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

Chapter 157 The Kind-hearted Wu Youji

Without a doubt, Wu Youji was summoned by Liu Jianjun.

Li Xian chuckled to himself, a warm feeling rising in his heart at the same time.

Facing his two uncles, Li Xian felt a great deal of pressure.

Firstly, both of them were elders, and Li Xian couldn't afford to be impolite. Secondly, their joint arrival almost represented the will of the clan, or at least the will of a certain segment of the clan.

In the eyes of these people, Li Xian, though the Prince of Pei, was merely the Prince of Pei.

Liu Jianjun summoned Wu Youji to make the two royal uncles wary of him, and also to relieve pressure on himself, by using Wu Youji's backing from Empress Wu.

only……

What a ridiculous reason did Liu Jianjun come up with?

Who would normally say they got drunk and fell into a lake?

Li Xian couldn't help but laugh, but not knowing how to smooth things over for Liu Jianjun, he chuckled and said, "Yes...yes, Liu Jianjun fell into the lake yesterday...he's been pulled out..."

Yes, Li Xian thinks this statement is correct.

If the person isn't rescued, can a message be sent to Wu Youji?
Wu Youji breathed a sigh of relief, jumped off his horse, and asked anxiously, "Cousin, where is my brother Liu now?"

Li Xian thought for a moment, figuring Liu Jianjun probably didn't have anything shady to do at this hour, and replied, "He's resting in his yard right now... Do you want to go and visit him?"

"Of course! How could I not come when my brother Liu fell into the lake!" Wu Youji said hurriedly, his face full of self-reproach. "If I had known, I would have let him win a little during the drinking game yesterday. Cousin, would you be so kind as to take me... oh, would you be so kind as to send a servant to take me to visit him?"

Li Xian thought for a moment, and since he had nothing else to do, he simply nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take you there."

If I go there myself, I might be able to help cover something up.

……

He led Wu Youji all the way to the entrance of Liu Jianjun's courtyard.

Before even entering, a series of violent gasps could be heard: "Hiss..."

Then came Liu Jianjun's scolding: "Loosen your skin! You'll sew it crooked later!"

Li Xian felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing that voice.

He recalled some not-so-pleasant things.

At that moment, Wu Youji rushed in, wailing, "Brother Liu... ah... ah?"

Li Xian saw his body stiffen at the doorway.

He caught up and looked into the courtyard.

Liu Jianjun dragged the recliner to the stone bench. Xue Zhongzhang was lying on the recliner with his head tilted back, while Liu Jianjun was using a familiar embroidery needle to sew up Xue Zhongzhang's face.

Wu Youji's exclamation made Liu Jianjun stop in his tracks.

Li Xianneng could clearly see that a large piece of Xue Zhongzhang's skin was torn off, along with Xue Zhongzhang's distorted expression.

Liu Jianjun seemed to only then come to his senses, and his grip loosened slightly, causing Xue Zhongzhang's face to shrink back instantly.

Li Xian, who vividly remembers this scene, can empathize with it simply by watching the face tremble.

"Brother Liu... what's going on?"

Xue Zhongzhang was also stunned for a moment. Although he did not recognize Wu Youji, he recognized the bright armor that Wu Youji was wearing. His face twitched involuntarily, and then he grimaced.

Li Xian felt pain just looking at it.

Finally, Liu Jianjun realized what was happening and waved his hand, saying, "You two sit in my shed for a while and don't bother me!"

Li Xian knew the seriousness of the matter and hurriedly pulled Wu Youji toward Liu Jianjun's shed. Wu Youji didn't speak, but kept looking back as they walked. Even after they stopped under Liu Jianjun's shed, he kept glancing toward Liu Jianjun and asked without turning his head, "Cousin... Brother Liu, are you... performing some kind of special facial tattooing punishment on that person?"

Then, after a pause, he added, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about Brother Liu using the law!"

Li Xian glared at him, annoyed: "What kind of punishment is this, tattooing on the face! He's treating...someone's wounds!"

"Healing injuries?"

Wu Youji's eyes widened even more, his face clearly saying, "Are you kidding me?" "Using an embroidery needle? Sew...sew up the face? What kind of treatment is this? I've never heard of it!"

Then, he glanced at Xue Zhongzhang again and asked in a low voice, "Who is this guy? He doesn't even shout. He's a real man!"

Li Xian looked at Xue Zhongzhang.

Indeed, Xue Zhongzhang was a tough man. His face was pulled up, but apart from gasping for breath at the beginning, he didn't utter a sound.

"Xue Da is a distant relative of Liu Jianjun."

Li Xian thought about the identity Liu Jianjun had given Xue Zhongzhang and added, "He came from Bingzhou. His family suffered a disaster and he had no way to survive, so he came to seek refuge with Liu Jianjun. As for his face... I don't know what happened."

Wu Youji seemed to be deep in thought.

But Li Xian wasn't worried at all; it would be strange if such a playboy could come up with anything.

But at that moment, Li Xian suddenly smelled a familiar and extremely strong aroma of wine.

Li Xian immediately realized that this was the alcohol that Liu Jianjun had produced.

But Wu Youji, unaware of this, stared wide-eyed in Liu Jianjun's direction, exclaiming, "This wine... smells so good! It's so strong!"

At this moment, Liu Jianjun patted Xue Zhongzhang on the shoulder and said, "Alright, don't get your face wet these days. I'll get you a cotton cloth to wrap it up. Come here every day to check on it. Once the wound has healed, it'll be fine."

As he spoke, he beckoned Xue Zhongzhang to sit down under the shade of the pavilion.

Li Xian glanced at Xue Zhongzhang's face and felt that Xue Zhongzhang looked even more terrifying. Originally, there were only three hideous wounds on his face, but now, those three wounds were bound together by crisscrossing thin blood-red threads, making it look like three giant centipedes were crawling on his face.

Judging from the uneven red color of the thin line, it must not have been red before; it was just stained red by the blood on his face.

Seeing Xue Zhongzhang's appearance, Wu Youji subconsciously took a step back, but then he remembered Liu Jianjun and hurriedly asked, "Didn't Wang Bo say you fell into the lake? How did you..."

Liu Jianjun replied irritably, "He fell into the lake! But he was pulled out, damn it! He swallowed a bellyful of water! If I had known, I would have filled my belly with alcohol yesterday, so my belly wouldn't be full of watered-down liquor now!"

Wu Youji's expression instantly relaxed, and he laughed heartily: "If you couldn't drink, you should have said so earlier. I could have sent a few brothers to bring you back yesterday!"

Li Xian could tell that he genuinely cared about Liu Jianjun.

Liu Jianjun ignored him and pointed to Xue Zhongzhang, introducing him casually: "My distant cousin, Xue Da."

Wu Youji was taken aback: "Cousin?"

This was clearly because Xue Zhongzhang's age was somewhat surprising.

"What's wrong? Is it a problem that I have a high seniority in the clan?"

Wu Youji immediately stopped asking questions. He was a spoiled brat and didn't care about currying favor with Xue Zhongzhang. He grabbed Liu Jianjun and asked in a cheeky tone, "Brother Liu, I smelled that wine you were drinking just now..."

Liu Jianjun immediately said irritably, "Stop looking at it. I only tinkered with a little bit of that stuff since I came to Chang'an, just in case..."

But Wu Youji said again, "My cousin! Didn't we come to you because we had no other way to make a living? Well then, come to my place! I'll make sure you get your full allowance!"

Li Xian's eyes lit up the moment he saw Liu Jianjun.

……

(End of this chapter)