Chapter 14: Wei Xun's Ambition (Part 1)

  "My lord!"

  "Dad!"

  "Offer it to our ancestors!"

  "Long live elder brother!"

  Upon hearing Lü Bu's voice, everyone reacted differently. Qin Xu knew that Lü Bu's raid on the camp would be difficult to succeed, but he didn't expect him to return so quickly.

  Lü Bu's majestic figure appeared in sight, his battle robe covered with dust, his originally proud face showing a hint of fatigue, but his bright eyes gleaming with a hidden anger. The generals following behind Lü Bu, such as Gao Shun and Zhang Liao, also had gloomy faces.

  "Lord Lü, how did you return so quickly?" At this time, only Diao Chan's words could be heard by Lü Bu. Seeing Lü Bu in this state, Diao Chan hastily asked.

  "Hmph! They're lucky!" Lü Bu said in a low voice, but it seemed like there was something he couldn't bring himself to say, and he held back because of the crowd.

  "Brother Boji, as long as you're safe and sound." Lü Bu saw Cai Yan present, but didn't show the slightest surprise. Instead, he bowed to Cai Yan and said: "Since Brother Boji is unharmed, I suppose he must be tired too. Cicada, take Miss Cai to help Lord Cai rest."

  Cai Yong did not know the true situation and thought that Lü Bu had other military affairs.

  The alarm in Chang'an City and the soldiers' blockade everywhere have also explained this point.

  Cai Yong, who had thought it was Lü Bu who came to his rescue, bowed deeply to Lü Bu and then followed Diao Chan to the guest room to rest.

  Only Cai Yan looked at Qin Xu with concern before leaving, but was fooled by Qin Xu's mischievous face, and suddenly remembered the scene where Qin Xu held her hand and ran quickly, her delicate face flushed red, and she hurriedly pretended to go support Cai Yong, and left in a hurry.

  Those who should leave have left, Qin Xu quietly waits for Lü Bu's next move.

  "Desertion, a crime! But although Qin Xu held the title of Youlin Cavalry Chief Clerk, in reality he was an officer under Lü Bu's General's mansion. Moreover, Qin Xu had left eight soldiers from the Trap Array Camp to guard the back door, so saying that this is disobeying military orders is debatable. At most, it can only be said that he took a short leave or did some private business."

  Now it's just a matter of rescuing Cai Yong. After all, Cai Yong is Wang Yun's prisoner, and a famous Confucian scholar being locked up in the imperial prison shows how much he dislikes him. If Wang Yun knew that it was Lü Bu's people who let Cai Yong out, I reckon the tacit understanding between Old Wang and Boss Lü would be gone.

  But Lü Bu's behavior just now seems to have acquiesced in Qin Xu's approach. Not to mention that Lü Bu's acceptance of Cai Yan was adding trouble to the old king, but after Wei Xun was bullied by Qin Xu and Cai Yan, no one went to find him, instead he defected to Wang Yun, which reveals the strange relationship between Lü Bu and his father-in-law Wang Yun. Didn't you see that Lü Bu also drove away Diao Chan?

  Lü Bu now stared at Qin Xu with a gloomy face, while Qin Xu's face remained calm and expressionless. Even after Gao Shun and Zhang Liao returned with Lü Bu, they did not leave, and the two men just glared at each other.

  "Dad! Aren't you tired? Uncle Zhang and Uncle Gao must be exhausted, you...” Lü Linggui was familiar with Lü Bu's temperament, seeing him like this, plus what he said when they came in earlier, worried that Qin Xu would really be punished by military law this time. Although Lü Linggui thought she had no good impression of Qin Xu, the big bad egg, after all, they had fought together, Miss Lü's heart was very broad, how could she just watch him die?

  "Be grateful to Miss properly." Lü Linggui thought to herself with a sideways glance at Qin Xu.

  "Go with your sister Cai back home! It seems what your mother said was right, I have indeed spoiled you too much over the years." Lü Bu's face turned cold as he interrupted Lü Lingjie's "kindness", rarely speaking to her with such a hard heart.

