Chapter 68 Hidden Needle in Cotton

  After parting with Zhao Yun, the sky had gradually darkened. Liu Jingshen went to You Ji's new office again to handle some trivial matters before returning home. Halfway through, Liu Hu finally spoke up, "Jingshen, how did you master that Wind and Thunder Change? Can you teach me?"

  Liu Xuan smiled and turned back to ask him, "Have you started practicing?"

  "I've seen it countless times, those moves are already etched in my memory."

  "Watching the move is not equal to practicing martial arts. Although the Wind and Thunder Change has only one move, it contains many profound principles of martial arts. This requires your own enlightenment, I cannot teach you. If three months are not enough, then half a year, if half a year is not enough, then a year or two years. With your innate divine power, as long as you thoroughly understand this move and come up with new ideas, Cai Zhong and Zhang Yun will not be your opponents. You will become the famous general of Jingzhou."

  Liu Hu's eyes lit up, a famous general of Jingzhou, an honor he never thought he would have in his dreams. He then asked urgently: "Then how should I train?"

  "Lock yourself in a dark room, don't light the lamp, focus on feeling each move, practice no more than two hours a day, and after a long time, you will reap rewards."

  Liu Hu bit his lip and nodded heavily, "I understand, I'll start tonight."

  Liu Xuan patted his incredibly broad shoulders again and smiled slightly, saying: "As long as you have perseverance and determination, there's nothing in the world that can't be accomplished."

  Unconsciously, the two returned to their small residence. Dinner was already prepared. Liu Xuan and Liu Hu sat down, and they saw a woman in her thirties carrying dishes into the room. She bowed respectfully to the two of them. Liu Xuan was taken aback - who was this?

  Liu Hu recognized her and smiled, asking: "Mrs. Bao, what brings you here?"

  The middle-aged woman hastily said: "It was Master Qi who asked me to come over and cook."

  "Master, this is Xiao Baozi's mother, she's the cook in the Liu household. Since Lang Gongzi said that Hu Gongzi has also arrived, and Xiao Baozi was busy alone, he asked his mother to come over and cook. The mistress didn't object."

  He called out one by one, little baozi, even Liu Xuan was a bit embarrassed, this is the name he came up with, he can call it, but Meng Shu, such an old man, actually also calls little baozi, this is a bit ridiculous.

  But Liu Xuan didn't correct her, for in this era there were no baozi, and it didn't matter. He took a glance at the woman and found that she was Xiaobao's mother. Liu Xuan couldn't help but feel secretly grateful to Liu Qi for being considerate.

  Xiao Baozi's father passed away last year, and she relies on her mother for survival. She was sent here to alleviate her own worries. Liu Jing likes Xiao Baozi very much, this little servant girl is clever, obedient and good at understanding people's intentions.

  After dinner, Liu Hu retreated to an empty room to practice his swordplay, while Liu Xuan returned to his own room, which seemed to have added a few more pieces of fine furniture.

  What surprised Liu Xuan the most was that beside his desk, there was an additional bronze floor lamp with a design of two dragons playing with a pearl, about three feet tall, exquisitely crafted, with the two dragons vividly lifelike, and even the pearl they were playing with was a valuable bright pearl, one glance would tell it was a precious item.

  Liu Jing was stunned, would Cai Fu send such a valuable bronze lamp to herself?

  "Your Highness!"

  Xiao Baozi rushed in like a little bird, laughing and saying: "This was sent by Mr. Tao this afternoon, including furniture, kitchen utensils, tableware, and many other things that we didn't have time to unpack, all of which are top-notch."

  "Who is Tao Zhu?"

  Liu Xuan thought of the middle-aged man. The small package smiled and said, "It was him, he personally delivered it, and also mentioned tomorrow's meal, telling the young master not to forget."

  Liu Xuan nodded, this Tao Zhan was indeed meticulous, even thinking of kitchen utensils and tableware, comparable to a woman, but tomorrow should still thank him sincerely.

