Now to Jiangdong (2)
Zhao Yun occupied a very incongruous position within Liu Chong's army.
Cavalrywoman of Gongsun Zan's force.
Detached officer of Liu Bei's force.
And in Liu Chong's army, she had been appointed Colonel of the Picked Cavalry.
Colonel of the Picked Cavalry was a post belonging to the Five Colonels, a military officer who commanded the elite bodyguard cavalry. It was a meteoric rise for Zhao Yun, who in Gongsun Zan's army had been nothing more than a volunteer and who even up to the moment she was dispatched as reinforcements to Xu Province had held only a minor, insignificant rank.
Why had she been appointed Colonel of the Picked Cavalry?
She had no idea.
Bearing that heavy question, Zhao Yun headed for her destination.
"Her massive tits covered by nothing but a wrap... You think she's some kind of slut who's crazy for men?"
"Try putting a hand on her carelessly and you'll regret it. I heard last time some officer from Tao Qian's force got fresh with her and had his wrist broken."
The willowy beauty from Changshan Prefecture was more than enough to draw every soldier's eye.
Her tousled gray hair, radiating a feral beauty.
Amber eyes that gleamed like a wolf's.
And features as delicate as a painstakingly carved statue.
The black armor that left her generous, alluring bosom fully exposed left a strong impression. As if it were armaments forged for a slut who enjoyed flaunting her alluring skin, it emphasized a chest barely covered only by a wrap.
It was torture.
Truly cruel treatment.
Having to restrain themselves while those swaying breasts jiggled right before their eyes.
Every time Zhao Yun appeared, the troops experienced dizzying temptation. They desperately suppressed their urges, knowing that a careless touch might get not only their wrists but their rudely aroused nether parts broken too.
"Rookie! Thanks for waiting around for a veteran!"
"Yide, ma'am."
Zhang Fei, the Governor of Langya who had beaten the General of Valiant Cavalry Cao Bao to a living corpse and then been briefly imprisoned at the Court of Judicial Review, had been released.
Dismissed with a warning.
There was no separate punishment such as caning or flogging.
A two-month suspension from duty and six months' forfeiture of pay.
It was far too light a penalty for the disgraceful insubordination of assaulting a superior.
Naturally, officers originally from Tao Qian's forces vehemently objected, calling the measure unconscionable. But once Liu Seong-hwi brought up Cao Bao's own past record of insubordination and overreach, public opinion quickly cooled.
"I guess I have Big Sis Xuande and Big Sis Yunchang to thank for petitioning on my behalf. And also the Crown Prince for stepping in."
"..."
Crown Prince.
A very familiar form of address.
The other sworn sisters also treated the Southern Heir with that same familiarity.
Zhao Yun felt misgivings about the close relationship that Zhang Fei and the rest of the sworn sisters had with Liu Seong-hwi. It was hard to believe that they had been in a hostile relationship only a few months ago.
"First I've got to go check on my bast— my subordinates. Having their bastard of a commanding officer thrown in jail must've gotten them good and giddy. Rookie, you going to escort my big sis right away?"
"Escorting Liu Bei is my one and only mission."
"That's why I like you, Rookie. You're so gallant and dependable."
"..."
After parting with Zhang Fei,
Zhao Yun immediately headed for the office of the Governor of Xu Province.
"Fufu, in the end even Yunchang has fallen...! As expected, our little brother has quite the playboy streak. You should go on and make countless more beautiful women fall for you."
A beautiful woman with flowing, snow-white hair pressed her body against the Southern Heir from behind, a suggestive smile on her face. She indulged in the shameless act of rubbing her large breasts against him while she stroked the firm muscles of his torso as if in a caress.
"Ngh...! Ri—right now is, is a problem... Tonight, I'll come to your quarters and serve you, so...!"
And,
The beauty whose striking, jet-black hair shimmered like ebony wore an expression full of shame and was acting as if flustered. Yet judging by the way she stuck out her plump, bitch-like backside and then ground her hips softly against his lower body, she was plainly being a sly flirt.
Liu Bei, pressing tight from behind.
And Guan Yu, thrusting her hips forward from the front.
It was a magnificent simultaneous pincer-sisters Chain Stratagem.
At the sworn sisters' brazen conduct, Zhao Yun flushed bright red and retreated a step.
"Oh my, it would have been nice if you'd made a little noise first."
"Ahem! Zilong... How long have you been standing there?"
The eldest sister gave a smile full of lewd mirth,
While the second cleared her throat in a great show of sheepishness.
'Just when did Liu Bei and Guan Yu end up in a relationship where they enjoy secret trysts with the Southern Heir? Don't tell me they offered their bodies to the Crown Prince in order to save Yide's life! No, perhaps after Tao Qian's forces were destroyed, they were forced to become the Crown Prince's beloved concubines in order to guarantee the lives of their subordinates...!'
