Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 68 I Have a Godfather Too
Mu Jianping thought he disliked his current appearance, so she stepped forward to comfort him, "Brother Wei, are you not used to seeing me like this? I couldn't accept it when I first woke up, but I've gotten used to it these days. You will get used to it too."

Liu Xie knew why Wei Xiaobao was crying, so he leaned over to his ear and said, "Cai Wenji is not bad looking either. You wouldn't be a bad choice if you took her home to be your wife."

Wei Xiaobao turned to look at Liu Xie and thought, "Right, I was planning to take Diao Chan back anyway, now I'm just taking one more person with me, and she was my concubine to begin with."

Wei Xiaobao was helped to stand up by Shuang'er and Mu Jianping. Although the girl in front of him was Mu Jianping, he couldn't help feeling sad when he thought that she had died once.

Wei Xiaobao asked, "Have you been here for many days?"

Mu Jianping said, "It's been about ten days."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Then why didn't you think of looking for me?"

Mu Jianping's nose felt sore, tears welled up in her eyes, and she said, "I don't know where to find you. The teacher makes me read some incomprehensible articles every day, and practice calligraphy. It wasn't so hard even when I was in Yunnan. I wanted to run away, but a few days later, a girl named Diao Chan came. She said she was the unmarried wife of Wei Xiaobao, the captain of Xiyuan. Someone would come to take her away in two days, and the teacher asked me to accompany her. I thought it might be you, so I decided to stay and wait. I didn't expect that I would really wait for you."

Liu Xie pulled Wei Xiaobao aside and asked, "The person you said you were going to pick up was Diao Chan?"

Wei Xiaobao saw that Shuang'er was holding Mu Jianping's hand and chatting in private, so he nodded to Liu Xie.

Liu Xie said, "I thought he was an important person, but I didn't expect that I would go through so much trouble with you just for a woman."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Luckily I came here, otherwise what would happen if we all left and left my little wife here alone?"

Liu Xie was too lazy to pay attention to Wei Xiaobao's twisted logic and urged him, "Then hurry up and find Diao Chan, and then take your three women to Shouchun. Now that the emperor is missing, there is war in Chang'an, and the various princes outside are eyeing us covetously. If I don't go back to stop the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the people will really be in dire straits."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "The Imperial Tutor and General at the court keep saying they're loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty, but it turns out they care less for the people than a rebel leader. My Master also said that Prince Zheng of Taiwan loves the people like his own children, but he ended up falling out with the Southern Ming over who's the legitimate prince, the Tang or Gui prince? Little Xuanzi was afraid the people would suffer in a war, so he initially tried to persuade Wu Sangui to withdraw his fiefdom, but he never thought we'd have to fight in the end. Wu Sangui has rebelled, so I have to hurry back."

Wei Xiaobao stepped forward and said to Mu Jianping, "My dear wife, after I see the teacher, I will take you with me. I have found a way to go back."

Mu Jianping turned sideways and said shyly: "There are outsiders here, how can you call me little?"

Wei Xiaobao didn't care about Mu Jianping's shyness and urged, "Take me to see the teacher quickly."

Mu Jianping and Shuang'er walked in front to lead the way. After turning a few corners, they arrived in front of three thatched houses.

Wei Xiaobao saw Diao Chan watering the flowers and was about to shout, but was stopped by Mu Jianping.

Mu Jianping whispered, "Teacher and Sister Diao Chan don't know my identity, so don't let it slip."

As the two of them were arguing, Diao Chan saw Wei Xiaobao and shouted into the room, "Sir Shangshu, Wei Xiaobao is here."

Diao Chan had already put down the wooden spoon in her hand and came forward. She snatched Wei Xiaobao's arm from Mu Jianping's hand and put it around him, asking, "Did your plan with your adoptive father succeed? Is everything okay with your adoptive father?"

Before Wei Xiaobao could reply, Lu Zhi had already walked out of the hut and stood at the door.

Lu Zhi glanced at Liu Xie and was about to kneel, but Wei Xiaobao had already taken the initiative to support Lu Zhi and whispered, "Diao Chan and Wen Ji don't know the emperor's identity, so there is no need for you to bow."

Lu Zhi bowed to Liu Xie.

Liu Xie also nodded, and was pulled by Shuang'er and Mu Jianping to appreciate the flowers.

Lu Zhi said to Wei Xiaobao, "Come in with me first."

Diao Chan understood that Lu Zhi wanted to talk to Wei Xiaobao alone, so she went to look for the three men by the flower garden. Wei Xiaobao followed Lu Zhi into the house, and just as he closed the door, he heard Lu Zhi say, "Situ Wang has been killed."

