Chapter 390: Surprisingly Big (Two in One)
"Your Majesty, looking at the whole thing, these two kids controlled the situation very well, and they also knew how to handle it well afterwards.
We protested where we should protest, and retained what we should retain. Overall, we not only did not suffer any loss, but also took the opportunity to gain a lot of benefits.
These two children are great, Your Majesty!"
Chen Pingping was not speaking well of Fan Xian and Mei Cheng'an, he was just presenting facts and reasoning. These two children's ability to deal with crises far exceeded his imagination.
It was surprising that two young men of sixteen or seventeen could do things so thoroughly and without leaving any trace. He was quite surprised by their thorough consideration, quick response and tacit cooperation. These two kids were much smarter and more talented than he had imagined!
These two genius babies are both directors of his Supervisory Council. When Chen Pingping thought of them, he felt relaxed as if he had drunk an ice-cold craft brew. The corners of his mouth could not help but curl up. He couldn't help feeling proud in his heart, and couldn't help but praise and show off to Emperor Qing, who always focused on the child's minor flaws.
Emperor Qing glanced at Chen Pingping and couldn't help rolling his eyes when he saw the guy's expression as if he was showing off his child to outsiders.
I really want to slap him in the face and tell him that one of those two kids is my son, and the other was raised and nurtured by me personally.
Who are you bragging to? What do you have to be proud of?
But after thinking about it, Emperor Qing held back and was too lazy to argue with the old man. After all, there was nothing wrong with what he said, and the various abilities displayed by these two children in dealing with this crisis were indeed remarkable.
I thought that the sudden withdrawal of the Black Cavalry would catch the two children off guard, causing them to be scrambled and unable to cope with it, but I didn't expect that the two children would cope with it in such an orderly manner, checking for deficiencies and filling in the gaps, and there was not any impact at all, making the Black Cavalry seem dispensable. This alone is enough to show how outstanding the abilities of the two children are.
However, Chen Pingping had already praised what he should have, and it would be a bit like him repeating what others had said, which was not in line with his character.
Just praise it in your heart, don't just say it out loud.
Emperor Qing said lightly, "Hmm," and changed the subject.
"How's it going over there Sean?"
Chen Pingping replied softly.
"He asked Fan Xian a question."
Emperor Qing tilted his head to look at him, waiting for his next words.
Chen Pingping said with a smile.
"He asked Fan Xian if he knew about Danzhou. Your Majesty, the fish has taken the bait."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing showed a hint of joy in his eyes and could not help but curl the corners of his mouth. After a pause, he turned around and looked at the lake and said calmly.
"I have waited so long to catch this fish, and now I am finally going to catch it."
Chen Pingping's eyes also flashed, and after a moment of silence he spoke.
"Fan Xian sent a letter requesting the detailed file on Sean to find out what his connection with Danzhou is."
Emperor Qing did not turn around when he heard this, and continued to look at the lake.
"Just give him the truthful results of the investigation. What else did he mention?"
"Gone."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Chen Pingping.
"Gone?"
Chen Pingping spread his hands, looking helpless.
"It's really gone. He just said this."
"He didn't mention the Black Knights' withdrawal?"
"Not a word."
Emperor Qing clicked his tongue twice and sighed in a pretentious manner.
"It seems that he has a grudge against you for this matter."
Chen Pingping smiled bitterly and said nothing.
Seeing him like that, Emperor Qing curled the corners of his mouth calmly.
"So the news from the diplomatic mission was all passed back to you by Mei Cheng'an?"
Chen Pingping nodded.
"Yes."
"How did he say?"
Chen Pingping smiled bitterly again.
"He asked me about the Black Knight's situation, complained that I was unreliable at the critical moment, and said that if he hadn't been alert and made arrangements in advance, the delegation would have been killed by me. He seemed very angry. Your Majesty, what do you think I should say to him?"
He was not lying, as Mei Cheng'an did write so at the end of the letter. After all, he had revealed the contents of the plan to Mei Cheng'an in private, and on the surface, each side still had to make the necessary responses, as this was something that both parties knew tacitly.
