Meng De POV
“May I ask if Teacher Xu Shu’s sugar water is exceptionally good?”
“Not at all.” Xu Shu replied as she capped the gourd, “I’m just an amateur.”
“Hahaha, you’re being too humble.” I said as I wiped my mouth, “If possible, I would really like to try it.”
“Stop joking.” Xu Shu said as she kept her gourd instead of bringing it to me. Even though our exchange seemed to calm, it would be rather discomforting to an onlooker. From my perspective however, I am actually rather amused.
“Teacher Xu Shu, I have already submitted an appeal for a position in Imperial Court for you. When the letter of appointment arrives, you can assume your position immediately.” I said and squinted at Xu Shu’s stony face, “Why? Are you unhappy?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“I heard from your mother that being an Imperial Court official has been your ambition. Now that it has come to fruition, why don’t you seem happy at all?”
When I finished, Xu Shu finally looked at me in the eye for the first time.
“My mother is already old yet you brought her here all the way from Xiliang. There is no doubt that she suffered from the long and arduous journey. Imperial Chancellor does not know about my mother and her habits either and when I saw her yesterday, she was indeed ill and exhausted. I am going to have to care for her for a while yet. This is number 1. You forced me to abandon Xinye and come up north using my mother. You might aim to recruit me or assassinate me and I have no idea which is it and will have to live in fear. This is number 2. Now that Xinye lacks a lead strategist and the first point of assault for your southern campaign will be Xinye, my leaving Xinye is a dishonourable and disloyal act. Should I not be worried and resentful?”
Xu Shu sighed when she finished and shook her head at me, “And so, the only good news is that mother and daughter have reunited at the capital. How am I supposed to be happy with this?”
After that long speech, there is no one who would doubt Xu Shu’s capabilities. And as expected, her heart lies in Xinye and there is no way she will devote herself to my cause just from such small favours.
“But from my perspective, you should be elated. I heard that Teacher Xu Shu ran away after committing a crime when she was young and her family and friends were forced to move to labour camps in the frontier as penance. This was most certainly an unfilial act. Now that you have reunited with your mother, you have the opportunity to fulfill your filial duties. This is the first thing you should be thankful for. I am the Imperial Chancellor of the Great Han and am recruiting talented individuals all over the world to work for the Great Han. Teacher Xu Shu has received my favour to work for the Imperial Court and is able to be of service to the Great Han and be a truly loyal individual. This is the second thing you should be thankful for. Now that Teacher Xu Shu is able to be both loyal and filial, what reason is there to be unhappy?”
I did my best to make my speech as harsh as possible and stared intensely at Xu Shu as I delivered my reply. If it were anyone else, they would have been sweating and feeling uneasy or perhaps be angered. But Xu Shu waited quietly and calmly for me to finish before she countered.
“My mother is honourable and benevolent and loves her children. I too have been sending money and other goods regularly and have bade my brothers to take good care of her. None of my family members have ever called me unfilial so I don’t know where you got that idea from. I, Xu Shu, may be a common ruffian but I do know things about the Great Han. As for whether working for the present Imperial Court is equivalent to working for the Great Han, I’m sure you’re clearer on that than I am.”
“Oh?” My eyebrows jumped and I ignored her sarcasm, “By that, can I assume you to imply that working for Xinye is working for the Great Han?”
“…”
When she heard my question, Xu Shu seemed to waver slightly as I could see her fists clenched together. Seeing this also made me nervous.
“Imperial Chancellor, what do you mean by this?”
“It’s very simple, isn’t it? Now that Liu Bei is dead, I cannot fathom what kind of link his faction has with the Great Han.” I said as I suppressed the irritation and nervousness I felt.
So, could it be…
“My lord.”
Ah… Just as the nervous atmosphere was becoming unbearable, the voice form outside the room made me take a deep breath involuntarily. I looked outside and saw Li Dian Li Man Cheng standing outside and saluting and bowing to me.
“There were some issues back at the encampment which hampered me from coming here on time. Please do forgive me.”
“That’s fine.” I said and gestured for her to come in, “Come in and have seat.”
“Yes!.”
I was finally able to put a smile on my face again. Back when we were discussing Liu Bei, I doubt I was able to keep it on. Now that Man Cheng is here, my feelings are still a mess but it’s still better than before.
As she entered, she looked at me and removed her hat before bowing and saluting again.
“Sit.” I said and gestured to her.
She nodded and sat down beside me and opposite of Xu Shu.
