"cut-"
Cao Tai listened with great anticipation, but his expression immediately turned into disdain, and he turned away with a sneer.
"Ziming, what do you mean?" Xiahou Mao said unhappily, "What's wrong with my plan?"
Cao Tai sneered and said, "Whether this plan can kill Liu Qi or not, we will definitely die."
"This..." Xiahou Mao was stunned, his face flushed, and he became angry and said, "Besides criticizing others, what else can you do?"
Cao Tai snorted coldly: "If you weren't the prime minister's son-in-law, I would beat you so hard that you couldn't get up from the ground for three days."
"Cao Tai, you are going too far!" Xiahou Mao was furious. He stood up and rolled up his sleeves: "Let's fight..."
"Brothers, don't argue anymore!" Xiahou Ba hurriedly persuaded the two men to leave, saying, "We are here to escort the bride to fame. If we are at odds before we do anything, won't we be laughed at by others? Zilin's plan is not appropriate. We should find another good plan."
Xiahou Mao stood aside with his arms folded, not saying a word, looking at Cao Tai coldly, waiting for his advice.
Cao Tai thought for a moment and said, "We are new to Xiangyang and are unfamiliar with the place. We should not act rashly. It would be better for us to go out of the city and stroll around tomorrow, but draw a map of Xiangyang's topography and military defense plans in our minds and hand it over to the prime minister. It will be useful when the army marches south to attack Jingzhou in the future."
Xiahou Ba nodded and said, "We will follow your plan tomorrow."
Xiahou Mao said disdainfully: "The Prime Minister already has several maps of Xiangyang City Defense, so it's unnecessary to do this."
Xiahou Ba whispered, "Although the Prime Minister has a map of Xiangyang, he does not know how Liu Qi will deploy his troops. Tomorrow we will mainly investigate the strength of Xiangyang."
Xiahou Mao curled his lips and said, "It's better than nothing."
The three of them went to rest and prepare, but they didn't know that there was a basement under the living room. A spy had already reported the news to Xu Shu.
Xu Shu was discussing with Liu Qi about expanding the dancer team to the Yanfeng Camp, and infiltrating into various places by means of brothels, embroidery towers, and even whorehouses. Gathering intelligence from these places would be more covert and convenient.
Hearing the discussion of the three, Xu Shu smiled and said, "Since the general's golden scales turned into a dragon and made a stunning debut, countless young talents have admired and imitated him, especially the children of these noble families, who have been secretly comparing themselves to each other. This shows what these three people are thinking."
Liu Qi stroked his chin and said, "Cao Cao sent these three people to Xiangyang to fulfill his promise and to train their courage. Since they are willing to make contributions, why not help them?"
Xu Shu's eyes were slightly stern, and he understood: "General, what you mean is... to keep him in Jingzhou."
Liu Qi nodded and smiled, "If we rashly detain the people who are escorting the bride, we will be laughed at by the world, and no one will dare to associate with us. But if they have evil intentions and do something wrong, you can't blame me for being ruthless in the law."
"These three are all the descendants of Cao's loyalists. If we can detain them as hostages, they will be of great use in the future." Xu Shu pondered for a moment and asked, "But we know very little about them. Who should we start with?"
Liu Qi chuckled and said, "I heard that Xiahou Mao is lustful and greedy for alcohol, and secretly keeps concubines. The dancing girls team is just right for use."
"The general actually knows this?" Xu Shu was surprised. He was in charge of intelligence, but he didn't know as much as Liu Qi.
Liu Qi smiled faintly: "It was Lu Chang who mentioned it occasionally, and I just happened to know it."
In fact, Liu Qi only made judgments based on his own memories. In history, Xiahou Mao was a typical incompetent general. He also kept many concubines, was not on good terms with Cao Cao's eldest daughter, Princess Qinghe, and was even reported by his brothers. He was a typical failure.
But now, as the son of Xiahou Dun and married to Cao Cao's eldest daughter, he is at the peak of his life and can take advantage of it.
