Liu Bei POV
“Is this the last one?”
“Yes… Xuan De, just sign it, will you?”
Hu… I breathed out heavily and raised my brush with great difficulty.
The summer heat was as intense as ever as I sat in the main hall with beads of sweat dripping down with every stroke of my brush. It felt a little weird and I checked the brush only to find that I’d used too much water when mixing the ink.
It can’t be helped. All I could do was to pick up the ink cake and keep grinding it against the inkstone. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I find the noise that it makes to be unbearable. Though it’s still better than fingernails against a chalkboard, it’s still very uncomfortable.
Ah… Just thinking about it makes me irritated.
“Xuan De, stop dragging it will you?” Another more irritated voice came from beside me.
She’s standing beside me and it’s irritating just to look at her hands on her hips, let alone see her face.
Hai… I sighed and did my best to calm down my irritation and softly replied, “Zi Long, don’t be too hasty. The more you rush, the hotter it feels. And besides, if I don’t drag the ink cake, I can’t make ink.”
“Stop talking back at this time, Xuan De! It’s too hot for this!” Zi Long couldn’t take it anymore and sat down on the ground. This wasn’t enough and she actually lay down, completely against her image.
“Oi, oi, Zi Long. Won’t it be too embarrassing if someone were to see you like this… Wow, I can’t believe the day where I admonish you has come. Haha.” Though I gloated at the situation before me, I dared not stop my hands.
“It’s so hot… This stone floor isn’t cool at all.” Zi Long ignored my sarcasm. Compared to appearances, she’s more preoccupied with how to keep cool now.
“This room faces the sun. The paper windows can’t block much sunlight so naturally the stone floor will be hot after soaking in sunlight for a whole morning.” I said as a bead of sweat dripped down from my chin and landed on the piece of silk. It was a good thing that it didn’t land on any words.
Just in case, I used my elbow to push the silk away before continuing to make ink.
“It’s so hot.”
She’s so calm and collected usually. I can’t believe what I’m seeing just because of a bit of heat.
“You really can’t deal with the heat huh?”
“What nonsense, Xuan De! I’m from Ji state, how can I possibly withstand the southern heat waves?”
“But I seem to recall you sunbathing a few days ago?”
And you even had the leisure to laugh at Zhou Cang and the rest.
“The weather was perfect for it a few days ago. The sun was shining brightly but the heat wasn’t as intense. There was also a breeze so it was bearable. There are no winds today and the heat is much more intense. It’s humid inside and burning outside. How can you possibly use that as an argument?”
She’s still as fiery as ever huh…
Zi Long flopped down and rolled on the ground when she finished, like she was a meat skewer.
“Based on your logic, I shouldn’t be holding up as well as I am now given that I’m from You state right?”
“We have different constitutions! Stop talking and get signing, Xuan De!”
Alright, alright… I whispered and put down the ink cake as I took up my brush once more and began to sign on the lower left corner of the piece of silk.
“Un… This should be fine right?” I set down the brush and spread the piece of silk so that Zi Long can see it.
“Yes, that’s fine.” Zi Long planted her face back onto the ground before she continued, “By the way, Xuan De’s handwriting is as ugly as ever.”
She’s still energetic enough to give me some jabs huh? However, in this heat, I really don’t have the energy to fight with her. I also know that even in this weakened state, her tongue is far more glib than mine.
“Well then, I’ll just trouble Guan Ping on this.” I took a deep breath and summoned what energy I had left before yelling out, “Guan Ping~”
However, all I heard were echoes of my own voice. Over and over until the sound disappeared completely.
… That’s weird. Guan Ping usually comes running over immediately when I call for her.
“Hahaha, Xuan De has been completely ruined by the heat huh? Though your brain isn’t very good to begin with anyway.” Zi Long laughed and pointed at the bewildered me.
“Eh?”
“There’s only the 2 of us left in the whole residence.”
…
Ah, I totally forgot about that…
“You remember now?”
