Chapter 308 You Are Thick-skinned
“It’s okay to lose pieces.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ruofu slapped away Yuan Hongdao's hand that was stretched out to take back the white piece, and observed the chess game carefully.
Yuan Hongdao was dumbfounded after he withdrew his hand. It was fine if he didn't let me do that, but he couldn't even do it again? How could a person be so shameless?
"But we still have to fight for what we should fight for!"
As he spoke, Lin Ruofu took another black piece from the chess basket and moved it to the position he had just moved away. Satisfied, he turned his head and looked at Fan Xian.
"You are not at fault in this matter. Besides, with your reputation as Little Fan Shixian, even the emperor cannot force you in the court."
Fan Xian thought for a moment and then spoke.
"But how can you be sure that Your Majesty will allow me to prove my innocence in private?"
Lin Ruofu smiled.
"You don't understand your majesty. Our emperor loves to win the hearts and minds of the people, and he makes light of important matters."
He seemed to have mentioned something funny.
"In his opinion, you still need to be tempered, and now is the best time!"
After saying this, Lin Ruofu moved his gaze back to the chessboard.
Just at this moment, a servant came to the study to report the news.
"Prime Minister, the palace has issued an order for Master Fan to come to the palace to see the emperor."
Fan Xian was shocked after hearing this and subconsciously looked at Lin Xiang.
Lin Ruofu also looked up at him with a smile on his face.
"Look."
"..."
Fan Xian was speechless. This happened too quickly, as if the two of them had discussed it in advance.
Lin Ruofu snorted and laughed, then gave Fan Xian one last reminder.
"Go ahead and remember what I said. No matter what he asks you to do, don't agree to anything unless he gives you an order!"
Fan Xian pursed his lips.
"Um...let me give it a try."
After saying this, he bowed to Lin Ruofu and Yuan Hongdao respectively, and walked out of the study.
Yuan Hongdao smiled and watched Fan Xian leave, then looked at Lin Xiang.
"Our little Fan Shixian doesn't seem very confident."
Lin Ruofu picked up a black piece.
"Normal. At his age, anyone would be scared when facing His Majesty!"
As he said this, he clicked on the black piece.
Yuan Hongdao nodded in agreement.
"I hope he can listen to what the Prime Minister said."
Lin Ruofu suddenly burst into laughter.
"Mr. Yuan, please don't worry about him for now. I was lucky enough to win this round again. Thanks for letting me win!"
Yuan Hongdao glanced at the chess board and burst out laughing.
"Don't be so hasty to give in. I still have room for maneuver."
After saying that, he picked up a white piece and placed it on the chessboard.
Lin Ruofu looked carefully, and when he understood, he immediately let out a sigh.
“Ahhh, I saw it wrong, I saw it wrong, I saw it wrong.”
As he said this, he reached out and picked up the white piece that Yuan Hongdao had just placed and threw it away, then replaced it with his own black piece.
"It's no problem now!"
Yuan Hongdao smiled as if it was nothing, put the white piece in his hand back into the chess basket, and bowed to him.
"Be willing to give in!"
Lin Ruofu stroked his beard complacently and laughed.
"Hahahahaha..."
……
In front of Prince Jing’s Mansion.
On the carriage.
Li Roujia snuggled in Mei Chengan's arms, feeling depressed.
Mei Cheng'an stroked her hair and said softly.
"There is no other way. It is the duty of the Honglu Temple to send diplomatic envoys to other countries and submit letters of credence. As the Secretary of the Honglu Temple, I have no choice but to do so.
You can't just ignore state affairs for your own selfish reasons, otherwise I, as your future husband, would be bringing shame to you."
Li Roujia shook her body, pouted her lips and muttered softly.
"But it's been too long. What should I do if I miss you?"
Mei Chengan smiled, touched her little face, and said softly.
"If you miss me, write me a letter. Then you can give the letter to Hongshu and the others. They will know how to get the letter to me."
Li Roujia raised her head.
"Aren't you going to take some maids with you? Who will take care of you, Brother Cheng'an, on the way?"
Mei Chengan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I am not a child anymore. I don't need someone to take care of me. Besides, the delegation is full of men, so it's not convenient."
Li Roujia thought about it.
"Isn't there a woman? That's Si Lili."
Mei Cheng'an was stunned for a moment and actually forgot about her.
"She is the only woman, the rest are men."
Li Roujia said.
"Yes, she is a woman, and if she needs to go to the toilet or wash up on the way, it will be inconvenient for you men to look after her.
There is also the issue of close guarding. Wouldn't it be much more convenient if we bring a maid with us?"
"..."
Hiss~ Mei Chengan has never thought about this, mainly because he hasn't started planning for the trip yet, but when you think about it carefully, it does make sense.
"Well, you're right. Then, take one?"
Li Roujia asked curiously.
"Which of the four maids do you prefer to take with you?"
"bring…"
Mei Cheng'an almost subconsciously started the election, but when he realized it was too early to consider these things, he felt a little amused.
"There's no rush for this. I've been distracted by your lead. We were just talking about writing letters, why did we suddenly get into the topic of who to bring?"
Li Roujia realized that she had gone off topic after hearing this and stuck out her tongue in embarrassment, which was very cute.
Mei Chengan smiled and tapped her forehead, then returned to the topic.
