Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 316 A mistake that all the men in the Liu family make!
After Tao Sheng left, Dong Zhuo slowly turned around, dipped his hands into the copper basin held by the servant, carefully washed them with water and soap, and then dried each finger with a cloth before grasping the hand of Liu Pu, the governor of Wei Commandery, and said earnestly, "De Shi, I will have to trouble you this time."

Deshi is Liu Pu's courtesy name, taken from the "Qian Gua" chapter of the Book of Changes: "The dragon appears in the field, and virtue is bestowed upon Pu."

Liu Pu was a descendant of Liu Yan, the fourth son of Emperor Guangwu of the Ming Dynasty and the Prince of Fuling. Originally, Liu Yan was the Prince of Huaiyang, but this place seemed to have some strange feng shui that was hard to explain.

Since the Han Dynasty, the Kings of Huainan have mostly been restless individuals who frequently plotted rebellion.

Although the name "Huaiyang" means "north of the Huai River," his fiefdom was actually geographically located in the south of the Huai River.

Liu Yan, the son of Guo Shengtong, the deposed empress of Emperor Guangwu, was arrogant and extravagant, and treated his subordinates cruelly and violently. He was accused of privately writing prophetic verses (banned books for rebellion) and making curses in his sacrifices to ghosts and gods.

Emperor Xiaoming could not bear to kill him, but executed the relevant personnel and changed Liu Yan's fiefdom to Prince of Fuling. His original four-county fiefdom was reduced by half. Soon after, he was accused of plotting a rebellion with his son Liu Fang and was changed to Marquis of Fuling, leaving him with only the fiefdom of Fuling County.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaozhang, the royal title of the Fuling Marquis lineage was restored, and he was renamed the King of Fuling.

Liu Pu was the great-grandson of Liu Fang, the Prince of Fuling who conspired with his father to rebel. Under the Enfeoffment Edict, he was not granted a noble title but still received some political support.

The "trouble" that Dong Zhuo mentioned earlier refers to the fact that Tao Sheng must make contributions to rise in rank in order to continue to infiltrate the Black Mountain bandits and act as an inside agent for the imperial court.

To rise in rank, one must naturally contribute to Zhang Yan's cause.

The Black Mountain bandits are currently short of food, and Tao Sheng hopes to receive a batch of grain to aid Zhang Yan. However, it would be inappropriate to directly accept a batch of grain aid from the imperial court, as the Black Mountain bandits still have some informants throughout Jizhou. Even if the Embroidered Uniform Guard were to search for them, it would be difficult to catch them all, and the risk would be too great.

Therefore, a play had to be staged, such as robbing the imperial grain transport team.

Of course, Dong Zhuo wasn't so ruthless as to risk the lives of his soldiers to cooperate with Tao Sheng's charade. Instead, he planned to petition the emperor to allocate a group of death row inmates who had been approved by the Court of Justice and sentenced to death, as well as prisoners of the Xianbei, Xiongnu, and Qianghu tribes, to form several "grain transport teams" of a few hundred men, so that Tao Sheng could conveniently dispose of them during his looting.

This was naturally against the usual procedures, but the emperor was not such a rigid person.

However, all of this was inseparable from the cooperation of Liu Pu, the governor of Wei Commandery.

“We are all serving the emperor, how dare we say we are ‘laboring’?”

Liu Pu remained calm in the face of Dong Zhuo's courteous treatment, showing no sign of being flattered.

After all, as a member of the Han imperial family, he had his own confidence. Although he did not enjoy the same favor as Dong Zhuo, he did not need to curry favor with Dong Zhuo.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the hall.

A servant was stopped by the guards of the Left General's residence who were standing outside the gate, and was shouting loudly that he wanted to see Liu Pu.

Liu Pu frowned, recognizing the person as his own servant.

However, Liu Pu was greatly displeased by the servant's disrespectful behavior in Dong Zhuo's Left General's residence, and thus sternly rebuked him, saying, "This is the Left General's residence, how dare this lowly servant be so rude!"

