New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

Because Lü Bu had stayed up too late the night before, he overslept the next day. Wang Yun didn't send anyone to wake him, and by the time he groggily opened his eyes, the morning court session had already ended.

He cursed inwardly, hurriedly put on his armor, mounted his horse, and galloped towards Meiwu.

Upon arriving at the entrance of Meiwu, he knelt on the ground and told the eunuch who was delivering the message that he had urgent business to discuss with the prime minister.

The eunuch went in and made his rounds, then came out with a smile on his face: "General, the Prime Minister is asleep. Why don't you go back first and come back later?"

Lu Bu shook his head and said, "I'm not leaving. I'll wait here."

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, then said, "General, please go to the main hall, have a cup of tea, and wait patiently."

Lu Bu didn't even raise his head: "No need, I'll just kneel here."

Seeing his state, the eunuch dared not persuade him any further, and could only say "Yes" before quietly retreating back into the room to wait for Dong Zhuo to wake up.

An hour passed. Dong Zhuo finally rolled over from the beauty's embrace, yawned comfortably, and casually recited:

"After the meal, there's no need for a deep cup of tea; a gentle breeze and a comfortable bed are worth a thousand pieces of gold."

"My belly sways, my nose breathes, and the garden flowers fall; I have finally satisfied the unfulfilled desires of my life."

The beautiful woman beside him quickly moved closer, praising in a sweet voice, "Prime Minister, how can you be so talented! This poem is so well-written, even Master Li would have to look at you differently!"

Dong Zhuo laughed heartily upon hearing this, put on an outer robe, and got out of bed. Hearing the commotion, the eunuch outside rushed in to report, "Prime Minister, General Lü Bu has been kneeling outside for an hour."

Dong Zhuo was taken aback, then turned to look at the eunuch: "Kneeling? Why is he kneeling?"

The eunuch looked equally confused and bowed, replying, "This servant doesn't know either. The general refuses to tell me; he insists on seeing you in person."

Dong Zhuo frowned, walked to the main seat in the hall and sat down. He straightened his clothes before saying, "Let him in."

Lu Bu strode into the hall and, without saying a word, knelt down with a thud.

Looking at him like this, Dong Zhuo felt a bit curious and softened his tone to ask, "Fengxian, I heard you've been kneeling outside for an hour. What happened? Can't you talk things out?"

Lu Bu took a deep breath, as if he had made a great decision, and finally raised his head and said, "Your subject has something he wishes to ask of Your Majesty."

Dong Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then his face was full of smiles.

This kid actually called me Father Emperor!

The way this title came out of Lü Bu's mouth was more pleasing to the ear than a thousand flattering words from anyone else.

He was so happy he slapped his thigh and exclaimed repeatedly:

"Hahaha, Fengxian, well said! You've made me feel so good! Just listen, I'll be the emperor sooner or later, and then you'll be my crown prince!"

"Speak, say whatever you want, whatever you say, I—no! I'll grant your request!"

Lu Bu prostrated himself on the ground and said, word by word, "Father, please, for the sake of my many years of military achievements, bestow Diao Chan upon me."

Dong Zhuo's smile froze instantly. He jumped up from his seat, then slowly sat back down, his voice trembling: "What? Diao Chan?"

Lü Bu nodded, his voice pleading, "Father, I love her. I can't live without her in this life."

Dong Zhuo's face darkened. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted sharply:

"What are you talking about! What do you mean you can't live without her? A real man stands tall and upright, how could he let a woman control him? Get up!"

Instead of getting up, Lü Bu kowtowed to Dong Zhuo, his head pounding against the floor tiles with a loud thud, repeatedly pleading, "Your Majesty, I beg you to grant me Diao Chan!"

Seeing his state, Dong Zhuo felt a pang of unease. He stood up and took a few steps, his tone softening slightly: "Fengxian, get up first."

Lu Bu didn't stop; his forehead was already red from kowtowing, but his voice remained firm: "If Father doesn't agree, I'll kowtow here until I die, and I won't get up."

The sound of kowtowing was so loud it could be heard throughout the entire hall. Dong Zhuo paced back and forth twice, finally sighing, before stopping and looking at Lü Bu with a hint of sincerity in his voice:

"Fengxian, let me tell you the truth. Let alone one Diaochan, even if there were ten, your godfather would be willing to give them up."

Lu Bu abruptly stopped kowtowing, stood up, his eyes filled with joy: "Father Emperor agreed?"

Dong Zhuo shook his head, sighed, and a regretful expression appeared on his face:

"What a pity, you're too late. This morning, I already petitioned the Emperor to send Diao Chan to the palace to become a Noble Consort. All the officials in the court know about it."