Wei Xiaobao asked hurriedly, "Could it be that Lü Bu has acted like a traitor again?"

Lu Zhi didn't understand what Wei Xiaobao meant by "traitor," but figured it was something like selling out one's master for personal gain. He continued, "A few days ago, I received news from Chang'an that Minister Wang had been killed by Li Jue and Guo Si, and that Lü Bu had fled Chang'an and his whereabouts were unknown. The letter also said that the Emperor had fled back to Luoyang, and that Li Jue and Guo Si were leading their troops in pursuit. I've been worried about the Emperor's safety all day, but I didn't expect to see him here. Did you change your route because of the news?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Even if I were Zhuge Liang, who knew what would happen five hundred years in the future and a thousand years in the future, I couldn't have predicted that old man Wang Yun would die at the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have asked Zhang Jue to leave a letter for Wang Yun. Fortunately, he didn't tell the truth in the letter, otherwise I would have gone to the river with Shuang'er to look for Zhang Rang."

Wei Xiaobao said, "To be honest, Master, returning to Luoyang was my plan. I just wanted to come and see you and take Diao Chan back with me. I didn't expect that I would escape such a disaster."

Lu Zhi said, "Li Jue and Guo Si may have already reached Luoyang. If the emperor were to return to Luoyang, he would be in danger."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "I don't want to go to Luoyang either, but it's dangerous."

Lu Zhi said, "The world cannot be without a ruler for a day. When the emperor is not in the capital, people with ulterior motives will take advantage of the situation, and the people will suffer. Now that things have come to this, there is someone we can rely on."

Wei Xiaobao asked, "Master, are you planning to let me take the Emperor to find Cao Cao?"

Lu Zhi said, "You are indeed clever, able to see the general trend of the world. However, instead of going to Cao Cao, you should have Cao Cao come to meet you. After Cao Cao's defeat in the pursuit of Dong Zhuo, he retreated to Shandong. Now he has recruited more soldiers and his army is more than enough to fight against Li Jue and Guo Si. Moreover, he is now sandwiched between the two Yuan brothers in the north and south, and his territory is not large. He will not be as confident as Dong Zhuo. This person should be the best choice to deal with other emperors."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Teacher, teacher, your analysis is all correct. It's a pity that you don't know how to judge people. You can't see through Cao Cao's ambition and forbearance."

Lu Zhi continued, "Yuan Shao sent someone to invite me out of seclusion the day before yesterday, but I declined. However, he has already arranged for someone to monitor me, so Cao Cao cannot come to Jizhou to welcome him. You must cross the river to Chenliu."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Once we get to Chenliu, we'll be close to Shouchun. I won't care who comes to greet me then. I'll just go to Shouchun."

Wei Xiaobao pretended to agree and said, "Everything will be arranged by the teacher."

Lu Zhi said, "Before you leave, there is one more thing you need to do."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Teacher, please give me your instructions."

Lu Zhi said, "Diao Chan doesn't know about Wang Situ yet. You can find a chance to tell her later. Before you leave, let's get married here. She is helpless now. You must treat her well in the future. This will be my way of fulfilling the friendship we had as officials. However, since Wang Yun has adopted her as his daughter, your current status is not suitable. If you don't mind, please accept me as your adoptive father."

Wei Xiaobao was delighted. "I have a godfather now. As long as I can marry Diao Chan, I'd be happy to be your godson. Anyway, I don't even know who my biological father is. If you don't mind, you can be my biological father. But you don't look like someone who would visit a brothel."

Seeing Wei Xiaobao laughing foolishly, Lu Zhi coughed to remind him.

Wei Xiaobao immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Godfather, please accept my obeisance."

Wei Xiaobao was imitating Lu Bu's behavior on the stage when he said this, and he was thinking to himself, "I can't be like Lu Bu and sell out my godfather."

Lu Zhi said, "Since I've adopted you as my son, I'll give you a courtesy name. Your real name is Wei Xiaobao, and Bao means reason and wisdom, so let's call you Bozhi. Since you haven't studied much, the character Bo means you're the first son."

Wei Xiaobao didn't expect that Lu Zhi attached so much importance to taking him as his godson. He felt ashamed and touched at the same time. He kowtowed three times and knelt down for a long time.

When Lu Zhi was in Guangzong, he felt that Wei Xiaobao was filial. At this moment, his heart was warmed and tears were about to come out.

(End of this chapter)