<<

Before the general could introduce him, General Lu burst into laughter and said, "This must be Jiaren? My son has mentioned you many times. I'm glad to finally meet you today >>>。" Mr. Li Jiaren quickly got up and performed the courtesy of a junior, "Your Highness is well, for trespassing so boldly, I hope Your Highness will forgive me." 。General Lu helped him up with a hearty laugh, saying, "Jiaren, don't be so humble. You and my son are close friends, and you've been helping me deliver things and letters for him all these months. I should be thanking you!" 。Having said that, he gestured for Jia Ren to sit down again and personally poured him a cup of tea. 。

Jia Ren stood up and bowed in greeting, then after taking his seat, he smiled and said, “I’ve been in the southwest for half a year now. I’ve always wanted to come visit Your Majesty, but unfortunately, I’ve had so much on my plate that I could only put it off until now.” 。

Is the Lord's body well?

"Good, good."

。"General Lu finished his tea in one gulp and said, “You can just call me General. This title of Prince is an imperial grace bestowed upon me.” 。Actually, I'm just a rough and tumble brute. Using the title of Lord to my name is probably going to have those gossips in Xin Du talking again. 。“The general is too humble. Your title of King was truly earned through your military achievements. Those pampered princes in Xin Du who only know how to spend their days birdwatching and admiring flowers, one hundred of them combined wouldn't be as worthy as you!”Jia Ren wasn't being polite; he had spent time in the southwest region and understood the rampant threats from foreign tribes and the hard work and sacrifices made by the border guards. He truly felt grateful and admired them. 。As one gets older, one becomes more discerning. 。General Lu and General Shen naturally could see whether Jia Ren's words came from the heart or were flattery. 。Thus, the two people loved him even more. 。Even Old General Lu blamed his son, saying, "That boy of mine really deserves a beating. Knowing someone as talented and promising as you, he didn't even tell the family." 。Otherwise, I'll let you choose any of my daughters. 。"Our Lu family has gained another good son-in-law!" Jiaren smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words, General. But my family already has a virtuous wife and an elder son." 。"I can only disappoint the general's love!"

Shen Junshi also laughed, "Li DaRen don't blame us, our general is just this kind of temperament. When he sees a good man, he wants to bring him into the army."

