My Three Kingdoms is not right

Liu Xun looked at Lü Bu, the once spirited and arrogant woman, now with disheveled hair and her eyes devoid of their former brilliance in the dim light.

Like a wild beast trapped in a cage.

"Is there anything else?" Lu Bu raised an eyebrow at him.

Liu Xun cupped his hands and said, "I will go to fetch General Gao tomorrow to treat him."

"Who said we released her?" Lu Bu said coldly.

Seeing that Liu Xun was standing there without leaving or responding, she waved her hand impatiently: "Your Highness, please find a doctor to go in."

"Thank you, General!" Liu Xun nodded.

Although they couldn't get the person out, allowing the doctor to go in and treat them was the best outcome they could achieve tonight.

He turned to leave, but as soon as he took a step, he heard Lü Bu's voice behind him.

"Your Highness."

Liu Xun stopped and turned around.

Lu Bu leaned against the couch, one hand supporting his forehead, his long, disheveled hair falling to his shoulder, obscuring half his face.

"Your Highness, you are so kind and considerate," her voice was much softer than usual, "Why don't you care about me?"

Liu Xun was taken aback for a moment, then smiled slightly: "How could I not care about the general?"

"But I know that the general is an outstanding man, a hero of our time. Even if he suffers a setback for a time, he will surely be able to turn the tide."

In the past, these words would have made Lü Bu laugh heartily, and he might even have patted his chest and said, "Your Highness is right."

But tonight, Lü Bu did not laugh.

She leaned against the couch, staring intently at Liu Xun, the light in her eyes gradually dimming.

"That's enough."

She turned her face away, her voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

"You can leave now."

Liu Xun pursed his lips, then simply bowed and turned to leave the inner hall.

The following morning, Liu Xun took a doctor from the city to the county prison. The jailer, having received a bribe, eagerly led them to Gao Shun's cell.

The cell has been moved to a slightly drier one, with dry straw laid on the floor and new mattresses.

The doctor carefully examined the ulcers on Gao Shun's wrists and ankles, cleaned and applied medicine, and also prescribed an oral decoction.

Liu Xun came every day, bringing freshly brewed medicinal soup and clean meals. Gao Shun's injuries gradually improved; the ulcers began to scab over, and his complexion regained its color.

"Your Highness's kindness will be forever etched in my heart." Every time Gao Shun saw him, he would bow solemnly, his eyes filled with gratitude.

"General, there's no need for that. Just focus on recovering from your injuries," Liu Xun reassured him gently.

However, just as Gao Shun's condition was improving, the plague in the city was raging even more. Corpses were being carried out almost daily from the shacks in the low-lying areas, and more and more people were falling ill in the military camps, suffering from fever, diarrhea, and sores.

The soldiers in Liu Xun's courtyard also began to show symptoms. First, two young female soldiers developed fever and vomited, and then several others fell ill one after another. Yao Tian ordered the sick to be moved to a side room, but panic had already spread.

Liu Xun himself also felt unwell. At first, he only had a mild headache and fatigue, which he thought was due to the fatigue from days of running around. But two days later, he began to lose his appetite and his body felt hot and cold.

Yao Tian noticed something was wrong and immediately called a doctor to examine him.

The doctor examined the prince's pulse for a long time, his brow furrowed: "Your Highness's pulse is floating and rapid, your body is hot and your exterior is weak, the pathogenic factors have already entered your body. There is a plague raging in the city, this illness... I'm afraid you have caught it."

Liu Xun sat on the couch, speechless upon hearing this. He had taken every precaution, stockpiling food and medicine, and instructing everyone to boil the water before drinking, yet he himself still fell victim to the disease.

"What should we do now?" Yao Tian asked urgently.

The doctor shook his head: "Treating the symptoms with medicine to clear heat and expel pathogens, along with rest, depends on the individual's physical condition and fate."

Liu Xun joked, "Then prescribe the medicine. I've gone to so much trouble to stockpile medicine; at least it didn't just benefit someone else."

The doctor wrote down the prescription, and Yao Tian immediately sent someone to prepare it.

The medicine was bitter, but Liu Xun drank it down in one sip, leaning back on the couch without much concern.

My combat strength has reached 87, and my body has been enhanced by the system, so I should be much stronger than the average person.

The symptoms have not been severe in the past few days; there has been no high fever or coma, nor persistent diarrhea, so it should be nothing serious.

……

Several days passed, and the situation in Xiapi City became increasingly dire.

The floodwaters had receded considerably, but the encirclement around the city had tightened even further. Cao Cao's army moved their camp forward and began frequent patrols outside the moat.

The city's food supply is becoming increasingly strained. The grain in the government granaries, which has been soaked in water, is moldy and blackened. Although it has been washed countless times, the steamed rice still has a nauseating musty smell.

The soldiers' rations were reduced by half, but the people in the city suffered even more.

After all, the soldiers had swords and guns.

Those who wield weapons will never starve to death before the common people.

The plague was still spreading. Every day, corpses were carried out from homes and military camps, wrapped in straw mats, and hastily buried in high places.

Under immense pressure, Lü Bu's temperament became increasingly erratic and absurd.

She no longer spent her days patrolling the city's defenses and boosting morale; instead, she often stayed indoors. Faint sounds of string and wind instruments could be heard emanating from her residence, and rumors circulated that she was using this time to gather the remaining handsome men in the city and bring them into her residence for drinking and revelry.

Sometimes he would feast all night, getting drunk until dawn; other times he would suddenly don armor and storm into the military camp, whipping the soldiers over trivial matters with harsh words, completely lacking his former heroic spirit.

"Two more were killed yesterday..." The soldiers whispered among themselves, their voices low, their eyes filled with fear and alienation.

Liu Xun's courtyard was still relatively peaceful, but it was no longer a paradise.

The food supplies can last for a while, but the medicinal herbs are running low.

However, his own illness showed no signs of improvement.

Liu Xun leaned against the couch, covered with two layers of quilts, but still felt a little cold.

"Your Highness, it's time to take your medicine."

Yao Tian carried in a bowl of dark, medicinal soup, squatted down beside the couch, and carefully held the bowl to Liu Xun's lips.

Liu Xun struggled to sit up, took the bowl, and drank it sip by sip. The medicine was so bitter it made him want to vomit, but he frowned and swallowed it, then handed the empty bowl back to Yao Tian.

Yao Tian took the bowl and said, "General Hou Cheng is hosting a banquet today. He came to invite Your Highness this morning, but I saw that Your Highness was not awake, so I declined."

Liu Xun laughed and said, "She's in a good mood."

"It's good that Your Highness didn't go, which saves us trouble." Yao Tian shook his head and said, "I heard that fifteen warhorses were stolen from Hou Cheng's camp. After discovering this, she chased down the thieves and retrieved the warhorses. Therefore, she wanted to have a celebration drink with the generals."

She didn't notice Liu Xun's surprised expression and continued:

"Hou Cheng knew there was a prohibition on alcohol in the city and dared not drink without permission, so she took five bottles of wine to offer to Marquis Wen. Unexpectedly, Lü Bu flew into a rage and arrested her for disobeying orders, intending to behead her on the spot."

Liu Xun suddenly sat up: "Later, all the generals went to the mansion to plead for Hou Cheng, and in the end, Lü Bu changed the verdict and gave her fifty lashes, right?"

Yao Tian was stunned: "Your Highness hasn't left the house all day, how do you know so much?"

Liu Xun smiled wryly and did not answer.

How could he not know?

Prohibition.

Hou Cheng.

Fifty strokes of the cane.

……

Isn't this just the White Gate Tower Incident?

The final scene of the Battle of Xiapi has begun.