Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 1131 Night in Yanjing, Visiting the Sick
The moonlight was cool and clear, and the stars were numerous.

Yanjing.

The night wind swept across the vast city, swaying the lanterns in the palace. Armored soldiers carrying halberds and long swords walked along the palace roads. Eunuchs whispered a few words to the palace maids, then turned and ran to the inner chambers to await their master's summons.

The room was brightly lit by the lights. The children, who had eaten and drunk their fill, had already gone to sleep. Only the four women remained, watching Lu Bu sitting in front of them, completely unrefined.

"After spending so much time in the military, I've almost forgotten what home-cooked meals taste like."

He patted his stomach and let out a burp: "Now I feel alive again."

"Young master should also pay more attention to his image."

Wu Qing turned around and took the meat soup from the maid behind her. Lü Tuo was still young and ate a lot. For the sake of the child, she also had to drink more soup every day, and her body became rounder.

Lu Bu rolled his eyes, waved his hand, and said in a relaxed tone: "Outside, everyone is careful and cautious. Especially after that old-fashioned fellow Yang Pu came to the army, he always speaks politely and acts according to the rules of etiquette. All the generals in the army are afraid of him, and I have no freedom. I'm finally back, so how about I relax a bit?"

The complaints elicited chuckles from the women. Hu Sanniang raised an eyebrow: "After Lord Yang went to the army, the young master's life wasn't easy. I believe, before that..."

Su Jinniang shook her head and sighed, "If a young man doesn't mingle and fool around with others, that's already a sign of self-control. How could he possibly care about etiquette?"

"I'm not as bad as you two say..."

Lu Bu, feeling a little embarrassed, sat up straighter. The four women opposite him smiled broadly. Knowing their man's reaction all too well, Wu Qing tried to smooth things over: "Alright, we know our lord wouldn't do anything out of line. We're just happy to see him back, it's nothing more than a joke."

"I know." Lu Bu picked up his hot tea, took a sip to cleanse his palate, and glanced at the four women with a grin. He felt a little itchy inside, since women were not allowed in the army, and he was quite pent up. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly yawned: "After months of fighting, I'm suddenly a little tired. How about we rest early today?"

Dalibo blushed slightly and remained silent. The other three women rolled their eyes at him: "What a character!"

Lu Bu's old face didn't even blush. He stood up and ordered, "Prepare some hot soup. It's been a long time since I've bathed. Let me clean myself up first."

He paused, then a mischievous smile appeared on his face as he looked at the four women: "My four beloved concubines, I am quite dirty. Why don't you help me clean myself up?"

The four women exchanged glances and simultaneously rolled their eyes at Lü Bu.

"It's a beautiful thought."

"My lord, please depart."

"I will have my maidservant serve you."

"Stop fooling around, my lord!"

The four girls' coquettish voices made Lu Bu laugh. "Let's go together." He stepped forward and took the hands of Wu Qing and Su Jinniang. How could the two resist his strength? Besides, they didn't even think of resisting. They got up with his help.

"I wish I had four hands." Lü Bu shook his head and sighed, then said to Hu Sanniang and Dalibo, "My two beloved consorts, hurry up."

Wu Qing and Su Jinniang followed with light, graceful steps. Hu Sanniang was also very interested. Seeing them walk towards the back, she stood up, saw Dali Bo blushing and lowering her head, reached out and pulled her up, and said softly, "Sister, let's go."

"This……"

Dalibo wanted to pull his hand away, but Hu Sanniang wouldn't let him stay alone. She exerted even more force. Dalibo had no choice but to follow her in, not wanting to make things awkward. However, he looked somewhat absent-minded, clearly preoccupied with something on his mind.

In the steaming room, eight jade hands grasp the universe, while a ferocious tiger seeks its prey.

Afterwards, the battlefield was moved and changed. Lü Bu fought four generals alone, charging into the enemy lines several times until they were routed. His long halberd moved in all directions, and his two tiger claws pressed down on the eight peaks. The ferocious tiger roared in the night.

A night of fierce fighting left countless drop of blood.

The next day, Lu Bu, unusually, did not get up early to practice his skills. He slept until the sun was high in the sky before getting up. He shook his head, cleared his mind for a few moments, and then started to think.

Today I have to meet with a few people who stayed behind in Yanjing, and I also have to go see that guy Xiao Haili. Feeling a bit dazed, I got out of bed and couldn't help but press my lower back.

"I'm not young anymore..."

He said something with a touch of wistfulness, then watched as the maids came in to help him dress, and asked, "Where are they?"

"The imperial concubines got up early and, seeing that His Majesty had not yet risen, took the princes and princesses to the front hall first."

