Liu Xuande would never be a succubus of the Eastern Han Dynasty!

The black-haired woman said righteously, "All the people of the Han Dynasty serve the morning sun. If this man is truly a prisoner, then there's nothing to say. But if this is a misunderstanding, then wouldn't it be an insult to our people in vain?"

Good, good, you keep calling me a Han Chinese. You are noble and you are amazing.

"I still have to pursue those daring criminals, so I'll take my leave now. Please leave the rest of the matter to the Northern Lieutenant."

If I can't afford to offend him, can't I just run away?

People say that there is a man named Cao Yanwang in Luoyang City. He has been offending people everywhere for some reason, so the obscene saying "If you meet Cao Yanwang when you go out, go home and hide in bed immediately" has spread.

If it were just that, it would be fine, but the prisoner in front of me was sent to be beheaded because he offended a nobleman. Wouldn’t it be an offense to the nobleman if I let him go so easily?

But the Northern Captain in front of him is also a noble man. In order not to offend both sides, he can only quickly yo-yo in the name of force majeure.

So the official found a legitimate reason and left with his guards.

Seeing that their leaders were all dead, the remaining guards began to drive away the remaining common people in the market.

There were only two people left here in an instant.

Bathed in the sunlight, the black-haired woman gazed at the young man on the ground with her narrow eyes and said with a grin, "My name is Cao Cao, my courtesy name is Mengde. I hope you will give me your guidance in the years to come."

That's it.

I thought they were people with the same name, but when this 'Meng De' appeared, and we were in Luoyang, there was no doubt that the cow in front of me was Cao A'man, Cao Jili, and Prime Minister Cao, who was known as the "capable minister in peaceful times and treacherous hero in troubled times" in history!

Liu Bei was deeply shocked, but his face remained expressionless, making it impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. He replied in a neutral tone, "Liu Bei, my courtesy name is Xuande. I am deeply grateful for saving my life, sir."

"Oh? Xuande hasn't been crowned yet, right?"

"I am sixteen this year. When my father was seriously ill when I was young, I felt that my time had come, so I chose a name for myself in advance."

"That's it, that's it."

Cao Cao nodded repeatedly and asked again, "Xuan De doesn't seem to be from here, right?"

As soon as these words came out, Liu Bei immediately gave her a puzzled look and asked, "Since Lord Meng De has taken on this assassination case, he must have read the relevant documents before leaving. If so, why are you asking such questions despite knowing the answer?"

Laughing to death.

If the person in front of her had never read the relevant documents, then she would definitely not have known that there was such an execution of 'Liu Xuande' happening today, and she would not have been able to save him in time.

Although she doesn't need help.

It will just expose some cards in advance, which will be more troublesome to deal with later.

Liu Bei looked somewhere out of the corner of his eye. There, there were several figures moving undercurrents, and they could vaguely be seen bowing in this direction.

"Hahaha, we were just joking."

"…But it's true that heroes emerge from youth. I didn't expect Xuande to be so smart at such a young age."

"???"

Liu Bei was a little dumbfounded. How could this be related to intelligence?

"It just so happens that Cao's house just received a new batch of tea. How about we go and have a chat?"

Let’s talk about this. Is he serious?

Liu Bei glanced at her calmly, and seeing that there was indeed no strange expression on her face, he replied with a faint smile:

"I'm very grateful for Meng De's invitation, but I still have unfinished studies. Besides, you just received the order and then turned around and returned to the mansion for tea. This... doesn't seem a good idea, does it?"

"How can it be bad?"

Cao Cao looked at the smile on Liu Bei's face - he was indeed born with a good appearance, with rare peach blossom eyes, fair skin, and a sense of alienation under this smile.

He is truly a peerless gentleman.

I never thought that there would be such a handsome man in the world today.

Cao Cao couldn't help but move closer, his lips lightly touching Liu Bei's earlobe, and before the latter could sense anything was wrong, he whispered:

"But Xuande, I'm afraid you don't want others to know what's under your bed, right?"

!!!

Liu Bei's pupils shrank slightly, but his expression remained unchanged. He said calmly, "A gentleman has nothing to hide from others. Lord Meng De, please don't tease me."

