It so happened that Liu Bei had gained Xu Shu, and Xu Shu had told him that Qin Tian was in Xiaopei. Naturally, Liu Bei was overjoyed.
He had wanted to go with Xu Shu to pay Qin Tian a visit that very day.
But Jian Yong stopped him.
"It's getting late. It wouldn't be convenient to go now."
"Why not prepare some gifts and go tomorrow? That would better show our closeness."
Xu Shu quickly chimed in.
"Xianhe is quite right. My friend is an easygoing man, and now that he's finally enjoying some leisure, he doesn't like sudden visits."
"Why not wait a few days? I'll let him know first, then have him come pay his respects to you. How does that sound?"
Hearing their words, Liu Bei thought they made sense and could only nod in agreement.
But when Xu Shu suggested having Qin Tian come to him, Liu Bei hurriedly shook his head.
"Zixuan is a man of the state. I should treat him with the respect due to one!"
"Besides, I'm going to visit Zixuan for public matters, not private ones."
"Although Yuanzhi and Zixuan are friends, it wouldn't be right to let public business interfere with their private relationship. I'll prepare gifts and go see him in person. That's the best way to show my sincerity!"
Seeing Liu Bei's answer, Xu Shu nodded inwardly, praising his generosity.
If the other warlords knew of his relationship with Qin Tian,
they might well have asked him to act as a go-between, using their friendship to invite Qin Tian to meet them.
But Liu Bei had no intention of making him do so.
He wanted to show his sincerity, and he also feared Qin Tian might resent it.
He was eager to recruit talent, yet considerate of Xu Shu, too.
Xu Shu felt delighted, praising him in his heart: This is truly my lord!
Outwardly, he agreed with Liu Bei's idea as well.
That very night, Liu Bei once again gathered everyone and hosted a banquet at the county office to welcome Xu Shu and introduce him to the others.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were naturally surprised to see him, while Mi Zhu and the others were overjoyed that Liu Bei had finally gained the support of a man of wisdom.
That night, Liu Bei and Xu Shu shared a bed, sleeping head to foot.
They talked like this for two days, growing closer and closer.
In the end, Liu Bei appointed Xu Shu Military Aide of Yu Province, placing him in charge of military affairs and the training of the troops.
Three days later, the weather finally cleared and the cold wind began to fade. Liu Bei eagerly called Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, then set off under Xu Shu's guidance for the estate where Qin Tian lived.
At that moment, in a small courtyard in Pei County, Qin Tian held a hand of cards.
He cradled his youngest daughter while Cai Yan and her younger sister, Cai Yao, sat across from him.
The cards in his hand were marked with Arabic numerals. There were ten in all: a run of three, four, five, six, and seven, along with four eights and a nine.
Cai Yan had only two cards left, while Cai Yao still had a handful.
That's right, they were playing Fight the Landlord.
They had been in Xiaopei for quite some time since leaving Xuchang.
Every day, Qin Tian did nothing but play with his wife and children.
He never grew bored of it, even though it was the same day after day.
After all, if he wanted to talk about being cooped up, where could compare with the army?
The army had no good wife like Cai Yan, no little ray of sunshine like his daughter, and no young sister-in-law like Cai Yao.
With nothing to do each day, he could listen to his wife play the zither and tease his daughter and sister-in-law. It was enough to make him forget all about Shu.
The weather was fine that day, so he had set up a small table in the courtyard. They basked in the sun and played cards.
Cai Yao stared at the numbers in her hand, then at the cards on the table. Cold sweat beaded on her face, and she looked terribly nervous.
Seeing her, Qin Tian smiled lazily.
"Play already. Why are you taking so long?"
"Ugh, brother-in-law, stop rushing me. Give me a moment to think!"
Cai Yao complained, her beautiful eyes scanning the cards on the table for a long while. At last, she made up her mind and slapped two cards down.
"A pair of fives!"
As soon as she played, delight flashed in Cai Yan's eyes.
Qin Tian only smiled.
"Trying to pass me a pair? Not a chance!"
"A pair of eights!"
He broke up his bomb and tossed the cards onto the table.
At the sight of this, Cai Yan's expression fell again. She had a pair of sevens.
