Chapter Forty-Four: New-Style Cane

  The next day, Yue Yun decided to go shopping on Chu Zhou Street to prepare a gift for Liu Mingcheng.

  After the baptism of war, more than 400 elite cavalrymen survived, among whom more than 300 were soldiers of the Beiwei army who followed him to Chu State, which shows how strong and resilient the Beiwei army's combat and survival abilities were.

  Yue Yun felt that he couldn't keep others locked up in the military camp all the time, so he simply announced a three-day holiday for them, letting his brothers take a good rest and relax.

  He had originally wanted to go for a stroll by himself, but unfortunately Niu Tong and Guan Ling insisted on following him together, saying that otherwise they wouldn't be able to find their way. Yue Yun was helpless, and could only bring them along as he strolled around the city of Chuzhou.

  Before long, Yue Yun entered a wooden shop.

  The shopkeeper was sitting upright on a wooden chair, with his legs crossed in the style of a gentleman. When he saw that three military officers had entered, he hastily stood up and bowed to them, saying: "Three gentlemen, what would you like to buy?"

  Yue Yun saw that the shop owner was about sixty years old, wearing a blue robe with a straight collar. He had a goatee and his tanned hands were covered in calluses, with bulging veins on his sturdy arms, clearly someone who often worked with wood.

  He smiled slightly and said to the shop owner: "Boss, I'm not here to buy something, but to have something custom-made!"

  "Oh! What are you ordering? I, Old Song, have been a carpenter in this Chu State City for 40 years, and can make anything, whether it's furniture, farm tools, doors, windows, or whatever!"

  "It's like this! I want to ask you to make this thing!" Yue Yun then pulled out a drawing from his bosom, on which was drawn a triangular frame made of several wooden sticks, with a horizontal bar in the middle. If it were someone from a later generation, they would recognize at a glance that this was one of those crutches used to assist walking by being placed under the armpits.

  Old Song took the blueprint, narrowed his eyes and looked at it for half a day before asking in surprise: "This military officer, I've never made this thing before, what is it?"

  "This is a special cane for people who have difficulty walking! Can Master Song make one?" asked Yue Yun.

  Old Song then made some gestures, and with his many years of experience as a carpenter, he naturally saw that for people with leg problems, this kind of crutch was much more convenient than ordinary crutches.

  He was overjoyed and said, "This military officer, is this new-style cane designed by you? It's really a masterpiece! The style is simple, but it's very practical. Compared to the usual dragon-head canes or crutches used by the elderly, it's much more convenient. I've been a carpenter for so many years, how come I never thought of it?"

  He scratched his head, looking at this picture, his eyes shining brightly, as if he had met the right person too late.

  It wasn't until then that he remembered he hadn't answered the guest's question. He hastily nodded and said, "General, no problem! Old Song will start working on it tonight, and Young General can come pick it up early tomorrow morning!"

  "Alright!" Yue Yun also felt relieved, he was still a bit worried that Old Song wouldn't be able to do it. Looks like now they can rest assured.

  Having settled on a cane, the three of them left the wooden goods store.

  Yue Yun looked up at the sky and saw that it was almost noon, so he said to Niu Tong and Guan Ling: "It's almost noon now, why don't we go find a wine shop to sit down and try some of the local delicacies of Chu State?"

  Niu Tong and Guan Ling exclaimed with joy: "It's about time!"

  Yue Yun immediately asked passersby and found out that the most famous wine house in Chuzhou was Zui Xian Lou by the Grand Canal.

  Yue Yun asked for directions and then excitedly led Niu Tong and Guan Ling towards the Drunken Immortal Building.

  Zui Xian Lou is a three-story wine house, although the scale is not too large, it has an ancient charm and is very distinctive. Yue Yun and others went upstairs to the second floor, then found a table by the window and sat down.

  Soon, a shopkeeper came over and brought the menu. After Yue Yun took a rough look at it, he found that the dish names written on the menu were so fancy that he couldn't tell what dishes they were, so he handed the menu to Niu Tong and Guan Ling, letting them order instead.

  Yue Yun raised his head at this time, but saw a girl and two men eating at the next table. One of the men was robust and sturdy, while the other was thin and short. Although they looked ordinary, both had bulging arm muscles, showing that they were not weak.

  And that girl, as soon as Yue Yun saw her, was shocked in his heart, and his two eyes immediately stared straight at the girl.