Emperor Qing almost laughed out loud when he heard this. This matter, which should have been kept in mind, was actually brought up on the table and asked directly by that kid Mei Chengan. He was really... straightforward!
The corners of his mouth twitched and he forced himself to hold back his smile. After clearing his throat, Emperor Qing spoke calmly as if it was none of his business.
"Why are you asking me about this? They are asking you, not me, so just answer as you should."
"..."
Chen Pingping's mouth twitched, with a somewhat resentful expression.
"So...what should I do?"
Emperor Qing blinked and said as a matter of course.
"I told you not to ask, but you still asked. How would I know? You just want to go."
"..."
Chen Pingping was speechless.
Emperor Qing turned around and avoided his gaze. He faced the lake and suddenly yawned, then raised his hand and patted his open mouth.
"I'm a little tired after talking for so long. Do you have anything else to say? No, I'm going to take a nap."
"..."
Chen Pingping was silent for a moment and spoke softly.
"Have."
"Don't ask me about the reply again!"
Emperor Qing covered his mouth first.
Chen Pingping shook his head slowly.
"That's not what I want to talk about."
Emperor Qing nodded and said "oh", then turned to look at him.
"explain."
Chen Pingping didn't keep anyone in suspense.
"As for Shangshanhu, please make a decision, Your Majesty, whether to eliminate him, the war god of Northern Qi, while he is still seriously injured."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing's eyes immediately lit up.
"Did your men catch up with him?"
Chen Pingping nodded slightly.
"It was a coincidence. Uesugi Tora was seriously injured, and the cavalryman who took him away could only treat his wounds simply. Therefore, he had to rush to the border town to seek medical treatment late at night. He happened to be encountered by the spy hiding in the clinic in the courtyard. The spy took over Shadow's previous order to pay close attention to the news from the border and investigate Uesugi Tora's whereabouts. He also saw Uesugi Tora's portrait, so he recognized him at a glance."
Emperor Qing was delighted.
"He really is so unlucky. He can run into a spy from the Overwatch Council even when he goes to a random clinic. His luck is incredible, haha."
Chen Pingping also laughed. He had never expected this.
"Who said it wasn't, Your Majesty? The people in Uesugi Tora's courtyard are following him alternately. Do you want to take action?"
It would be easy and quiet to eliminate a highly prestigious general of the enemy country, a ninth-rank master. It was impossible for Emperor Qing not to be tempted at all, but he thought about it and suddenly asked.
"Did Mei Cheng'an mention Uesugi Tiger?"
Chen Pingping shook his head.
"Never."
Emperor Qing nodded.
"Forget it then. If they intended to kill Uesugi Tora, they would have told you. Since they didn't, it means they have other plans for Uesugi Tora. Let's not interfere."
"Yes!"
Chen Pingping responded and sighed softly.
“It’s just a pity.”
Emperor Qing smiled and spoke calmly.
"It's not a pity. If he lives, he can still contain the Northern Qi royal family. If he dies, it will be useless."
Chen Pingping nodded and said no more. After a pause, he looked up at Emperor Qing and spoke again.
"Your Majesty, please give me some time to reply to the letter..."
When Emperor Qing heard this, the smile on his face suddenly disappeared. He waved his hand to interrupt him and stopped him from continuing. He raised his foot and walked quickly towards the small building behind him while waved to Gong Dian who was standing in the distance.
"Send Dean Chen out."
"..."
Chen Pingping opened his mouth slightly, staring in amazement at Emperor Qing's receding back, and froze in his wheelchair until Gong Dian quickly arrived and stood behind him. Only then did his expression gradually return to normal.
"President Chen, I'll take you out."
Chen Pingping shook his sleeves, adjusted his sitting position, tilted his head slightly to nod towards Gong Dian, and spoke calmly.
"Then it's Commander Laogong."
