“Good, what a wonderful teacher and friend,” Wang Liu strode forward, his face beaming with joy. “Min has made Lan his close friend today, and from now on, we will share both good fortune and misfortune.”
Before Wang Liu could finish speaking, Yun stood up with a drastic change in expression and said, "Your Majesty, you mustn't."
Wang Liu is the eldest son of the Wang family and the future head of the family. Every person close to him must be carefully selected. Lan Jian is highly skilled in swordsmanship, knowledgeable, and has a wide range of experience, but that is not enough. He is acceptable as a retainer, but as a distinguished guest, he would be climbing too high.
Wang Liu glanced at him sideways. "Why not? To have compassion for the weak, to not be greedy in wealth, to remain calm in the face of danger, and to maintain one's integrity when one finds a good match. Such a person is worthy of being a teacher, let alone a friend."
Only then did Shi Lan realize that from the moment she stepped into this courtyard, her every move and word had been observed by Wang Liu. She guessed that it was her character that had caught his eye, which was why he had so readily removed her from the register.
But that's fine too. In any case, she finally achieved her goal of rushing here. As for becoming friends, that depends on Wang Liu's performance.
A commotion arose outside the courtyard, and the guards arrived. Xun Ba requested an audience.
Wang Liu frowned. Although he was very dissatisfied with the performance of the Xun family guards last night, the Xun family had indeed contributed, and this place was still Xun family territory. Therefore, he had to meet them both out of courtesy and reason.
“Please invite him over,” Wang Liu said, smoothing his sleeves as he stepped to the head seat.
Shi Lan was dumbfounded and said, "Young master, are you going to receive guests here?"
Wang Liu nodded and emphasized, "From now on, you can call me A-Lan A-Min."
Shi Lan chuckled dryly, remembering what she had done yesterday, and prepared to slip away unnoticed.
Wang Liu noticed that she hadn't taken a sip of tea yet and said, "Please sit down, A-Lan. After I've dealt with Xun Ba, I'll have tea with you all."
Yun glanced at Shi Lan, noticing a hint of guilt on her delicate face.
Yun frowned. Ever since Wang Liu said he was a close friend, Yun considered Shi Lan as family. No matter what, he would always side with his own people, regardless of right or wrong.
"Ah Lan, if you have something to do, you can leave first and come back later."
Shi Lan smiled gratefully at Yun and glanced at Wang Liu.
Wang Liu also noticed that something was wrong with Shi Lan, and looked at the doorway without saying a word.
Shi Lan quietly got up and retreated through the side door.
At the doorway, after the clattering of wooden clogs, Xun Ba strode in with his head held high.
Wang Liu frowned, and Yun stared at his wooden clogs as he stomped on the smooth floor. He shouted, "You rude brat!"
Xun Ba was startled by Yun and stopped in his tracks. But after a moment, he suddenly realized that the Wang family had commanded the Xun family guards without his permission, causing him to lose nearly half of his best men. Now that he had come to question them, he was forcefully stopped. How could he tolerate such arrogance on his own turf?
"The Wang family arbitrarily drove away their guards to defend against enemies without the master's permission, causing the deaths of more than thirty people. Is this proper etiquette?" Xun Ba's face turned red as he questioned them.
Yun was taken aback. Shi Lan had said that she could command those guards, which was why the Wang family guards had forcibly taken them over. Now it seemed that wasn't the case.
Wang Liu raised his eyes, his gaze drifting lightly past Xun Ba, landing on the table where Shi Lan had left.
The tea is still so clear and bright, with a hint of smoke on top. It's fine to drink now, but I'm afraid it won't be palatable in a while. I don't seem to have eaten much food either; I really have a small appetite.
Wang Liu thought of Shi Lan's frail body and felt that he should improve his diet in the future.
For a swordsman to become powerful, he must first have explosive power far exceeding that of ordinary people, especially in his limbs, which requires a large amount of precious ingredients to replenish.
Xun Ba kept his eyes on Wang Liu, hoping for a satisfactory answer, preferably some compensation.
The casualties among these guards were due to their role in protecting the city, and according to custom, he could request the clan to send more guards.
The clan will give some reward for the successful defense of the city, but Xun Ba is greedy and thinks that his grandfather has a certain status in the clan. In addition, since he was not the one who gave the orders last night, he wants to take this opportunity to get some money from Wang Liu and fill his pockets.
Yun glanced at him furtively and noticed that Wang Liu seemed to be deep in thought, but his eyes were actually wandering. Knowing him well, Yun knew that his master was daydreaming again.
“This is the Xun family’s territory. Now that there is an attack from outside, the Xun family’s guards should be defending it. It seems a bit unreasonable for the Xun family’s young master to come and discuss this with us passersby,” Yun coughed, reminding the two who hadn’t glanced over.
Wang Liu glanced at Yun indifferently, then continued to stare blankly at the table.
Xun Ba was immediately furious. It was true that the matter was true, but he did not issue the order. His original intention was to return to his clan for refuge. These guards were the ones he had managed to subdue with great difficulty. How could he be willing to lose half of them like this?
But what this person said wasn't wrong either. If he kept harping on this point, he wouldn't be in the right even in the clan. After all, when there's danger, one should abandon the city to save one's life, and that argument doesn't hold water anywhere.
"Where's Lan? The guard said she came here," Xun Ba quickly realized this, and decided to find the culprit who gave the false order. He was one of his guards, so it couldn't hurt to find him.
Since Yun already knew that Shi Lan was responsible for this, he couldn't possibly hand Shi Lan over, so he said, "Ah Lan is now a distinguished guest of the Wang family and is resting at the moment."
Xun Ba turned his head and looked around. Although the Wang family was more noble than his own, it would be unreasonable for them to stop him from searching for his runaway slave. Xun Ba felt that he was in the right, so he did not pay attention to Yun's address to Shi Lan and directly stepped forward to rush inside.
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