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

Chapter 47 Li Xian and Princess Taiping Visit

Liu Jianjun is a despicable person.

He had a water bag hidden on his back, and while he was distracted, he splashed water on his head.

cold.

And the water on the clothes was wrung out for nothing.

……

Back at the blacksmith shop, Liu Jianjun went straight inside, but was quickly asked to come out by an apprentice. The apprentice was polite, saying, "The inner room is messy, please wait outside for a moment."

But the intention is quite clear.

Blacksmithing is a craft, so how could Liu Jianjun be shown it?
Liu Jianjun muttered under his breath, dissatisfied: "It's just a blacksmith's skill, why is he hiding it? I was actually thinking of going in to warm myself by the fire."

But after a short while, the apprentice came out again, carrying a brazier, and greeted him warmly: "You just went to perform the Splashing Cold Opera, right? It's terribly cold today. Please warm yourself up first. Master says he'll be ready soon!"

Liu Jianjun's complexion improved considerably.

Perhaps because the two men were guarding outside, the blacksmith was much faster and soon brought out a yin-yang fish pot.

Li Xian looked closely and saw that the Yin-Yang Fish Pot really was no different from a basin. But perhaps because he had paid more money, the master craftsman had thoughtfully added three legs to the bottom of the "basin" and a pair of ears at the junction of the two "fish," making it look somewhat presentable.

Liu Jianjun was very satisfied with the pot.

……

The two returned to the Prince of Pei's residence.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the mansion, a servant carrying a large stack of visiting cards came running over with a small bow, saying, "Prince Pei, Chief Secretary Liu, this is the list of guests visiting the mansion today. The gift list is in the storeroom..."

Before Li Xian could speak, Liu Jianjun took the visiting cards and instructed, "Understood. Go prepare some hot water; the prince and I want to take a bath. Also, are the dishes and spices I ordered yesterday ready?"

The servant hurriedly replied, "San Dezi went out to buy things early this morning, and he should be back soon!"

"Okay, when he comes back, I'll have him come to my room to find me."

"Yes, sir!" the servant finally replied and stepped aside.

Li Xian asked curiously, "Who is San Dezi?"

"The one in charge of purchasing for the household is a rather clever young man."

Li Xian was speechless. Liu Jianjun himself was just a teenager, but his words sounded like those of an old man.

At the same time, he thought to himself: Liu Jianjun's personality is indeed easy to get along with anywhere. He has only been in the Prince of Pei's mansion for a few days, but he can already remember the names of the servants in the mansion.

"Xianzi, I'm going to take a shower in your room later," Liu Jianjun suddenly said.

Li Xian was taken aback: "Didn't you have two maids serving you in your room? They're both your type...slim ones."

Li Xian thought for a while before recalling Liu Jianjun's description of those thin women.

"You'd be better off not mentioning this, because it makes me angry. What kind of arrangements did you make for me?!"

Liu Jianjun suddenly got angry and muttered in a fit of rage, "Last night when I was taking a bath, those two girls crawled into my bathtub naked. I was so happy! I was thinking, 'Xianzi, you've finally figured things out!'"

"Isn't that great?" Li Xian asked, looking bewildered.

"What a load of rubbish!" Liu Jianjun was furious. "Those two girls were teasing me, and I was so eager! But in the blink of an eye, I found that both of them were a bit too frivolous! I asked the one on the left, and wow, she's only a teenager!"

"Upon asking on the right, wow! It's even smaller!"
"Xianzi, you're making me commit a crime!" Liu Jianjun said with a pained expression.

Li Xian still looked bewildered and asked, "What happened?"

He found Liu Jianjun's "view on crime" baffling; Liu had previously said that soliciting prostitutes was illegal.

"What happened?!" Liu Jianjun exclaimed in surprise, his eyes wide, but then sighed, "Sigh... never mind, I can't reason with you. Just come to your room to take a shower later, and tell me about Xianzi and Taiping while you're at it, so I can address the problem." Li Xian nodded.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Should we replace those two maids in your room? Replace them with... older ones?"

Liu Jianjun was immediately tempted, but after thinking about it, he shook his head: "Forget it, it's fine to raise him like this."

Li Xian found Liu Jianjun's behavior utterly baffling.

……

Silent all night.

The next day, Li Xian waited at the gate of the Prince's Mansion early in the morning.

Liu Jianjun was not there.

This time, he wasn't avoiding Li Xian; instead, he was busy preparing his hot pot.

The snow stopped today, and there was still a lot of snow on the road, but the snow in front of the Prince's Mansion had long been cleared, revealing the dark ground with puddles slowly flowing through it.

A short while later, Li Xian saw a group of people walking towards him.

Li Xian immediately spotted Li Xian walking at the front. He was dressed in casual clothes and walked at a steady pace, while his younger sister, Taiping, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, walked briskly beside him.

Taiping was not much different from what I remembered, except that she wore her hair in a woman's bun and had a cinnabar mole between her eyebrows. Her face was not made up, and she was chubby and very cute.

When the two were still a dozen steps apart, Li Xian saw Taiping suddenly lift the hem of her skirt and run towards him, calling out "Brother Wang".

Li Xian hurriedly stepped forward, his tone a mix of reproach and affection: "Slow down! Slow down! The snow has just melted, the roads are very slippery!"

The next moment, Taiping rushed into his arms and wailed, "Second brother! You're finally back!"

Li Xian felt a surge of emotion.

If it had been Taiping who came yesterday, there would certainly have been no awkwardness at all, because her younger sister always had a way of easing the tension.

"You're already married, how can you still be so reckless!" Li Xian scolded softly, then looked at Li Xian behind Taiping and bowed respectfully: "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

The three of them were still outside the Prince's residence, and Li Xian couldn't afford to be impolite, lest someone with ulterior motives spread the word.

Liu Jianjun is right; details determine success or failure.

Taiping seemed to realize at this moment that the three of them were still outside the mansion. She hurriedly took Li Xian's arm and said with a grin, "That's right! This Hibiscus Garden is now Second Brother's residence! Come on! Let's go visit the Purple Cloud Pavilion! We're tired of always staying in the Rainbow Pavilion!"

Li Xian said with a smile, "Today we won't go to Ziyun Tower, but to Caixia Pavilion instead. I'll introduce you two to someone."

"Is it Liu Jianjun that Li Xian mentioned yesterday?" Taiping asked curiously.

Li Xian rebuked him, saying, "You call me 'Second Brother' when you call me 'Brother Wang,' but why do you call me by my full name when you come to me?"

Li Xian was already used to their playful banter, so he smiled and led them into the palace.

This familiar feeling is nice.

When Li Xian arrived at Caixia Pavilion, he did not see Liu Jianjun. Instead, he saw some prepared dishes on a stone table, but all of them were raw.

Li Xian was a little curious. Could it be that Liu Jianjun was planning to cook on the spot?

Just then, Li Xian saw Liu Jianjun carefully carrying the strange pot from before as he walked over.

As they walked, they greeted everyone warmly: "Xianzi! Xianzi! Taiping! How wonderful!"

……

(End of this chapter)