  "Sir, have some tea, I just brewed it."

  Xiao Baozi skillfully placed a cup of fragrant tea on the table, and Liu Xuan sat down. From last night's busy work to now, he had not stopped for a moment. As soon as he sat down, a deep sense of fatigue hit him, making him almost fall asleep.

  Liu Jing raised his cup, and a strong ginseng aroma wafted up to him. "Little Baozi, did you use ginseng?" Liu Jing asked with a smile.

  "I saw the Tao family send over a lot of ginseng, so I made half a branch for you."

  Little baozi twisted her fingers, and in the sparkling big eyes, there was a hint of worry. "Is it going to be used for gunpowder? I shouldn't have brewed tea."

  "It doesn't matter if it's brewed tea!"

  Liu Jing took a sip of tea and suddenly remembered something. He smiled and asked, "Little Baozi, didn't Uncle Meng say last time that you know how to make medicine?"

  "Uh-huh!" Xiaobao nodded heavily, "I'm working in the pharmacy of the mansion, making medicine with Master Ma Wu. I've been doing it for two years now. The mistress's medicine is made from the medicinal pills that I prepared."

  Liu Xuan remembered that he had told Liu Qi last time that he was studying the preparation of medicinal pills at Qingzhu Pavilion, so Liu Qi would choose a maidservant from the pharmacy for himself, which happened to be just in time.

  Liu Xuan thought for a moment, although Yu Zhenzi finally agreed, there was no need to keep the formula secret. However, Liu Xuan still didn't want the prescription to be casually leaked to outsiders, Xiao Baozi would do, she would be her personal little maid in the future, let her make the medicine, it's most suitable, and this kind of medicine is only suitable for herself, leaking out doesn't have any meaning, no need to think too much.

  Before Liu Jing could say anything, Xiao Baozi smiled and said: "Young Master wants me to make gunpowder from now on?"

  Liu Jiong smiled and said, "You little ghost's quick thinking is quite impressive. Alright, let's talk about the gunpowder in a few days."

  At this time, Meng Shu hastily came and anxiously said: "Young Master, the Cai army has arrived, they are right at the gate."

  If Tao Zhuang's delivery of furniture was only slightly unexpected for Liu Xuan, then Cai Man's visit made him secretly surprised. He couldn't have imagined that Cai Man would come running over, but at this time Liu Xuan didn't have time to think carefully and immediately ordered Xiao Baozi, "Go brew two more cups of tea!"

  He immediately got up and walked out of the courtyard gate. At the small courtyard gate, a dozen or so attendants surrounded Cai Mao, but he did not enter the courtyard.

  Cai Man was narrowing his eyes to size up the small house in front of him, it's said that this small house was given by Kuai Yue, but it's a bit too shabby, what's the difference between this and the ordinary civilian houses that can be seen everywhere in the city? Was Liu Xuan bought over by Kuai Yue with such petty favors?

  The sound of footsteps came, and Liu Jiong's tall figure appeared at the door. He bowed his head and smiled: "I didn't know that Master Cai had arrived, I'm sorry for not welcoming you from afar!"

  According to official etiquette, Liu Xuan should have performed a kneeling bow to Cai Mao, but instead he only made a long bow. He was not very used to this kind of courtesy, and except for Liu Bei who was his elder, he did not show such respect to anyone else.

  Cai Man saw that he only bowed to himself, and his heart was slightly displeased, but his face didn't show it. He still smiled and said: "It's me who came in a hurry and disturbed young master Jing's rest."

  "General Cai, please come in!" Liu Xuan made a welcoming gesture.

  Cai Man nodded and turned around to instruct his followers, "All of you wait outside."

  Liu Xuan didn't stand on ceremony and directly invited Cai Mao into the guest hall. The guest hall was still tidy, with two single-person seats arranged, and thick woolen blankets were spread on the couches to keep warm in winter. On each seat, there was also a brazier, making it even warmer.

