"Ashu - Ayong - Aduan -"

  Xu Steward called out the names of his three sons one by one, but the three chubby silk-clad boys seemed not to have heard and continued playing with their chickens.

  Xu Steward was about to get angry, when Zhou Xuan stopped him and said: "Sir, please calm down. If Gongzi is indeed a triplet, why do they look the same in size?"

  Xu Xie Shi shook his head and said: "The two in the arena, the one on the left is A Shu, who has idly spent 21 years, and the one on the right is A Yong, 20 years old. The one looking from the side is A Duan, 19 years old, eating white and chubby, born of the same mother, outsiders really can't tell them apart." He raised his voice again: "A Duan——A Duan——"

  The little servant beside Ah Duan heard it and quickly pushed Ah Duan. Ah Duan turned his head to take a look, called out "Father", then turned his head back to watch the roosters fighting on stage.

  Zhou Xuan said: "Don't worry, judging from the birth time, Young Master's illness is not severe and should be curable. Let's watch the cockfight first."

  Xu Steward was overjoyed and remained silent from then on, standing shoulder to shoulder with Zhou Xuan to watch the cockfight.

  Those two fighting cocks on the field weigh 7 or 8 catties, belonging to the large-sized fighting cock category. These kinds of fighting cocks are extremely fierce and start fighting intensely as soon as they meet each other. From the scene, it's more explosive than fighting crickets, with feathers flying everywhere and blood splashing all over, even more intense and tense than fighting insects.

  Zhou Xuan was an amateur at cockfighting. The two chickens on the field were rolling and pecking at each other, and their feathers were almost the same color. He watched for half a day without being able to tell which one was which, just like an amateur watching insect fighting, all the insects looked the same to him.

  One chicken was actually fighting, pecking at the other's head until it was bloody, rolling on the ground, struggling to get up and fight again. The other chicken didn't back down either, fiercely pecking away, apparently determined to fight to the end.

  At last, one chicken fell to the ground in convulsions, while the other stood up with a blood-stained neck and let out three loud crows, celebrating its victory.

  The guy on the right suddenly jumped up and shouted: "I won! I won! Big brother, pay up!"

  As the elder brother, Ashu was willing to admit defeat and pulled out a string of copper coins from his pocket. Er'er Ayong happily stretched out his hand to receive them, but just as he quickly grabbed the coins, Ashu suddenly threw the money onto the ground.

  "Big brother, why did you throw the money on the ground?"

  "It's no longer my money anyway, so I'll just throw it on the ground."

  Lao Er A Yong was very indignant: "You won against me yesterday, when I gave you the money, it was all good and placed directly into your hands, not dropped on the ground."

  Lao Da Ashu lost at fighting chickens and then cheated his younger brother out of money, feeling very pleased with himself. He said: "Who told you not to lose? You're really stupid, haha."

  Lao Er Ah Yong insisted that Big Brother pick up the money, but Big Brother Ah Shu wouldn't listen to him, and the two of them started quarreling.

  Lao San stepped forward to persuade, it seems he has a better relationship with the second brother. He said: "Second brother, since big brother threw your money on the ground, next time if you lose, when giving money to big brother, just throw it on the ground too, you can even throw it further, scatter it into the bushes, and let big brother search for half a day."

  "Good plan! Good plan!" Er Ye Ah Yong was overjoyed, patting Ah Duan's sturdy shoulders and saying: "Third brother, you're really clever, among the three of us brothers, you're the cleverest." He said to Da Shu Ah Shu: "Big brother, just wait and see, tomorrow I'll definitely lose to you, let you search everywhere for money."

  "Can't I just not fight with you tomorrow?" said Lao Da Ashu with a deep and sinister tone. "Even if we do fight, I'll choose the weakest chicken to fight against you and still let you win. Just wait for me to scatter money all over the sky! Haha, although Third Brother is clever and told you the wonderful plan, it's actually Big Brother me who will benefit from it, haha."

  Lao Er A Yong immediately became anxious: "Tomorrow I'll also choose the weakest chicken to fight with you, let's see who's weaker. I might as well find a hen to fight with you."

  Lao Da Ashu said: "You find a hen, I'll find a chick, let's see who's weaker."

  Zhou Xuan watched with delight as the three brothers bickered, this was just like the "Taogu Six Immortals" in Jin Yong's "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer". Seeing that two of the brothers were getting more and more agitated, Xu Shizhi's face turned bright red with anger. Zhou Xuan stepped forward and said loudly: "If you want to compare weakness, none of you are weaker than me! I'll find an egg and compete with you, who can be weaker than me?"

  The three brothers were all stunned at once, speechless, looking at each other in dismay, unable to think of anything weaker than eggs.

  Lao San A Duan was indeed the smartest of the three brothers, and he retorted: "Eggs are not chickens, they can't fight at all."

  Zhou Xuan said: "Chicks hatch from eggs and are chickens, they can't fight because they're too weak."

  Even the clever Lao San was left speechless.