……
After the delegation entered the border of Northern Qi, all defense matters were handed over to the Northern Qi Jinyiwei and the troops along the way. Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian were able to relax for a little while, saving themselves a lot of effort and feeling very comfortable.
Even the Tiger Guards led by Gaoda and the temporary Qinian team led by Wang Qinian became lazy after they no longer had the task of protection.
Anyway, as an envoy of the victorious country, they are stepping on the land of the defeated country. I think no one would dare to do anything to the envoy even if they were given eight hundred guts.
The summer scenery in the north is unique. It is much hotter than in the south, and it is very dry. But after noon to noon, the temperature suddenly drops and becomes refreshing.
It's so wonderful.
Most of the people in the delegation were old people who had been to Northern Qi. Even Wang Qinian had done some free business at the border between the two countries in the past. The only ones who seemed somewhat excited about going abroad were Mei Chengan and Fan Xian, who were stepping out of the country for the first time, and the seven tiger guards.
Although the Tiger Guards, led by Gundam, still maintained the kind of coolness that a master should maintain, looking at their fiery expressions when they occasionally looked at the scenery outside the window, you could tell that they were also very interested in the exotic scenery.
Fan Xian said with a smile.
"After walking for a while, I gradually felt like I was traveling abroad. On the surface, the scenery of Northern Qi is similar to that of Qing, except for the different tree species. The temperature is completely different from ours. Although the difference is a bit big, I think the summer in Northern Qi is more comfortable than ours. You only need to endure the hottest hour or two in the sun before you can feel refreshed. It's not like ours where it's always hot and humid from morning to night."
Mei Cheng'an took a sip of tea from the teacup, but did not comment. He had never been to the Northeast in his previous life, so he didn't know whether there were any geographical differences between that Northeast and this Northeast. However, the temperature in this Northeast was indeed much more comfortable than the North where he often stayed in his previous life.
Wang Qinian spoke as he held the teapot and filled the empty cups of everyone in the carriage with tea.
"Your Excellency is right. Northern Qi may seem to be located in a remote area in the northeast, but its geographical location and climate are both excellent. Your Excellency, I am not able to do this. Could you please help pass the tea to Brother Zi Jing?"
Fan Xian nodded, raised his hand to take the teacup, and passed the tea to Teng Zijing in the driver's seat through the front window. Teng Zijing, who had already heard the voice, turned around, reached out for the teacup, raised it to Wang Qinian, and thanked him.
Gaoda took a sip of tea, put down the cup, looked at the scenery outside the window, and continued with Wang Qinian's words in a muffled voice.
"The scenery of this northern country is indeed beautiful. I wonder if I will have the honor to follow His Majesty in the fourth northern expedition. By then, this territory will be completely incorporated into the jurisdiction of our Qing country. The scenery will probably be even more beautiful at that time."
Mei Cheng'an paused while drinking tea when he heard this and frowned subconsciously.
Wang Qinian was so excited when he heard this that he slapped the table. "Well said! Haha, Brother Gao, what you said really hits my heart. I'll toast you a big cup. There's no wine here, so I'll toast you a cup of tea instead. I hope what we want will come true soon. Cheers!"
Gundam smiled and raised his teacup to clink with him.
"I hope your words will come true soon!"
After saying this, he drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, looking heroic and unrestrained.
After drinking, they smiled at each other.
Mei Cheng'an's slightly frowned brows slowly relaxed, and he drank his tea silently without saying anything. His first reaction to hearing Gaoda's remarks was that he felt that these remarks were a bit of a downer.
But it seems that as a citizen of Qing Kingdom, it is normal to have such thoughts. I have to say, this is a pretty interesting thing.
The carriage was speeding along the smooth official road, accompanied by the sound of dense horse hooves and the gurgling sound of rapidly turning wheels. The deciduous trees outside the window were hanging green leaves of varying sizes, which swayed and made rustling sounds in the wind brought by the carriage.
Fan Xian put down his teacup and spoke calmly.
"On this beautiful summer day, let's talk less about violence and violence."
