The Wei King’s palace in Luoyang, with its soaring towers and ornate architecture.
The massive palace gates were shut, like a slumbering beast. Guards stood at attention on either side. It was still too early, and the streets were silent, save for the echoing footsteps of patrolling Hu Ben guards.
Just then…
The crisp sound of footsteps approached the palace entrance. The guards were about to question the newcomer, but upon seeing the aged face beneath the bamboo hat, they immediately clasped their fists. “It is the Grand Tutor!”
“Is the Wei King within?”
“He awaits the Grand Tutor in the palace!” the guard replied truthfully.
The old man in the bamboo hat nodded and continued his slow pace towards the Wei King’s hall…
The patrolling Hu Ben guards, having missed the conversation between the gatekeepers and the old man, asked, “Who is it? Walking so slowly through the Wei King’s palace. This is a grave disrespect.”
“Hush!” the gatekeeper quickly retorted. “He is the Grand Tutor, attending the Wei King, advising and assisting in matters of state! He is a man both the Wei King and the White Horse Marquis respect!”
Grand Tutor?
The title caused all the Hu Ben guards to freeze.
Besides Jia Xu, Jia Wenhe, who else could it be?
But…
“Jia Lao hasn’t appeared in a long time, why would he come to the Wei King’s palace at this hour?”
The Hu Ben guards remained curious and asked.
The gatekeeper hesitated before replying, “Have you forgotten how the White Horse Marquis described Jia Lao?”
“How so?”
— “Jia Wenhe is poisonous!”
The gatekeeper murmured, a hint of pity in his eyes.
“Wherever he appears, someone is bound to suffer.”
On the palace walls, the lights blazed brightly, and the cold wind whipped the banners on the battlements, making them snap crisper.
Cao Cao had already prepared two sets of wine and food in the palace hall. He sat at the head of the table, but the guest seat remained empty. Finally…
With the sound of footsteps, Cao Cao sensed the arrival, lifted his gaze, and boomed, “Jia Wenhe, you’ve finally arrived!”
“Wei King…”
The newcomer was indeed Jia Xu. He offered a slight bow, then raised his head, straightening his stooped frame as much as possible. “Though I am late, the task is already done!”
Upon hearing this…
A sharp glint flashed in Cao Cao’s eyes. “The assassins have been dispatched? And arrangements made at the Xu Du imperial palace?”
“Ahem…” Jia Xu coughed lightly, then proclaimed loudly, “Those who deserve to die will not live! And those who deserve infamy will not escape it!”
Jia Xu’s words reassured Cao Cao.
“Jia Lao has lived in seclusion for many years. Now that you have emerged, you bring me a great gift.”
Haha…
Jia Xu chuckled, smiling and sighing, “As one grows old, one is no longer constrained by ‘techniques.’ I have been meditating at home and have come to understand the ‘Dao’ of nature. With Your Majesty as the sun and the White Horse Marquis as the moon, in such times, I only need to follow the natural course to be invincible. Why should I labor over everything?”
Hmm…
Cao Cao was startled by these words, then burst into laughter, stroking his beard.
“Jia Lao has truly understood the meaning of life!”
…
…
A great victory!
The great victory at Bowang Slope!
As black smoke curled from Bowang Slope and the hot air balloons landed, countless Qingzhou soldiers raised their arms and cheered!
Truth be told, as Xiahou Dun’s troops, they were weary. Other generals fought outnumbered and weaker against stronger foes, but they… always had more troops than the enemy, yet they lost every battle!
This was unique among all the armies of Great Wei, putting immense pressure on them.
This time, it was perfect. Without losing a single soldier, they had burned the enemy army to ashes with a single fire. Although… these Qingzhou soldiers hadn’t exerted themselves much, at most cheering and waving flags…
But…
This victory would at least bring them some credit.
While it was somewhat shameless, at least they had shed the stigma of being the “army that always loses!”
However…
As the hot air balloon descended, Xiahou Dun noticed a woman emerge from the wicker basket.
