Maoling, which was once destroyed by the war, has regained some life, the city walls have been renovated, and the streets are lined with shops. It's just that the caravan of the Hu people hasn't come here yet, and the Han has only sent a caravan from the Cai family in Xiangyang so far. Therefore, most of the shops in Maoling City are in a state of being sold for rent, making the huge city seem deserted. The only thing that is somewhat popular is the row of shops in the east of the city, which sell timber and masonry used in construction. Most of these timbers, bricks and stones were transported by caravans organized by shrewd merchants, but the price was a little more expensive, but this also showed that Liu Xin's strategy played a role.

Liu Xin walked around the city, turned his head and ordered, "Call Cai An over." ”

Cai An is the house slave of the Cai family, Cai He was appointed as an envoy by Liu Xin and went to Dawan, Wusun and other countries, and this Cai family caravan was temporarily led by Cai An. Hearing that Liu Xin was looking for him, Cai An ran over and said, "My lord, you called me?" ”

Liu Xin waved his hand and said, "Your Cai family's caravan will not come back from the Western Regions empty-handed. ”

Cai An said with a smiling face: "My lord Mingjian, some western specialties must be indispensable." The small ones let people bring things over, and my lord instructed the adults to take whatever they need. ”

Liu Xin shook his head and said, "I don't need anything." You see, many shops in this city are empty, so it is better for your Cai family caravan to buy or rent some and put the things brought back from the Western Regions to sell here. ”

Cai An hesitated: "The orders of the adults, the little ones dare not disobey." It's just such a big thing, and the small one really can't be the master, have you asked my master to say it? ”

Liu Xin said in a deep voice: "It takes a lot of effort to come and go, so I don't think I need to ask again." I'll talk to him there, you can choose the right shop in the city now, buy or rent it, and you have to do it as soon as possible. ”

The Cai family can not have the support of Liu Xin today, although Cai An's status in the Cai family is a little higher than that of ordinary house slaves, but in the final analysis, he is still a house slave, Liu Xin spoke, how dare he not listen, hurriedly arched his hand, went to the city to choose a shop, and the Cai family caravan also had to stay in Maoling for a few days, and only after unloading the goods could they return to Xiangyang.

Minchan asked puzzledly: "Master, this batch of goods of the Cai family, especially those exquisite gold and silver jewelry, as long as they arrive in Xiangyang, they are guaranteed to be sought-after goods, so why let them sell them in Maoling?" The slave family can't see a few people on the street, I'm afraid the business won't be too good. ”

"It's certain that business is bad, but that's only temporary, and if Cai Mao has vision, he should be able to see this." Liu Xin said with a smile, "Besides, when the caravan was organized to go to the Western Regions, those big families all looked forward and backward, if it wasn't for Jue'er to come forward, the Cai family would not be this pioneer." Now, they have made a lot of money this time, and it is also appropriate for them to make some contributions. ”

Mink Chan covered her mouth and said with a smile: "The slave family understands, the master wants to drive the popularity of Maoling through the Cai family's shop." ”

Liu Xin gently pinched Minchan's Xiao Yao's nose and said approvingly: "Our family Chan'er is getting smarter and smarter now, it seems that these two times have not taken you out in vain." Alright, hurry up and pack up, let's get ready to hit the road. ”

Minchan said "um" and asked, "Master, are we going to Chang'an?" ”

"Nope! Let's go back to Xiangyang directly! Liu Xin waved his hand and said, "I've been out for so long, and I'm a little homesick." ”

Xiang Lang has already reported that the task of rebuilding Chang'an City is destined to be incomplete this year, so there is no point in going to Chang'an again, and Liu Xin does miss his wife and children a little, especially after receiving the flying pigeon transmission that Ma Yun just sent, his mood is even more urgent.

Ma Yun first said about this year's imperial examination in the biography of the flying pigeon, and this year's three subjects of literature, martial arts, and engineering have produced champions, which can be said to have achieved a bumper harvest. Moreover, this year's imperial examination has accumulated a lot of experience, and I believe that the next imperial examination will be more successful, but it will be at least four years later.

What made Liu Xin desperate to return to Xiangyang was because Ma Yun mentioned her speculation about Liu Bei's conspiracy in the letter. Liu Xin recalled what Liu Bei had done recently, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Ma Yun's guess was close to the truth, and he wanted to order Liu Bei's execution immediately, but Liu Xin held back.

Liu Bang is Liu Xin's "eldest son", and it is now a well-known thing. And Liu Bei's "deeds" of saving Liu Bang in Lujiang City have been publicized by Liu Bei and those literati, and they are even more well-known. Liu Xin is a person who does great things, so if Liu Bei is moved at that time, it will obviously give the world the impression of being narrow-minded. It is the generals who rely on the military to fight the world, but the rulers of the world need to rely on those civil servants. Those literati are full of benevolence and morality, and if they leave such an impression, it will not only hinder his reputation, but it will also be difficult to recruit these reserved guys in the future.