She knew that when Liu Bei's army joined the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, it had been temporarily placed under the organization of Liu Chong's army. But had they not turned to face each other as enemies over Tao Qian's forces as the Era of Warlords began?
Enemies.
Rivals who had leveled spears and swords at each other.
The idea that people who had been such adversaries were now enjoying thick, sensual trysts in the office in broad daylight, like long-time lovers, was a situation that defied common sense.
'L—Liu Bei...!'
A tragic heroine who surrendered her maidenhead to the Lecherous Crown Prince on the condition that her subordinates' safety be guaranteed. And her upright and loyal younger sister forced to surrender her maidenhead to the Lecherous Crown Prince as well...
A grim delusion unfolded within Zhao Yun's mind.
In actuality, Liu Bei was the one stroking and caressing the Crown Prince's firm chest, and Guan Yu was the one sticking out her own backside and tempting him. Even though she had witnessed the scene right in front of her eyes, Zhao Yun, who held Liu Bei and her sworn sisters in absolute esteem, placed her suspicion on Liu Seong-hwi alone.
Lecherous Crown Prince.
That vulgar excuse for a cadet imperial clansman.
Using his absolute, unchallenged authority to toy with Liu Bei and Guan Yu.
Zhao Yun fixed Liu Seong-hwi with a sharp glare, on guard.
"While I am away campaigning in Jiangdong, please hold Xu Province for us, Big Sis. The moment the expeditionary force crosses the Yangtze, the surrounding warlords are going to cast greedy eyes upon the Five Prefectures of Xu Province."
"Yes, just leave it to me."
"I'd also like to borrow the Colonel of the Picked Cavalry for a while. I need a commander to lead the elite bodyguard cavalry."
"You mean the Colonel of the Picked Cavalry...?"
Hmm—
The beautiful woman with flowing white hair twitched her long ears and gave a meaningful reaction.
The teasing air about her unmistakably said, "Are you aiming to make Zilong fall for you as well, following Yunchang? Truly, you are an outstanding little brother." Liu Seong-hwi just looked at his scheming big sis and sighed.
* * *
July 193.
Sultry summer.
Warships numbering five hundred vessels assembled at Xiapi Port and Guangling Port.
The Jiangdong campaign.
The time had finally come to pacify the south.
A beautiful woman with flowing crimson hair greeted the supreme commander with a gallant look. Watching Sun Ce, who at some point had blossomed from a tomboyish girl into a beautiful young lady, Liu Seong-hwi shrugged his shoulders.
"You took the vanguard position?"
"Yes. With a resolve that stakes my very bones, I will deliver tidings of victory from Jiangdong."
Ferocious and brave.
A resolute voice, utterly without hesitation, rang out clearly.
A hunting hound.
She called to mind a wolfhound lunging at a wild beast. Intense fighting spirit roiled along her slender shoulders.
"I've always trusted in you. But do not overextend yourself."
"...Yes."
Liu Seong-hwi raised a rough hand and stroked Sun Ce's head. Sun Ce then extended her head like a puppy greeting its master, feeling the warmth of the hand that was kindly stroking her hair.
Her stiff face instantly melted.
She answered shyly, her cheeks dyed bright red.
'Ugh... I want to boldly express my true feelings, but I don't know how. If I confess and get rejected, I won't be able to hold my head up for the rest of my life.'
It was an emotion she was experiencing for the first time, so her way of expressing it could only be clumsy. Thus Sun Ce fixated on delivering tidings of victory and achieving military merit to somehow capture Liu Seong-hwi's attention.
Because she wanted him to look at her,
And wanted him to stroke her head again.
She hoped he would realize that, clumsy and awkward though it might be, it was a sincere heart intended for him.
"Do you have something you want to say?"
"I... this year I turn nineteen, so next year I'll be twenty, and... I—I'm just saying! It doesn't mean anything!"
Twenty years old.
The age at which one holds the Coming-of-Age Ceremony and receives a courtesy name.
And the age at which one could formally perform the marriage rites.
Sun Ce mentioned how soon her coming-of-age was in the hope that he would look upon her as a proper young lady. Of course, just as before, she was too embarrassed to convey her true meaning properly.
"I'll have to consult with the Left General first, but... once you hold your Coming-of-Age Ceremony next year, I will bestow a courtesy name upon you. Or was that too presumptuous an offer?"
"N—no, not at all! I absolutely want to receive my courtesy name from Your Highness the Crown Prince and be recognized as a full-fledged adult!"
In truth, more than a courtesy name (字), she wanted to receive his child (子).
How happy would it be to bear the baby of the man she adored?
A sweet whisper that numbed reason tickled her brain. Sun Ce felt the desire, as soon as her Coming-of-Age Ceremony was complete next year, to be loved without restraint by the man before her eyes.