  Cai Man sat down, looked around the room and smiled: "This house is a bit old and damp. I also have a mansion in Fan City, which is much larger than here. There are gardens, forests, and dozens of servants in the mansion. It's empty anyway, would you like to move there tomorrow, Master Jing?"

  Liu Xuan was secretly thinking, what did Cai Mao come for, to threaten himself? Because of Zhang Yun's affair, he knew that Cai and Zhang had become close due to their common enemy, the Kuai family, and had almost formed an alliance. Today, Zhang Yun was demoted, which naturally harmed Cai Mao's interests as well. Cai Mao wouldn't have a good face for himself.

  But Cai Mao opened his mouth and was flattering himself, letting him live in a good house, which made Liu Xuan feel a little vigilant. What did Cai Mao want to do?

  "Thank you for your kind intentions, Cai Jun, but I've never been too particular about where I live. This little house is already quite satisfactory to me."

  Liu Jue politely declined Cai Mao's arrangement. Cai Mao dryly laughed twice, "The young master's requirements are indeed not high."

  Cai Man proposed to swap houses just to test the waters, and Liu Xuan's refusal was also expected. At this time, a small servant brought in two cups of tea and placed them on the table between the two men before retreating again.

  "Master Jing, is this your maid?" Cai Mao glanced at Xiao Baozi.

  "This is my uncle's maid, and he has arranged for her to attend to my daily needs."

  Liu Jiong's mind was stretched taut, he was extremely vigilant, and even a single glance from Cai Mao might bring fatal danger to Xiao Baozi. He couldn't afford to be the slightest bit careless, not giving Cai Mao any opportunity.

  Cai Man didn't intend to hit on a maid, he asked this way because he had other ideas, perhaps Liu Xuan could consider getting married, and he himself had a niece who was quite suitable for him.

  But let's not talk about that, Cai Mei raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Today, Gongzi swept away Zhang Yunyan's face, and from top to bottom in Jingzhou, everyone applauded with joy. Ah! Even I breathed a sigh of relief."

  "It's not like everyone would applaud and cheer, is it? Many of Zhang Yun's allies must have been deeply resentful towards me, Liu Xuan." Liu Xuan asked with a hint of a smile.

  Cai Man naturally understood that Liu Xuan was hinting at him, and he cursed inwardly, forcing a smile: "Of course there are people who will hate me, but I'm grateful to you, sir. Today the governor took away Zhang Yun's troops, and from now on no one will dare to use troops arbitrarily again. This is a serious military discipline for Jingzhou. As a military advisor, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. A chronic illness that has plagued Jingzhou for a long time was actually solved by you, sir."

  "General Cai overestimates me. Liu Xuan cannot bear the merit of maintaining strict military discipline, and General Cai should be grateful to the provincial governor instead."

  Liu Xuan's indifference made Cai Mao somewhat embarrassed, he couldn't find anything to say for a while, the room fell silent, and the two of them drank tea separately without speaking, making the atmosphere in the house heavy.

  Cai Mao's real intention was not to win over Liu Xuan, because Liu Xuan was only the nephew of Liu Biao, not his son. Even if he were capable, he could not replace Ju and Qiong as the master of Jingzhou. It would be better to put effort and resources into winning over Liu Qiong rather than wasting time on Liu Xuan.

  But he couldn't come and couldn't report to Second Uncle, Second Uncle seemed to attach great importance to this Liu Xuan, so he had to pretend to come and have a talk with Liu Xuan.

  It was just that, in Cai Mao's heart, there wasn't much sincerity. If Liu Xuan was willing to be pulled over, it would be an unexpected gain, but if he couldn't be pulled over, there wouldn't be any loss, and it could also be used as a pretext for Second Uncle.

