Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 129 Different Etiquettes Each Have Their Own Morals
In fact, Liu Bei had always wanted to make a move...

He wasn't the kind of hypocritical, pedantic scholar.

Right after the mourning period ended, Liu Bei planned to make his move on Bian Ji.

To be honest, Bian Ji was not a shy or reserved person. She didn't hide her gaze when she looked at Liu Bei; she was just as greedy.

Every morning when Liu Bei went out, he could see Bian Ji looking at him from across the river.

But the problem is... Zuo Yuan goes out with Liu Bei every day, because Liu Bei is woken up by Zuo Yuan almost every day.

Don't assume that working from home is a good thing.

Working from home means you can't sleep in late and you don't have days off...

Liu Bei, being a newly appointed official, had many duties to attend to. To prevent him from sleeping in and missing important business, Zuo Yuan would wake him up at dawn every day and they would go to work together.

As a result, Bian Ji would hide whenever she saw Liu Bei.

Later, Liu Bei took a break from his busy schedule to visit Bian Ji alone. However, Bian Ji was somewhat unhappy and said, "My lord should first marry Sister Zuo and then ask Sister Zuo to come and find me."

Although she came from a music academy, Bian Ji always strictly adhered to etiquette and did not want to have much contact with Liu Bei before she married into the family, and she didn't even say much to him.

Perhaps it was precisely because she came from a music troupe that she adhered so strictly to etiquette.

She is now a respectable woman, so she should act like one.

She wanted to wait for Liu Bei to marry first, and then for Liu Bei's wife to bring betrothal gifts to take her as a concubine—this was in accordance with the proper etiquette.

Liu Bei was genuinely unaware of this situation until Jian Yong explained it to him, at which point he understood that a man taking a concubine without permission constitutes adultery...

Either let the mother at home make the decisions, or let the legal wife make the decisions.

Those brought back by the mistress of the house are considered household servants, just like the staff and subordinates recruited by officials. They are subordinates of the mistress, have a legitimate status in the household, and are not regarded as slaves.

A concubine taken in private is a pure servant and belongs to the category of property. The wife has the right to dispose of her at will, such as giving her away as a gift.

During the Han Dynasty, there was a system of one wife and multiple concubines. There was no concept of a "secondary wife". Only one principal wife was the legal spouse, and the others were concubines.

Jian Yong could take a concubine before marrying a wife because it was arranged for him by his mother, but Liu Bei cannot do that now.

He is now the ruler of many people and must abide by the etiquette of a ruler. He must first marry and establish a legitimate heir, otherwise everyone will be uneasy.

This is also a matter of morality.

In Bian Ji's eyes, Zuo Yuan was already inseparable from Liu Bei, so she should be Liu Bei's wife—and most of the brothers thought so too.

This is both the good result of Zuo Yuan's previous good deeds and the result of Bian Ji's consideration for Liu Bei.

Many of his brothers came from poor backgrounds, and none of them wanted Liu Bei to marry into a prestigious family.

If Zuo Yuan can win the hearts of all the brothers, then she should become the eldest sister-in-law.

Liu Bei is currently living alone without any family. If his wife's family becomes too powerful, no one will feel at ease.

Liu Bei himself did not intend to use himself as collateral for a marriage alliance. If a man cannot marry the person he loves and has to use his wife as a bargaining chip, what is the point of living?
If Liu Bei wanted to do business, he had plenty of ways to do so; he didn't need to use people as bargaining chips at all.

Wealth, fame, army... Liu Bei had already earned it all from scratch.

If a powerful clan wanted to form a marriage alliance with Liu Bei, Bian Ji would certainly fight for it, otherwise her future would not be easy.

But if Liu Bei marries Zuo Yuan, it doesn't matter. Both of them are female entertainers and share similar circumstances, so they are naturally alike.

Therefore, if Liu Bei wanted to marry Bian Ji, he had to marry Zuo Yuan first.

But the problem is...

