The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu is good at being filial

Chapter 25

＜ Responsibility (2) ＞

I am flustered.

So very flustered.

All those who can be called civil and military officials are trying to surround me, and at the forefront is the emperor, who has come down from the throne to block my way.

“Your Majesty.”

“Are you really going?”

The emperor looks up at me.

He has grown a bit taller than before, but that’s because the emperor’s hat, which doesn’t even fit his head, barely reaches my chest.

“Your Majesty.”

I knelt before the emperor.

It was awkward to kneel both knees, so I knelt on one knee and bowed my head to the emperor.

“I am a warrior. As one who guards the frontier, my spear is always aimed at the enemy.”

“General.”

The emperor sobs at me.

I cannot bear to look up and stare at the emperor, but I can clearly feel the gazes of those around me.

– Is he acting?

– He’s definitely trying to gain the emperor’s favor by insisting on going to Byeongju.

– Does he think he’ll become the Left General, no, the true Grand General by doing this?

The disdainful gazes directed at me.

– If Lu Bu disappears, Dong Zhuo will gain power, so who will check Dong Zhuo with force?

– We can only feel at ease with Lu Bu around. Isn’t he managing security well?

The gazes trying to use me.

Various gazes were directed at me. If looks could pierce, I would have become a porcupine pierced by dozens, hundreds of arrows.

“General Yeo.”

Even.

“Isn’t the Emperor ‘asking’ you?”

Even Dowager Empress Dong, frowning at me from behind the Emperor.

– The court is full of wolves. You may have the strength to fight a thousand thieves single-handedly, but you will not easily handle the ten tongues of the court officials.

My master’s words come to mind.

– Thieves aim for your neck and heart, but they will attack your benevolence, conscience, and humanity.

Perhaps it was because people were approaching, but the unique smell of unwashed bodies mixed and stung my nose.

It was a stench.

Not just from people’s bodies, but the malice flowing from their hearts could be felt as a smell.

“General….”

Only.

“Are you really planning to leave for Byeongju?”

Only the Emperor looked at me with innocent eyes.

“Your Majesty.”

I lifted my head towards the Emperor.

“Winter in Byeongju is cold. The bandits, the Xiongnu, and the Black Mountain gangs will plunder Your Majesty’s people to fill their hungry bellies.”

“General.”

“Your Majesty is the father of all people, and I, to save Your Majesty’s children….”

I clasped my hands and bowed my head again towards the Emperor.

“I wish to leave the court for a while.”

“For a while…?”

I spoke deliberately with force.

“Yes. How could I go against Your Majesty’s command?”

“It’s not a command, but a request…!”

“Please, give this Yeobongseon an order.”

I nodded deeply towards the Emperor.

“To eliminate the border bandits threatening Your Majesty’s children, and when the cold winter passes and spring returns to the palace.”

“…….”

“When the spring breeze permeates Luoyang and the peach blossoms scatter. Whenever Your Majesty calls upon this Yeobongseon, I will cross the Yellow River with my body and come running in a single step.”

“General….”

Although there are many gazes around me trying to hold me back.

“I promise.”

“Your Majesty! The female general…!”

“In the name of the Emperor, I command.”

In this country, the Emperor is supreme.

“In winter, go up to Bingzhou and fulfill your duties as a soldier, General Ye.”

“I obey.”

It is the Emperor’s command.

“…General. I am saddened. If you leave….”

“I am also saddened. How can I not be sad when a child leaves the place where their parents are?”

“…….”

“But the children of Your Majesty in the frontier, my brothers, are suffering, so I will go to help them.”

“If, if you do not return…!”

“Your Majesty.”

I declare.

“If a child does not seek the place where their parents are, can that be called filial piety? That is unfilial and not the duty of a child. This Lu Bu, will serve Your Majesty with filial piety.”

This Lu Bu.

“If Your Majesty calls, this Lu Bu. Even if I have to fold the earth, I will come to Your Majesty in a single step.”

I am not an unfilial person.

….

A moment later.

The Emperor’s decree was issued.

