Liu Bei POV

After we exited the residence, we entered a rather s.p.a.cious street. I’d come out here for a stroll before and the exit to the left led to the streets that I’d toured with Sun Quan previously while the right exit led to the farmlands. The far right exit led to where the city made fertiliser out of waste.

“Well then, which way does Lord Liu Bei wish to take?” Just then, Zhou Tai threw this question at me.

I clearly don’t know where Sun Quan is so I don’t know how I should answer this question and could only ask her what differed between both routes, “Which route is nearer?”

“The left one–”

“Then left it is…”

“– Is crowded and I’m afraid we can’t get past.”

“Then right it is…”

“The right one is all farmlands so I’m afraid that Lord Liu Bei will spoil the crops,”

Wu… In that case, why are you asking me? Are you making fun of me? I complained inside as I looked at Zhou Tai’s unchanging face.

“Oi, you both came here to receive Xuan De yet why haven’t you got the manners to get a carriage? Isn’t this basic courtesy?” Feng Xian beside got angry and didn’t bother giving them an amicable expression. Presently, she was looking coldly at the tall Jiang Qin with her hands folded across her chest.

“Un? You, b.a.s.t.a.r.d, are you trying to provoke me huh?!” Jiang Qin returned Feng Xian’s gaze with a similar one of her own and a smile that made one s.h.i.+ver just by looking at her, “I’ll tell you, I was born a pirate, so I just need to whistle and snap my fingers and some people will be looking for you in a few minutes.”

“Oh– I’d like to see what those small fries of yours can do to me.” Feng Xiao smiled. Unlike Jiang Qin however, she actually was smiling.

“Feng Xian, don’t say so much.” I hurriedly warned her. I wasn’t afraid she’d get injured, I was afraid she would go berserk and injure them.

“Lord Zhou Tai, please help out as well, we need to see your lord, don’t we?” I said as I turned to Zhou Tai, hoping that she could help out with Jiang Qin and hasten things along. But Zhou Tai only looked at me coldly and didn’t reply, making the whole scene very awkward.

She then sized me up and walked over before she continued with a cold look on her face, “Lord Liu Bei, let me be honest with you.”

She paused and very naturally placed her hands behind her back with an arrogant look, “Apart from our lord Sun Ce and her direct subordinates, and our lord Sun Quan who doesn’t know what’s going on, most of us do not welcome your presence here.”

“Oi, your side is the one that invited us here.” Feng Xian said in a dangerously low and crackling voice as she narrowed her eyes, looking like she could lose control in the next moment. At this, Zhou Tai didn’t pay her any heed, nor did she even look at Feng Xian, and continued to speak to me.

“To begin with, the one who invited you was the sole decision of our lord Sun Ce and naturally none of us could override her. In any case, the truth is this, isn’t it? You lot incurred the wrath of Cao Cao and got beaten black and blue. Now you’ve come to Jiangdong, what could you possibly bring but disaster?” Zhou Tai was very serious as she said so, serious to the point that I had nothing to say. Zhang Zhao probably had this in mind as she spoke to me before.

“Of course, these are just my personal thoughts.” She turned her words on her heel and she did indeed seem to have simmered down, “You lot are my lord’s guests after all so even if I have a million reasons to drive you all away, if my lord wishes to see you, then I will still bring you over. Sister Jiang and I just wanted to vent our discontent so I hope that Lord Liu Bei– Imperial Uncle Liu does not take offence.

“Well then, sister Jiang, please.”

“Tch… If this was a year or 2 ago, you lot wouldn’t even have made it to Shouchun’s sh.o.r.es.”

*Xu*– Jiang Qin muttered before she gave a long whistle. The whistle was thunderous and clear, and could probably be heard by the entire Shouchun city.

*Dadadada*…

Before the whistle ended, the sound of horse hooves could be heard from the left. As I looked to the left, a well-decorated carriage with red curtains lined with gold came over.

“Lord Liu Bei, Lord Lu Bu, please get on this one. We will accompany you on the carriage behind.”

“Well then, please go ahead.”

Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin said as they gestured for us to board.

“… Hmph.” Feng Xian rolled her eyes at them and gestured to me for me to head up first.

Just as I was about to head up, Feng Xian bent down and whispered to me, “Bend down when you sit in the carriage later, to guard against arrows.”