“I remember now.” I laughed at myself as I scratched my head in embarrassment. I don’t need to look into a mirror to know that I have a silly look on mixed in with realisation.
Even if I’d forgotten that, I should have known based on how empty and quiet the whole place was.
Just this morning, all generals besides Zi Long had gone to the encampment outside the city to get the last minute preparations ready. Gan Qing and Mi Zhen also went along to help out with Hua Tuo in the logistics units.
As Zi Long said, the only ones left in the residence are just me and her. She still has some administrative work left over, and I’m needed to sign some papers. I was told of this in the morning yet I forgot all about it so quickly. Is there something wrong with my memory?
“Well then, who do I give these to?”
I did my best to suppress my embarrassment and picked up the surrounding stacks of silk, tidied them up and counted them.
Of course, now that our work is done, it means we are about to move out. The arrangement was for us to make our way to the encampment before the evening and then we would set off for Xinye immediately without delay.
“Hai.” Zi Long got up and sat on the ground. She then looked at me as she scratched her head, “That’s fine, leave it. A clerk in charge of the process of handing over the residence will come and get it. We just need to leave it here.”
“Un… I guess that works then.” I nodded. This was far better than us having to deliver it ourselves. However, I began to ponder on how we could waste more time here. I hadn’t felt it before, but as time went by, I began to feel more despondent about having to go to Xinye.
I have to say, our life here has been relatively good. If I have the choice, I would stay here with everyone forever.
“Xuan De, don’t be like that.”
Eh? I came back to reality and raised my head to look at I Long, who was by now standing up and had dusted herself off. She looked at me with a gaze much like how she usually was.
“What was I like?” I asked even though I knew what the answer was and lowered my head as I laughed.
Clearly, this didn’t help at all.
“I know what Xuan De is thinking. I also know that life here has been relatively comfortable. But Xuan De should know what I mean right?”
I could see Zi Long slowly approaching me with my head lowered. Unlike before where she had her hands on her hips, she was now standing upright and properly with her hands by her side.
“You’re someone who is meant for greater things. You can’t stop here. If you do, what difference is there between you and a maggot?”
“I understand.” I nodded. I know that Zi Long means well and I understand what she means as well. What happened before was just me letting myself go for a moment.
“Xuan De is already really weak to begin with and is even less than a maggot. If you get comfortable and stop, all you’ll be good for is food for maggots.”
“… Are you just abusing me now?”
“That’s Xuan De’s misconception, don’t pay attention to it.” Zi Long smiled mockingly at me as she folded across her chest.
Hai… Zi Long…
“Never mind, I’ll be clearing up now.” I smiled and sighed in my heart as I got up and started to tidy up the table.
“I’ll help out.” Zi Long reached out and helped me keep the inkstone and brush.
“By the way, what else do we need to bring along with us?”
“Liao Hua and Chen Dao have already taken care of everything we need to bring.”
So all these writing materials belong to this residence?
“So we don’t need to bring anything with us?”
“Yes.” Zi Long said as she waved her hand.
That’s great. I’ll probably sweat buckets if I have to carry stuff around in this heat.
“By the way, what do we do about lunch?” Zi Long asked a very good question.
Gan Qing and the rest who usually cook aren’t around, and there aren’t any ingredients around either, so cooking on our own is out of the question.
I looked at Zi Long and saw that her eyes were gleaming and she had a slight wry smile on. Alright, I know what she’s on about.
“Alright, let’s eat out, my treat.”
“That’s how a lord should be.”
Just look at her… I gave a chuckle as I looked at a rare childish display from Zi Long, “Well then, we’ll go and eat and after we’re done, we’ll…”
*Dong* *Dong* *Dong*
Just as I thought that there was nothing to do and all that was left was to wear light clothing and leave, knocks could be heard that seemed like they were coming from the entrance.
Un? Zi Long and I looked at each other as we both stood wordlessly and motionlessly to see if there were anymore knocks.
*Dong* *Dong* *Dong*
Another 3 knocks came. This time, it was clear that they were coming from the front entrance.