In front of everyone, I returned the official seal on the prayer mat and bowed to the Emperor according to the rites.

* * *

At that time, in a secluded house of a certain manor.

“I have brought both good news and bad news.”

Someone walked towards Yuan Shao, who was drinking tea alone in the room, and said.

“Benchu. Which one would you like to hear first?”

“Mengde.”

Yuan Shao, dressed in official robes, pointed to the clothes he was wearing as he faced Cao Cao, who was seated opposite him.

“Have you come to hear my insights on the affairs of the court while dressed as a patient?”

Unlike Cao Cao, Yuan Shao was wearing white clothes that looked like those of a sick person.

“I don’t think Cao Cao is that inconsiderate.”

“I know your illness and have brought the prescription, so I can’t be considered inconsiderate.”

“What is my illness?”

“Feigning illness.”

“…….”

“Hahaha! Who in the world could surpass this Cao Mengde in feigning illness? When pretending to be sick, one must truly appear ill. It’s not just about making your lips dry.”

Cao Cao chuckled as he pointed to Yuan Shao’s lips.

“Who wouldn’t know that? I’ve been doing it for six years.”

“…Haha, or were you pretending to be sick to meet someone? If so, that’s unfortunate. I must quickly deliver the news to save you the trouble.”

Cao Cao tapped the table with his fingers.

“It’s good news. I heard that Lü Bu is leaving for Bingzhou. Oh, it was truly a spectacle. I’m genuinely sorry you missed it.”

“…Are you lying?”

Yuan Shao frowned in annoyance.

“Would the Emperor really let Lü Bu leave?”

“Lü Bu obtained the Emperor’s permission directly.”

“……What is he thinking?”

“Good thoughts!”

Cao Cao laughed heartily and tapped the table.

“Is there such a loyal and righteous man in the world! Even though he could become a great general by lingering in the palace, he is giving up all that wealth and glory to go back to the frontier!”

“……I can’t understand it.”

“Yes. Neither you nor I can understand it. He is completely different from people like us.”

“……Tsk.”

Yuan Shao slowly lifted his cup.

His hand was too healthy-looking to belong to a sick person.

“If I had known, I would have proceeded with that marriage proposal back then.”

“Marriage proposal? …Ah, yes. We almost became sworn allies once. But isn’t that too old a story to talk about? It was during the time when the Yellow Turbans were rampaging.”

“If at that time Yuan Shao had tried to embrace him more actively, Dong Zhuo would not have gained power in the court.”

“And you would have taken Dong Zhuo’s place. Forget everything that has passed. No matter how much you dwell on the past, it will only be bitter.”

Cao Cao continued to smile slyly as he filled the empty cup.

“Hehe. It’s a pity. If Lü Bu had a daughter, we could have become in-laws.”

“……Just tell me the bad news.”

“Of course, the bad news.”

Cao Cao filled the cup and stared at it intently as he spoke.

“General Lü is leaving the court.”

“…….”

“There’s no need to say more, right? Without Lü Bu, it will be an opportunity for Dong Zhuo to run wild.”

“Does he know that and still leave?”

“It’s not that he trusts Dong Zhuo, but he trusts the imperial family and the officials of this country.”

Cao Cao fiddled with the cup and closed his eyes.

“The court was in turmoil due to the Ten Attendants’ Rebellion, and the emperor changed twice in one year. In such a situation, changing the emperor again? That’s something unimaginable.”

“Since when did power go hand in hand with common sense?”

“Yes. It’s not common sense. Everything before power.”

Cao Cao downed the cup in one gulp.

“Friend. As your friend, I will give you just one piece of bitter advice.”

“Just once, Aman.”

“It must never be revealed.”

“What?”

“The black swallow.”

“…….”

Yuan Shao’s eyes narrowed.

“The black swallow of Mount Heishan, of course, refers to him.”

Cao Cao, indifferent to Yuan Shao’s gaze, continued to roll the empty cup in his hand.

“Since when did Cao Cao like to speak in metaphors and roundabout ways?”

