Chapter 145: Return to the Gongsun Residence

"Your Majesty, how do you plan to settle Master Liu? You surely cannot just leave him idling away his time in Chang'an City," Empress Changsun sat up straight, looking fixedly at Li Shimin.

Had it not been for Liu Tiaotiao's identity as a merchant, the position of Chief of the Imperial Medical Service that had just become vacant today would have been an excellent choice. What a pity.

"That is precisely the problem giving Me a headache," Li Shimin stood up, paced back and forth, and said to the Empress, "Does the Empress not see it? This Liu Tiaotiao has a rather carefree disposition and dislikes being bound by rules. He has absolutely no intention of serving as an official or working for the imperial court. Otherwise, why would he have suddenly saddled himself with the label of a merchant five days ago?"

Just last night, Li Zhide of Sanyuan County had submitted a detailed and truthful report regarding the establishment of the 'Liu Family Plow Workshop'. Naturally, Li Shimin was now aware of the underlying circumstances and had deduced a few things from them.

Liu Tiaotiao had no desire to be an official, yet he seemed very eager for his younger younger brother, Liu Ertiao, to become one. This must have been the primary reason why he first concealed and then revealed the identity of the owner of the 'Liu Family Plow Workshop'.

It was a rather peculiar mindset, yet it suited Liu Tiaotiao's nature quite well.

He was a crafty little rascal—that was Li Shimin's assessment of Liu Tiaotiao in his heart ever since their previous bargaining session when Liu had pleaded poverty and bitterness.

"Since he has no inclination to become an official and already wears the label of a merchant, I suppose I have no choice but to bestow upon him a generous reward and send him back to Sanyuan," Li Shimin paced, speaking softly. "However, I have heard that Master Liu has a younger brother named Liu Ertiao, a talented young scholar of Sanyuan with considerable capability. As it happens, he is a provincial student this year and once studied under Wang Zhihong. If he performs well in the examinations, he could certainly be given an important post."

"Ah, Your Majesty is truly wise!" Empress Changsun understood instantly.

This was indeed a good method. It repaid the favor owed to Liu Tiaotiao while indirectly tying this talented individual to them.

"Master Liu, you have finally returned! You haven't sent word for seven or eight days now. The old master and the young master have been asking about you almost every day," Gongsun Li respectfully helped Liu Tiaotiao down from the carriage, took the bundle from his hands, and chatted affectionately. "Please come inside with me quickly. If the old master and the young master see you, there is no telling how happy they will be!"

"Young master? Could it be that my brother Helan has arrived?" Liu Tiaotiao felt a surge of joy. However, remembering that Gongsun Helan's legs should not have fully healed yet, he asked Gongsun Li with some uncertainty. For he knew that Gongsun Wuda seemingly had another adopted son named Gongsun Hannan.

"Young Master Helan arrived three days ago," Gongsun Li replied as they walked. "He has been clamoring to see you all this time, but since you were locked away in the imperial palace and unable to leave, and the young master's legs were still rather inconvenient, he couldn't go in. He had no choice but to wait anxiously at home."

"However, the crutches you made for Young Master Helan are truly wonderful things! When the old master saw them, he was overjoyed and immediately ordered hundreds of pairs to be crafted just like Young Master Helan's, sending them all to his old subordinates who were crippled in battle years ago." Gongsun Li looked at Liu Tiaotiao with admiration in his eyes and said, "Although Master Liu's creations are simple, they provide a steadfast support to those missing limbs. The old master still praises you to this day."

"Please come in, Master Liu. The old master and Young Master Helan must be in the parlor playing chess right now. Xiangqi, chess—I heard that is also Master Liu's masterpiece!" Little stars began to twinkle in Gongsun Li's eyes. Well, there was a distinct hint of worship in there.

As they approached the parlor, Liu Tiaotiao smiled and gently patted Gongsun Li on the head. "Alright, I can go in by myself. You go attend to your other duties."

"Understood, then this subordinate will take his leave. Please go ahead, Master Liu!" Gongsun Li bowed to Liu Tiaotiao and turned back.

Liu Tiaotiao stepped into the parlor and saw an old man and a youth sitting there playing a game of chess. It was none other than Gongsun Wuda and that rascal Gongsun Helan.

"General!" Gongsun Helan bellowed at the top of his lungs, acting just as arrogant as ever, with a face that practically begged for a beating.

"Private!" Gongsun Wuda's voice was no softer than Gongsun Helan's, making the entire parlor ring with the echo. He glared smugly at Gongsun Helan and snapped, "You stinking brat, you get just the slightest advantage and you want to checkmate your elder? Is it really that easy? Why don't you weigh your own worth? Your uncle here has led troops and fought in wars, after all. How could I fall to defeat so easily?"

"Check again!" Gongsun Helan's expression remained unchanged as he made another move, then burst into loud, cackling laughter. He looked at Gongsun Wuda and said, "Big Uncle, hehe, you have no way out this time, do you? Chariot and horse working together for a check, let's see where you can run now! Hahaha!"