Zuo Yuan was also a person who observed proper etiquette, but she observed the etiquette of a subject.

This does not mean that she could or was unwilling to marry Liu Bei.

Zuo Yuan was naturally willing. She had always considered herself part of Liu Bei's family and had always lived in Liu Bei's manor. She hadn't even avoided the mourning period—she was the head of the retainers who presided over Liu Bei's mother's funeral and was observing the mourning period with Liu Bei, so there was no need for her to avoid it. However, she placed her identity as a retainer first.

First came comrades-in-arms, then trusted advisors, and finally, the women who were intimate with the young master…

Zuo Yuan always acted like a man. He would practice martial arts with Liu Bei and discuss matters with him. They actually spent a lot of time together.

She doesn't put on any airs in front of Liu Bei, and she doesn't hide anything from him. When Liu Bei sleeps in and can't get up, she will directly come into the room and pull off the covers, showing extreme intimacy.

But precisely because they had always been so close, relying on each other for so long, and being both ruler and subject as well as family, they never deliberately mentioned romantic feelings between them.

If Liu Bei gave the order, Zuo Yuan would obey any command.

She had been waiting for Liu Bei to give the order.

But Liu Bei couldn't very well order his wife to marry, could he?

Moreover, Zuo Yuan is really too busy right now.

She had many responsibilities: setting up an intelligence network, managing the affairs of her household retainers, overseeing the civil affairs of Xiheting when Liu Bei was away, and proactively advising Liu Bei on various plans.

In fact, Liu Bei had been trying to reduce Zuo Yuan's workload, but intelligence work and the management of his retainers had to be handled by Zuo Yuan, and he had to be informed of all matters, otherwise he would not be able to gather intelligence.

Moreover, in order to be a good head of the household retainers and not to hold Liu Bei back, Zuo Yuan was constantly learning new knowledge, studying military affairs, political affairs, poetry, books, etiquette, and more.

Every time Liu Bei's power increased, Zuo Yuan's learning would increase as well.

Although she was naturally intelligent, her foundation was indeed weak, so she worked even harder.

She learned military strategy from Duan Jiong, military affairs from Guan Yu, politics from Jian Yong, etiquette from Bian Ji, and farming from the women in the pavilion... She learned everything. Even when Liu Bei had free time, Zuo Yuan's first thought was to seek Liu Bei's advice on economics and strategy.

The more talented a person is, the harder they work, because making the most of their talent is what it means to work hard.

Zuo Yuan is truly talented, which means she almost never has a moment to spare.

She dressed as a swordsman, and her hair was tied in a ponytail instead of tied up, also to save time.

Zuo Yuan would get up before dawn every day before 5 a.m., wake Liu Bei, practice swordsmanship for a while to get his spirits up, and then go out with Liu Bei.

He then busied himself with various matters in the pavilion until the hour of You (5-7 PM).

From dusk until sunset, while everyone else was having dinner at home, she would go to each household to learn from their teachings.

By the time she got home, it was completely dark.

Even at night, Liu Bei often saw her studying diligently by lamplight.

She was a strong-willed and self-disciplined orphan from a martial arts family. She never considered herself a daughter and had no family members to help her, so she could only study and improve herself every day—which is why she was respected by all her brothers.

In addition, she has no relatives.

No one can make the decision for her.

Having a top student in the family made Liu Bei himself dare not slack off—Zuo Yuan would get anxious whenever Liu Bei showed any signs of laziness.

This made it difficult for Liu Bei to discuss romantic feelings with Zuo Yuan. He didn't want to interfere with Zuo Yuan's efforts, so he usually just helped her solve her problems or advised her to rest more and not to be too tense.

Because it hurts my heart.

We'll have to wait until Zuo Yuan has some free time.

Therefore, 007 won't work; if we want to increase the population, we must give more holidays.

They didn't even have time to date or get married, how could they cause someone's death?

This situation continued until the winter month of that year.

(End of this chapter)