“I said it out of consideration for you. Why. Should I speak more directly?”

“Go ahead. So, what about the black swallow?”

“Didn’t you secretly join hands with Zhang Yan, the leader of the Heishan bandits?”

Bang!

“Nonsense!”

“It’s nonsense. Rumors circulating in the market. Stories about black swallows coming and going at the original price. Seeing your reaction… Hehe. No, no. I won’t ask any more.”

Cao Cao quietly put down the empty glass.

“There are so many news coming in from here and there. Those sent to Xiliang became guests who never returned, and those sent to Jizhou were instead bribed and acted as spies. Only those who went to Bingzhou returned to bring me news.”

“…….”

“He Jin has become a traitor. One of the reasons for Empress He’s downfall was her relationship with He Jin, and the reason He Jin became a traitor was due to the disguise of the Black Mountain bandits. It was He Jin’s order that Yuan Shao burned Mengjin.”

Cao Cao pushed the empty glass towards Yuan Shao.

“Who do you think suggested He Jin’s plan?”

“……I don’t know.”

Yuan Shao personally picked up the wine bottle and filled Cao Cao’s glass.

“I don’t know. Even if someone slanders me, it’s just slander.”

“Even though Dong Zhuo is sending people to find out who is behind it?”

“…….”

The wine overflowed as Yuan Shao was filling the glass.

“He Jin’s subordinates have gone under Dong Zhuo. With Lü Bu gone, he will start purging the opposition in earnest. He has been acting cautiously because of Lü Bu, but now that Lü Bu has left on his own, what will Dong Zhuo do?”

“So, has our Aman decided to become Dong Zhuo’s dog?”

“Hahaha!!”

Cao Cao slammed the full glass down.

“Are you saying that I, Cao Cao, should become that pig’s dog?”

The spilled wine splashed on Yuan Shao’s face, but Yuan Shao quietly wiped it off with his sleeve.

“I, Cao Cao, even if I am the son of a eunuch, know what is right and wrong. If Dong Zhuo is truly as the rumors say.”

Gulp, gulp.

“I will personally approach Dong Zhuo’s bedchamber and kill him.”

“Anyone who hears this would think you are a loyalist on par with Lü Bu.”

“If Dong Zhuo is truly a tyrant who enjoys murder and plunder, and if his reason for coming to Luoyang is to seize control of the court and commit atrocities.”

Cao Cao emptied his glass in one gulp and raised one hand towards the sky.

“In the history of this country, the name of Cao Mengde will remain as the loyalist who killed the traitor Dong Zhuo!”

“…Well. I have a different opinion.”

“Different?”

“After Wang Mang, Dong Zhuo, and then Cao Cao’s name-“

“This man!!”

Clang.

The cup rolled across the table.

“How can someone who calls himself a friend put Wang Mang and Cao Cao on the same level!”

“…….”

“Remember this. I am tolerating it because you are a friend. If I didn’t consider you a friend and thought of you as someone like Sun Wu Jing, I would have run to Lu Bu and reported you immediately. You are the one who devised the plan to disguise as the Black Mountain bandits.”

“……I am also tolerating it because you are a friend.”

Yuan Shao wiped the remaining liquor off the other side of his face with his sleeve.

“Have you also been influenced by Lu Bu?”

“Why. Are you sad that the influential officials of the Qingliu faction are now aligning themselves with Lu Bu and starting to neglect Yuan Shao, who has blood on his hands?”

“Isn’t it the same for you?”

“Well, I was a eunuch’s child anyway, and to them, I was part of the turbid current.”

Cao Cao stood up, pulling out his chair.

“Don’t come out. If word gets out that a patient saw me off, it won’t do any good for my reputation as Cao Mengde.”

“Aman. Lastly, let me ask you one thing.”

“What is it?”

“The Emperor is young.”

“…….”

“The deposed King of Hongnong was young and swayed by Empress Dowager He. What about the current Emperor?”

“Who knows.”

Cao Cao waved his empty hand.

