C10 Money Food and Marriage Came Rolling in

"Go on down and don't tell anyone about this." Gongsun Zan waved his hand and ordered a Hou Mansion guard to withdraw. He looked at the middle-aged man sitting across from the desk and asked, "Jingyi, what do you think about this matter?"

This middle-aged man was very thin, with a slender face and a wisp of goatee. He wore a large black daoist robe, making him look even more skinny. This person was the best teacher, Liu Weitai. He was now a guest at the Sun family, but no one dared to treat him as an ordinary guest. Everyone knew that Liu Weitai was Wu Tie's most trusted person.

On that day, Gongsun Xu had borrowed the words of the Gods and Ghosts to save Liu Yu. Gongsun Zan didn't doubt the words of the Gods and Ghosts, but he did suspect that someone under his command had secretly spoken to Gongsun Xu. Gongsun Zan was elated by this result. This meant that the matter of Gongsun Xu saving Liu Yu was entirely his own doing. It also confirmed that there was a God of the Ghost Blessing on Gongsun Xu. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to shock the world with a single strike.

"Congratulations, Master Hou." Liu Weitai's voice was a little hoarse, but his face remained expressionless as he spoke. "Father and son are both blessed by the gods and spirits. This is heaven blessed to the Gongsun family!"

Gongsun Zan smiled and said, "Please take a look at the situation and figure out what the future holds for our family is."

"Alright, please move, master Hou."

The two of them left the study and walked towards the small courtyard where Liu Weitai lived. There were dozens of Guest Warriors in the Liu Steel Manor and Liu Weitai was the only one who owned a small independent courtyard. This small courtyard was located in the northeast corner of the house of the Marquis. It went from three to three, and inside was a two-story building. In front of it was planted a large amount of bamboo, the dead leaves had all fallen, leaving only the bare branches dancing in the wind.

Just as the two of them sat in the living room on the first floor, a young girl ran out and called out, "Daddy, has the young duke come back?" When he suddenly saw Gongsun Zan, he quickly bowed slightly and almost bent over to the floor, "Ning'er greets the Marquis."

The girl wore an aquamarine dress, a goose-yellow jacket, and a pair of deerskin boots. Her round face was red with shyness, and her eyebrows were quite delicate. The two faint dimples made her even more adorable. Her name was Liu Ninger, and she was sixteen years old. She was Liu Weitai's daughter and his only family.

Gongsun Zan smiled and helped her up, "Haha, Ning'er, no need to be so polite. What business do you have with your subjects?"

"It's nothing. Ning, son, go make some tea for the marquis." Liu Ninger turned around and ran out in a flurry, almost knocking her head against the door.

"This girl is always so reckless!" Liu Weitai sighed, his eyes filled with love.

Gongsun Zan smiled and said, "In a blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed. I and Ning'er have grown up!"

With Wu Junyi's intentions clear, Liu Weitai understood immediately. He stroked his beard as he spoke, "Let's discuss this matter after my people get married."

Gongsun Zan said happily, "That's good! In the coming year, he would send his people to Xiliang to escort the bride. "It's easy, let's begin."

"Someone, bring the items up."

A black-robed boy walked in with two cyan robed boys. Two cyan robed boys were sitting on the ground, carrying a disorderly sand table and a brush. They were kneeling on the ground as they placed the sand table from north to south. The black-cloaked young man took out a 'Y' shaped peach wood brush and respectfully handed it over to Liu Weitai.

Liu Weitai muttered a few incantations as his body suddenly started to tremble non-stop. With a low shout, he took the peach wood brush and started to write on the sand table. The things that he wrote were crooked like a ghost, and the blue-clothed boy that was recorded was flying as he quickly wrote a poem on a one-foot long piece of white paper.

'Green City devours the moonlight, 'he said. He began with the Divine Immortal Pavilion, looking towards the South Sea. The east wind recalls home, the light of day is new. A sage had appeared, and this happened once in the capital. "Return to the Son of Heaven, and let your heart be hidden behind the springs of the forest."

Liu Weitai collapsed to the ground after he finished writing. At this moment, he was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been fished out of the water.

Gongsun Zan hurriedly helped Liu Weitai up and sat on a stool. He got the boy to submit the poem he had written, and after looking at it for a long time, he discovered it was a hidden poem.

"What does this poem mean?"

