New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

Diao Chan was completely dumbfounded. Hadn't her adoptive father already said this before?

She asked urgently, "Father, please rise! Didn't you already tell me, and I agreed, that you had already betrothed me to General Lü?"

Wang Yun knelt on the ground, slowly shook his head, and said in a hoarse and heavy voice: "That was just one of my schemes."

"A scheme?" Diao Chan frowned deeply.

"Yes, a scheme. And only half of the scheme. For this plan to succeed, it must be a series of interconnected schemes." Wang Yun raised his head, looking at Diao Chan's bewildered face, his tone full of remorse and determination.

Diao Chan couldn't understand what he was saying at all. The words "chain scheme" and "half of the plan" were like a tangled mess in her mind, impossible to unravel.

She watched her godfather kneeling before her, her heart aching. She quickly bent down to help him up, saying, "Godfather, please get up. I'm terrified when you talk to me like that."

Wang Yun, however, remained kneeling on the ground, motionless.

"No! My scheme is so despicable that I am ashamed to even stand up. Today, I can only kneel and tell my daughter about it."

He took a deep breath, as if to expel all the stale air from his chest, before slowly opening his mouth.

"The world is in chaos, and the culprit is Dong Zhuo. To get rid of Dong Zhuo, we need Lü Bu's help. But Dong Zhuo has treated Lü Bu very well. If we want the two of them to become enemies, we can only rely on you, my daughter."

Diao Chan stared at him blankly, her eyes full of confusion: "Father, didn't General Lü already tell you this afternoon that he would help you get rid of Dong Zhuo? Why are you saying it again?"

Wang Yun closed his eyes in anguish and shook his head: "This is different. Marrying you to Lü Bu was a honey trap. But the subsequent divisive tactic requires me to offer you to Dong Zhuo."

Ta-da!

These words struck Diao Chan like a thunderbolt, leaving her weak and collapsing to the ground.

Her eyes widened, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Wang Yun quickly stepped forward and hurriedly explained, "My daughter is as beautiful as a celestial being, one of the most beautiful women in the world. What man who has seen you could remain unmoved? Especially that lecherous Dong Zhuo!"

"Once Dong Zhuo falls for you, Lü Bu will surely be consumed by grief and rage!"

"He was a man of deep feelings and unwavering integrity, his love and hate written all over his face. Whoever took away his beloved, he would forge a blood feud with that person, even risking his life to assassinate them! At that time, the world would be at peace, and the Han Dynasty would be saved!"

Diao Chan's face was already streaked with tears. She choked out, "But Godfather, you wouldn't offer me to that beast, and General Lü promised to assassinate Dong Zhuo for us! Why are you doing this?"

Wang Yun slowly shook his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes:

"It's better to rely on yourself than on others. Lü Bu has the courage of a common man, but no ambition to serve his country. If one day that traitor Dong Zhuo offers him high office and beautiful women, he may not be able to resist the temptation. At that time, he will forget what we said today and turn around and betray us."

He paused, then added a sentence.

"Daughter, don't forget, he has a nickname: 'Slave of Three Surnames'! So I'd rather trust myself than completely trust Lü Bu!"

A burning flame suddenly ignited in his eyes as he stared intently at Diao Chan, his voice urgent and earnest: "Daughter, believe me! As long as you do as I say, Dong Zhuo will surely die! And you will definitely be able to grow old with General Lü!"

"In short, it boils down to this: trusting Lü Bu might lead to failure; but if I use my stratagem of multiple ships, Dong Zhuo will surely die! For the sake of the greater good, I have no choice but to choose the latter. I hope my daughter can understand!"

Diao Chan slumped to the ground, staring blankly ahead, tears streaming silently down her face, mechanically repeating only one sentence:

"My godfather is going to offer me up to that beast, my godfather is going to offer me up to that beast..."

Seeing Diao Chan's distraught state, Wang Yun felt as if his heart was being torn apart. But he ultimately hardened his heart and uttered those defiant words, one by one:

"If you want to rid yourself of beasts, you must first be willing to sacrifice yourself for them!"

Diao Chan trembled, raised her tearful eyes to look at him, and asked in a trembling voice, "Father, how is your behavior any different from that of a beast?"

