VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 53: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS A BANQUET IN XINYE (5)

Liu Bei POV

“What happened?”

“Un…” Yun Chang frowned and bit her lips. She looked extremely troubled as she sighed before continuing, “I don’t know how it leaked out, but Cao Cao to the north and Jiangdong’s Sun Quan have learnt that you have gone missing.”

“Eh?!” I was shocked to learn that. In my mind, I could see Meng De and Sun Quan’s faces very clearly, and what their reactions would be to learn that I had gone missing. I hurriedly looked about and when I saw that everyone else was still engrossed in merrymaking, I heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Yun Chang, “How have they reacted?”

“Their reactions are basically the same.” Yun Chang said, “Both sides believe big brother to be dead and now that Jing state is showing signs of instability, they are preparing to invade Jing state.”

I see… But how did this news get out so fast… Communications in this era should be slow and there is clearly no benefit to Jing state to broadcast this so who could have…

Ah–

“Un? What happened big brother? Do you feel unwell?” Yun Chang hurriedly asked me and reached out to touch my back when she saw my look of realisation.

“Ah… No, nothing…” I just realised that they could have received definitive information on my status as someone did see me sink into the depths after all.

If what I saw was not a dream, then Lu Su was there when I fell into the water. Lu Su failed to save me back then and he might have thought that I really did perish then and there. Later on, he would have undoubtedly reported about this back to Jiangdong. But… What about Meng De’s side… How did they know?

“However, there is no need to worry too much about Jiangdong for now. Their fleet is still not yet ready so it will be difficult for them to mount a full scale invasion without enough s.h.i.+ps to traverse the Yangtze.” Wen Yuan continued after Yun Chang, “But Lord Cao Cao however–”

Wen Yuan looked about and whispered into my ear, “Informal sources have told us that Lord Cao Cao’s troops have begun congregating near the Jing state border in preparation for a southern campaign.”

“Have they begun it yet?” I asked, to which Wen Yuan returned to her position and shrugged as she continued drinking her liquor.

Un… I, on the other hand, have lost the mood to drink. I never imagined that news of my alleged death would have travelled this far and wide in such a short span of time. Nor did I expect that Jing state would attract the attention of Meng De and Jiangdong now.

“Ah, by the way, do they know that I’m alive?”

“No.” Yun Chang replied immediately, “You only returned today so no one knows that you alive, be it the north, east or even Liu Biao. Speaking of which, should we make an announcement about this?”

“Ah…” I was honestly a bit troubled as to whether I ought to do as Yun Chang said. Based on what Yuan Zhi, Zi Long and I discussed before, we should not do it. But now, with every side beginning to make a move, and with Liu Biao down, there is little doubt that my alleged death has had a part to play in all this.

Is it really the right decision to continue hiding the truth that I am alive? At the same time, will announcing it actually have an impact? I was really troubled and there was no way I could make a decision on this in such a short time. I looked up and looked for Yuan Zhi, who was concentrating on her bowl as she wiped it with a cloth.

“Un… Please giv

e me some time to think about this. Don’t talk about this for now. Please excuse me.”

I decided to consult Yuan Zhi first and got up as I made my way to where Yuan Zhi was. For the sake of lightening up my mood, I decided to cast my eyes on my companions twirling about in the center.

It seems like 2 more dancers, Zi Zhong and xiao Yong, have taken to the stage. Only the immovable Gong You was left sitting at the side. But even so, even with how she usually is, Gong You is actually clapping away.

“My lord! Come on over too~” Just then, the ever-sharp Zi Zhong detected the me who was trying to remain hidden.

“Alright, but wait for a while.” I still have important things to attend to. I would really like to join in but I will have to leave it for later.

Yuan Zhi, Yuan Zhi.” I called out softly when I made my way over, feeling lucky that she did not join the rest.

“Ah… Ah.” Yuan Zhi seemed surprised to hear someone call out to her and looked up and about. When she saw me, she calmly replied, “It’s Xuan De huh?”

“Ah, yes.” I quickly picked up after her when I saw that she was not about to continue speaking and did my best to ask about her as naturally as possible, “How is it? Are you able to get along with my companions?”

“No.” Yuan Zhi shook her head, seeming a little tired, “Lord Guan Ping is not the sort of person I can deal with.”

Ah… But I guess that cannot be helped…

“But you’re new here after all so I couldn’t let you sit in front with me.” I smiled stiffly, “Ah, but this wasn’t set by me. Chen Gong, who’s in charge of this kind of stuff, set this rule.”

As I said so, I looked at Chen Gong and saw that she was no longer gloomy and was looking at the performance with great relish.

“No, I don’t particularly mind that.” Yuan Zhi calmly said and then took a small sip from her bowl as she continued, “Not now at least.”

I see. But now that I think about it, I did not ever ask her why she wanted to join me. If not for officialdom, then why? I do not believe in charisma and saying that it’s her path seems to border on fantasy as well.

As I looked at Yuan Zhi, I felt troubled. Ah… Her face is not red at all. Looks like she’s not drunk at all.

Everyone around has drank at least a little, and be it Feng Xian, whose alcohol tolerance is very good, or Gong You and Liao Hua, who are weaker, their faces are all slightly red at least. Only Yuan Zhi is still a pale white.

Ah, now that I remember, it seems like Yuan Zhi cannot drink. Could it be…

I lowered my head and looked for ‘that’ when the answer came to mind.

“Ah! As I expected!”

“Ah…” Yuan Zhi detected my gaze and tried to hide it but I was quicker and picked up the gourd she placed behind her legs. When I saw that she seemed a little nervous, I smirked at her.

“Everyone’s drinking liquor but you’re still drinking your sweet water huh?”

Though I must admit that it’s really good.

“T, that can’t be helped. I r-really cannot drink liquor…” She seemed rather nervous and reached out to grab her gourd. I was going to prank her a little but when I saw how serious she was, I decided to return her gourd.

“When I drink, no matter how little it is, my head will explode.”

“Wah, that sounds so scary!”

“It won’t literally explode…” Yuan Zhi hurriedly denied this as she blushed and took a sip from her bowl, “But just drinking a little will make my whole face turn red and I can’t remember what happens afterwards.”

“I see…” I nodded. Looks like she’s allergic or very weak to alcohol after all which means that it would be very dangerous for her to drink.

But I must say that I dd not expect that someone would be weak to liquor in this era, which has much lower alcohol content than modern liquor. Perhaps people in this era are not very alcohol tolerant.

I cannot remember who said it, but it seems like the liquor Wu Song drank when he entered Jingyanggang had only 15% alcohol concentration. Well, this is not a big problem anyway, tea or water is a good enough subst.i.tute for someone to join in the festivities.

“I would like to ask you what position you are going to appoint me to.”

“Un?” Just as I was preoccupied with my thoughts, Yuan Zhi tapped on my arm with her free hand.

“My position.” She softly asked again and looked about before settling her gaze on me, “I believe you won’t just appoint me to be a lieutenant to one of your generals right?”

I did not think that she would ask me what Yun Chang and Wen Yuan just did. And it’s about herself too. Alright, that saves me a bit of trouble too.

“Of course not,” I said definitively, “It might be a little sudden but I have decided to appoint you as my personal military adviser.”

Or, in other words, the lead strategist.