Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 33 The Good Girl Who Became a Tribute
A new female musician has arrived at the Imperial Music Bureau, said to be a tribute from the State of Pei.

Wang Meng had seen plenty of female musicians.

Even the tribute women sent to the palace from various places had to pass his inspection first; there were countless beauties among them.

But Wang Meng had never seen a female musician dancing in armor before.

He was dressed in what looked like a full suit of tiger armor, complete with armor covering his arms, shoulders, and legs, and he also wore a helmet.

Armor is usually very heavy, but the one this woman was wearing was very light and thin.

Some wood grain could be faintly seen between the nail folds.

It is clearly not an iron armor, but rather made of bamboo or wood.

However, the armor appeared to be tied backwards, with the straps hanging down in front of the chest and being pushed open by the bulging fabric.

It must have been deliberately stabbed in the opposite direction.

Wang Meng had seen countless women, but he still found it very novel, especially the deliberately reversed breastplate, with the gaps in the straps narrowing from top to bottom, making the curves of the chest and waist extremely distinct.

The woman is practicing a battle dance; her movements are expansive and powerful, exuding the air of frontier conquest.

Sweat soaked through the inner red garment, making it semi-transparent and clinging tightly to the chest. Although it wasn't revealing at all, it made it even more alluring.

The mountains are majestic, and the waves are surging.

Why is the woman dressed like this?

Wang Meng couldn't help but walk closer and ask.

It was probably to get a closer look at the ditch, but unfortunately, it was tied up too tightly and we couldn't see it.

"I have come to offer tribute, so naturally I must let you all see the tribute."

Zuo Yuan stopped dancing, bowed her head, and gave a military salute.

"Tribute...where is the tribute?"

Wang Meng took the entry document handed to her by the clerk beside her, glanced at it, and then looked Zuo Yuan up and down: "Why are you the only one who came?"

“Concubines are tribute.”

Zuo Yuan puffed out her chest: "I was ordered by the Prime Minister of Pei to bring military music and dance to celebrate the birthday of the Marquis of Champion. However, the other tributes were robbed on the way, and only I escaped."

Wang Meng was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled: "So it was sent by my brother... Where is it?"

The clerk beside him quickly handed over Zuo Yuan's document: "It was approved and stamped by the Northern Commandant, but none of the tribute documents are there. It is said that they were robbed and the tribute could not be completed, so this tribute cannot be put into the treasury."

The prime minister of Pei State was named Wang Ji, who was also Wang Fu's adopted son and Wang Meng's younger brother.

Wang Fu will indeed be celebrating his fiftieth birthday next month, and Emperor Liu Hong has granted him permission to leave the palace and rest at home for a month as a sign of imperial favor.

It is inappropriate to send women as tribute to a eunuch on his birthday.

But if it's sent by one's godson, then it's perfectly normal.

Like imperial concubines, eunuchs also needed to secure the emperor's favor, and they were the most eager to send beauties to the emperor...

Wang Fu was a close attendant favored by the emperor. On his birthday, the emperor would very likely travel light to attend the celebration. Even if he didn't go, he would still summon Wang Fu to the West Garden for a banquet to show his favor.

Offering one's beauty to the emperor naturally had to be done at such an opportune time.

At the same time, if it is to celebrate the birthday of the Marquis of Champion, then of course the dancers should use the music of battle to express the filial piety of Wang Ji, the adopted son—not treating his adoptive father as a eunuch, but as a general, is the greatest filial piety.

Therefore, it was as if Pei Xiang Wang Ji had gathered beauties from Pei State and presented them to Wang Fu as a birthday gift, so that Wang Fu could present them to the emperor to secure his favor.

In this situation, the beauty should be brought to the capital as tribute and first handed over to the Imperial Household Department. If the beauty were a birthday gift from someone else to a eunuch, then Wang Fu would not be able to present her to the emperor, as the emperor could not accept her. Before the court selected concubines, this was the necessary procedure for sending beauties to the emperor; it was both abnormal and quite normal.

This was especially normal for Wang Meng—at least a third of his concubines were intended for the emperor, but the emperor didn't take a liking to them.

However, Pei Xiang Wang Ji did not send any tribute to the capital, so it was necessary to say that the tribute was stolen and that the other people and the tribute were lost, so that Zuo Yuan could explain it.

This was of course discussed by Liu Bei and Yang Qiu at the Northern Commandant's Office. The verification procedures used the seal of the Northern Commandant, and the place of tribute was changed from Zhuo County to Pei County.

Zuo Yuan's travel document was also a fake document issued by Yang Qiu. It contained complete records of all the counties and prefectures along the route from Pei County to Luoyang. The registered name was Zuo Ji, a respectable woman from Pei State.

Yang Qiu seems quite adept at this; I guess these days every official is skilled at forging documents…

"Since we're here to celebrate my father's birthday, why bother putting it in the storehouse?"

Wang Meng glanced at the seal on the document, then turned to Zuo Yuan: "Judging from your attire, you were planning to use musical accompaniment to celebrate a birthday, weren't you? But you're all alone now..."

"Yes, everyone else has been lost along the way, so I will wear this outfit to demonstrate for you all—at least twenty sets of the same bamboo and wooden armor are needed to perform this dance to celebrate the champion. Please make the preparations."

Zuo Yuan nodded and began to state his requirements: "We also need various weapons, as well as twenty dancers."

"Yes, no problem..."

Since this beautiful woman was given to Wang Fu by Wang Ji to seduce the emperor and secure his favor, Wang Meng naturally gave her face. He turned to the clerk and instructed, "Did you hear that? Quickly prepare bamboo and wooden weapons and armor, and bring twenty musicians to accompany the dance. Don't miss my father's birthday."

"Young Master, shall I stay here, or go elsewhere?"

Zuo Yuan asked like an ignorant young girl.

"How can you stay here? You haven't even entered the warehouse yet... Go to my courtyard and practice your dance first."

Wang Meng took Zuo Yuan home and settled her in a separate courtyard.

Although he had many concubines, he dared not touch this woman—she was given to his godfather by his own adopted younger brother, what if the emperor took a liking to her?

……

Just two days later, Wang Meng was arrested by the Sili Commandant.

The charge was that he had privately manufactured and concealed armor and military equipment—a crime of treason and rebellion.

Commandant Yang Qiu, along with his black-clad guards, searched Wang Meng's home and, as expected, found twenty sets of Tiger Armor and a number of weapons.

Wang Meng tried her best to explain that it was just a handicraft made of bamboo and wood, used for performing dances, but Yang Qiu was unmoved and took the armor and Wang Meng away together.

This matter alarmed Empress Dowager Dong.

The Empress Dowager summoned Yang Qiu for questioning and demanded the release of Wang Meng.

Yang Qiu then presented Wang Meng's incriminating evidence—twenty genuine Tiger Armor suits, the armor of the Emperor's Imperial Guards, iron armor.

The Empress Dowager was speechless, but even so, she still forbade Yang Qiu from using torture to extract a confession from Wang Meng, saying that she had to protect the face of the royal family.

Wang Meng was then imprisoned in the imperial prison.

This was actually more complicated than Yang Qiu's original plan. The main reason was that Liu Bei felt Wang Meng was probably a bit stubborn and needed to trick his father first before he could get him to talk.

Of course, the small trick of secretly hoarding armor was useless to Wang Fu, since the emperor certainly didn't care that Wang Fu, the Marquis of Champion, possessed dozens of sets of armor.

But Wang Meng... he can't handle it.

For Wang Meng, being granted a title of nobility was truly important.

(End of this chapter)