Cai Yao's eyes widened as she stared at Qin Tian.
"Brother-in-law, you're not bombing me?"
She stared at her hand, completely at a loss. She had been sure Qin Tian had a bomb and a run. If he used the bomb, she could take control of the game.
But Qin Tian only smiled.
"Who says you have to use a bomb just because you have one? Can't I break it up?"
"Do you want the pair of eights?"
Cai Yan shook her head. Cai Yao shook hers too, her cheeks puffed in annoyance.
Seeing this, Qin Tian pulled out his single eight and leisurely announced:
"Three to nine in a run, then one little eight. I'm out!"
As he laid down his cards, Xiao Sui'er raised her little hands in delight from his arms.
"Yay! Daddy won again!"
Cai Yan also smiled, her face soft and lovely.
Only Cai Yao stared at the long run and the three left in her hand, muttering:
"Stingy brother-in-law! You had a bomb and didn't use it!"
"What kind of wicked person does that?"
Qin Tian held out his hand.
"You can mutter all you like, but you still have to pay. Pay up first, then talk!"
Qin Wei imitated her father, turning to Cai Yan and speaking in her childish voice.
"Mother, Auntie, hurry and pay!"
"All right, all right. Mother will give it to you."
Cai Yan smiled as she took a few copper coins from her purse and placed them in her daughter's little hand. She seemed even happier to lose than to win.
But Cai Yao glared at the father and daughter, fuming.
"Brother-in-law, you do this every day. You're teaching Suier bad habits!"
As she spoke, she looked at the few copper coins left in her purse and could only grit her teeth and take them out.
"You make it sound as if I was the one who suggested playing cards!"
Qin Tian laughed as he took the money, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Clearly, someone insisted on winning all my money. And now look, half the month is still left, and we'll have nothing to spend. What are we going to do?"
As he spoke, he handed the money to his daughter.
"Suier, you and I made a fortune today. This afternoon, Daddy will take you to buy some candy!"
"Mm-hmm!"
Xiao Sui'er nodded repeatedly, her face full of approval.
Seeing the two of them, Cai Yan smiled even more sweetly.
Cai Yao trembled with fury, gritted her teeth, and declared:
"Again! Again! I refuse to believe I can't beat you today!"
Qin Tian smiled at her.
"Come on, then. But let's make one thing clear first: pay on the spot, no IOUs!"
Seeing her younger sister and husband squaring off, Cai Yan could only tug at Cai Yao.
"Zhenji, if you can't win, don't keep playing. We can't beat our husband."
"Hmph! Sister, all you ever do is take his side!"
Cai Yao raised her chin, displeased.
"I refuse to believe I can't beat this scoundrel at least once!"
She shot Qin Tian a glare and reached out to shuffle the cards.
Watching Cai Yao's stubborn expression, Qin Tian couldn't help shaking his head.
He thought his little sister-in-law had really grown up.
Ever since she hit puberty, she'd become more and more rebellious.
She was always picking fights with him. He didn't know who she'd learned it from, but she was exactly like the young girls of his later life, utterly unlike the virtuous and gentle women of old.
If his father-in-law, Cai Yong, came back to life and saw this, she might well give him a heart attack on the spot.
No, this couldn't go on!
He had to show some brother-in-law authority!
As Qin Tian cleared his throat, ready to speak, the household steward, Zhong Bo, hurried over.
"My lord, Xu Yuanzhi has come to see you!"
Zhong Bo had been Cai Yong's servant. He was more loyal than the likes of Li Shun, so even after Qin Tian came here, he still had an old hand like him manage the household.
Hearing Zhong Bo, Qin Tian's expression turned serious.
"Did Xu Yuanzhi come alone, or is someone with him?"
"He came with several others!"
"Then I won't see him."
Seeing this, Cai Yan said to Qin Tian:
"Husband, since we have guests, I'll take Zhenji and Suier to the back courtyard. How could you refuse to see them?"
But before she could finish, Qin Tian said:
"There's no need."
He then turned to Zhong Bo and smiled.
"Go tell Yuanzhi I'm unwell today and can't receive guests. He can come again another day."
Before you continue