The man let Xiahou Mao sit on the upper seat and said with tears in his eyes, "I am Zhang Wei, the grandson of former Grand Commandant Zhang Wen. Because my family was killed by Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu, I fled to Caijia in Jingzhou."
Xiahou Mao's eyes widened, and after a moment's pause, he finally reacted and said hurriedly, "So you are the descendant of General Zhang. When General Zhang died at the hands of Lu Bu, the whole world was outraged. I didn't expect a loyal minister to have a descendant. Please get up quickly."
Zhang Wen’s wife was the daughter of Cai, Cai Mao’s aunt. The two families were close aunts and uncles, and Xiahou Mao had also heard of her.
Zhang Wei stood up, looked around carefully, wiped his tears and said, "My father and I fled to Jingzhou, but unexpectedly Liu Qi framed us for treason, exterminated the Cai family, and implicated my father and exiled him to Jiaozhou. If I had not confessed my crime and pretended to indulge in wine and women and not make progress, I would have been hard to escape Liu Qi's clutches."
Xiahou Mao rolled his eyes and sneered, "You are so reckless in revealing your true feelings. Aren't you afraid that I will tell General Liu? How can you be sure that I can avenge you?"
Zhang Weiyan said, "Prime Minister Cao called on the princes to kill Dong Zhuo and killed Lu Bu at Baimen Tower, avenging my ancestors. I am grateful to hear this. If my father had not been ill, I would have gone north to serve. Since you are a descendant of Xiahou and the prime minister's son-in-law, you are also my benefactor, so I dare to take the risk to invite you."
Xiahou Mao remained alert and shook his head helplessly, saying, "Our two families have reconciled long ago. You have found the wrong person. I am only here to escort the bride."
Zhang Wei knelt on the ground again and said loudly: "I am at the end of my rope. Rather than living like a walking corpse, I would rather fight to the death. I heard that you are a very filial man and will definitely avenge your father's imprisonment. You and I are on the same path. If you don't have this intention, I am blind. Since there is no hope of revenge, life is worse than death."
Xiahou Mao laughed and waved his hand, saying, "You are joking. My father's affairs are decided by the Prime Minister. I am just a escort!"
Zhang Weiyan said: "If you can lend me a helping hand, I will give you the black pearl."
"Black Pearl?" Xiahou Mao's smile froze slightly, and he finally remembered the purpose of this trip. He nodded and said, "I'd like to see it for myself."
"Please wait a moment!" Zhang Wei got up and went out, and came back a moment later with a gorgeously dressed woman.
Xiahou Mao's eyes widened at the first glance. He saw that the woman was wearing a goose down yellow gauze. Her skin was slightly dark and shiny. She looked very much like the dragon robe worn by Emperor Xian, shining brightly.
Her facial features were clearly defined, her eyes were round and bright, her eyelashes were extremely long, and her lips were especially full and plump, which made Xiahou Mi swallow his saliva involuntarily, wishing he could go up and pinch that slender waist.
He had never seen people from South Vietnam before, and seeing such a strange appearance was completely beyond his imagination. Besides being excited, he was already stunned by those electric eyes.
Zhang Wei stepped forward and said, "This girl is very good at singing and dancing. She sells her art but not her body in Shuiyunjian. I spared no expense to buy her because I wanted to ask someone to avenge me. Fortunately, she met you. It is God's will. How about giving her to you?"
"Good, very good!" Xiahou Mao was immersed in it, with his mouth slightly open, almost drooling.
Zhang Wei asked again: "What about revenge?"
"Okay, okay!" Xiahou Mao nodded repeatedly and opened his arms: "Come here, beauty."
Zhang Wei smiled and said, "Since you are interested, why don't you let her dance first to help you get drunk?"
"Just what I want!" Xiahou Mi's eyes were fixed on the woman, and his breathing was a little rapid.
Zhang Wei went out and called the maid again, and set up the banquet again. The woman had copper bells on her arms, waist and ankles. When she danced, the sound was crisp and dazzling.
