Chapter 266: Explosive One Plus One
"Oh, it feels so good to stand on the moral high ground and condemn others!"
Fan Xian looked up at the sky and shook his head.
Mei Cheng'an rolled his eyes and gave him a middle finger.
The time for a cup of tea passes quickly.
inside the house.
The locksmith held up two keys that looked identical in appearance and moved his left hand towards Fan Xian.
"This is a fake!"
Move your right hand.
“This is the real thing!”
Mei Cheng'an hissed, took the fake from his hand and took a closer look at it.
"Don't tell me, not only are the appearances the same, but the feel is only slightly different. Your technique is pretty good."
The locksmith smiled complacently.
"That's right, this is my specialty!"
Mei Cheng'an handed the fake key to Fan Xian and gave the locksmith a thumbs up.
Fan Xian touched the two keys. The fake one felt a little rough and not as smooth as the real one.
It seems that it is just because the time is too short, otherwise the locksmith would probably be able to achieve a one-to-one replica.
After figuring out what was going on, Fan Xian put the two keys into his waist, thanked the locksmith, and then looked at his fellow villager.
"I'll leave this to you. I'll go return the key first."
Mei Cheng'an did not refuse and nodded.
"Go ahead."
Fan Xian said hello to Wang Qinian and turned to leave.
The locksmith stretched out his hand to keep him.
"Hey, who said it was a key? What lock can it open?"
Fan Xian did not stop and disappeared at the door in a blink of an eye.
Wang Qinian pressed down the locksmith's hand and warned him.
"Don't ask so many questions!"
The locksmith didn't insist, he was just simply curious.
"Yes."
Wang Qinian glanced at him.
"Wait here."
After saying that, he looked at Mei Chengan.
"Master, let's talk for a moment."
Mei Chengan smiled.
"No, let's talk about it right here."
Looking at the locksmith, Mei Chengan said.
"The key is well made. I will give you a generous reward later. Also, you have to keep the key making a secret!"
The locksmith laughed.
"I know the rules and I promise not to leak them."
Mei Chengan smiled.
"Since you understand the rules, I won't say any more threats."
"Also, for a short period of time, you have to leave the city to avoid the limelight. It's up to you where to go, but you can't stay in Kyoto any longer."
"It's getting late today, it's inconvenient to leave the city, Lao Wang will take you out of the city early tomorrow morning."
"Ah? We have to leave Beijing? This..."
The locksmith hesitated for a moment and then spoke.
"That's fine. I'm alone anyway, but you have to prepare a carriage for me."
Wang Qinian, who was standing by, glared when he heard this.
"Don't be too greedy!"
The locksmith was not happy.
"Old Wang, what are you saying? If it weren't for this order from you, I wouldn't be able to go home."
Wang Qinian uttered a 'huh'.
"The money from this order is equivalent to thousands of ordinary orders. You still want a carriage? No way! You know how expensive a carriage is."
The locksmith was stunned. Normally, it only cost him a dozen coins to make a key, mainly for the materials. If the order was for thousands of yuan... several dozen taels?
How many taels can you earn in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea? That's a lot of money.
"Ahem, well... if there's no carriage, it would be fine to give me a horse, right? You can't let me walk out of the city."
Wang Qinian was annoyed and wanted to say something.
Mei Cheng'an smiled and waved his hand, signaling Lao Wang to be quiet.
"Okay, Lao Wang will prepare a horse for you tomorrow."
The locksmith smiled happily.
"Eh~ Is that right? This young man is really open-minded. Haha, haha."
Wang Qinian glared at the locksmith, and he immediately shut up.
"The money and the horse will be sent to you tomorrow morning. Just wait at home and don't go anywhere."
The locksmith smiled apologetically.
"sure."
He was not afraid of Wang Qinian denying his residence since he knew where he lived.
Wang Qinian rolled his eyes at him and looked at Mei Chengan.
"Master, let's go first."
Mei Cheng'an nodded and was the first to walk out of the house.
The locksmith bowed and said goodbye.
Wang Qinian followed closely behind and pointed at the locksmith before leaving.
The locksmith smiled and didn't care. If you don't take advantage of a good opportunity, you're a bastard.
……
On the street, Wang Qinian caught up with Mei Chengan.
"Master, you are so generous. Horses are very expensive. It would be a waste to give them to him."
Mei Chengan shrugged.
"I don't care about that. It's not my money. Besides, why should you feel bad about it? Just buy it and ask Fan Xian to reimburse you."
Wang Qinian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.
Yes, it's not his money, why should he feel bad? He can even get reimbursed...
Hey!
That's fine.
……
Harem.
Fan Xian, who had entered the palace again, was strolling in the corridor, heading towards the Empress Dowager's bedroom. When he reached a certain intersection, he saw a figure flashing in front of him. Fan Xian immediately dodged and observed secretly.
After a while, the eldest princess' maid came over with a lantern and led a man wrapped in a black robe.
In a moment, light and shadow intertwined, and Fan Xian vaguely saw that the man in black robe had a gray beard.
After the two men passed by, Fan Xian showed up, looked at their receding backs, and narrowed his eyes.
During the chat, I still remember the words that my fellow villager warned me to avoid trouble when he returned the key and not to cause trouble.
