, that's too expensive."
"..."
"I'll scratch you to death!"
"hey-hey."
……
Control Yuan.
Chamber.
"Tomorrow night's banquet will be held. All officials will gather, including the Northern Qi courtiers and the Dongyi envoys. It will be a grand occasion!"
Chen Pingping in the wheelchair said slowly.
Yan Ruohai, who was standing behind him, thought for a moment and then walked towards the stairs to sit while speaking.
"Where's Zhuang Mohan?"
Zhu Ge, who had been sitting nearby, was stunned when he heard this.
"Who?"
Yan Ruohai walked to his seat but didn't rush to sit down. He turned around and looked at Zhu Ge.
"I mean Zhuang Mohan, he doesn't seem to be involved in the negotiations."
Zhuge nodded.
"Indeed, he disappeared once after entering Kyoto. After that, he just sat quietly in his room reading a book. He didn't do anything else."
"That's weird. A great master of literature came all the way to Kyoto, but ended up doing nothing but having a banquet tomorrow?"
Zhu Ge seemed to be thinking about what he said.
Chen Pingping smiled.
"If anything were to happen at the banquet tomorrow, everyone would know about it in a flash."
Zhuge couldn't sit still anymore, so he stood up and walked to him.
"The dean means that Zhuang Mohan will make some moves at the banquet tomorrow night?"
"If you have any plans, you must do it tomorrow night!"
Zhuge asked immediately.
"So what should we do?"
Chen Pingping adjusted his posture and spoke casually.
"You don't have to do anything, just watch."
……
(End of this chapter)
