Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 464: Dark Hero
Zhang Shou was stunned for a moment after hearing this brief introduction, and then he smiled and took it with a smile. But when he unwrapped the cloth bag layer by layer and saw the object inside, he was stunned.
Ah Liu actually had the same idea as Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing? Zhu Jing's seal was a Tianhuang stone seal, and this one was a chicken blood stone seal... Looking at the red and spiritual color, it might be a fine piece of what is commonly known as Da Hong Pao!
Since the Changhua Bloodstone was mined in the early years of this dynasty, as far as he knew, this quality of Bloodstone had become very rare. Of course, the most important thing was that although Ah Liu was a high-paid employee because of the emperor's golden words, his students Zhu Er were in Cangzhou. Ah Liu had lost one income recently, and the other salary had always been collected by Wu, so how could he use it to buy this thing!
He turned over and looked at the seal, and saw the words "Lord of Fortune and Longevity" engraved on it. He couldn't help but glanced at the young man in front of him with a strange expression, who still had a calm face, and countless messy thoughts ran through his mind.
Where did Ah Liu get this thing? Did he rob the rich to help the poor? Or did he kill (evil) people and steal their goods? Or was it a reward from somewhere? Does this kid know that if he gives this thing to those nobles and rich people who are addicted to this, he can exchange it for a nice house in the capital?
Thinking that it was unnecessary to beat around the bush with this guy, Zhang Shou simply asked directly: "I should have accepted your kindness, but it is too valuable. Tell me, where did this thing come from?"
"I robbed them." Seeing Zhang Shou's sudden change of expression, Ah Liu said calmly, "When I was a bandit with the madman, I killed many people and robbed a lot of things. The madman gave me half of them every time. I didn't know what was good or bad, so I just picked up a bunch of junk. Later, the madman helped me store them all. This time when I returned to Beijing, he returned all the things to me."
Seeing Zhang Shou dumbfounded, the young man added: "I picked out the most beautiful stone from the crowd and found a carver on the street to carve a seal. Since the young master has no name or nickname, I asked the carver to carve these four words. Isn't Fu Shou very auspicious? Then being the owner of Fu Shou must be even more auspicious."
Zhang Shou immediately hit his forehead lightly. No wonder he felt that the four words "Lord of Longevity and Bliss" were too simple and straightforward. Moreover, the carving of these four words was just mediocre and could not be called excellent - even his limited level of appreciation could tell the difference.
It turns out that Ah Liu just found a carver on the street and had him carve these four words on a valuable piece of chicken blood stone! Although Zhang Shou's first reaction was that it was a waste of natural resources, he immediately laughed. No matter how good the chicken blood stone is, it is just a toy. Relatively speaking, Ah Liu's thoughtfulness is the most valuable.
So, he wrapped up the bloodstone and put it in his arms, then smiled and said, "I accept your kindness. For so many years, thanks to you for protecting me from rain and disaster. I still say that you are my family. In the future, don't just think of me, but also think of yourself. And don't think that your junk is worthless. Let Lu Sanlang find someone to appraise its value for you later."
At this point, seeing Ah Liu's disapproving expression, he paused, then said word by word: "Don't take it lightly. This bloodstone seal you gave me could support some people for a lifetime if sold! After we appraise the price, you can keep the ones you like and let Lu Sanlang sell the ones you don't like. Then you will become a rich man in no time, understand?"
Ah Liu frowned: "So what if I become a rich man?"
Zhang Shou was slightly stunned: "Of course you won't have to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation at that time..." He paused slightly, then smiled evilly, "You won't be afraid that there won't be beautiful women who like you."
"Beautiful women love rich men because they love their money." Ah Liu answered straightforwardly, and then added, "Besides, I don't have to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation now."
Seeing that Zhang Shou was choked this time, he said frankly: "I don't know what to do with the money. Master, if you can get Lu Sanlang to help me sell those junks, you can keep the money and use it for anything."
Your indifferent attitude towards money makes me feel so stressed!
For the first time, Zhang Shou felt that keeping money for others was also a very troublesome thing. After all, Wu had always helped to collect the wages that Liu had earned from Zhu Er and the so-called salary he had received from the emperor. Wu had recorded every penny and had told him privately that he had saved up a considerable sum of money.
