Liu Xuande would never be a succubus of the Eastern Han Dynasty!

"This must be Lord Mengde, right? Xu feels that you and your cousin Xuande are truly a match made in heaven. You should get married soon."

?

No, what are you talking about, you fox?

Liu Bei was waiting to see a good show, but he didn't expect that the fire would break out in just a few words.

As expected, Cao Cao, the vicious tiger, immediately took the bait Chen Xu had laid out. He shifted his gaze to Liu Bei and smiled, "What do you think, Xuande?"

"..."

At this point, Liu Bei finally came to his senses. It turned out that the thief Cao in front of him was really greedy for his male beauty.

He asked himself if he still had some feelings for Cao Cao, but it was far from the stage of marriage, and more importantly... he was not yet an adult.

Liu Bei thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "This matter is of great importance and requires the consideration of our elders. Moreover, I am not yet of age."

“…Heh, you’re still a child after all.”

Cao Cao laughed and shook his head. Then she suddenly moved closer and, without saying anything, forcibly pulled Liu Bei forward, saying:

"But Xuande is right. This matter cannot be rushed. I still need to consult with the elders at home. But..."

The evil tiger licked her own redness, and flames seemed to flash across her slender eyes, showing her queenly aura.

Finally, she smiled and made a promise: "When Xuande is crowned, that will be the day Cao will come to propose marriage."

As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Xu, who had been following silently, stopped. She looked at Liu Bei's somewhat puzzled expression and secretly stuck out her tongue.

"Oh no, this Cao Cao seems to be serious..."

Chen Xu rolled his eyes and quickly came up with a plan: "In the current situation, Xu alone really can't compete with Cao Cao. We need to introduce some changes..."

While there's no real benefit to doing this, it seems to make things more interesting, doesn't it?

The corners of the fox's mouth rose slightly, and a look of joy appeared on his face when he thought about what might happen in the future.

No matter what these three people were thinking, as soon as they stepped into the city gate, an arrow was shot from a distance.

"call out--"

Liu Bei was quick-witted and agile, and even though his hands were being held by Cao Cao, it didn't matter. He turned his head, opened his mouth, and actually bit the arrow.

"who?!"

Cao Cao also came to his senses at this time, and immediately stepped forward to protect Liu Bei behind him, his slender eyes constantly searching the crowd entering the city.

"Master Mengde, there's no need to be on guard." Liu Bei raised the arrow with his right hand. The sun shone on the arrow, revealing a line of words. "...This is a letter from the Master."

"Master? Lu Zigan!"

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao became even more angry: "This person doesn't know what's good for him. He actually helps the Jian family!"

"Ah? Why did Meng De say that?"

This was a matter of the Master's reputation, so as his disciple, Liu Bei naturally could not sit idly by.

"Hmph, wait for me to tell you everything..."

Cao Cao explained that the escape of the heroes was also part of her plan, but the process was suddenly intercepted by the Shangshu Ling, who sent Lu Zigan alone.

It turned out to be the Shangshu Ling again.

It seems that Jian Shuo is also secretly taking action behind the scenes, but this is very strange. After all, those righteous men are fighting in the name of opposing the eunuchs. Wouldn't Jian Shuo be shooting himself in the foot if he saved them?

Or... was this an act of the Shangshu Ling acting on his own initiative?

Liu Bei did not think further because there was obviously an external brain present, so he naturally shifted his gaze to Chen Xu.

Unexpectedly, the latter just blinked at him and said nothing.

Hmm... Is this pretending to be weak in front of Cao Cao? Yes, if you perform too well, he will definitely conduct a background check.

And this background check will definitely make her famous. According to Chen Xu's personality, she has a great fear of becoming "famous" at this point in time.

The reason why she repeatedly offered advice in the future and repeatedly shocked the world was, firstly, because the situation had changed and there was no giant above her, and secondly, because the timing was just right and she would be suffocated to death if she didn't offer advice.

But now... the court is in chaos, eunuchs and relatives of the emperor take turns in power, and they persecute and imprison the aristocratic families indiscriminately.

The specific and easy-to-understand expression is: you studied for half your life and finally got a small official position, but because you didn't know the rules, you didn't pay the eunuch boss money on the first day in office. The eunuch made a false accusation, and you were confiscated and imprisoned as a party member.

So in today's world, you either have to have a wealthy family or have a noble person above you. Otherwise, getting an official position is no different from being convicted of a crime. It's just that one is in it, and the other will be in it sooner or later.

But Chen Xu was still tough at heart. Even though the Cao family was already considered a powerful family, she was still unwilling to join the "eunuch family".

Unless it's absolutely necessary.

This is the same principle as waiting for a good price...

Liu Bei was fully aware of Chen Xu's intentions and naturally wouldn't poke holes in his plans. He simply said, "The matter has yet to be determined. The Minister of the Chancellery and Jian Shuo might not be on the same page."

"What's more, the Master is a man of great learning in the world. How could he lower himself to become friends with Jian Shuo? It's absolutely impossible."

He has more information than Cao Cao, and he even has evidence that can directly arrest the Shangshu Ling, but the Master is involved... there may still be variables.

No matter what, I still have to go see the teacher.

Without waiting for Cao Cao's reply, Liu Bei handed over the arrow in his hand and saluted, saying:

"The Master has instructed me to come to the mountain to meet him. I will use this opportunity to clarify some of my doubts... Well, Master Meng De, you must be more careful in the near future. The Jian family will not let us off so easily."

"There's a limit to worrying, and so do you."