“He hasn’t even reached the age of majority yet, so we have to wait and see. When I was young, when I was Aman, I was also reckless.”

“…….”

“A man only becomes an adult and matures after passing the age of majority. Until then, we have to raise him well by his side, don’t we? And… haha, where in the world is a child who abandons his father.”

“…Take care.”

“Yes. I hope to see you in better health next time.”

Yuan Shao saw Cao Cao off without getting up from his seat.

“……When he becomes an adult.”

Yuan Shao quietly closed his eyes.

“Countless Yu’s are spread across the world, and you want to wait for a child clinging to a border general to grow up?”

Tak.

“Isn’t the current emperor also the bloodline of someone who was swayed by eunuchs and plunged the country into chaos?”

Yuan Shao, with a pale face, stood up, opened the door, and went outside, looking up at the night sky.

“The sky is getting darker and darker.”

A half-full moon hung in Yuan Shao’s eyes.

“If someone has to be the light that brightens the darkness, this Yuan Benchu will be that light.”

* * *

Meanwhile, in another mansion in Luoyang City. A separate room.

“These days, the night sky is particularly dark. It seems your divination was wrong.”

The old man, Minister Wang Yun, laughed lowly as he spoke to a woman staying in the annex.

“Isn’t that right?”

“…The celestial signs have not been disturbed.”

The woman, with water dripping from her face, carefully wiped her face with a silk cloth.

As she moved her hand as if wiping and erasing something from her face, soon, skin whiter and more delicate than white jade was revealed.

“Daughter.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I did not believe in astrology. I did not trust the celestial charts entirely either.”

Minister Wang Yun, with his hands behind his back, drew the curtain inside the room.

“I took you in as my foster daughter all because of this divination.”

When he pulled back the silk curtain, inside were piles of books filled with all sorts of geometric drawings.

“Taking you in as an orphan, thanks to your divination, I was able to remain unshaken in the court. When no one predicted the rebellion, thanks to you, I claimed the Yellow Turban Rebellion and gained the emperor’s trust.”

“Even if I hadn’t told you, you would have become the Minister, sir.”

“But it was much faster than I thought. Even if the flow of celestial signs is constant, the clouds below move quickly with the wind.”

Wang Yun picked up a piece of silk.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have given these expensive papers to you. I would have made you carve bamboo slips yourself.”

Inside the silk were papers, already filled with all sorts of scribbles.

“I still don’t know if what you write is letters or your own symbols. These numerous writings that seem like Western characters, yet also like Chinese characters.”

Something other than Chinese characters.

The contents written on the paper were a mix of Western letters, Chinese characters, and all sorts of geometric patterns, resembling a spell.

“You conveyed these contents to me with words, written with divine skill. The prophecy was accurate. You said that He Jin would be assassinated, the Ten Attendants would fall, Prince Bian would be deposed, and Prince Xie of Chenliu would become the Emperor.”

“Sir.”

“However.”

Wang Yun picked up another piece of silk.

“Does Yuan Shao seem like someone who would ruin the grand cause due to indecisiveness?”

“…….”

“No. As soon as He Jin died, Yuan Shao immediately dispatched troops to the palace.”

“Sir.”

“What about Dong Zhuo? Does he seem like someone who enjoys murder and plunder? Although his nature is rough-“

“That is unknown.”

The woman raised her voice despite Wang Yun’s rebuke.

“Dong Zhuo is a villain. Send someone to Liang Province to confirm it.”

“Enough. That is too much worry. There is no need to send someone to investigate.”

“Sir!”

“From the beginning.”

Wang Yun picked up another piece of silk.

“Lü Bu.”

“……!”

“How can I continue to believe in the prophecy when the Lü Bu you speak of and the Lü Bu I see with my own eyes are so different?”

“Sir. That is!”

“Does Lü Bu seem like someone who betrays as easily as eating, changes his father at will, and switches sides for wealth?”

“…….”

The woman could not open her mouth.

“If it weren’t for this, I might have invited Lü Bu and welcomed him first. If so, I might have formed a bond with the most loyal man in the world. Much faster than others.”