Hearing this, Mei Chengan raised his eyebrows and smiled.
Well, it seems he is not the only one who is not used to it.
Gaoda and Wang Qinian were both stunned when they heard this. After looking at each other, they shut their mouths and stopped talking.
Fan Xian took another sip of tea, put down the cup, turned his head and looked at his fellow villager and asked.
"It's just right. Let's take this opportunity to hold a small meeting with them and talk about the precautions for going to the capital. Do you want to do it or should I?"
Mei Chengan shrugged and raised his hand to signal him to come over.
Fan Xian nodded without further ado.
"Then help me find out the missing parts."
Mei Chengan made an OK gesture.
Afterwards, Fan Xian quietly explained all the things that needed to be noted on this trip. He and Mei Cheng'an had discussed the content many times before, and he explained it exactly without any omissions.
There is no need for further negotiations on this trip to Beijing, except that the implementation of the agreement reached previously is not very difficult.
However, there are still some areas that require attention that need to be paid attention to. Emphasizing them in advance can help avoid any unexpected problems later.
There were only Mei Cheng'an, Fan Xian, Wang Qinian and Gao Da in the carriage, plus Teng Zijing who was driving, so there was nothing to be shy about when they talked, as long as they didn't let the Northern Qi people outside hear them.
……
Although Northern Qi was located in the northeast, the delegation had previously circled around the lake and headed eastwards before entering the country from the Fog City River. The delegation's destination, Shangjing City, was located in the center of Northern Qi. Therefore, after entering the border, the delegation's direction of travel was no longer northeast, but towards the north.
The distance from Wudu River to Beiqi seems to be much longer than the distance from Qingguo Kyoto to the northern border. Even if one takes the official highway all the way, the journey is not shortened much, and it seems endless.
Except for a few times when the delegations camped in the wild, most of them stayed in various post stations along the way and rarely stopped in larger towns. The Qing delegation was certainly not happy about this, especially Mei Cheng'an. It was not that he felt this was disrespectful from the Northern Qi side, but the main reason was that he needed to go to the Mei family restaurant in the big town to see if his wife, Princess Roujia, had written to him. How could he see it without passing through him, and there were no branches in small towns.
However, considering the careful reception and attentive service provided by the other party's officials, the delegation, including Mei Cheng'an, did not say much.
In fact, everyone knew that the Northern Qi had lost face in this agreement, and they were naturally embarrassed to let the people of the country see the Southern Dynasty's delegation marching through the town in a swagger.
All right, it's just a matter of going to see if there's any letter, and sending someone to make a trip is the same thing. Maybe because of some setbacks at the end of the handover at the border, Shen Zhong's vigilance against the delegation is a bit serious. In order not to attract attention, every time they were near a big city, Mei Cheng'an would arrange for Sweet Potato Bluebird to go into the city with the people who were buying supplies to purchase wine and food in the name of giving the delegation extra meals. Of course, the things were really bought and the meals were really extra, so Mei Cheng'an didn't care about this little money.
But what made him depressed was that his wife seemed to have forgotten about him. Every time he passed through a big city, he would send people to inquire about her, but the answer he got was always that no letter had been received.
Although the Mei Family Restaurant has few branches and they are only opened in larger towns, the sales volume of its liquor is astonishingly large, and the transportation channel, that is, the information channel, is very powerful and complete. The communication between the stores is also very frequent, and there is basically no problem of information lag. Mei Cheng'an sent a letter to all the stores in Northern Qi in advance before he set out, and all the stores were paying attention to the issue of the letter. If there was really a letter sent, all the stores would receive the news in a moment. Since the store said that there was no letter, there was only one truth, that is, his wife never wrote to him at all.
She said something so sure when they parted, but she just forgot about it after the incident? What a jerk!
After asking several times without any results, the indignant Mei Cheng'an decided not to wait any longer and sent a message directly to Huanggua who was staying at home, asking her to go to Prince Jing's Mansion to express his unhappiness on his behalf.
