Liu Bei POV

“Are you serious?” She asked.

“Without a doubt.” I replied and returned Yi Ji’s stare with a resolute stare of my own.

We continued to stare at each other. This stare however, was not of the heart-pounding sort that everyone is definitely thinking about. I am actually feeling very uncomfortable from this ice-cold stare.

After a while, Yi Ji sighed and closed her blank eyes, “… Please pardon me for saying so but you are just as weird as ever.”

“You’ve said that to me a lot of times already.” I sighed and gave a stiff smile. I looked up and saw that she had opened her eyes and was staring at me again.

Hai~ She then gave yet another stare.

“Forget it, I’ve done my part. Whether you heed my words or not is up to you.” She paused for a moment and picked up the bowl of water and stared at the ripples, “If you think about it, you’re no ordinary man anyway in certain bizarre ways.”

“Hahaha, I’ll take it that you’re praising me then.” I chuckled.

“No, I am indeed praising you.”

Eh? When I looked at Yi Ji, I saw that she had s.h.i.+fted her gaze from the bowl to me. It was clear from her eyes that she was serious about what she just said.

“You don’t need to be so surprised. You are by no means an ordinary man.” She said, and covered her mouth with her sleeve as she added, “At least, that’s how I see it.”

“Haha… I see…”

I was caught off guard by this and didn’t know how to respond at all. All I could do was scratch my head, smile and nod. At the same time, I felt like I should change the topic to avoid further discussion about this.

“… Ah, right, Yi Ji, I haven’t seen Liu Qi at all recently. How is she doing?” I asked as I leaned forward.

When she heard my question, Yi Ji’s eyebrows twitched for some reason, “The young mistress is doing well, she’s just very busy. These are extraordinary times as well, if she meets with you and Lady Cai finds out, she might scheme something again.”

Ah, that’s right. If Liu Qi comes to see me, she might be subject to surveillance or even a.s.sa.s.sination. It’s better to err on the side of caution.

“It’s fine I guess… As long as Yi Ji conveyed the message.”

“I have conveyed your message to the young mistress from the last time. Please be at ease.” Yi Ji said and put down her bowl before resting her hand on her thighs, revealing the rather attractive face which beheld a bland expression once more.

“Ah… Then did Liu Qi blame me or anything?”

“As I told you the last time, the young mistress bears no ill will towards Imperial Uncle for that. Instead, she seems even more motivated than before. For this, I am truly grateful to Imperial Uncle.” Yi Ji got up and saluted me when she finished. I didn’t feel like I’d done anything special that was worthy of that so I hurriedly got up and stopped her.

“But, I do have a favour to ask of Imperial Uncle.” Yi Ji continued. This was perhaps the very first time she asked me for something.

“Go on, please tell me.” I bade her to continue.

Un? For some reason, she came up to my ear and said slowly, “Should you meet the young mistress again in future, no matter how far she has progressed, I hope Imperial Uncle will give her some words of praise.”

And here I was wondering what it could be.

“Of course, I’ll definitely do that.” I readily agreed but after a moment’s thought, I felt a little embarra.s.sed, “To be honest, I really haven’t done anything.”

I really can’t think of anything that I’ve done which has led to a drastic change in Liu Qi. From my perspective, apart from improving her relations with her retainers and helping her trust them, nothing much has changed.

However, Yi Ji did not agree and shook her head at my reply.

“No, though you aren’t particularly strong, and you lack the experience my lord has in various aspects,” Wow she really is being frank huh, “But your image, and your actions, make you the perfect role model for the young mistress. At the very least, there are many qualities you have which the young mistress lacks.”

“… There are?”

“Yes.” Yi Ji nodded.

“You have a positive outlook, you hold strong views of your own, and most importantly, I have never seen you blame the heavens or others.” Yi Ji said as her eyes gleamed and bent forward, “I believe that the young mistress has learned some of what I have just mentioned from you.”

“Ah…” Is it really appropriate to heap praise on someone like this? I don’t know how to respond to this.

“Of course, the way you do things is rather strange at times.”

In the end, she calls me strange yet again… But compared to myself, there is something I am more worried about.

The original topic: Liu Qi.

“Yi Ji, it’s good that you’ve come today actually. I have some more questions about Liu Qi I’d like to ask.” I said as I bent down and rested my hands on my knees.