He sighed, then patted Ah Liu on the shoulder and said, "Your money is your money. If I need it, I will ask you to borrow it, but we must never mix it up with other money. In short, I will think of a way to make money from money and turn your dead money into living money."
"Of course, there is one most important thing..." Zhang Shou paused and smiled at Liu, "Maybe most beauties like heroes, powerful people, and rich men, but don't underestimate yourself, because in my eyes, you are also a hero, but you like to hide yourself in the dark most of the time."
"You probably haven't heard from Lu Sanlang that because you caught the assassin from the Wang family who tried to kill someone and silence him, many people in South City think you are a great knight and a hero. If you were recognized in the outer city, there would probably be a lot of young ladies and wives around you to watch you."
Seeing Ah Liu's puzzled face, Zhang Shou laughed and said, "Why, you don't believe me? Do you want me to take you to the outer city next time and shout that the four evil bullies Wang are here to be eliminated? Do you believe that the people in the outer city will come out in droves to watch the heroes?"
Even though Ah Liu's facial expressions were usually not very expressive, he couldn't help but smile at this moment, but the smile was a little shy. After a while, he shook his head and said, "I'm just doing what I was told."
"Don't always think of yourself as a yes-man who does what you're told. I've always felt that you're very creative."
Zhang Shou said this, but he complained in his heart - Of course, sometimes you are too creative in doing things, and the execution process is simple and rough, so that the results are beyond my expectations and I am stunned. For example, today's incident with Mr. Song, I really didn't expect you to suddenly rush to the stove and share food with others, and then take all the remaining taro balls and send them upstairs...
But Ah Liu believed his evaluation and nodded, saying, "As long as Master feels it is creative, I will continue to do so in the future."
Uh… Ah Liu actually listened to this and took it seriously! This kid is still planning to continue to overcome obstacles in a creative way! But he should have some mercy on his enemy instead of stopping the overly active Ah Liu, right?
Because he was a little tipsy, Zhang Shou had a lot of messy thoughts at this time. He laughed and walked forward to pat Ah Liu's head gently. Then he smiled and said, "Okay, I'll leave a lot of things to you in the future!"
Ah Liu nodded, and in a good mood sent Zhang Shou back to the yard, then helped him to go to the bathhouse to take a bath, and then went back to the room to pack his clothes. But after he rummaged in the box for a while, his movements suddenly froze. Then, without turning his head, he said, "Don't you know to go through the main door?"
"All the doormen ran to the back to celebrate your young master's birthday. I knocked three times but no one answered. How did he get in through the main door?" Hua Qi appeared and saw Ah Liu suddenly stand up and turn to him. He smiled and said, "Besides, didn't I promise your young master that I would help find out if there were any omissions and train some manpower?"
"As a result, there are omissions everywhere, and there are almost no professionals." Before Liu could get angry, he suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Of course there are professionals, but there is only you. Moreover, you are the housekeeper, personal servant, and bodyguard. Don't you think you are too busy and can't do everything at once?"
Seeing that Ah Liu finally kept silent, Hua Qi said nonchalantly, "But it's no wonder you're like this. I just watched you talking from a distance. Your young master is very close to you, just like a family member... Don't worry, I didn't hear what you said. You're getting more powerful now. If I were too close, I think you would have found me out, so I just watched from a distance."
"Hmph!" Ah Liu snorted in dissatisfaction, and then said impatiently, "If you think that the defense of this garden is not good, then come and take over, don't just talk nonsense!"
"You've really been spoiled by your young master, and your temper is getting worse and worse." Hua Qi walked forward leisurely, and flicked his finger at Ah Liu's forehead, but he didn't expect that the man's head tilted back, his feet took two wrong steps, and he dodged to the side in an instant. Seeing this, his eyes flashed, and he immediately moved his feet lightly, and actually chased after him directly.
The big and the small were chasing each other back and forth in this not-so-big room. In the end, Hua Qi grabbed Liu's collar, but the boy suddenly retracted his neck, and then he escaped from the clothes like a cicada escaping from its shell, and then retreated three steps with a fierce look on his face.