He took two steps forward, patted Lü Bu on the shoulder, and continued speaking earnestly.

"Fengxian, as you know, those high-ranking officials and ministers have often complained that we are disrespectful to the emperor, and they hate us to the core."

"Tell me, if we send Diaochan to the Emperor to become his imperial concubine, firstly, all the officials will be happy, and secondly, the Emperor will remember our kindness. Don't you think that makes sense?"

Lu Bu opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Dong Zhuo's words were so convoluted that he couldn't quite grasp them in a short time.

Seeing his expression, Dong Zhuo patted him on the shoulder again, putting on a smiling face:

"My son, Fengxian, how about this? Look around the palace, apart from Diaochan, you can choose any of the palace maids and concubines you want. From fourteen-year-old girls to sixty-year-old women, you can choose them all, is that alright?"

Lu Bu did not answer. He knelt back down, his forehead hitting the ground repeatedly.

Seeing his stubbornness, Dong Zhuo quickly stepped forward and pulled him up, asking angrily and anxiously, "Oh, Fengxian, what's wrong with you and Diaochan? Why can't you accept her?"

Lu Bu, supported by him, was still stiff. He slowly raised his eyes, looked at Dong Zhuo, and said in a hoarse, low voice:

"Godfather, I know you have a taste for this kind of woman, and I know you want to possess Diao Chan. But Minister Wang has already promised Diao Chan to me. If you want to take her, you should at least consider the order of arrival, shouldn't you?"

Dong Zhuo frowned sharply. He released Lü Bu's arm, took two steps back, and stared at him with suspicion.

"What? Wang Yun already promised Diao Chan to you? That can't be right, Wang Yun never mentioned this to us! He even specially called Diao Chan out to dance and sing for us!"

Lu Bu suddenly raised his head, stepped forward, stared into Dong Zhuo's eyes, and asked, "Father, is everything you said true?"

Dong Zhuo felt a chill run down his spine from that look and quickly waved his hand, "Fengxian, when have I ever lied to you?"

Lu Bu's face darkened completely. He closed his eyes, as if piecing together all the fragments in his mind.

Seeing his appearance, Dong Zhuo sensed that something was wrong, so he went up to him and asked him about the whole story.

Lu Bu recounted in detail how Wang Yun had betrothed Diao Chan to him. Dong Zhuoyue's face grew increasingly pale as he listened, and finally, he slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups jump, and roared:

"This must be Wang Yun's elaborate scheme! He wants to sow discord between us, father and son! How despicable! We've been so good to Wang Yun, and he still wants to harm us!"

"Guards! Seize the traitor Wang Yun! I'm going to skin him alive and rip out his heart to make soup!"

As soon as he finished speaking, outside the hall, in the sky, the golden sun suddenly shone a blinding beam of light, so bright that everyone present could not open their eyes.

Within that sun, an invisible and eerie power slowly flowed from the body of the Destiny Ghost, silently seeping into everyone's foreheads and erasing their memories of that moment.

After an unknown amount of time, Dong Zhuo's body remained frozen in place, like a scarecrow whose soul had been removed.

He slowly turned his head, his eyes staring blankly at Lü Bu, his lips moving mechanically, the sounds he uttered devoid of emotion:

"Fengxian, how about this? Look at our palace, apart from Diaochan, you can choose any of the palace maids and concubines. From fourteen-year-old girls to sixty-year-old women, you can choose them all."

Lu Bu also slowly turned his head, and the eyes of both of them, which were just now full of anger and resentment, now became empty and blank.

He stood there stiffly, his voice completely flat: "Yes, Prime Minister. I won't disturb your rest any longer; I'll take my leave now."

Dong Zhuo nodded numbly.

The two armored soldiers he had just sternly dispatched to capture Wang Yun had somehow returned and were standing under the porch, staring at him with the same empty eyes, stiffly asking the Prime Minister what he wanted to do by summoning them.

Dong Zhuo shook his head, saying it was nothing and told them to leave. The two armored soldiers turned and walked away without a trace of doubt on their faces.

After a long while, Dong Zhuo slowly picked up the cup of wine on the table, which had long since gone cold, and took a swig.

The strong liquor slid down his throat, and his stiff body relaxed slightly.

He took another sip, and his movements quickened; he took yet another sip, and his eyes became clearer.

He felt as if something important had just happened, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind remained blank.

He put down his wine glass, sighed, and muttered to himself, "Well, what's done is done. Let's eat first."