My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 7 Reactions from all parties
Chen Deng was eating when he learned of this news.

On the table in front of Chen Yuanlong were four plates, two of which contained sashimi, and the other two contained a vegetable and a fruit. In addition, there was a bowl of rice and a glass of wine, which was his entire dinner.

For someone of Chen Yuanlong's status, this meal was already considered very frugal.

However, Chen Yuanlong ate with great relish, taking big bites of the wheat rice and occasionally picking up sashimi, wrapping it with ginger shreds, and putting it in his mouth, then revealing a satisfied expression.

After hearing the news delivered by the butler, Chen Yuanlong had a half-smile on his face.

Chen Yuanlong never regarded Liu Feng as a child.

Although this young master had only been in Tancheng for a little over a month, he spent most of his time in the prefectural government office without ever leaving the house.

However, all the powerful and influential people in Tancheng County were paying close attention to his every move.

Among these people was Chen Yuanlong.

Although Chen Deng was a man of great generosity and righteousness, he was also resourceful and far-sighted.

Liu Feng, the eldest son of Liu Bei, has earned Liu Bei a lot of respect. As Liu Bei's confidant, how could he possibly ignore such a young master?
A moment later, Chen Deng waved his right hand, which was holding chopsticks, forcefully in the air: "It's alright. Cao Jianwei is an important general in Xuzhou. What's strange about you associating with him?"

The servants of the Chen family bowed respectfully, and then heard Chen Deng's voice: "Have you found out what business the young master has?"

"Never."

The servant of the Chen family shook his head: "Our master instructed us not to let the young master notice us, so we only followed far behind the carriage. After the young master entered the Cao residence, the General personally hosted a banquet for him and dismissed the servants. We do not know what the young master and the General discussed."

Upon hearing this, Chen Deng laughed instead of getting angry. He was quite satisfied with his servants' obedience and caution, and nodded in praise, saying, "Well done. Add a month's salary to your pay. Go and collect your reward."

The servants of the Chen family were overjoyed and repeatedly kowtowed in gratitude.

Unlike Chen Deng, Mi Zhu was different.

He was also having a meal at this time. The dishes were much more abundant than Chen Deng's, with two more meat dishes. However, it was still far from extravagant. Considering the Mi family's status as the wealthiest family in the world and the richest family in Xuzhou, it seemed quite meager.

After listening to the servant's report, Mi Zhu held his chopsticks thoughtfully, remaining motionless for a long time.

Mi Zhu put a lot of effort into investigating Liu Feng.

Although Liu Bei has three sons and two daughters, Liu Feng is the only legitimate son and the eldest son, while Liu Bei's other two sons are only two or three years old.

Liu Feng had an overwhelming advantage in the order of succession.

Moreover, Mi Zhu was even more surprised to find that although Liu Feng was young, he was very famous.

The story of Liu Lang carrying oranges has been circulating in Hebei for two or three years. The protagonist, Liu Lang, is Liu Feng.

This happened more than three years ago. At that time, Liu Feng, who was only six years old, accompanied his elders to a banquet hosted by Gongsun Zan.

During the banquet, Liu Feng's composure and politeness surprised everyone.

The most eye-catching moment was when, after the banquet, Liu Feng, along with his elders, bid farewell to Gongsun Zan, and several oranges actually fell from his arms.

Gongsun Zan thought it was just a child being greedy, so he teased, "Liu Lang, you're a guest but you're hiding oranges in your bosom. If Xuande finds out, he'll think I'm deliberately mistreating you and making sure you don't have enough to eat."

Unexpectedly, Liu Feng bowed respectfully and explained, "Your Excellency has hosted a banquet for all the wise men, and I am fortunate to have been able to participate in this gathering. This is all thanks to Your Excellency's kindness, so how can it be considered mistreatment?"

“The reason I have oranges hidden in my bosom is because the oranges served at the banquet by Your Excellency are so sweet, delicious, refreshing, and juicy that they are the best I have ever eaten. Therefore, I cannot bear to eat too many and want to keep these oranges at home to offer to my grandmother, mother, younger brother, and younger sister, so that my family can share Your Excellency’s gift and feel grateful for Your Excellency’s kindness.”

