New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

Dong Zhuo cuddled with Diao Chan for a while longer before reluctantly getting up from the bed. He grumbled as he tied his belt and went outside to wash up.

Outside the door, Lü Bu stood blankly under the eaves, as if he had been nailed to the spot.

Only when Dong Zhuo's footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did he suddenly come to his senses, push open the door and go inside, following the familiar fragrance in the room to find Diao Chan.

Diao Chan had her back to him, her slender fingers slowly gathering the long hair that fell over her shoulders, and she thought it was Dong Zhuo who had returned.

She didn't turn around, but spoke softly to her reflection in the bronze mirror:

"Prime Minister, are you not going to listen to me? If you keep refusing to go to court like this, I'm really going to get angry."

The voice was so soft, as if it had just been pulled out of bed, carrying a hint of coquetry, a touch of reproach, and an intimacy that only the closest people could hear.

Lu Bu stood behind her, looking as if he had been struck by lightning.

His lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

All those whispered conversations under the lamp, those vows made with silver hairpins, those oaths and promises—all vanished overnight.

She has already taken on the form of Dong Zhuo...

Diao Chan heard the unusual breathing behind her and turned around abruptly, meeting Lu Bu's bloodshot eyes.

(Okay, that's about enough. You know what I'm going to do.)

(Skip this line due to divine intervention!)

The following plot unfolds as follows:

The moment the two met, tears streamed down their faces, as if the hand of fate was preventing them from being together, and a scene from the story of the divine Diao Chan and the chivalrous Lü was filmed.

Although Diao Chan really wanted Lü Bu to stay, she had no choice but to grit her teeth, turn her face away, and urge him to leave in a low voice.

Lu Bu shook his head, refusing to move. The two men spoke in hushed tones in the room, unaware that their conspiracy had already triggered that fatal rule.

Dong Zhuo had somehow appeared behind them, a faint smile playing on his fat face, as if he were watching an amusing show.

Lu Bu hurriedly stood up and said that he had only come to invite the prime minister to court.

Dong Zhuo looked Lü Bu up and down, his face flushed red, and then at Diao Chan, who was bowing her head and not daring to utter a sound. He knew perfectly well that there must be something fishy going on between the two of them.

But he hadn't found any real leverage, and fearing that he might push this reckless tiger too far and fight him to the death, he chuckled and waved his hand, telling Lü Bu to step back first.

Lu Bu gritted his teeth, took one last look at Diao Chan, and angrily turned and strode away.

He had just rushed out of the corridor when he bumped into someone. The man was lean and dressed in a neat official robe; he was none other than Li Ru, the Grand Minister of Works of the current dynasty.

Seeing Lü Bu's face flushed and his steps hurried, Li Ru quickly pulled him aside and asked in a low voice, "Fengxian, what's wrong? Why are you so flustered?"

Lu Bu's chest heaved violently, his clenched fists trembling slightly at his sides. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "The Prime Minister has taken Diao Chan for himself!"

As Dong Zhuo's chief strategist and the newly appointed Grand Minister of Works, Li Ru had heard about Diao Chan's background from Dong Zhuo in casual conversation a few days prior. He frowned, staring at Lü Bu, and pressed him for an answer:

"Fengxian, what is your relationship with Diaochan?"

Lu Bu's eyes suddenly reddened. He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, his voice hoarse and trembling, as if pouring out all the resentment and humiliation in his heart:

"I had long ago pledged my life to Diaochan, and we had promised to grow old together and share life and death. But my godfather, under the pretext of arranging a concubine for the emperor, brought Diaochan to Meiwu."

"Last night, the Prime Minister raped Diao Chan. Diao Chan, Diao Chan had no choice but to..."

As he spoke, his throat tightened, and he could no longer utter a single word. He clenched his fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, wishing he could rush back right now and devour that old scoundrel alive.

After hearing this, Li Ru felt a weight lifted from his heart.

Need I say more? It was clearly a series of schemes devised by that old fox Wang Yun, who wanted to use Diao Chan, a beauty, to sow discord between Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu, turning them into enemies!

His eyes darted around in their sockets twice, and a chilling thought quietly surfaced in his mind.

Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. In recent days, he had watched with his own eyes as Dong Zhuo was gradually eroded by that strange power.

The honest, impulsive prime minister of the past, who always obeyed him, is long gone. In his place is a capricious monster who is always ready to eat people and rip out their hearts.

Not long ago, he had merely made up a line, "The Grand Tutor is the Emperor's father," to please Dong Zhuo, and he almost had his head chopped off in public by that old scoundrel.

From that moment on, Li Ru became completely sober.

Dong Zhuo is no longer the lord he could easily control. Now he serves a truly treacherous lord who could turn around and bite him to death at any moment.

Therefore, even though he knew that Wang Yun had devised this treacherous plan to take Dong Zhuo's life, Li Ru had no intention of rushing to inform him.

He was planning something else entirely: how to make a clean getaway.

He raised his eyes and tentatively asked Lü Bu, "Fengxian, you are now a nobleman, what kind of woman in this world can't you find? Is Diao Chan really worth your longing?"

Lu Bu shook his head without hesitation, his gaze resolute as if tempered by fire: "No. She's not just a woman, she's my lifeblood!"

"My relationship with her is like a flag and a storm. When the storm comes, the flag can unfurl; when the storm stops, the flag calms down. Neither can be missing."

After hearing these words, Li Ru remained silent for a long while, only gently shaking the feather fan in his hand, as if fanning away the heat in his heart.

The honey trap worked, and so did the divide-and-conquer scheme. That old bastard Wang Yun really knows his stuff.

He tucked his fan to his chest, took a half-step closer, and asked in a low voice, "Fengxian, forgive my boldness in asking another question. If you truly cannot have Diaochan, what will you do?"

Lu Bu stared into Li Ru's eyes, and a fire suddenly ignited in those eyes that had just been filled with tears. He said, word by word, "I will never give up!"

Li Ru nodded secretly. He lowered his eyes, lost in a long period of deliberation. Should he inform Dong Zhuo of this news overnight, so that the old thief would be on guard?

Or should he pretend to know nothing, let Wang Yun's elaborate scheme continue to unfold, let the father and son kill each other, and then he could take advantage of the chaos to extricate himself?

He thought for a long time, and finally let out a long sigh. Ultimately, even at his advanced age, Dong Zhuo was still a child at heart.

Well, he should still go and tell Dong Zhuo the method to break the chain of schemes.

But he kept a backup plan in mind. He never mentioned that Lü Bu harbored rebellious intentions. He only intended to pass the message to Dong Zhuo's ears; whether Dong Zhuo listened or not was up to him.

If this old scoundrel remains obstinate, then it means he is no longer worthy of Wang Yun's assistance. At that point, he will have no choice but to let Wang Yun's elaborate schemes continue, and find another way to survive.

Liu Bei of Pingyuan is not bad. He is a man of great talent and strategy, a great villain who appears loyal, and a great hypocrite who appears genuine. He is a wise and virtuous ruler worthy of being assisted.