Chapter 27: Wearing a Pretentious Air and Getting Struck by Lightning

  Tao Ying, who had been away from Xuzhou for more than three months without being summoned by Tao Kui, suddenly returned to Pengcheng from Wuyuan. Tao Kui and Tao Shang were overjoyed, but the officials in Xuzhou were not so happy - just a day after they mentioned the matter of establishing an heir to Tao Kui, Tao Ying, as Tao Kui's second son, rushed back to Xuzhou like a fly smelling blood. What was he up to? Was he coming to yield to Tao Shang or to fight for the position of heir?

  The most complicated emotions about this are certainly those of the Mei brothers, who upon hearing the news of Tao Ying's sudden return, were overjoyed to see that Tao Ying had finally shown some signs of his true nature, and that there was a good chance of driving a wedge between the Tao brothers. However, when they saw Tao Shang rush back home from the banquet to welcome his younger brother, the Mei brothers couldn't help but feel a pang in their hearts, and they began to suspect that they had been too optimistic, overestimating the ambition and greed of the foolish Tao Zhen's son, Tao Shang, who might not necessarily be willing to turn against his own flesh and blood.

  With such a complicated mood, Mi Zhu brothers could not help but send messengers to Xiaopei overnight to report Tao Qian's movements and reactions to Liu Bei, requesting instructions on the next plan. However, what Mi Zhu brothers did not expect was that on the second day of Tao Qian's return to the city at noon, Tao Qian suddenly sent someone to summon Mi Zhu. As the Xu State's Bieja, Mi Zhu was suspicious in his heart, but he could not ignore Tao Qian's summons, so he had to follow the order and hastily went to Tao's mansion to pay his respects, wearing official attire. Mi Fang was worried about his brother's safety and personally led dozens of followers to accompany Mi Zhu to Tao's mansion, waiting for news outside the door.

  After Mi Zhu entered the governor's mansion of Tao Qian, Mi Fang led his followers to wait anxiously outside the door for a long time. Mi Zhu finally came out of the governor's mansion safely and soundly. Mi Fang breathed a sigh of relief and hurried forward to ask: "Brother, how is it? What did old man Tao Qian summon you for?"

  Mo Zhai's face was somewhat strange, and after a moment he replied: "The master is acting as matchmaker for his son and wants us to marry our younger sister Mo Zheng to his second son Tao Ying, forming an alliance between Qin and Jin."

  "Give our little sister to Tao Yingxiao?!" Zou Fang was taken aback at first, then burst into a rage: "How could the Tiger Girl marry a dog's son?! Old man Tao Qian is shameless, and Tao Yingxiao is as lowly as a pig or a dog - how can he be worthy of our little sister?! Brother, this matter must not be agreed to!"

  "Silence!" Zou Zhu hurriedly hissed in a low voice, looking around left and right again, then turned back to look at the Tao Fu's main gate not far away, seeing no one noticing, before scolding Zou Fang: "Younger brother, if you can't control your mouth and temper, sooner or later, you'll die because of this reckless personality! What kind of place is this, where you can say such things?"

  "My brother knows he's in the wrong, but I just can't stand Tao Yingxiao's toadying and wanting to eat swan meat! Zou Fang said in a low voice, "I dare to bet my head that this is all because of Tao Yingxiao's manipulation behind the scenes. That day when our little sister met him, I could already see it - he was eyeing our little sister with desire! Brother, you didn't agree to it, did you?"

  "I certainly wouldn't push my little sister into the fire pit, what is Tao Yingxiao worth, and can he be worthy of our little sister?" Zou Zhuan coldly snorted, and then said with a gloomy face: "But this way, you and I brothers have thoroughly offended Old Man Tao Qian. From now on, Old Man Tao Qian will probably never trust us brothers again."

  "What's he going to do?" Zou Fang sneered in a low voice, "If the old man really dares to tear his face off, Lord Xuande will have a perfect excuse to send troops out, and won't need to bother with so many hands and feet."

  At this, Zuo Fang suddenly had an idea and hastily said in a low voice: "Brother, I've just thought of something. Why don't we brothers ask Lord Xuan De to marry our younger sister? That way, the relationship between us brothers and Lord Xuan De will be even closer."

  "I too had this intention, but Guan Yu already has a wife and it's not convenient to speak. "Zhou Cang replied smoothly, and urged: "Let's get on the carriage first, this is not a place for conversation, when we return home, my brothers will discuss it in detail."

