Liu Hai once again gave instructions to his generals before boarding his flagship destroyer Nanchang.
[Receive red envelopes] Red envelopes in cash or currency have been sent to your account! Follow the public account [Book Friends Base Camp] on WeChat to receive it!
After that, the entire fleet slowly left the dock in Singapore and came to the open sea. After re-forming, it headed north.
Liu Hai's fleet passed through the South China Sea and took a turn around Annan, which was controlled by the French. In the past few years, due to the weak concessions of the Qing court, the French were very arrogant in the South China Sea.
However, after Liu Hai's counterattack and dozens of warships entered the Annan Sea, the Lanxi fleet stayed in the military port and could not come out.
It seems that they have also received the news about Liu Hai's defeat of the Geely Kingdom fleet. They know that with their little strength, there is no way to fight against the Nanyang Navy, so they might as well avoid its edge for the time being.
Liu Hai's fleet circled around the Annan Sea. Seeing that no Lanxi people came out, he could only leave the Annan Sea in disappointment and head north again.
After several more days of sailing, we finally returned to his place, Shanghai Wusongkou Wharf.
But this time, the wealthy businessmen and officials in Shanghai had already received the news that Liu Hai was coming back, so they came to the military port together to greet the local emperor in the Liangjiang area.
Among them, the most dazzling thing is that Liu Hai arranged for Liu Zhi to temporarily assume power in the Yiliangjiang area.
And a group of high-ranking officials and noble interest groups have now gathered behind Liu Zhi. These people are all because Liu Zhi is very favored in front of Liu Hai, so they all fawn over him and want to get some benefits in the future.
But this time the leader was not Liu Zhi, but a woman standing among these people, and an eight or nine-year-old young man beside her.
This person is no one else, but Liu Hai's first wife, Zeng Yuying, and the young master beside her is her only son, Liu Wenhao.
Liu Hai's warship leaned against the horse's head, and then he got on the escalator. Liu Hai followed the ladder down to the shore.
He raised his eyes and saw Zeng Yuying and Liu Wenhao walking over quickly.
Liu Hai couldn't stop smiling when he saw the smile on Zeng Yuying's face. He also walked two steps to Zeng Yuying, grabbed his hand, shook it gently and said, "Thank you for your hard work at home."
"What's so hard about this?" After Zeng Yuying said this, she pulled her son Liu Wenhao next to her.
At this time, Liu Wenhao cautiously took a few steps forward, then glanced at Liu Hai very timidly, and then bowed to him.
Liu Hai saw Liu Wenhao being so cowardly, and the smile on his face disappeared.
Liu Hai thought that he would definitely conquer a huge empire in the future, and if his son was really such a coward, how could he be able to suppress those arrogant warriors?
Zeng Yuying also saw Liu Hai's unhappiness from the side, and quickly grabbed Liu Hai's arm and said: "Master, the child is still young, let's teach him slowly in the future."
After hearing this, Liu Hai could only sigh and stop looking at Liu Wenhao.
Although Liu Hai no longer said anything, he still had resentment towards Zeng Yuying in his heart.
Zeng Yuying was good at everything, but she had too much maternal love. She had tied him to Liu Wenhao since he was born, and Liu Wenhao was always served by beautiful maids. Liu Wenhao grew up in this heap of makeup and powder.
Liu Hai had been busy with official duties and had not paid much attention to his son. By the time Liu Hai really paid attention to his son, his character had already been developed.
Liu Hai stood there and shook his head to get rid of the unpleasantness in his mind. Then he grabbed Zeng Yuying's hand with one hand and Liu Wenhao's small hand with the other, and walked to the people who greeted him.
Under the leadership of Liu Zhi, these people first knelt down and saluted Liu Hai.
Liu Hai looked very humble on the surface, and quickly helped Liu Zhi up, and then said to the kneeling gentry: "How can I be so virtuous and capable that I can attract everyone to come to greet you? It is really a sin. Please come quickly, everyone."
rise."
The people kneeling below heard Liu Hai's self-effacement and hurriedly agreed, "My lord, you have worked hard and made great achievements to promote the prestige of our Qing Dynasty overseas. It is a blessing for the lower class to be able to see the handsome face of the commander-in-chief."
Next, Liu Hai came to Liu Zhi's side, patted him on the shoulder, and just said: "Thank you for your hard work."
When Liu Zhi heard Liu Hai's words, his eyes were red, "It's not hard to work for the commander-in-chief."
Liu Hai didn't say anything else, and there was no need for any other polite words between the two of them.
Next, Liu Hai comforted the gentry who came to greet him, and then got into a carriage with Zeng Yuying at the pier and went back to their private home in Shanghai.
When Liu Hai arrived at the private house and entered the gate, he saw Chen Yuting and her son Liu Wenbin waiting here.
Zeng Yuying, who was following Liu Hai, looked a little ugly again after seeing Chen Yuting.
It can be said that these two people got along very well before they had children, but since Zeng Yuying gave birth to Liu Wenhao and Chen Yuting gave birth to Liu Wenbin, the relationship between these two people has become subtle.
On the surface, the two of them are still like sisters, but behind the scenes, in order to bring their son and Liu Hai closer together, it can be said that they go to any lengths.