Originally, as long as Liu Bei was a little more honest, Liu Xin planned to let him go. Now that he is so restless, Liu Xin has secretly decided that he must find an opportunity to get rid of him in the future, but it is not time to move him, so he has to let him jump for a few more days for the time being.

Five days later, the team returned to Xiangyang. Liu Xin asked Dian Wei to take the men and horses back to rest, and escorted Minchan's carriage back to the state pastor's mansion.

The women and children in the house didn't get the news that Liu Xin was coming back in advance, and when they saw Liu Xin suddenly appear, they were all stunned and cheered. After a while, Liu Xin's white robes left many red lip prints. Of course, these lip prints were made by a few young daughters, whose women were not yet open enough to be too affectionate in front of so many people.

In the evening, a grand family banquet was held in the state pastoral mansion, which was a moment of family reunion, and even Liu Bang, the Marquis of Changle, was called over. The wine used in the dinner was the wine that Liu Xin brought back from the Western Regions, and Liu Xin also gave each woman a beautiful piece of jewelry from the Western Regions. Of course, there were still a lot of jewels he had brought back from the Western Regions, and several large boxes full of them were placed there, and they could pick them up for themselves.

was eating, and the maid outside the door suddenly reported, saying that she was frustrated and asked to see her. Frustrated professor is the most dedicated, as soon as he heard that Liu Xin had returned to Xiangyang, he rushed over.

Liu Xin waved his hand and said, "Tell Lord Fu that I won't see anyone in three days, and I won't do anything, and I will spend time with my family at home." ”

After the family banquet, the women were very interested, and they dispersed with their children, leaving only Liu Xin and Ma Yun.

Liu Xin looked at Ma Yun's slightly haggard face, and added a few crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, and couldn't help but feel distressed: "Wife, I've worked hard for you during my absence from home." ”

Ma Yun glanced at him and said resentfully: "Look at Minchan's radiant appearance, I'm already old." ”

Liu Xin laughed and said, "What, I haven't been with you for a few days, I'm really angry?" Don't worry, I will never leave you to go out in the future, and I will accompany you at home every day. ”

Ma Yun snorted and said, "Who believes you." ”

Liu Xin picked up Ma Yun and whispered in her ear: "I've been sleeping alone for the past few days, so I'll keep it for you." ”

Ma Yun's pink fist rained down on Liu Xin's body. Liu Xin hugged her hand and kissed her head, Ma Yun's body suddenly softened, and there were bursts of wheezing in the room......

This time, Liu Xin slept lazily for the first time, and when he woke up, it was already dawn. It is said that thirty is like a wolf, Ma Yun, the "wolf", asked for it seven times in a row last night, and Liu Xin felt that he was about to be squeezed dry. He lay quietly on the bed for a while, breathing for a moment, and then he rolled over and got up, and when he walked out of the room, he heard a coquettish laugh outside.

Liu Xin stepped out of the room and asked with a smile, "Why are you so happy?" ”

Bian Yu said sourly: "Master, you see Sister Yun's red face, and the whole person seems to be ten years younger. ...... tonight"

Ma Yun pushed her and said, "Don't even think about it, it's all mine for the past three days!" ”

Liu Xin couldn't help but be stunned, hasn't it always been a turn? Why did Ma Yun change her style? However, after a night of rain and dew, Ma Yun really looked a lot brighter, Liu Xin couldn't help laughing, and said: "Don't worry, everyone, everyone has a share." You all go about your business, and I'll talk to Madame about something. ”

The women all giggled and scattered, leaving only Liu Xin and Ma Yun. Ma Yun glanced at Liu Xin, and there was a rare flush on her face, as if she had returned to her youth.

Liu Xin pulled her to sit down, and said with a smile: "Yun'er, let's talk about something serious now." ”

Ma Yun nodded and said, "It's for Liu Bei's business." I have been complaining a lot in the past few days, and if we want to completely solve this matter, we must still focus on Liu Bang. ”

Liu Xin groaned: "That's just a child, I can't bear to do it." ”

Ma Yun said angrily: "Who let you attack him." I just said that the matter of the successor should be decided as soon as possible, and it would be good to break Liu Bei's thoughts. ”

Liu Xin shook his head and said, "I haven't thought about whether I want to be this emperor or not." The supremacy of imperial power is not a good thing after all, and it is not conducive to the development of the Han Dynasty. If only there was a constitutional monarchy. ”

Ma Yun covered her mouth and said with a smile: "Yes, you still know that there is a constitutional monarchy, why don't you go to a republic?" In this situation, the only way out is to take the concentration of imperial power, if someone else becomes an emperor, a word can kill you, rather than this, it is better to be the emperor yourself to be stable! ”

Liu Xin thought for a while and said, "What you said also makes sense, but the world has not yet been unified, and I am afraid that the matter of this successor will have to wait for a while." ”