Liu Bei POV
“Is this the last one?”
“Yes… Xuan De, just sign it, will you?”
Hu… I breathed out heavily and raised my brush with great difficulty.
The summer heat was as intense as ever as I sat in the main hall with beads of sweat dripping down with every stroke of my brush. It felt a little weird and I checked the brush only to find that I’d used too much water when mixing the ink.
It can’t be helped. All I could do was to pick up the ink cake and keep grinding it against the inkstone. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I find the noise that it makes to be unbearable. Though it’s still better than fingernails against a chalkboard, it’s still very uncomfortable.
Ah… Just thinking about it makes me irritated.
“Xuan De, stop dragging it will you?” Another more irritated voice came from beside me.
She’s standing beside me and it’s irritating just to look at her hands on her hips, let alone see her face.
Hai… I sighed and did my best to calm down my irritation and softly replied, “Zi Long, don’t be too hasty. The more you rush, the hotter it feels. And besides, if I don’t drag the ink cake, I can’t make ink.”
“Stop talking back at this time, Xuan De! It’s too hot for this!” Zi Long couldn’t take it anymore and sat down on the ground. This wasn’t enough and she actually lay down, completely against her image.
“Oi, oi, Zi Long. Won’t it be too embarrassing if someone were to see you like this… Wow, I can’t believe the day where I admonish you has come. Haha.” Though I gloated at the situation before me, I dared not stop my hands.
“It’s so hot… This stone floor isn’t cool at all.” Zi Long ignored my sarcasm. Compared to appearances, she’s more preoccupied with how to keep cool now.
“This room faces the sun. The paper windows can’t block much sunlight so naturally the stone floor will be hot after soaking in sunlight for a whole morning.” I said as a bead of sweat dripped down from my chin and landed on the piece of silk. It was a good thing that it didn’t land on any words.
Just in case, I used my elbow to push the silk away before continuing to make ink.
“It’s so hot.”
She’s so calm and collected usually. I can’t believe what I’m seeing just because of a bit of heat.
“You really can’t deal with the heat huh?”
“What nonsense, Xuan De! I’m from Ji state, how can I possibly withstand the southern heat waves?”
“But I seem to recall you sunbathing a few days ago?”
And you even had the leisure to laugh at Zhou Cang and the rest.
“The weather was perfect for it a few days ago. The sun was shining brightly but the heat wasn’t as intense. There was also a breeze so it was bearable. There are no winds today and the heat is much more intense. It’s humid inside and burning outside. How can you possibly use that as an argument?”
She’s still as fiery as ever huh…
Zi Long flopped down and rolled on the ground when she finished, like she was a meat skewer.
“Based on your logic, I shouldn’t be holding up as well as I am now given that I’m from You state right?”
“We have different constitutions! Stop talking and get signing, Xuan De!”
Alright, alright… I whispered and put down the ink cake as I took up my brush once more and began to sign on the lower left corner of the piece of silk.
“Un… This should be fine right?” I set down the brush and spread the piece of silk so that Zi Long can see it.
“Yes, that’s fine.” Zi Long planted her face back onto the ground before she continued, “By the way, Xuan De’s handwriting is as ugly as ever.”
She’s still energetic enough to give me some jabs huh? However, in this heat, I really don’t have the energy to fight with her. I also know that even in this weakened state, her tongue is far more glib than mine.
“Well then, I’ll just trouble Guan Ping on this.” I took a deep breath and summoned what energy I had left before yelling out, “Guan Ping~”
However, all I heard were echoes of my own voice. Over and over until the sound disappeared completely.
… That’s weird. Guan Ping usually comes running over immediately when I call for her.
“Hahaha, Xuan De has been completely ruined by the heat huh? Though your brain isn’t very good to begin with anyway.” Zi Long laughed and pointed at the bewildered me.
“Eh?”
“There’s only the 2 of us left in the whole residence.”
…
Ah, I totally forgot about that…
“You remember now?”