"Anyway, there will definitely be someone left behind. You can just hand the letter to them and go through the mail delivery channel in the Mei's canteen. This will ensure that I can receive your letter as soon as I arrive at a place. In addition to replying, I will also write to you when I have time.
Or, if you really miss me, you can look at the moon above your head in the night, because I am looking at it too.
We can express our longing for each other through the same moonlight in the same night sky."
Li Roujia's eyes lit up.
"Is it really possible?"
Mei Chengan smiled gently, with unmelting tenderness in his eyes.
"Of course."
……
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.
Fan Xian was led by Eunuch Hou all the way to the terrace outside the imperial study.
I didn't see Emperor Qing, but I unexpectedly saw the Crown Prince and the Second Prince sitting face to face on either side of a square table.
Uh...the wording is not precise, the second prince is squatting.
Although Fan Xian was a little confused about the situation, it did not stop him from bowing to the two of them.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince, Your Highness, the Second Prince."
The Crown Prince and the Second Prince each bowed in return.
Putting down his hands and standing up, Fan Xian glanced at the empty table, then looked at the two of them separately, and spoke in confusion.
"This is…"
Eunuch Hou at the side spoke up at this time, and pointed to the cushioned futon that had been prepared at the foot of the table in front of Fan Xian.
"Master Xiao Fan, please take a seat!"
Without waiting for Fan Xian to respond, the Second Prince hummed and knocked on the table in front of Fan Xian.
"Sit here."
Fan Xian sweated a little and slowly knelt down on the cushion.
"What is this song about?"
The second prince shrugged and said casually.
"I do not know either."
As he spoke, he moved closer to Fan Xian, tilted his head, covered his mouth with his hands, and his voice became much softer.
"Your Majesty asked us to come here, but he didn't tell us why. We don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse. Your Majesty's heart is as deep as the abyss and it is hard to guess!"
After saying this, he put his hand down, turned around, and looked at Fan Xian with a mysterious expression.
Fan Xian subconsciously glanced at the Crown Prince. The Second Prince's last sentence was a bit disrespectful to Emperor Qing. The Crown Prince must be unhappy.
He had wanted to move closer to listen just now, but when he noticed the way the Crown Prince was looking at the Second Prince, he stepped back.
The prince was indeed unhappy. He looked the second prince up and down and questioned him seriously.
"How can one guess the emperor's mind?!"
Upon hearing this, the Second Prince looked at him, uttered a speechless sigh, and spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Your Highness is a sensible, loyal and righteous man. He deserves admiration!"
The prince rolled his eyes and looked at him quietly without saying a word.
The Second Prince suddenly turned his head and looked at Fan Xian.
"Hey, what do you think?"
The two of them were exchanging sharp words, and Fan Xian didn't want to get involved, so he decisively bowed to them.
"Hey, your highnesses, don't take me with you when you two gods are fighting."
The second prince was delighted when he heard this and leaned forward to look at the crown prince.
"It has to be Little Fan Shishen, who dares to say anything."
The prince looked at him indifferently and had no intention of paying any attention to him.
The second prince opened his mouth and lip-synced silently.
"what?"
The prince still ignored him.
When Fan Xian couldn't help laughing while watching the two of them, he heard a lot of footsteps coming from the imperial study behind him.
Upon hearing this, the Second Prince immediately lowered his head and straightened his body, no longer teasing or provoking the Crown Prince.
When the prince heard the noise, he didn't even look at it and just closed his eyes and rested.
Fan Xian couldn't help but quickly look back, but when he saw a group of eunuchs carrying things, he withdrew his gaze.
The eunuchs were carrying the imperial meal. In a short while, they had filled the small square table with all the necessary dishes, including bowls, chopsticks and handkerchiefs.
Fan Xian had just had a barbecue before coming, so he was not interested in the delicious food on the table.
After the eunuchs left, he glanced at the two princes.
"You two princes, have you not eaten yet before coming here?"
The Crown Prince shook his head slightly, and the Second Prince looked at him curiously.
"Have you eaten?"
Before Fan Xian had time to nod, the voice of Eunuch Hou came from behind him.
"Your Majesty, everyone is here, you can have dinner now."
Hearing this, the three of them hurriedly stood up, turned around and faced the imperial study and began to salute. The only difference was that the Crown Prince and the Second Prince knelt down to kowtow, while Fan Xian just stood and bowed.
After waiting for a while, Emperor Qing, dressed in a loose white robe, slowly walked onto the terrace. He glanced at the three of them and waved his hand.
"Ah, today is a family dinner, just order whatever you want, whatever you want."
Although Emperor Qing said so, the few people didn't dare to act casually. Who knows if Emperor Qing was just being polite?
None of the three stood up, and they continued to circle around and pay their respects to Emperor Qing who had walked to the main seat at the square table.
After Eunuch Hou helped Emperor Qing sit down in the main seat, Fan Xian spoke.
"Your Majesty, since this is a family dinner, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for me to be here, right?"
Emperor Qing looked up, glanced at him and said casually.
"You're thick-skinned, that's okay."
The second prince, who had his head lowered, almost couldn't help laughing out loud when he heard this.
The prince glanced at him with disdain.
Fan Xian broke out in a sweat when he heard this. Why did he include personal attacks?
"Eat."
Following Emperor Qing's order, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince stood up and took their seats.
Fan Xian also sat down awkwardly, scratching his face subconsciously in the process.
Thick, is it so obvious?
……
(End of this chapter)