  "No, Father, you don't know how dangerous it was at that time, Qin Xu..."

  "Go quickly!" Lü Bu shouted in a low voice.

  Lü Bu was not moved by Lü Lingqi's soft words, but instead let out a sudden low growl at her. Lü Lingqi's eyes instantly turned red as she looked at Lü Bu with a wronged expression, saying nothing.

  "Miss Lü, it seems that Master has something to ask me. Otherwise, you should go find a doctor to take a look at Lord Cai?" Qin Xu hastily said as he saw the father and daughter duo getting into an argument.

  "Hmph! Leave then leave! You're not a good person either! Big bad egg!" Lü Linggui was indeed Lü Bu's daughter, with a fiery temper just like her father. Seeing Lü Bu's soft and hard attitude, Qin Xu's reaction to his "good intentions", she let out a coquettish hum, twisted her small waist, and quickly walked towards the guest room.

  "Doesn't Lord Qin seem surprised at all by your current state, Lü Bu?" Lü Bu's words carried a hint of inexplicable meaning. Logically speaking, as Qin Xu was Lü Bu's subordinate, if they were close, Lü Bu would have called him by his courtesy name; however, given Qin Xu's age, he might not have had a courtesy name to begin with. If they disliked each other, considering Lü Bu's temperament and personality, it's likely that Qin Xu wouldn't even have the chance to stand in front of Lü Bu and speak, so Lü Bu's behavior was quite strange.

  "My lord, I have spoken too much! Your humble servant acted out of personal motives, disobeyed military orders, used public resources for private purposes, and arbitrarily deployed the soldiers under your command to rescue someone, making it difficult for you to respond to Wang Zifu. This is truly a capital offense deserving of death!" Qin Xu looked puzzled, his face showing confusion as he didn't quite understand what Lü Bu was saying.

  "Private feelings? Military orders? Die a thousand deaths?" Lü Bu coldly repeated Qin Xu's words, and suddenly shouted: "Since you understand so clearly, it seems that you really have a repentant heart. Well, if I don't help you, it would seem that Lü is inhumane. Come here!"

  Lü Bu's reaction is not right, is it? Qin Xu secretly cursed in his heart. His own words had a hidden meaning, using Lü Bu's respect for Wang Yun as a stepping stone, and adding Lü Bu's pride, plus the previous behavior in Lü Lingqi's room, even if Lü Bu wanted to punish himself now, he should at least find another reason.

  "My lord!"

  "My lord!"

  I didn't expect that the ones who were supposed to capture people with Lü Bu's orders weren't others, but rather Old Hé and Sima Meng. What kind of situation is this?

  Before Qin Xu could react, Lao Xue and Sima Mao swiftly pinned his arms behind his back with the ease of catching a chicken, their movements extremely practiced, apparently they had done this many times before.

  It seems that Lü Bu has really gotten angry this time? Qin Xu also worried that his previous performance was a bit over the top, provoking Lü Bu's temper. Alas, going too far is not enough, the ancients were indeed not deceiving me.

  There are still Lao Xu and Sima Mao, these two goods, from the time they crossed over to this Three Kingdoms era, the first people they met were just these two. Not only did they take the punishment for Sima Mao's high-ranking officials, but they even wanted to rely on the previous Qin Zhugong's inexplicable "life-saving grace" to make a private bodyguard. However, it was unexpected that with just one sentence from Lü Bu, these two people directly turned against them and were the first to shout out and capture Qin Xu to curry favor with Lü Bu.

  The human heart, the human heart!

  "Qin Zhu Bo, don't worry, there's no murderous intent in Master's eyes." Just as Qin Xu was lost in thought, thinking that the phrase "people's hearts are hard to fathom" was very applicable whether it was his past life or now, he heard Sima Mao's voice beside him.

  No murderous aura?

  How can you be so weak and let others capture you?

