The Eternal Beauty of the City of Wealth

In the general's mansion in Qufu City of the State of Lu, Zixu and his wife were playing with their son.

The doorman came to report that Shusun Bao wanted to see him, so he quickly handed the child to Ziye and went out to greet him.

After entering the living room and sitting down, Zixu ordered someone to serve tea and put down the cups after the tea was served.

Zixu asked Shusun Bao, "Sir, may I know what you have to offer me in your humble abode?"

Shusun Bao sighed and said with a melancholy look: "Alas! There is nothing important here today."

"The inner chamber has been in turmoil lately, making me depressed. I've come to you to chat about family matters, to ease my mind a little."

"Oh? Lord Shangqing, I wonder what major event has happened in your residence that has made you so anxious?"

"My dear, you may not know that in my early years, I had a one-night stand and left a son named Shuniu."

"Because I have been busy with military campaigns and government affairs for many years, I was unable to bring him and his mother to my residence in time."

"A few years ago, the mother and son suddenly came to visit me. When I saw them, I felt deeply guilty for not taking care of them for so many years."

"So, I wanted to make it up to them, so I doted on the mother and son."

"I handed over all the management power of the mansion to Shuniu, but the two exiled sons in my family were very dissatisfied."

"I often have conflicts with Shuniu. Last night, Erzi came to see me."

"They claimed that if Shuniu was not driven away, they would move out of the house and live on their own."

"Alas! All three of you are my sons. If any of you leaves, I won't feel good!"

After hearing this, Zixu couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Shusun Bao.

I didn't expect that such a thing would happen in the home of Lord Shangqing, who is both talented in civil and military affairs.

The fact that he came to tell me these things proved that he didn't treat me as an outsider.

But what can I do? For now, I can only try to persuade him kindly, hoping that he will feel better.

"Sir Shangqing, sooner or later children will leave their parents when they grow up."

"Look, General, my mother has many children, but she favors me over all others."

"Didn't I leave her and run to Lu, a thousand miles away?"

"Besides, the two young masters only moved out of Shangqing Mansion and are still living in Qufu."

"Whenever you miss them, just send someone to call them back."

"If the two young masters don't move out, the conflict with Young Master Niu will inevitably intensify."

"If we follow the same path as Cui Zhu and his two sons, the consequences will outweigh the gains."

"When the two young masters move out, you can just give them some more money and belongings."

After hearing this, Shusun Bao nodded repeatedly: "Yes! That's right. For the sake of peace in our family, this is the only way."

Seeing that it was getting late, Zixu invited Shusun Bao to have dinner at his house, and he gave him some more advice at the dinner table.

After the meal, Shusun Bao left the general's mansion and returned home contentedly.

As soon as he reached the door, a retainer hurried forward to report: "My lord, you are back. The three young masters are quarreling!"

When Shusun Bao heard this, he was furious. He had only been away from home for half a day, and the mansion was in chaos again. How could this be tolerated!

He hurried to the backyard and heard his eldest son cursing from a distance:

"Shuniu, you bastard! I don't even know whose offspring you are, yet you come to my house and claim to be my relative. Get out of here!"

"Hahahaha... Zhong Ren! Meng Bing! My father naturally knows whether I am his son or not! Why are you so worried?"

When Xu Sunbao heard that his two sons actually suspected that Shuniu was not his own son.

He immediately became furious and walked up to the two of them and yelled, "If you two keep talking nonsense, get out of here right now!"

The two were heartbroken after hearing this. They never expected that their father would be so cruel to his own flesh and blood for a cow that came from nowhere.

So, the two of them moved out of Shangqing Mansion overnight in a fit of anger. Shuniu was secretly happy in his heart, as his goal was finally achieved.

After Zhong Ren and Meng Bing left, all the financial power of the Shusun family was controlled by Shuniu.

He was not satisfied with having control over the household affairs of the Shusun family, and was determined to seize the position of heir to the Shusun clan.

He knew very well that no matter how much Shusun Bao loved him, he would never pass the position of clan leader to him, a bastard.

The only way was to kill the two exiled sons Zhong Ren and Meng Bing.

So he searched hard for an opportunity and racked his brains to figure out how to get rid of the two.

Two years later, Shusun Bao felt that his health was not as good as before, and immediately had the idea of ​​appointing an heir.

So he summoned Meng Bing back to his house and said, "Son, your father is old and his days are numbered. I'm afraid he won't live long."

"So I want to make you the leader of the Shusun clan. Are you willing, son?"

Meng Bing was overjoyed when he heard this. What does it mean to inherit the position of clan leader?

It means that I will be ranked first in Class Three like my father, how can I not want that!

He quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, father! I am willing! I will serve the Shusun family with all my heart!"

"Well, get up. I've made a big clock for my father. Once it's finished, we'll set an auspicious date."

"On that auspicious day, the civil and military officials of the court were invited to come and watch, and my father took the opportunity to announce this matter!"

After explaining this matter, Shusun Bao was in a good mood. The next day, he asked Gongzi Xu to go to Qiuyu to hunt together.

Zixu readily agreed, and during the hunting process Shusun Bao shot a rabbit.

The rabbit was not dead, and it ran away with the arrow in its body, with Shusun Bao chasing it closely.

After catching up with the rabbit, Shusun Bao was exhausted and sweating profusely.

He immediately took off his shirt, and instantly a cool breeze swept over his body, making him feel much cooler.

After returning home, he felt a little unwell, sneezing and having a runny nose, and he had a high fever at night.

After seeing a doctor, I realized that I had caught a cold.

From that day on, he fell ill and his condition worsened with alternating periods of two days.

When Meng Bing learned that the bell was finished, he came to his father's house to ask when would be a suitable day to invite the ministers.

But just as he entered the house, Shuniu came out to greet him. When he learned the purpose of Meng Bing's visit, he immediately said with a smile:

"Brother, my father is not feeling well and doesn't want to see any visitors. Shuniu will go and ask for you!"

Meng Bing had no choice but to nod and wait outside.

After arriving at Shusun Bao's dormitory, he did not tell Meng Bing that he had come to ask about the date.

Just sitting at the table thinking about his own things, it seems that the opportunity to kill Meng Bing has come...

After a while, he walked out of the room and came to the front door. He made up a date and told Meng Bing that it was the day chosen by his father.

Meng Bing was very happy when he knew the date, and he hurried to the ministers' houses to deliver the letter.

On the auspicious day, the doctors arrived as scheduled. Shusun Bao heard the bell ringing in bed and was confused.

He ordered someone to call Shuniu to ask what happened. Shuniu replied, "Father!"

"Meng Bing invited all the doctors without asking my father for permission. He clearly doesn't take you seriously."

"Not only that, he even invited Ziming from Qi to come here. This is extremely unfilial!"

Ziming was a senior official of Qi State. After Shusun Bao returned to his country, he did not bring his family back to Lu State.

His original wife, the mother of Meng Bing and Zhong Ren, saw that Shusun Bao was slow to come and pick her up.

He also married a concubine in Lu State, and in a fit of anger remarried to Zi Ming, a senior official of Qi State.