Yun Chang POV
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Chen Gong, you can still grow.” Cao Ren said as she patted Chen Gong’s shoulders, “Besides, it’s fine for girls to be shorter.”
“No, it’s better if I’m taller.” Chen Gong said with an irritated look.
“Then eat more vegetables. I heard that eating more vegetables can help you grow.” Cao Ren said and smiled as she continued walking ahead, “Come on now, everyone, we’re almost there.”
At this time, her expression was a lot lighter. I was surprised but this was a good sign. I looked back at Chen Gong slightly and she nodded at me slightly as well. Because of what just happened, all of us were a lot more relaxed. Could this be what Chen Gong was saying before? I think I understand how it works now.
Relax, relax. Hu~ I breathed out as I told myself to relax, as I followed behind Cao Ren, who should not be as in guard against us as before.
“Is Lord Cao Cao doing alright of late?” I asked. I decided to start a conversation on a common topic that was not taboo as I felt that it would be a little awkward to remain silent as we continued to walk on.
“Elder sister is doing fine.” Cao Ren replied relaxedly as she held her hands behind her back, “But she’s probably getting ready to leave Xuchang soon. Our and Yuan Shao’s troops should be headed for Wan city now.”
Oh~ I see.
“You don’t need to be too worried. Assisting us will definitely be beneficial for you and when the time comes, we will make sure you get your fair share of merits.” Cao Ren said as she turned back, “Especially you, Lord Guan Yu.”
Un…
“I understand. Many thanks, Lord Cao Ren.”
This exchange made me think back to the time when I, Lu Bu and several others stayed in Xuchang while big brother was missing. Though I was very worried then, Cao Cao did indeed treat us very well. As a warrior, and as someone who places great importance on loyalty and honour, I have to repay this favour to Cao Cao somehow. Of course, this method of repayment has to be such that I do not betray big brother.
*Jii*… I could feel Chen Gong’s intense stare on me.
“Don’t look t me like that.” I frowned slightly as I knew why Chen Gong was nehaving like this, “I just happened to serve under Lord Cao Cao for a while and was treated well then.”
“Even so, it seems like you both have rather deep relations huh? Looks like you know how to do things huh?”
I am very sure that she is misunderstanding something here.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. In the end, we are a meritocracy here. If Lord Chen Gong’s achievements are worthy, we can bestow anything on you.” Cao Ren said as she stood before the entrance of a large tent, “We’re here.”
The 3 of us stood still as well and looked up at the tent. It did not seem to be different from any other tent but we would not be able to know what was inside after all. Perhaps there might be the other 2 generals, or there might be several dozen soldiers waiting to strike.
“Please do not be alarmed.”
I was very sure that I did not reveal it on my face, and was confident that Wen Yuan and Chen Gong were the same as well. Yet, when Cao Ren said these words, perhaps out of politeness, I felt like my heart skipped a beat.
Thereafter, she smiled at us and pulled up the curtains. We looked in from behind her and found that the tent was big and spacious inside, and only 2 people were sitting inside. 1 was Li Dian and the other was clearly Shen Pei. Lu Xian did not come huh…
“Alright, please come in if there isn’t any problem.” Cao Ren said as she went in ahead of us.
Wen Yuan and Chen Gong took 1 small step up so we were across each other. We then exchanged glances and nodded at each other before we entered the tent. Upon entering the tent, I saw that Cao Ren had already taken a seat.
She did not sit on the main seat however. Instead, she sat on the second seat at the left aisle followed by Li Dian and Shen Pei. In that case, I will sit at the second seat at the fight aisle, followed by Wen Yuan and Chen Gong.
“I don’t suppose most of us here need introductions.” Cao Ren said and then pointed at Shen Pei and then at Chen Gong, “The strategist you see here is Lord Shen Pei and the one over there is Lord Chen Gong.”
“Ah… Un…”
“I look forward to working with you.”
