Liu Bei POV

Because I came here on a carriage, I didn’t pay too much attention to the surrounding scenery and was preoccupied with guessing what Sun Quan would be thinking as well as the weirdoes that Feng Xian talked about. Now that I have the chance to take a good look, I found that there were patches of peach flowered in full bloom with clear river streams running by. The song of birds, the cries of insects and the sound of water running came together harmoniously and enhanced the beautiful natural scenery. From time to time, a gentle breeze would bring some scents that made one even more enthralled.

By right, I shouldn’t be letting Sun Quan wait at the door with me for the missing Feng Xian, or perhaps I ought to go and look for her. But I didn’t act on these thoughts, nor did Sun Quan leave, and I couldn’t think of a way to have her leave without it seeming like I’m driving her away out of irritation.

It was a good thing that the scenery was so enchanting that I completely forgot about all my troubles while I took it all in. After about 30-45 minutes, maybe even an hour, the awkwardness had dissipated and the issues from before didn’t seem so important anymore.

“Umm, what does Lord Sun Quan like to do in her free time?”

After a long while, I still couldn’t help it and tried to make some conversation.

“Eh?” At this sudden question which broke the silence, she was surprised but she soon understood and began to seriously think about it.

As for me, I wasn’t in a rush and quietly waited for her to respond. After a few seconds, she began to reply in an unsure voice, “P, probably… Handicraft?”

Handicraft? Why does she have to put it that way? Or does she actually mean anything that involves making stuff by hand?

“You mean, like making clothes?”

“Un, un, I also make shoes and do embroidery, stuff like that.”

Looks like my guess was on the mark.

“If that’s the case, then I would really like to see your work.”

These words might seem like words said out of courtesy’s sake but I really was interested. Sun Quan’s handmade clothing wasn’t something you could see anywhere after all.

“Ah, if that’s the case, then you can find Zhou Tai. I designed her clothing.”

Eh! Zhou Tai… That short girl who speaks very little right? Her clothing is really–

Avant-garde? It looks nothing like anything in this era at all.

(TL: Go see the character designs for Zhou Tai… It’s basically gothic lolita.)

I couldn’t help but feel that fate was playing games with me, as I never expected that Sun Quan’s hobbies would predict future fas.h.i.+on trends. It really is inexplicable.

On the other hand, I also couldn’t help comparing her and her elder sister again. They really are worlds apart in various ways. Compared to Bo Fu, Sun Quan is a lot more gentle and quiet.

“Wh… What’s so funny?!” Sun Quan suddenly flared up at me for some reason.

Only when I heard this did I realise that I was smiling, and it probably looked like I was sneering at her.

“No no no, nothing is funny!” I hurriedly retracted my smile and explained myself, “It’s a misunderstanding. I just thought of you and your elder sister and how you both are so different.”

“Ah… Un, I see.” Sun Quan seemed to be a little deflated when she heard these words. This was the second time I was mentioning Bo Fu to her, and also the second time that she became silent for some reason at the mention of her sister.

Just as I was thinking that we were going into another period of awkward silence, she suddenly added, “Father was very strict with big sister, which is why big sister has become so unapproachable.”

As she said so, Sun Quan had a pained expression on her as she held her hands in front of her chest with tears in her eyes.

Only now did I know that Bo Fu’s demeanor was caused by uncle Sun Jian. Before this, I’d never heard Bo Fu complain about uncle Sun Jian after all.

But uncle Sun Jian personally oversaw Bo Fu’s upbringing huh… When I think about it, it does make sense as Jiangdong will be handed over to Bo Fu who is the eldest in line so naturally she will have to bear a greater burden.

But it doesn’t seem very fair from my point of view.

“U, umm…”

Un?

Sun Quan was tugging on my sleeve with her eyes closed, as though she was afraid that I would berate her.

