,,,,,,,,,,,,

Liu Cong's face turned pale. Did his mother want to repent? He kowtowed again and said in a trembling voice: "But my mother promised to give me Shaoyu. I can only rely on my mother and ask my mother to make the decision for me."

Mrs. Cai cursed in her heart, "I have to rely on her for everything for this useless thing. Wouldn't she find a way to fight for it?"

Mrs. Cai knows Liu Cong very well. Like his brother Liu Qi, she is full of cowards and has a strong sense of dependence. However, he must come to this matter. She can only plan behind the scenes and stimulate Liu Cong's courage first.

Men often do whatever they want to do for women.

Mrs. Cai said without saying a word: "Cong'er, I know you like Shaoyu since you were a child, and Shaoyu also likes you. I see all these. In fact, I also hope that lovers will eventually get married. But you also need to understand that the marriage between Liu and Cai is not just about feelings, it has a deeper meaning, so your father attaches great importance to it. Since he chose Jing'er, he must have thoughtful thoughts. It is difficult for me to change your father's ideas. I am really sorry."

Mrs. Cai actually said the word "sorry", which made Liu Cong desperate. His tears gushed out, and he knelt on the floor with trembling all over. Tears fell down one by one, and he felt that he was going to die.

Mrs. Cai looked at him coldly. She was so unpromising that she actually cried for a woman. If it was a man, she should take her back.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Mrs. Cai said softly: "Cong'er, things have not reached the worst point, and in fact, you are not hopeless at all."

Liu Cong suddenly raised his head, and a brilliant color burst out from his eyes. This was a kind of regaining vitality. His voice was so excited that he trembled, "Mother told me, what hope is there?"

"Hope is for use, but it requires your courage and determination. Are you willing to give?"

Liu Cong nodded and gritted his teeth and said, "For Shaoyu, I am willing to go through fire and water."

"good"

Mrs. Cai said slowly: "Although I am a woman, I also understand the principle that only by knowing myself and your enemy can you overcome it. I asked your father, he has not told Jing'er about Liu Cai's marriage. I wonder if you two brothers told him about this."

Liu Cong shook his head hurriedly, "The child definitely didn't say it. I also feel that he doesn't seem to know the meaning of the sword."

"What about your elder brother?"

Mrs. Cai asked again: "Did he say it?"

Liu Cong thought for a moment and shook his head, "I don't think he will say it either, and he is not in the mansion these days, so he has gone to the Pang family to make up for his homework."

Mrs. Cai narrowed her eyes and smiled, and said to Liu Cong in a low voice: "Your father is busy with official business during this period, so he handed over this matter to me. If you want to find a way to get the Xuanlin sword, I pretended to be a misunderstanding and went directly to the Cai family to propose marriage for you. In this way, even if your father is angry, he has no choice but to make the mistake."

"But... I can't get it," Liu Cong asked worriedly.

"You can't even get a sword. Do you still want to marry Shaoyu? You said you were going through fire and water, but I didn't force you."

Liu Cong finally made up his mind that as long as he could marry Shaoyu, he would rather be punished by his father.

...........

Cai Mao was indeed a little slower than Kuai Yue. It was not until Liu Biao placed Liu Bei's army into the Eastern Barracks that Cai Mao realized that Liu Biao did not trust Liu Bei and was also guarding against him, which made Cai Mao's heart fall.

For more than a month, Cai Mao followed Liu Biao to Jingnan to fight with Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou. He returned to Xiangyang only yesterday. Liu Biao allowed him to rest at home.

However, although he was resting at home, there were a lot of things waiting for him to deal with in the official room. Cai Mao was a military advisor and was mainly responsible for handling matters in the army, from the army to the mobilization of troops, to the military’s resources, to the construction of military ships, recruiting soldiers, etc.

According to the process, some matters must be reviewed by him first, and then submitted to Liu Biao for the final decision. If he rests, many things will be delayed, so he takes all the official duties home to handle.

At noon, Cai Mao was busy reviewing documents in his study. During the country, official books had already begun to use a lot of hemp paper, and Xiangyang was no exception. There was also an official papermaking workshop in Xiangyang, which provided the government with a large amount of paper every year.

At this time, an emergency military newspaper sent by Huang Zu of Jiangxia County attracted Cai Mao's attention. Zhang Wu, Chen and Sun, who were stationed in Yangxin County, were suspected of colluding with Jiangdong, which made Cai Mao sweat in a cold sweat.

Zhang Wu and Chen Sun have more than 10,000 troops under their command and are locals in Jingzhou. If they really collude with Jiangdong, the consequences will be unimaginable. He must report this matter to Liu Biao immediately.

