Chapter 590 The storm is coming
Worrying is like chewing wax.

During a family dinner, Liu Xunyi and Ling Xiaoxiao were both worried and anxious. Only Luo Ningyu, who didn't know the truth, ate with relish, kept talking and laughing, and tried every means to bring Ling Xiaoxiao and Liu Xunyi closer.

Even after Liu Xunyi had eaten and drunk his fill and left the back hall, Ling Xiaoxiao's instructions were still echoing in his mind.

……

"Looking for clothes, how can I allow others to snore beside my bed? If Xiao Zhirou doesn't die, you and I will have no peace..."

"I have a bad feeling. Once Xiao Zhirou comes to Luoyang City, she will most likely break up with us and force Brother Jin to choose between her and me. According to the current situation, Brother Jin is likely to be confused and let her take my place..."

"If Xiao Zhirou becomes the host, most of the disciples in the Xianwang Mansion will be ostracized..."

"One move can affect the entire body! Xunyi, you must put the overall situation first..."

……

Every word and action of Ling Xiaoxiao has been lingering in Liu Xunyi's mind, making him upset and troubled.

Liu Xunyi neither agreed nor refused Ling Xiaoxiao's instigation, and always maintained an ambiguous attitude.

It's not that his position is not firm, but he is unwilling to wade into this muddy water as he is about to leave Prince Xian's Mansion. At the same time, he also does not want to make enemies at this critical juncture.

Once Liu Xunyi returned to Tianji Pavilion, all the grudges in the martial arts world would have nothing to do with him. As for the disputes between Luo Tianjin, Xiao Zhirou, and Ling Xiaoxiao, they had nothing to do with him.

At the moment, it is better to have less trouble than more. Liu Xunyi was concentrating on preparing the plan of recruiting the pacification forces, and he did not care about other trivial matters at all.

"Liu Zhishan."

Just when Liu Xunyi was distracted, a pleasant voice suddenly sounded from behind him, which shocked him and he quickly suppressed the sadness on his face and replaced it with a leisurely look of doing nothing.

"What's the matter..."

When turning around, Liu Xunyi saw the person coming and it was Xunzhen, whom he hadn't seen for many days. He couldn't help but frown and his voice stopped abruptly.

"Is it you?" There was a hint of caution in Liu Xunyi's tone.

"Why can't it be me?" Xunzhen raised her eyebrows slightly, and said with a smile, "Why are you so nervous? Have you done something wrong?"

Liu Xunyi was quite afraid of Xunzhen, and was worried that if she said something wrong, she would catch her. Therefore, she didn't want to get entangled with her, and asked directly: "Miss Xunzhen never comes to visit without a reason. What do you want from me today?"

"Shen Dongshan is here and is in the hall now."

"Shen Dongshan?" Liu Xunyi was stunned and asked hesitantly, "Why is he here?"

"I want to know, too." Xunzhen asked with a hint of meaning in his words, "Lord Luo is the leader of the martial arts world, and Shen Dongshan is just a businessman. What do you think is the relationship between them? Oh, by the way, there is another person who came with Shen Dongshan today. He has an arrogant and imposing demeanor, and he is definitely not an ordinary person."

Xunzhen's words made Liu Xunyi's heart move, and a very bold idea flashed through his mind quickly.

Qin Wei told himself that the imperial envoy sent by the court to recruit amnesty was about to arrive in Luoyang City. Could Shen Dongshan's uninvited visit at this time be related to the recruitment?

Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but feel eager to do something, but he didn't dare to show any abnormality in front of Xunzhen, so he pretended to be calm and said: "Master Shen and the Palace Master are old friends. Every year, he would take time to visit Luoyang City to reminisce with the Palace Master. It's just an ordinary courtesy."

"Really?" Xunzhen asked suspiciously, "Then the one who traveled with him..."

