Vol 4 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Volume 4 Chapter 4: Don’t tell me this is before w.a.n.g and Liu are captured

Sun Qian POV

I left Xu state and made a beeline for Yuan Shao. After about a week of travel, I was able to make it to Yuan Shao’s palace in Nanpi county, Hebei using Yuan Shu, which we were now making our way in under the guidance of her retainers.

Though Yuan Shao belonged to an ill.u.s.trious family, the sheer scale of the palace with its carved railings and jade inlays greatly exceeded the luxury that befitted that of a n.o.ble.

It was clear from this that the Great Han had fallen from its past glory days.

And at this time, my lord’s face came to mind once again. I hadn’t said much when I left, but worry filled my heart.

Was it really alright to leave my lord in Xu state city?

My lord doesn’t know how to deal with official doc.u.ments, how will he handle internal administration? My lord is soft-spoken, who will make a decision when the time comes? My lord has great affinity with women, if he is just a bit more proactive, he will definitely… As my lord’s personal adviser, shouldn’t I be silently by his side at this time?

… But~

I shook my head lightly, hoping to drive away all these unnecessary thoughts.

That’s right, I have a mission at hand. What I must think about now is how to convince Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao is dogmatic and simple-minded, but she is still an influential person and a hero of this era. Her conflicts with Cao Cao are no mere squabbles and any small mistake will reduce the loser to dust. Would Yuan Shu, who has now occupied You, Qing, Bing and Ji states, be willing to bother with this low return high risk and troublesome alliance?

“Oi, what are you thinking about?” A casual voice came from in front of me, and I looked ahead to see that Yuan Shu was looking at me with eyes that were filled with pride.

“… Nothing.” I moved my sleeve to cover my mouth before continuing slowly, “… How does Lord Yuan Shu intend on convincing your elder sister later?”

For some reason, Yuan Shu began laughing loudly when she heard these words of mine.

“Hahaha, so that’s what you’re thinking about huh.” Yuan Shu looked relaxed as she shook her long and heavy sleeves before tucking her hands behind her head, “If it’s about this, then you need not be worried.”

I wasn’t convinced by Yuan Shu’s show of confidence was difficult but I did not say anything to this, and decided to wait and see what she would do later.

After walking for a while more and crossing 2 large halls, we finally reached the inner most room where Yuan Shao awaited us.

“My lord, Yuan Shu, General of the Left, and Liu Bei’s retainer have arrived.”

“Oh, my little sister is here. Tell them to come in.”

The retainer bowed and gestured with his head to enter before leaving.

Isn’t it common courtesy for one come out to welcome one’s visitors? Even if she doesn’t respect my lord, doesn’t she care about her own little sister?”

“Come on, let’s go in.” Yuan Shu said with a tinge of joy and went ahead. I looked at Yuan Shu who didn’t seem to mind and felt a little sad for her.

After a few flights of stairs, we made it into her room. I looked around silently, and found that whether it was the shelves or the tables, they were all covered with heaps of treasure. The amount in this room was so much that all of Xu state could not hope to compare. It has been said that Hebei was a place rich with many treasures but now I see that it is no exaggeration.

“Big sis~~” Yuan Shu called out and charged for the figure on the right. I turned and saw a n.o.ble lady with flowing long wavy hair wearing exquisite clothing made from silk and satin. When she saw Yuan Shu running over, she put down the teacup in her hands and hugged Yuan Shu who leapt into her arms.

“Aiyo~~ My dear little sister~~” Yuan Shu showed a difficult expression as she rubbed Yuan Shu’s hair and then sniffed her little sister before continuing, “It’s been difficult on you this time huh~~”

“No, it’s nothing. I’ll just take it as experiencing how it’s like to live as an ordinary civilian.” Yuan Shu said as she separated from Yuan Shao, before continuing with an awkward expression, “I don’t have anywhere else to go now, and can only find shelter with big sister.”

“I told you long ago that you should have just stayed with me but you wouldn’t listen.” Yuan Shao said with a helpless smile, before continuing with a kind expression, “Don’t leave me again this time.”

Un?

Why does the feeling that Yuan Shao give me feel so different before… She feels a lot warmer a person. Is it a psychological effect?

“But I really have to be thankful to Liu Yu Zhou huh~~” All of a sudden, Yuan Shao changed the topic and pointed at me as she continued, “If it weren’t for Liu Bei, my little sister would have died on the way here.”

“…” Yuan Shao clearly meant more than what her words seemed to suggest on the surface, and I was at a loss as to what to reply. I took a deep breath, and bowed before replying, “Your little sister is a good person and her life should not end. My lord is also benevolent and deeply respects Lord Yuan Shao, and thus, he has sent me to accompany your little sister on her journey here.”

“That does sound reasonable,” Yuan Shao said as she got up and walked over to where I was, “But if he respects me so deeply, why would he attack my little sister?”

“… My lord was only following the orders of the Son of Heaven of the Great Han. As Imperial Uncle of the Great Han, my lord has no reason not to abide by those orders.”

“From what I can see, Liu Bei is not a loyal servant of the Great Han, but a lackey of Cao Cao’s right?”

“Big sister…”

“Don’t interrupt.” Yuan Shao cut off Yuan Shu’s words and walked over to my side and looked at me with a cold glance as she continued, “I don’t know what Liu Bei sent you here for, but I have no intention of joining with someone who has thrashed my little sister.”

I didn’t think that Yuan Shao would be this sharp. Lord Yuan Shu, I don’t see how I shouldn’t have been worried.

“… Is that so. Then if I were to say that,” I met her glance, “I were here to convince Lord Yuan Shao to attack Cao Cao, what would you do?”

Attack, Cao Cao.

When these 3 words reached Yuan Shao’s ears, I saw her eyes widen slightly.

“Haha,” She then laughed as she replied, “You really know how joke huh. Liu Bei is Cao Cao’s ally, for what reason would he oppose Cao Cao?”

“My lord has had some differences with Cao Cao recently, and before long, the Cao army will be sieging the walls of Xu state city.”

“Oh? There’s actually such a thing huh.” Yuan Shao played with her hair as she put on a smile once more and sat back down on her chair. “Then what you mean is to…”

Yuan Shao was clearly moved. To her, the greatest hindrance to her ascendancy is Cao Cao so all I need to do is continue along this thread.

As I thought about this, I stood up straight and deeply bowed before saying the purpose of my visit, “… An alliance with Liu Bei, against Cao Cao.”

Meng De POV

“All preparations have been made. All that’s left is for my lord to lead the main body.” Xun Yu spoke to me during lunch, from some random corner.

“Has there been any movement by Yuan Shao?” I continued eating as I asked her.