Dong Zhuo saw that it was Liu Pu's servant and waved his hand to signal his guards to let him pass.

The servant stumbled into the hall, his face filled with panic, his eyes darting hesitantly between Dong Zhuo, Li Ru, and the others, his lips moving but hesitant to speak.

Seeing this, Liu Pu became even more furious and shouted, "Speak your mind! If you dare to hesitate like this again, go back to your residence and receive your punishment!"

The servant trembled at the shout, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Liang Ru... was killed by the Second Young Master."

"What did you say?!"

Liu Pu was startled, then his face flushed red and he cursed angrily, "How dare you, you brat!"

Before he finished speaking, Liu Pu drew his sword with a clang and, without even bothering to say goodbye to Dong Zhuo, turned and rushed out of the mansion.

The servant hurriedly clasped his hands in a salute to Dong Zhuo and then followed him out.

This sudden turn of events left Dong Zhuo completely bewildered.

As a colleague with whom he would be working for a long time to eliminate the Black Mountain bandits, he had visited Liu Pu's residence and knew a little about his family affairs.

Liu Pu had one wife and two concubines. His wife passed away last year, and both of his sons were born to her.

The eldest son, Liu Huan, was ten years old. He was calm and composed, and had a fondness for classical Chinese literature and Confucian classics. He was often praised by the tutors in the household.

The second son, Liu Ye, was only eight years old. He was quick-witted and clever, and his personality was very different from that of his older brother.

Moreover, Liu Ye was somewhat unorthodox. Although he studied the classics, he also dabbled in books on Mohist thought, such as the Mozi, as well as some military strategies.

Dong Zhuo actually had a good impression of this unconventional young man, and even joked that when Liu Ye grew up and became accomplished, he could replace Li Ru as his chief secretary and offer him advice.

Upon hearing that this eight-year-old boy dared to kill someone, Dong Zhuo was not angry at all, but instead became somewhat curious.

Although Liu Ye was unconventional, he was not a spoiled and tyrannical person. He must have had a reason for killing Liu Pu, and Liu Pu's rage seemed to be somewhat unusual.

Fearing that Liu Pu, in his rage, might do something irreversible upon returning home, Dong Zhuo immediately ordered his commander Yang Teng to prepare his horse, deciding to personally go to Liu Pu's residence to "eat melon seeds"... cough, to persuade him!
Before long, Dong Zhuo arrived at Liu Pu's residence.

The mansion was in complete chaos. Liu Pu, indeed holding a sharp sword, was seen chasing and slashing at Liu Ye, who was fleeing, with a furious expression on his face.

Several servants stepped forward to stop him, but he swung his sword and cut them to the ground.

Even Liu Huan, the eldest son who rushed forward to hug his father, was kicked in the abdomen, and curled up on the ground after a painful cry.

Upon seeing this, Dong Zhuo darted forward, swiftly unsheathed his longsword, and struck Liu Pu's wrist with the scabbard.

Liu Pu suddenly felt pain, and his longsword fell from his hand and landed on the ground, where it was kicked away by Dong Zhuo.

Liu Pu suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at Dong Zhuo, and roared, "General Zuo, don't stop me! This child dares to kill at such a young age; he will surely become a menace when he grows up. I'd rather end his life myself today!"

Liu Ye was quick-witted. He took the opportunity to hide behind Dong Zhuo's burly body, poked his head out, and loudly protested: "I am not killing people indiscriminately. I am killing that lowly slave! Your Excellency has favored this slave for a long time. Even my mother has been humiliated by this lowly slave. I should kill him!"

"You brat! How dare you spout such nonsense!"

Liu Pu was so angry that he trembled all over. He raised his foot to kick Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo stopped him with his arm.

Favored? Dong Zhuo wondered. Could Liang Ru be Liu Pu's concubine?

If a son kills his father's concubine, it is considered disobedience, but to kill the son for this seems too harsh.

