Chapter 140
Book 13 Chapter 07 – Hope At Death’s Door
Lu Buwei insisted on sending Xiang Shaolong home. Resistance is futile and he joined him in his luxurious carriage.
His carriage drove past the almost completed new Premier Residence. Lu Buwei proudly pointed: "After the hunting fair, I will move to this place with the best Fengshui in Xianyang City. But Mister Zou mentioned that after eight years, the Fengshui will move into Xianyang Palace. Ha! That is the same time as the Crown Prince coronation. What a coincidence!"
Xiang Shaolong knew nuts about Fengshui and acted according to his knowledge of history. Upon hearing this news, he was in shock and dare not belittle Zou Yan the astrologer and philosopher.
Lu Buwei stretched lazily and smiled: "With eight years of good luck, I can accomplish many things!"
Xiang Shaolong was full of admiration. Lu Buwei had just been defeated but he is truly not bothered. Like a shrewd businessman, he did not mind losing out this once as he has other means of fighting back.
Lu Buwei suddenly hugged his shoulder intimately and smiled: "The new Premier Residence has everything except a good son-in-law. Shaolong should understand my intention! Now that you have seen Niang Rong, I believe you would agree with me that she is an excellent catch! She is my favourite daughter."
Xiang Shaolong sighed to himself. This is the last time he can mend fences with Lu Buwei.
Originally a businessman, this Qin Premier cooperated with him because there are benefits to be reaped. Next, he tried to kill him because he will benefit from his death. Presently, he is trying to secure his loyalty again to benefit himself.
He is a man who is focused on benefits and power. Everything else is unimportant.
If it was anybody else, that person would bear some grudges after being defeated. Lu Buwei did not bear any grudges at all but treated Xiang Shaolong even better than before.
From these, he concluded that even if he became his son-in-law, he can still be a sacrificial p.a.w.n in the political game. Lu Xiong is an example.
Xiang Shaolong can almost feel that Lu Buwei wanted to turn Qin into his own country via Xiao Pan. He may even want to be the King of Qin one day.
Lu Buwei saw that he did not reject outright and thought that he was tempted. Patting his shoulder, he added: "Think about it! Give me an answer the next time we meet. No matter what, I will punish Lu Xiong that idi0t."
The carriage came to a halt and they have arrived at the main gate of the Command Centre.
Xiang Shaolong gave his thanks and dismounted from his carriage. He is very confident that Lu Buwei will ask him for his reply during the hunting fair. If his answer is ‘no’, he will proceed to a.s.sa.s.sinate him.
Back at the Command Centre, everyone is full of praise and respect for him. Xiang Shaolong realised that Xiao Pan had gained the respect of the Qin Court and he had gained the respect of the Imperial Army. In the future, no one will dare to question his authority.
Teng Yi and Jing Jun had returned earlier. The moment they saw each other, they could not help but have a good laugh. Lu Xiong’s career is over and it is more satisfying than killing him.
Teng Yi stopped laughing and officially state: "Even Guan Zhongxie the Infantry Commander has been demoted. This kid must have a lot of scores to settle with Lu Buwei."
Xiang Shaolong bitterly laughed: "We will soon be fighting him openly as he had just brought up the marriage proposal again. He must have an answer by the next time we meet."
Jing Jun blinked: "That Lu Niang Rong is quite attractive. Why don’t you marry her first for fun and take revenge at the same time?"
Teng Yi furiously barked: "What kind of person do you think Third Brother is?"
Jing Jun shut up at once.
Xiang Shaolong sighed: "This is a troublesome issue. If we reject him, Lu Buwei will attack us but I cannot be bothered anymore."
Teng Yi was about to say something when an attendant reported that Ying Ying and Lu Dan’er are here to hara.s.s him again.
Xiang Shaolong and the two girls rode out of the city along the official roads. Riding down a slope, they came to a piece of flat gra.s.sland. It is the middle of Spring and the gra.s.s is jade green. With these two stubborn but beautiful girls accompanying him, all his worries disappeared and he was in high spirits.
Ying Ying rode cheerfully to his side and pointed to a hill nearby, stating: "That is Horse-resting hill. On the hill is a tall and ancient cypress tree with a spring beside it. That shall be our finis.h.i.+ng line and whoever reaches first shall be the winner. For the next three months, the loser must pay obeisance to the winner every time they meet."
On his other side, Lu Dan’er giggled: "Of course it is not a simple horse race. You can use any method to prevent your opponent from winning but the rider and horse must not be injured. Do you understand?"
Xiang Shaolong was astounded: "The horse will sprint very quickly and how can there be any time to attack the opponent?"
Ying Ying shot him a look and used her long legs to dig into her horse’s stomach and rode off. She smiled like the Spring wind: "How would I know?"
Lu Dan’er sped off at the same time.
Xiang Shaolong is used to their ‘ruthless methods’ and did not have time to complain about their ‘false start’. He rode Jifeng and began to chase them.
In terms of horse riding, he only learnt about it when he came to these ancient times. Compared to w.a.n.g Jian who can eat and sleep on horseback, he is far behind. But in terms of speed, he can easily win them with Jifeng. He thought about the girls helping him to trap Lu Xiong and did not mind losing to them and make them happy in the process. After all, paying respects to pretty girls is something fun to him.
With this mindset, he lost the will to fight and rode leisurely towards the goal, trailing the tails of the two horses in front of him.
He gradually left the gra.s.slands behind.
Xiang Shaolong could not help but think about Zhao Ya.
If he can really kill Tian Dan and avenge Shan Rou, she should be in Xianyang City by the time he comes back.
After so