Volume 4 Chapter 24: Don’t tell me this is Yuan Shao (2)

After I returned to my encampment, I found that most of what needed to be done was already done and I went to find Zi Long and Gong You with trepidation, and got scolded as expected. It wasn’t just Zi Long, even Gong You who was always mild-tempered gave me a hard time. I tried to explain that I was at Yuan Shao’s tent but it somehow made them even more enraged.

But that is understandable since I was gone for a very long time so it would be strange if they easily believed that I wasn’t slacking off. But what they don’t know is that I was also lost for quite a while. I wanted to explain myself but felt that it would probably seen as an excuse and decided against it.

By the time the 2 of them were done, it was already dinnertime. They probably felt that they had had enough and kicked me out of the tent with displeased expressions.

“My lord, go and bring our dinner back here.” Zi Long said with a frown as she folded her arms across her chest and leaned against a pillar.

“Ah?” You want me to go find dinner?

“This is your punishment. My lord should graciously accept it.” Gong You had tucked her hands in her sleeves and had a refined look on her before she said to me with great emphasis, “Remember to return once you’ve collected dinner. Do not, under any circ.u.mstances, have unnecessary rendezvous with certain women.”

Eh? What do you mean by that?

I wanted to ask, but the atmosphere did not permit me to stay for long and so I swallowed my question and grunted in affirmation before setting off to find dinner.

“Hai~~~” After walking for a bit, I sighed and stretched my back to loosen up my strained muscles after sitting in the same posture for several hours.

Was all that really necessary? All I did was just spend some time with Zhang He and Yuan Shao. And if you really want to make me do work, you could have let me stay. I just can’t see why they would make such a big fuss about this.

Forget it… Dinner, got to go find dinner now~~ Speaking of which, I have no idea where the canteen is.

Should I ask the soldiers? Un… But at this time, everyone else seems to be eating so it feels weird to interrupt… Zhang He? No, I don’t know where her tent is.

Tent? … That’s right, I can just go and ask Yuan Shao. She would definitely know. And as I thought so, I started making my way to Yuan Shao’s tent without thinking too much about it.

And if I ask Yuan Shao, I might luck out and get better food from her. She’s a rich young miss after all, so her food should be better than everyone else’s.

Convinced of choice, and with my newfound familiarity of the city after getting lost, I was able to quickly reach Yuan Shao’s tent.

Eh? Why is there no one at the entrance? Even if it was mealtime, there should at least be a guard.

Never mind.

“Lord Yuan Shao…” I softly called out as I parted the curtains and poked my head in.

“Ah! Don’t come in!” Even though those words entered my ears, my eyes were still drawn to the source of the sound.

Yuan Shao sat naked on the bed, her smooth, white skin glistening with water droplets all over her body that made it seem even more luscious and alluring. The 2 mounds in front were ever more tantalising with her long, wet hair which only partially covered them. In this cold wintry evening, her wet body was continuously emitting steam, making Yuan Shao, who was now without her exquisite clothing, even more beautiful than she usually was.

This scene completely transfixed me.

And Yuan Shao froze as well, her hands which were drying her hair stopped their motions in mid-air.

After a long while, the 2 of us finally regained our senses.

“Ya!!!”

“S, sorry!” Along with Yuan Shao’s scream, several items which looked very exorbitant were hurled at me. I protected my head and ran outside the tent and thought back to what I saw.

Eh? What is this situation?! Why did Yuan Shao look like she just finished bathing?

No, no no no. What I need to think about is how I will be dealt with later? It’s over, I’m dead for sure. I’ll probably have dozens of charges which will end up having various body parts being chopped off…

“Oi…”

“Eh?”

Just as I was about to panic, a weak voice called out from the direction of the tent. I slowly turned my head and saw Yuan Shao, who had worn her inner clothing, standing outside the tent. Her cheeks were reddened and she looked to the side before she slowly said, “If there’s anything, come inside first.

“Oh… Oh.”

I answered without thinking. All that was in my mind was that… It was good to be alive.

“Sit.”

“Oh…” I clumsily sat down on a small stool, and did not dare to speak.

“Unbelievable, have you not learnt to say something before entering someone’s residence?”

“I deeply apologise.”

“Hmph, that’s why you lot are… Speaking of which, what are you here for at such a time?” Yuan Shao had by now regained her elegant and refined countenance and sighed as she shook her head.

Ah, right. I nearly forgot what I came here for.

“Ah, I came here to ask Lord Yuan Shao where the canteen is…”

(TL: Would you ask the CEO where the pantry is? Logic!)

As I said so, my eyes fell on a few plain plates on her desk. The food in the plates were just as plain, and didn’t look luxurious at all. Speaking of which, the food looks familiar.

Is Yuan Shao eating this for dinner? No, I can’t judge by it how it looks. Maybe it’s actually delicious?

“Why are you finding me for even such trivial matters? Anyway the canteen is in the northern edge of the city. It’s already pretty late but there should still be a lot of food left.” As she said so, Yuan Shao took a spoonful of food from the plate and delivered it to her mouth. “Un…”

She closed her eyes and grimaced as she chewed and swallowed. Doesn’t look like it’s delicious at all.