Xiahou Mao was holding a glass of wine and was hesitant to drink it. Then the woman turned around lightly, sat in Xiahou Mao's arms, picked up the glass and drank it.
“Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!”
Xiahou Mao drank it all in one gulp, hugged the woman's smooth waist tightly, and exclaimed in admiration.
Zhang Wei wisely left the room and asked again before closing the door, "Sir, what about revenge?"
"Leave it to me!" Xiahou Meng patted his chest.
The door closed gently, and Xiahou Mao couldn't wait any longer. He growled and rolled onto the bed with Black Pearl in his arms.
Puff puff—
As soon as they got to the bed, they saw it collapse softly, and both of them were up and down, and they could hear the sound of water.
Xiahou Mao jumped up in shock, knelt on the bed and asked, "What kind of bed is this?"
The woman had a curvaceous figure, lying lazily on the bed, and said with a charming smile: "This is called a water bed, come quickly, young master!"
"I never thought there would be such a magical thing in Xiangyang!" Xiahou Mi pressed the bed, unable to contain his joy, and pounced on it again.
Zhang Wei stood quietly outside the door, listening to the laughter inside, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he hung a wooden sign that said "Do Not Disturb" on the door.
…
At dusk, Xiahou Ba and Cao Tai returned to the inn and summarized what they had seen and heard, and found that they had found nothing except the city.
There were not many defenders in Xiangyang City, and the military and civilians were in harmony. Everyone praised Liu Qi and his son, and even the dogs on the roadside shook their heads when Cai was mentioned. No breakthrough could be found.
Xiahou Ba sighed, "I heard earlier that many people in Jingzhou were secretly communicating with the Prime Minister, and they were quite interested in returning north. Within half a year, people's hearts were like this. Liu Qi is really extraordinary."
Cao Tai sneered, "You and I are new here, and what we see is just the appearance. Just because everyone praises you, it doesn't mean you will obey in your heart. Just like in Xuchang, everyone praised the Prime Minister's virtue, but there were always people who secretly made trouble..."
"Don't say this carelessly. Be careful of what you say!" Xiahou Ba interrupted Cao Tai. Seeing that the night was getting darker outside, he said helplessly, "Let's see if Zilin can find out any useful information."
Cao Tai said disdainfully: "Zilin is a lecherous dandy. It's good enough that he doesn't go to restaurants or brothels. What kind of information can he get?"
Xiahou Ba frowned slightly. Although Xiahou Mao was his cousin, he couldn't speak to defend him at this time.
However, Xiahou Mao had a very bad reputation in Xuchang. He lived a life of debauchery and had conflicts with his wife and brothers. If he had not been on good terms with Cao Pi and protected him secretly, he would have been sent back to Qiao County by Cao Cao long ago.
"Zhong Quan, good news, haha—"
At this moment, a loud duck-voiced laugh suddenly came from outside the door, and Xiahou Mi walked in with unsteady steps.
Cao Tai glanced at him and sneered, "As expected, a dog will always eat shit."
Xiahou Ba's face was gloomy. He smelled alcohol as soon as he entered the room and said unhappily, "Brother Zilin, why are you going to the restaurant again?"
Cao Tai saw several purple marks on Xiahou Mao's neck under the light and said coldly, "I'm afraid it's not just the restaurant, right?"
"You... know what?" Xiahou Mao smiled complacently, walked over and sat aside, and said slowly and secretively: "The restaurant and the fireworks place contain all kinds of people, that's the place to get information, this is called: if you don't venture into the tiger's den, how can you get information?"
Cao Tai sneered and said, "I wonder how many pretty ladies Zilin has found?"
"There are seven or eight... Go—" Xiahou Mao waved his hand, not caring about getting angry with Cao Tai, and leaned close to Xiahou Ba and whispered: "My brother met a loyal man in the restaurant, and he and Liu Qi have a mortal enemy..."
"Hush!" Xiahou Ba signaled him to be quiet, stood up and supported Xiahou Mao, saying loudly: "Brother Zilin is drunk, I will help you to the back hall to rest."