“Umm, even though big sister always has that kind of face, she’s actually a really good sister and is really kind… On the inside, umm…”

Looking at how Sun Quan was defending her elder sister the best she could, it was clear that she loves her. To the point where she is willing to take on her elder sister’s work and live a life that she clearly doesn’t want.

“I know.” As an onlooker, I clearly understood this, “I’ve known since a long time ago that Bo Fu is a very good person.”

I softly replied. Bo Fu has been very good to her troops, her companions and even me who is down and out. And she hasn’t even complained about her father at all. This is probably how the kindness of people who are usually stern looks like.

“Is Xuan De done with business? Have you been waiting for long?” Just as I was quietly thinking about Bo Fu and Sun Quan, Feng Xian’s voice came from behind. What a coincidence.

“Ah, not too long.” I opened my eyes and faced Feng Xian with a more jovial expression, “Where did you…”

I was about to ask Feng Xian where she went but I saw an innumerable number of scratches all over her armour as though she was just in a fight.

Hu… Hu…

Haa…

“Tai Tai! Qin Qin! Did you both go for a run?!”

And behind her was Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, who were both pale as a sheet and gasping for air. No wonder I hadn’t heard them speak before.

What the heck happened?!

As I sat on the carriage with Feng Xian and left Sun Quan’s residence, the sky was already dark and only then did I realise that though I did almost nothing in this trip, quite an amount of time had pa.s.sed.

As for what went on between Feng Xian and the other 2, I hadn’t raised the issue yet. I didn’t know how to broach the topic, and I was also afraid that what went on was exactly as I guessed and asking about it in front of them would embarra.s.s them.

And so only after leaving the carriage did I dare to sk, “Feng Xian, did you… spar with those 2 somewhere?”

I meant to say ‘fight’ but changed the term midway instead.

When she heard me say this, Feng Xian looked helpless as she scowled and gave a ‘hmph’, “Let me be clear with this, they came looking for trouble first.”

I haven’t said anything yet though… And doesn’t that mean you did fight? Of course, I had no intention of admonis.h.i.+ng her in the first place.

“Then you let them off easy?” I asked hopefully.

The 2 of them looked very exhausted earlier but they didn’t seem to have any injuries. Personally, I hoped that they weren’t hurt badly as it would be very troublesome otherwise.

“Leaving aside whether I showed them mercy or not, relying on my techniques was enough to face them both.”

Techniques?

Going by reputation alone, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin are 2 of the more well-known Wu generals. If I could, I would have liked to see how the fight went.

“From what you said, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin aren’t very impressive people then?”

This topic happened to be up Feng Xian’s street as she began to speak flowingly, “The shortie’s feints are too obvious so after a few times, I can predict her moves entirely. The big one uses big movements so it’s easy for me to dodge them. But given their level of skill, most warrior generals wouldn’t be their match. Leaving aside everything else, they were actually able to read most of my moves.”

“Then if you have to face them again, are you confident of winning?”

“Absolute ma.s.sacre!”

What a prompt answer. She said so much about their abilities but she had absolute confidence in this, and she even flicked her thumb across her neck.

“If you saw how they were like, you’d know. Their physical endurance was lacking and they were nervous in combat so they will lose in a long fight.” Feng Xian’s smile diminished a little as she said so, “But there will always be interruptions on the battlefield so killing those 2 will be difficult.”

Ma.s.sacre… You don’t have to go that far, do you? I thought as I looked at Feng Xian.

It’s been a while since I saw a duel so I forgot what Feng Xian was like. When you think about it, shouldn’t Lu Bu Lu Feng Xian be battle-hungry like this?

“Stop drinking, you’ve drank a lot already.”

Un? Just then, 2 figures could be seen under the light of a torch up ahead to the right. One was supporting the other and it was clear that they were out for drinks and the one being supported was drunk.

This wasn’t something unusual so I didn’t pay them too much heed.

“… No, I want to drink!”

Until the drunk one spoke up.

If I’m not wrong, that voice should be Bo Fu’s.