Vol 9 Chapter 93 (2/2)

Un? A sigh came from the side and I saw that it came from Shen Pei who looked terrible.

“Lord Shen Pei? What’s the matter?”

“Ah, no no no, it’s nothing.” Shen Pei vigorously shook her head and returned her expression to how it was and lowered her gaze as she continued, “I was just thinking that my lord should be sorrowful to hear of Lord Lu Kuang’s pa.s.sing.”

“Eh? … Ah.” I instinctively expressed my doubt and realised that this was rude and hurriedly said, “Will Lord Yuan Shao feel sorrowful?”

Shen Pei nodded and took a deep breath before she sighed again. But then she seemed to think of something that made her feel better. When she calmed down, she was still withdrawn but much better than before.

“Even though my lord never tells anyone about it, she will always memorise the names and faces of all her retainers. She has a book with their names and portraits too.”

She does that? In my mind, I pictured Yuan Shao holding a book and looking vexed as she tried to memorise the contents of the book. No matter how I looked at it, it did not conform to the Yuan Shao I knew.

“I see.” I said calmly and nodded. I do not have much to say about this nor do I have much basis behind how I feel anyway. Since Shen Pei has said as much, then I have no reason not to believe her. And when I looked at how Shen Pei had a relieved look when she spoke about Yuan Shao which gave me the impression that Yuan Shao might not be as bad as what I think.

“Wu…” A weak groan came from behind and when I turned around, I saw that Cao Ren had woken up. She was now sitting up and rubbing her eyes with her hair standing in every direction because she slept on the sitting cus.h.i.+ons.

“Lord Cao Ren is awake huh?” I said and returned my gaze to my blade when I saw Cao Ren looking at me.

“Lord Cao Ren.” Shen Pei greeted her as she saluted and bowed.

“No need to be so formal.” Cao Ren said and paused for a while before asking, “How long was I asleep for?”

“Just 4 hours.” I replied, “You were up all night yesterday and only stopped working when I came to see you this morning. I tried to call out to you but you didn’t reply and just lay dead asleep on the cus.h.i.+ons.”

Cao Ren was not usually such a heavy sleeper but she did not respond to any stimuli whatsoever. And because of that, I decided that I ought to stand guard here in case any interlopers were to chance upon her in such a vulnerable state.

“I see, Haa~~” She yawned, “I was busy with the casualty name list you and Lord Shen Pei gave to me last night and I didn’t think it would take me all night to be done with it.”

I turned around slightly and looked at Cao Ren. She looked completely exhausted and there were dark circles below her eyes. She’s probably been staying up late the past few days as well. Compared to us, the commanding officer has a lot more work to do.

“Work is important but Lord Cao Ren should take care of your body.” I was concerned about her and decided to say something, “If you were to fall sick before we go to battle, that would be a terrible handicap.”

“Yes, working hard is good but you also have to consider other things as well.” Shen Pei added. Ever since she took a deep breath from before, her nervousness seems to have been alleviated significantly.

“Ah.” She recoiled again when she noticed that I was looking at her.

“I know. I’m not as good as my elder sister in this regard so I limit myself from working too hard.” Cao Ren said in a nonchalant tone.

“Un…” Cao Ren groaned for a long while, for almost 30 seconds, before asking, “Did Lord Lu Xiang go there again today?”

She asked about Lu Xiang as expected huh?”

“Yes, she went to the north of the city.” Shen Pei replied.

“Did you tell her that we were going to have a meeting today?”

“Ah, I told her earlier today and she said that she will return earlier.” Shen Pei said. I looked up and saw that the sun was about to reach its zenith.

Return back earlier huh? To Lu Xiang, would the afternoon be considered earlier?

“You said earlier… But specifically–”

“*Pa* I’m back~” Just as Cao Ren was about to ask Shen Pei another question, the door was pushed open and an energetic voice came from outside the door.

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