Chapter 349 Passing the Ladder
The reason why Mei Cheng'an answered Sean's every question so frankly was naturally because... he knew that he would not live long.
Since he is about to die, there is naturally no need to worry about him causing trouble, and there is nothing to hide. Of course, this is only one reason.
The second reason is that Mei Chengan knew what Sean wanted to ask. If he didn't cooperate at first, how could Sean ask later?
But then again, this is the reason, but you can't just say it that way, you have to find a justifiable reason.
Mei Chengan smiled and said softly.
"After you get out of this situation, you can find out what I said anytime you want to know. There's no point in hiding it."
Sean stared at him quietly for a long time, and finally smiled.
"I see."
Mei Cheng calmed down and started laughing too. The two looked at each other and cursed each other in their hearts.
"This old fox is quite alert, but it's useless. No matter how cunning you are, you still have to drink my foot washing water."
"This little fox is so cunning, he never speaks a word of truth."
The reason he gave seems reasonable on the surface, but in fact it is just a substitution of concepts and avoiding the main issue!
This is what happened, but the brat didn't mention a word about his motivation for cooperating actively. He is so cunning.
Although he had discovered it, it was difficult to expose it. No matter what the reason was, the boy was willing to cooperate, which was exactly what he wanted.
The laughter with ulterior motives ended, Sean frowned, forced himself to endure the increasingly severe pain and discomfort in his body, pulled the corners of his mouth and spoke casually.
"Wang Qinian is your man?"
"Yes."
"He's good."
Mei Chengan smiled and nodded.
"He is indeed very capable. I heard that the senior even tried to win him over?"
Sean replied calmly.
"It's a pity he didn't agree."
"He said it was an honor for him that the senior had taken a liking to him."
Sean chuckled twice and suddenly changed the subject.
"The diplomatic mission to other countries should be the job of the Honglu Temple. How come all the leaders are from your Overwatch Council?"
Without waiting for Mei Cheng'an to react, Fan Xian couldn't help but burst out laughing again when he heard this question, but fortunately it wasn't intense.
Hearing the voice, Sean glanced at him and frowned.
"why are you laughing?"
His tone was not harsh, but somewhat irritated and puzzled. He couldn't understand what was so funny about such a normal question.
Fan Xian coughed lightly and put away his smile.
"I'm sorry, senior. I couldn't help myself. Um, I forgot to introduce him to you. Actually, he..."
As he said this, he pointed at his fellow villager.
"It's from the Honglu Temple."
Seeing Sean looking at him, Mei Chengan smiled and nodded.
"I am honored to be the Minister of the Honglu Temple. I will lead the Honglu Temple this time, and I will also be responsible for the itinerary and etiquette regulations."
A hint of surprise flashed across Sean's eyes, and his brows furrowed again.
"The Honglu Temple belongs to the civil service system, and its duties should be naturally hostile to the Supervisory Council. How did Chen Pingping do it?"
Mei Cheng'an pretended to be confused.
"Senior, what do you mean?"
Sean looked at him deeply and exhaled.
"I have never heard of anyone holding concurrent posts in the Supervisory Council. How did Chen Pingping get you, a commissioner, to the Honglu Temple?
Also, how could the Emperor of Qing agree to such a thing? Logically, this shouldn't happen. How can the supervisor and the supervised be confused? "
Mei Chengan smiled.
"Ah, about this matter, Senior got the order wrong."
Sean was stunned for a moment, his eyes filled with confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Mei Chengan smiled and said softly.
"I didn't enter the Censorate first and then be transferred to the Honglu Temple by President Chen. Instead, I became the Honglu Temple Secretary first and then entered the Censorate and became the Censor."
Sean thought for a moment, his eyes filled with surprise.
"Are you a civil servant?"
Mei Chengan laughed.
"Yes."
Sean shook his head.
"It doesn't make sense. If I remember correctly, the position of Honglu Temple Secretary should be of the fifth rank. You are only seventeen years old. People of your age should still be busy taking the imperial examinations. Even if you are a genius in literature and have passed all the tests to become an official early, you can only be of the ninth rank at most. It takes who knows how many years to be promoted to the fifth rank. Your promotion speed is abnormal!"
Hearing this, Fan Xian was amused and asked with a smile.
"So, senior, how long do you think he has been an official?"
Sean looked up and down at Mei Chengan, who was smiling but not saying anything, and said after pondering for a moment.
"Even if you were a rare genius who passed the imperial examination and became an official at the age of fifteen, you would have served as an official for one or two years at most and been promoted to the fifth rank..."
Fan Xian suddenly gave the answer. "Seven years."
Sean was stunned and looked at him blankly. His brain was a little confused for a moment and he asked with a bewildered look on his face.
"What seven years?"
Fan Xian didn't answer in a hurry. He took a look at the bulge at the end of the long needle and pulled it out quickly.
"All right."
As he said this, he put down the long needle, untied the cloth that was tied around Sean's arm, gently pressed on the needle hole, and then answered with a smile.
"I mean, he's been an official for seven years."
