Chapter 380: Child Betrothal

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The Novel, Author: Fenghuo XizhuhouPC reading address:Address:

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**Journeying Alone to Beimang**Fenghuo Xizhuhou

Beiliang was in turmoil. The news that Chen Zhibao would enter Shu and be granted a title had spread throughout the land. It was estimated that he would become the Liyang Dynasty's second non-imperial king, even before Xu Fengnian, who was to inherit the title of King of Beiliang.

A simply decorated carriage slowly stopped at the entrance of the Chu Mansion. The doorman, who was leaning against the side gate cracking melon seeds, was momentarily dazed. The coachman was a young woman in green, making him think, "This family's master really isn't afraid of sending a maid into the tiger's den." However, when the doorman saw the figures successively disembarking from the carriage, he was so terrified that he became silent as a cicada in winter, his lips trembling. He dropped a handful of melon seeds and stumbled out of the gate. The first to step down was a white-haired man, wearing a black robe over a white base. He didn't have much of an aristocratic air, but his face alone filled the doorman with dread. In Beiliang, truly only this young master could keep their own master in check. Following him were Xu Longxiang, the Grand General's second son, as well as the elegant Yuan Zuozong and the burly Qi Dangguo. All four were eminent figures who would never ordinarily visit the Chu Mansion, yet here they were together. Could they be here to confiscate property? The doorman quickly spat a few times, dismissing the thought. General Chu's loyalty was beyond doubt; no one would confiscate anything here. Seeing the rare, distinguished guest at the front, His Royal Highness Xu Fengnian, the clever doorman immediately knelt down without a word. Just as he was about to gather his breath to shout, hoping to bring honor to his master, Xu Fengnian laughed and said, "That's enough. Get up and lead the way."

As soon as the group sat down in the main hall of the Chu Mansion, they felt a tremor in the ground. Chu Lushan, dressed in loose casual clothes, rolled over the threshold and into the hall. A mass of flesh knelt at Xu Fengnian's feet. "My Lord, I've finally awaited your visit to my humble abode! It truly illuminates my humble dwelling. I'll burn extra incense sticks for my ancestors later."

Xu Fengnian kicked him. "Humble abode? I don't think it's much worse than the Beiliang Prince's Residence. Today, I brought Brother Yuan and General Qi here to freeload some wine from you. Stop with the nonsense and find a less vulgar, quiet place."

Chu Lushan shakily managed to stand up, then shot a stern glance at the old butler of the mansion. Turning back, he wore a cloyingly obsequious smile. With a pair of soft, boneless, plump hands, he pulled Xu Fengnian's arm. "There are good places for both drinking and tea. If Your Highness has any dissatisfaction later, I'll carve off two catties of my own flesh to serve with the wine."

Xu Fengnian sneered, "With all that fat, how dare you offer it as a dish? None of us could pick it up with chopsticks."

Chu Lushan said awkwardly, "It's my uselessness; I couldn't grow a body of streaky pork with the right fat-to-lean ratio, perfect for accompanying wine."

They arrived at a bamboo house. The purple bamboo was sparse, not so dense as to feel desolate or spooky. A small pond was deep, serene, and emerald green, with sunlight filtering through the bamboo leaves. By the water, a palm-sized wild turtle was basking in the sun with its family. Hearing human voices and footsteps, it quickly slid into the oily green pond. The pond and the small house were large, and the lighting was cleverly designed. Entering through the door, it felt quiet and spacious, without any sense of confinement. Inside the bamboo house, there was also an ancient zither with mottled patterns. Sitting here, whether drinking wine or tea, the scenery, tea, and wine all complemented each other perfectly. Xu Fengnian glanced at the ancient zither. Outsiders might not know the talent of Butcher Chu Baxia, but he was privy to the inside story: Chu Lushan was proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose. It was only a pity he lacked the appearance of a refined scholar.

After sitting by the window, Chu Lushan first poured two cups of wine for Xu Fengnian and Qi Dangguo. Holding the wine pot, he smiled and asked Yuan Zuozong, "If you, esteemed elder, don't mind my dirty hands and the smell of wine, I'll dare to pour you a cup."

Yuan Zuozong raised an eyebrow, and Chu Lushan naturally poured that cup of wine.