“Is there any issue with the young mistress?”

“No, not now, but I’m afraid an issue may arise later on.” I shook my head and began to voice out what I’d been mulling over these few days, “Now that we are going to move out to Xinye, and Liu Qi does not have any reinforcements, I was wondering if I should leave some generals behind with Liu Qi as a precautionary measure.”

When I finished, I sat upright and looked at Yi Ji and saw that she was slightly bent over and her eyes were bulging as she stared at me. It seems like her eyes are much darker and brighter than I thought.

“I understand,” She stared at me for a moment before sitting upright and covered her mouth with her sleeve before she continued, “By these words, I suppose you don’t trust us then.”

“No no no, I don’t mean that at all.” I hurriedly denied that when I saw Yi Ji’s mood sink.

“I’m just afraid that Lady Cai and Cai Mao will…”

“Imperial Uncle need not worry about this.” Yi Ji interrupted me and continued in a softer tone, “Before you came, Lady Cai is the same as she is now. We have dealt with her all this while and we will continue to do so after you leave.”

Un… I’m actually still quite worried, and there is some guilt mixed in as well. I also hate myself for not being able to have handled this better.

“In any case, Imperial Uncle need not worry.” Yi Ji seemed to have seen through me and crossed her arms across her chest as she continued, “Please be at ease and go to Xinye. The young mistress will be fine. If something should happen, we will ask for help from you immediately. Don’t you have Dilu anyway?”

I don’t know if Yi Ji truly thinks if she can handle it and is allaying my concerns or if she’s just putting on a brave front but given how resolutely she’s refused aid, I feel like I can’t convince her to accept my offer.

“Hai… Alright, I got it.” I nodded and gave a stiff smile. Though I don’t see it happening, I hope they will seek aid from me in future.

“Un.” Yi Ji nodded as well, “This is Jing state’s own affairs after all. If we can deal with it on our own, we will. Imperial Uncle is meant for bigger things after all.”

When she finished, I could detect a rare hint of cheer from her eyes which made me feel surprised and a little awkward.

“Eh? Bigger things?”

“… Un, my lord said this during Court.” Yi Ji seemed to have detected that her eyes had betrayed some of her emotions and lightly coughed as she regained her former countenance, “Though I can’t imagine it just yet, I do believe Imperial Uncle is meant for greater things as well.”

“Haha… Who knows.”

I could see that Yi Ji’s eyes had the gleam she usually had when she was curious and realised that she’d said those words to egg something out from me. But this time, I only gave a smile as I did not wish to continue down this thread of thought.

I can’t imagine where our conversation will end up if we continue any further. Up till now, I still dare not imagine how the events later on as Liu Bei will transpire.

In truth, the only reason why I’ve been playing the role of Liu Bei all this while is just so I can return the feather fan to its owner and return to my own era.

“That’s fine. It’s better to wait for some things to become real than to discuss hypotheticals.” She gave up when she saw that I wasn’t going to continue and held her skirt as she got up.

“Un? Yi Ji, you’re…”

“I’m going back. I’ve delivered the message I wanted to.” She said as she tidied her clothing, “But it looks like it wasn’t needed after all.”

“No, I’m very grateful to Yi Ji.” I hurriedly stood up and said, “From the very beginning, through the Jiangxia expedition up to now, Yi Ji has greatly a.s.sisted me and facilitated my understanding of various things in Jing state.”

“You don’t need to thank me. As a retainer, this is what I should be doing.” She bowed as she said so and hid her mouth once more before she continued, “I feel fortunate to have been able to work with an Imperial Uncle like yourself. It was truly an honour.”

“Thanks.” I forced a smile.

What do you mean by ‘like yourself’? She didn’t clarify herself so I’ll just take it that she’s praising me again.

As I thought so, I gestured toward the door, “Well then, Yi Ji, let me send you out.”

“Only till the door. Safety first.”

“I got it, I got it.” I said with some exasperation as it’s been shoved down my throat a few too many times recently. It’s not like anything has happened at all too.

Based on the calm past few days, I believe that we are just being too paranoid. Of course, I haven’t taken into account the matter of Dilu.

As these thoughts ran through my mind, Yi Ji, who was by now 10 paces out from the residence, turned back and bowed.

As I looked at Yi Ji, I recalled the various meetings and observations I’ve had about her and came to the conclusion that she too was a weirdo.