Chapter Thirty-Four: Different Melodies, Same Harmony

  "Your Highness, the red-clad female thief has awakened."

  In the pavilion in the backyard of the county government's east wing, a Yuan army guard reported to Yuan Shang and Zhang Jue.

  Yuan Shang immediately stood up: "Alright, General Zhang, you come with me to take a look at her."

  Zhang Jie nodded and immediately stood up with Yuan Shang, walking towards the room where the red-clothed female thief was sleeping.

  As they walked along, Yuan Shang asked in a low voice, "General Zhang, how accurate do you think the conjecture you and I discussed earlier will prove to be?"

  Zhang Jue's face was calm and expressionless, without a hint of joy or anger. He shook his head and said: "To be honest, I wasn't very sure about it either. When Dong Zhuo died, his former subordinates Li Jue and Guo Si were thinking of dispersing their troops and hiding in the countryside. On the way, they met a poisonous scholar named Jia Xu who offered them a plan. They gathered their old troops, attacked the capital city, defeated Lü Bu, and forced him to flee in disarray. With nowhere else to go, Lü Bu went to Ji Province to seek refuge with our lord. At that time, I had just followed Han Fu back to surrender to Yuan Shao, and my position was not high. However, I was fortunate enough to follow our lord and Lü Bu together to attack the Black Mountain bandits. Although Lü Bu's troops were a motley crew, their combat strength was actually very high! Especially Gao Shun's vanguard camp and Lü Bu's personally led Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry - they were truly unmatched in the world! I couldn't help but admire them. Unfortunately, Lü Bu was arrogant and looked down on our lord, and his subordinates were mostly violent and unruly, with a tendency to bully their hosts. Our lord was afraid that if Lü Bu stayed in Ji Province for too long, he would become a threat, so he drove him out again..."

  "Ah, I see." Yuan Shang nodded dazedly: "I didn't expect that the battle against Lü Bu's army in Heishan would have left such a deep impression on General Zhang!"

  Zhang Jue nodded and sighed, "That was when I was still young and thought I had some ability, so I looked down on the heroes of the world. But after seeing Lü Bu's army, I realized that there are countless heroes in the world. A person like Lü Bu, let alone his martial arts skills, but just talking about his ability to train soldiers, even if I spent my whole life trying, I'm afraid I still wouldn't be able to achieve what he did back then."

  Yuan Shang heard this and shook his head, smiling: "General Zhang doesn't have to be so modest. Lu Bu may have been formidable, but he's already dead. The future of this world will still be created by those who are alive today. You're not old, General, how can you say such disheartening words? Lu Bu's achievements are already stagnant and won't move forward. For a stagnant target, doesn't General Zhang have the confidence to surpass it? If not, wouldn't that be a waste of the reputation as the number one warrior in Hebei?"

  Zhang Jing's spirit was lifted upon hearing this, and after some thought, he nodded and said: "Young master's words are right, I have been too narrow-minded."

  Two men came to the front of the county government's side hall, Yuan Shang gently patted the door and said: "Boss, can we come in?"

  After a brief silence, a voice came from inside the house, "Please enter."

  Yuan Shang pushed open the door and entered the room with Zhang Jue, only to see a red-clad female thief sitting on a soft couch, with a servant girl from the county government feeding her rice porridge.

  Can't help but say that Zhang Jie's slap on his neck was quite heavy, if it were an ordinary person, it would probably be a concussion. The red-clothed female thief's body was still quite sturdy, no big deal, but also a bit dizzy, her face pale and disheveled. Seeing Yuan Shang and Zhang Jie enter the house, she narrowed her eyes and looked them up and down.

  "General, I apologize for my offense last night. The situation was special and I had no choice but to resort to this tactic. I hope you won't hold it against me." Yuan Shang first bowed and apologized, expressing his sincerity.

  The red-clothed female thief nodded and asked: "How are my brothers from Jiuli Mountain?"

  Yuan Shang smiled and said: "Don't worry, Big Head, although the brothers are not free now, they are being treated well with good food and drink, and won't be made to suffer."

  After a moment of silence, the red-clothed female thief nodded her head: "Thank you."

  At this moment, Zhang Jue took a big step forward, waved his hand to let the serving maid retreat, and closed the door.

  Then, with piercing eyes staring at the red-clothed female thief, he said after a long while: "Miss, I am straightforward and don't know how to beat around the bush. Now, I have several questions that I would like to ask you, and I hope Miss will enlighten me."

  The red-clothed female thief didn't respond, but instead looked at Zhang Jue with great vigilance.

  Zhang Jue didn't think much of it and immediately asked: "What is Lü Bu to you?"

  Yuan Shang saw that the red-clothed female thief, after hearing Zhang Jue's words, had a noticeably larger tremble in her body, and in her heart she was even more certain.

  Seeing the red-clothed female thief silent, Yuan Shang immediately said: "Don't misunderstand, leader, we don't have any malicious intentions, on the contrary, we just want to confirm what's in our minds."

  The red-clothed female thief gazed at Yuan Shang's eyes, secretly thinking: Disaster and fortune are interdependent, fortune and disaster are mutually dependent! Either way, I have already fallen into their hands today, and it is feared that there will be no rescue. Even if I report my name, what does it matter? It's just a death, but I must not tarnish the reputation of Wen Hou Lü Bu!

  At this point, the red-clothed female thief straightened her body and said with a stubborn tone: "Now that things have come to this, it's useless for me to hide it. Indeed, the former General Fēng Wēi, Wēn Hóu Lǚ Bù was my father. My surname is Lǚ, and my full name is Líng Kuì."

  I knew it!

  Yuan Shang and Zhang Jue suddenly became enlightened in their hearts.

  Yuan Shang smiled and asked Lü Lingqi: "Are you really Lü Bu's daughter?"

  Lü Lingqi nodded and said: "Yes, if you take me to see Cao Cao in Xuchang today, it will be a great achievement, and I will gain wealth, honor and glory."

  Yuan Shang heard this and couldn't help but burst out laughing, shaking his head: "I'd rather take your head to exchange for some treasures with Cao Cao, but I reckon Cao Cao would be more interested in my own head than yours."

  Facing Lv Linggui's suspicious gaze, Yuan Shang smiled and said: "Miss Lv doesn't know my identity, so it's not surprising that you have doubts. I'll be honest with you, Miss Lv. My surname is Yuan, and my father is the current master of the four states of Hebei, a great general of the imperial court, and the governor of Ji Province. He is the one who fought against Cao Cao at Guandu and was unable to gain the upper hand - that is, Yuan Shao, also known as Yuan Benchu. Speaking of which, it seems that my father and your father were acquainted... Ah, yes! If I remember correctly, you were almost married to my second uncle's son back then. So, we can be considered distant relatives."

  Lü Lingqi was shocked, she never dreamed that the handsome and elegant young man in front of her, who had a smile on his face but no good intentions, would actually be the son of Yuan Shao, the lord of Hebei!

  No wonder the opponent's subordinates were extremely powerful and had exceptional intelligence, and with a smile, they captured all of their own people. Their methods were diverse and unpredictable, making it difficult to discern their origins. It was no surprise that he didn't kill himself and was very interested in his identity, because of this.

  But how could Yuan Shao's son appear within Cao Cao's territory?

  Yuan Shang smiled and said, "Lü Niang, you've gathered a group of thieves in Henan to cause trouble for Cao Cao's rear, seeking revenge, aren't you? Coincidentally, I came to Henan this time also on the orders of my father, specifically to harass Cao Cao's rear. It's a case of 'different tunes but the same harmony'. That's why I said last night that we're in the same line of work!"