Xiping Year Five, March of the year 176 AD—early spring.
Miss Mengde was currently in her study, holding a letter from Bingzhou.
Her delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed as she read.
She remained silent in thought for a few moments, then suddenly called out to the servant outside the door.
“Bring Liu Bei here. Immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The servant, who had been waiting outside, left as soon as he received the order.
Around ten minutes later, Liu Bei arrived at the study, wiping sweat from his forehead.
He had been practicing martial arts in the front courtyard with the Xiahou brothers.
“Did you need something, Miss?”
Mengde frowned slightly in distaste when she saw Liu Bei’s sweat-soaked clothes.
“You’re filthy right now. Couldn’t you at least rinse off and change clothes before coming in?”
Liu Bei frowned and countered, clearly dissatisfied.
“Didn’t you tell the servant to call me over immediately?”
After nearly a year of living and working together, the two had grown much more familiar with each other.
Liu Bei no longer spoke with the same stiff politeness he had used when they first met.
After all, Mengde never cared much for strict etiquette, and under her influence for the past year, Liu Bei had gradually come to interact with her more like a peer than a subordinate.
“Ugh…”
Hearing Liu Bei’s response, the girl didn’t know how to argue back.
Thinking carefully, she realized she had told the servant to hurry, so she shifted her gaze, feeling a little guilty.
“You’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?”
“I am not!”
“Then why did you look away? I know that look of yours. Every time you feel guilty, you always avert your gaze.”
“Nonsense!”
“How is that nonsense? I have proof. Just two days ago, you—”
“Shut up, you dog! If you keep barking, I’ll have my father reassign Editor Lu to serve as the Governor of Luoyang!”
Seeing that Liu Bei looked ready to keep going, Mengde immediately pulled rank and ruthlessly targeted his weakness.
***
One month earlier, a rebellion had broken out among the southern tribes in Lujiang Commandery.
In the original timeline, Lu Zhi should have been reassigned by the court to Lujiang to serve as governor and suppress the uprising.
After all, two years ago, Lu Zhi had successfully put down a tribal revolt in neighboring Jiujiang.
Naturally, when something similar happened again, the court’s first thought was to send someone with experience—Lu Zhi.
According to the original history, once Lu Zhi was transferred to Lujiang, his private academy on Mount Hou, just outside Luoyang, had no choice but to shut down.
With the school gone, Liu Bei—left with nowhere to study—ended up returning north to his hometown with his relative Liu Deran.
He stayed home for a full year.
Meanwhile, Gongsun Zan, having lost Lu Zhi as a teacher, went on to study under Liu Kuan, the Minister Steward, for more than a year.
Gongsun Zan had spent two years polishing his credentials, and as soon as he returned to Zhuo Commandery, he was appointed as a Shangjili—an official responsible for bringing yearly reports and intelligence from the commandery to the central government in Luoyang.
The role came with the rare chance to meet high-ranking officials directly.
Many Shangjili, thanks to their competence and sharp minds, ended up becoming personal retainers of powerful ministers—effectively jumping straight from local governance to central positions.
Even those who didn’t make it to the capital still held considerable power back in their home commanderies.
After Gongsun Zan returned to Zhuo, Liu Bei leveraged their relationship to become the local ringleader of the Hauxia—essentially the head of the regional underworld.
Historically, this is most likely the period when Guan Yu and Zhang Fei met Liu Bei.
Later, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, both of them fought alongside him as commanders of independent units.
Think about it: ‘if Liu Bei had truly been nothing more than a humble straw sandal vendor like in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, how could he have possibly convinced Zhang Fei to empty his savings for him?’
‘Why would merchants like Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping invest heavily in him? If Zhang Fei were really the gullible brute portrayed in the novel, there’s no way he would’ve managed to build up his wealth in the first place.’
Miss Mengde scoffed and said, “If Zhang Fei were really that kind of dimwit from the novel, I could scam him out of his entire fortune eight times a day! Eight times!”
***
But history was playing out differently now.
After a single request to her father, the Minister over the Masses, the official originally assigned to travel to Lujiang Commandery was replaced. Instead of Lu Zhi, the new appointee was Duan Jiong—one of the famous “Three Heroes of Liangzhou.”
Though all three heroes—Duan Jiong, Huang Fu Gui, and Zhang Huan—shared the same title, Duan Jiong was clearly the youngest among them.
Historical records don’t specify Duan Jiong’s age.
He didn’t die of natural causes, either.
He had aligned himself with the powerful eunuch Wang Fu.
When Wang Fu was arrested by Emperor Liu Hong, Duan Jiong, fearing punishment, chose to commit suicide.
This occurred in the year 179 CE—about two years from now.
However, in this timeline, thanks to Miss Mengde’s behind-the-scenes efforts, the Qingliu faction had already eliminated Wang Fu and other corrupt eunuchs in a coup shortly after Liu Hong’s ascension.
That meant Duan Jiong no longer needed to cling to eunuch power to secure his position, and so he was likely to survive the coming years.
Evidence of Duan Jiong’s youth came from his younger brother, Duan Wei.
Unlike his elder brother, Duan Wei died of old age in 209 CE.
Assuming their ages weren’t far apart, Duan Jiong would have likely lived until at least around 200 CE.
Which meant that in the current year, 176 CE, he would have been, at most, in his early fifties.
And fifty was still the prime of life.
If Duan Jiong could suppress the southern rebellion successfully this time, he would likely return and be appointed as one of the Nine Ministers.
As for Liu Bei not returning to Zhuo Commandery right now—how would he eventually meet Guan Yu and Zhang Fei?
Mengde wasn’t worried in the slightest.
They could always meet during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
There was still time.
As for the idea of stealing Guan Yu and Zhang Fei for herself?
No, thank you.
After all, Liu Bei was already one of her underlings.
Even if the three of them swore brotherhood later on, where else could Guan Yu and Zhang Fei go?
Wouldn’t they still end up working under her along with Liu Bei?
Instead of wasting energy poaching people, Miss Mengde was more excited about seeing the Peach Garden Oath—a fictional scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms—actually happen in real history.
Sure, the idea that Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had known each other long before the rebellion might be more historically plausible.
But it wasn’t nearly as romantic, was it?
Maybe she really was possessed by the spirit of the original Cao Cao, because somewhere deep inside, Miss Mengde had started to develop a romantic streak.
She looked at the boy standing before her, who had clearly grown taller over the past year, and brought up her true purpose.
“There’s been some trouble with the northern trade routes. I’m going up north to investigate. You’re coming with me—as my escort.”
Liu Bei’s face showed clear surprise.
“You’re actually leaving Luoyang?”
“Hey! What’s that look on your face?” The girl puffed out her cheeks in annoyance at his expression. “Do I look like the kind of shut-in who just stays home all day?”
“You do,” Liu Bei nodded.
“You barely left Luoyang even a handful of times this past year.”
“Ugh…”
Hearing that, Miss Mengde lowered her head in embarrassment.