The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

Zixu looked at him doubtfully: "It is me, young master. Who are you?"

"I am Shusun Bao from the State of Lu. Come, untie the young master and the others and take care of the seats."

After sitting down, Zixu bowed to Shusun Bao and said, "It turns out to be you, Lord Shangqing. I have long admired you."

Shusun Bao waved his hand and said, "Don't be polite. May I ask why you came to Lu?"

Zixu thought to himself, I can’t let anyone know that my sister and I eloped: “Sir, I came here to visit my good friend, Crown Prince Qiu.”

"It's been a long time since we last met, and I missed you so much that I came to visit you."

"Oh, why was the young master kidnapped by the shop owner and sent to my house?"

When Zixu heard him ask this, he immediately became furious: "Humph! It's all because of that shopkeeper who was greedy for money and took my property for himself!"

"And you knocked my master and servant unconscious in the middle of the night, and sent them to you to ask for your reward!"

Shusun Bao glanced at the two of them but did not blame them.

The two brothers felt guilty when they saw Shusun Bao being so polite to Gongzi Xu.

Aren't the two countries enemies? How dare the Lord Shangqing treat Prince Xu with such courtesy?

Shusun Bao took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Since you are here for the Crown Prince, why not stay at the mansion first?"

"After I have reported this to the King and the Crown Prince, you can leave. What do you think?"

Without waiting for Zixu to speak, he winked at the servants and said, "Place the young master and his companions in the backyard and treat them well."

"No one is allowed to disturb me without my order. Do you understand?"

The servant understood and immediately took the master and servants to the backyard. After settling them down, he locked the gate.

He called a few servants to guard the door and whispered, "Watch them closely and don't let them get away."

When Shusun Bao saw Zixu and the others walking away, his face immediately darkened: "Which of you was greedy for money and took away Master Xu's property?"

The shopkeeper shuddered and immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowed like a chicken sticking rice: "Sir, sir, it was my fault that I was blinded by money for a moment. I beg for your forgiveness."

Shusun Bao took another sip of tea and said coldly, "Since you still care about the country, I will not punish you severely!"

"Each person will be fined 500 coins, and you, under the pretext of running an inn, are you trying to steal money and kill people?"

"I don't know how many evil things you have done! Your inn is now sealed and will never be allowed to operate again!"

"Also! You two must deliver all of Young Master Xu's finances to my house."

"If you discover that someone is hiding something or keeping something private, you will not be forgiven!"

He paused and then said, "Don't you want a reward?"

The two brothers were first frightened by Shusun Bao's punishment, but then they were delighted when they heard that the adults were going to reward them.

He immediately pricked up his ears, thinking that the reward the lord was going to give him was either gold, silver, jewels, or a high-ranking official or a beautiful concubine.

Shusun Bao then said, "Give my cousin twenty lashes of the cane! And give my cousin expulsion from his public office, never to be employed again!"

"Ah! No, sir! I won't dare to do it again! Please let us go, sir!"

Shusun Bao waved to the servant and said, "Take him away!"

“Yes!” the servants agreed and took the two away.

The two men went to execute the shopkeeper and drove their cousin out of Shangqing Mansion.

My cousin was so angry standing at the door. He didn't expect that he would not only fail to steal the chicken but also lose the rice.

It's all my cousin's fault! Why did he have to capture this young man and send him here for no reason?

I am the same. Why don't I think about it? Isn't my cousin walking into a trap by doing this?

Lord Shangqing always calls himself a pig, and he still refuses to admit it. It seems that he is not wronging me.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. No, I have to vent this anger.

At this time, the shopkeeper had been beaten with twenty sticks and came out limping.

When his cousin saw him coming out, he immediately went up to him and started punching and kicking him: "Damn it! It's all your fault! You're the one who got me fired from my job. Today I'm going to beat you to death!"

Immediately, the two men started fighting.

After Shusun Bao dealt with this matter, he thought about it and immediately ordered people to prepare a carriage and prepare to go to the palace to meet Duke Xiang of Lu.

When he saw his cousins ​​fighting at the door, he spat in contempt: "Bah! What a joke!"

"Someone, come! Beat those two away with sticks, and don't dirty the gate!"

Duke Xiang of Lu saw Shusun Bao coming back to see him right after get off work, so he knew something was up. "My dear minister, you've come back again. Do you have something important to report?"

Shusun Bao nodded and said, "Your Majesty, my subordinates have captured Zixuan City Lord's eldest son, Gongzi Xu, at Jiagu Pass."

Oh? Duke Xiang of Lu was stunned: "What are you doing in Lu, Prince Xu?"

"Your Majesty, he said he came to visit Crown Prince Qiu and is now in my residence."

"I came here to ask the king, what should be done with this young master Xu?"

Duke Xiang of Lu stroked his beard and said, "According to your opinion, what should we do?"

"In my opinion, since Master Xu has come, we cannot let him go."

"Think of how powerful and wealthy the city of Fugui is. If the king continues to treat you as a guest of honor and entrusts you with important positions, you will win your heart."

"If Qi invades again, with Prince Xu guarding Lu, I don't think Qi will dare to act rashly."

Duke Xiang of Lu asked in confusion, "My dear minister, can Prince Xu really control the entire State of Qi by himself?"

"Your Majesty, Young Master Xu is not alone. Don't forget who is behind him."

"He has the powerful Fugui City behind him, and City Lord Zixuan is his mother."

"Young Master Xu is the apple of City Lord Zixuan's eye. If anything were to happen to Young Master Xu, would his mother just sit back and do nothing?"

Duke Xiang of Lu's eyes lit up. "You mean to say that I should use Prince Xu as my own to intimidate Qi and deter them from attacking easily?"

Shusun Bao nodded heavily: "That's exactly what I meant."

Good! Duke Xiang of Qi clapped his hands excitedly: "My dear minister, this is a brilliant plan. You are worthy of being the pillar of Lu."

"I'll follow your advice on this matter. What official position do you think would be best for him?"

Shusun Bao thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I think this matter should not be rushed."

"You should first test his opinion and find out whether Prince Xu is willing to stay in Lu."

Duke Xiang of Lu stroked his beard again and said, "Right, right, we should understand it first."

"Your Majesty, you must inform the Crown Prince and hear what he means. After all, the young master is coming to him."

Yes, Duke Xiang of Qi nodded repeatedly and immediately ordered someone to summon the prince.

Not long after, Prince Qiu was summoned. After paying his respects, he asked Duke Xiang of Lu, "Father, why did you summon me here? What is your message?"

"Qiu'er, my father is asking you, are you aware that the young master from Fugui City has come to visit you?"

Prince Qiu was startled: "Father, I don't know."

Duke Xiang of Lu coughed dryly and thought to himself, I'm just talking nonsense. If my son knew, Prince Xu would have been in his house long ago.

"It's like this. Young Master Xu was intercepted at Jiagu Pass. He said he missed you and came to visit. He is now at Uncle Aiqing's residence."

"Really? That's great! Brother Zixu is coming to Qufu! I'll pick him up right away!"

Prince Qiu was so excited that he almost jumped up and quickly stood up to leave the palace.