  Lü boss, what's this singing about?

  Lao Xu and Sima Meng followed Lü Bu for a long time. It is said that Lao Xu was already with Lü Bu when he first rose up in Wuwan, while Sima Meng joined Lü Bu's army when Ding Yuan was stationed at the river. Based on their understanding of Lü Bu, the explanations given by these two men can almost be considered "official".

  Two men grabbed Qin Xu's arm, looking very fierce, but the force transmitted through their hands was so slight that Qin Xu could still feel it.

  Qin Xu had already regretted his actions a little, but he didn't expect to encounter such a thing again.

  Reminded by Sima's soft voice, Qin Xiang couldn't figure out what Lü Bu meant, so he simply stopped thinking about it. He let his thin and weak body be "tortured" under the two burly men until it was almost bent at a 90-degree angle.

  "Your Excellency! Qin's chief clerk has been diligent and meritorious in his daily work. Although he made a serious mistake this time, he is still young after all. I hope Your Excellency will take into account his past merits and spare his life." The speaker was Zhang Liao, who had not spoken until now.

  This is more like it, Qin Xu secretly let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that he had actually been truly frightened just now.

  First comes a big stick, and before it's even used, a big pile of sweet dates is presented, only then can one use people at ease. It seems that those in power, past and present, all like to play this trick.

  However, Zhang Liao, who would later become a famous general under Cao Cao's command and strike fear into the hearts of Sun Quan's forces even when he was gravely ill, didn't quite fit the role of a comedic relief character.

  If these words were spoken by Gao Shun, Qin Xu might have worried about the authenticity of what Sima Meng said earlier. After all, although there are rumors outside that Lü Bu and Gao Shun do not get along, and there is also a rumor that Gao Shun's position as the leader of the ambush camp was replaced by Wei Xu, but compared to Zhang Liao, Gao Shun is an old man in Lü Bu's army, with a straightforward personality, and his emotions are not revealed on his face. He has high prestige in Lü Bu's army, and many times Lü Bu also needs to consider Gao Shun's thoughts. Moreover, he is also acquainted with Qin Xu. Although in Qin Xu's view, he only met Gao Shun once, but Gao Shun shouldn't be the kind of person who would see someone die without helping, right?

  But what about Zhang Liao? Although Zhang Liao was also a subordinate of Ding Yuan, he was like Gao Shun, a pure military man, and it was not suitable for him to do things that moved people's hearts. Qin Xu really couldn't think of any connection between himself and Zhang Liao that would make Zhang Liao speak up for him.

  It's all too fake to say. In Lü Bu's General's mansion, who doesn't know that Qin Zhongbo, although young and weak, has been thinking of entering the elite vanguard camp with all his heart? He basically doesn't care about anything else because it is said that Qin Zhongbo has a strong background, plus Lü Bu doesn't bother him either. The rumors about Qin Xu have almost become a topic of conversation among the lower-ranking servants in the mansion after dinner. What achievements can such a person have? Zhang Liao just spoke and said that Qin Xu was diligent and had many achievements, but hopefully, no one in Lü's mansion heard it.

  Such a big loophole, if Qin Xu can't see it, then Director Qin deserved to be drowned in wine in his past life.

  "What Wen Far said makes some sense! Let's put this matter aside for now, and if there's another offense in the future, it will be punished severely!" Lü Bu indeed had no intention of punishing Qin Xu, just as Sima Meng said. After listening to Zhang Liao's awkward explanation, he let it slide and ordered Old Hui and Sima Meng to release Qin Xu.

  Qin Xu's life was spared, but he didn't feel at ease. Lü Bu must have had a purpose in arranging such a clumsy "catch-and-release" trick with him. It might be related to Lü Bu's recent failed night raid on Li Jue and Guo Si.

  "Doesn't Qin Zhubu seem surprised at all by Lü's such a sorry state?!"

  Lü Bu said something similar to what he had just said, still with a cold face, but this time Qin Xu heard some flavor.