Liu Weitai waved his hand and ordered the three kids out, then wiped his sweat and said weakly: "Han Dynasty is Earth, the young duke is Wood, the Five Elements Wood is Earth. The divine edict of Aunt Zi says very clearly, those who bring the world back to its heart are Gongsun Zimin! "Congratulations to the Marquis!"

Gongsun Zan was overjoyed. "Good! It seems that destiny should be in my home! "Haha!"

Liu Weitai forced a smile as he thought about that night five days ago.

At that time, in the middle of the moon, Gongsun Xu suddenly came to visit, Liu Weitai invited him to the small study to inquire about the purpose of his visit.

He asked Liu Weitai to help him persuade Gongsun Zan to be on his guard, and also asked Liu Weitai to help him speak a few words at the right time. First, Gongsun Xu was inexperienced in the army, and he didn't have much to offer, so it would be hard for him to control more military power. As such, he wanted to go to the Changli and convince Liu He to come and put his troops at his disposal, and secondly, Gongsun Xu was prepared to find the Yanshan that Zhang Yan had stolen from, making the entire eastern region a Gongsun's territory.

Sun originally didn't think much of Gongsun Xu and thought that he was bold and brave, lacking in tact and shrewdness. Therefore, the two rarely came into contact. Gongsun Zan repeatedly hinted for Liu Ninger to marry Gongsun Xu as a concubine, but was foolishly declined by Liu Weitai. Who would have thought that after Gongsun Xu fainted, he would encounter a ghost god? His whole body was suddenly enlightened, his speech, actions, and deep scheming all shocked Liu Weitai. Thus, he readily agreed to Gongsun Xu's request, offering to help Gongsun Xu at any time. In exchange, Sun made Liu steel marry Liu Ninger as a concubine, and guaranteed Liu Ninger's position in the Gongsun backyard was second only to her legal wife. If it wasn't because the Liu Clan's position was too low and Gongsun Xu was engaged, Liu Weitai would definitely ask for Liu Ninger's position as the principal wife.

Liu Ninger and Gongsun Xu were childhood friends who grew up together. Every time they were bullied, Gongsun Xu would step forward to help. As a result, Liu Ninger liked Gongsun Xu since she was young and was very dissatisfied with Sun Tie's rejection of Gongsun Zan's proposal. Now that she had finally gotten what she wanted, Liu Ninger was extremely happy in her heart. In these few days, she had embroidered a scented sachet to prepare for Gongsun Xu. She did not expect Gongsun Xu to leave the Ji County without even saying a word, causing her to feel quite disappointed. When she heard the sound of her grandfather's return, she rushed out to ask. She didn't expect Gongsun Zan to be present, so she quickly used the excuse of making tea to escape.

Liu Weitai waited for Gongsun Zan to finish laughing before saying softly, "Master Hou, I have something to say. I wonder if it's appropriate for you to say it?"

Gongsun Zan smiled and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it."

"The fact that his son was born with the destiny of the heavens cannot be spread out. It's just that his name isn't well-known, so Master Hou might as well give him some more chances!"

Gongsun Zan nodded and pondered while stroking his beard. Even Liu Ninger's maidservant, Su Er, didn't notice that she had brought in a tray of tea.

Liu Weitai poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Gongsun Zan. He then picked up a cup and slowly savored it without saying anything else. As the saying goes, one must lose when talking too much. Otherwise, it would be bad if there was a conflict in Gongsun Zan's heart.

Just as Liu Weitai finished his cup of tea, the black clothed child spoke softly from outside the door, "Master, the house of the Marquis' steward, Uncle Zhong, has arrived. He said that the young duke has returned and that the Madam would like to invite him back."

"Hmm? The people are back? " Gongsun Zan recovered from his deep thoughts. He stood up and said, "Jingyi, I'm going back. I'm taking Ning'er out for dinner tonight. Madam hasn't seen Ning'er for a few days, so I miss her very much."

"Yes, I will definitely come tonight. I'll send the marquis out."

"No need." Gongsun Zan waved his hand and walked out of the room with big steps.

Liu Weitai walked to the door, and after watching Gongsun Zan leave, he shouted, "Jiu'er!"

The black clad boy ran over quickly and bowed: "Here! "Old master, what is your command?"

"Go and ask Master Li and Master Le to come over for a chat."

"Here." The boy in black answered and quickly ran out.

