Chapter 93: Laying Bare

Qiao Feng, this girl—up until now, Liu Xie had only ever been captivated by her beauty. But after this little episode, if he were to find a word to describe her, it would be “dashing.” Though she wasn’t skilled in martial arts, her meticulous mind was something Liu Xie had rarely encountered since coming to this era, especially in a woman whose knowledge was, by necessity, limited.

“In that case, I’ll tell you,” Liu Xie said, “but before I do, you must check to see if anyone is eavesdropping.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Qiao Feng rose to open the door, her sense of action impressively swift, but Liu Xie quickly caught her small hand and drew her back.

“I only meant that out of habit,” he explained. “If you were to go out now, you’d only draw suspicion to us. There’s no need today; I already checked when I brought you in just now. Otherwise, if our previous conversation were to reach Sun Ce’s ears, I would be finished!”

“In that case… I shall make sure to learn more from Your Majesty in the future!”

“Well,” Liu Xie replied, “there’s no need to wait for the future. Keeping Liu Bei’s two wives here, and leaving Guan Yu behind—there is a particular reason for it. Still, your previous guess was only half correct at best. If my intentions were that simple, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu would have seen right through me!”

At that moment, Qiao Feng sensed a certain sincerity from Liu Xie—along with his intelligence. Clearly, things were not as straightforward as she’d imagined.

Seeing her nod, Liu Xie sighed and made a decision.

From a cautious standpoint, the more people who knew his plans, the greater the risk would be; that was why he’d never confided his true intentions to anyone before. But now, with matters inside and out piling up, he needed a helper. Whether Fu Shou or Fu Wan, after completing the task of fleeing from Xuchang to Wu Commandery, Liu Xie no longer wished to use them for clandestine matters—not out of doubt for their loyalty, but because their abilities were not up to the task.

He had wanted someone competent, but in this temporary palace, aside from his bedmates, there was no one else. He’d almost given up hope—until a few days ago, when he noticed something a little unusual in Qiao Feng’s behavior.

After a few days of observation, some investigation into the sisters’ backgrounds, and a round of testing, Liu Xie decided to take the exceptionally gifted Qiao Feng as his assistant, at least for now.

As the saying goes, a man and a woman working together can get anything done, in or out of bed.

“Guan Yu is indeed a talented general, but he’s also flawed in temperament, which is why I can use him,” Liu Xie continued. “Now, the relationship between Guan Yu and Liu Bei’s two wives concerns not only whether I can win him over, but also the ties between Jiangdong and Jingzhou, and even Liu Bei’s fate.”

Liu Xie was a straightforward man. Since he’d chosen to trust Qiao Feng and have her work for him, she deserved to know his strengths and weaknesses; after all, he had thoroughly investigated her background.

“Liu Bei? Isn’t he Your Majesty’s uncle? What does his fate have to do with you?”

Qiao Feng knew little about Liu Bei. She’d only heard of him in passing; her few conversations with his two wives had mostly revolved around praise for Liu Xie and Guan Yu, with scant mention of their actual husband. This left her understanding of Liu Bei a blank, so when Liu Xie brought him up, she was full of questions.

“Sigh, it’s a long story,” Liu Xie said. “But if I don’t explain it clearly now, you’ll be of no use to me tomorrow. Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll have the maids bring dinner in, and tonight, you and I will go over everything in detail.”

She didn’t know exactly what “go over everything” entailed, but recalling what they’d previously done in this bedchamber, Qiao Feng’s cheeks flushed red.

But as it turned out, she was overthinking it this time.

Liu Xie explained in detail how Liu Bei had risen to power, what he’d done, and the relationship between him and Guan Yu—even continuing as they ate.

By late night, the cicadas were singing outside. In the room, Liu Xie sat at the table, holding a crispy, juicy roasted chicken leg, vividly relating the episode where Liu Bei and Dong Cheng forged the blood-stained imperial edict.

Across from him, Qiao Feng held a chicken leg of her own, nibbling in small bites, her eyes wide and attentive.

“Is Liu Bei really like that?”

Although Liu Bei’s reputation was little known in Jiangdong, the Liu Bei Liu Xie described was a far cry from the image she’d expected.

“Of course,” Liu Xie said. “He’s just like Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, coveting the world—only his methods differ. Truthfully, I’m not so different from them. I tell myself it’s for self-preservation, but in the end, doesn’t self-preservation require unifying the realm?”

He sighed, as though his own standing had sunk several notches.

“They covet the world because it was never theirs to begin with. But Your Majesty is different—the empire of Han is yours by right. Taking back what belongs to you is only just; as for them, it’s no different from thievery.”

Having grown truly close to Liu Xie, Qiao Feng’s strong sense of justice and duty returned. Liu Xie found her words pleasing, though he didn’t argue the deeper points.

“Still, it depends if I have the fortune to reclaim the empire. Wasn’t the world Liu Bang took also seized from the Qin? The last emperor of Qin, Ziying, though a resolute and iron-willed man, still fell to rebel blades.”

“No matter what, I will help Your Majesty!”

“Good. The reason I’ve spoken so much about Liu Bei is because he’s crucial to Jiangdong and Jingzhou. Also, as long as Liu Bei lives, Guan Yu will never truly surrender to anyone—that’s his nature. If Liu Bei dies as fate dictates, not only will I have one less formidable rival on my path to unification, but Jiangdong and Jingzhou will no longer be able to coexist so peacefully. Of course, for me, it’s really all to win over Guan Yu.”

Liu Xie’s words were somewhat disorganized, and Qiao Feng didn’t fully grasp all the implications at once, but she nodded gently and answered, “Whatever Your Majesty needs me to do, I will do my utmost. For instance, I’ve already become close with Liu Bei’s two wives.”