Wang Yun slowly stood up, lowered his head, as if judging himself: "Yes, yes! My plan is utterly despicable. I know better than anyone how much torment you, daughter, will suffer. But, to destroy the traitors and restore the Han dynasty, this is the only way!"

He suddenly knelt down again with a thud, his forehead hitting the ground repeatedly without stopping, his voice almost pleading, "Daughter, I've never begged anyone in my life, but today I'm begging you this once! Please, sacrifice yourself for the Han!"

Diao Chan raised her hand and forcefully wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She slowly got up from the ground, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, but she didn't say a word.

She turned around and walked step by step toward the door, ignoring the old man behind her who was frantically kowtowing on the ground.

When Wang Yun saw that she was about to leave, he panicked completely. He lay on the ground and cried out like a child, pounding his arms wildly on the ground, his voice completely out of tune:

"My daughter! I beg you! I implore you to investigate! I implore you to investigate!"

Diao Chan's steps didn't falter at all, nor did she hesitate for even a moment. She walked straight out of the room and disappeared into the night.

Wang Yun thrashed about on the ground for a long time, until his crying became hoarse, before he was certain that Diao Chan would never turn back.

He slowly rose from the ground, looked at the memorial tablet of the late emperor, sighed softly, and murmured, "Late emperor, Heaven's will, I beg you to help this old man, to help the Han Dynasty!"

He was wailing before the memorial tablet when someone gently patted his shoulder from behind. Wang Yun was startled and turned around abruptly, only to see the servant he had sent to buy materials for communicating with spirits.

Wang Yun immediately flew into a rage, shouting angrily, "What are you doing? You scared me to death! Why didn't you announce your arrival before barging in? Don't you even respect me as your master? In this Wang residence, who is the master, you or me?!"

The servant quickly bowed and explained, "My lord, please calm down. I've come to help you resolve your troubles. I overheard your conversation with Miss Diaochan just now."

What?

A cold, murderous glint flashed in Wang Yun's eyes.

Those words just now were about the grand plan to eliminate Dong Zhuo, which concerned the lives and fortunes of everyone in the Prince's mansion. If this person were to leak it to Dong Zhuo, the entire family would be executed in an instant.

The servant was quick-witted and immediately noticed the change in Wang Yun's eyes. He hurriedly waved his hands and protested, "My lord, rest assured. I have served you for five whole years. You know how loyal I am. If anything happens to you, I will lose my life as well."

Wang Yun stared at him for a long while before slowly nodding, suppressing his murderous intent, and asked, "What did you just say? That you would help me solve my problems? Solve what problems?"

The servant stepped forward and whispered, "My lord, you can use a hunger strike to force Miss Diaochan. She is kind-hearted and will not be able to bear watching you starve to death. Sooner or later, she will give in."

"However, this hunger strike is just for show; I'm not really letting you starve, my lord. I'll secretly bring you some food every day, and I'll make sure it doesn't harm your health."

Wang Yun pondered for a moment and thought the plan was feasible. Then he remembered how tight-lipped this man was, so he glared at him coldly with a suspicious look.

The servant quickly pledged his loyalty again, placing his hand on his chest and vowing, "My lord, rest assured, I will not let a word slip."

Wang Yun nodded in satisfaction, a smile appearing on his lips, and patted his shoulder, promising:

"If destiny is in my favor, you will be the hero. At that time, I will ensure you have enough to eat and wear, beautiful women in your arms, and a lifetime of wealth and glory that you can never spend."

The servant was overjoyed and repeatedly bowed to express his gratitude. Wang Yun waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

The servant hurried out of the courtyard, and as he rounded a dark corner, he darted inside, the shadows engulfing him completely.

Then, an unbelievable scene appeared.

His body slowly merged into the cold darkness, transforming into a strange, blood-red light that silently rose and flew straight into the bright moon in the night sky.

This reveals his identity: a puppet of fate.

He wasn't human at all. So his conspiracy with Wang Yun just now didn't trigger the rule that their conspiracy would be overheard. To outsiders, the scene was just Wang Yun kneeling alone in front of the memorial tablet, talking to himself in an empty corner.