Chapter 41: Uncle and Nephew's Night Talk

  "Speak up! Find a suitable way to severely teach this ignorant young man a lesson."

  In the study, Cai Mao was discussing today's events with his two younger brothers Cai Zhong and Cai He. As the second most important person in Jingzhou, Cai Mao had been openly humiliated by Liu Xun outside the north city, causing him to lose face in front of hundreds of people. This anger was hard for Cai Mao to swallow.

  Sitting next to him was his nephew Cai Jin. Although Cai Jin's injuries had not yet fully recovered, he could already get out of bed and walk around. As a member of the Cai family related to Liu Xuan, he was also summoned by Cai Mao.

  Cai Zhong and Cai He, although not holding high official positions, were very famous. In Xiangyang City, mentioning the name of "Cai's Double Tigers" would make everyone change color. Both men were highly skilled in martial arts, had a cruel temperament, loved to fight fiercely, and no one dared to provoke them. Even the Peng family of Xiangyang had to yield to them three times.

  Today, Cai Zhong suffered a great loss in front of Liu Xun and almost provoked Liu Bei's anger. Although Liu Bei did not blame him, his status in Liu Bei's heart must have decreased. At this time, Cai was filled with rage in his heart.

  "Why not get rid of him once and for all? He may be able to avoid it for the time being, but can he avoid it his whole life? Let's take advantage of when he takes a boat across the river to Fancheng, and sink the boat in the middle of the river. Unbeknownst to him, we'll get rid of him. What do you think, big brother?"

  Cai He nodded in agreement beside him, "I agree with Third Brother's opinion. After all, he is Liu Biao's nephew and is being protected by Liu Biao. It would be inappropriate to deal with him openly, so it's better to secretly plot against him. As long as there is no evidence, Liu Biao can't do anything to the Cai family."

  The two brothers, you one word and I one word, insisted on secretly eliminating Liu Xuan. At this time, Cai Jin, who was sitting at the lower end, couldn't help but say: "Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, I think it's better to do things openly and fairly. We can defeat him again in a martial arts competition. Why do we need to use underhanded means against a younger generation? This will damage the reputation of the Cai family."

  "You idiot!"

  Cai Zhong's face turned red with rage, he turned around and glared at Cai Jin, "You've disgraced the Cai family, do you still have the right to speak?"

  Cai Jin's face turned red as he argued, "At least I was open and honest in the martial competition. My defeat was due to my inferior skills, and I have no regrets. No one will look down on the Cai family because of this. But you are secretly plotting against us, which is a despicable act. If the governor finds out, it will be a disaster for the Cai family. You are playing with fire."

  Cai Zhong was a hot-tempered man. A junior dared to defy him, which made him furious. He rushed forward and punched Cai Jin in the face with one fist. Cai Jin's body was injured and he couldn't dodge, so he was knocked to the ground by one punch.

  "Get out of here! You useless thing!" Cai Zhong roared furiously.

  Cai Jin endured the severe pain of his wound and slowly got up, he raised his head and gazed coldly at Cai Zhong. His disdainful expression made Cai Zhong even more furious, clenching his fists about to strike again when Cai Mao shouted: "Enough! Stop this nonsense!"

  Cai Man saw Cai Jin's face turn pale and guessed that he had pulled on his wound, so he said: "You go down! Don't make your Third Uncle angry again."

  Cai Jin gave Cai Zhong a cold glance, bowed to Cai Mao, and slowly turned around to leave. Cai Zhong gazed at his back and heavily snorted: "A family traitor who bites the hand that feeds him!"

  Cai Mao was slightly displeased with his words and drew out his tone, saying: "Third brother, don't say that. The Cai family is not rebellious, we just have different ideas."

  Cai Zhong stopped talking, and Cai He smiled and said: "Does the master of the house agree with our plan?"

  Cai Mao actually didn't quite agree with their opinions, if it were ordinary people, killing them would be no big deal, but Liu Jue was after all the nephew of Liu Biao, so he still had some reservations.

  He sank into deep thought and sighed: "Let me think about it again! This matter cannot be done without my order, you can't act rashly, do you understand?"

  Cai Zhong and Cai He were seething with anger, but they didn't dare disobey the master's orders. They exchanged a glance, then nodded in agreement.

  ．．．．．．．．

  Cai Man came to the backyard with a gloomy face, walked into his uncle Cai Xun's yard, and saw his uncle holding a bamboo broom, slowly sweeping the yard. Cai Man didn't dare disturb him and stood at the door.

  "What's wrong?" Cai Xun glanced at Cai Mao but didn't stop sweeping.

  "Second uncle, Liu Bei's nephew has repeatedly offended the Cai family. I can hardly bear it."

  "Is it Liu Xuan who is going to marry Shaoyou?"

  "Yes!"

  Cai Mao then told his uncle Cai Xun about the recent events, and finally sighed: "I may have nothing to say about losing in martial arts, but today I publicly argued with him, this tone, I really can't swallow."

  "What are you going to do then?" Cai Xun put down his broom and sat down on the stone pedestal, asking in a light tone.

  "My nephew is also hesitant at the moment, my third and fourth brothers suggest taking secret action to put him to death. I think it's a bit too risky and not worth it, so I've come to ask for your advice, Second Uncle."

  Cai Yun sneered, "He was at odds with you outside the North City today. Did Liu Bei let him apologize to you?"

  "This... seems to be the case." Cai Mao suddenly came to his senses, ah! Why didn't Liu Biao let him apologize to himself? Did Liu Biao tacitly approve of Liu Xun's sarcasm towards him?

  "Do you understand now?" Cai Xun's gaze was sharp as he stared at him.