Yes… a woman whose skin was as smooth as jade, with a delicate nose and finely arched eyebrows, even as the fierce wind from the sky buffeted her. What was most striking was her complexion, as white as snow, making anyone who saw her want to reach out and touch it!
She immediately caught Xiahou Dun’s attention.
In contrast, Ma Yunlu looked unremarkable, dark-skinned and tall, possessing the typical temperament of a girl from Yongliang.
Even with Ma Yunlu’s striking features, in her male disguise, she couldn't possibly be as eye-catching as Lady Gan!
Of course…
Subconsciously, Xiahou Dun assumed the woman was Ma Yunlu, but then he realized something was wrong. How could Ma Yunlu be so fair, whiter than jade? This didn’t fit the temperament of Yongliang women!
Besides… someone had reported that Ma Yunlu was in disguise!
But this woman, clad in a flowing gown, was incredibly beautiful. Fortunately, Xiahou Dun wasn't interested in women; if it were Old Cao, he would have already made a move!
“Younger Brother…”
Xiahou Dun quickly called Lu Yu to his side, and they walked towards a tree. Others assumed they were going to relieve themselves and paid no mind.
“Younger Brother…” Xiahou Dun rested his arm on Lu Yu’s shoulder. He glanced towards Lady Gan and asked, “What’s going on… Besides the Xiliang Princess? Did you bring another wife?”
Cough…
As the words left his mouth, Lu Yu coughed and pointed at Xiahou Dun. “Elder Brother Xiahou, you mustn’t speak nonsense. Her… you must call her Sister-in-law!”
Uh… Sister-in-law?
Xiahou Dun blinked, not understanding. He mused that even if she belonged to Lu Yu, at most she would be called Sister-in-law, but why Sister-in-law?
“Ahem…” Lu Yu coughed again and whispered, “This is Lady Gan, Liu Bei’s wife… but from now on, she will no longer be Liu Bei’s wife. She is your Sister-in-law!”
Upon hearing this, Xiahou Dun seemed to understand something.
His eyes widened, his mouth agape. He turned to look at Lady Gan, but after a fleeting glance in the crowd, he quickly turned back… his eyes filled with disbelief.
“She… Elder Brother? Sister-in-law! When did Elder Brother and… and her…”
“Hush!” Lu Yu held up a finger, signaling Xiahou Dun to not be so conspicuous, and lowered his voice. “It was just before Guan Yu passed through the five passes and slew the six generals! Elder Brother Xiahou only knows that Guan Yu killed your deputy when he passed through the five passes and slew the six generals, but… Elder Brother Xiahou never knew that all this was to conceal Lady Gan’s relationship with the Wei King! This time, you are at the second level, and the Wei King is at the fifth!”
Gulp…
Xiahou Dun instinctively swallowed. He suddenly realized that Elder Brother Cao Cao was far more devious than he had imagined!
Right under Guan Yu’s nose, he could still… do this?
This was simply too elaborate!
However, considering she was the wife of the big-eared fellow, then… it was a welcome sight!
Wait…
Suddenly, Xiahou Dun thought of something else. He turned his head and looked directly at the hot air balloons. “Could it be… the purpose of this Bowang Slope campaign was…”
“That’s right, you guessed it!” Lu Yu spread his hands. “The purpose was to attract Liu Bei’s army’s attention, and then… to steal Lady Gan from Xinye City!”
Good heavens…
Xiahou Dun gasped, his legs faltering.
He finally understood why Lu Yu had made him drink that bowl of wine. This bowl of wine… had great significance!
But couldn’t he have told him about this in advance?
As Xiahou Dun was about to question him, Lu Yu turned his back, unbuckled his belt, and urinated under a tree, lamenting, “Doesn’t the Wei King always say, ‘Your wife, I will raise her, you need not worry!’ This… fits his intentions perfectly, ‘Your wife, I will raise her, and you will be cuckolded!’ Hahaha!”
Speaking of which…
Lu Yu waved his hand and immediately ordered Liu Ye, “Uncle Liu, dispatch someone immediately to secretly escort Lady Gan back!”
