Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 111 Liu Jianjun's Deceptive Maneuver
Nothing unexpected happened on the way back.

Wu Youji's impression of Liu Jianjun improved considerably, to the point where they were almost on par with the Oath of the Peach Garden.

On the way back, Liu Jianjun gave Wu Youji a suggestion: "Just carry the wild boar carcass and say that you received a report from the public that a giant wild boar was appearing in Zhongnan Mountain. In order to prevent the wild boar from damaging the crops, you led your soldiers to hunt the wild boar. In addition, give the wounded soldiers a sum of compensation and give them a title of 'pig-hunting hero' or something. Wouldn't that make your dereliction of duty disappear?"

Wu Youji was immediately awestruck by his extraordinary talent.

The reason why the marriage did not take place was probably because Wu Youji felt a certain distance from him due to his status as a prince.

After all, the Oath of the Peach Garden required three people.

Wu Youji escorted Li Xian and Liu Jianjun back to the Prince of Pei's residence before reluctantly waving goodbye and leaving.

Liu Jianjun was equally enthusiastic, patting Guangshun on the back of the head and saying, "Aren't you going to say goodbye to your brother-in-law?"

Once the two returned to the Prince's Mansion, Liu Jianjun said to Li Xian, "Let's go, let's continue to discuss the logic."

Li Xian had been filled with doubts for a long time, so he naturally went without hesitation.

Following Liu Jianjun to his small courtyard, before the two even entered, Aisha excitedly ran over and reported to Liu Jianjun, "Young Master Liu, there's been progress with the new cotton spinning tools."

Liu Jianjun couldn't care less about discussing Wu Youji's matter at the moment and started discussing it with Aisha.

Li Xian didn't understand the content of their conversation, but from Aisha's words, the new tool seemed to be essentially still a wooden stick, but with a small disc added to the top. When operating it, the spinner needed to use one hand to pull out fibers from a pile of cotton and twist them into a strand, while using the other hand to rotate the hanging spindle.

Li Xian thought that this seemed quite troublesome.

But Liu Jianjun greatly encouraged her, praising Aisha with a smile: "Aisha did a great job, her intelligence is in no way inferior to that of the women of the Tang Dynasty."

Unlike the shy young women of the Tang Dynasty who were not yet married, the girl from the Western Regions, after being praised, proudly puffed out her chest and accepted the compliment with ease.

"Alright, Aisha, take a rest today. I have some things to discuss with His Highness Prince Pei..." Liu Jianjun said, then seemed to remember something and called out, "Oh, right, about that watermelon your grandfather mentioned last time, ask him to keep an eye out for it again!"

Aisha nodded, then bowed and left.

Li Xian asked curiously, "What watermelon?"

“Aisha told me that a type of melon was introduced from a place further west in her hometown. Its skin, flesh, and seeds are all white. I was curious, so I asked her to ask about it.”

"Melon?" Li Xian asked, puzzled.

“It’s not a melon, it’s something else. That stuff isn’t as sweet as a melon. I was thinking if I could find it, I could give it to the Kunlun slaves. Oh, and I was also planning to raise chickens on a large scale…” At this point, Liu Jianjun sighed again: “Never mind, we’ll talk about that later. I still want to eat fried chicken myself.”

Li Xian was puzzled, but didn't ask any further questions.

Liu Jianjun pulled Li Xian to sit down in the courtyard and said, "Let's continue discussing Wu Youji's matter. The main problem is that I don't know him well enough, and I feel there's something I haven't figured out yet."

Li Xian nodded and asked, "Then what do you want to know?"

Liu Jianjun scratched his head for a while, seemingly unsure where to begin.

Li Xian said irritably, "When did you learn to be shy?"

Liu Jianjun chuckled: "The main thing is that this is a bit difficult to talk about... What do you think of your sister's personality?" Liu Jianjun suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

But Li Xian still answered honestly: "As a younger sister, she is intelligent and clever, with a well-behaved personality; as a princess of the Tang Dynasty, she is knowledgeable, reasonable, and poised; as..."

"Alright, alright, stop praising her." Liu Jianjun interrupted, then asked, "Tell me, what if your sister one day turned into... how should I put it, someone with a similar personality to your mother? Do you think that's possible?"

"Similar in temperament to the Empress Dowager?"

"Hmm...it's the kind of person who is extremely power-hungry, disregards family ties, and would even do things like killing their own siblings."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Li Xian shook his head decisively.

He knew Taiping too well. This younger sister had been showered with love and affection since she was a child. Even if she wanted to pluck the moon from the sky, the first thing her father and mother did was to order craftsmen to build a cloud ladder.

Whether they can reach for the moon is another matter; they must make sure Taiping sees that they have indeed made an effort before they will stop.

What desire for power could a princess who gets whatever she wants have?
She herself represents the ultimate power.

"You just can't stand it when people say bad things about your sister." Liu Jianjun rolled his eyes, looking displeased.

“It’s not that I can’t stand others saying bad things about Taiping, but what you’re saying is too unbelievable. Taiping has been exceptionally favored since birth. Do you understand what ‘exceptional’ means?” Li Xian asked, then answered himself, “She has never been refused anything by her mother or father.”

"For example?" Liu Jianjun asked again.

He seemed extremely curious about Taiping's deeds.

Li Xian thought for a moment and said, "For example... In the fourth year of Yifeng, the Tubo sent an envoy to propose marriage, specifically asking to marry Taiping. However, Taiping was unwilling to go to the wild land of the Western Regions, so the Emperor sternly rejected the Tubo envoy. The Empress Dowager even built a Taiping Temple for Taiping to live in and formally become a nun to refuse the marriage alliance."

This time, Liu Jianjun's mouth dropped open in exaggerated surprise: "So that's how Taiping Temple came to be? Just because Taiping didn't want to get married?"

But then Liu Jianjun asked, "That doesn't make sense... If she didn't want to get married, how did she end up marrying Xue Shao?"

“Who said Taiping didn’t want to get married?” Li Xian glared at him irritably, and then said, “Actually, it was precisely because Taiping wanted to get married that the Empress Dowager reluctantly allowed her to marry off.”

Li Xian recalled the time and continued, "At that time, Taiping wore the clothes of a military officer and danced in front of her father and mother. Her father and mother laughed and asked her, 'She can't be a military officer, so why is she doing this?'"

She replied, "May I give it to the prince consort?"
"It was only then that the Emperor and Empress Dowager realized that Princess Taiping was experiencing first love, and they allowed her to choose her own husband..."

"Wait a minute," Liu Jianjun suddenly interrupted, asking, "Did Taiping choose Xue Shao himself?"

Li Xian was taken aback, then said irritably, "Of course, otherwise when you asked me what conditions I needed to marry Taiping, could I have answered that as long as Taiping herself was willing, it would be fine?"

At this point, Li Xian suddenly realized something, his eyes widened, and he asked, "You didn't mean to mention Wu Youji's affair, which was all about coveting Taiping from beginning to end, did you?!"

This is clearly Liu Jianjun's feigned attack while secretly advancing his own forces!
"Let me tell you, you'd better give up this idea as soon as possible. Taiping and Xue Shao are deeply in love..."

But before Li Xian could finish speaking, Liu Jianjun suddenly stood up and clapped his hands: "That's where the problem lies!"

……

(End of this chapter)