  Cai Mao wiped the sweat from his forehead, and suddenly remembered another thing, that Liu Xun had killed Huang Zu's nephew in Wuchang City. It seemed that Liu Biao didn't intend to let Liu Xun apologize either. Was it possible that Liu Biao's attitude towards the Jingzhou aristocracy was starting to change?

  "My nephew seems to have understood a bit."

  "It's fine if you understand, a 16-year-old boy is insignificant, what's important is Liu Bei behind him. This Liu Xun is actually a mirror, he can reflect Liu Bei's attitude towards the Jingzhou aristocratic family, this is the key point. The fact that Liu Bei didn't make him apologize to Huang Zu shows that Liu Bei is dissatisfied with Huang Zu and Liu Bei's close relationship. Similarly, Liu Bei allowed him to mock you, which means Liu Bei also has some dissatisfaction with you!"

  "Yes! Nephew understands." Cai Mao's back was completely soaked, and his uncle's words had awakened him, the person in this situation.

  Cai Xun smiled again and said, "As for dealing with Liu Xuan, I don't want to express any opinions, but I agree with one of your views. In everything, we must weigh the pros and cons. If we kill Liu Xuan, what benefits will the Cai family gain, and what benefits will they lose? Once you understand this point, you'll know what to do."

  Cai Miao nodded silently, killing Liu Xuan, but this was just to vent his anger at Cai Zhong's death. However, it put the Cai family in danger of being exterminated. As the head of the family responsible for their future and interests, he had to be clear-headed and not blinded by hatred.

  Cai Xun ignored him and picked up the broom, continuing to sweep the yard with a calm and composed demeanor.

  Cai Man made a bow and slowly backed out of the courtyard, when suddenly he felt a flash of red in the distance. Cai Man turned his head and found someone hiding around the corner of the courtyard, he immediately chased after them.

  After passing through two doors, Cai Mao saw the person running ahead of him, who was his daughter Shao Yu. "Halt!" Cai Mao shouted in anger.

  Cai Shaoyou was startled and stood still. Cai Mao walked forward, glaring at her daughter, "Have you been following me all along?"

  Cai Shaoyou lowered her head, not daring to speak. She had just heard Third Uncle say that Father was going to Second Grandfather's place to discuss the matter of Liu Xuan. She suspected it involved her own marriage, so she ran over to eavesdrop, but was discovered by Father.

  Cai Man was very clear about his daughter's thoughts, and he said coldly: "Since you are always worried, I will tell you clearly that I have decided to accept Liu Zhoumu's proposal and marry you off to his nephew Liu Xuan. You can now completely give up on this idea! Be honest and prepare for your marriage."

  "No! I won't marry him!" Cai Shaoyu shouted in anger.

  "This is none of your business."

  Cai Man glared at her fiercely, turned around and left. Cai Shaoyu was terrified, she ran forward and hugged her father's arm, "Dad, please, don't make me marry him!"

  Cai Man actually didn't necessarily want to marry his daughter off to Liu Xuan, he was just in a bad mood at the time and his daughter was being so disobedient, secretly following him around which made him extremely angry.

  He wanted to teach this unruly daughter a lesson, Cai Mao coldly pushed her away and strode off. Cai Shao Yu chased after him for several steps, shouting: "I'd rather die than marry him."

  "Then go die!" Cai Mao threw down a sentence from afar, and his footsteps disappeared.

  Cai Shaoyou didn't know her father's true intentions, she slowly knelt down to the ground, feeling hopeless in her heart. She suddenly covered her face and burst into tears.

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  As night fell, Liu Jue arrived at the inner study of Liu Biao under the guidance of a guard. The guard knocked on the door and said, "My lord, he has come!"

  "Come in!" A voice came from inside the house, Liu Bei's tone was still relatively gentle.

  The guards pushed them open, Liu Jue quickly walked in and knelt down to pay his respects to Liu Biao, "Nephew pays respects to uncle!"

  "Get up!"

  Liu Bei smiled and waved his hand, "I have something to say to you."

  Liu Jue sat up straight, respectfully waiting for Liu Biao to speak. Liu Biao was relatively satisfied with Liu Jue's attitude at this time, he could feel Liu Jue's respect, and indeed had a kind of junior's respect for his elders.

  "Let's talk about your marriage! I think you should know by now."

  Liu Jue did not expect that it was actually about marriage, he still thought it was about Huang Zu's matter or today's matter against Gan Ning. He was unprepared for a moment and nodded silently, bowing his head to listen.

  "In fact, I originally considered marrying off our family with the Cai family to be Qiang Er, but after all, the Cai family is the number one aristocratic family in Jingzhou, holding high power and status. Qiang Er is only my nephew from a younger generation, slightly distant by one degree, not very respectful to the Cai family. So I thought of you instead, this was also one of the reasons why I brought you back from your old home."

  Liu Bei glanced at Liu Xuan, seeing that he was still calm and composed, with no signs of joy or worry on his face. He secretly admired his composure and continued: "This is also the reason why I gave you the Xuanyin Sword last time. The Xuanyin Sword is actually a token of my engagement to Cai Mao, but I don't understand why you gave it to Cong'er instead. Are you dissatisfied with this marriage?"

  "Hold on, Liu Bei smiled and said: 'Whatever you want to say, just speak your mind. Tonight I just want to have a heart-to-heart talk with you.'"

  Liu Xuan remained silent for a long time before saying: "Uncle thinks that the current conflict between me and the Cai family can be resolved through marriage?"

  "Conflict?" Liu Biao burst out laughing, "What's the big deal about your little matter? If Cai Mao doesn't even have this kind of magnanimity, what's the point of talking about being the first family in Jingzhou, or being a military advisor? You can rest assured, there's no conflict between you two."

  "Liu Biao gazed at Liu Xuan and asked slowly, 'Tell me clearly, what is your attitude towards this marriage? Are you willing or unwilling?'"