Before Zeng Guoquan's death, Zeng Yuying naturally had an absolute advantage. However, as time went by after Zeng Guoquan's death, his influence became weaker and weaker. Now, Chen Yuting has dared to confront Zeng Yuying secretly.
When Liu Wenbin, who was following Chen Yuting, saw Liu Hai coming, he immediately threw away Chen Yuting's hand and rushed towards Liu Hai.
Liu Hai could not stop the smile on his face as he looked at the fierce-looking second son who was rushing towards him. He lowered his body and caught the son who was rushing towards him, and then lifted him up high.
At this time, a burst of children's clear laughter sounded in the air.
Zeng Yuying, who was standing by, turned pale when she saw this appearance, and she glared fiercely at Chen Yuting, who was standing far away.
Chen Yuting watched her son interact with Liu Hai, with a slight smile on her lips.
But then she felt a wave of unkind glances. She glanced sideways and saw that Zeng Yuying's face was livid with anger, and she almost lost her temper on the spot.
Chen Yuting grew up in a family of wealthy businessmen in Nanyang. She had seen a lot of the intrigues of the wealthy people in her family since she was a child.
But Zeng Yuying is Zeng Guoquan's only daughter. She has been pampered since she was born, and she doesn't dare to show her affection at all. Therefore, she has a straightforward personality and is not good at these private matters in the backyard.
At this time, Chen Yuting walked a few steps forward, came to Zeng Yuying, smiled and saluted her, "Thank you for your hard work, sister."
"What's so hard about me?"
"Sister got up early in the morning and took people to the pier to meet the master. She said it was not hard."
No matter how stupid Zeng Yuying was, she could still tell that Chen Yuting was expressing her dissatisfaction.
Zeng Yuying didn't want to worry about anything anymore, she just wanted to teach his beloved concubine a lesson in front of Liu Hai.
But before Zeng Yuying could get angry, an old nun next to her pulled her sleeves, stepped out more heavily, and said to Zeng Yuying: "Aunt Chen, you are so polite. Your tone is not like that of a concubine."
Talking to the mistress of the house."
After hearing what the old nanny said, the smile on Chen Yuting's face disappeared. She gave the old nanny a serious look, then took a step back and followed the rules to greet Zeng Yuying again.
Liu Hai, who was interacting with Liu Wenbin in the front, was naturally aware of what was going on behind him, but Liu Hai did not intervene. In Liu Hai's view, the affairs between these women were just idleness in the back house.
Liu Hai hugged Liu Wenbin and turned around to wave to Liu Wenhao. When Liu Wenhao saw his father waving, he hurriedly came to his father.
Just like that, Liu Hai hugged Liu Wenbin and pulled Liu Wenhao, and went directly into the inner house without caring about the two women behind him.
Zeng Yuying and Chen Yuting, who were at the gate, saw that Liu Hai had entered the inner house, so they could only temporarily stop their activities and followed Liu Hai in with their maids and servants.
The next night was naturally a party, and Liu Hai did not summon Chen Yuting or Zeng Yuying in the evening, but spent the night alone in the study.
But when Liu Hai came out of the study the next day, there was a pretty little maid beside him.
When Liu Hai brought the blushing little maid to the living room for dinner, Zeng Yuying and Chen Yuting were already waiting there.
When the two women saw Liu Hai coming, they stood up to greet him with smiles on their faces, but when they saw the little maid next to Liu Hai, their expressions changed.
They both know this little maid, she is also the maid in Liu Hai's study. Although she is pretty, she has always been inconspicuous and has never taken the initiative to seduce Liu Hai. Therefore, the two of them can rest assured to let her in the study.
Play the leading role in the middle.
Liu Hai, however, had no expression on his face as he came to sit down at the dining table.
The little maid followed Liu Hai closely, standing behind him with her head lowered, not daring to look at Zeng Yuying and Chen Yuting.
At this time, Zeng Yuying and Chen Yuting came forward to salute Liu Hai again, and then sat on both sides of him at Liu Hai's signal.
When Liu Hai saw the two of them sitting down, he said, "This is Xiaolan next to me. I think you all know her too, and she will be considered a member of my house from now on."
Liu Hai paused for a moment after saying this, as if he was thinking about something, and finally said to Zeng Yuying who was sitting next to him: "Prepare a yard for Xiaolan as well."
After listening to Liu Hai's words, Zeng Yuying felt unhappy, but she still gritted her teeth and asked: "I don't know, what is the monthly rate?"
Liu Hai didn't take this kind of thing seriously and directly replied: "It's the same as Yu Ting."
After listening to this, Zeng Yuying understood what Liu Hai meant, so she turned around and said to Xiaolan with a smile: "Since you are the master's person, you are qualified to eat at the table, so you can sit under Yuting's desk.
"
The little maid behind Liu Hai was a little overwhelmed after hearing Zeng Yuying's words. Finally, she suddenly looked at Liu Hai and saw Liu Hai nodded slightly. Only then did she dare to sit under Chen Yuting's hands.
Xiaolan sat next to Chen Yuting, glanced sideways at her, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her expressionless face.
At this time, Zeng Yuying ordered the servants to serve food.
The meal was a bit dull, and Liu Hai felt that something was wrong in the atmosphere, so he hurriedly took a few bites, left the table and went to the Navy Yamen to do some business.