Cai Mao stood up and was about to go to the government office, but his wife Pang appeared at the door, "Master, the little sister is here, I say there is something important to come to you."

Cai Mao has a sister and a sister. The eldest sister married Huang Chengyan of the Huang family and gave birth to a daughter Huang Yueying. She is fifteen years old this year. The younger sister is Mrs. Cai who married Liu Biao.

When he heard that Mrs. Cai was here, Cai Mao gave up looking for Liu Biao for the time being and came to the back house first. Mrs. Cai had been lying in the room for more than a month and wanted to go out for a walk, so she came to her parents' home first.

In the greenhouse, Mrs. Cai was chatting with her niece Cai Shaoyu, so the topic was naturally inseparable from her marriage.

"Aunt, I've seen that Liu Jing."

Mrs. Cai immediately asked with great sincerity: "Why did you see him? Did he come to find you?"

Mrs. Cai was very worried that Liu Jing knew about the marriage, and she was even more afraid that he would take the initiative to propose to marry the daughter of the Cai family. If her husband supports him, things would be in trouble.

Cai Shaoyu shook her head and said angrily: "It was the last time, about a month ago, I came to visit my aunt and met him in the East Courtyard. He was so rude. Aunt, I won't marry him even if I die."

Mrs. Cai breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Since you don't want to marry him, of course my aunt will not make you sad. Don't worry, I have an aunt here, and I promise to marry my favorite lover. But who is this lover? Or is it my younger brother?"

Cai Shaoyu's face turned red, and she turned her back and said in a slight manner: "Auntie is here to bully me again. How can she have a lover you like? No, please don't guess randomly."

"I understand, you must like Brother Qi."

"No, I...I don't like anyone."

At this moment, a maid in the yard reported: "The master is here."

Cai Shaoyu heard that her father was coming, so she was so scared that she ran away from the back door in a panic. After a moment, Cai Mao's voice came from outside the curtain, "Little sister, can I come in, brother Yu?"

"Come in"

As soon as the door curtain was lifted, Cai Mao and his wife Pang walked into the room. Seeing that their sister's face was rosy, Cai Mao smiled and said, "It seems that he is well recuperated and has been completely restored."

"I'll make you laugh at my elder brother, sit down, sister-in-law, too."

Although Mrs. Cai is Cai Mao’s sister, she is the mistress of Jingzhou after all, and she has a noble status. Cai Mao cannot show off her brother’s attack in front of her, and even has a little respect.

Cai Mao’s wife Pang left the room with the excuse of giving them tea, and the only brother and sister were left in the room.

Mrs. Cai then said slowly: "I came here today for the marriage between Liu and Cai families. Last night, Jing Sheng handed me this matter. He meant to ask my nephew Liu Jing to marry Shaoyu. I want to ask my brother's attitude first."

After saying that, she looked at Cai Mao's eyes, she had a certain plan in her mind that this matter must follow her thoughts, and even if her brother agreed, she would not allow Liu Jing, who had killed her child, to marry the daughter of the Cai family.

Cai Mao sighed and said, "The marriage between Cai and Liu is related to the future of the Cai family, and even to Jing Xiang's future. Frankly speaking, if Jing Sheng must use his nephew to marry the Cai family, then this marriage is meaningless and I can only refuse."

"But if you reject Jingsheng, then the marriage between Liu and Cai families will be impossible. It may turn into a marriage between Liu Kuai, Liu Pang, or even Liu Huang, but there is no Liu Cai. Have you ever considered the consequences?"

Mrs. Cai was just implicitly reminding her brother not to offend Liu Biao. It is definitely not possible to refuse, and she must follow her thoughts.

"This..." Cai Mao was speechless for a moment, and his sister's words stabbed him in his heart like a knife, which made him feel instantly discouraged.

After a while, he sighed, "I don't understand why Jingsheng used his nephew to marry the Cai family."

"Do you really don't understand, or do you don't understand," Mrs. Cai sneered.

Cai Mao shook his head, "I really don't understand."

"Okay, I will tell you that if Jing Sheng's wife is not me, but her surname is Kuai or Pang, then he will definitely let the eldest son marry the daughter of the Cai family. Now that he has married Cai's wife, how can he marry Cai's daughter-in-law again? Do you understand?"

In fact, Cai Mao also knew that the reason why Liu Biao refused to let his son marry the daughter of the Cai family was because he was worried that the Cai family would become bigger and would not be conducive to the balance of interests between the major forces in Jingxiang. It was just that this sentence must be said from the sister who knew Liu Biao better before he could give up.

Cai Mao was frustrated. He could not offend Liu Biao, but he did not want to marry his daughter to Liu Biao's nephew. What should I do?

