Vol 2 Chapter 4 (2/2)
“Big brother, you are too naive.”
“My lord, Lord Tao Qian has yet to pa.s.s. If he gives away his official rank just like that, the commoners will start rumours about you~~”
“But Lord Tao Qian himself said that…”
“Big brother, you heard it and we did as well. But what about the others?” Yun Chang said. “If we mishandle this, things could easily go wrong~~”
… Now that they mention it, I think so too. Given that Tao Qian is still alive, having an outsider just barge in and take the spot of ruler would certainly start some unsavoury rumours.
(TL: Based harem.)
“… So I should decline first then?”
Nods.
Un, this is the only way. It’s best not to be rash at this time.
And thereafter we re-entered the building and saw that everyone was waiting for my reply.
“Ah, Lord Tao Qian, I am here to aid you in your defense against Meng De, not to take your Xu state. Can we wait till after this conflict has concluded before we discuss that matter?”
“Not good.” “My lord is already in such a state.” “Don’t torture the old man anymore,”
The 3 said upon hearing my reply.
“That cannot do,” I said, more anxious than before. “Then do you 3 think that I am worthy to take over Xu state?”
“Yes.” “We’ve long heard tell of Lord Liu Bei’s exploits.” “What is there to be unworthy about.”
… I shouldn’t have asked them.
“Maa, if you really can’t no matter what… Then we’ll take it slow for now.” Tao Qian didn’t seem to want to press the matter. “But please remember Lord Liu Bei… That you now bear the responsibility… Of all the commoners of Xu state under your care and protection! *ke* *ke* *ke*~~~”
Another wave of coughing.
“Un, I understand.” I bowed deeply in all seriousness and then asked in a helpless tone. “I would like to ask, what did you do to incur Meng De’s wrath?”
“… Hai~ *ke* *ke* *ke*~~ Haiya~~~” His coughing did not stop, but his sighs this time could not be stopped.
“I was a fool, and sent a newly surrendered Yellow Turban to guard her father. Who knew that such a thing would happen~~”
So in the end it’s that huh.
But I still have to ask Meng De later about this.
“Hai~~~~ But now that things have come to this, I can only deal with it.”
“Un… Please do.” Tao Qian nodded, before continuing. “Sun Qian, Mi Zhu and Jian Yong… Lord Liu Bei should know these 3 by now… Don’t think of them as 1 just because they are inseparable. Sun Qian is adept at dealing with internal affairs, Mi Zhu is good with finance and Jian Yong knows how to negotiate and debate. They each have their talents. I leave these 3 to Lord Liu Bei as well.”
As he said so, the 3 bowed deeply towards me which zi hurriedly ran up to stop.
“In this period of time, I will be working alongside you 3 and will be depending on you all for various things.” I said as I bowed.
“We are unworthy of such words.” 3 simultaneous voices.
Thereafter I got Hua Tuo to brew a concoction which would help boost vitality, in the hopes that it would make things easier for Tao Qian. Everyone did their introductions and then we left.
After we had settled our lodging arrangements, we met in the courtyard to discuss how we were going to deal with Meng De.
“As expected, talking our way out will be our main strategy.” I said first.
“Eh~~~ We aren’t fighting?”
“Lord Yi De, though fighting is exciting indeed, we shouldn’t fight, or kill, unnecessarily.” Feng Xian said as she quietly stroked the Red Hare.
“I agree with big brother. According to latest intelligence, Lord Cao Cao’s vanguard will arrive at this city by tomorrow while Lord Cao Cao herself is with the main body so we must get across to the vanguard general for this to work.” Yun Chang said as she supported her chin.
“Un,” I replied and got up. “In any case, we will be marching out tomorrow, and I will speak with the vanguard general.”
Everyone nodded. Since it was late and we hadn’t eaten, Yun Chang and the rest went to eat while Yi De and Hua Tuo went to bed early.
As for me, I was on Yi De’s team this time as I was fairly fatigued and needed to be at my fullest for the negotiation tomorrow.
The morning of the next day.
“Ah!!!~~~”
I was still sleepy when I woke up and found it strange that I couldn’t get up only to find that a girl lay on each side of me which utterly shocked me.
“What was this?! I may be a healthy young man but I’m not so debaucherous!
“Eh? Is– Isn’t this Gan…”
I looked closely at the girl on my right… Why is Gan Qing here?! And in my bed no less!
I frantically looked over to my left again… I really don’t know this one.
“Eh! Eh!” I slapped the girl’s face a couple of times before she slowly opened her eyes. “Why are you here? And who are you?”
“Oh, Lord Liu Bei, you’re awake!” The girl happily said so when she saw me. “You don’t know me yet right!”
Duh!!
“… And that’s why I’m asking, so who are you huh~~~” I rubbed my frowned eyebrows.
“I’m Mi Zhen, Mi Zhu’s little sister.”
(TL: Mi Zhen, or Lady Mi as she is called, is Liu Bei’s second concubine.)
Is that so. She does indeed look like Mi Zhu, but smaller… Wait, now is not the time for this!!
“What I really want to ask is why are the 2 of you on my bed?”
Eh… It couldn’t be right, that I have already, to the 2 of them–
“Big brother, what happened?!”
Just then, Yun Chang’s voice and the footsteps of many others could be heard.
Though I don’t have a sense of what was going on, nor have I figured out a proper explanation for all this, for now I would just like to say–
— I’m dead.
At my side, I could still hear the peaceful breathing of Gan Qing.
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