  Cai Man smiled and the topic turned to Liu Xuan's lifelong event. "Actually, I came today also to mention Shao Yu's situation. She is only 15 years old now, according to Cai family rules, girls get married at 17, so I have communicated with the governor, waiting for Shao Yu to grow two more years before arranging her marriage. The governor agreed, and I hope you can understand my difficulties as a father, let's wait another two years."

  Cai Mao's tone was very sincere, and Liu Xuan also heard about the postponement of his marriage to Cai Shaoyou. This was obviously not Liu Biao's intention, but rather the Cai family's opposition to marrying their daughter off to him, which was especially evident in Mrs. Cai.

  Today, Cai Man's intention to come to the door is also very clear, wanting to win over Liu Xuan, but sincerity? A house that is a bit more spacious than here, and it's only temporarily lent to him.

  On this core issue of Tsai Ing-wen, however, he remains tough and shows no sign of compromise, which is what Cai Mao calls "sincerity".

  Perhaps in Cai Mao's view, his condescension to visit was a great honor to himself, and he should kneel down and thank him for the visit. Liu Xuan couldn't help but sneer inwardly, what did this Cai Mao think of himself?

  Thinking of this, Liu Xuan smiled faintly, "Actually, I was thinking of having some achievements before considering marriage, this is also my father's last words to me, telling his sons that a man should prioritize his career, I always remember it in my heart, if I can delay the marriage, it would be just what I want."

  "Haha! My young nephew is indeed ambitious, I'll have to recommend you to your uncle when the opportunity arises. Letting you be a supervisor at the touring tax office would be a bit of a waste of your talent."

  With a hypocritical smile, Cai Mao asked again: "When does the young master plan to consider getting married?"

  Liu Jiong's cold smile almost froze on his face, on the one hand wanting to delay the wedding for two years, and on the other hand asking himself when he would consider getting married, then shifting the responsibility to himself, it was simply despicable.

  Liu Xuan did not answer him directly, but instead asked in return: "Didn't General Cai say earlier that we would consider the matter of our daughter's marriage two years from now? Isn't it too early to discuss this now?"

  "What I mean is, if you're planning to get married this year, I have a niece who's beautiful, elegant, intelligent and virtuous. Would you like...?"

  Liu Xuan didn't speak for half a day, and only then did he understand Cai Mao's intention. He actually wanted to use the trick of substituting one thing for another, what kind of person did he take Liu Xuan for?

  As Cai Mao's identity and the world, he would not have known that this is a great humiliation to people, but he still does so, which can only explain that he has an extreme contempt for himself in his bones.

  Liu Xiong's heart was burning with anger, he took a deep breath and said: "I am just a small touring officer, a minor official who has not yet entered the mainstream, my status is lowly, how can I be worthy of the noble Miss Cai? Liu Xiong has self-awareness, General Cai's good intentions, I appreciate it."

  Cai Man's last bit of patience was finally exhausted by Liu Xuan's non-cooperation, he let out a heavy hum in his heart, he condescended to visit him, what kind of face was this, yet he still resisted him all along, such an uncooperative person, might as well not try to win him over!

  Cai Man didn't want to continue talking about his niece's matter either. He was extremely disgusted with Liu Xuan in his heart, and a dark cloud quickly covered his face. His voice also became severe, "You mean you don't plan to marry the daughter of the Cai family, is that right?"

  Liu Xuan no longer pretended to be polite to him. Since they were going to tear their faces apart, they might as well clarify the situation once and for all.

  "If Instructor Cai thinks so, then it is!"

  "Good! Refreshing."

  Cai Man no longer had any courtesy, standing up coldly and saying: "I understand your intentions, from today on, I, Cai's daughter, have nothing to do with you, farewell!"

  He stormed out of the yard with a burst of anger, took a few steps outside, and waved his hand, "Let's go!"

  Liu Jiong also walked to the gate, coldly gazing at the group of people leaving in the distance. He snorted disdainfully, "Putting on airs!"

  He saw through Cai Mao's hypocrisy and pretence.