Chapter 4: Betrothal

  At night, inside the main house of the county governor's mansion.

  Liu Yu and Mrs. Ao sat facing each other, holding candles and talking through the night. "Husband, you said that today at the banquet, Cai Shi Jun brought up the matter of marriage?" Mrs. Ao asked first. Liu Yu nodded and said: "That's right, this afternoon after Bo Yi brother tamed that fine western horse, he praised Lie Er endlessly. At the wine party in the afternoon, Bo Yi brother spoke out to ask if I would agree to marry Lie Er to his daughter Cai Yan, and asked me what I thought." Mrs. Ao followed up: "Cai Shi Jun's great name is known throughout the world, and his daughter Cai Yan was known as a talented girl from a young age. If she were to be married to Lie Er, it would also be a match made in heaven. But I don't know how old Cai Yan is now?" Liu Yu stroked his beard and said: "Today when Bo Yi brother mentioned his little daughter, he was full of self-satisfaction, so the reputation of being a talented girl must not be false. Otherwise, with Bo Yi brother's character, he wouldn't be so complacent. I paid attention to this and asked him carefully, and that little girl is seven years old, one year younger than Lie Er." Mrs. Ao smiled: "From your tone, husband, it seems like you have some intention?" Liu Yu laughed and said: "In my opinion, this matter should be settled. Bo Yi brother is a great Confucian scholar of our time, and he is also a neighbor of ours. What do you think, wife?" Mrs. Ao nodded lightly and said: "Let's follow your idea."

  The next day at noon, the county government's main hall held another banquet. Ao Laozhang, Cai Yong, and Liu Jia's father and son were all present. After three rounds of wine, Liu Yu picked up his cup and toasted Cai Yong from afar, saying: "Brother Boji, last night my wife and I have made a decision, and this morning we also reported it to our father-in-law. In my opinion, the matter between Yanyan and Lie'er is settled." When Cai Yong heard this, he hastily picked up his cup and returned Liu Yu's toast, saying: "Thanks to Brother Bo'an for not giving up on me, I am truly delighted in my heart, please drink this cup to the full." The two of them spoke words that were unrelated to each other, leaving the two young men sitting beside them, Liu He and Ao Lie, bewildered and unclear.

  Old Master Ao smiled and raised his wine cup to take a sip, then turned to Ao Lie and said: "Lie'er, yesterday your Uncle Cai was delighted with you, young hero, and wanted to betroth his only daughter to you. Your parents have already agreed, and I am also very pleased about it." Ao Lie's face turned bright red with embarrassment after hearing this, and he didn't speak for a long time before saying: "Grandfather, Uncle Cai, Father, I'm still young, can we talk about this later?"

  Liu Yu smiled and waved his hand, saying: "Isn't it early? It's not early, your older brother will be marrying next year, now that you've settled your lifelong matters, I as a father can rest assured." Only then did Ao Lie remember that this was the Eastern Han dynasty, no longer the 21st century. In this era, people generally got married at the age of fifteen or sixteen. Thinking of this, Ao Lie's face turned bright red, and he bowed to everyone, saying: "I'm feeling a bit under the weather, my body doesn't feel well, so I'll take my leave first. As for the engagement, it's all up to Uncle Cai and Father." After finishing speaking, he hastily ran out of the main hall.

  “Pfft”, Liu He couldn't help but spit out the mouthful of wine he had just drunk, while violently coughing and laughing loudly: "I've caught a cold, haha, cough, cough, Second Brother is as strong as an ox, cough, cough, and still insists on practicing martial arts, where did this cold come from? Haha, it's clearly just a thin face......" The main hall suddenly erupted in a fit of laughter, even Liu Yu, who usually had high expectations for his two sons, didn't scold Liu He for his lack of manners at that moment, instead wearing a relieved smile on his face, with an especially hearty laugh.

  Three days later, Cai Yong bid farewell to Liu Yu and left alone. Not long after Cai Yong left, Liu Yu came to the backyard, standing at the gate, silently watching Ao Lie practicing swordsmanship. Almost as soon as Liu Yu cast his gaze on Ao Lie, Ao Lie's originally relaxed posture suddenly became tense, just like a large bow ready to shoot, and the long sword in his hand changed direction, pointing directly at where Liu Yu was, just like an arrow on the bowstring, ready to be shot out at any time.

  Liu Yu felt the dangerous aura emanating from Ao Lie, but was very pleased in his heart and said: "As your father." Ao Lie saw that the person who came was Liu Yu, immediately lost his momentum, put away his long sword, and paid respects with his sword. Liu Yu nodded and said: "Not bad, no matter what time it is, you must always be vigilant enough. No matter what time it is, you can't drop your weapon. It's good that these principles are deeply felt by your father on the battlefield, but what makes your father not understand is that you have never been to the battlefield, nor have you ever met a famous teacher to guide you, how do you understand these principles?"

  Ao Lie opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word. He couldn't tell his father that it was an instinct he had cultivated in his past life on Wudang Mountain, could he? So he just mumbled: "I don't quite understand it myself, I just felt it should be this way, so I did it." Liu Yu clicked his tongue in amazement: "Lie Er, as you grow older, your father is getting more and more unable to see through you. Is this really a superhuman talent? You have an extraordinary understanding of everything, no matter what field it's in."

  Rarely lowering his head, Ao Lie said humbly: "Father is overpraising." But in his heart, he thought: "Superhuman intuition? In any field? Your son has crossed over from more than 2000 years ago. If I weren't afraid of shocking you, I could recite a thousand Tang poems and Song lyrics. These skills were already honed in my past life."

