Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

The two talked until they were in high spirits. At night, Zhang Fei returned with the dishes and the three of them had lunch.

After Zhang and Liu left, the house was no longer bustling and quiet for a while. Zhong Ping got up and put on his clothes. The moonlight in the courtyard was as bright as a single star, the shadows of the trees were swaying, and the cool breeze was blowing.

He grabbed a handful of grass seeds and scattered them into the duck coop. A few fat ducks swaggered to the wooden fence and pecked at the food, fluttering their wings from time to time.

"'Zi Xing looked at the night sky, and saw the stars were shining. He was about to soar and fly, and he was going to shoot ducks and geese.' Senior brother has raised wild ducks so fat that if he were to draw his bow and shoot them, he really didn't know whether they would be hit by the arrow or fall from exhaustion."

The sound of "ding ding" bells accompanied the girl's brisk footsteps as she approached Zhong Ping's side. Cai Wan only had a velvet flower on her head, which was the pink and purple peony flower that Zhong Ping brought from Jingzhou.

"The clouds and mist are purple, which makes the Jade Terrace green." Zhong Ping dusted off the grass seeds in his hands, stood up and gently praised Cai Wan's outfit today. A few fat ducks quacked for a while, and then went about their own business.

Under the moonlight, two shadows stood side by side.

Cai Wan lowered her head, pursed her lips quickly to hide her smile, and reached out to adjust her hairpin: "...It seems that Senior Brother has good self-cultivation."

She murmured quietly: "Perhaps there are gods and Buddhas in the world."

"What?" Zhong Ping tilted his ear to listen, but only caught the slightest sound of wind.

"I was wondering, can the 'world of great harmony' mentioned in my senior brother's manuscript really be realized?" Cai Wan's eyes were gentle, with a kind of yearning and hope in them.

Zhong Ping was silent for a while, then raised his head and looked at the bright moon hanging high in the sky: "...it will exist. Maybe that world is not what you think it is, a perfect world where 'the world is for all', but it gives everyone equal rights and obligations to the greatest extent possible, books are spread to remote villages, laws are used to measure the upper and lower classes, everyone can earn a living through hard work, there is no worry about war and famine, everyone can..."

These words sounded like the dream talk of a madman. Cai Wan stared at Zhong Ping's profile for a long time, as if she was looking at an illusion, or as if an ascetic had scooped up a handful of sweet spring water from the mirage.

"……I see."

She answered him softly. The moon shone into Cai Wan's eyes, reflecting Zhong Ping's figure.

Zhong Ping suddenly lowered his head and saw that her porcelain-white face was full of determination: "Just as my senior brother said in his book, 'Look at the four horses in Zhoudao. The people are all running together. From the governor to the border, the nine tripods are light, and the rich and powerful hang quails and thousands of houses cry. Those who are selected as talented are all rich and powerful, and those who are selected as filial and honest are all rich and powerful. Don't you see the drunken Jinwu outside the Weiyang Palace and the bones leaning beside the Weishui Bridge?'"

"The disease has been accumulated for a long time, and only change can bring it back! I want to help my senior brother to print the classics so that more people can read the text and understand the truth."

"Yeah... I understand." Zhong Ping raised his hand, paused in the air for a moment, and finally brushed a dead leaf off her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll tell the teacher."

Cai Wan smiled and said, "My father gave me a nickname, Mingwei. Brother, why don't you call me that in the future?"

Zhong Ping was stunned when he heard this. Cai Wan's smile was a little shy, but it clearly showed the girl's feelings.

He was confused and didn't know how to answer. His fingers involuntarily stroked the bell hanging on his waist. Cai Wan's eyes showed a trace of disappointment: "Brother, if..."

Not knowing what was going on, Zhong Ping took a step forward subconsciously. His chest was buzzing like the fluttering wings of a butterfly, and he blurted out, "...Don't worry."

"...What?" Cai Wan's eyes widened slightly.

"I said." Zhong Ping suppressed his trembling hands, gently held her wrist through the fabric, and repeated clearly and firmly: "Don't worry."

Cai Wan could no longer tell whether the "rest assured" Zhong Ping meant that the world would eventually come true, that he would ask her to help with book copying, or... or all three.

She just felt it was too quiet, so quiet that the voices of the two people were chaotic and yet exactly the same, as if thunder entered her ears, and every sound was heartbreaking.

The moon had already set. The next day, Zhong Ping picked a pair of plump ducks with beautiful wings from his own duck nest, tied them up with red silk, and repeatedly adjusted his appearance in front of the mirror before going out.