"How dare you, how dare you."

Cao Cao took another half step back, a smile on his face as he said softly, "Xuan De, although you are busy with your studies, according to the official procedures of our Han criminal law, you are still required to provide me with clues and ideas at any time when I am investigating a case, so as to clear yourself of suspicion."

This is even more of a joke.

Liu Bei gazed at the tall and beautiful woman with a smile in front of him.

The Cao family is very powerful in this area. His grandfather was a famous eunuch in the palace, and his father was the Minister of Agriculture of the current dynasty... In addition, the Song family, to which Queen Song belongs, is related by marriage to the Cao family.

If Cao Cao wanted to find out the details of the eldest son of such a famous family, she only needed to say a word.

Even with her intelligence, she was able to quickly figure out the truth behind this. It was obviously that Tyrannosaurus girl... huh?

Liu Bei suddenly thought of something, his slightly frowned brows relaxed, and he smiled faintly:

"In that case, I will go to your house to bother you."

"Don't bother, don't bother."

Cao Cao looked at Liu Bei like a hunter staring at his hooked prey, and the smile on his face was almost unable to be suppressed.

"Let's go, Xuande."

After Cao Cao said this, he turned and walked forward.

Liu Bei, who was following behind him, had an inexplicable light in his peach blossom eyes.

In the memory of the previous life, Cao Cao seemed to have offended a powerful eunuch when he was young, so he was transferred away from Luoyang, and that eunuch seemed to be... Jian Shuo.

interesting.

So, are you a righteous man who helps others because he can't stand the evil trends, or... are you just a swordsman acting according to the Cao family's plan?

In any case, Liu Bei knew that he might have been targeted by the other party. If he couldn't turn the passive situation into active one, he would probably fall into a quagmire in the future.

At an angle where Cao Cao couldn't see, he secretly moved his fingers a few times in the dark and made a certain gesture.

The dark shadow in the darkness suddenly began to move.

Unfortunately, no matter how Liu Bei tried to guess Cao Cao's motives, he could never guess the truth.

A long time later, when the youngest daughter of the Cao family rolled under her mother's bed, she found a portrait. The portrait depicted a young man with peach blossom eyes stepping into the gate of Luoyang City.

It turns out that there has never been any story of a righteous man saving a beauty, nor any conspiracy among officials and noble families, only waiting for an opportunity to act after falling in love at first sight.

Kindness: Chapter 3: You're not just after my face, are you?

When Cao Cao and Liu Bei arrived at Cao's mansion, the maids had already gathered at the door. Although they all lowered their heads, their eyes were like hungry wolves, constantly looking at Liu Bei's face.

“…Wow, this guy is even more handsome than the rumors say!”

"This child is so beautiful, yet so terrifying."

"Nonsense, what are you all doing here?"

A coquettish scolding sound came from the room, and the maids stepped aside, revealing a petite girl behind them.

She first glanced at Liu Bei, then couldn't help but look at him a few more times before stepping forward and greeting him, "Sister."

"Yes, this is my sister Cao Bin. She is currently training with me in Luoyang," Cao Cao nodded slightly at her. "This is Liu Bei, Liu Xuande."

"Oh, you are the Xuande?"

Cao Bin looked Liu Bei up and down, and finally his eyes stopped at his face. He opened his mouth slightly and exclaimed: "Wow, do you still look human?"

"Little sister, don't mess around."

"It's okay. Bei was born with this appearance. It's normal for others to be a little surprised when they see him. Meng De doesn't need to worry about it."

After Liu Bei finished these polite words, he thought to himself, it's strange, why does this thief Cao's sister look like she has heard rumors about me... There is indeed something strange about this, I must be on guard.

He still remembered that at the beginning of the month, he, together with his fellow clan member Liu Deran, Liaoxi native Gongsun Zan and others, studied under Lu Zhi from the same county, and had the opportunity to go to Mount Gao in Luoyang to study.

Normally when I go to Luoyang, I just buy some clothes and listen to music. Logically, who would pay attention to such a bad boy from the country?