Even though he knew the answer, it still took Sean's brain a while to react accordingly because it was so ridiculous.
With his eyes wide open and pupils suddenly shrinking, Sean turned his head towards Mei Chengan and opened his mouth in surprise, unable to speak.
Mei Cheng'an still smiled but said nothing. At this moment of pretending, the effect of his own words was greatly reduced, and he still had to rely on others. He only needed to smile and pretend to be cool.
The other person's mouth was naturally Fan Xian's. Fan Xian continued to introduce his fellow villager's legendary experience to Sean with a smile.
"You are right, senior. Normally, he would still be busy taking the imperial examination at his age. However, he is a little special. When he took the boy's examination at the age of ten, he wrote a unique poem that was praised by the world. His Majesty of Qing made an exception and promoted him to the position of Imperial Academy Student."
After a pause, he added two more words.
"Seventh grade!"
Fan Xian clicked his tongue twice and glanced at his fellow villager.
"You've become a seventh-rank official at the age of ten. You're really the envy of others."
Listening to his teasing tone, Mei Chengan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Why did he become sour while talking? He was just making a fuss.
Fortunately, Fan Xian knew when to stop and just teased him briefly before turning back and continuing to talk to Sean.
“So, although the senior may not look at his young age, he is actually a veteran who has been in the officialdom for seven years.
Seven years, no, actually it should be four years. When he was fourteen years old, he was promoted to the fifth rank and transferred to the Honglu Temple to serve as the Honglu Temple Secretary.
For a genius like him, it shouldn't be too outrageous to advance from the seventh rank to the fifth rank in four years, Senior Xiao."
Sean was silent for a long time, then uttered two words.
"really."
This makes sense. The literary world of Qing has always been weak, far inferior to that of Northern...Qi.
If he were the Emperor of Qing, he would be so excited to meet such a rare literary genius that only appears once in a century.
Giving a ten-year-old child a seventh-rank official title is absurd, but reasonable!
It is more reasonable to reach the fifth rank in four years, and it is not surprising even faster.
only…
Sean looked at Mei Chengan as if he was looking at a monster.
A genius in literature was rare, but it was far from enough to shock him, after all, his unknown brother was a master of literature.
Unparalleled martial arts geniuses are rare, but there are also many amazing martial arts geniuses in this world, and one pops up from time to time.
But when these two are combined in one person, it is not just a matter of being rare or uncommon; it is something that has never been heard of or seen before!
This boy is truly a monster!
In deep shock, Sean quietly put Mei Cheng'an on his kill list, with a higher priority than Chen Pingping.
It's not that his hatred for Chen Pingping is not strong enough, it's simply because he is not in a hurry to take revenge. A gentleman's revenge is never too late. As a former spy chief, what he lacks the least is forbearance and patience.
The main reason is that time waits for no one. This boy has reached the ninth level in just nine years. There is not much time left for him. If he continues to practice... it will be hard to say who will kill whom by then.
As for why he wanted to kill, it was because of jealousy, it's that simple.
Sean no longer cared about his country or family. His country was gone. Compared to eliminating the future rivals of the enemy country for Northern Qi, he was actually more interested in strangling the unparalleled genius in the cradle. After all... he was more talented than himself.
Of course, the premise is... he is not the person I am looking for.
Although it seems highly unlikely that this guy is the one, what if?
It's not like my family doesn't have martial arts and literature bloodlines. I became a ninth-grade master, second only to the grandmaster, in my early thirties, and my brother is a literary master known as a living saint. It's not impossible for talent to be passed down from generation to generation. Hiss~ If that's the case...
It would be more reasonable if this child was his own descendant.
Seeing Sean's eyes flickering and wondering what he was thinking, Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian looked at each other, both somewhat puzzled.
What are you thinking about?
Without letting the two wait too long, Sean suddenly concealed all the light and thoughts in his eyes and spoke, his target still being Mei Chengan.
"In other words, you were a civil servant before becoming the Supervisory Council's chief inspector at the beginning of the year, and had no connection with the Supervisory Council?"
Mei Cheng settled down and smiled.
"You could say that."
The only people he had interactions with were Chen Pingping and Yingzi, but those were private interactions and did not involve the affairs of the Supervisory Yuan.
Apart from the time when Chen Pingping called him to the Supervisory Council to inquire about the expansion of business in Danzhou, there was indeed no other intersection between them.
Upon hearing this, a hint of barely perceptible disappointment flashed across Sean's eyes. If that was the case, then it was most likely not the case.
Some of the clues he found from Chen Pingping didn't match up, but the clues could definitely be correct, so it could only be the person who was wrong.
Alas, what a pity, you didn't have to die.
But after thinking it over again and again, Sean felt that it was necessary to confirm it one last time. After all, it was related to his bloodline inheritance, and he could not bear or allow any mistake to happen.
"Oh."
Sean shrugged, and his movements looked a little weird because his arms were still hanging.
Just as he was thinking about how to ask the question he wanted to ask without being noticeable or abrupt, Mei Cheng'an suddenly handed him a ladder.
……
(End of this chapter)