Facing Ah Liu's angry expression, Hua Qi finally shrugged his shoulders and casually threw the coat to Ah Liu. Seeing that he didn't dodge, he didn't catch it either, letting the coat fall lightly to the ground. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "Not bad, even if you have been in a safe and stable environment, you haven't degenerated after all."
"What on earth do you want to do!" Ah Liu stared at Hua Qi impatiently, with his hands already stretched behind his back. "If you don't explain yourself, don't blame me for being rude! Don't forget, I can complain to the Emperor!"
After hearing Ah Liu's last words, Hua Qi finally showed an extremely surprised expression. He had never thought that this little lone wolf, who had always been straightforward, didn't know how to use tricks, didn't know what a companion was, let alone asking for help or even a backer, had now learned the trick of complaining!
Facing that overly calm expression, as if it was only natural for me to complain if you came to cause trouble, he finally said with a dull look, "It seems that you have really changed. Forget it, I am only here to send a message to your young master on behalf of the emperor. The second term of Jiuzhang Hall should be enrolled as soon as possible, otherwise it would be embarrassing for him, a doctor of the Imperial College, to have no students under his command. In addition, several great scholars who are well versed in various subjects will come to the capital later."
Ah Liu's eyes suddenly turned fierce. Even though Zhang Shou had said that he didn't care or that he didn't pay any attention to Ji Jiu's reminder, he was different.
No matter how famous or well-received they are, in his eyes, the noble men, wise men, and celebrities that the world talks about are all irrelevant people. And if such people are hostile or malicious, then he will naturally not show any mercy.
"Don't be so hostile, it's not a life-and-death fight." Hua Qi smiled , and it was obvious that Ah Liu didn't show any sign of relaxation. He knew that the little guy had a murderous nature, so he said nonchalantly, "Academic disputes are sometimes not just a life-and-death fight, but also a fight to completely wipe out the entire group of opponents. In fact, it is more cruel than political disputes. But..."
He dragged out the words and then said meaningfully: "The emperor will not allow it. Neither the nobles nor the old ministers in the court will allow it. What's more, miscellaneous subjects have never been the mainstream. If these people are smart, they will not rashly put it against your young master. If they really put it against you, it must be someone standing behind them."
Ah Liu was silent for a long time, and finally nodded: "I understand, you can go." Hua Qi was not surprised at all by this straightforward expulsion, and he was even more certain that if he continued to tease this boy, he might really ignore the fact that today was Zhang Shou's birthday and have a big fight with him in this room.
So he could only shrug his shoulders, turned around and walked out, then waved gently.
"When I came in, I caught a sneaky little thief. I knocked him out and left him in the front yard. When I leave later, I will take him to the Wanping County Court to save some trouble for the Shuntian Prefecture Court. Your young master is having a birthday, and I haven't prepared any gifts, so I'll just help him catch a thief as a gift."
"He has another piece of news. The deposed queen tried every means to send a letter to the second prince, but the letter was handed over by the second prince."
Knowing that if he turned back at this time, Ah Liu would be full of doubts, asking what this had to do with him, he laughed and said, "Just tell your young master, he will naturally know what happened. The second prince even wrote a letter to the Zongzheng Temple to visit the eldest prince and persuade him to repent and reform . In short, people are willing to sacrifice their relatives for the sake of justice, while at the same time they have deep brotherly love. It seems like that."
Although Ah Liu still had no expression on his face, he at least knew that he should tell Zhang Shou everything. But the next piece of news Hua Qi revealed in an instant was so slow that he was stunned: "The Second Prince said with great sorrow that he had been so reckless in the past because he did not study, so he asked... um, to study in the Imperial College."
"Of course, don't worry. He can't bring himself to be your young master's student. He just wants to enter the Ruxing Hall of the Imperial Academy. You know, since the emperor came to the Imperial Academy to ask for the rectification of the study style, there have been many famous talents among the students of Ruxing Hall. Zhou Jijiu, who felt a sense of crisis, even became a teacher himself. He can be said to have students all over the world. The second prince might be going there just for him."
Seeing Hua Qi walk away after saying this, Ah Liu stood there in silence for a long time, and finally smiled. Anyway, he didn't understand these things, he only knew that no matter what kind of conspiracy others had, he just crushed them!