You can't be just after my face, right?

Liu Bei found his own thoughts funny. Even if the Cao family was not a top-notch family, they were still a wealthy giant. How could the children of such a noble family be so greedy for someone else's appearance?

It must be impossible.

These famous and powerful families only use the excuse of "I am responsible for the two capitals and thirteen states of the Eastern Han Dynasty" to make a fortune or seize higher rights for their families.

As for the skinny common people outside the city, they could not be seen at all.

Therefore, Cao Cao must have other intentions.

"Then let's go in."

Liu Bei followed the man with long black hair into the hall. Not long after he sat down on the guest seat, a maid came forward to pour tea. However, because her attention was all on his face, the tea overflowed.

"Bold."

When Cao Cao saw this scene, a smile flashed across his face, then his whole face instantly turned gloomy and his tone was cold:

"Xuan De is my guest, yet you are so disrespectful. Do you think my Cao family is nothing?"

"Drag him away and behead him..."

As she said this, her eyes remained on Liu Bei, as if she wanted to see what he would do.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The maid was so scared that she wanted to kneel down, but before that, a hand grabbed her wrist tightly. She turned around in confusion and saw a pair of peach blossom eyes.

"Don't kneel yet."

Although Liu Bei had just sat down for a short time, he slowly stood up and looked directly at Cao Cao without any fear or flattery in his eyes.

There was only an expression of neither servility nor arrogance on his face.

He smiled and said, "Master Mengde, if you have anything to ask, you can just ask me directly. There's no need to go through all this trouble. As the saying goes: A gentleman is open and honest, while a villain is always worried."

"Oh?"

When Cao Cao saw Liu Bei stand up and speak so righteously, he immediately asked with a smile, "Are you mocking me for being a mean person?"

"No."

Liu Bei replied, "A gentleman will not call himself a gentleman, and a villain will not recognize himself as a villain. Therefore, no matter how evil a person's intentions are, as long as he can do good and accumulate virtue, he is a true gentleman."

"I have no desire to interfere in your affairs, nor do I intend to save her life. I truly owe it to you, Lord Mengde, to save her life, and therefore I would like to offer you some kind advice: it would be easy to kill her in a fit of rage, but that would only bring bad reputation upon yourself and make your servants anxious. But if you grant her life and punish her accordingly, with clear distinctions between rewards and punishments, it will surely earn you a good reputation."

This means that people can be punished but not killed indiscriminately.

"Your remarks are quite interesting."

Cao Cao laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Hahaha, how funny! A child who hasn't even come of age yet has such insight that he's even better than those idlers sitting in the Imperial Academy."

"Unfortunately, you are still too immature."

Cao Cao then shook his head, his long, narrow eyelashes trembling slightly, and then he stopped smiling and said, "Xuan De, you only see the delicate surface of this guy in front of you, but do you know the dirty things behind this guy's back?"

"I don't know."

"She's the daughter of a distant relative of my Cao family. From a young age, she's been assigned to serve Cao Cao tea and water. But regardless of her status, as long as she has this status as a relative of mine, her family can do whatever they want in Feng County, abuse their power, and abduct women without facing any punishment."

"Now, Xuande, do you still think that I should spare this girl's life?"

Cao Cao sat on a high seat, his shining eyes like gems in the Flaming Mountain, dazzling and burning to those who approached.

On one hand, the people of Fengxian were suffering, and on the other hand, there was this delicate-looking girl in front of him.

Xuande, Xuande, my good Xuande, what choice will you make?

Liu Bei did frown at this, but instead of looking at the maid's uncertain expression, he looked up at Cao Cao, who was standing high above him, and said:

"How can you take human life lightly as a test? Moreover, the one who holds the power of decision is Lord Meng De, not a mere commoner like me... Therefore, the one who should answer is Lord Meng De."

Simply put, passing the buck.

Cao Cao's smile widened, as if he had expected him to say that, and he immediately replied:

"What if I, considering their relationship, not only let this maid go, but also turned a blind eye to what her family did behind the scenes?"

Liu Bei then bowed and said, "In this case, we are enemies now."