Chapter 81

After dinner was set, the Lu family found that Master Lu and Mr. Liu were missing. The family searched high and low, quickly finding Master Lu, who was sound asleep, drunk, in the study, but they couldn't find Mr. Liu anywhere. Lady Lu sent a group of maids and servants to search the entire house, except for the young lady's quarters in the west courtyard. They searched everywhere but couldn't find him. Just when the family was getting extremely worried, Liu Jun suddenly appeared. Master Lu, who had sobered up, asked where he had been, and Liu Jun, feeling guilty, replied that he had gone out for a walk to sober up.

The dinner party was very lively. The Liu and Lu families had agreed to a marriage alliance, and the dowry had been accepted by the Lu family. With a matchmaker as a witness, a marriage contract was drawn up, and Liu Jun and Lu Xueqi were officially engaged. The wedding date was set for the eighth month, the month of osmanthus, which was only about a month away.

This timing ensured that Lu Xueqi could marry into the Liu family as soon as possible while leaving enough time for the wedding preparations. The Lu family originally wanted to set the wedding date in December, but Li Chunjiang strongly opposed it, saying that the Liu family hoped to welcome the new bride as soon as possible. In reality, Liu Jun had told Li Chunjiang that Xueqi might already be pregnant, so they had to get married early, before her pregnancy became obvious.

Although in later times, getting married after becoming pregnant was common, in the Ming Dynasty, it was a matter of life and death to be visibly pregnant at the wedding.

Xueqi didn't dare to tell her family about this, not even her mother. When she returned home, she told her parents that Liu Jun had not stayed with her when he placed her in the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Lu actually believed her, or perhaps they just made her think they believed her.

The Lu family mansion was festooned with lanterns and decorations, filled with joy and laughter. Passersby couldn't help but envy the scene. Everyone in Xibay knew that today, Liu Jun, the newly appointed inspector of Hu Tou Pass in Taiping Township, had come to the Lu family to present the dowry.

One was a newly appointed inspector, the other a well-known wealthy family in Xibay. Their marriage alliance was truly a match made in heaven. Many young men envied Liu Jun, especially those who were unmarried.

Who didn't know that the Lu family had only one daughter, and Master Lu had already prepared a generous dowry for her?

"Have you heard? It's said that Liu Jun gave the Lu family a dowry of no less than 5,000 taels of silver. That's really generous," one person exclaimed.

Another immediately scoffed at the outdated information.

"Is 5,000 taels a lot for Liu Jun? You don't know who he's marrying, the daughter of Mr. Lu, who has a fortune of ten thousand taels. Marrying the Lu family's daughter means all that wealth will be his."

"Right, I heard Mr. Lu is giving his daughter a dowry of 100,000 taels of silver," another person chimed in, squatting on the street opposite the Lu family's gate.

"Ha!"

The group laughed at him. Although the Lu family was wealthy, a dowry of 100,000 taels was excessive. Mr. Lu wasn't Mr. Mei or Mr. Li.

At this moment, a man walked down the street, his face gaunt and hungry, his beard unkempt, and his eyes bloodshot. He wore a tattered robe with many patches, so worn that the original color was no longer visible, leaving only a white hue.

In his arms, he held a long cloth bundle, which he clutched like a treasure. He stood in front of the Lu family's gate, hesitating.

Lai Fu, the gatekeeper, had already noticed him. It was a joyous day for the Lu family, and the lady was in a good mood, giving each servant a reward. Lai Fu, who was on gate duty, received one tael of silver. Moreover, there would be plenty of leftover fish and meat from the banquet to be distributed in the evening.

Feeling happy, he saw the middle-aged man looking around and approached him, "Here's a baked cake, don't loiter here." Lai Fu handed the man his dinner, a baked cake. Since there would be meat for dinner, he wanted to save his appetite. The man looked like a refugee, so Lai Fu decided to give him the cake.

The middle-aged man stared at the cake for a moment, then realized that the gatekeeper had mistaken him for a beggar, which stung his heart.

"Thank you, young sir, but I'm not a beggar."

Lai Fu was surprised but extended the cake a bit more, "It doesn't matter, consider it a gift from me, just a baked cake."

The middle-aged man hesitated but finally didn't take the cake, "Thank you, young sir, I'm not hungry. I just want to ask if Captain Li Gongji and Captain Liu Jiye of the Nine-Headed Bird team are at the Lu residence tonight?"

Lai Fu nodded, "Yes, Jiye is our young lady's fiancé, and Chunjiang is the matchmaker. Do you know them?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. How could he know these two young men who were the talk of Qihuang? But he had heard of them. "I don't know them, but I have something important to discuss with them. Could you help me announce my presence?"

