Jia Zhen: Stop pretending, I understand...

Chapter 100 Jia Zhen: Stop pretending, I understand...

Since the emperor was inhuman, Liu Feng stopped trying to curry favor with him and became a hands-off ruler, letting things do as they pleased. When people from the palace came to inquire, he would simply say, "Under investigation."

"Kill—kill—kill—"

He couldn't be bothered with the case, and the Jia family was busy pulling strings for Xue Pan's sake. Liu Feng didn't want to get involved in that mess either, and hadn't visited the Rongguo Mansion in the past few days. Today, on a whim, he personally led a patrol of the streets, only to bump into Xie Jing, who dragged him to a restaurant for a meal.

After a hearty meal, Liu Feng followed the Beijing Garrison to broaden his horizons, to see how they trained, and to learn from their experience so he could thoroughly train his newly recruited soldiers.

"How is it?"

Xie Jing's words were a lie, a boast, showing off the troops under his command.

After the Battle of Datong, many positions in the Beijing Garrison became vacant. Xie Jing, who had not moved an inch for more than ten years, was finally promoted to the rank of Assistant General and commanded a battalion of swordsmen and shieldmen.

Liu Feng praised him a few times, then said with a smile, "I originally thought that it would take at least a year or two for the Beijing garrison to recover its fighting strength... but it turns out I was wrong."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Shouldn't I be fully recovered by January or February after the New Year?"

Xie Jing chuckled.

Liu Feng turned to look at him, but Xie Jing gazed into the distance: "Do you know what's the most powerful thing on the battlefield right now?"

Before he could answer, he said, "Cavalry and firearms. Both are expensive and labor-intensive. Especially skilled gunners, it takes at least a year to train. As for those that can hit exactly where they're pointing..." He shook his head as he spoke.

Liu Feng understood what he meant: the Beijing garrison could never go back to what it used to be.

After a long pause, Xie Jing said, "You're a natural-born military leader, why bother hiding in the Northern Garrison? Dealing with a bunch of eunuchs all day long is not only annoying, but you also have to be on guard against everything... Don't you get tired?"

Liu Feng curled his lip. "You lost tens of thousands of men in one battle. Do you expect me to be cannon fodder?"

Just then, Jia Yun jogged over and whispered, "Sir, someone from the garrison has come and said that the Second Master has arrived..."

"7

Liu Feng was about to reply "I don't want to see you," but noticing Jia Yun's unusual expression, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Jia Yun glanced at Xie Jing before replying, "The Second Master said he won't leave until he sees the Master."

"What?" Liu Feng thought he had misheard.

Xie Jing was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

Jia Yun was a little embarrassed: "Second Master has been running into walls everywhere these past few days; he simply can't get the Xue family's money out..."

'

Liu Feng was speechless. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at Xie Jing.

Xie Jing suppressed a laugh: "Go quickly. It's cold, don't let the Second Master get cold."

Knowing Jia Zheng's temper well, Liu Feng was too lazy to argue with him and went directly to Rongguo Mansion.

If you tell Jia Zheng, the Xue family will at most offer a thank-you gift afterward. But if you tell Xue Baochai in person, it's a different story; the Xue family will owe him a favor.

No middlemen taking a cut!

It's still those three front halls.

Xue Baochai's residence, Pear Fragrance Courtyard, is quite far away; she hasn't arrived yet.

Lin Daiyu was taking a nap, while Liu Feng sat alone drinking tea.

I had just put down my teacup, intending to take a nap, when I heard footsteps outside the door.

Liu Feng looked up and saw the cotton curtain being lifted, revealing a face with a lewd smile peeking in.

Liu Feng rolled his eyes.

Jia Zhen smiled and glanced into the back hall. Seeing that no one was there, he walked in.

Liu Feng: "What brings you here?"

"It's not the eldest daughter of the Xue family who came, you must be quite disappointed, right?" Jia Zhen said with a lewd grin.

Liu Feng ignored him: "What is it?"

Jia Zhen looked around and lowered his voice, "Our master wants to see you."

"Who?" Liu Feng didn't understand.

"My father," Jia Zhen said.

Liu Feng was stunned for a moment before he realized what was going on. Jia Jing wanted to see him? He had absolutely no connection with him, so why would he want to see him?