Huanggua's reply arrived within a few days. When Mei Cheng'an opened it, he burst into laughter. The reason why Li Roujia didn't write to him was that she was afraid that he would miss her too much after receiving the letter, and worried that he would delay the mission's official work. She even said bluntly that she would not write to him in the future, and asked him to stop thinking about it all day and focus on his work, strive to return to Qing Kingdom as soon as possible, and look forward to meeting him again.
After reading it, Mei Chengan's head was full of question marks and his brain was buzzing.
Is that the case? That's not the case!
What on earth is she obsessed with!!!
She is accusing the bad guy first... that's not right. She is also putting the blame on others... that's not right either. She is also confusing right and wrong... that doesn't seem to be the case.
Hiss~ What kind of storybook did he learn this trick from? It actually made him feel speechless and crazy, yet helpless and powerless.
Okay, okay, let’s play like this, you wait for me to come back!
……
As the carriage went further and further north, Mei Cheng'an had long lost interest in looking at the repetitive and boring scenery outside the window. His brows gradually furrowed. The boredom of the journey was one thing, but the tension of the card game in front of him gave him a headache. He didn't want to win, he wanted to win.
"Well, I got thirty thousand! You have to win, if not, just draw the cards quickly, why are you just standing there in a daze?"
Fan Xian urged him by tapping the table with his fingers.
Mei Chengan rolled his eyes and said unhappily.
"Why are you rushing me? I'm in a hurry to reincarnate. I won't touch you anymore!"
After saying that, he took a deep breath and carefully touched a card. What he said was not an angry remark, nor was it nonsense. He did have a pair of thirty thousand in his hand. Theoretically, it would be more appropriate for him to open the side cards after touching them, but now everyone has heard it, and the card he wanted to open after touching it was not under him. He did not dare to play it, for fear of being hit.
When Mei Chengan touched the bottom of the card lightly, his eyes lit up and his heart began to beat faster. It was a big card! No way, I could touch the last card?
Seeing his expression, Fan Xian hissed.
"Are you showing off? You can masturbate with only one picture left? I don't believe it, just turn it over and click it..."
Having said that, he was also nervous, mainly because everyone had made their bets, and the amount was not small, and everyone had heard it, except that he had a hidden gang in his hand. The situation was very tense and exciting. If he was caught in a trap, he would be penniless.
"Fuck you! Believe it or not! Stop barking!"
After retorting to Fan Xian, Mei Cheng'an kept reciting the number seven in his mind. His fingers once again carefully ran across the bottom of the cards. When he touched the single vertical line on the top of the seven, his face lit up with joy. He flipped his wrist and turned the seven upside down on the table with a snap. Then he raised his hand and pushed the cards in front of him neatly away.
“Self-draw! I’m stuck with seven of a kind, haha ..., give me money, give me money, give me money… The dealer doubles it, and a dragon doubles it again, hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, I get my money back in one hand, thank you all for letting me win.”
"Depend on!"
Fan Xian took a close look at Mei Cheng'an's cards, and after confirming that he was not cheating, he immediately burst into swear words. He felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and his head was buzzing. He was broke, bankrupt, how could he fix it?
Wang Qinian also had an expression of disbelief, he simply covered his chest and put on a mask of pain.
"I can win with seven cards. This is really weird. Where are my 40,000 or 70,000? How come I can't draw a single card?"
Sweet Potato pushed his own card and smiled embarrassedly.
"I'm sorry, you're getting on my nerves."
Wang Qinian took a closer look and almost vomited blood. He saw that Hongshu had three 40,000-yuan notes and three 70,000-yuan notes in his hand. He was extremely unlucky.
Mei Cheng'an slammed the table and urged.
"Stop wasting time and give me the money!"