When the two of them had made their decision, Liu Qi returned to the mansion to discuss with Fan Feng and asked her to select one person from the dancer team to specifically deal with Xiahou Mi.
The beauty trap is the best weapon at any time.
When Liu Qi thought of the beauty in the mansion, he couldn't wait and even his steps were a little bouncey.
During this time back in Xiangyang, Mrs. Fan was with him. Du Ling'er was not feeling well, so she took the initiative to become a maid.
In the pavilion in the courtyard, a mother and daughter were making brocade robes for themselves. One was quiet and mature, the other was graceful and beautiful, both becoming more attractive under the candlelight.
Liu Qi coughed lightly, stepped forward and asked with a smile: "Is the brocade robe not finished yet?"
Mrs. Fan's plump body trembled slightly. She looked up at Liu Qi, then put down her needle and thread and went back to her room with a hint of resentment and inexplicable shyness in her eyes.
Liu Qi was startled, and stepped forward to ask, "Who made the Madam angry?"
Du Linger looked up, her cheeks flushed, and she said coquettishly, "I told my stepmother about us."
"You..." Liu Qi frowned slightly, looking at Du Ling'er's pitiful expression, but he couldn't bear to blame her, so he sighed softly: "After all, this matter concerns human relations, how can she adapt to it?"
"It's only a matter of time anyway!" Du Ling'er stood up, stared into Liu Qi's eyes, and said faintly: "If the general is only worthy of his wife, Ling'er will also be jealous."
"That's good!" Liu Qi knew that Du Ling'er was devoted to him and was really moved. He reached out and gently stroked her smooth cheek, chuckling, "It's better to suffer a short pain than a long one."
When he arrived at the bedroom, he saw Mrs. Fan sitting in the corner with her head down, not moving at all. Liu Qi walked over and took her into his arms. Mrs. Fan hurriedly dodged and looked towards the door in panic.
Liu Qi smiled and said, "It's not that I concealed it on purpose, but I didn't know about it beforehand. I thought you guys must have known about it through your correspondence, but who knew..."
Madam Fan raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes: "General, do you think I am a shameless, adulterous and evil person?"
"Madam, you are worrying too much. I didn't mean to hide it!" Liu Qi sighed, "After talking with you that day, I realized that you didn't know about it, but the matter is done. I was worried that you would have a grudge, and I didn't know how to explain it, so I delayed it until now..."
Madam Fan said quietly, "I have raised Ling'er since she was a child. Although she was forced to go by Cai, she was also asked to worship Madam Cai as her godmother and find a good place for her. Who would have thought..."
Liu Qi nodded and said, "The world is unpredictable. Now that you and your daughter are reunited, Ling'er can help you manage the caravan and explore your origins. Isn't this better than being separated from each other?"
"But we..." Madam Fan's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head and said, "The general is a noble of the Han Dynasty, and his life is linked to the great cause of the Han Dynasty. If this matter gets out, it will damage the general's reputation."
"Since we both serve the general, I will not be your adopted daughter. No one else knows about this matter anyway, so we can call each other sisters. Ling'er will also remember your kindness."
Du Ling'er had been standing at the door since some point. She walked in slowly and bowed deeply to Mrs. Fan.
Mrs. Fan sighed softly. The matter had already been settled and there was nothing she could do. She held Du Linger's hand, bit her red lips and smiled shyly.
Du Linger said with a smile: "From now on, I will call you Madam Fengjie!"
Liu Qi waved his hands and said, "No, no, this name is not as pleasant as the original one."
Madam Fan complained: "If the two of us were like this, if we were like this... how could we serve the general together?"
Du Linger pouted and smiled slyly: "In this case, the general can only choose one person!"
Seeing the two of them being so charming, Liu Qi couldn't help but feel his blood boiling. He stretched out his hands to hug them, and said with a low smile: "Tonight, we sleep together!"