"Mr. Shen is a wealthy businessman in the Song Dynasty. Naturally, he has many friends in the business world. Moreover, all of them are from famous families and high-ranking officials. It's not surprising." Liu Xunyi said perfunctorily, "What's more, the master of the mansion is the leader of the martial arts world and holds great power in the martial arts world. Naturally, many people want to make friends with him. It's reasonable for these people to use Mr. Shen as a matchmaker."

"Matchmaking? Well said!" Xunzhen said with a sly smile, "I remember that on the second day of August last year, Shen Dongshan also made matches for the Song Dynasty court, attempting to persuade the martial arts heroes to submit to the great unity."

"hiss!"

With just these words, Liu Xunyi's heart sank, and an inexplicable tension quietly rose from the bottom of his heart.

"Liu Zhishan, do you think Shen Dongshan's visit today has anything to do with the Song Dynasty?" Xunzhen's beautiful eyes stared straight at Liu Xunyi, as if to see through his heart. "After all, the relationship between Song and Mongolia is becoming increasingly tense, and the rumors outside are rampant. It seems that... the war is not far away."

Liu Xunyi looked back at Xunzhen expressionlessly and said indifferently, "What do you mean by that?"

"Once the war begins, the Song Dynasty will not be able to stop the Mongolian cavalry from advancing straight ahead with its national strength." Xunzhen reminded him, "And Liu Zhishan is... a loyal and righteous man, he should not sit idly by and watch the country fall apart."

"So what?" Liu Xunyi said without denying, "Not only will I not sit idly by, I'm sure all the people with lofty ideals in the world will not sit idly by."

"The Song Dynasty will not sit still and wait for death. It will definitely try every possible way to expand its military strength." Xunzhen looked shrewd and confident, and said slowly, "Do you think Shen Dongshan came here to act as a lobbyist for the Song Dynasty again?"

"This……"

At this moment, Liu Xunyi had completely guessed Xunzhen's sinister intentions. She was clearly taking advantage of Shen Dongshan's visit to spy on the movements of the Song Dynasty court.

At this moment, Liu Xunyi had to think carefully before saying each word, so as not to be caught by Xunzhen accidentally.

"I don't understand what you mean." Liu Xunyi pretended to be confused and waited for an opportunity to test him, "Whether it is true or not, what does all this have to do with you? Don't you want the Palace Master to lend a helping hand to the Song Dynasty court?"

"What do you think?" "If the Song Dynasty falls, all Han people in the world will be affected, including the Xianwang Mansion. If the leader of the martial arts world is implicated, it seems... it will not be good for you either."

"Liu Zhishan, you and I are both smart people, why do we have to exaggerate?" Xunzhen sneered, "If the Mongolian court really wants to deal with the Xianwang Mansion, ten martial arts leaders are no match. Luoyang City has fallen for many years, but Luo Tianjin has not been affected, and he has risen up in the chaos. This shows that he is a hero in troubled times. Only when the world is in chaos can his ability be highlighted. If the world is peaceful, he will have little chance to make achievements. In my opinion, Lord Luo was born for troubled times and is destined not to be influenced by anyone."

There was something hidden in Xunzhen's words, which made Liu Xunyi feel uneasy and anxious.

“In that case, your idea of ​​taking advantage of the Mansion Master is just a pipe dream.” Liu Xunyi retorted, unwilling to be outdone.

"Wrong!" Xunzhen shook his head and said, "I am different from you. Only you are taking advantage of others. As for me, I have never thought of taking advantage of anyone. Everything I do is just to get what I need."

"Oh?" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows and asked with interest, "I wonder what you want to get from the Northern Sage King? What can the Northern Sage King get from you?"

"Does Liu Zhishan think I'm a three-year-old child?" Xunzhen smiled and said playfully, "I'm just kindly reminding you to be careful not to end up losing more than you gain."

"you……"

"Xun Yi, so you are here."

Suddenly, Xie Xuan's voice sounded from the corridor, immediately interrupting the conversation between Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen.

