Chapter 19: The Astonishing Talk in the Hall of Harmony (Part 1)

  Fortunately, Yuwen Shu was still behind him. This old man didn't know whether he really had a weak body or deliberately walked so slowly. Xiao Shouren waited for Yuwen Shu to come over and then went forward to chat with Yuwen Shu, no more than admiring the great general's reputation, wanting to talk about life and ideals with Yuwen Shu. Although Yuwen Shu was very suspicious in his heart, he couldn't see what kind of medicine Xiao Shouren was selling for the time being, so he just followed Xiao Shouren's topic and chatted while walking.

  Huang Gonggong watched Xiang Shouren and Yuwen Shu walk out of the temple gate with a mix of laughter and conversation, feeling deeply moved in his heart. This Xiang Shouren was young and not only knew how to get along with people, but also had a good sense of propriety, as evidenced by the amount of silver he had given him earlier. Moreover, at this time, he was favored by the emperor and had a close relationship with Yuwen Shu, the leader of the Yuwen clan, it was like a fish in water! This vast ocean was not something to be trifled with!

  Xiao Shouren did not know Yuwen Shu and Huang Gonggong's thoughts at this time. If he knew, he would definitely laugh out loud. How could his relationship with Yuwen Shu be good? He was also a crosser, after all. The education he received in modern times was still successful, and he knew the basic historical knowledge. Yang Guang was killed by Yuwen Huaji of the Yuwen family, and this Yuwen family was the big traitor of the Sui Dynasty! Could it be that he crossed over just to leave a reputation for himself and Yuwen clique being in cahoots with each other in history books? This is too ridiculous!

  Xiao Shouren just didn't know the way out, and it so happened that Yuwen Shu was a regular at this Tiger's Roar Hall. Although he couldn't find his way out with his eyes closed, he definitely could with them open. By following Yuwen Shu and chatting nonsense, he could definitely follow him out, which would also help to cover up his own embarrassment.

  Yuwen Shu didn't know about Xiao Shouren's little thoughts, until they left the city lord's mansion, Yuwen Shu still thought that Xiao Shouren really admired his reputation. He invited Xiao Shouren to attend a banquet in a few days, this banquet was not for anything else, it was Yuwen Shu's 60th birthday. Generally speaking, Yuwen Shu wouldn't invite just anyone, mainly because he saw that Xiao Shouren had a great future ahead of him, if he joined his own faction and was properly cultivated, with time, he would become another great help to himself in the imperial court.

  Xiao Shouren could no longer decline, so he agreed and parted ways with Yuwen Shu. Along the way, Xiao Shouren also began to think about his own situation.

  I am now an official, and a big one at that, a fourth-rank official, appointed as a junior minister. This is something I never thought would happen to me, it's all so sudden and inexplicable. Whether this is good fortune or bad luck, if it's bad luck then there's no avoiding it. Moreover, Xiao Shouren has never thought of avoiding it anyway. My martial arts skills are very poor, only slightly better than those of an ordinary soldier. This time, with everyone's eyes on the negotiations, Yang Guang has entrusted me with the task of negotiating, I must do my best to succeed. If the Goguryeo envoy were to die, or if I were to die, the consequences would be severe. If the Goguryeo envoy were to die in the territory of the Great Sui, then the negotiations would definitely not go smoothly. If I were to die, Yang Guang would definitely have to replace me with someone else to negotiate, and this would inevitably delay things. Yang Guang cannot afford to delay any further, nor can the people of the Great Sui. Therefore, regardless of whether Yang Guang is a good emperor or not, as long as the negotiations are beneficial to the people of the Great Sui, Xiao Shouren wants to do his best to make them successful. Not for anything else, but because we all share the same bloodline of the Huaxia nation, descendants of the Yellow Emperor.

  In order to save his own life, it seems that he needs to recruit some bodyguards. After all, he is a fourth-rank official in the imperial court, and although his salary is from the sixth rank, it's still no problem to support a few people. The matter of bodyguards didn't stump Xiao Shouren, as he immediately thought of Mu Yi and the other eighteen men who had been through life and death with him. These men were all trustworthy, with clean backgrounds, and they also didn't want to fight anymore; following him would definitely be better than being in a military camp.

  What Xiang Shouren lacks is just an excuse to get Mu Yi and Mu Yu by his side, but this isn't difficult to resolve. As soon as he thought of Yuwen Shu's old face, an idea popped up in his mind.

  As he walked and thought, he hadn't even entered his own courtyard yet, still far from it, when Xiao Shouren saw a horse carriage parked outside his small courtyard. Who could be visiting him at this hour? And how did they know he lived here? He didn't seem to know many people in this commercial city anyway!

  It's better to go and take a look yourself, so Xiao Shouren walked over, and as he approached the carriage, he asked, "A whiff of rouge scent!" It turned out that the one who had come to see him was actually a woman!

  Just as Xiao Shouren was racking his brains and couldn't think of who had come to see him, he heard someone talking in his own courtyard.

  "Miss, you said that Mr. Xiao hasn't come back yet? What time is it already?" As soon as I heard it, I knew it was a little girl speaking, and the Mr. Xiao in her mouth was undoubtedly Xiao Shouren.

  "Xiao Lü, have you forgotten what I told you? Outside, there's no 'young lady', outside you should be called 'young master', do you understand?" A voice sounded somewhat angrily right after.

  Xiao Shouren got a headache as soon as he heard it. Without guessing, he knew that the one who spoke must be the fake young master Chen Chuan and his servant.

  I don't even know how they found me, I live here and not many people know about it. Even Mu Yi, Mu Yu, Xiao Niu, A Cheng and a few others only knew that I lived in the city of Shang, but they didn't know exactly where.

  It's probably better to ask that brainless fake gentleman himself, so Xiao Shouren stopped listening outside and walked in directly. As soon as he entered, he saw Chen Chuan and his servants deliberately making a very surprised expression, as if they had seen a stray creature in broad daylight.

  Chen Chuan was still very satisfied with Xiao Shouren's surprised expression, and it could be seen from her silly smile that she was very satisfied with this effect. It seemed that people in ancient times already knew how to create surprises. At least, Chen Chuan thought this was a surprise, but Xiao Shouren didn't think so. This wasn't a surprise, it was a fright.

  Inside the courtyard, there were not only Chen Chuan and little Xiao Lü, but also an old man who seemed to be a horse cart driver, standing under the shade of a nearby tree, dozing off. It looked like he had been waiting for a while, otherwise he wouldn't have fallen asleep. Even when Xiao Shouren came in, he didn't notice.

  "Brother Chen, how did you end up here and find me?" Xiao Shouren asked curiously.

  "There's nothing in this mansion that our young master doesn't know about, nothing can be hidden from him. Wanting to know where you live is just a small matter." Little Green, the maid, had an expression as if she was talking about herself rather than her mistress.

  "Oh? So Brother Chen is quite popular in this business district, huh? Well, I do have something to ask Brother Chen about. I wonder if he knows anything about it." Xiang Shouren saw that even a little maid like Xiao Lü was being so arrogant, so he thought of putting on the pressure and teasing them a bit.

  "Oh? I don't know what Brother Xiao wants to ask, just speak up, if there's a difficult problem we can solve it together. In this business district, I'm still able to say a few words." Chen Chuan quickly made a guarantee as soon as he heard that Xiao Shouren had something to ask.

  "Oh? Really? Then I'll ask, just now I passed by a shoe store, the boss's wife is really beautiful, it's that so-called shoe Xishi, I wanted to go in and take a look, but there were too many people, couldn't squeeze in, but at that time I thought of a riddle"