Chapter 188
Book 17 Chapter 06 – Creating Trouble At The Brothel
After the historical meeting, Lord Changping forcefully dragged Xiang Shaolong away from the reluctant Ji Yanran and Qin Qing. At the Left Premier Residence of Lord Changping, Lord Changwen is already waiting for them patiently.
Once the doors have been secured, Lord Changwen slammed the table and cursed: "[email protected]/* */ that [email protected]/* */ Guan Zhongxie! His charm has caused our sister to be completely bewitched by him. The Crown Prince has informed us through Official Li to take our sister in hand. What shall we do?"
Lord Changping rested his hand on Xiang Shaolong’s shoulder and laughed: "I can tell that even Grand Tutor Qin is interested in you; wooing our sister should be an easy task for you. Shaolong must help us win her back from Guan Zhongxie’s influences."
With Shan Rou’s recent departure, Zhao Ya’s death and the pa.s.sing of Xu Xian and Lu Gong, Xiang Shaolong has been dealt with one heavy blow after another. Except for Qin Qing, he is no longer bothered with any other woman. Ying Ying is obnoxious and fickle-minded. If he had met her when he first came to this era, they will have a good time together. But after experiencing Lady Ni’s suicide and Zhao Ya’s betrayal, all he seeks is true love.
Lord Changping continued: "I heard rumours that Lu Niang Rong is personally pus.h.i.+ng for a rematch between you and Guan Zhongxie. She will only marry him if he defeats you."
Lord Changwen pleaded: "No matter what, Shaolong must help the two of us this time. If Guan Zhongxie rebels in the future, our sister will be implicated and the consequences are unbearable."
Xiang Shaolong bitterly smiled: "Love cannot be forced. What do you want me to do?"
Lord Changping suggested: "We are now openly opposing Lu Buwei so we might as well go all the way. You must fight and defeat Guan Zhongxie. Our sister will never hang around with a loser and this problem will be resolved automatically."
Xiang Shaolong plainly replied: "If I defeated Guan Zhongxie to marry Lu Niang Rong, I’d rather concede the fight."
Lord Changwen laughed: "Relax! Lu Buwei will never marry his favourite daughter to you. You need not fight him openly but just prove yourself to be better than him in one way or another. This will increase your prestige and lower Guan Zhongxie’s. Our sister will then recognise who is the real hero."
In a begging tone, Lord Changping implored: "The most arrogant people in Xianyang City now are the men from the Premier Mentor Residence. Everyone hates them to the core. If Shaolong can stand up to them, it will be helping the Crown Prince too. In fact, every one of us is waiting for you to come back and lead us against them."
Xiang Shaolong forced himself to brighten up and bitterly smiled after some thought: "All right. Reserve a table tonight at the Drunken Wind Brothel and insist on Dan Meimei and Guiyan to be our companions. We shall create a scene there tonight and demand my rightful Flying Dragon Spear at the same time."
Both men were delighted and hurriedly left to see to the arrangements.
Xiang Shaolong took this chance to slip back to the Wu Residence. Whilst inquiring about Zhou Liang, he discovered that he has left to look for the King Eagle and has yet to return despite having left six months ago. Slightly worried, he looked for Zhou Wei instead.
Probably due to the nourishment of Wu Guo’s love, Zhou Wei is looking great and her beauty became even more outstanding. When she met Xiang Shaolong, she retains some sense of awkwardness.
After getting her seated, Xiang Shaolong enquired; "Why is your brother away for so long?"
Zhou Wei explained: "To find the best hunting eagles, elder brother needs to go far to the northern regions. The journey to and back requires at least four months and time is also needed to search for eaglets. Luck plays a part too."
Xiang Shaolong was perplexed: "I needed his help now, what should I do?"
Zhou Wei brightened up: "I may lack his true expertise but my knowledge is not too shabby too. May I know what kind of a.s.sistance do you require?"
Xiang Shaolong suspiciously scanned her confident expression: "You know how to build s.h.i.+ps too? It is more than just basic s.h.i.+pbuilding, it is actually... I don’t know what to say."
Zhou Wei gleefully a.s.sured: "Master can speak his mind. s.h.i.+pbuilding is a strong tradition in our family and the skill is pa.s.sed on to both males and females. My s.h.i.+pbuilding skills are not inferior compared to my brother."
It is Xiang Shaolong’s turn to brighten up and he revealed his plans about the Black Dragon.
Zhou Wei frowned heavily upon hearing his plans. After some consideration, she pointed: "It is not difficult to build a submerged vessel but it is hard to provide continuous air supply. If they surfaced to breathe, we will be exposed."
Xiang Shaolong suggested: "I thought about this too but it is not something impossible. The human head can be concealed below the skin of the dragon and some breathing holes can be made. Moreover, we will base the dragon far away from sh.o.r.e so it is hard for anyone to expose us. However, this dragon needs to have good buoyancy and must be easy to fix and dismantle underwater. That should be all we need."
Zhou Wei cheered: "Leave this to me. Ah, this is wonderful; I can finally contribute something for Master."
Xiang Shaolong was pleased: "Is Wu Guo treating you well?"
Her cheeks glowing red, Zhou Wei kneeled down: "Master, please decide my future for me."
Xiang Shaolong laughed: "It is settled then. It is time for Wu Guo to settle down too."
Returning back to the inner hall, he told Wu Tingfang about Wu Guo and Zhou Wei’s marriage. Wu Tingfang is more than happy and took up the heavy responsibility of arranging their marriage.
Xiang Shaolong played with Xiang Bao’er for a while and heaped praises on Ji Yanran before taking a shower with the Tian sisters. He then head back to the Cavalry Command Centre.
Regardless of rank and experience, every Cavalry soldier is full of respect for Xiang Shaolong for his heroics. Everyone greeted him most sincerely.
Back at his office, Jing Jun was nowhere to be found.
Teng Yi explained: "Little Jun has gone to look for Lu Dan’er. Ai, I nearly forgot. He wanted me to beg you to propose marriage on his behalf. I think he is taking this relations.h.i.+p very seriously!"
Xiang Shaolong was elated: "As long as Lu Dan’er does not object, it shouldn’t be an issue. But w.a.n.g He should propose marriage instead of me given the prestige of the Lu Family is Xianyang City."
Teng Yi agreed: "Lu Dan’er is now madly in love with Little Jun so she will never object. It is best that you propose marriage with w.a.n.g He. This will prove our sincerity in uniting these two lovebirds."
Sitting down, Xiang Shaolong nodded in consent.
Teng Yi updated: "I have a.s.signed favourable positions to Zhao Da and his brothers which Lord Changping has gladly approved. We are fortunate to have him as our Left Premier; otherwise, it will be difficult for us to get anything done."
Xiang Shaolong twinkled: "We have a more powerful method to undermine Lu Buwei’s authority." He went on to detail his plan about the fake dragon.
Teng Yi praised: "This method is better than beating him up. Since he hanged the gold reward upon the city gates, I have been taking precautions against a rebellion. This plan should be carried out as soon as possible. When do you plan to execute this?"
Xiang Shaolong replied: "Immediately after the dragon event, we can proceed to change the court administration. It is best to wait for the Spring Festival. So we have to produce our dragon within these two months."
Teng Yi commented: "It is not advisable to let Guan Zhongxie be the Imperial Infantry Commander. We should remove him from this post as soon as possible. Little Jun has told me that the people of the Premier Mentor Residence are running amok and oppressing the common folks all because of Guan Zhongxie s.h.i.+elding them. This is so infuriating."
Xiang Shaolong recalled the good old days in the 21st century when