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "What is it?"

Jia Zhen shook his head: "I don't know either."

Liu Feng was curious, so he asked, "When?"

Jia Zhen: "Our master has a rather special status, so you can't go see him directly. I'll let you know once I've made the arrangements."

Liu Feng nodded.

Having finished discussing the important matters, Jia Zhen put on that lewd smile again: "Want to have dinner at Brother Lian's place again tonight?"

"What's wrong?" Liu Feng glanced at him.

Jia Zhen stroked his beard and smiled, "My eldest sister accompanied the second mistress back to the Wang family."

"7

Liu Feng remained unfazed: "What does this have to do with me going out to eat?"

Jia Zhen's face clearly said, "Stop pretending, I understand."

Liu Feng rolled his eyes: "If there's nothing else, go back. Don't keep me from receiving guests."

Jia Zhen smiled and said, "I had the kitchen prepare some wine and dishes before you came. How about I have a few drinks with you?"

Liu Feng replied casually, "Not so great."

Jia Zhen leaned closer and whispered, "I have a few girls from Yangzhou who not only sing beautifully but are also very pretty."

'

Seeing that Liu Feng remained silent, Jia Zhen continued, "If you're really busy, that's fine. If you don't want to eat, then don't. I'll just send him directly to your residence."

""

"I'm not a junk collector," Liu Feng said.

Jia Zhen was taken aback, then laughed: "So that's what you were worried about! Don't worry, they were just delivered from Yangzhou, they haven't even entered the brothel yet..."

""

Seeing Liu Feng staring at him, he quickly added, "I didn't even touch a single hair on their heads."

Liu Feng looked at him with a "I don't believe you for a second" expression.

Jia Zhen was incredibly frustrated, realizing for the first time that a good reputation was something he truly couldn't live without.

Just then, footsteps came from the back room.

Liu Feng: "I'm going home for dinner."

Jia Zhen had no choice but to say, "Alright, we'll arrange to meet another day." With that, he got up and left.

Before leaving, the old man peeked into the back room, but unfortunately he didn't see anything.

Liu Feng rolled his eyes, got up and walked to the window. After confirming that the person had left, he called out into the room, "Come out."

A series of light footsteps came from inside.

Liu Feng raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that Xue Baochai?"

"Liu Siyu—"

"6

Xueyan skipped out, carrying a food box, and gave him a sweet smile.

"Why are you here?"

Liu Feng stepped forward, took the food box, pulled her to sit down, and asked with a smile, "What delicious food did you bring me?"

After waiting for a while without getting a reply, I turned around and saw that the little girl's face was completely red.

"What's wrong?" Liu Feng asked, puzzled.

Xueyan withdrew her small hand, lowered her head, twisted the hem of her clothes, and stammered without saying a word.

Liu Feng then realized what he meant and laughed, "We're already so familiar with each other, what's there to be shy about?"

Xueyan whispered, "I... I am the young lady's personal maid, and I will be going with her from now on..."

"Yes, that's right. You'll be going to the Liu family with your daughter from now on. Is there a problem with me holding your hand now?" Since the person in question wasn't there, Liu Feng just blurted it out.

Xueyan raised her head, her eyes wide open.

"What, you don't want your daughter to marry me?" Liu Feng lifted the lid of the box and took out the pastries inside.

Xueyan quickly shook her head.

"That settles it then." Liu Feng smiled, gently pinched her cheek, and handed her a piece of pastry. "Here, have some."

With food in hand, Xueyan immediately forgot everything else: "Thank you, Prison Commander Liu."

"When no one is around, call him Second Master."

Xueyan suddenly fell silent for a moment: "Will Master agree?"

"A son-in-law like me is hard to find even with a lantern, why wouldn't I agree?"

Xueyan tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Then I'll ask Granny Wang later. If she tells me to call her, then I'll..."

'

Liu Feng was so frightened that he covered her mouth and warned in a low voice, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today, especially Granny Wang."

Otherwise... I'll lock you up in jail.

Xueyan wasn't afraid at all. She pried his hand away, tilted her head, and smiled, "You're right, Miss. Prisoner Liu is the best at lying."

Liu Feng blushed and said, "Call me Second Master."

"No, I won't call it that!"