Chapter 390 (1/2)

An elegant scholar sat on an ordinary boat at Xiangyang. The only other people on the boat was a servant and the boatman.

“n.o.ble sir, it is almost noon. Should we set off?” The boatman asked the scholar. The scholar had reserved a boat for rent in the morning and he had also arrived early. However, he simply sat on the boat waiting for someone. The boatman simply drifted aimlessly over the waters. Although he had been paid, he could not delay like this forever. If he were to continue doing this, there would be no business.

While the boatman’s words were respectful, the scholar could hear dissatisfaction in the man’s voice. Although the scholar was from a n.o.ble family, he did not have the haughtiness of a n.o.ble. If he had been a commoner, the boatman would have already retaliated. In the end, the scholar laughed and said, “Wait a while more.”

“But!” The boatman was a simple commoner. He wasn’t refined and did not have a sense of propriety. All he knew was that he was losing business.

“Defu. Pay this man again.” The scholar did not make life hard for the boatman and paid the boatman again. This way, the boatman would no longer keep urging him. Naturally, the boatman started smiling after he was paid again. “Take your time n.o.ble sir. There is no rush.” The journey from Xiangyang to Xinye would take a day for a round trip. Sometimes, the journey was slow and he would only be able to make half a trip. Since he was already paid twice, there was no harm in waiting longer.

Another hour pa.s.sed and noon arrived. The sky would turn dark at that rate.

“Master. Lord Shanmin would probably not come. We should set sail.” The servant commented.

The scholar was not able to wait forever as he still had important things to do. He also kept the letter he had been holding in his hands. “N. Let’s set sail.”

Just as the scholar felt disappointed, a shout was suddenly heard “Wait! Boatman!” Another scholar had shouted as he ran to the riverbank.

“Master. Lord Shanmin is here!” The servant quickly notified his master. Hearing this, the elegant scholar also turned his gaze towards the newly arrived person. With a laugh, he shouted. “I knew that Brother Shanmin would come to see me off! Boatman! Stop the boat!”

The boatman quickly put back the wooden board connecting the boat and the platform.

The two youthful scholars greeted each other. “Brother Shanmin!” “Brother Qishan!”

The two scholars were Pang Shanmin and Tang Yun. The two of them were childhood friends.

“I thought that Brother Shanmin had already forgotten about me!” Tang Yun joked.

“I wouldn’t dare! Brother Qishan is my closest friend! If I do not send you off you would surely eat me up!” Pang Shanmin joked back.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to eat you but I would surely confiscate that good wine you keep in your study!” Pang Shanmin loved to drink but he was someone who mustn’t drink too much. Although he conducted himself as an honest and sincere person, he becomes very wild and unrestrained when drunk. He had even pointed a finger at his father’s nose as he hurled abusive words. It was to the extent Pang Degong had almost chased his son out of the house in anger. Tang Yun felt that this incident was extremely funny. As Pang Shanmin’s wife no longer dared to let him drink, Pang Shanmin could only drink in his study.

“Enough. If you keep laughing about that some more, you better be prepared to drink alone!” Pang Shanmin replied in a bad mood. “As you are being sent on a diplomatic mission, I had to come and see you off secretly.” If Tang Yun was simply going on a trip, Pang Shanmin would have arrived earlier. However, Liu Biao and Kuai Yue had picked Tang Yun to go on this diplomatic mission and this had to be kept hidden to prevent the ambitious people from finding out.

“Haha. If there can only be one person I can trust in this world, it would be you! I don’t believe that you would divulge my location to somebody else2.” Tang Yun laughed. The two of them were childhood friends intimate enough to share everything with each other except their own wives. Similarly, Tang Yun also calls Pang Degong as Uncle instead of Lord Pang.

“Still, be careful on your trip.1” Pang Shanmin could not help but feel worried for his friend.

“Since when has Brother Shanmin become like uncle?” Pang Degong may be a good teacher but he liked to preach.

“Are you sure about going as an amba.s.sador?” Pang Shanmin could not help but feel worried as Tang Yun would be going to Yangzhou to see Liu Mang. He had never met Liu Mang before but according to Pang Tong, the man was a vile hypocrite. Liu Mang raised a flag of benevolence but his people were all starving and had little to wear. Liu Mang was also the son in law of the Slave of Three Surnames. As a result, Pang Shanmin believed that Liu Mang was an extremely evil person.