Listening to the woman's sobs, his heart softened at last. After a moment's hesitation, he finally opened the door.
As the door swung open, with the light from the palace lanterns on the corridor, Lan Tian saw a tear - streaked woman. Although she was not as beautiful as the queen, to Lan Tian, who had grown up in the Heavenly Artisan Gate and rarely interacted with people other than dealing with tool blueprints, it was a sight that left him momentarily stunned.
He scratched his head shyly and said to Cui Si, "Alright, I'll go with you. But I can only meet her in the garden. You should go and tell Her Ladyship first."
Cui Si hesitated and said, "But Her Ladyship is under house arrest now. It's not convenient for her to leave the palace."
Lan Tian was slightly taken aback, then said to Cui Si, "Then I won't go. I don't even know Her Ladyship. We've never met before. There should be proper distance between men and women. Your mistress is a member of the harem. If I'm found meeting her, I'll be in serious trouble."
After saying that, Lan Tian turned around and was about to go back into his room, ignoring these "ghosts and goblins" outside.
Cui Si was not about to let him go in. It had taken her so much effort to get him to agree to meet Her Ladyship.
"Sir Lan, please wait a moment. I'll go back and report to Her Ladyship. I'll come back with an answer soon," Cui Si called out to Lan Tian.
Lan Tian nodded. "Go ahead. I'll wait for you here." He was leaving tomorrow. While waiting for the maid to return, he could take a look at his blueprints.
The terrain along the South River was extremely complex. This was his first independent task after leaving the mountain, so he needed to think it over carefully.
Cui Si left in a hurry, afraid that Lan Tian would change his mind.
After reporting to Mei Fei, Mei Fei told Cui Si to take Lan Tian to the secluded pavilion in the garden. She herself disguised as a maid and quietly left her palace.
Lan Tian didn't expect Cui Si to return so soon. He had only finished half of his plan when there was another knock on the door. He had to put away his blueprints and follow Cui Si to the imperial garden.
By this time, Mei Fei was already waiting in the pavilion. When she saw Lan Tian coming, she immediately showed a gentle smile.
It had to be said that Mei Fei, with her elaborate makeup, was quite charming. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bewitched Si Junlin to dote on her almost exclusively.
However, after Su Wan'er and Si Junlin switched bodies, Su Wan'er's attitude towards Si Junlin, who was now the queen, made her feel a sense of danger. In a moment of desperation, she did many things and finally ended up under house arrest in the palace.
Now that she had calmed down, she naturally wouldn't act so out of control as before.
"I presume you are Sir Lan Tian," she said with a smile as she bowed to Lan Tian.
Lan Tian also nodded to her. "This commoner pays respects to Her Ladyship Mei Fei."
Mei Fei gently supported Lan Tian's arm, signaling him to get up. "Sir Lan is from the orthodox Heavenly Artisan Gate. My great - grandfather was also from the Heavenly Artisan Gate. We're kind of distant relatives. Sir Lan, you don't need to be so formal."
Lan Tian sneered inwardly. He was devoted to his skills, but he wasn't a fool. If according to Mei Fei's logic, almost everyone in the world would be a distant relative.
However, he was now in a situation where he had to be cautious. So he just smiled and said, "Yes, yes, yes."
Mei Fei made a gesture of invitation and asked him to sit on the stone bench in the pavilion.
Although this pavilion was a bit secluded, the light from the palace lanterns on the nearby corridor still shone through faintly. So they didn't need to light a lamp. It wasn't completely dark here.
The two sat facing each other. As soon as Lan Tian sat down, he got straight to the point. "I wonder what Her Ladyship Mei Fei wants to talk to me about?"
Mei Fei frowned imperceptibly. She suspected that Lan Tian was just playing with her. She didn't believe that Lan Tian didn't know why she had asked him to come. He was just waiting for her to speak.
Mei Fei didn't care. It didn't matter who brought it up. "I heard that you're going to take over the matter of the flood in the South River?"
Lan Tian nodded. "That's right. I heard that Her Ladyship's maternal family, the Rong family, is also well - versed in water conservancy. I wonder if Her Ladyship has any advice?"
This was exactly what Mei Fei had been waiting for. "Do you know that water conservancy projects, whether in the capital or other cities, are closely related to many people. It took my grandfather decades to barely get most of the officials to follow his orders. If you, a newcomer, go there, the local officials may not listen to you."
"So what does Her Ladyship suggest?" Lan Tian didn't believe that Mei Fei was just talking aimlessly.
Mei Fei said slowly, "I thought that since there's some connection between our family and your Heavenly Artisan Gate, I'll write a letter to my grandfather and ask him to say hello to his former subordinates so that they can take care of you. Then you can carry out your work smoothly."
"What do I need to give you in return?" He didn't believe that Mei Fei would be so kind as to help a stranger for free.
"Of course. If I said I'd help you for free, you'd probably suspect that I have ulterior motives," Mei Fei said calmly. It seemed as if they were just doing business.
Lan Tian didn't say a word, waiting for her to continue.
Mei Fei didn't care whether Lan Tian responded or not. She just went on talking on her own. "You know that I'm under house arrest now, right?"
Lan Tian nodded. Cui Si had mentioned this when she asked him to come.
Mei Fei continued, "This case was originally supposed to be taken over by my grandfather. But he gave up this opportunity for me. Now that you've taken it over, my grandfather is willing to let a new person take on the task. But you don't want to ruin my grandfather's good intention of helping me lift the house arrest, do you?"
Lan Tian understood what she meant. "You mean you want me to cooperate with your grandfather and defy the imperial edict to save you?"
"No need. My grandfather dared to defy the imperial edict because he has a gold medal for exemption from death. You don't. So you can still finish your task. At that time, you just need to fudge the accounts a bit, saying that your ability is limited and you can't handle it, then hand it over to my grandfather." Mei Fei said the well - thought - out plan.
Afraid that he might not agree, she added some more incentives on her own initiative. "Don't worry. I won't let you do this for free. Cui Si!" Her last words were addressed to Cui Si.