Between the 2 of them, it was clear that Chen Gong was more dominant. The more I looked at Shen Pei, the more I felt like she seemed like an easy person to deal with. But this is just how she looks. The ambush that crushed our raid was her handiwork after all so there is no way that I will underestimate her.
“Since we all know each other now, let’s dispense with the pleasantries and dive straight into business.” Cao Ren said as she lowered her arm and softly rested her hands on her knees as she beamed at us, “Time is limited after all. And you need to head back as soon as you can to avoid suspicion.”
“Ah, that is true.” Wen Yuan hurriedly replied, “I was in charge of leading the training for today but I managed to skip it. I still need to return before dusk or I would arouse suspicion.”
That sounds like it’s actually the truth… Wait, it does seem like she is indeed on duty today which means that Lu Bu is standing in for her huh?
“As for me, I’m in charge of some of the city defence works. The others who are also in charge are all very busy and do not have time to be bothered with me.” Chen Gong said and then gave a wry smile, “So I can slack off sometimes as well.”
That sounds like it’s actually the truth as well, for some strange reason. I will have to question her later about this.
“Many thanks to you for your hard work. It must not have been easy for you to come here.” Li Dian said as she looked at our clothes.
“*Pu*” Cao Ren seemed to remember what we told her just now when Li Dian talked about our efforts in coming here and stifled a laugh.
Li Dian seemed very surprised to see Cao Ren like this while Wen Yuan and Chen Gong had sour expressions on. Looks like Cao Ren laughs easily huh? Though I must say what happened to them is really funny.
“Ahem,” Shen Pei cleared her throat and smiled stiffly as she raised her hand, “Umm, please wait for a moment.”
Un?
“Ah, please don’t mind it.”
“Just wait for a bit.”
Un?? I really do not understand what is going on but I will just have to go along with what they said and wait. When I turned to look at Shen Pei, I saw that she had begun to breath deeply for some reason.
I felt puzzled as I looked at her but soon, I saw that her expression changed drastically. It’s not easy to describe but I could feel like her facial muscles relaxed considerably and her eyebrows eased as well.
“Everyone, thank you for waiting.” Finally, after a while, she spoke up in a much stronger tone and nodded, “I was rather nervous before but I am fine now.” As she said so, she moved her hands away from her mouth, looking much more confident than before.
And all she did was take a few deep breaths.
“Ah, I understand.” I said, feeling rather tense as this transformation. I could feel that this Shen Pei fellow would be a lot more difficult than Cao Ren and Li Dian.
“I would like to ask you some questions. Of course, this is not a test nor is it an interrogation. I would just like to understand the circumstances for each of you.” Shen Pei said as she waved her hands to the side, “Well then, what is the reason why each of you wishes to defect to our side?”
She asked about the reason as expected huh? Good thing Xu Shu had told us about this beforehand.
“The main reason for all of us is discord.” I said first for all of and looked at Shen Pei. She did not have much of an expression and merely nodded as she gestured for me to carry on.
“Now that big brother is dead, I feel that it will be difficult for me to carry on with just my strength alone.” I said and paused intentionally to feign heartache, “And besides… Xinye city has effectively become Lu Bu’s domain. We have not been able to get in any say at all in practically anything. She is also reckless and that has resulted in the loss in the previous battle.”
“Are you referring to your raid on Fan city?” She asked.
“From the perspective of an enemy, your ambush was truly brilliant.” Wen Yuan said as she smiled bitterly. I do not know if this is how she truly feels bit the emotions displayed on her face now is just what we need,
“No, that was just a mere parlour trick.” Shen Pei said as her eyebrows jumped and she twirled one of her curls, “Alright, we are now done with Lord Guan Yu. Lord Zhang Liao, why did you choose to leave? Isn’t she your direct superior?”
“Not anymore,” Wen Yuan shook her head angrily, “Even though I contributed the most in the battle, I was subjected to punishment when the battle ended and the blame with the loss was laid on me. I cannot serve her any longer!”
*Dang*!
Wen Yuan slammed her fist on the table as she said so. And with that, the atmosphere in the room got even heavier.