Qi Dangguo had a good relationship with Chu Lushan. Among the six adopted sons, he had the best rapport, often visiting the homes of the other five adopted brothers. A little girl born in the Chu mansion a few years ago even recognized him as her godfather, just short of arranging a child betrothal between the two families. Chu Lushan would often beat and scold his sons as if they were picked up off the street. However, he doted on his youngest daughter, feeling protective of her. He disliked Qi Dangguo's youngest son's crude appearance, which led Qi Dangguo to ask Chu Lushan every time they met for the past two years, "How could my son be ugly?"

Xu Fengnian took a sip of wine and looked around. Among the three, Yuan Zuozong, known as "White Bear," held the highest military rank, General Zhen'an of the Second Rank, a truly powerful and influential position. In the Beiliang army, he was only half a rank lower than Chen Zhibao, the Grand Protector of Beiliang, who commanded the two border provinces. Yuan Zuozong currently served as the deputy general of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry. Chu Lushan, on the other hand, was a General Qianniu Longwu of the Third Rank, but he held no actual military power. Qi Dangguo was even less significant, merely an unimportant Colonel of the Flanking Guard, a very minor official, though he was responsible for carrying the banner in major battles. Because Beiliang was a vassal king's territory where military and civil affairs were controlled by one hand, and because Xu Xiao was a non-imperial king who had served as a Super First Rank Grand Pillar State in civil office and a First Rank Grand General of Cavalry in military office, and given the distance from the imperial court, civil officials in Beiliang held ranks consistent with the Liyang Dynasty, while military officers could mostly be one or half a rank higher. The imperial court turned a blind eye to this, pretending not to see it; even Grand Tutor Zhang Julu had said something to the effect that Beiliang should be allowed such exceptions. Now, setting aside the fact that Beiliang did not have a unique civil official system, just considering the military officers of the seventh rank and above, not including those retired honorific officials who had left the border, there were still eighty of them. Most of these stalwarts, who supported Beiliang's 300,000 iron cavalry, might never have personally met Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian finished a cup of wine, and while Chu Lushan was pouring more, he asked, "Lu Qiu'er, who do you think will become the Grand Protector of Beiliang?"

Chu Lushan replied without hesitation, "General Yuan, of course. Otherwise, the old generals Zhong Hongwu, commander of the cavalry, and Yan Wenluan, commander of the infantry, also barely have the qualifications and ability. But truthfully, old General Zhong has strong prejudices against His Highness and is also entangled with Chen Zhibao, so he's not suitable to immediately become this Second Rank Grand Protector. As for Yan Wenluan, he appears impartial and also has a rift with Chen Zhibao, but the old general has a gloomy temperament, even more difficult to deal with than Zhong Hongwu. I've been watching him for over ten years, and I haven't heard him say a single bad word about His Highness, which actually makes me uneasy. All things considered, it must be General Yuan who takes on this role of Grand Protector, commanding the military power of the two provinces; it makes sense from all perspectives. Why are you staring? I say this in front of His Highness and you, Yuan Zuozong, and I say the exact same thing to my adopted father, believe it or not. I'm praising you, yet you don't appreciate it—you old man are truly difficult to serve!"

Yuan Zuozong smiled and lowered his head, drinking his wine.Huang Man'er had been squatting by the ancient zither, lost in thought.

Xu Fengnian calmly said, "Lu Qiu'er, give me a list. I'll consider promoting them by one or two ranks. If truly necessary, even skipping three ranks is fine."

Hearing this, Chu Lushan took a stack of folded papers from his sleeve and handed them to Xu Fengnian with a smile. Yuan Zuozong frowned, coldly staring at the prescient Chu Lushan.

Xu Fengnian smiled and spread three papers on the table. They were densely written with over sixty names, each accompanied by a concise military resume, with strengths and weaknesses clearly visible. The handwriting was Chu Lushan's unique running script, bold yet not strange, free-flowing and smooth. After reading every word, Xu Fengnian pushed the papers towards Yuan Zuozong. After carefully reading them, Yuan Zuozong's brows relaxed slightly. The list was neither based on nepotism nor overly rigid meritocracy. While more than ten people on the list could be considered Chu Lushan's trusted inner circle, most were frustrated middle and lower-ranking officers in the Beiliang army. Their common traits were youthfulness, combat prowess, vitality, and not a hint of decline.

Xu Fengnian asked with a smile, "Lu Qiu'er, don't you have any reservations at all? Won't you bring this out later?"