Lu Bu stretched out his hand, letting the maid put his clothes on. He nodded, knowing that his daughters were very involved in their children's education. Even though the palace had hired tutors, his four daughters would sometimes teach them things on their own, whether useful or not, it was all out of a mother's love.

With the jade belt fastened around his waist, Lü Bu suddenly asked, "Where did Dalibo go?"

The maidservant respectfully handed over the jade pendant: "Ronghua went to her brother's residence, saying she was going to see her aunt."

"Oh..." Lu Bu reached out and grabbed it, hanging it on his waist. He thought of what happened in Linhuang Prefecture a few years ago and nodded: "It's only human nature."

He strode outside, and as the maids curtsied, he went outside and instructed the waiting eunuch, "Have the imperial kitchen send over some nourishing medicinal food in a little while." He paused, then added, "It should be something to strengthen the body's foundation and replenish vital energy."

"Yes, sir." The eunuch lowered his head, not daring to show any emotion on his face.

The emperor strode forward and went straight to the warm pavilion, where palace maids brought him food. Lu Bu picked up his chopsticks while looking at the memorials that were brought to him.

Several figures walked past the guards outside, entered the room under their watchful eyes, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty."

"You've arrived." Lü Bu gestured with his chopsticks to the seat and said, "Sit down." He then finished his bowl of meat porridge, set it aside, and wiped his mouth. "I've read the memorials you've been accumulating. They're quite good. Even I, in the palace, couldn't have done better."

"Your Majesty has given you too much praise."

Wang Zheng, Qiao Lie, and Fang Xuedu smiled modestly. Lü Bu then turned his gaze to Jiang Jing and Li Ying: "How are the preparations for the compensation and rewards going? Are the treasuries in various regions adequate?"

"We are still waiting for the official document from the Military and Political Affairs Department." Jiang Jing said respectfully, then thought for a moment and said, "Reports from various places indicate that a lot of grain was consumed last year due to the war, and the treasury is mostly empty. The area south of Zhuozhou, which is occupied by the Song Dynasty, is even more miserable. Not to mention that those bastards ruthlessly killed the people, we don't know where all the stored money and grain have been transported."

"I had already anticipated this." Rubbing his temples with a slight headache, Lü Bu frowned. "What about Pingzhou? Is the treasury there in the same situation?" "It's a little better," Li Ying nodded and sighed. "But it's not much better. After Zhang Jue took over, he used the treasury's grain for military purposes, and transported the rest of the money to Shicheng, but..."

“They were taken away by the Song people.” Lu Bu finished speaking for him, his expression somewhat grim. “Bang!” He slammed his hand on the table. “I really suspect that these Song people came here to occupy land or to amass wealth. What kind of army comes to a place and doesn’t think about how to occupy the city, but only cares about wealth?”

"However, thanks to these Song people, we were able to quickly stabilize the situation after we occupied the city," Qiao Lie said, then slapped his thigh with some emotion. "It's just a pity that many people in the city need assistance, so we have to transfer money and grain from other places."

"This is also one of the reasons why I implore Your Majesty to withdraw the troops as soon as possible." Li Ying stroked his beard with a worried look on his face: "The money and grain not only need to be supplied to the front line, but also to the government offices in Zhuozhou and Pingzhou, so that the people in various places will not be able to survive. The cost of these alone is quite high."

Lu Bu was somewhat speechless, sitting there with a bitter laugh: "I thought things would get better after we took over Liao, but now it seems things are getting even more difficult..."

“We were too naive.” Wang Zheng’s lazy face showed some annoyance: “I only realized after I took over Yanjing that the Liao royal family was greedy, and Yelü Yanxi was even more ruthless towards the Han people. The Han people in Nanjing and other places were burdened with heavy taxes and were eventually conscripted into the army. If Your Majesty had not conquered Yanjing quickly, I don’t know how much we would have lost.”

The people in the warm pavilion fell silent for a moment. After a long while, Lü Bu spoke up: "In other words, we cannot continue our attack on the south in the short term."

With his tiger-like eyes sweeping over Jiang Jing and Li Ying, the two exchanged a glance, and the fortune teller spoke: "If we only rely on our own country's taxes, it will take at least three to five years to invade the south."

“…three to five years.” He murmured softly, then grabbed something and frowned at them: “What do you mean by that? Is there some other way?”

A maid brought over pastries and sweet soup, gently placed them beside the group, and quietly withdrew.

Wang Zheng stroked his neatly trimmed mustache, a smile on his face: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the Southern Dynasty is fond of sending money and provisions after a war? Now that we have won, we can naturally extract money and provisions from them." He reached for a cup of warm sugar water and took a sip: "In that case, we may be able to halve our time."

"So good."