"Miss Xunzhen is here too?" Xie Xuan was slightly stunned, then he turned his anxious gaze to Liu Xunyi who was distracted, and urged, "Xunyi, the mansion master wants you and me to go to the central hall to discuss matters now."

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen changed at the same time. The difference was that Liu Xunyi's expression was complicated and mixed with excitement, while Xunzhen's expression was very intriguing, and seemed to have some... vague worry.

"As ordered."

Liu Xunyi readily agreed, glanced at Xunzhen who had a puzzled expression, and then walked towards the central hall with Xie Xuan.

"Liu Zhishan!"

Before Liu Xunyi walked away, Xunzhen suddenly said, "I have come up with the next line of the poem you and I discussed just now. It is 'Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not pass through the geese' gate.'"

"Although Miss Xunzhen is from Liao, she has studied the culture of the Central Plains." Before Liu Xunyi could answer, Xie Xuan suddenly interrupted, "Although there are occasional flaws, the merits outweigh the flaws."

"Oh? May I ask for your guidance, Master?"

"It's not 'The spring breeze does not reach Yanmen Pass', but 'The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass'." Xie Xuan kindly corrected.

Xunzhen pretended to be suddenly enlightened, and deliberately emphasized his tone, repeating: "So it is Yumen Pass, not Yanmen Pass. Thank you for your teachings, Master. I am afraid I will never make a mistake this time."

Xunzhen made innuendos and repeatedly mentioned the three words "Yanmen Pass", as if he was threatening Liu Xunyi.

The two met for the first time at Yanmen Pass. At that time, Liu Xunyi was not yet "Liu Zhishan" but "Lord Liu".

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi's expression froze, and he felt mixed emotions. It was really uncomfortable to have someone hold something against him. At this moment, he really wanted to kill Xunzhen to silence him.

"The Palace Master has summoned me. We cannot delay any longer. Let's go!"

Under Xie Xuan's urging, Liu Xunyi had no time to get entangled with Xunzhen. Under her smug and provocative gaze, she followed Xie Xuan away with a heavy heart.

In the central hall, Luo Tianjin and Shen Dongshan were having a pleasant conversation.

At this moment, in addition to Shen Dongshan's personal bodyguard Kui Qi, there were two other people sitting beside him.

One is kind-looking and over fifty years old. The other is strong and stern, in the prime of life.

When Liu Xunyi and Xie Xuan walked into the hall one after the other, Luo Tianjin couldn't help but smile, and then introduced them to Shen Dongshan and the other two very enthusiastically: "This is Xie Xuan, who alone supports half of the Xianwang Mansion. He is my right-hand man, my lifelong friend, and an old friend of Master Shen. The young man behind him is no ordinary man. His name is Liu Xunyi, and he will soon become my son-in-law. He is also the young man that Luo admires the most. He is both civil and military, and both wise and brave."

Having said this, Luo Tianjin's expression changed, and he said half seriously and half jokingly: "Perhaps, Luo's family business will be handed over to him in the future."

"Brother Liu is extraordinary and courageous. He is truly a young man to be feared!" Shen Dongshan's eyes lit up and he quickly stood up to compliment him.

"Xun Yi, come and meet Master Shen and the two adults."

Out of courtesy, Liu Xunyi kept his head lowered after entering the hall, not daring to look around.

At this moment, hearing Luo Tianjin's call, he hurried forward, bowed to Shen Dongshan first, then turned his humble gaze cautiously to the other two.

It would have been fine if he hadn't looked at it, but once he did, Liu Xunyi's heart was shaken and he almost cried out in surprise.

The serious young man in front of him was none other than the young guard of Tianji Pavilion, Qiu Han.

As for the other middle-aged man with a kind look and a sweet smile, he was the mentor who raised Liu Xunyi and also his superior, "Marquis of Tianji" Zhao Yuan.

……

(End of this chapter)