“General Zhongkang has already made arrangements!” Liu Ye replied…
Xu Chu had made arrangements as soon as the hot air balloon landed.
How eager Cao Cao was to see Lady Gan, others might not know, but Xu Chu was most clear!
There could be no delay in sending Lady Gan back.
“Then…” Xiahou Dun asked again, “Should we take advantage of this and march south to capture Xinye City?”
“Of course!” Lu Yu smiled slightly. “We should pursue the victory and chase the defeated enemy!”
“Younger Brother, your words are so powerful, who taught you?” Xiahou Dun quickly asked…
Lu Yu blinked his eyes and softly recited.
— “A great man!”
Just then…
“Report… Report…”
A scout galloped over, and as he reached Lu Yu and Xiahou Dun, he quickly dismounted.
— “After Bowang Slope, a stone formation was discovered!”
— “Blocking the path between Bowang Slope and Xinye City!”
Stone formation?
Lu Yu’s eyes narrowed. Thinking of Zhuge Liang, the first thing that instinctively came to his mind was the famous “Bagua Formation”!
…
…
Jing Province, Xinye City.
In the vital official quarters, a dust-covered Liu Bei had barely escaped back. He gasped for air, still reeling from the shock of being burned at Bowang Slope.
However…
Soon, he was astonished by something even more bizarre, leaving him speechless and unable to breathe.
— Lady Gan had disappeared, having turned into a butterfly and flown away!
First, Lady Gan’s maidservant told him so!
Then, Lady Gan’s father and mother told him so…
Finally, the entire city of Xinye was spreading this news, even children’s rhymes were about it.
— Lady Gan, turned butterfly, spread her wings and flew to the sky;
— Big ears, dusty face, gazing aimlessly at the sky!
Uh…
Liu Bei looked utterly bewildered. If the person reporting this wasn't the lady’s confidante or her parents, Liu Bei… Liu Bei would have leaped three feet and ordered the spreader of this “witchcraft and sedition” to be beheaded.
But coincidentally…
In the mansion, just moments ago… many people had witnessed numerous butterflies… fluttering about!
Flying out of Lady Gan’s room, gracefully soaring towards the heavens!
But…
In Liu Bei’s view, he felt that his intelligence was still being severely rubbed and insulted.
It wasn't just rubbing; it was like being whipped, roasted with fire… even that wasn’t enough; his intelligence had to be thoroughly humiliated, trampled upon, and endlessly crushed underfoot!
In short, Liu Bei didn’t know what to say. Regardless of whether Lady Gan had truly turned into a butterfly and flown away, he… he had lost his main wife.
“Lord Liu… do not be sad!”
Lady Gan’s father and mother, holding Liu Chan, wept incessantly, yet they continued to comfort Liu Bei.
Even Zhuge Liang arrived…
But he remained silent…
He didn’t know what to say!
Great Wei could launch aerial attacks, people could fly in the sky, and even unleash moves like fire raining from heaven. Then… perhaps Lady Gan had truly turned into a butterfly and flown away?
Zhuge Liang was a practitioner of the “Dao”…
Laozi rode an ox across Hangu Pass, purple energy from the east for thirty thousand miles…
Zhuangzi also turned into a butterfly… and flew away!
Only… Liu Bei could never accept it…
He wanted to send people to investigate, but where were there any people now!
His brothers had all died in the inferno at Bowang Slope!
This was a double blow to him!
Liu Bei could only wave his hand helplessly. “All of you, withdraw. I wish to be alone… I wish to be alone…”
“Yes!”
The crowd slowly withdrew.
Liu Bei returned alone to Lady Gan’s chambers, sitting on the bed in a daze. Even though Liu Bei had wronged Gan Mei over the years, but… but after all, a day of marriage held a hundred days of affection!
Moreover, there was A Dou, his only son!
How could Gan Mei have turned into a butterfly and flown away?
In the familiar yet strange official residence…
The “White Jade Beauty” that Liu Bei cherished like a treasure was still hidden in the cabinet. Seeing this “White Jade Beauty” filled Liu Bei with boundless sorrow. He wanted to cry… tears poured from his eyes.