As soon as Guo Yuan entered the room, he saw Zhong Ping applying incense to his clothes. For a moment, he thought he had sneaked into Cheng Bing's room. He looked Zhong Ping up and down with curiosity and found that he was not only wearing new clothes, but even his hair was meticulously tied into a crown, which was very different from usual.

"You are..." Guo Yuan walked around Zhong Ping and saw a pair of fat ducks in the corner. "Oh? Have you finally figured it out? Are you going to ask for marriage? When did you find a matchmaker? How come I know nothing about it?"

"Ah? By the way! We still need to find a matchmaker..." Zhong Ping's smile, which he had been practicing for half an hour, suddenly collapsed. He fumbled in his sleeves for a long time before he remembered that he had given all the money to Li Meng and Wang San because he didn't spend much on weekdays.

Guo Yuan was still thinking: "Who could it be? It's so hard to guess. Could it be the daughter of Mr. Bojie?"

Zhong Ping froze, and mentally made a note to ask Li Meng for money later. He quickly changed the subject, "Who are you planning to send to Jingzhou?"

"It seems to be Wu Zhi. He was promoted to the position of monthly governor not long ago because of his contribution to agricultural management." When talking about government affairs, Guo Yuan stopped teasing Zhong Ping and analyzed the matter seriously. "If Yizhou is really in turmoil as you said, who do you think the governor will appoint as the general?"

"The clans in Yizhou have formed their own factions and think highly of themselves. I think it might be effective to let the two generals lead the troops."

When Zhong Ping said this, there was a hint of sneer in his eyes. In this world, as long as you are a clan, even in a remote place like Jiaozhou, you can't escape the worldly customs.

"By the way, how is Shi Xie?" Thinking of Shi Yi's assassination attempt, Zhong Ping couldn't help but doubt Shi Xie's loyalty.

"Bo Heng, don't worry about this. Just trust the lord. When Shi Xie came to visit you with medicine, the lord and Mr. Zijiang stopped him in the guest room and had a heart-to-heart talk. I don't need to tell you the details. If you want to know, Mr. Zijiang will be happy to tell you. In short, Shi Xie has the ability to judge people and situations. If the lord is strong, he can be suppressed and have no intention of rebelling. As for the lord being weak..."

Guo Yuan smiled and said, "My lord has great ambitions and talented and brave generals. I don't think there will be a day when Shi Xie will counterattack you."

...What's the difference between what you do and setting a flag?
Zhong Ping couldn't help but complain in his heart.

"The Yellow Turbans are still threatening us. Their source is in Henei, and they are spreading to other counties. I heard that Yuan Shao is trying to eradicate the Yellow Turbans, but Li Jue is too proud to support them. I have an old friendship with Zhang Yan from Heishan, Su Shuang, a horse merchant from Henei, and Zhang Shiping. Papermaking is booming, so I want to go to Henei to contact merchants and discuss the sale of printed books. I can also get a closer look at the situation in the north."

Guo Yuan's face changed when he heard this: "You can promote the way of enlightenment in Jiaozhou, but why do you really want to circulate the book in the world? Merchants are chasing profits, and they don't care about your reputation and life? Do you really want to make yourself the target of public criticism?"

"Since I said I would do it, how could I just stop at words? Zini, you know that the path I'm taking is correct, that's enough. If you don't understand, then for the sake of our friendship, don't say anything more!"

Zhong Ping turned around and his eyes fell on the two fat ducks in the corner, and his expression softened slightly.

Guo Yuan sighed and said, "You underestimated me, Bo Heng. I never opposed you promoting elementary education and popularizing culture. I was just worried about you. You are acting too radically. Why can't you take it slow?"

"If I take it slow, I'm afraid the trickle will be cut off before it has even started. But if I build up my momentum and make these people worried from the beginning, then a compromise proposal will be accepted."

Zhong Ping replied calmly: "My way has never been alone... Zini, if I ask you to be the one who mediates and compromises, would you disagree?"

He thought to himself, how could this be considered intense? He had something even more intense... he just couldn't show it to the public.

Although he had such thoughts in his mind, he appeared calm and looked at Guo Yuan with a smile.

"Come on, come on, you can just rely on your tongue to do evil." Guo Yuan swung his sleeves in annoyance, walked out of the door in two or three steps, and said, "You go and talk to the envoy about this matter. I will go to Xianhe to ask which matchmaker is the best to make the deal happen. When you come back and it's done, don't forget to give me a generous gift!"

(End of this chapter)