  The three brothers saw their father at this time and pointed at Zhou Xuan, asking: "Father, who is he?"

  Xu the governor said, "This is Zhou Gongzi, also a master of cockfighting." He didn't dare say that Zhou Xuan was a doctor. His three sons hated doctors the most because doctors always wanted to treat them for illnesses, but they weren't sick at all.

  Zhou Xuan waved his hand and said, "No, no, I'm not a master, I'm just a low-ranking gambler. Alright, you three gentlemen continue playing, I'll take my leave." The Xu Shi Steward gave him a knowing look, implying that he had seen enough and would discuss the matter elsewhere.

  Three princes blocked the way and said, "There is no strongest fighting cock in the world, only stronger ones. Therefore, eggs should not be the weakest either. Tell us quickly, what is weaker than an egg?"

  Zhou Xuan thought to herself: "Who says these three are foolish, they even understand dialectics." She said: "Think about it, where do eggs come from?"

  Mother hen.

  "That's right, the hen is much weaker than the rooster, you'd better stick to the original plan and not compare weaknesses, it's meaningless to compare weaknesses, who has ever heard of comparing weaknesses in a cockfight? If word gets out, the chicken friends in Jiangzhou City will laugh at us."

  The three brothers nodded in unison.

  Zhou Xuan and his father-in-law, as well as Xu Cishi, returned to the small hall they had been in earlier. The host and guest took their seats, and Xu Cishi looked at Zhou Xuan with an expectant expression.

  Zhou Xuan slowly and deliberately picked up his teacup, took two sips, before saying: "Governor Xu, please don't mind my straightforward words—" He intentionally paused for a moment, causing Governor Xu's face to turn pale, thinking that his three sons were beyond salvation.

  Zhou Xuan continued: "Actually, the three young masters of the adults are not sick. I don't know if the adults have heard of the legend of 'Five Crazy Knights'?"

  Zhou Xuan's thinking jumped too quickly, and Xu Shizhi couldn't react in time. He said: "It is said that San Chou has already arrived at Jiangzhou, and the whole city is now on high alert. Why did Master Zhou suddenly mention 'Wu Chou You Xia'?"

  Zhou Xuan said: "These five people all claim to be foolish, are they all idiots?"

  Xu Stabbing History glared and said: "Who dares to say they are fools, don't want their lives?"

  Zhou Xuan said: "This is just right, the three young masters of the mansion are only a bit foolish, but not stupid. Adults should take advantage of the situation and guide them to become masters in the field of cockfighting. The Emperor loves cockfighting and insect fighting, it's not that one can only achieve greatness through officialdom. It's impossible for everyone to be officials. Nowadays, the country is at peace and entertainment is flourishing, the three young masters have a great opportunity. Of course, I will also give the three young masters a good prescription, guaranteed to improve their intelligence, and the mansion will be peaceful and beautiful from now on."

  Xu Steward was both shocked and delighted, feeling as if a window had suddenly opened in his mind. He repeatedly said: "Master Zhou, please quickly reveal the solution."

  Zhou Xuan said: "It's not right for the master to keep the three young masters locked up in the mansion, they should be allowed to go out and play more often, visit famous mountains and rivers, read a thousand books is not as good as traveling a thousand miles, wherever you go, make friends with the locals, after a long time, your knowledge will increase, and your wisdom will naturally broaden, this is the good medicine that I have prescribed for the young masters."

  Magistrate Xu slapped his thigh in praise and said to Qin Doctor: "Brother Qin, I really envy you. With such a wonderful son-in-law, how dare Jiang Assistant Professor falsely accuse him of being a fake husband? He must have gone blind! If it were truly a fake marriage, I would be the first to invite Young Master Zhou into my mansion and marry my beloved daughter to him."

  Dr. Qin looked at Zhou Xuan with concern, fearing that Zhou Xuan would curry favor with the Xu family's high-ranking officials. But Zhou Xuan just smiled and said, "Governor Xu is really good at telling jokes." His expression was normal, without any intention of currying favor, and Dr. Qin felt relieved.

  They chatted for a while, and then the two of them took their leave of Xu Shi. Xu Shi said: "When Qin Daifu is reinstated to his former position, I will invite you, noble gentlemen, to another banquet, and also present you with generous gifts as a token of gratitude to Zhou Gongzi."

  Zhou Xuan thought to herself: "Out of sight, out of mind. The three immortals of Taogu Valley have gone out for a stroll, the Xu Mansion will naturally be peaceful and quiet, and Master Xu will certainly thank me. Hehe, I'm doing a good deed, aren't I? The three immortals of Taogu Valley are also escaping from their cage, they must be happy."

  Dr. Qin had Xue Bao send him back to the detention center for trial, and when they parted ways, he reminded Zhou Xuan to return to the Qin residence quickly, as he was now a bit worried that this good son-in-law would be snatched away by someone else.

  Zhou Xuan said: "Little son-in-law went to the post house that side to pick up Que Er and return together."