  The girl was about 22 or 23 years old, with a slender and delicate figure, her face as smooth as jade, her lips like cherry blossoms, and her eyebrows like paintings. Her green dress stood out even more in the blue and white tones of the wine tower, giving off an extraordinary freshness and lightness. Underneath her green dress, a beautiful curve rose slightly, and her stunning eye waves, swan-like neck, gave people a sense of noble beauty. At this moment, she was chatting with her companions, and the sound of her clear laughter made one's heart itch with longing.

  "Brother Yue, I think these dozen or so dishes are about right. What do you think?" After discussing for half a day, Niu Tong and Guan Ling finally decided on a menu that they were both satisfied with.

  Yue Yun finally came back to his senses, shifting his gaze away from the girl's face and saying casually, "Alright! Let's just get this over with!"

  At this moment, another group of people came up from downstairs. The leader was a middle-aged martial general wearing armor, and standing beside him was an elder with a long beard.

  The middle-aged martial general was beckoning to Qing Xuan, saying: "Lord Wei, this way, please!"

  The old man lightly stroked his long beard, smiled slightly, and walked a few steps forward. Several shop assistants immediately came up to greet him warmly with respectful faces: "General Hu, please come in and take a seat!"

  Yue Yun exchanged a glance with the middle-aged martial general, both of whom were shocked in their hearts. They did not expect to meet here. This middle-aged martial general was none other than Hu Xian, who had secretly informed Geng Zhuo that he was in contact with the Jin people.

  Hu Xian and Yue Yun didn't have a good impression of each other. However, in this situation, they couldn't pretend not to know each other. Hu Xian said calmly, "So, Young Master Yue is also here. How nice that you also have the interest to come to Drunken Immortal Pavilion for a drink?" But although his words were polite, he didn't even bother with a gesture of courtesy.

  Yue Yun naturally knew that it was because of Geng Zhao's reason. Hu Fen and Geng Zhao had already sworn to be like water and fire, and she had also taken out Wanyan Zongmin's military campaign diary to exonerate Geng Zhao. It would be strange if Hu Fen could have a good impression of herself.

  However, Yue Yun also knew that factional struggles within the Southern Song army were a common occurrence. He would be leaving in just a few days and did not want to get involved in the factional struggles within Han Shizhong's army.

  Yue Yun slightly cupped his hands and bowed, saying: "I've met General Hu. Tomorrow is Liu Zhi-fu's 50th birthday. I just bought a birthday gift and heard from passersby that the dishes at Drunken Immortal Pavilion are exceptional, so I brought my two brothers to try them out."

  "Oh?" Hu Xian's eyes flashed, and his expression remained very calm as he said: "Then I won't disturb Young Master Yue from having his meal. I also need to entertain some noble guests. For Liu Zhi Fu's birthday celebration, I will be attending too, let's meet again then."

  At this time, the elder standing beside Hu Xian looked at Yue Yun's appearance and was secretly shocked. He asked Hu Xian: "General Hu, who is this young general?"

  "Oh! Let me introduce him!" Hu Xian saw the situation and knew it was inconvenient to hide, so he pointed at Yue Yun and said: "Lord Wei, this is the eldest son of General Yue Yuanshuai, the Pacification Commissioner of Hubei and Jingxi Road, Mr. Yue Yun."

  That clear and bright elder's face changed slightly after hearing, but his tone was somewhat disdainful. He coldly said: "So it's the great general Yue's eldest son, I've also heard a lot about you. It's said that General Yue is brave in battle and has many military achievements. Not bad, not bad!"

  He says it's fine, but his facial expression and tone of voice don't show any praise at all.

  Yue Yun heard his tone was unfriendly and felt somewhat puzzled, thinking to herself that she had never seen this person before, so why did he have hostility towards her.

  He immediately replied coldly: "The merits of Yue Yun are actually not worth mentioning, Your Excellency is overpraising. But I don't know how to address this noble gentleman?"

  At this time, Hu Zhen deliberately tried to please the clean and handsome elder beside him, and hurriedly said: "Yue Gongzi, this is Wei Liangchen, Wei Daren. He was an envoy who participated in the last peace talks, and this time he has again deeply entered the Jin camp to seek good fortune for our great Song Dynasty. It really makes us admire him!"

  Wei Liangchen, this name seems a bit familiar. Yue Yun felt that the name sounded very familiar, he racked his brains for a moment, and finally remembered who this person was. Wei Liangchen, wasn't he the envoy sent by Song Jin during the first Shaoxing peace talks?