Vol 8 Chapter 44 (2/2)

“Calm down, you both. You’ve both been bickering the entire time, can’t you be a bit more cordial with each other for a bit?”

“”No way!””

I turned back and saw that the 3 of them were the same as always. Zhou Cang and Chen Gong were bickering while Chen Dao tried in vain to stop them from the side.

I don’t know if it’s just me but it feels like the content of today’s argument seems more childish than usual. Almost as though they were intentionally picking a fight with each other, or perhaps they had some steam they wanted to let out so they argued about whatever they could find.

What was different about the scene however, was that Zhou Cang had her ponytail on today with the accessory I gave her. Chen Gong too had her’s on surprisingly. I was already used to Chen Gong’s straight hairstyle so it was really refres.h.i.+ng to see her in a new hairstyle. Of course, Chen Dao isn’t wearing her’s as usual, probably because she thinks it’s too precious and has kept it away instead.

But really, looks like those 2 are intent on wearing those hair bands huh? I’m actually quite happy about this. Un un, Zhou Cang really looks good– If she washes her hair.

“Imperial Uncle? Is there a problem?”

“No, not at all.”

I hurriedly turned away and looked the other side when I saw Chen Gong’s angry gaze on noticing my stare.

On the other side, were Liu Qi’s silent subordinate generals. If I’m not wrong, those 2 should be staring ahead in a daze. As I thought so, I s.h.i.+fted my gaze–

“Imperial Uncle.”

Un? Just as I was about to turn my head, Yi Ji seems to have been totally prepared for it and immediately saluted and bowed.

“…” Wen Ping, who was beside her, did not move or speak and only nodded slightly when she saw Yi Ji’s actions.

Un… Is it just me? Why do I feel like Yi Ji has been watching me all this while? Is there something on my face?

“Uncle, I know you’re probably feeling a little bored now but please concentrate on riding.”

“Ah, oh.” I muttered as i hurriedly corrected my posture. I can’t believe I was actually lectured by my own niece. I better behave properly.

“But I can really rest easy seeing uncle behaving like this.”

“But why aren’t you feeling at ease?” I said as I shrugged, “All our enemies are either far behind or defeated. What else is there to be concerned about?”

“Uncle, don’t forget that we are returning in disgrace from defeat.”

Ah…

“Uncle, please don’t tell me you just remembered that.”

“No, how can that be?”

Ah– I did indeed forgot all about that in the euphoria of being more trusted by Liu Qi.

“Then should we be thinking about how to best present the battle results later?”

We did lose after all, and we should expect some questions when we return.

“Yes, I can imagine how Cai Mao will pour cold water on us when we do so.” She said as she turned back, “Moreover, we are returning with so few troops.”

Wu… Now that she said this, I recognised the reality before me once more.

We left with 5,000 men but now we don’t even have 100 men left. And amongst those losses, several hundred of them were inflicted by us. This is going to be difficult.

“Ah! Didn’t we capture a 100-man general alive? We can get him to explain things to Liu Biao.”

“That general has already been executed.”

Eh? I couldn’t comprehend what Liu Qi was saying immediately and those words reverberated in my head for a long while before I finally understood what she meant.

“Why did you have to execute him? Couldn’t he have been a useful weapon for us?”

“Uncle is too naive.” Liu Qi calmly continued, “Did you really think that man would explain everything honestly? He is Cai Mao’s personal troop after all.”

“That’s…”

“When the time comes, he might actually turn around and malign us instead. He could have said that we turned on them in the midst of battle, slaughtered 2-3,000 troops and retreated, leaving behind the rest.”

No way… No, that could indeed happen. I recalled how Cai Mao looks, that smileless, almost expressionless face where the greatest movements were merely slight curls of the lips. A mysterious chill ran down my spine and it felt like the temperature dropped several degrees when I pictured her.

“Hai… I thought that everything could be settled nicely with this.”

“No, our return to Xiangyang is actually the beginning of everything.” Liu Qi said as she flicked her twin tails back, “They will eventually learn about the decimation of her 5,000 strong elite force. And when we return, I believe Lady Cai and Cai Mao will begin a new round of attacks against us.”

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