The term "concubine" is just a euphemism; in name, she was Liu Pu's woman, but in reality, she was nothing more than an object with a low status.

It was common for literati to exchange concubines as gifts, which was considered a refined and elegant practice.

Although Liu Ye needs to be taught a lesson, it doesn't warrant killing his son.

Moreover, Liu Ye just said that his mother was also humiliated by this concubine during her lifetime.
Could it be a case of favoring a concubine over the wife?
At this moment, Li Ru, who had been silently observing, stepped forward without making a sound, leaned close to Dong Zhuo's ear, and whispered a reminder: "General, that Liang Ru... is Liu Fujun's attendant, not a woman." (Note 1)

Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo's body visibly stiffened, his eyes widened, and he felt as if his mind was momentarily blank.

man???

pet???

It is true that I am illiterate, but can the word "favor" be used to describe a man who is neither a relative nor an acquaintance?

After a long while, under Li Ru's meaningful gaze, Dong Zhuo suddenly realized what was going on.

Liu Pu has made a mistake that the men in the Liu family often make!
Although homosexuality originated in the Former Han Dynasty and became a trend, in the Later Han Dynasty, this trend was stripped away from the palace and gradually spread to the mansions of the powerful and wealthy.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaohuan, Liang Ji, the powerful and domineering general, kept a male favorite named "Qin Gong" and promoted him to the position of Taiguanling (Grand Master of the Imperial Kitchen).

After Qin Gong rose to the position of Grand Granary Magistrate, he was able to freely enter and leave various parts of Liang's residence.

Then... the Qin Palace became a place where "both offense and defense were equally adept".

When Liang Ji's wife, Lady Xiangcheng Sun Shou, saw the Qin palace, she was amazed by its beauty. She dismissed her attendants and, under the guise of discussing matters, took the opportunity to have an affair with the Qin palace.

Upon learning this, Liang Ji was not angry at all; instead, he became extremely jealous and began vying with his wife for Qin Palace's favor.

Dong Zhuo suddenly remembered that after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, when he was promoted to Right General, a powerful family had sent him a handsome male servant in an attempt to curry favor with him.

At the time, he felt that this person was incapable of lifting heavy objects and lacked knowledge of classical studies and practical matters, so he casually sent him back.

Looking back now... those bastards were clearly giving him male concubines?!
Dong Zhuo looked down at Liu Ye, who was hiding behind him, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He reached out his rough hand and vigorously rubbed the little guy's head, giving him a reassuring look.

Good kill!

Such filthy and disgusting creatures deserve to be killed!

Seeing that Dong Zhuo was backing him up and protecting him, Liu Ye nervously swallowed behind Dong Zhuo and mustered his courage to take out a memorial tablet from his bosom. He raised the tablet high with both hands towards Liu Pu and said indignantly, "This lowly servant is arrogant and domineering in the inner quarters. He often insults my mother and mocks her for not being favored. Even my father's concubines often suffer his humiliation."

"The other servants and maids in the mansion were often bullied and beaten by this lowly slave. Some maids who were raped and murdered by him were even falsely accused of adultery by this lowly slave and were beaten and killed as a result!"

Seeing Liu Pu's blank look, Liu Ye naturally understood that he had no idea what Liang Ru had done, and even found it hard to believe that Liang Ru would do such a bad thing. He became even more furious and said, "If you don't believe me, you can go to the city and ask around. You will then know how this lowly servant bullies men and women in Wei County by taking advantage of your power."

Liu Ye paused, his voice choked with emotion, and said, "Before my mother passed away last year, she repeatedly told my brother and me that Liang Ru, that lowly servant, was inherently obsequious and had framed others many times. She would surely become a scourge to our family in the future. She told my brother and me that when we grew up, we must kill her to eliminate the future trouble, so that she could go to see our father and mother in peace!"

"Today, I am only killing him on my mother's dying wish. If you want to kill me, you don't need to do it yourself!"