  Liu Yu didn't know what Ao Lie was thinking, he just smiled and said: "It's all right, you can continue practicing your sword. By the way, I came to find you because I wanted to tell you that I've already discussed it with your Uncle Cai, when you turn 16, we'll arrange for you to marry Yan Er." Ao Lie heard this and lowered his head even further, answering in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz: "Yes, whatever father decides." Liu Yu nodded and smiled, then turned around and walked away.

  As they walked quickly to the outside of the courtyard, Liu Yu turned his head and said to Ao Lie: "By the way, that little horse your grandfather gave you, take more time to care for it. The divine steed is intelligent, cultivate a good relationship with it, and it will be very beneficial for you when you go to battle in the future. Also, often ride the horse outside, even if it's a good horse, if you don't ride it frequently, it will become useless over time." Ao Lie replied: "Yes, I'll remember that."

  After Liu Yu left, Ao Lie held his sword but couldn't calm down to practice. In his previous life, he was an orphan, and his greatest hobby was practicing ancient martial arts and exploring. He had never had a girlfriend before, and now suddenly there was a fiancée, which made him feel bewildered. What's even more bewildering is that he already has a fiancée at the age of eight? What kind of situation is this?

  "Ah, forget it, being an unmarried wife is just that, I'm even afraid she won't make it. Besides, Cai Yan, heh heh, in history, she was a beauty with both talent and looks. Actually, thinking carefully, I'm not at a loss either, what's there to be unhappy about?" Ao Lie finally thought of a reason to comfort himself. He looked up at the sky, and decided not to practice sword fighting anymore, anyway today's mood had already been ruined, forcing himself to continue would have no good effect, might as well go take a look at that Night Snow Dragon Horse.

  Arriving at the stable, from a distance, Ao Lie saw his own Snow Night Dragon Colt because its snow-white coat was too eye-catching. At night, its snow-white coat could reflect moonlight, as if emitting a layer of silver light, just like its name - Light Shining Through The Night!

  Ao Lie quickly walked to the side of Zhao Ye Xue Long Ju, reached out to stroke the mane of his beloved horse a few times, then pressed his face against the horse's face and softly asked: "Zhao Ye, do you miss me?" Zhao Ye Xue Long Ju let out a low whinny, as if in response, then stretched out its tongue and licked Ao Lie's hand several times, making him feel ticklish.

  "Let's go, let's take a stroll." After finishing speaking, Ao Lie released the reins of Zhao Ye Xue Long, then placed the saddle that was put aside on Zhao Ye's back, led by the reins, and walked out of the county governor's mansion.

  As they arrived in the outskirts, Ao Lie flipped himself onto the horse's back, gently patted Zhaoye Snow Dragon Colt's neck and shouted: "Faster!" Zhaoye Snow Dragon Colt spread its four hooves and galloped away like lightning. After running for more than half a time unit, Zhaoye Snow Dragon Colt was still spirited and lively, but Ao Lie on the horseback was getting exhausted. After running another segment of road, Ao Lie pulled the reins and shouted in a low voice: "Stop!" Zhaoye Snow Dragon Colt immediately reined in its strength, dug its hind hooves into the ground, and stepped steadily with its front hooves, standing firmly on the ground. Ao Lie flipped himself off the horse, stretched out his hand to wipe the horse's back, and saw a layer of crimson sweat like blood in his palm. He praised: "Zhaoye, you truly are the descendant of the Western Region's Horse King, a pure-blooded Sweat Blood Treasure Horse! I heard that the sweat of a Sweat Blood Treasure Horse is as red as fresh blood; today, I see it's indeed true." Zhaoye understood Ao Lie's praise, raised its head and let out a loud neigh, seemingly responding to Ao Lie with pride: "Of course!"

  Ao Lie was amused by Zhao Ye's proud demeanor, loosened the reins and pointed to a nearby grassland, saying: "Go find some green grass to eat." Zhao Ye stuck out his big tongue, affectionately licked Ao Lie's face, then trotted off to graze. Watching Zhao Ye's agile figure, Ao Lie suddenly felt like he had forgotten something. After thinking for a long time, Ao Lie had an epiphany - why did he feel tired after riding for more than half a day? The answer was the saddle! No wonder he always felt like something was missing from Zhao Ye's back, it was the saddle! In the Eastern Han era, saddles were low-bridge saddles, which were unstable and made Ao Lie, who was used to high-bridge saddles in his past life, feel very uncomfortable and tired.

  Ao Lie suddenly realized that he had neglected a problem, which was that some things that were common in his previous life did not exist in this era. In his previous life, almost all horsebacks were equipped with high saddles, stirrups on both sides, and horseshoes nailed to the hooves, even those inferior horses used for tourists to ride in tourist areas had these equipment. However, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, none of these things existed, not even on the backs of the most spirited horses, because they had not been invented yet.

  I've figured it out! Ao Lie's eyes lit up with excitement. If he were to organize a cavalry unit in the future, equipped with high-bridge saddles, double-sided stirrups, and horseshoes, what a formidable team that would be! And let's not forget the Guangwu treasure! The Guangwu treasure that brought him to this world, if he were to equip himself with the Luoyi dragon axe and fish-scale armor from the treasure, he could completely create an invincible heavy cavalry! It's worth noting that in this era, heavy cavalry has yet to appear, and people's use of cavalry is still limited to light cavalry and archer cavalry. And those Ji Du Jian horse-slaying knives from the Guangwu treasure are truly deadly weapons! Hmm, thinking about it, won't he be able to organize a crack team of cavalry and infantry like Emperor Guangwu in the future?

  Hehe, Ao Lie laughed foolishly for a while, comfortably lying on the grass, gazing at the blue sky, and fell into infinite wonderful daydreams.