mesbooks Chapter 10 Invitation
Chapter 10 Invitation
Liu Shan lovingly stroked the two tiger carcasses, and what excited him was that both of these beasts were male.
That's wonderful! I'll take it home and use it to make medicinal wine. Wow, it's absolutely amazing!
Compared to the tiger carcass, the wolf carcasses seemed insignificant, but Liu Shan didn't mind. If handled properly, these wolf pelts could still be sold for some silver.
Even if they don't sell the silver, keeping it for the family of four would be a good option for keeping warm in winter.
Moreover, unlike tiger skin, wolf skin is understated yet luxurious and avoids taboos, making it an essential item for any home.
However, none of the people knew how to skin and debone the animals, and the few remaining horses were unable to carry the beasts. Therefore, how to transport these animals became a pressing problem for Liu Shan.
Just then, the servants who had been housed in the camp, worried about their masters' safety, finally came looking for them.
After Li Wanqing gave a few simple instructions, several servants returned to the makeshift camp and retrieved a cart.
They first loaded the animals onto the cart, then laid down several layers of weeds to simply block out the smell, so that the old oxen could barely pull the cart.
They had agreed to go home and eat separately, but Lin Nanjia and Wei Xiuying insisted on accompanying Li Wanqing.
Li Wanqing couldn't persuade them otherwise, and despite having some doubts about their motives, she still went along with them.
The horses that had gone missing earlier were found by the servants, and two more horses were prepared.
Despite her young age, Xiao Yue's horseback riding posture was quite impressive.
She and Jiang Ruolan walked one after the other, seemingly with no intention of leaving.
On the way, Xiao Yue suddenly rode up to Liu Shan's side and asked curiously, "My benefactor, what is a female Wu Song? Are there male Wu Songs too?"
Liu Shan laughed and said, "Of course there is, but he is not called Male Wu Song, he is just called Wu Song. He once killed a tiger with his bare hands. Today, when I saw how brave you are, I blurted out and called you 'Female Wu Song'."
Xiao Yue immediately became interested and asked, "He can kill a tiger with his bare hands? What kind of martial arts does he practice? Vajra Hand, or Overlord Elbow? Neither? Could it be the martial arts masterpiece Dragon Elephant Crushing Stone Palm?"
Liu Shan had heard of Vajra Hand and Overlord Elbow, as they were two of the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts from his previous life. However, in his current memory, there was no Shaolin Temple in this world, and naturally, there were no Seventy-Two Arts.
As for the legendary martial arts technique, Dragon Elephant Shattering Stone Palm... he had never even heard of it; it was probably a unique technique found only in this world.
Seeing that Li Wanqing and Jiang Ruolan were looking at him with great interest, and also to avoid the journey home being boring, he began to tell the five women the story of Wu Song fighting the tiger from "Water Margin".
"Wu Song was a burly and incredibly strong hero. After killing a local bully, he was forced to flee to Chai Jin's manor for refuge. There, he received a warm welcome from Chai Jin. One day, Wu Song bid farewell to Chai Jin, and carrying some silver and weapons, embarked on his journey home..."
"...This time, Wu Song was well-prepared. He used all his strength and struck the tiger on the head with his staff. The tiger saw stars, but remained extremely ferocious. Wu Song threw away his staff and engaged the tiger in hand-to-hand combat. He grabbed the tiger by the neck and punched its head repeatedly. After a fierce struggle, Wu Song finally killed the tiger."
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Shan clapped his hands and laughed, "We've reached the city gate. The story of Wu Song fighting the tiger is now finished. Next time, I'll tell you the story of 'The Female Demon Selling Human Flesh on Mengzhou Road'."
A shrew? Selling human flesh?
Xiao Yue was still a little girl, but she loved listening to stories. This story sounded exciting just from its title, and she nodded excitedly, wishing Liu Shan would start telling it right now.
Lin Nanjia and Wei Xiuying secretly shook their heads, saying that the story of "Wu Song Fighting the Tiger" was too boring and not nearly as interesting as the story of "Xu Xuan and the Snake Spirit".
And next time they're going to tell the story of "the female demon selling human flesh in Mengzhou"?
The title of this story is frightening just to hear.
Lin Nanjia hurriedly interjected, "Brother-in-law, Xiuying and I want to hear the story of 'Xu Xuan and the Snake Spirit'."
Upon hearing this, Liu Shan turned his gaze to Li Wanqing. After all, she was his wife in name only, and he wanted to hear her opinion on things like storytelling that could enhance their relationship.
Li Wanqing was surprised that Liu Shan would ask for her opinion, which made her feel very happy. The story didn't matter; what mattered was his care and respect.
She was about to speak when she noticed that the people at the city gate had all knelt down.
By the time she could clearly see the face of the woman in the lead, the woman's sedan chair had already arrived in front of everyone.
Li Wanqing, Lin Nanjia, and Wei Xiuying, all daughters of military families, hurriedly dismounted and knelt on one knee to pay their respects, saying, "Greetings, Princess Changning."
Liu Shanxin looked bewildered at first, then dismounted and bowed, but his eyes showed no fear. By sheer coincidence, he met the princess's gaze.
Jiang Ruolan and Xiao Yue originally wanted to kneel on one knee to pay their respects, but seeing that Liu Shan did not kneel, the two women did not kneel either.
The princess glanced at Liu Shan almost imperceptibly, and seeing him standing next to Li Wanqing, guessed that he was the Li family's son-in-law who had been the talk of the town in Cangzhou recently.
He doesn't seem like the spineless person the rumors suggest, but you can only know a person's face, not their heart.
She didn't bother to think much about other people's husbands. With a wave of her sleeve, she signaled her attendants to continue on their way so as not to miss the spring plowing ceremony.
After Princess Changning had walked away, the group of people who had been kneeling on one knee slowly stood up.
Li Wanqing originally wanted to remind Liu Shan that his behavior was somewhat inappropriate, but in the end, she thought better of it and decided against it.
After passing through the city gate, the second-generation military families parted ways and returned to their respective homes.
Upon arriving at the Li residence, Jiang Ruolan finally made up her mind and took her leave.
“My benefactor, my junior sister and I have other matters to attend to, so let us take our leave here.” With that, Jiang Ruolan bowed respectfully.
Xiao Yue stood still, pouting, seemingly a little unwilling. They had been enduring wind and rain for many days, and now that they had met their benefactor again, how wonderful it would be to have another bowl of meat wontons.
Originally, Liu Shan had considered inviting the two heroines to stay at the Li residence temporarily, but unexpectedly, Jiang Ruolan took her leave first.
There was another reason why Liu Shan hesitated to speak: his status as a son-in-law. Although Li Wanqing and he were not husband and wife in reality, they were husband and wife in name, and he still had to show her at least some respect.
It was inappropriate for a man to invite a woman to stay at his residence temporarily, especially since the man was already married.
Liu Shan simply took out his money pouch from his pocket, didn't even count it, and offered it all up, sincerely saying, "My two heroines, I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. Please don't find this little bit of silver too much."
Jiang Ruolan had only extended her hand halfway to refuse when she heard her junior sister's excited voice beside her.
"Senior sister, let's go eat meat wontons right away."
Jiang Ruolan's outstretched hand suddenly froze awkwardly in mid-air.