  Miao Fang agreed and quickly invited Miao Zhu to the side of the carriage, supporting him as he got on. As they were about to enter the carriage, Miao Zhu inadvertently turned his head to glance at the Tao family's gate, unexpectedly discovering Tao Ying, dressed in casual clothes, standing behind them with his hands clasped behind his back, smiling sincerely and warmly at his brothers. Miao Zhu's heart sank instantly, thinking that this young man was truly formidable. Despite being rejected for marriage, he could still smile so genuinely and warmly. His depth of character was probably comparable to that of Xuande Gong!

  Be vigilant, but Mei Zhu didn't want to exchange pleasantries with Tao Ying, so he got into the carriage and pulled down the curtains, ordering the carriage to turn around and leave. On this side, Tao Ying also didn't get on to exchange pleasantries with the Mei Zhu brothers, but only smiled as he watched them leave, until the Mei Zhu brothers' convoy completely disappeared from view at the street corner. Only then did Tao Ying shake his head and sigh: "It's you who didn't want the last chance, don't blame me for not being polite in the future."

  Sighing, Tao Ying turned around to enter the door, but unexpectedly heard a faintly familiar soft cheer from behind, "Tao Ying, Tao Ying! Tao Ying stinky scoundrel!"

  Tao Yingfei quickly turned his head, looking around for the source of the sound, and saw a man in a Confucian robe with a long sword, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, smiling like a flower. Who else could it be but Lin Qing, who refused to reveal his true identity no matter what was said?

  "Brother Lin, Brother Lin!" Tao Ying didn't stand on ceremony either. He ran to Lin Qing's front in three strides, and before Lin Qing could react, he directly hugged Lin Qing tightly on the street. While sniffing Lin Qing's alluring body scent, he laughed loudly and warmly: "Brother Lin, after being apart for several months, I've really missed you to death!"

  Shouting, Tao Ying still held Lin Qing and shook her repeatedly. The demonic claws wandered on Lin Qing's back, while Lin Qing was so embarrassed that her face turned bright red. She wanted to shout but didn't dare to do so in the street, so she could only push Tao Ying away with all her might and said in a manly tone: "Brother, this is a main street, you and I haven't seen each other for many days, there's no need to be like this."

  "There, there, it should be so, it should be so." Tao Ying laughed and pulled Lin Qing's small hand, saying with a big laugh: "It has been more than three months since we parted ways, and I really miss you terribly. If I don't get to spend some quality time with you, I won't be able to express the excitement in my heart. Brother, please come to my house and sit for a while, today I must drink and chat with you, sleep together, and have a good talk about our past."

  When Lin Qing heard the four words "sleep with your feet", his small face almost turned into a pig's liver color, and he hated to draw his sword and cut off Tao Ying immediately. However, seeing the curious onlookers and the guards at the entrance of the Tao mansion staring fiercely, Lin Qing finally decided to spare Tao Ying's life for the time being. He struggled free from Tao Ying's grasp and hypocritically bowed his hands, saying: "I don't dare disturb you, brother. If you have leisure time, would you accompany me for a walk outside the city?"

  "That won't do, my younger brother rarely visits, how can I not show the courtesy of a host?" Tao hurriedly shook his head and went to pull Lin Qing's pale small hand. "Younger brother, please come in, I'll have someone clean the bedroom and prepare wine and dishes. You and I will drink and recite poetry in the room, and when we get drunk, we can just..."

  "Are you going or not?!" Lin Qing finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted in a low voice, subconsciously pressing down on the hilt of his sword, his whole body emitting a fierce killing aura.

  "Since my younger brother sincerely invited me, I can only accompany him to the end." Tao Ying had no choice but to make a concession and took Lin Qing's small hand again, smiling: "Younger brother, please, you and I are brothers, today we will take hands and tour Xuzhou together."

  Originally, she had come to find Tao Ying to settle old scores, but instead, she was taken advantage of one after another. Lin Qing's small face turned red and white with anger, but she couldn't lose her temper in public, nor could she break free from Tao Ying's iron-like grasp. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and let Tao Ying drag her along, her face burning as they strolled through the streets of Xuzhou.