Master Li, whom Liu Weitai had Jiu'er invite, was named Li Yizi, and was Gongsun Zan's playmate. He had been selling horses when he was seventeen years old, and had accumulated quite a bit of wealth. He had also helped Gongsun Zan many times in the past. After Gongsun Zan's rise, he invited Li Yizi's family to stay in Ji County. Li Yizi was currently the biggest horse dealer in the Northern Territories, with close to a thousand servants and tens of thousands of warhorses he handled every year.

Old Master Le was called Le Hedang, an old friend of Gongsun Zan. He was an experienced merchant when he was young, and was now the biggest grain merchant and salt merchant in the Youzhou. Half of the shops in the Ji County belonged to him, and his family property was in the hundreds of millions. After Gongsun Zan had defeated Zhang Jing's rebellion, because of his military merits, he became a marquis. However, the middle ranking officials that came to issue the decree forcibly demanded a bribe worth one million gold coins. Gongsun Zan was furious and refused to give it up, almost abandoning the matter of being a marquis. After Le Hedang heard about this, he immediately dragged several carts full of copper coins and gave them to the middle official. It was only then that Gongsun Zan successfully received the edict from the official.

Among the trio of Liu Weitai, Li Yizi and Le Hedang, Sun Tie's family property was the weakest. However, Li Jun and Le were just like Gongsun Zan; they believed in ghosts and gods, and they concealed their fear towards Liu Weitai. They relied on Gongsun Zan to make a huge fortune, and at the same time gave Gongsun Zan great help. With their war horses, weapons, food, and wagons, as long as Liu Tie needed them, they were able to find a way to obtain them.

About an hour later, Li Yizi and Le Hedang arrived at the same time.

Li Yizi's body was well-built and he had a rough appearance. His long hair was let loose, making him look like a roaming horse bandit.

Le Hedang was short, white and fat, with a simple and honest smile on his face. Before he spoke, he would laugh a few times.

After sitting down and serving the tea, Le Hedang was the first to speak: "Hehe, Brother, you've brought us here, is there something you need?"

Wu Tie raised his teacup and took a sip. He then slowly said, "Do you all know what I have been doing for the past few days?"

Li Yizi and Le Hedang looked at each other and nodded in succession. Their eyes were filled with doubt.

"You don't have to let your imaginations run wild." Liu Weitai said lightly, "After the people fell unconscious, they encountered the help of ghosts and gods, which was why they were suddenly enlightened!"

"What!" The two of them were shocked.

"This is absolutely true, don't try to spread it!" Liu Weitai warned him solemnly.

"Hur hur, I know, I know." Le Hedang smiled and nodded, praising, "This is a good thing. Cui'er chatted with her mother yesterday, and I overheard her saying that Ning'er is going to send a scented sachet to my people. Did brother agree to Ning'er's request?"

Liu Weitai nodded his head in a reserved manner, but in his heart, he was extremely pleased with himself.

Le Hedang applauded and said, "Aiya, congratulations brother! At that time, little brother will definitely give you a big gift! "

"A thousand high grade war horses!" Li Yizi didn't say much, but he was very generous. A thousand superior war horses could be sold for at least a hundred thousand points if they were transported to the south!

"Let's talk about it later." Liu Weitai put down his teacup and said solemnly, "From today onwards, you all will support your subjects regardless of what strength you have left. Whatever he wants, you all will give it to you!" I know, the two of you sometimes even lie to the marquis, I hope you don't lie to the people! The higher he stands, the more rewards we will receive in the future! "

"I will do as my brother says!" Le Hedang retracted his smile and cupped his hands together with Li Yizi to promise.

"Very good! Master Hou will hold a family banquet tonight, let's go together. "

"Hur hur, alright." Le Hedang replied with a smile, and asked tentatively: "Brother, may I ask, why do you think so much of my people? If we fully support our people, would Master Hou be dissatisfied? "

"Your subject is someone blessed by the heavens. Your Lordship has already known about this!"

Liu Weitai's words made Le Hedang jump up, he strongly slapped his head and cried out: "Aiyo, such a loss! If I knew earlier, I would not have let little Cui'er be engaged to someone else!"

Li Yizi cupped his hands towards Liu Weitai and said, "I have a daughter outside the fort. She is seventeen years old."

Le Hedang exclaimed, "Hur Hur, good, you bandit Li. You actually hid this matter for so long!"

Liu Weitai nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Leave this matter to me."

Gongsun Xu, who just returned to the house of the Marquis, did not know that he had a concubine whose name he did not even know.