。"Today, seeing you so accomplished and talented, you actually want to come back as my son-in-law!" Gen. Lu wasn't angry at all, instead he laughed heartily. 。In a while, the banquet from the backyard was sent over. 。This time, Jiaren came over not for official business, but just for a private visit. 。Therefore, General Lu was not alone. Not even his own son came, only General Shen was present. 。After eating half a meal, the three of them started to drink and toast each other. 。The Lu family had long resided in the southwest. Although there were people under their command in Xindu, news traveled constantly. Still, General Lu inquired about Xindu matters a few times more this time around. 。After all, it is common knowledge that the Li family are close to the emperor and highly favored by him. 。They know more than we do. 。Jia Ren only talked about some fresh news from Xindu, not a word about the court. 。General Lu, while pouring the wine, exchanged a glance with his military advisor. 。The military advisor then laughed and said, “Master Li, our young master has written many letters back, saying how much he praises you and your family.” 。Our general has always wanted to reciprocate, but never had the opportunity. 。"Today, Mr. Li just happened to come over. I wonder if during these past six months since he took office, Mr. Li has encountered any difficulties? If so, please feel free to tell us, and we will definitely help." 。Jia Ren hung his head, playing with the wine glass in his hand, his mind racing. 。After probing for so long, I've grown to trust General Lu a little more. 。This way, he could make his point a bit clearer. 。Jiarren put down his cup and smiled, "Thank you, General. Thank you, military advisor." 。Although my small county is impoverished and faces many problems, I am still capable. 。"It was a story I heard before that I found quite interesting, and I wanted to share it with the old general and military strategist." 。General Lu and General Xu were both astonished, not understanding why he was telling a story. 。But the two of them still nodded, poured themselves wine, and adopted a posture of readiness to listen. 。Jia Ren smiled and said, "Actually, it's not a particularly magical story. It's just that the person in the story is too ridiculous." 。There was once a city, ruled by a wise and benevolent lord. The people lived in peace and prosperity. 。Protecting the city from bandit raids on the surrounding mountains were two martial arts families, the Zhao and Qian families. Both had achieved great military feats and were praised by the people. 。The children of the two families are fortunate to have met, studying and playing together like brothers from different surnames. 。The Zhao family had many sons, but only one daughter. As a result, she was loved and cherished by all her family and brothers. 。 "Occasionally, when they played together, this girl would also go in and out with her brothers, so she was familiar with all the boys from the Qian family..." Lu Laojiang listened familiarly and looked towards Shen Junshi, but Shen Junshi frowned. 。Jiarren seemed not to notice their expressions. He took a sip of wine and continued, “Gradually, these young men and women grew up, studied to take the imperial examinations, and each achieved success in their own way.” 。At this time, the city lord wanted to find a son-in-law for his daughter and had his eye on the young man from the Qian family. 。The Qian family was naturally willing, and the Qian family's son also agreed, so they set a betrothal date. 。The boy from the Zhao family was happy for the boy from the Qian family, but unintentionally, the boy from the Zhao family discovered that the boy from the Qian family actually had a crush on his sister, and this feeling was becoming increasingly obvious. 。"Unexpectedly, the young lady from the Zhao family and the young lady from the City Lord's family were extremely close friends. Besides, they were more than ten years older than the young master of the Qian family!"Therefore, the young master of the Zhao family reminded the young master of the Qian family to be careful with his words and actions, lest he cause trouble for himself and harm the Zhao family." 。The Qian family boy promised very well. On the surface, he always made appointments to play with the city lord's daughter, but in reality, he only wanted to see Miss Zhao. 。Miss Zhao was clever and quickly realized this, so she avoided him. 。"

General Shen's face had turned completely pale. General Lu, after all these years, finally guessed the truth. He was about to angrily speak, but the military advisor grabbed his sleeve. 。Li Jiaren smiled, poured himself a glass of wine, and continued. 。Later, the city lord wanted to set a date for the wedding, but the Qian family's son pretended to be sick and delayed it. 。It wasn't long before the Zhao family's defenses were repeatedly breached, and even their military supplies were destroyed. 。The Zhao family investigated some clues, and the person behind it all was a young man from the Qian family. 。"Only the Zhao family doesn't know what Qian Jia’s son has in mind. Could he be forcing the Zhao family to marry their daughter to him as a concubine? Not to mention whether the city lord's daughter is willing or not, even the Zhao family would rather die than accept such humiliation." 。The Zhao family, for the sake of peace in the city, chose not to expose this matter. 。But as bandits began to raid again, the Zhao family had to focus all their efforts on defending against them. Even a slight lapse in attention could lead to needless casualties, or even the city falling into enemy hands. 。At this point, the Zhao family only wanted the young master Qi to put aside his selfishness and recklessness, to prioritize the bigger picture. Wasn't that an unreasonable request?General Lu and Military Strategist Shen didn't know what to say anymore. 。Jia Ren didn't expect them to say anything, and sneered, "Logically speaking, the Qian family boy had said from the beginning that he liked Zhao's daughter. Even if the two were over a decade apart in age, the Zhao family would have politely refused, wouldn't have embarrassed themselves." 。After all, when a family has a daughter, a hundred other families will seek her hand in marriage. This is only natural. 。“But what’s truly despicable about the Money family young master is that he doesn't want to be disliked by the city lord, agreeing to marry the city lord's daughter while secretly coveting the Zhao family daughter! “Shouldn't this Money family young master be strictly disciplined? If left unchecked, he'll likely disrupt the peace of the entire city. “The most innocent party is the Zhao family. They've dedicated years to safeguarding the city, yet they have to endure humiliation and even face hatred from the city lord in the end. How unjust!”Today’s update is here~~

(Editor in charge：precious based on the novel)