Fan Xian hesitated for a long time, but finally put his fellow villager's words behind him. Curiosity is also very important, as his fellow villager said.
The old man with white beard is most likely Zhuang Mohan. He entered the palace late at night to have a secret meeting with the princess. Are they planning to have a meeting to summarize their failure?
Fan Xian was very curious about what the two were talking about, so he followed them decisively!
……
Changxin Palace.
The maid Lanxiang brought Zhuang Mohan to the princess' bedroom and stopped.
"The princess is waiting for you inside."
Zhuang Mohan said nothing, stepped into the hall and closed the door.
The eldest princess was sitting on the couch, looking down at the paper in her hand.
Zhuang Mohan stood beside the chair that had been prepared long ago opposite the couch, lifted his hood, revealing his face, and bowed to the princess.
"Your Highness the Princess."
The eldest princess on the soft couch did not look up, nor did she respond, but she opened her red lips and suddenly began to recite a poem.
"If love lasts forever, why should it last day and night? Writing about love to this extent is heartbreaking."
Zhuang Mohan straightened up and looked at her without saying anything.
The eldest princess looked up at him, smiled, closed the paper, and pointed to the seat next to him.
"sit."
Zhuang Mohan nodded and sat down.
The eldest princess placed the papers in her hand on the small table at the end of the couch and arranged them slowly while speaking.
"I asked someone to copy down a few poems from the banquet. Now that I read them, they are still all wonderful."
After saying that everything was almost tidied, the princess withdrew her hand and looked at Zhuang Mohan.
"What do you think, sir?"
Zhuang Mohan nodded.
"Yes, great poem, breathtaking!"
The princess tilted her head.
"Is there really a fairyland in this world?"
Zhuang Mohan shook his head.
“The story of the immortal world is too imaginary to be taken seriously. I think these poems were written by Master Fan himself.
If it is true as he said, that these poems all come from the fairyland in the dream, then what can Mr. Mei say? Can the two of them have the same dream?
The collaboration between the two of them is truly a joy to watch, and they work so well together that one can only marvel at their talent and be convinced.”
Fan Xian, who was eavesdropping in the dark, clicked his tongue silently. It had to be him. Without him, how could his fellow villager ever get such praise? He really made a fortune!
Fortunately, Mei Chengan didn't hear this, otherwise he would have spat in his face, what a shameless bastard!
Inside the palace.
The eldest princess said quietly.
"They can come up with hundreds of great lines at will. Is this really something a mortal can do? Are they really immortals banished to the mortal world?"
Zhuang Mohan smiled when he heard this.
"If they are really immortals descending to earth, then they are the immortals and saints in poetry."
Fan Xian thought about it secretly. The Immortal Poet sounds more ethereal, while the Sage Poet has a heavier texture.
Which one should I choose? I am so confused.
Soon he had no time to worry about it, as the two people in the hall finally got down to business.
The eldest princess smiled.
"I called you here overnight because I have something to ask you. You promised me that you would trample Fan Xian under your feet at the banquet and ruin his reputation. May I ask if you did it?"
Zhuang Mohan was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Princess, I am framing Fan Xian today, but I am risking my lifelong reputation. You did not tell me beforehand that Fan Xian is such a talented poet. Otherwise, I would not have brought disgrace upon myself."
The eldest princess smiled.
"Sir, you mean to blame me. How could I have expected this child to do such an amazing thing?
After all, he had only written one poem before, and you have seen poems before. If I don't understand poetry, do you understand it too? May I ask if you expected it?"
Zhuang Mohan was silent for a long time.
It is possible to predict this with talent, but who could have predicted that he would be talented to this extent? Well, things have come to this point and there is no point in saying more.
"That's fine. I'm willing to lose to someone like this."
The princess stopped smiling.
"What's the good of failing at the last hurdle?"
This time it was Zhuang Mohan who laughed.
"Luckily, I was able to write hundreds of poems that have been circulated throughout the world overnight. If not, if people in the world heard what I said, they would think that I was a shameless person who plagiarized other people's poems, and I would not be at peace."
Fan Xian was a little confused in secret. If that was the case, then this old man had a good character. Why would he get involved in such a thing?
The eldest princess said.
"Are you so magnanimous? He is fine, but the gentleman's reputation is ruined."
Zhuang Mohan laughed.
"That's better than feeling guilty for the rest of my life. I'm already this old, and I don't know how many days I can live. I just want peace of mind before I die."
The eldest princess stood up.
"You are relieved, what about me?"
"I will sell Yan Bingyun to you so that you can have the opportunity to exchange Sean for Beiqi."
Fan Xian was shocked! Damn it! Finally heard the explosive news!
Yan Bingyun was actually betrayed by the eldest princess. Okay, eldest princess, you are done. I have caught you!
"Oh, how many people in this world know that the murderous villain Sean is actually the younger brother of the literary master Zhuang Mohan!"
Fan Xian was shocked again! Damn! There is something even more exciting!
One is a madman who is locked in the deepest part of the Overwatch Council dungeon with dozens of chains!
One is regarded as a teacher by all readers, a literary giant, and a walking saint!
These two are actually brothers? What's going on?
……
(End of this chapter)