“Sir. Lü Bu is….”

“Are you trying to say that he ultimately betrayed Ding Yuan? Can that truly be called betrayal? Ah, yes. He betrayed your perception of Lü Bu.”

“…….”

“It is late at night. Do not harm your body by reading the prophecy again, and go to bed early. This is already enough help from the heavens, the rest is up to me.”

Wang Yun extinguished the candle and went outside.

“Ah, yes.”

Just as she was about to leave, she stopped abruptly in front of the door.

“Chosun.”

“Yes, Elder.”

The woman, Chosun, bowed her head.

“It’s about time you repay the favor, don’t you think? You’re of age now.”

“…….”

“Your body is already prepared, so make sure your mind is ready too.”

“…….”

Chosun did not respond, but Wang Yun nodded his head and left the room.

Creak.

“…That can’t be.”

As the door closed, Chosun bit her lower lip and walked behind the curtain.

“Lü Bu, Lü Fengxian, Bingzhou’s Wenyuan….”

She spread one of the stacked sheets of hanji on the silk and grabbed a thin brush, dipping it in ink. Chosun quickly began to write something.

“Unlike taking Lady Yan as his wife, currently single…. Last position was…ugh…?”

Chosun clutched her head with the hand holding the brush.

Gripping her head tightly, the hand holding the brush trembled, and the ink stained her clothes.

“…….”

Something dripped from her mouth.

“Haa, haa….”

Red blood.

In an instant, Chosun’s face turned pale, but she wiped the blood from her mouth with her sleeve and picked up the brush again with her trembling hand.

“I must remember, I must….”

Even as she held her forehead with one hand, Chosun continued to scribble something on the bamboo slip with the fine brush.

“Lü Bu, Lü Bu….”

Drip, drip.

“If I were her, I would surely….”

Ink and red blood seeped into the paper, but Chosun continued to move the brush-

“……Ah.”

Her hand stopped.

“…….”

Thud.

Chosun collapsed forward as if fainting.

At the end of the hastily scribbled words, something was written: ‘199’.

* * *

“Phew. I feel alive.”

On a boat crossing the Yellow River at night.

“The air is clear, the night sky is clear, and although there’s a bit of a dirt smell from the water, well. It’s not like I’m going to drink it right now.”

I lightly scooped up the water of the Yellow River with my hand and slowly let it flow through my fingers.

“I want to live quietly in a world without bandits. When I retire, I’ll build a manor in the mountains and raise disciples….”

“General!! Over there, beyond the water! Bandits!!”

“……Just when I was about to get lost in thought, tsk.”

Shaking off the remaining water and dirt from my hand, I grabbed my spear.

“General! We’ll dock the boat soon! To the shore…!”

“There’s no need.”

With only my spear in hand, I headed straight to the bow of the boat.

“Swimming is faster.”

Splashㅡ!

The Yellow River at night is cold, though it looks like muddy water.

In the darkness, only one thing is visible.

“What, what?! Why is there a person here…?!”

“Black clothes. They must be Zhang Yan’s men. They must have started looting upon hearing that Lü Bu is staying in Luoyang.”

Only bandits trying to loot the villagers.

“How dare you, from where?”

Whooshㅡㅡ!

“Ugh!!”

“A person was cut in half…!”

Without needing to think complicated thoughts, I eliminate all the bandits in front of me.

“Come. If you don’t, I’ll come to kill you.”

“The soldiers of Bingzhou, follow General Lü and eliminate the banditsㅡㅡㅡ!!”

With the soldiers jumping off the ship, they charge towards the bandits.

“People say that it is unfilial for a child to die before their parents.”

Yes.

“If it is also unfilial for parents to die without fully receiving their child’s filial piety.”

Rather than living in the court, constantly watching one’s back.

“You scum are creating unfilial children in the world.”

Puhwaaa!!

“You have smeared the faces of the parents who raised you through banditry, so I will punish that unfilial act.”

That’s all.

“Bandits are killed.”

＜ Responsibility (2) ＞ End