“I remember now.” I laughed at myself as I scratched my head in embarrassment. I don’t need to look into a mirror to know that I have a silly look on mixed in with realisation.
Even if I’d forgotten that, I should have known based on how empty and quiet the whole place was.
Just this morning, all generals besides Zi Long had gone to the encampment outside the city to get the last minute preparations ready. Gan Qing and Mi Zhen also went along to help out with Hua Tuo in the logistics units.
As Zi Long said, the only ones left in the residence are just me and her. She still has some administrative work left over, and I’m needed to sign some papers. I was told of this in the morning yet I forgot all about it so quickly. Is there something wrong with my memory?
“Well then, who do I give these to?”
I did my best to suppress my embarrassment and picked up the surrounding stacks of silk, tidied them up and counted them.
Of course, now that our work is done, it means we are about to move out. The arrangement was for us to make our way to the encampment before the evening and then we would set off for Xinye immediately without delay.
“Hai.” Zi Long got up and sat on the ground. She then looked at me as she scratched her head, “That’s fine, leave it. A clerk in charge of the process of handing over the residence will come and get it. We just need to leave it here.”
“Un… I guess that works then.” I nodded. This was far better than us having to deliver it ourselves. However, I began to ponder on how we could waste more time here. I hadn’t felt it before, but as time went by, I began to feel more despondent about having to go to Xinye.
I have to say, our life here has been relatively good. If I have the choice, I would stay here with everyone forever.
“Xuan De, don’t be like that.”
Eh? I came back to reality and raised my head to look at I Long, who was by now standing up and had dusted herself off. She looked at me with a gaze much like how she usually was.
“What was I like?” I asked even though I knew what the answer was and lowered my head as I laughed.
Clearly, this didn’t help at all.
“I know what Xuan De is thinking. I also know that life here has been relatively comfortable. But Xuan De should know what I mean right?”
I could see Zi Long slowly approaching me with my head lowered. Unlike before where she had her hands on her hips, she was now standing upright and properly with her hands by her side.
“You’re someone who is meant for greater things. You can’t stop here. If you do, what difference is there between you and a maggot?”
“I understand.” I nodded. I know that Zi Long means well and I understand what she means as well. What happened before was just me letting myself go for a moment.
“Xuan De is already really weak to begin with and is even less than a maggot. If you get comfortable and stop, all you’ll be good for is food for maggots.”
“… Are you just abusing me now?”
“That’s Xuan De’s misconception, don’t pay attention to it.” Zi Long smiled mockingly at me as she folded across her chest.
Hai… Zi Long…
“Never mind, I’ll be clearing up now.” I smiled and sighed in my heart as I got up and started to tidy up the table.
“I’ll help out.” Zi Long reached out and helped me keep the inkstone and brush.
“By the way, what else do we need to bring along with us?”
“Liao Hua and Chen Dao have already taken care of everything we need to bring.”
So all these writing materials belong to this residence?
“So we don’t need to bring anything with us?”
“Yes.” Zi Long said as she waved her hand.
That’s great. I’ll probably sweat buckets if I have to carry stuff around in this heat.
“By the way, what do we do about lunch?” Zi Long asked a very good question.
Gan Qing and the rest who usually cook aren’t around, and there aren’t any ingredients around either, so cooking on our own is out of the question.
I looked at Zi Long and saw that her eyes were gleaming and she had a slight wry smile on. Alright, I know what she’s on about.
“Alright, let’s eat out, my treat.”
“That’s how a lord should be.”
Just look at her… I gave a chuckle as I looked at a rare childish display from Zi Long, “Well then, we’ll go and eat and after we’re done, we’ll…”
*Dong* *Dong* *Dong*
Just as I thought that there was nothing to do and all that was left was to wear light clothing and leave, knocks could be heard that seemed like they were coming from the entrance.
Un? Zi Long and I looked at each other as we both stood wordlessly and motionlessly to see if there were anymore knocks.
*Dong* *Dong* *Dong*
Another 3 knocks came. This time, it was clear that they were coming from the front entrance.
