Chapter 39: Erxian Zhuang Discusses Wine, Secret Meeting in the Study Again

  "How strange! Big brother has been gone for so long, why hasn't he come back yet?" Someone muttered to himself in the main hall of Erxian Zhuang. The person was tall and majestic, with piercing eyes and sword-like eyebrows, exuding an aura of grandeur. This person was none other than Shan Xiongxin.

  "The second master and the big master have returned. A person who looks like an imperial catcher has also come with them." a servant rushed in to say.

  "Oh! I suppose it's the Qin brothers. Don't believe me, I'll hurry out to welcome them." As he spoke, he rushed towards the door and when he reached there, he saw Shan Xiongzhong and Qin Shubao riding swiftly towards him. Shan Xiongxin felt puzzled, why were they in such a hurry? He quickly walked forward and shouted: "Big brother, Qin brothers, why are you so slow? It's making me anxious."

  "I and Qin brothers went to Li Yun's house as guests, so we came late." said Shan Xiongzhong.

  "Li Yuan is our father's killer, how can big brother join forces with the enemy?" asked Shan Xiongxin.

  "At that time, everyone was on their own, and we couldn't say anything. But today, Big Brother almost lost his life!" said Shan Xiongzhong.

  "What's this all about?" Shan Xiongxin asked.

  Then Shan Xiongzhong told the story of how he was almost killed by Li Yuan, and only heard Shan Xiongxin shouting: "If so, I will not die with the Li family!" Then he turned to ask Qin Shubao: "Brother Qin, what is your relationship with the Li family?"

  "Last time I came to handle the case, on the way I met Li Yuan's family being killed by black-clad men, I saved them once. Today, at the city gate, bandits came to commit a crime, and I happened to be passing by, so I helped him again." Qin Shubao said, but he thought of something else, his brow furrowed and said: "However, there is one thing that I don't quite understand? The eldest son of the Li family was enough to deal with the black-clad men, yet he had to wait until I appeared before taking action. This makes me very suspicious!"

  "Speaking of which, I also think that this Li Dabo is extraordinary." After hearing Qin Shubao's words, Shan Xiongzhong continued to say.

  "What's up again?" asked Shan Xiongxin.

  "Didn't you just say that Li Yuan was going to shoot and kill me? At that time, Li Yuan's arrow had already left the bow, but that young master Li managed to block the arrow before it arrived. From this, we can see that this young master Li is no ordinary person. And when I went to the Li family with my brother, I saw that they didn't treat him like a child. All these signs show that this young master Li is extraordinary." Shan Xiongzhong carefully analyzed and then solemnly said to Shan Xiongxin: "Younger brother, let me advise you, if you want to be an enemy of the Li family, you will inevitably encounter this person. If so, you must get rid of him first, otherwise, you can forget about avenging your father's death. Everyone has their own master, and others won't say anything more. You decide for yourself, big brother won't say any more."

  "But I didn't know that there was such a thing between Brother Shan and the Li family!" Qin Shubao said beside him.

  "Alas! This is a long story." Shan Xiongzhong sighed and continued: "My grandfather was a general of the Northern Zhou, my father inherited his title and then guarded the city. Later, Yang Jian sent Li Yuan to attack the city guarded by my father, who vowed to die rather than surrender. Before the city fell, my father had our family generals take my brothers and me away, and we went into hiding. Li Yuan, however, showed some conscience, seeing my father's loyalty and righteousness, and did not pursue us brothers either. Therefore, my Shan family and the Li family are not irreconcilable enemies, but Xiong Xin harbors a grudge against the Li family, and I cannot change this."

  "I'm an outsider, so I shouldn't say much. And let's not talk about sad things either. Come on, try some of this first, it's really good stuff!" Qin Shubao excitedly pulled out a gourd and said.

  "Qin brothers, what is this thing? From the moment I saw it, you've been so excited?" asked Shan Xiongzhong.

  "Please bring a bowl over, and Big Brother Shan will know immediately." Qin Shubao smiled mysteriously.

  Then Shan Xiongzhong ordered the servant to bring bowls and chopsticks, and also brought some small dishes. Qin Shubao poured wine from the gourd into the bowl, and suddenly it was fragrant, causing the three people's fingers to tremble involuntarily. Then the three of them couldn't wait to pick up their bowls and drink a mouthful.

  "Refreshing! There's actually such a great wine in the world, I've never had it before, now I know, what a pity for life." After drinking the wine, Shan Xiongzhong let out a sigh and said, "No wonder Qin brothers are so happy."

  "Haha, I was also as excited as Brother Dan when I first drank this wine, but I don't know where it's produced?" Qin Shubao sighed.

  "Haha, I'm familiar with this wine," said Shan Xiongxin.

  "Oh?" Shan Xiongzhong and Qin Shubao both fixed their eyes on Shan Xiongxin, as if hungry wolves had spotted meat.