As he said this, he first collected the deposits made by several people at the table. Wang Qinian and Hongshu were lucky enough, as they had a hidden gang to support them, and they had won a lot before. Although they lost a lot this time and it was painful, it was not a serious loss, and the accounts were settled quite neatly. Fan Xian was more miserable. He had already lost, and this time he was taken advantage of by the dealer, with a dragon, and he was hit by three hidden gangs... The money left in his hand was not enough, so he signed a loan sharking agreement with Teng Zijing, with a nine-in-thirteen-out loan, and borrowed all the money he had, and only then was he able to settle the accounts.
"Come again, damn!"
Fan Xian shouted viciously.
Mei Chengan happily stacked the money and glanced at him.
"Do you have any money left? Pay it off as soon as you can. Don't owe any money!"
Fan Xian chuckled.
"Who are you looking down on?"
As he said this, he reached into his bosom, pulled out a silver note and slapped it on the table.
"Look, I'm not short of money!"
Mei Cheng'an glanced at the amount on the banknote. It was quite large, five hundred taels. He rolled his eyelids.
"The number is too big to change. Do you have any smaller ones?"
Fan Xian got angry when he heard this. How could he possibly carry large-denomination silver notes when he went out? He only had this one note as a guarantee. He did carry a lot of small-denomination silver notes ranging from ten to one hundred taels. However, after so many days of the Battle of the Bird God, all the small-denomination silver notes had left him and flown into other people's hands. Otherwise, why would he have to borrow a few taels of silver from Teng Zijing, and borrow nine in and thirteen out? He had no intention of using this guarantee money, but was stimulated by this nine in and thirteen out.
"No! You have so many banknotes, can't you just break them up and change them into a few smaller ones?"
Mei Cheng'an was stunned for a moment and almost forgot that he was rich. He turned his head to look at Hongshu.
"Break it for him."
Hongshu lowered his head and rummaged through his waist bag, then raised his head and shook his head at Mei Chengan.
"Master, we spent a lot on shopping along the way, and we don't have many small banknotes left, so we can't exchange them for the time being."
Upon hearing this, Mei Cheng'an spread his hands towards Fan Xian.
"You heard it all, so there's nothing we can do."
Fan Xian looked at Wang Qinian, but before he could speak, Wang Qinian reached out his hand first.
"Hey, sir, don't look at me. All my body combined wouldn't be enough to change it for you. How about we forget about it today?"
Fan Xian glanced at the banknotes on the table, raised his hand to pick them up and put them back into his arms, while sighing.
"alright."
In fact, he was just impulsive, and after being poured with two basins of cold water, his anger was almost gone, so he no longer insisted.
Mei Chengan instructed Hongshu with a smile.
"Take them all."
"Yes, Master."
Hongshu was very quick and quickly collected all the silver and mahjong on the table. The mahjong table was made up of two small coffee tables, one of which was taken from Mei Chengan's carriage. Hongshu collected one and placed it at the entrance of the carriage, and then rearranged the tea and snacks on the remaining small table.
Wang Qinian rushed to take the teapot and poured tea for everyone.
Mei Cheng'an held the teacup and took a sip, then glanced at Fan Xian who still had a depressed look on his face and smiled.
"Okay, there's nothing to be depressed about. You just had bad luck today. When your luck is on your side next time, you'll be able to make back your money in just a few rounds. Don't worry, I'm a ready-made example. I lost more than you before, but I made back my money, didn't I?"
After hearing this, Fan Xian's depression was indeed relieved a lot. He sighed lightly and picked up the teacup.
"It's not just my bad luck today. I hope it's as you said."
After taking a sip of tea, he glanced out the window, as if he suddenly remembered something, and asked with a "hmm".
"How many days have we been on the road since entering Northern Qi?"
Wang Qinian responded.
"Twenty-two days."
Fan Xian was somewhat surprised when he heard this.
"It's been so many days?"
Mei Chengan was a little curious.
"what happened?"
Fan Xian glanced at him, considered for a moment, and then spoke.
"We have been walking for so many days, and we have been on the official road all the way. Our speed is very fast. We should have crossed the border to the capital... The territory of Northern Qi seems to be surprisingly large."
……
(End of this chapter)
