Deng Zijun was still quite afraid of Deng Chen, her uncle. After hearing Deng Chen's words, she reluctantly agreed, and then followed the servant to the backyard.
Deng Chen smiled at Deng Zhu, waved his hand and said, "Brother, please come to the hall!"
"please!"
Deng Chen and Liu Xiu let Deng Zhu, Deng Feng, and Deng Zhong into the lobby, and then they continued to receive other guests.
After sitting down in the lobby, Deng Zhong turned to look out at the courtyard. He saw Deng Chen leading Liu Xiu and taking the trouble to introduce him to each of the guests. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly.
Deng Feng saw that he was smiling strangely and asked in a low voice: "What is the second brother laughing at?"
Deng Zhong pursed his lips to the outside. Deng Chen followed his gaze and saw Deng Chen pulling Liu Xiu to receive a guest. He glanced at Deng Zhong inexplicably, feeling that there was nothing to make people laugh.
Just as he was about to ask, Deng Zhong said quietly: "It seems that Liu Yan is going to take action in Caiyang."
Hearing his muttering, Deng Feng was startled. The two brothers Liu Yan and Liu Xiu were going to start a uprising in Caiyang. He already knew about it, but he had never told his second brother about it, and the second brother was How do you know?
Seeing Deng Feng looking at him in surprise, Deng Zhi smiled calmly and said, "My uncle is obviously Liu Xiu's brother-in-law, but now my uncle's attitude towards Liu Xiu is respectful. He is in front of him and behind the horse. What does it mean?"
"What does it mean?" Deng Feng looked at Deng Zhong blankly and asked subconsciously.
"It means that the Liu brothers are planning a big event, and my uncle is willing to help. But what kind of big event would make my uncle pay such compliments to his brother-in-law?"
Deng Zhong said cheerfully: "What's more, Liu Yan is recruiting customers in Caiyang. It's not difficult to guess what kind of big things the Liu brothers are going to do."
Deng Feng sighed secretly, his second brother was really smarter than himself. He didn't know anything, but he could figure things out so thoroughly.
He looked left and right, then leaned towards Deng Zhong and asked in a low voice: "Second brother, I want to follow my uncle and the Liu brothers. What do you think?"
Deng Zhi was stunned for a moment, looked at Deng Feng for a moment, and asked: "Eldest brother already knew what the Liu brothers were going to do?"
Deng Feng nodded seriously.
Deng Zhong frowned and said, "Absolutely not!"
Deng Feng looked at Deng Zhong in confusion and asked, "Why not?"
Deng Zhong said: "First, although the world is currently in chaos, the power of the imperial court is still strong. It has raised troops to rebel and narrowly escaped death. Second, if there is a suitable opportunity, why doesn't the eldest brother make the decision himself and instead assist others?"
His words stunned Deng Feng, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
Deng Zhong narrowed his eyes and said faintly: "Liu Yan is bold, my eldest brother is even more bold, Liu Yan is chivalrous, my eldest brother is more chivalrous, regardless of family background or virtue, how is my eldest brother inferior to Liu Yan?"
Deng Feng blinked his eyes, waved his hands repeatedly, and said with a wry smile: "Compared with Brother Bo Sheng, I'm still far behind!"
Deng Zhong shook his head helplessly. If his eldest brother was inferior to Liu Yan, it was his spirit. His spirit was far less powerful than Liu Yan's!
At this time, Deng Zhong had already shown his unwillingness to be inferior to others. In his mind, his eldest brother was no worse than Liu Yan. If this was the case, why should he respect Liu Yan as the leader?
This kind of thinking of his also laid the foundation for the future of him, Deng Feng, and even many people.
In the courtyard, Liu Xiu and Deng Chen received the guests attending the banquet. While they were busy running around, they also got to know Deng Chen's relatives and friends.
Liu Xiu is a low-key person on weekdays, but he is not withdrawn or introverted, nor is he unsociable. When it comes time for him to socialize, he is able to work both ways, and can handle all kinds of things with ease.
At this time, the servants outside the gate sang loudly: "Mr. Cai has arrived——"
Hearing the servant's singing, Deng Chen's eyes suddenly lit up. He pulled Liu Xiu's sleeve and walked quickly towards the door. As soon as he reached the door, he met an old man walking in from the outside.
This old man looks to be in his fifties, with gray hair, but he is extremely well-maintained. His face is rosy and not even a wrinkle can be found on his face. He can be described as having a childlike appearance.
Deng Chen whispered to Liu Xiudao beside him: "Axiu, this is Mr. Cai!"
Cai Shaogong is also a well-known figure in Xinye. He has a good family background and comes from a noble family. The key point is that he can do calculations and has a lot of research on prophecy.
You must know that Wang Mang was an enthusiastic fan of prophecy. At that time, anyone who studied prophecy had a very high social status, and even officials were in awe of them.
Deng Chen quickly walked up to Mr. Cai, bowed to the ground, and said, "Mr. Cai's visit will make the humble house shine brightly!"
Cai Shaogong looked up and smiled, returned the greeting with his hands, and said, "We haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing, Mr. Wei?"