“Lord Xu Shu, to think we would meet like this.”
“…”
Xu Shu ignored Man Cheng. Looks like her emotional state is still stuck in what it was before and she does not want to admit defeat from the look of her slightly sorrowful expression as she looked at Man Cheng.
I looked at the 2 of them staring at each other with great interest. I had read Man Cheng’s report before but with this scene before me, the information I had feels more alive.
“What do you think, Man Cheng? The ones whom you said would come over to our side haven’t while the one who instructed them to fake their defections has actually come over.”
“Li Dian is deeply ashamed of this.” Man Cheng said and saluted once more before returning her gaze to Xu Shu, “But let’s leave the past behind and talk about the present. If you look at it objectively, Lord Xu Shu’s schemes were ingenious and will definitely be a great boon to our strength if she can join us.”
“Kekeke, it’s almost as if you bear no ill will towards her.”
“The responsibility for our loss lies squarely with our side for not being able to see through Lord Xu Shu’s machinations and has nothing to do with Lord Xu Shu.”
Un~ I see. I nodded at her but did not give her any praise.
Looks like that is the view of a top notch warrior. I cannot quite understand it but it pleases me, I thought while continuing to stare at Li Dian who has not lifted her eyes off of Xu Shu the entire time. Looks like she too has many questions for this new joiner.
Hu… In that case, let’s begin.
“Alright, Teacher Xu Shu.” I said and clapped once to draw her attention to me, “This meeting is to tell you about your work from here on out as well as address some questions we have.”
“… Regarding what?”
“I believe that you should be able to guess what I am going to ask you.”
Even though she knew, she still asked me anyway. Come on, what else could I possibly ask you about?
“If you want to ask about Xinye’s troop strength or the city defences, then you aren’t getting anything from me.”
“No no no,” I shook my head, “I’m not bothered if you aren’t going to divulge any of those things. I am not too concerned about such details in the first place. What concerns me is something else.”
When she heard this, Xu Shu’s eyebrows leapt up and she tried to feign that she had not wavered.
“What I want to ask, is about Liu Bei.” I said, deciding to toss it out and see what her reaction would be like.
“… Liu Bei?” She said and paused for a moment before tilting her head, “You mean Xinye’s previous Administrator?”
“He wasn’t just a former Administrator.” I said and took deep breaths as quietly as I could to calm my emotions, “He… I worked with him for a while so I thought I’d ask about him.”
“I’m not too knowledgeable about Liu Bei as he was already dead by the time I arrived at Xinye.” Xu Shu said without batting an eyelid or any irregularity in her breathing. As though what she said was true.
“I know that of course.” I nodded, “But don’t you think that it’s strange? Man Cheng?”
I did not take up the role of the challenger and instead passed it to Man Cheng while I concentrated on observing every action of Xu Shu’s.
“Yes, your army acted far too orderly and disciplined for an army without a leader.” I did not know if Man Cheng understood my intent but she picked up after me and began asking, “Lord Xu Shu, if possible, I hope you can tell us if there is someone new who is filling in the role of a feudal lord in Xinye now.”
“… Or perhaps,” I quickly added on before Xu Shu could answer, “The old feudal lord has returned?”
I continued to stare at Xu Shu to see how she would react to these intentionally vague words but she did not get agitated in the least.
“The dead cannot return to life.” Xu Shu said as she met my gaze, “At least, I did not see anyone who could have been Liu Bei in the city.”
“T-then who is that Shamoke fellow?” Man Cheng immediately yelled out.
“That man is a warrior general who joined Xinye around the same time as I did and is a friend of General Zhou Cang’s.” Yuan Zhi explained, “As for the management of the city, though there is no feudal lord, the rest of us have been able to divvy up our responsibilities well enough that it does not get in the way of working together.”
“Lord Xu Shu, that explanation can only get 0 points from me.” Man Cheng remarked as her eyebrows leapt up, “How can you defend a city without its Administrator?”
“I do not know what kind of person Liu Bei is like but the remaining generals defended the city and carried on his will as though Liu Bei were still alive. That has also helped to keep everyone together, which is how we managed to defend the city.”
“Then when I attacked Shamoke, why did all of you try to stop me? Could there be some secret beneath that comical grass helmet?”
“That man is a Nanman and observes different cultural practices from us. Not only did Lord Li Dian not concentrate on the battle, you even focused on his face beneath the helmet. That is far too unbecoming of a warrior, no?”
“Kuh…” Man Cheng was rendered speechless by this.