"Old sir, I'm afraid it's not possible today. The banquet is in full swing, and I don't have the authority to announce you. Besides, our young lady's fiancé and Chunjiang have been drinking since noon. They will likely drink even more tonight. Even if I announced you, they wouldn't be able to see you today. Why don't you come back tomorrow?"

"But I really have an urgent matter."

"Urgent or not, it's better to come back tomorrow. I'll definitely help you announce it then," Lai Fu advised.

The middle-aged man listened to the laughter and the smell of wine and meat from inside the mansion, feeling a bit disheartened. Finally, he took out his cloth bundle, which contained two more cloth bundles.

"Young sir, could you do me a favor? I'll leave this with you and ask you to pass it to Chunjiang and Jiye. I'll come back to visit them tomorrow, okay?"

The middle-aged man looked at the two cloth bundles in his hands with reluctance.

"What is this, so wrapped up and mysterious?"

"They are two firearms," the middle-aged man said, "These are very powerful firearms, much better than the usual matchlocks. This one is a Lu Mi Chong, and the other is a Che Dian Chong. I made them myself and want to recommend them to the two captains of the Nine-Headed Bird. I'll leave this Lu Mi Chong with you and ask you to pass it to them. I'll come back tomorrow to visit them."

Lai Fu thought it was some treasure but was disappointed to find it was just two firearms. He wasn't familiar with firearms and didn't know the difference between the Lu Mi Chong, Che Dian Chong, and matchlocks. However, he nodded and took the Lu Mi Chong, agreeing to pass it on.

"Make sure you pass it to the two young masters," the middle-aged man said, reluctantly wrapping the Lu Mi Chong again and handing it to Lai Fu.

The middle-aged man left, looking back several times, finally disappearing.

Lai Fu held the Lu Mi Chong, feeling its weight, about seven or eight pounds, and about six or seven feet long. It was much longer than the usual matchlocks he had seen. He held it and pretended to aim it for a while.

Just then, the steward came out to see off a guest and noticed Lai Fu aiming the long firearm, which startled him.

After seeing off the guest, the steward returned and slapped Lai Fu on the head, knocking his small hat to the ground. Lai Fu was startled and, seeing it was the steward, turned pale and dared not pick up his hat.

The steward took the firearm and examined it, "Where did you get this?"

Lai Fu truthfully recounted the story, but the middle-aged man was long gone.

"You dare to accept anything from anyone and talk to anyone. You're getting more and more bold. Do you know what this is? It's a matchlock, a weapon! You're aiming it around, do you want to start a rebellion?"

The steward scolded Lai Fu and took the firearm inside.

At the banquet, the guests had dispersed, and Liu Jun had drunk quite a bit, but Li Chunjiang, the matchmaker, had drunk even more. He was so drunk that he fell off his chair and had to be carried to a guest room.

The steward came in with the Lu Mi Chong, and Liu Jun immediately noticed it. This firearm was clearly different from the matchlocks used by the Nine-Headed Bird, longer and with a more curved and wider stock. It resembled a modern rifle, similar to the Type 38 Arisaka.

"Uncle Lu, what is this?" Liu Jun asked, pointing to the firearm.

"Son-in-law, you're here. I've been looking for you," Uncle Lu said, holding the firearm. "A stranger brought this to the gatehouse earlier, saying he wanted to see you and Chunjiang. The gatekeeper stopped him, so he left this firearm, saying he wanted to show it to you and would come back tomorrow to visit."

Liu Jun was surprised. Could it be a firearms merchant?

He took the firearm from Uncle Lu. It was indeed unique. Uncle Lu continued, "Lai Fu said the man originally had two firearms. He said this one is a Lu Mi Chong, and the other he took with him is a Che Dian Chong. He claimed these are very advanced and powerful firearms, much better than matchlocks. I think he's a firearms craftsman. Lai Fu said the man looked like a refugee, and he initially thought he was a beggar. He even offered him a baked cake, but the man refused."

Liu Jun listened carefully to the names of the Lu Mi Chong and Che Dian Chong.

Although Liu Jun wasn't very familiar with the advanced firearms of the Ming Dynasty, he had a general idea. Especially after leading a team, he had learned more about them.

He had seen the names of the Lu Mi Chong and Che Dian Chong on Mr. Zhao's list of firearms when he first ordered weapons. He knew these two firearms were better than matchlocks.

He was particularly impressed by the Lu Mi Chong because of its description: "Among firearms, the Lu Mi Chong is the farthest and most deadly."

The Che Dian Chong left a strong impression on him as well, as it was a rear-loading firearm and seemed to use a flintlock mechanism instead of a matchlock.

At the time, Liu Jun thought the Lu Mi Chong and Che Dian Chong were impressive, but the prices were several times higher than matchlocks, and there were no ready-made ones available. They also seemed more complicated to operate, so he had given up on them.

He didn't expect to see these two firearms again today.

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