"Thank you, Mr. Cai, for your concern. All is well with this junior." As he spoke, he turned sideways, looked at Liu Xiu, and said with a smile, "Gong Cai, this is my younger brother-in-law, his surname is Liu Mingxiu and his courtesy name is Uncle Wen!"
Cai Shaogong turned to look at Liu Xiu, looking him up and down. Similarly, Liu Xiu was also looking at the old man with a serene face and an airy temperament in front of him.
If there were no hair, strangers would think Cai Shaogong was only in his thirties when he saw him. It is precisely because of his gray hair that he looks like he is in his fifties. In fact, the old man is already over sixty.
.
Despite his age, his eyes were astonishingly bright. As he looked at him, Liu Xiu felt as if two knives were scratching him. Although he was frightened, there was no trace of it on his face.
They are all cheerful.
He cupped his hands and said, "Uncle Wen, this junior, has met Mr. Cai!"
Perhaps because of his religious affiliation, Cai Shaoping was usually indifferent and rarely showed special concern for anyone, but at this time, his eyes turned around Liu Xiu several times and stayed there for a surprisingly long time.
After a while, the glare in his eyes gradually disappeared, and his whole person became much calmer.
He smiled slightly, raised his hands and said in return: "Uncle Wen, you're welcome." After a pause, he couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Wen also practices Taoism?"
His words not only stunned Liu Xiuwen, but Deng Chen on the side was also stunned. He looked at Liu Xiu in astonishment. Does Axiu still practice Taoism? How come he has never heard of this?
Liu Xiu smiled and said truthfully: "Mr. Cai, this junior has never practiced Taoism."
"Oh!" Mr. Cai looked at Liu Xiu for a while, then looked away and said with a smile: "It seems that my old man is dazzled."
Yan Guang could see that the golden light in Liu Xiu's body was restrained, and Cai Shaogong, who was more profound than Yan Guang, could naturally also see it.
There are only two possibilities for a person to have a faint golden light in his body, either he is a profound Taoist, or he is born with it.
If Liu Xiu is said to be a master of Taoism, Cai Shaogong does not believe it. After all, he is only in his early twenties. Even if he practiced Taoism in his mother's womb, he would not be able to practice it to the level of golden light and restraint.
If he is born, then Liu Xiu is an extraordinary person. His fortune will be far beyond that of ordinary people.
Deng Chen waved his hands with a smile on his face and said: "Mr. Cai, hurry up, please come inside, please come inside!"
"please!"
Liu Xiu and Deng Chen let Mr. Cai into the lobby of the main house.
Now that the guests have almost arrived, everyone is seated separately.
As the host, Deng Chen naturally sat in the middle. The first person on his right was his eldest brother Deng Zhu, and the first person on his left was Cai Shaogong.
Liu Xiu was sitting next to Deng Zhu. In fact, given Liu Xiu's identity and seniority, he should not sit so far forward in such a banquet. This was entirely due to Deng Chen's arrangement.
Making such an arrangement is tantamount to showing everyone present that Liu Xiu's status in Deng Chen's mind is very high.
The guests present were also discerning. Deng Chen and Liu Xiu had received him together when he came. With the seating arrangement being like this, it was natural to see how much Deng Chen valued Liu Xiu.
Everyone has re-evaluated Liu Xiu in their hearts.
Deng Chen looked around at everyone present, clapped his hands, and asked his servants to bring wine and food. More than twenty servants filed in with trays in their hands, and placed the wine and food one by one on the small square table in front of everyone.
After the servants all left, Deng Chen picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Everyone here today is Wei Qing's closest relatives and friends. No one is welcome. Come, come, let's all have a drink first!"
"Do it!" Everyone picked up their wine glasses, raised them to Deng Chen, and drank the wine in one gulp.
Deng Chen exchanged glasses with everyone. After three or five glasses of wine, people started talking more and the atmosphere in the hall became more and more lively.
Deng Zhong picked up the wine glass and glanced darkly at Liu Xiu. Originally, the people sitting next to his father should have been his eldest brother and himself, but now it was Liu Xiu sitting there. Naturally, he felt very uncomfortable.
He rolled his eyes and said, "Mr. Liu!"
Liu Xiu looked at Deng Zhong and said with a smile: "Yuanpeng!"
Deng Zhong smiled and asked pretending to be curious: "I heard that Mr. Liu went to Yizhou with Brother Bo Sheng some time ago to join the rebel army and fought several battles with the barbarians. I wonder how many barbarians Mr. Liu killed?"
In Deng Zhong's view, Liu Xiu was just a farmer. When it came to farming skills, he could match two others, but when it came to killing enemies in battle, ten Liu Xiu tied together would not be able to compete with one barbarian soldier.
He asked this in public, just to embarrass Liu Xiu and make him unable to get off stage.
Others were also very curious about the war in Yizhou. After hearing Deng Zhong's question, they all stopped talking and looked at Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu had a smile on her face and remained silent.
After waiting for a long time, seeing that Liu Xiu didn't answer, Deng Zhong secretly laughed in his heart, but put on a serious look on his face and said: "Actually, Mr. Liu doesn't have to be ashamed because he failed to kill the barbarians. After all, the barbarians are brave and good at fighting." It’s also famous…”