Lu Bu nodded slowly, his face relaxing a bit: "Also, send the prisoners of the Song army this time to repair the city and build checkpoints. It's a waste to leave such good laborers unused." He glanced at Fang Xuedu's side: "Select the strong and healthy to join the army and train them more."

"Yes." Fang Xuedu nodded in agreement.

Not long after, Lü Bu, having assigned tasks, sent his men off to carry them out. After drinking the medicinal food brought by the eunuch, he muttered, "Time to start taking care of myself..."

After changing his clothes, he left the palace and, led by a eunuch, went to Xiao Haili's residence.

The atmosphere in Yanjing City remained as lively as yesterday. Perhaps due to the victory in the war, many people were still discussing the matter of Qi replacing Liao. Along the way, there were people who frequently expressed their opinions, which Lu Bu, Yu Cheng and others listened to with great interest.

In the eastern part of the city, the original residences of the Liao royal family members had been occupied by high-ranking officials and generals of the Qi Kingdom. Looking up at the plaque of the Xiao residence, Lu Bu had Yu Cheng knock on the door and then strode inside.

The aroma of the boiled herbs wafted into the air and reached the noses of the group. Upon receiving the message, the people from the Xiao family rushed over to greet them. Seven or eight figures stood in the spacious front courtyard, making it seem somewhat empty.

"That old geezer, he should have kept more people at home..."

Lu Bu shook his head, looked at the fair-skinned woman holding a small child in her arms, raised an eyebrow and stepped forward: "This is..."

"Xiao Haili's wife, Lady Xiao Gao, greets Your Majesty." Holding the child, she knelt down and turned the somewhat timid child to Lü Bu: "This is my child with Xiao Haili, named Jingshan." She paused for a moment: "My husband is seriously ill and wished to personally greet Your Majesty, but he is too weak to get out of bed. Please forgive him, Your Majesty."

"What's the big deal? If you're sick, just lie down."

Lu Bu said casually, then looked at Xiao Jingshan's features with interest and clapped his hands: "He's got a tiger-like head and a bit of Xiao's looks, but he's not as brave as him."

He chuckled, reached out and patted the little boy's head, then searched his pockets and pulled out a sheathed dagger. Seeing that the child was too young, he thought for a moment and put it back. He then picked up the jade pendant on his person: "I didn't think things through this time and didn't bring anything with me. Take this."

Before the woman could speak, she placed it in the little man's arms. The child timidly reached out to touch it, and then reached out to hold it.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't..."

Just as Lady Xiao was about to refuse, Lü Bu waved his hand and said, "Alright, it's just a jade pendant, what's wrong with that?" He glanced around and said, "Let's go see that Minister Xiao."

Empress Xiao Gao bowed her head: "Please come with me, Your Majesty."

Lu Bu followed behind. The further they went in, the stronger the medicinal fragrance became. When they entered the house, a smell mixed with sweat wafted over, causing the people who had come in from outside to squint.

Lu Bu didn't pay any attention. He stepped forward and looked at Xiao Haili. The once valiant Khitan Han was now lying there sickly. When he saw Lu Bu enter, he hurriedly tried to get up, but his arm went limp. He then forced himself to stand up and said, "Your subject..."

"What? I'm not fully recovered and I'm already lying down."

Lu Bu rushed over in three strides, grabbed the man who was halfway up, and effortlessly pushed him back down. He frowned and asked, "How did you get into this state?"

“…I just caught a cold.” Xiao Haili said with a nasal tone, his face showing frustration. He gave a self-deprecating laugh: “Perhaps it’s because I’m getting old.”

"It's just knowing one's destiny, what age is it?"

Lu Bu spoke with a hint of displeasure, plopping down on the edge of the bed: "I finally conquered the entire territory, and I'm still waiting for you to govern a province. Hurry up and recover, then get back to the army."

"...I will try to be as fast as possible."

Xiao Haili smiled, feeling a warmth in his heart. Having spent so many years with the emperor, he knew his temperament well. The closer someone was to him, the less polite they would be. If the emperor was polite, that was something that would make one's heart flutter.

Lu Bu smiled, glanced at Xiao Haili, and sighed inwardly. This man had been following him for more than ten years, and seeing him go from a strong young man to someone with wrinkles on his face, it would be a lie to say he wasn't sad. He then signaled the eunuchs following behind him to put the things down.

"These are all things for recuperating. I'll have the imperial physicians from the palace come over a few more times later."

Xiao Haili spoke softly, "The palace sent quite a lot yesterday..."

"It doesn't matter."

Lu Bu shook his head, interrupting him: "Besides, no one will use it if it's just sitting there, so you should just accept it."

Xiao Haili nodded without refusing.

Lu Bu glanced outside, then looked up and gestured, "Why don't you find a couple more? The house is all empty."

(End of this chapter)