Mrs. Cai glanced at her brother and saw that he looked embarrassed. She thought in her heart, and she seemed to be able to put forward the conditions.

"If I can convince Jingsheng to agree to marry Shaoyu, then I hope Cong'er will marry Shaoyu this time, can my elder brother agree?"

Mrs. Cai knew that her brother actually wanted to marry her daughter Shaoyu to the eldest son Liu Qi. After all, the eldest son was appointed first, so that Shaoyu would be the mistress of Jingzhou in the future.

But Mrs. Cai didn't like Liu Qi, she liked Liu Cong more, so she always wanted to make Liu Cong the lord of Jingzhou.

But it is difficult to do it with her strength alone. If the Cai family is willing to support her in making Liu Cong the legitimate position, then there will be much more certainty.

Therefore, Mrs. Cai first persuaded Cai Mao to change his mind and support the marriage between the Cai family and Liu Cong.

Once the marriage was reached, the Cai family had no choice but to support Liu Cong as the lord of Jingzhou.

This is Mrs. Cai's plan. Her real purpose was to make Liu Cong the lord of Jingzhou. Marriage was just a means. She wanted to take advantage of this marriage crisis and force the Cai family to agree to marry Shaoyu to Liu Cong.

Cai Mao did not answer Mrs. Cai Mao was a military advisor in Jingzhou after all, and he had his own knowledge. He did not like Liu Cong. The child was mean and selfish, far less generous than Liu Qi, and his abilities were also far inferior to Liu Qi. If Liu Cong was the lord of Jingzhou, he might destroy the foundation of Jingzhou.

Mrs. Cai understood her brother's thoughts and smiled faintly, "Isn't Jingzhou the leader of Jingzhou the same as the Cai family's Jingzhou?"

....................................................................................

The style of martial arts in the Han Dynasty originated from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Almost all men in the Han Dynasty wore swords and knives, especially swords. They have been known as the king of martial arts since ancient times.

As the wind of sword matching is growing, there will inevitably be a special place for sword practice. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the sword hall, which was very prosperous in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, emerged again.

It is called the Sword Hall, so it is naturally mainly based on swords. The sword is used to cultivate one's body and the sword is used to strengthen the body. However, that was just the beginning. From ancient times to the present, any rule will change as long as it takes, just like poorly stored wine. Over time, it will not become mellow, but will become sour.

At the beginning, the court had very strict rules. Not everyone could go to the sword hall. Only the princes and brothers and famous scholars had this qualification. The court also had to prevent knights from using martial arts to violate the ban and prevent ordinary people from practicing martial arts and rebelling.

However, the world was in chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty and warlords were separatist. In order to recruit brave men, various places gradually relaxed restrictions on recruiting disciples in the sword hall. Ordinary common people could also go to the sword hall to learn martial arts, and they were no longer swords. They fought and fought, and had all kinds of weapons.

Especially in troubled times, martial arts can protect themselves, and even scholars are both martial arts. Ordinary common people with a little property even sent their younger brothers to the sword hall to save their lives. This made the folk sword hall prosperous, and there are many sword halls in Xiangyang and Fancheng, with nearly ten of them.

However, although there are many sword halls, most of them are of different quality. The majority have several disciples, while the few are only four or five. Some of them can deceive them with a few pounds of stupid strength, and open the sword hall to cheat money under the name of martial arts.

In Baihuai Lane in the east of the city is the largest sword hall in Xiangyang City, covering an area of ​​about 20 acres. It is called Sword Test Hall. In fact, it is a private sword hall opened by the Cai family, which specializes in cultivating brave men.

There are about two students in the Sword Test Hall. Except for more than 40 Cai family brothers, the rest are brave teenagers selected by the Cai family from all over the country. After ten years of hard training, these teenagers will become the backbone of the Cai family's music club when they grow up.

In the afternoon, Liu Cong quickly walked into the sword test hall. After all, Liu Cong was the lord of Jingzhou and had a high status. He crossed the porch and attracted the respectful attitude of the students along the way.

Liu Cong was also testing swords in the sword hall. After nearly eight years of swordsmanship, he has achieved some sword skills.

This time his mother forced him to retake the Xuanlin Sword, but he did not dare to rob him, for fear of being punished by his father, so he could only ask for help.

"Erlang, why are you here?"

A rough voice came from beside him, the sound was muffled, as if it was thunder. Liu Cong frowned and looked disgusted in his eyes.

He turned around and laughed dryly, "Tiger, why are you in the Sword Hall today?"

A tall and fat young man rushed over from the side, with a figure of eight feet and a huge body, just like a half-black tower.
To be continued...