  "One time, a good friend of mine took me to a gathering at a 'Journey to the West' branch in Taiyuan City, and after drinking, I exclaimed 'Refreshing!' But then my friend said: 'Although Taiyuan's wine is beautiful, it can't compare to the excellent wine of Daxing Castle. The wine in Taiyuan only has 8 layers of beauty compared to Daxing.' After hearing this, I had been yearning for the wine of Daxing for a long time, and unexpectedly, today Qin brothers let me fulfill my wish." Single Xiongxin sighed as he spoke.

  Qin Shubao and Shan Xiongzhong exchanged a glance, and Qin Shubao said, "Since we already know where it's produced, let's find some time to buy some and satisfy our cravings."

  "Haha!" was all that could be heard as Shan Xiong laughed loudly, "This is impossible!"

  "Why?" Qin Shubao asked, and Shan Xiongzhong also looked at him with suspicion.

  "I used to think the same way as you. Then my good friend told me: this wine is limited in supply. In this restaurant, there are three certificates for dining, one for entering the third floor, one for entering the fourth floor with four certificates, and one for entering the 'Water Curtain Cave' private room certificate. Without these certificates, the wine supply is not much, even if it's the same on the third and fourth floors, only the quantity is different. I heard that only the 'Water Curtain Cave' private room can drink this wine unlimitedly." Xīn also sighed.

  "Is it really so hard to get proof?" Qin Shubao asked again.

  "To enter the third floor, one needs to spend 300,000 taels in the wine tower or buy a certificate with 100,000 taels. Nowadays, even that is not enough. The fourth-floor certificate has only been obtained by Li Yuan so far, and even Yang Guang, the former crown prince, did not have one back then. Not to mention the highest level one." Xuan Xin detailedly explained, of course, he still didn't know that Dugu Feng also had one in his hands.

  After hearing Shan Xiong Xin's words, the two of them took a cold breath. Is there really someone who would use it at such a price? "Could this wine house be set up by the Li family?" Shan Xiong Zhong guessed on the side.

  "No, it's said that Li Jia Neng has this one certificate, but it's because Li Da Gong Zi and the agent boss of 'Xi You Ke Zhan' have a favor to ask, so he can get this one certificate. Otherwise, even the identity of the prince cannot be obtained, how can Li Yuan's identity be obtained?" Xiong Xin sneered, seemingly disdainful of Li Yuan's identity.

  "Alas! So it's this difficult to get a drink of this wine?" Qin Shubao sighed.

  "I also have a gourd in my hand, why not call Lao Can to come together?" said Shan Xiongzhong. Upon hearing this, both Qin Shubao and Shan Xiongxin's eyes lit up, and they hastily ordered the servants to go and summon someone.

  ……

  But at this time, Li Jiancheng was in the study with Li Yuan discussing matters.

  "Father, you almost caused a big trouble today?" Li Jiancheng said in a reproachful tone.

  "Come on, son! What's wrong with your father?" Li Yuan didn't get angry and wanted to hear what Li Jiancheng had to say.

  "Father, do you know who Shan Xiongzhong is?" Seeing Li Yuan's bewildered shake of the head, Li Jiancheng continued to say: "Shan Xiongzhong's father was Shan Yu."

  "Shan Yu? Why does this sound so familiar?" Li Yuan muttered to himself.

  "It's not familiar, but Father knows. This person is from Dongchang." Li Jiancheng said word by word.

  "It was his descendant." Li Yuan said in surprise: "At that time, I saw Shan Yu's loyalty and let his family go all the way. I didn't expect to almost shoot him today, Cheng Er, you were wrong!"

  "Not only that, but Shan Xiongzhong is the elder brother, and below him is Shan Xiongxin. Shan Xiongxin is a man of loyalty and righteousness, with a heroic and generous personality, so he has made friends with many heroes in the jianghu world and has a certain reputation. If Father were to kill his elder brother, it would be a disaster for our Li family. Now that Father did not mistakenly kill his elder brother, but instead let them off once before, it should be considered as settling the score of killing their father. Now there is an opportunity to subdue them, which would be greatly beneficial to our Li family. If Father were to mistakenly kill Shan Xiongzhong, however, it would lead to endless trouble!"

  Li Yuan sighed, "Listening to Cheng'er's words, I, as a father, only now realize that there is such a relationship. Fortunately, my son arrived in time. With my son's help, what great thing can't be accomplished?"

  "Father, I hope you have time to train Shimin and Xiuning more. I think they are both clever, if I'm not around, they can also help out." Li Jiancheng suggested.

  "What? Where is the child going?" Li Yuan said in surprise.

  "It's still early now, after a few years, the child will grow up and go out to make a name for himself in the world, broaden his horizons, and make friends with people from the jianghu to help our Li family." Li Jiancheng explained.

  "Alright son, you've always had your own ideas since young. As your father, I won't say much more. Just do as you see fit!" Li Yuan said with understanding.