“Mei’er, why… why… did you leave me… leave… leave me!”
Slap…
Just then, the sound of violent whipping came from outside the chamber.
“Speak, tell the truth!”
“Where has Sister-in-law gone? If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll beat you to death!”
Hearing the voice, it was Zhang Fei, Zhang Yide, interrogating Lady Gan’s maidservant!
“Madam… Madam really turned into a butterfly and flew away, just now… countless butterflies flew out from Madam’s entire pavilion, and they flew together… flew away!”
With a “bang!” Zhang Fei slammed his Serpent Spear onto the ground. His face was covered in ash, clearly… he had also escaped from Bowang Slope and looked disheveled.
But upon hearing that his sister-in-law had turned into a butterfly and flown away… he couldn’t care less and immediately rushed over!
Even though Zhang Fei wasn’t very intelligent, he also felt this was impossible!
So, he went to interrogate…
He went to interrogate personally!
He would interrogate every maidservant who had attended Lady Gan, believing he would surely find out.
“The common people are spreading rumors… that… that a Butterfly Immortal fancied Madam, and then cast a spell on Madam, turning Madam into a butterfly and letting her fly away.”
The maidservant spoke…
She truly didn’t know. The whole day had been chaotic and full of panic. Everyone was just trying to protect themselves. Who would care about Lady Gan?
“You! Bullshit!”
Zhang Fei drew his Serpent Spear, adopting a posture as if he were about to pierce the maidservant with a hundred transparent holes.
The maidservant was frightened and retreated repeatedly… but Zhang Fei pressed closer. “I’ll ask you one last time, where did Sister-in-law go?”
“I… I don’t know. I only saw butterflies and heard children’s rhymes… Anything else, anything else I don’t know!”
As the maidservant finished speaking…
Zhang Fei stopped pressing. He knew that any further questioning would be meaningless.
“Third Brother, this matter has nothing to do with her!”
Liu Bei also pushed open the door and came out at this moment.
Words could be terrifying…
Liu Bei could imagine that the story of a Butterfly Immortal taking Lady Gan would surely spread like wildfire throughout the city. Three people make a tiger, and he didn’t know what it would be rumored to be!
Would the common people even wonder why a Butterfly Immortal would take Lady Gan?
Was it because Liu Bei’s scandals were all true?
Had Liu Bei done something heinous and universally condemned, incurring the wrath of heaven?
“Elder Brother, this cannot be let go!”
Zhang Fei was still shouting.
“This matter, mention it no more!” Liu Bei waved his hand and said coldly, his expression dejected.
Just then.
“Tap, tap!”
Urgent footsteps approached from outside the door…
“Lord, Lord…”
The voice was clear but extremely anxious.
“Kong Ming…”
Liu Bei murmured. It seemed he still hadn’t emerged from the sorrow of his defeat at Bowang Slope. Even if he didn’t say it aloud, he couldn’t help but feel some resentment towards Kong Ming in his heart.
But… in reality, he couldn’t be blamed at all. The enemy came from the sky. Could anyone have predicted this? Let alone Kong Ming, anyone else wouldn’t have been able to foresee it, right?
“Lord…”
Zhuge Liang walked to Liu Bei’s side…
“The defeat at Bowang Slope is indeed my fault…”
Before he could finish speaking, Liu Bei patted Zhuge Liang’s shoulder. “Victory and defeat are common in warfare. Kong Ming, you need not dwell on it…”
Clearly, Zhuge Liang wasn’t going to talk about that. His brows were stern, and he furrowed them. “Now, there is good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first, Lord?”
“Bad news, I suppose…” Liu Bei instinctively replied.
“Lady Mi is also gone!”
As this sentence was uttered… Liu Bei’s eyes widened, his legs trembled. If Zhang Fei beside him hadn’t supported him, he would have nearly stumbled and fallen to the ground!
“She… how did she disappear too?” Liu Bei muttered.
The maidservant who was kneeling spoke:
“Could it be… Lady Mi also turned into a butterfly and flew away?”
…
…