Cao Cao naturally understood that as a disciple, it was impossible for him to refuse the Master's summons, but she still frowned slightly. "Xuan De, can you give me an estimate of how long it will take you to return?"

Liu Bei looked at the sky and thought, "Master will probably keep me for dinner. I guess he'll be back in Luoyang tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

"In that case, see you at the usual place at noon."

"...There's one more thing I need to trouble Lord Meng De to arrange..."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao looked at Chen Xu, who had been silent the entire time, and nodded, saying, "I will naturally take good care of your 'sister.'"

"No, no, that girl would be fine even if the world was gone," Liu Bei said, glancing at her. "It's just that my senior sister is still in Luoyang City. I'm afraid the Jian family won't be able to find me and will attack those around me."

He has not forgotten Senior Sister Gongsun... Although with the latter's ability, as long as she is determined to leave, the Jian family really can't do anything.

But it's good to have an extra layer of insurance.

Cao Cao also knew that this was not the time to be jealous, so he waved his hand and said, "I will reserve a place for these two people in my mansion, but Xuande..."

"Go home soon."

"...I understand. Goodbye."

Chapter 30: Meeting with Master Lu

Outside Luoyang is Mount Gao.

After Liu Bei said goodbye to Cao Cao and others, he rode here without stopping.

There are many schools located here, and the one closest to the top of the mountain is the University Hall founded by Lu Zhi.

It was here that Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan met and got to know each other, and played and laughed together. Now, looking from a distance, it feels like a long time has passed, even though it has only been one day since they left the school.

Talk about it.

Mr. Lu is a very strange person.

Although she accepted many people from all over the world as her disciples, she never personally taught the Confucian classics. Most of the time, her "daughters" or her disciples taught her.

The most bizarre thing was that when someone in the classroom snored or was absent-minded, an arrow would appear from nowhere and grazed their scalp...

Of course, if the lecturer in the class said something wrong, he would also be hit by an arrow.

He can really be said to be a very weird and overly rigid person.

Fortunately, his teaching method was indeed good. He not only taught Confucian classics, but also included riding, swordsmanship, archery, astronomy, geography, etc., covering a wide range of subjects.

In contrast, the teacher would conduct two tests every month. If anyone failed twice in a row, they would be expelled and sent home.

But today is different from the future. Knowledge is an extremely scarce thing, so it is normal to be strict in this regard.

"But Master, to call your archery skills unrivaled is an understatement...it's truly amazing."

I guess that Lu Fengxian, who would be able to "shoot the halberd at the gate" in the future, was only at this level.

But the Master has never met anyone before, so why would he summon me alone today, and at this time?

Liu Bei learned from Cao Cao that the Master went alone to capture the righteous man. According to normal time, she had just captured him from a distance, and then invited him to go up the mountain?

It's not going to... kill people to silence them, is it?

No, no, no. Even if I have never met the Master, but judging by his behavior, he must be a true gentleman of our time, and he would never do anything despicable.

"Junior brother...you are still as handsome as ever..."

"Ah, Senior Brother is back safe and sound."

"Brother Xuande, can you recite Confucianism with me?"

“…You gave me a great massage last night. I hope to do it again.”

Today is the weekly holiday, but there are still many students staying in the classroom to study hard. When they saw the figure outside the door, they immediately started chattering.

Liu Bei originally didn't want to pay any more attention to it, but when he saw that there were students studying seriously in front of him, he made a "hush" gesture.

result--

"He looked at me! He looked at me!"

"So handsome, I really want to..."

This is even more lively.

The faces of the people who were studying seriously in the front were all red, as if they were going to go completely crazy in the next second and pick up hammers to hit people.

Liu Bei thought to himself that something was wrong, so he quickened his pace and hurriedly left this dangerous place.

After he left, the school became a little quieter. Only a few people looked at his back, drooling and confused.

This direction is... Master, Brother Xuande is going to see you?

-

Behind the school, there is a road leading directly to the top of the mountain, and at the end of it is where Lu Zhi lives.

But the road is too long. Many students have tried to climb up secretly, but they were either caught or too tired to reach the top.

But for Liu Bei...it's not worth mentioning.

He reached the top of the mountain in no time, but all he could see was a flat open space with no one in sight.

"Am I early?"

Liu Bei blinked and walked forward to the center of the flat ground, where a pile of bamboo slips lay on the ground.

"..."

He just looked at it curiously and did not choose to go forward and look through it, but just lay down on the ground.

Sir, it’s okay if you’re late for a while. It’s a good opportunity for you to take a rest.

The air is extremely fresh now. Even though winter is approaching, it is not too cold and the climate is pleasant.

But such a clear sky gave rise to all kinds of evil thoughts.

After all, the current state of the world is not to blame on human nature, but on the system.

As long as there is someone who claims to be the emperor, even if he can maintain peace in the world for a while, a hundred years later, among his sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, and so on, there is no guarantee that one or two weirdos will not appear.

As long as the emperor behaves strangely, his subordinates will seize the opportunity and frantically seize power for themselves. In this way, land annexation will become more and more serious, and then an uprising will break out.

But after all the fighting, it's just a matter of one side taking the stage and the other side taking the stage.

and so.

The third creation of a great man is not the ideal destination, it is just the starting point.

In the past, no one could break free from the shackles of the system, an inevitable result of many factors. But now, mysterious powers exist in this world. Even if they are rare, if we search diligently, we may find a way to liberate productivity...

Far away.

Let’s find a way to deal with the Jian family for now. As for what happens next, we can only take it one step at a time.

At least there is still plenty of time at the moment. The most recent Yellow Turban Rebellion will not come for another nine years.