As Liu Ye spoke, he suddenly pulled a blood-stained dagger from his waist, clearly the murder weapon used to kill his male lover named "Liang Ru." His gaze towards Liu Pu held a complex and indescribable meaning, and he resolutely said, "I will use the dagger my mother gave me, embrace my mother's memorial tablet, and commit suicide in front of my mother's grave. I will never let my father bear the infamy of killing his son!"

"No!"

Liu Pu was shocked, never expecting that this was actually his deceased wife's dying wish. He hurriedly looked at his eldest son, Liu Huan, who was curled up on the ground.

Liu Huan met his father's surprised and uncertain gaze, nodded with difficulty, and said with a bitter smile, "I originally planned to drag this lowly slave to my mother's grave in a few years and skin him alive with my own hands, but I never expected that my brother Ye would do it first."

“If my younger brother Ye passes away, I, as the eldest brother, should follow him closely. Otherwise, when I go to the underworld, I will have no face to meet my mother and younger brother Ye.”

Seeing his only two sons looking as if they were ready to die, Liu Pu panicked.

Liu Ye is terrible!
Liu Pu cursed Liu Ye in his heart.

How could he not see through this brat's thoughts?
It was clearly a ploy to use the presence of outsiders like Dong Zhuo to present the image of killing someone for the sake of "filial piety," and to establish such a pitiful persona, while using the infamy of "killing one's son" to coerce him into submission!

But the eldest son, Liu Huan, a straightforward child who was almost foolish, probably really thought that this brat was going to commit suicide and was prepared to die with him!
Dong Zhuo sighed heavily, patted Liu Pu on the shoulder, offered him a way out, and said in a deep voice, "Alright, Deshi! It's one thing to be confused for a moment, but you must not continue to be confused. The death of a mere lowly servant is nothing compared to the harmony between father and son."

Liu Pu felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and quickly accepted the offer, saying, "General Zuo's instruction is correct!"

Liu Pu hurriedly bent down, picked up Liu Huan from the ground with one hand, and hugged Liu Ye tightly with the other. His voice was choked with forced sobs as he cried out, "It was your father's fault! I have failed your mother, and I have failed you brothers even more!"

Liu Pu was not sincerely admitting his mistake, but rather that this matter absolutely could not be blown out of proportion.

If this matter were reported to the court by someone with ulterior motives, Liu Pu would likely be dismissed from his post and never be employed again, and even his family's reputation would be ruined.

It's already morally reprehensible to favor a concubine over one's wife, let alone to favor a male concubine!

Regardless of whether the Three Dukes, Nine Ministers, and Six Ministries kept male lovers, it was wrong to do such things openly.

Some things are not as important as they seem unless they are weighed.

But once it's on the scale, it weighs more than a thousand pounds!

(4092 words)
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Note 1: The story of Liu Ye killing his father Liu Pu's servant is found in the *Records of the Three Kingdoms*: "His father was Pu, his mother was Xiu, and they had two sons, Huan and Ye. Huan was nine years old, and Ye was seven, when their mother fell seriously ill. On her deathbed, she warned Huan and Ye, 'Pu's servant has a treacherous nature. After my death, he will surely bring chaos to the family. If you can eliminate him when you grow up, I will have no regrets.' When Ye was thirteen, he said to his brother Huan, 'We can follow our late mother's words.' Huan said, 'How can we do that!' Ye immediately went into the room, killed the servant, and went straight out to pay respects at the grave. The people inside were greatly alarmed and reported to Pu. Pu was furious and sent someone to force Ye to surrender. Ye returned and bowed, saying, 'I dare accept the punishment for acting without permission, as my late mother had instructed me.' Pu was surprised and did not punish him."

The relationship between a servant and a servant is essentially the same. If they were merely slaves, it wouldn't have led to the "fear of chaos in the household," to the point that a matriarch would leave a dying wish for her son to kill her.

(End of this chapter)