… Oh, isn’t the food Yuan Shao is eating the same food as the soldiers are getting? No wonder it looks so familiar.

“Does Lord Yuan Shao eat this for dinner usually?”

“Eh? Ah, no, I just try out what ordinary people usually eat sometimes.” She frantically hid the plate with her hand when she saw suspicion on my face and put on a high-and-mighty expression, “Wh, what are you lookong at! Can’t I eat these?”

I hurriedly shook my head.

I’d heard before that bathing before meals would enhance one’s appet.i.te. She couldn’t have done so to help her eat that plate of food right?

This is just a guess of mine… But could it be that Yuan Shao is truly compa.s.sionate about the ordinary people? No way.

“What are you smiling about! Keep smiling and I’ll get someone to throw you out!” She picked up a bun and hurled it at me as she cried out and only then did I realise that I was smiling.

“Ah, no.” I hurriedly dodged the flying pieces of food, “I was just wondering why Lord Yuan Shao has to be so sneaky about it even though all you want is to blend on with everyone else.”

I’d thought that I would suffer another wave of attacks after I finished but surprisingly the attack ended.

I looked at Yuan Shao in bewilderment, and saw that she had lowered her head as she nibbled on the bun in her hands with her small, cute mouth.

“As I was saying, I really envy people like you.” After a long while, Yuan Shao finally bit into the bun and spoke to me in a very dissatisfied tone, “Every feudal lord wishes to have good relations with their subordinates~”

“Eh? Then why are you always so…”

“Eh!” Yuan Shao suddenly became angry, “You commoners, you don’t understand how hard it is to be a n.o.ble.”

Eh? Hard?

“As a n.o.ble, I’ve been taught since young that I am above everyone else. At times, when things do not go my way, I act out to protect my pride on instinct.” Yuan Shao said in between bites of the bun, “I do feel regretful when I reflect on what happened but I am unable to apologise or retract my orders to save face.”

“There are times when I feel that what they proposed was correct, and even something beyond what I could come up with. I know I should praise them for it, but another side of me keeps denying them. But then again, who doesn’t like hearing praises of themselves?”

“I really don’t know what I should do sometimes. Should I treat my subordinates as tools or should I think of them as companions? It feels like if I think og them as companions, I will be belittled.”

The more Yuan Shao said, the more despondent her tone got. Her mouth was by now filled with the bun but she only kept chewing and did not swallow a single mouth. Perhaps the bun was too dry, as Yuan Shao’s eyes began tearing up.

I wasn’t planning on listening to a long rant from Yuan Shao, nor did I ever imagine that Yuan Shao would rant on for so long. But I finally have a good understanding of what Yuan Shao is like after listening to what she said,

She was actually the same as Yuan Shu, and did not how to handle her relations.h.i.+p and how to treat her subordinates. As a descendent of one of the most ill.u.s.trious n.o.ble families, the pride in her blood prevented her from getting too close with her subordinates. Perhaps Yuan Shao is just lonely, and she desires close companions.h.i.+p but she ended up hurting others due to her internal conflicts.

Nature and nurture gave rise to a desire to be able to connect on a deep level with commoners and everyone which conflicted with the pride of a n.o.ble, creating a very difficult conundrum.

As I thought so, I began to think that the girl before me wasn’t a big-breasted brainless person at all. At the very least, she was trying in her own way.

“Yuan Shao, do you know what you’re doing right now?” I said to a perplexed Yuan Shao as I slowly got up, “You’re trying to be a commoner to fit in with everyone.”

“Wh, who would want to fit in with those people…” Yuan Shao turned her face away as she tried to deny what I said.

But with this, Yuan Shao’s heart is clear to see so I need not rebut her, and I continued with what I wanted to say, “But there is something much simpler you can do.”

I gave Yuan Shao a kind smile as I continued, “You just need to think of everyone as a n.o.ble, no?”

Yuan Shao stared at me in silence for a long while. She continued chewing on the bun in her mouth and eventually swallowed. She then lowered her head.

“I’ll try.” After a long while, I finally hear Yuan Shao’s elegant and resolute voice from behind me.

Maa, that should be all I can do. This sort of emotional turmoil is not something that can be resolved in a day or 2 so she needs to really think it over.

“Well then, I’ll be heading to the canteen, Lord Yuan Shao.” As I said so, I made to leave but when I reached the entrance, I heard Yuan Shao’s voice again.

“Umm, thank you. For listening to what I had to say,” Instead of the powerful voice from before, she said this to me in a cute voice befitting that of a young girl like her, “And… You can just call me Ben Chu from now on. Ah! Don’t misunderstand. It’s only because you’re the Imperial Uncle of the Great Han so I don’t want to be so formal with you!”

I looked at Yuan Shao’s reddened face and nodded with a helpless smile before I hurriedly ran out of the tent and headed for the canteen.

Hai, look at the time. I’ll probably be scolded again when I get back.