Gongsun Zan was greatly surprised upon hearing this, and all the guests looked at him with wide eyes, deeply moved by Liu Feng's filial piety.

Gongsun Zan was overjoyed and beckoned Liu Feng to him. He stroked Liu Feng's head and praised him to the guests, saying, "This child is only a child, yet he is so filial, respecting his ancestors and mother, and loving his younger siblings. I am deeply grateful for his kindness. If he can be so filial at such a young age, he will surely become a pillar of society when he grows up. I am truly envious of Xuande for having such a worthy son."

The guests all praised Liu Feng's filial piety. Finally, Gongsun Zan gave Liu Feng a whole basket of oranges, along with other pastries and meats, to take back and offer to his grandmother and mother.

Because of Gongsun Zan, this event became a household name in Youzhou, and its fame spread far beyond the Great Wall to several provinces including Ji, Bing, and Qing, greatly enhancing the reputation of Liu Bei and his son.

When Mi Zhu first heard about this, he was greatly shocked.

This is not because Mi Zhu was shallow or short-sighted.

It was precisely because he had investigated Liu Bei so thoroughly that he was so shocked.

These days, if a celebrity wants to get ahead, besides the mutual flattery among prominent families, they mostly rely on creating anecdotes.

Liu Bei's family background had long since fallen to the level of a poor family. If it weren't for his uncle Liu Yuanqi's high regard for him and his willingness to use his extremely valuable relationship to allow Liu Bei to become Lu Zhi's apprentice, Liu Bei's path would have been ten times more difficult.

Even so, Liu Bei failed to rise to prominence after the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

He lost the county magistrate position he had worked so hard to obtain, and had no choice but to seek refuge with his classmate Gongsun Zan.

Three years ago, Liu Bei had just become the magistrate of Pingyuan County under Gongsun Zan, and it was only a trial appointment, which meant he was promoted out of turn and temporarily acting. This shows how bumpy Liu Bei's career path had been.

Therefore, Liu Bei absolutely lacked the ability and resources to have prestigious families praise his son, and he also lacked the wisdom to meticulously plan such a scheme for his son Liu Feng.

As for Liu Bei's relatives, that's even more impossible.

The Liu family had been a single-son lineage for three generations. Starting with Liu Bei's grandfather, Liu Xiong, they were all only sons who died young.

Even if the Liu family of Zhuo County had the ability and strategy, they wouldn't use it on Liu Feng.

Therefore, Mi Zhu arrived at a very surprising, yet perfectly reasonable, conclusion.

That is all of this, which is Liu Feng's true performance.

Mi Zhu learned of this news very early, and as a result, he increased his investment in Liu Bei and became more determined to join forces with Chen Yuanlong, recommending him to serve as the governor of Xuzhou.

The only difference from history is that Mi Zhu now not only wants to increase his investment in Liu Bei, but also wants to befriend and invest in Liu Feng.

Unfortunately, so far, Mi Zhu has not been able to come up with a good way to get close to Liu Feng.

A powerful prefectural governor wanted to befriend the son of a weak state count.

This is not only absurd and abnormal, but it could also easily backfire, arousing Liu Bei's suspicion and distrust.

You must not act rashly without a perfect opportunity.

Mi Zhu was a very patient person; he knew that haste makes waste.

A good businessman not only needs the courage to place bets, but also the patience to wait.

Therefore, he will continue to wait patiently for the best opportunity.

When that opportunity comes, Mi Zhu will not hesitate to place the prepared stakes without the slightest hesitation.

Mi Zhu carefully instructed his servant to continue to keep an eye on Liu Feng's every move, but to make sure that Liu Feng did not notice.

Better to miss an opportunity than to expose it.

Only after receiving a satisfactory reply did he pick up his rice bowl again and finish the now-cold meal.

(End of this chapter)