From what I’ve heard just now, it wouldn’t be strange if they were to take us out into the wilderness and attack us.

Did Gong You and Feng Xian detect this animosity?

I just hope I’m thinking too much.

As I thought, Shouchun city has inner and outer divisions, though the division was not as obvious as the capital city in the Qing dynasty. Broadly speaking, there was an area in Shouchun city that was fenced up. Looking about, it seems like there are no ordinary people entering or exiting. Looks like there is still a distinction being made between the officials and subjects, though this is only symbolic in nature.

“Xuan De, are you listening to me?” Feng Xian, who was sitting beside me, said with a look of irritation. The sources of her irritation were what happened just now, and I, who was in a daze.

“Ah, sorry. What did you just say?” I did indeed go into a daze. With so much to attend to and think about, I fully realise that there is always trouble to face with at the beginning and at the end of my trips so I take the time to doze off and daydream while I’m travelling.

And just now, I didn’t hear what Feng Xian was saying, and just gave grunts in reply.

“Hai…” I don’t know if Feng Xian understands or if she gave up, but she calmed down after she sighed and repeated herself with a heavier tone, “I was saying that the Sun family retainers in this Jiangdong are all really odd.”

“Odd?” The word was very meaningfully used. Honestly, if I’m following the logic I first held when I first came to this era, every one of you people are odd to me.

I gave a mental tsukkomi but I couldn’t just swat away her opinions like that so I decided to listen on.

“I’ve been interacting with the Wu generals in this period with Yun Chang and the rest and it feels like it’s very difficult to approach them.” Feng Xian said with a slight frown as her slightly hollow-looking eyes revealed that she was confused.

Wouldn’t they be the ones who find you difficult to approach? I thought in my heart but I clearly couldn’t say this so I decided to probe further.

“Are you talking about Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin?”

“No no no,” Feng Xian thought for a moment before shaking her head resolutely, “I don’t like them but they aren’t odd.”

“Then Xu Sheng and Ding Feng from before.”

“They haven’t gone to the training grounds recently so I don’t have an opinion of them”

“Then who is it?”

Feng Xian was about to reply immediately but it seemed like she had trouble finding the right words and gathered her thoughts before she continued, “A bandaged girl with a dark expression, an octopus girl, and a battle maniac– These people.”

“Who the heck are they…”

Did she really gather her thoughts?

“I forgot their names. You can ask Wen Yuan when we get back. She was there as well.”

“Does Wen Yuan think that they’re weird?”

“Weird, very weird. Apart from Lord Liao Hua, all of us think that those 3 are really strange.”

As expected of the indifferent Liao Hua. But after hearing the names which Feng Xian thought of for them, I’m getting a little curious.

“What’s up with them?”

“Eh!” These words seemed to have triggered Feng Xian’s emotions as she s.h.i.+vered with a look of disgust and began explaining, “The bandaged girl keeps hiding behind one of us whenever she finds an opportunity, which keeps scaring us. The octopus girl has a lot of braids which can move on their own, which frightens us at times. As for the battle maniac, she keeps challenging everyone she meets.”

Heh– Looks like Feng Xian’s names for them are on point. But who could these 3 be…

“Lord Liu Bei, we’re here.” Just as I was trying to match the few Eastern Wu generals I knew by name to the descriptions, the curtains of the carriage parted and Zhou Tai popped her head in and called me.

Looks like we’re here. Time always pa.s.ses when you’re chatting. And so, I put aside everything else and concentrated on Sun Quan.

“This way.”

After we got off the carriage, Zhou Tai pointed me to a room straight ahead. Looks like Sun Quan is inside. I nodded at Zhou Tai and held up my robes as I ascended the stairs and came to the screen door.

I then tidied my clothing as I saluted and bowed, “Liu Bei is here for an audience with Lord Sun Quan.”

“… Un.” After a moment, a soft sound came from inside. Just hearing this was enough to make me nervous.

I was going to see Sun Quan soon. I wonder how she would face me? As I nervously thought so, many images flickered across my mind as I stepped past the screen and into the room.

What greeted me was the sight of Sun Quan with her eyes closed, and her hands freely hanging as she rested her head on the table with a peaceful expression

Sun Quan was asleep.