Chu Lushan, sitting like a small hill, chuckled, "There's no need. The Grand General is my adopted father, for whom I'd willingly die, no need to say more. Your Highness is my master, whom I wholeheartedly serve. Hiding these matters secretively would be too pretentious. Oh, and there's one more thing that's been stuck in my throat for many years. I must say it today, even if it's wrong, please don't take offense, Your Highness."

Xu Fengnian nodded, "Go on, tell me."

Chu Lushan sat upright and said, "Nearly a thousand civil officials in our Beiliang who can be called 'officials' are a complete mess. Most are retired from the Beiliang army; they're good at leading troops but complete amateurs when it comes to governance and pacifying the populace. The very few who don't disturb the people are already considered great and benevolent officials, earning the gratitude of the common folk. Most of these people carry many bad habits that were good in the military: they're fiercely protective of their own, favor relatives over justice, and manage their households as domineeringly as they lead an army. Not to mention how imposing they are as officials. It's only fortunate that our Beiliang people were accustomed to suffering and feared poverty in the past, otherwise, if this were anywhere else in the Liyang Dynasty, they might well have risen in rebellion.

"Furthermore, mutual protection among officials has become a deep-seated, incurable ailment. The old generals, big and small, idling at home, can be found in any large brothel, easily encountered just by having a casual drink. As for the offspring of generals behind them, those who dare to join the army are commendable and mostly promising. But among those who stay at home, nine out of ten are lawless, arrogant idlers, whose only skill is causing trouble in the local community. Damn it, Yuan, are you addicted to staring at me? Can I tell my adopted father these things? Do you really think my adopted father doesn't see such situations? It's just that he finds it impossible to act! They are all old brothers who fought alongside him for decades, risking their lives. Leaving aside other matters, let me tell you, Lu Qiu'er, about that wretched incident with the Meng family in Lingzhou the year before last. Old General Meng and his two sons died beside you at Concubine's Tomb back then, remember? As a result, his only grandson grew up, kidnapped someone's wife, and hired assassins to kill an entire family of dozens of people. But what could my adopted father do? Just chop off Old General Meng's family line with one stroke? In these past ten or twenty years, haven't there been enough bastards constantly testing my adopted father's bottom line with these foul deeds?"

Yuan Zuozong snorted coldly.

Chu Lushan, for once, was exasperated. "Confucian benevolence and righteousness, benevolence always precedes righteousness. If you are unrighteous, you are merely an unworthy subject; if you are inhumane, you are not even human. In today's world, if we were to act according to the Legalist approach, it would be even more chaotic. For a thousand years since Saint Zhang, a full thousand years, Confucian scholars have been muddling through, trying to find balance between the inherently opposing concepts of benevolence and righteousness. Do you truly think this is a simple matter?! It's not easy to conquer the world on horseback, but is it easy to govern it dismounted?"

Having spoken his mind, Chu Lushan quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, slapped himself a few times, and muttered, "I lost my composure, I lost my composure. I deserve a slap."

Xu Fengnian subtly changed the subject, laughing, "Let's get to the point. The reason for my visit this time is to tell you one thing, Lu Qiu'er: release those like Dian Xionghu and Wei Fucheng who should be released; don't make things difficult for them."

Xu Fengnian paused, then said calmly, "Also, Xu Xiao promised me that you would become the Grand Protector of Beiliang."

Chu Lushan abruptly fell backward, and the entire bamboo house shook a few times. The fat man, his body trembling violently, sat on the ground, his eyes vacant, having forgotten to stand up. In fact, both Yuan Zuozong and Qi Dangguo were hearing this astonishing news for the first time. The former remained perfectly still, his expression calm. The latter's mouth gaped open, unable to utter a word.

Xu Fengnian ignored Chu Lushan and said to the two men present, "Brother Yuan, old General Zhong Hongwu will certainly resign his military post in a fit of pique after a while; you can simply take over grandly then. General Qi, you will take command of Dian Xionghu's six thousand Iron Buddha heavy cavalry and Wei Fucheng's crossbow cavalry. Ning Emei will be your deputy. If you think the troops are too few, I can add more; if you think they're too many, I won't bother."

Yuan Zuozong put down his wine cup and said, "I will not decline."

Qi Dangguo rubbed his cheeks vigorously. "Your Highness, can I do it?"

Xu Fengnian teased, "Well, you can't possibly expect me to become a General Zhuangwu, can you?"

Chu Lushan, with a mournful expression, climbed to his feet and was about to speak when he saw His Royal Highness beckoning towards the window.