Meng De POV
“May I ask if Teacher Xu Shu’s sugar water is exceptionally good?”
“Not at all.” Xu Shu replied as she capped the gourd, “I’m just an amateur.”
“Hahaha, you’re being too humble.” I said as I wiped my mouth, “If possible, I would really like to try it.”
“Stop joking.” Xu Shu said as she kept her gourd instead of bringing it to me. Even though our exchange seemed to calm, it would be rather discomforting to an onlooker. From my perspective however, I am actually rather amused.
“Teacher Xu Shu, I have already submitted an appeal for a position in Imperial Court for you. When the letter of appointment arrives, you can assume your position immediately.” I said and squinted at Xu Shu’s stony face, “Why? Are you unhappy?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“I heard from your mother that being an Imperial Court official has been your ambition. Now that it has come to fruition, why don’t you seem happy at all?”
When I finished, Xu Shu finally looked at me in the eye for the first time.
“My mother is already old yet you brought her here all the way from Xiliang. There is no doubt that she suffered from the long and arduous journey. Imperial Chancellor does not know about my mother and her habits either and when I saw her yesterday, she was indeed ill and exhausted. I am going to have to care for her for a while yet. This is number 1. You forced me to abandon Xinye and come up north using my mother. You might aim to recruit me or assassinate me and I have no idea which is it and will have to live in fear. This is number 2. Now that Xinye lacks a lead strategist and the first point of assault for your southern campaign will be Xinye, my leaving Xinye is a dishonourable and disloyal act. Should I not be worried and resentful?”
Xu Shu sighed when she finished and shook her head at me, “And so, the only good news is that mother and daughter have reunited at the capital. How am I supposed to be happy with this?”
After that long speech, there is no one who would doubt Xu Shu’s capabilities. And as expected, her heart lies in Xinye and there is no way she will devote herself to my cause just from such small favours.
“But from my perspective, you should be elated. I heard that Teacher Xu Shu ran away after committing a crime when she was young and her family and friends were forced to move to labour camps in the frontier as penance. This was most certainly an unfilial act. Now that you have reunited with your mother, you have the opportunity to fulfill your filial duties. This is the first thing you should be thankful for. I am the Imperial Chancellor of the Great Han and am recruiting talented individuals all over the world to work for the Great Han. Teacher Xu Shu has received my favour to work for the Imperial Court and is able to be of service to the Great Han and be a truly loyal individual. This is the second thing you should be thankful for. Now that Teacher Xu Shu is able to be both loyal and filial, what reason is there to be unhappy?”
I did my best to make my speech as harsh as possible and stared intensely at Xu Shu as I delivered my reply. If it were anyone else, they would have been sweating and feeling uneasy or perhaps be angered. But Xu Shu waited quietly and calmly for me to finish before she countered.
“My mother is honourable and benevolent and loves her children. I too have been sending money and other goods regularly and have bade my brothers to take good care of her. None of my family members have ever called me unfilial so I don’t know where you got that idea from. I, Xu Shu, may be a common ruffian but I do know things about the Great Han. As for whether working for the present Imperial Court is equivalent to working for the Great Han, I’m sure you’re clearer on that than I am.”
“Oh?” My eyebrows jumped and I ignored her sarcasm, “By that, can I assume you to imply that working for Xinye is working for the Great Han?”
“…”
When she heard my question, Xu Shu seemed to waver slightly as I could see her fists clenched together. Seeing this also made me nervous.
“Imperial Chancellor, what do you mean by this?”
“It’s very simple, isn’t it? Now that Liu Bei is dead, I cannot fathom what kind of link his faction has with the Great Han.” I said as I suppressed the irritation and nervousness I felt.
So, could it be…
“My lord.”
Ah… Just as the nervous atmosphere was becoming unbearable, the voice form outside the room made me take a deep breath involuntarily. I looked outside and saw Li Dian Li Man Cheng standing outside and saluting and bowing to me.
“There were some issues back at the encampment which hampered me from coming here on time. Please do forgive me.”
“That’s fine.” I said and gestured for her to come in, “Come in and have seat.”
“Yes!.”
I was finally able to put a smile on my face again. Back when we were discussing Liu Bei, I doubt I was able to keep it on. Now that Man Cheng is here, my feelings are still a mess but it’s still better than before.
As she entered, she looked at me and removed her hat before bowing and saluting again.
“Sit.” I said and gestured to her.
She nodded and sat down beside me and opposite of Xu Shu.