  Having walked out of the sight of the Tao Fu guards, Lin Qing, who was full of murderous intent, naturally wanted to drill into a deserted alley. However, Tao Ying would not take the path of self-destruction and instead pulled Lin Qing towards crowded areas. After struggling several times without breaking free, Lin Qing could only whisper to Tao Ying in a low voice: "You stinky scoundrel, if you don't want to die, quickly let me go! What kind of appearance is this for two grown men, pulling and tugging at each other?"

  "What's wrong with men holding hands and walking down the street?" Tao Ying laughed wickedly, "Haven't you heard, brother? When Liu Bei first met Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, they held hands and entered Zhang Fei's estate together, which later led to the Oath of the Peach Garden - we brothers are as close as limbs, and have even shared a bed before. What's wrong with holding hands and walking in Xuzhou?"

  When Lin Qing heard Tao Ying's words, if they weren't on the main street, he would have definitely beaten him up. However, in front of all the pedestrians, Lin Qing could only swallow his anger and force a smile, saying: "Brother, I'm doing this for your own good. You're the second son of the Xu State Duke, and if we, two men, walk hand in hand through the market, it won't be good for your reputation - if people misunderstand that you have a fondness for men, then I'll be guilty of a great sin."

  "It doesn't matter, I don't mind." Tao Ying Tian smiled shamelessly: "Let people misunderstand that I have a fondness for men, it's not bad either. At least, I won't have to worry about dealing with matchmakers coming to my door every day. If you can really help me get rid of this trouble, I'll be eternally grateful."

  "Ugh." Lin Qing made a very exaggerated vomiting gesture and said irritably, "Please mind your words, I just had lunch, don't make me throw up! And please find a copper mirror to take a look at yourself, with that appearance of yours, that girl must be blind to fall for you?"

  Lin Qing paused for a moment and then asked with a sly tone, "However, it's not entirely impossible. For example, that Miss Cao Lingcao seems to be quite compatible with you."

  "Brother, please don't mention Miss Cao Ling again, okay?" Tao Ying's face twisted into a bitter smile. "Just thinking about Miss Cao Ling's appearance makes me want to vomit up last night's dinner."

  Lin Qing didn't accompany Tao Ying's wry smile, and the killing intent on his body grew even thicker. He snorted: "Apart from that ugly freak, I really can't think of anyone else who is so blind? Let me ask you, I'd like to go ask that young lady if she's certain she won't be able to marry out, and if she'll take the initiative to send a matchmaker to propose? Is there?"

  "Who says not?" Deputy Director Tao, of course, would not bear such humiliation. The old habit from the previous meeting on integrity also occurred again. Without thinking, he blurted out: "Just now in front of my house, didn't you see Xu Zhou's Zou Jia, he came to propose a marriage, wanting to marry his sister Zou Jing to me."

  Tao Yinghao was shamelessly boasting, but Lin Qing's reaction made Tao Ying extremely surprised. Just now, Lin Qing, who couldn't get rid of Tao Ying's grasp, suddenly pulled out his small hand, stopped in his tracks, and stared at Tao Ying with a piercing gaze.

  "Are you jealous?" Tao Ying's heart was delighted, but her face showed a serious expression, avoiding Lin Qing's gaze and shifting her eyes to the pedestrians on the street. She said lightly: "You also know that our Tao family is from Danyang, and in Xuzhou we have no relatives. The Ji family is the richest in Xuzhou, with deep roots, my father is very supportive of this marriage."

  Sighing, Tao Ying painfully closed his eyes, pretending to the extreme, while waiting for Lin Qing's sour voice that could make pickled vegetables. Then, Deputy Director Tao, with great shyness, told Lin Qing that he already had someone in mind, so he didn't agree to the marriage proposal from the Su family. If Lin Qing asked again who the person was, Deputy Director Tao would reluctantly say, his face red, that the person's surname was Lin and her name was Qing, and he wouldn't marry anyone else!

  Left and right, no one saw Lin Qing speaking. Tao Ying opened her eyes in confusion, but found that the position where Lin Qing was just now was empty, and she didn't know where she went. Tao Ying looked around left and right again, not seeing any trace of her, suddenly shouting out in frustration: "Don't pretend to be coquettish, pretending to be coquettish will indeed get you struck by lightning! Now it's good, not only can Mei sister not see or eat, but also Lin sister who had hope has flown away. This little girl, why is her vinegar taste so heavy?!"