Not long after, a beautiful woman holding a small girl timidly stood at the doorway. Chu Lushan scurried over and slapped her face. "Blind fool, who told you to disturb His Highness's drinking pleasure!"

The child in the young woman's arms cried loudly. Chu Lushan held the child, comforting her softly. Blood seeped from the woman's lips, yet she endured the piercing pain and elegantly bowed to everyone in the room. Yuan Zuozong and Qi Dangguo were unfazed, neither rising nor returning the bow.

Only Xu Fengnian walked to the door and, with a gentle smile, said, "Greetings, sister-in-law."

The woman, whose beauty could eclipse the moon and shame flowers, was uneasy. She was merely a concubine in the Chu Mansion; how could she be addressed as 'sister-in-law' by His Royal Highness? As she hesitated, unsure how to respond, Chu Lushan, his eyes full of disgust, coldly said, "Get back inside!"

The woman bowed once more and slowly withdrew.

Xu Fengnian didn't glance at the woman again, but focused on the dainty, jade-like little girl. He reached out to pinch her small cheek, but she dodged him, forcing him to withdraw his hand helplessly. "Lu Qiu'er, it's a good thing your daughter takes after her little mother. No wonder you weren't willing to arrange a child betrothal with General Qi. Little girl, how old are you?"

The tear-streaked little girl pouted, remaining silent, sulking.

Chu Lushan could only laugh and say, "She's just over three years old; she started talking much later than most children, but the first word she uttered was 'Daddy,' which made me overjoyed. She's been walking for half a year now, but she loves to cling to people."

Chu Lushan rubbed his daughter's rosy cheeks and smiled, "Come on, call His Royal Highness 'Daddy.'"

Xu Fengnian was caught between laughter and tears, and he scolded, "Get lost."

The little girl, though not yet fully sensible, already knew how to protect her father. She puffed out her cheeks at the "big bad guy" who spoke harshly to her dad, holding her breath, and her face quickly turned crimson.

Chu Lushan roared with laughter. "This is her killer move! I don't know where she learned it, but I'm helpless every time."

Xu Fengnian was also amused. "Quick, let her rest a bit, or she might really hold her breath until she faints."

Chu Lushan quickly kissed his daughter's forehead. "Chang Sheng, Chang Sheng, be good. Daddy will get you beautiful clothes later, don't be angry anymore."

The little girl looked up and smiled brightly at her father. Then she turned her head to look at Xu Fengnian and again began to puff out her cheeks and hold her breath fiercely. However, she couldn't resist Chu Lushan's tickling and quickly broke character. She then simply hid in his arms, refusing to look at Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian burst into laughter. "Oh, are you upset I didn't bring a gift for our first meeting? Little Chang Sheng, do you know I gave your dad the position of Grand Protector of Beiliang, a Second Rank official? Is that gift still too small? Alright, I'll say it here today: if I ever have a son in the future, I'll let you be his wife."

Chu Lushan said, his face alight with joy, "Your Highness, is Lu Qiu'er really to take that seriously?"

Xu Fengnian nodded, "Take it seriously then. But the premise is that your daughter doesn't change too much when she grows up."

Collapse repliesJust saying hi, I'm just a little tag-along.Early?Marking my spot.So early!The person before me, I finally got a front-row spot and you deleted it. What a pain!2 more replies.

Chu Lushan exclaimed excitedly, "Don't worry, my Chang Sheng takes after her mother; she won't turn out ugly!"

Chu Lushan turned to them and said, "Yuan Zuozong, Qi Dangguo, you two must bear witness for me! If His Highness ever goes back on his word, I'll have to rely on you both to speak up for justice!"

Yuan Zuozong stood up and said, "Depends on my mood."

Qi Dangguo burst into hearty laughter, feeling completely refreshed. The small amount of green wine on the table was nowhere near enough to drink.

Xu Fengnian made a funny face at the little girl who was secretly peeking at him, then told Chu Lushan, "No need to see us out."

Watching the four walk away on the bluestone path he had meticulously built, Chu Lushan waited until their figures gradually receded and disappeared from view. Only then did he sit down by the pond, holding his daughter.

The little girl crisply called out "Daddy."

Chu Lushan came back to his senses and smiled, "Little Chang Sheng, it all depends on whether you have the destiny to become an Empress one day."

Collapse repliesIs it finished updating?Just saying hi, I'm just a little tag-along.Good chance to recognize me.I'm late, make some space.Become an Empress?4 more replies.

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