Meng De POV

I looked at the wooden tray by the side and saw that there were about 5-6 bamboo scrolls placed on it. The bulk of them seemed to include the names of those who had aced the recent examinations. There were so many names the scrolls seemed to covered by ink.

“Mao Jie, Cui Yan, have you both taken a look at these?” I asked as I looked at my 2 retainers who were busy with their own work at this time.

“Un?” Cui Yan said as he looked over, “I saw a bit of it, yes.”

When he finished, he returned to his work. Cui Yan is a renowned official that we recently recruited from the north. I only spoke a bit with him then but felt like he would be a good addition so I recruited him and his colleague Mao Jie to be my personal a.s.sistants. I have to say, Cui Yan is one of the few capable males serving under me.

He is already over 30 years of age but he looks decent and his dressing is rather good as well. He keeps a moustache but it’s just the usual ‘八’ moustache and he looks very cultured with it. In short, he looks exactly like the sort of famous male official I used to see in paintings when I was young. And like most people of his age, he is already married. But because I have not yet worked with him for a long while, I have not seen his wife nor have I heard him mention her.

“Cui Yan, I’m thinking of having a banquet tonight, join me.” I said casually. I did not actually have any intention of having a banquet and I knew what answer he would give me of course.

“No can do. My wife has asked me to come home early today.”

“Un? What’s the matter?”

“It’s my turn to cook dinner today.”

Un… I see.

“You really love your wife huh?”

“It was an arranged marriage by my family. I feel good about her and I’ve gotten used to it over time.”

“I see…” I said, unsure how I ought to continue the conversation.

This happens a lot whenever I speak with him. He is capable, there is no doubt about that, but there is some sort of generation gap between us. Yuan used to joke that an older man is better but I do not feel that way in the least. Nevertheless, his meticulous and easily understandable personality is fit for the position I have given him.

“Mao Jie, deal with the rest of the name lists.” I said as I turned to my ‘mascot character’ after an awkward conversation with Cui Yan.

“… Me again?” Mao Jie replied after a few seconds as she looked up.

Mao Jie’s hair on both sides is always pointing up, either because she is born like this or her sleeping posture is bad, and looks like she has some animal ears. Of course, she has normal human ears where they should be.

“But of course. These things were your job to begin with anyway.” I said as I tidied my desk, feeling more at ease speaking with Mao Jie than with Cui Yan.

“Alright. *Chacha*” Mao Jie said as her ‘animal ears’ rubbed against each other. No matter how you looked at it, they really did seem like animal ears especially when they moved. I never get bored of them. And that is why we all see her as our mascot character. She is simply too cute.

Though she is rather serious at work, she slacks off a lot as well. Sometimes, I even see her lying down on the floor in front of the doorway soaking up the sun. She really does seem like a small animal now that I think about it.

“Good.” I said as I finished tidying up my desk and sighed as I got up.

“Is my lord going off?”

“Un, after being ind

oors for the entire day, I would like to go out and grab a meal while I’m at it.” I said as I tucked my hands into my sleeves and checked if I had brought money before going around the desk, “You both should take a break soon as well. If you keep staying indoors, you will start getting moldy.”

“Your retainer understands.”

“Alright~”

The difference in gender made their voices easy to differentiate but even without it, I could tell who was who just by their responses.

As I left the room, I made my way to the pathway in the mansion. Looking about, I saw manu unfamiliar faces and few familiar ones. The noisy, rambunctious atmosphere back when we first entered Xuchang is all but gone and the many generals I had fought side by side with back then have been dispersed to all corners of the world. Even though they still come back from time to time, it’s difficult to get together even for a drink given how busy we all are.

And besides, for me, the most important person in the world has already left.

“Meng De!~” In the distance, a familiar figure waved excitedly at me as she yelled. I looked over and it was indeed a familiar face.

“Yuan Rang!~” I called out as I waved back normally. I did my best to hide how emotional I was but I was still a little too excited as I waved and dropped a few copper coins out. Unfortunately, because of face, I did not reach down to pick them up and instead walked towards Yuan Rang as if nothing happened.

Ever since Yuan Rang went to make the preparations for the southern campaign, I have not seen her. The only reason why she is back is because she has to do some paperwork in Xuchang relating to military clearances. No matter who it is, they are all busy.

Which is why I was rus.h.i.+ng to deal with my work today. It was for the sake of having a chance to have a meal with Yuan Rang. Naturally, I would never tell her this directly.

“It really has been a long time huh?” I said with a slightly smile as I patted her shoulders.

“Yes, it has indeed.” Yuan Rang said with her usual angry look. Even though she was smiling, she looked like she was angry as always. She then patted my shoulders as well, with a lot of strength but I was still able to endure it, as she asked, “How are you? Have you been able to eat and sleep well lately?”

I smiled, “Same old, same old.”

“Then that means you haven’t!” Yuan Rang yelled out helplessly.

When I heard her yell, I could not help but to smile, as did she. I know she is worried about me, “There’s nothing to be worried about. I know my own body.”

“I sure hope so.” She said and nodded though she still looked worried.

“It’ll be fine, come on, let’s go.” I said as I patted her shoulders and walked on ahead. After about 2 steps, when I sensed that she did not follow me, I turned back and saw that she was looking at me with a melancholic expression.

“Is there anything else?” I asked, knowing full well what she was on about. ‘Have you really gotten over Imperial Uncle Liu?’ I could see that very clearly written on her face.

“If possible, I would prefer not to discuss any tasteless topics with you.” I decided to stop her before she started since I was sure that was what she was thinking about, “I’m hungry and would like to eat.”

I really did not want her to talk about it nor do I want to answer her question. It’s impossible for me to say that I have forgotten him completely. Be it for personal or public reasons, it is impossible for me to forget him. For now at least, while the southern campaign is imminent, I would not like to think about it.

“Un… Alright, if you don’t want to say then never mind then.” Yuan Rang said as she shrugged and caught up. She is not usually very sharp and tactful but it seems like she picked up on my sentiments this time.

“So what are we eating today?”

“The usual.” I replied to which she frowned.

“That again…” She asked as she made a hand gesture like she was holding chopsticks and shook her hand.

“Correct.” I nodded. Yes, we are having the bronze cauldron. I can never forget the taste of it. And sometimes, just having it is enough to make me forget everything else temporarily.

“Wu… To be honest, I’m not too interested in stuff that you just cook for a bit before eating.”

“You will once you get the hang of it.” I said as I continued walking ahead with big strides as I felt hungrier after discussing it.

“Slow down, will you?” Yuan Rang said as she hurried over with her hands on her hips, looking rather tired, “I’ve been on horseback the entire time for several days now and it’s really getting to me.”

“Thanks for you hard work. By the way, how are the troops who are heading south?”

“Un, they’re still being transferred down.” Yuan Rang said and sighed, “It’s going to take longer than we expected. We need to make sure that the border is secure from the barbarians and we also need to coordinate our movements with Lord Yuan Shao.”

“Un un.” I understood what she meant. Ben Chu’s troops were deployed by Ben Chu herself after all. Even though having her support is a good thing, it has also added to the amount of work that we have had to deal with.

“How are our troops gathering now?”

“Right now, mine and Yu Jin’s are ready. Han Hao, the one I recommended and promoted, is also ready.” Yuan Rang seemed pleased when she talked about that Han Hao, “That la.s.s is really one heck of a girl. She actually brought her troops from Liaodong all the way down so quickly.”