"Gongsun Uncle... Brother Helan, you both seem to be in high spirits!" Liu Tiaotiao interjected at the appropriate moment, stepping forward to pay his respects to Wuda and Gongsun Helan.

"Nephew Yitiao?" "Big Brother?!" The old man and the youth cried out simultaneously, looking thoroughly surprised and, of course, overjoyed.

"Haha, greetings, Gongsun Uncle; greetings, Brother Helan." Liu Tiaotiao smiled and cupped his hands in salute.

"Alright, alright, Nephew Yitiao doesn't need to be so formal. It's enough that you're back, quickly sit down," Gongsun Wuda stood up, pulled Liu Tiaotiao down to a seat, and laughed as he looked at him. "Little Lan'er and I have been hoping for your return every single day, Nephew. To think that you really have returned. Why didn't you send word beforehand so I could have sent someone to welcome you?"

"I am touched by the concern of Gongsun Uncle and Brother Helan," Liu Tiaotiao smiled lightly. "Thanks to the Emperor's grace, I have been granted temporary leave from the palace. From now on, I'm afraid I will be imposing on Uncle's general's residence for some time."

"What kind of talk is that, Big Brother? We are brothers, as close as limbs. Not to mention some time, even if Big Brother were to live here for ten or eight years, who would dare say a word?" Gongsun Helan said with great boldness. "Big Brother should just stay here—ah, live right next door to me, so I can directly seek your guidance whenever something comes up."

"Little Lan'er speaks wisely," Gongsun Wuda chimed in. "Nephew Yitiao's words just now were far too polite, making me feel quite awkward inside. We are all family, there's no need for such formalities! Besides, I am still waiting for Nephew to teach me how to play Xiangqi. As Nephew saw just now, even this little cub Little Lan'er can ride roughshod over me now. How can that do? If this goes on, how will I have any face left? Nephew must teach me properly."

"Haha, if Gongsun Uncle does not disdain my skills, I would be more than happy to spar with you," Liu Tiaotiao smiled and nodded. He hadn't expected this old man Gongsun Wuda to actually be a chess addict. However, his chess skills were—well, frankly, they were so terribly poor that he couldn't even beat a terrible chess player like Gongsun Helan. It seemed it would be quite a challenge to train him up.

"Splendid, that's wonderful then," Gongsun Wuda nodded in satisfaction, then instructed a servant nearby, "Aqi, go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare a top-tier banquet for me later. I want to welcome Nephew Yitiao back and drink a few cups to celebrate."

"Yes, Master," Gongsun Qie bowed in acknowledgment and turned to leave.

"Come, come, Nephew Yitiao, the two of us shall play a round first," Gongsun Wuda pushed the chessboard toward Liu Tiaotiao and said, "Shall we begin?"

"Gongsun Uncle, please make the first move." Liu Tiaotiao arranged the pieces and gestured toward Gongsun Wuda. This was his usual courtesy when playing chess—allowing his opponent the opening move.

"Big Brother, I heard that while you were in the palace, you stayed with the Left Imperial Guard," Gongsun Helan leaned on his crutches and approached Liu Tiaotiao as the two watched the game, asking, "Did Big Brother happen to run into that fellow Feng Xiaoyi?"

"Oh, Commander Feng?" Liu Tiaotiao made a casual move on the chessboard and said lightly, "We sparred a couple of times and developed a bit of a friendship. Just before leaving the palace, I even shared a cup of wine and a chat with him."

"Oh?" Gongsun Wuda's interest was also piqued. He carefully nudged a pawn forward and asked, "And what was the outcome of your sparring? I know that little cub Feng Xiaoyi; he was personally trained hand-in-hand by Old General Qin, and he doesn't hold back at all. He has quite a bit of Old General Qin's demeanor from back in the day. Nephew didn't suffer any losses at his hands, did you?"

"Pfft!" Gongsun Helan snorted dismissively, his eyes practically rolling up to the sky. "Though Feng Xiaoyi's martial arts are decent, at best he's only on par with me. How could he possibly be a match for my Big Brother?"

"You stinking brat!" Gongsun Wuda unceremoniously slapped the top of Gongsun Helan's head and scolded lightly, "On par with you? The man was clearly holding back out of courtesy and you didn't even realize it! You have the nerve to say such things and bring shame to our general's residence!"

That remark was actually quite accurate. Liu Tiaotiao nodded gently; when sparring with Feng Xiaoyi, he had indeed found it noticeably more demanding than when trading blows with Gongsun Helan.

"Big Uncle, how can you talk like that? You're boosting someone else's prestige while destroying your own spirit! Even if Feng Xiaoyi was somewhat stronger than me before, he is definitely no match for my Big Brother." Gongsun Helan's face flushed slightly, but he refused to admit defeat verbally. "Besides, after these months of arduous training and my Big Brother's personal guidance on the side, I believe that once my injuries heal, the next time I face Feng Xiaoyi in a duel, I will never lose to him again."