“Lord Xu Shu, to think we would meet like this.”
“…”
Xu Shu ignored Man Cheng. Looks like her emotional state is still stuck in what it was before and she does not want to admit defeat from the look of her slightly sorrowful expression as she looked at Man Cheng.
I looked at the 2 of them staring at each other with great interest. I had read Man Cheng’s report before but with this scene before me, the information I had feels more alive.
“What do you think, Man Cheng? The ones whom you said would come over to our side haven’t while the one who instructed them to fake their defections has actually come over.”
“Li Dian is deeply ashamed of this.” Man Cheng said and saluted once more before returning her gaze to Xu Shu, “But let’s leave the past behind and talk about the present. If you look at it objectively, Lord Xu Shu’s schemes were ingenious and will definitely be a great boon to our strength if she can join us.”
“Kekeke, it’s almost as if you bear no ill will towards her.”
“The responsibility for our loss lies squarely with our side for not being able to see through Lord Xu Shu’s machinations and has nothing to do with Lord Xu Shu.”
Un~ I see. I nodded at her but did not give her any praise.
Looks like that is the view of a top notch warrior. I cannot quite understand it but it pleases me, I thought while continuing to stare at Li Dian who has not lifted her eyes off of Xu Shu the entire time. Looks like she too has many questions for this new joiner.
Hu… In that case, let’s begin.
“Alright, Teacher Xu Shu.” I said and clapped once to draw her attention to me, “This meeting is to tell you about your work from here on out as well as address some questions we have.”
“… Regarding what?”
“I believe that you should be able to guess what I am going to ask you.”
Even though she knew, she still asked me anyway. Come on, what else could I possibly ask you about?
“If you want to ask about Xinye’s troop strength or the city defences, then you aren’t getting anything from me.”
“No no no,” I shook my head, “I’m not bothered if you aren’t going to divulge any of those things. I am not too concerned about such details in the first place. What concerns me is something else.”
When she heard this, Xu Shu’s eyebrows leapt up and she tried to feign that she had not wavered.
“What I want to ask, is about Liu Bei.” I said, deciding to toss it out and see what her reaction would be like.
“… Liu Bei?” She said and paused for a moment before tilting her head, “You mean Xinye’s previous Administrator?”
“He wasn’t just a former Administrator.” I said and took deep breaths as quietly as I could to calm my emotions, “He… I worked with him for a while so I thought I’d ask about him.”
“I’m not too knowledgeable about Liu Bei as he was already dead by the time I arrived at Xinye.” Xu Shu said without batting an eyelid or any irregularity in her breathing. As though what she said was true.
“I know that of course.” I nodded, “But don’t you think that it’s strange? Man Cheng?”
I did not take up the role of the challenger and instead passed it to Man Cheng while I concentrated on observing every action of Xu Shu’s.
“Yes, your army acted far too orderly and disciplined for an army without a leader.” I did not know if Man Cheng understood my intent but she picked up after me and began asking, “Lord Xu Shu, if possible, I hope you can tell us if there is someone new who is filling in the role of a feudal lord in Xinye now.”
“… Or perhaps,” I quickly added on before Xu Shu could answer, “The old feudal lord has returned?”
I continued to stare at Xu Shu to see how she would react to these intentionally vague words but she did not get agitated in the least.
“The dead cannot return to life.” Xu Shu said as she met my gaze, “At least, I did not see anyone who could have been Liu Bei in the city.”
“T-then who is that Shamoke fellow?” Man Cheng immediately yelled out.
“That man is a warrior general who joined Xinye around the same time as I did and is a friend of General Zhou Cang’s.” Yuan Zhi explained, “As for the management of the city, though there is no feudal lord, the rest of us have been able to divvy up our responsibilities well enough that it does not get in the way of working together.”
“Lord Xu Shu, that explanation can only get 0 points from me.” Man Cheng remarked as her eyebrows leapt up, “How can you defend a city without its Administrator?”
“I do not know what kind of person Liu Bei is like but the remaining generals defended the city and carried on his will as though Liu Bei were still alive. That has also helped to keep everyone together, which is how we managed to defend the city.”
“Then when I attacked Shamoke, why did all of you try to stop me? Could there be some secret beneath that comical grass helmet?”
“That man is a Nanman and observes different cultural practices from us. Not only did Lord Li Dian not concentrate on the battle, you even focused on his face beneath the helmet. That is far too unbecoming of a warrior, no?”
“Kuh…” Man Cheng was rendered speechless by this.
