Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Iron State.

Melodious music echoed in the house. The dancers moved their feet to the music. There was always a smile on their pretty faces, and their bright eyes and white teeth looked particularly beautiful under their makeup.

The servants walking back and forth carried wooden trays and placed fruits and vegetables on the guest's wooden table from the side and back. In the spacious hall, Wang Zheng sat in the host's seat, sipping wine brewed from mountain red and rice, and from time to time he clapped his hands to the music, shaking his head with an expression of appreciation.

"My dear brother, what do you think of this singer? Is she pleasing to the eye?"

"You have a graceful appearance and a sweet voice. You are truly the most beautiful woman in the world. If I don't like you, then must I be blind?" The dancer threw him a seductive glance as she spun. Wang Zheng raised his wine glass to signal him, then laughed and drank it all in one gulp. The maid serving at the back hurried forward and picked up the wine jug to fill it up for him.

"The wine is good, the people are beautiful, and the food is also unique." He glanced at the porcelain plate on the table in front of him. There were ten pieces of meat, and the aroma was fragrant. The young man opposite him slaughtered ten calves for the banquet today, and only took the most tender beef tenderloin for him to eat. Wang Zheng picked up the wine glass: "I don't want to go back after staying at my brother's house for the past few days."

"Then stay a little longer." The young man was fair-skinned and looked noble: "It just so happens that I have collected some rare treasures from overseas these two days. Wouldn't it be nice for you and I to enjoy them?"

"I'm not as lucky as you." Wang Zheng drank the wine, put the cup on the table, propped up his cheek, and waved one hand in the air: "I am destined to be a hard worker. I run around when I have something to do, and I walk around when I have nothing to do. I have stayed here for a few days, which is beyond my expectation."

The young man found it funny and pointed at him with his index finger: "You look so lazy and told me that you are destined to be a hard worker. You will be laughed at by your classmates and friends."

"Let them laugh." Wang Zheng simply stretched out his hands and lay on the table.

The maid behind him smiled, and the young man was not angry, but just laughed and scolded: "You are sitting in an unmannerly manner."

He took a bite of the meat and said to his friend across from him, "If you're tired of staying here, just tell me. I know your temper."

"Brother, you still understand me." Wang Zheng stood up and raised his thumb. The next moment, he changed direction and lay down, humming: "Oh, I wish I could be free of worries. I'm so tired."

"Hmph..." The young man raised his head and snorted, "If you really want to be free from worries, just quit your job as military advisor. Why are you complaining to me?"

"That won't work." Wang Zheng pressed his face against his arm and waved his hands: "I finally found someone I like. If you ask me to leave now, I won't do it."

"You bastard." The young man was so angry that he felt around and couldn't help but picked up the Korean folding fan on the table and threw it over.

Wang Zheng watched the folding fan fly past his eyes without even moving. He just hummed, "Hey, I didn't hit it."

"You bastard..." The young man pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression was hard to tell whether he was angry or amused: "The food for you was prepared yesterday, you bastard, hurry up and leave, don't anger me here."

"Really?!" Wang Zheng jumped up from the table, slapped the table, picked up the wine glass and drank it all, and gave a thumbs up to the opposite side: "I know that you are the most straightforward! I will come to see you next time I have a day off. I'll take my leave today."

While he was speaking, he had already jumped up from his seat and ran out, holding his robe.

"Get out, get out!" the young man said with a disdainful smile behind him. When he saw him running out of the door, he shouted, "Next month is the master's birthday, don't forget it."

"I know." The running figure didn't even turn his head, but just waved his hand above his head. "What a bastard..." The young man laughed and shook his head, and stopped eating and drinking. He waved his hand to let the dancers and musicians go down, and ordered them to "clean up." Then he strode out of the hall and walked quickly into the corridor. Along the way, the servants and maids bowed to greet him. The young man just kept walking forward, and when he reached the door of the study, he straightened his clothes and knocked on the door twice. He heard a voice from inside, "Come in," and then he pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside, a middle-aged man was painting at the table with one hand holding his long beard and the other holding a brush.

"Father." The young man came over and stood still, speaking softly, "Brother Wang Zheng has already left for home."

"Leaving now?" The middle-aged man did not even raise his head, and his wrist moved quickly. In a short while, the picture of a galloping horse was completed: "This kid still has no self-control."

"Maybe it's because of food shortage that he's anxious." The young man thought for a moment and spoke.

"Lack of food?" the father repeated, put the paintbrush on the pen holder, picked up a wet towel and wiped his hands, and said without taking his eyes off the painting: "Is that what you think?"

"Isn't this...wrong?"

"Yes, and no." Glancing at his son, the middle-aged man threw the wet towel into the copper basin beside him. "As of today, Lu Bu has been fighting, and the government in the prefecture has not had time to transfer the money and grain. He also restrained himself from driving the people to serve as soldiers, but only recruited prisoners and selected young and strong people. Even if there is a shortage of food and grass, it is not as big as you think."

Signaling his son to help, the father and son reached out and lifted up the painted horse and placed it on the table in front of the window. "Wang Zheng is running around again. He likes to hang out and hang out with people. He knows a lot of wealthy families in various states. Do you think he only wants to borrow from us?"

"I see..." The young man thought for a moment, nodded slowly, and suddenly looked at the middle-aged man and said, "Since he is not short of food, why did father lend it to him?"

"You..." The middle-aged man looked at his son and shook his head: "Your temper..."

The young man blushed and lowered his head.

The old man walked to the table and sat down, took a sip of water and said, "It's just some food. We don't need it. We should give it to him as soon as he asks, so as not to offend him."

Seeing the young man standing there frowning and thinking, he pointed to a seat and asked him to sit down, then simply spread out his words and said, "You should know the current situation in Liaodong. There is only the Jin Kingdom in the north and Lu Bu in the south. Sooner or later, there will be a war between the two. Now my family has provided food and grass for Lu Bu when he needs it. When he wins in the future, he will remember this kindness, and when he joins the government again, there will be no difficulty at all."

"Father, do you think Lu Bu can win?"

"Father didn't say that." The middle-aged man shook his head. "Who will win or lose will not be known until the fight. That's why I asked you to lend the food today. If Jin wins in the future, he won't blame me when I go there. After all, you generously donated money to your friends, and no one can gossip about it. Instead, you should be praised for your loyalty. Even if someone uses it to make a fuss, they can say that the child is ignorant and thus behaved like a loser. Do you understand?"

The young man was silent for a while, then nodded.

The middle-aged man sighed, stood up and patted him: "Remember, if Jin wins, I will be an official for my father, and you will inherit the family business at home and protect the family. If Lu Bu wins, you and I can go together. With Wang Zheng here, he will protect you even if you make any mistakes."

Afterwards, the young man walked out of the study, looked up at the clouds floating in the sky, and sighed heavily. (End of this chapter)