Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 8 Liu Bei's Guilt, Bullying Honest People

Seeing Liu Bei's humble attitude, Wang Fen thought he had succeeded and said, "If Xuande doesn't mind, you can temporarily serve as a military officer in Ji Province. After the eunuchs are eliminated, we will discuss your merits and promotions. What does Xuande think?"

"If you are to serve as a warrior, do you have armor?" Liu Bei feigned hesitation.

Upon hearing the word "armor," Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, who were engrossed in drinking and eating meat, all perked up their ears.

"Big Brother is indeed Big Brother. He started talking about armor after just a few words with Wang Fen." Zhang Fei thought to himself with pride, glancing at Wang Fen in the main seat.

Currently, the four brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun all possess excellent weapons and mounts, but their armor is still just the leather armor worn by ordinary soldiers.

What Zhang Fei wanted most was the fish scale armor!
However, fish scales are extremely rare, and even if you have money, there's nowhere to buy them.

The title of "Wu Meng" sounds impressive, but it was actually just a nominal position given by Wang Fen to appease Liu Bei.

Simply put, Wang Fen only wanted to benefit from Liu Bei's martial prowess for free. At most, she would provide Liu Bei with food and lodging, but she never intended to prepare armor for him.

The officials who had previously hosted the banquet were all deeply grateful to Wang Fen and wished they could serve her faithfully. Naturally, none of them made any demands on Wang Fen.

Liu Bei, however, not only set conditions but also specifically demanded armor.

Wang Fen initially wanted to reply "no armor," but worried that Liu Bei might resent her. After weighing the options, she reluctantly replied, "I still have a set of two suits of armor in my residence, which I can give to Xuande."

It was just a pair of two-piece armor?

Liu Bei secretly scorned: This Wang Fen is indeed incapable of great things. He has no sense of judgment at all. I brought three warriors capable of defeating ten thousand men to the banquet, and he still asked for armor. I gave him a pair of armor.

"Your Highness," Liu Bei rose and bowed to Wang Fen, then pointed to Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, introducing them: "These three sworn brothers of mine are all men of unparalleled bravery! Their weapons are crafted at a cost of a hundred gold pieces each, and their warhorses are also fine horses from the Western Regions, each worth a hundred gold pieces. It's just a pity that my purse is empty, and I cannot afford to buy any more armor for my three brothers. Alas—"

Listening to Liu Bei's earnest introduction, Wang Fen almost spat out her drink.

The weapon cost hundreds of gold coins to forge?
His mount was also a fine horse from the Western Regions, worth hundreds of gold pieces.

You still say you're short of money?
Have you no shame?!
Wang Fen suddenly felt a headache coming on.

The weapons and armor of Liu Bei's three sworn brothers were worth hundreds of gold pieces each, so how could he possibly give away these two pieces of armor?

If Wang Fen wanted to win over Liu Bei, the only option was to get the fish scale armor. But the problem was that Wang Fen initially only wanted to get Liu Bei's martial prowess for free!

Gritting his teeth, Wang Fen said in a negotiating tone, "In that case, I will give you three more sets of armor, each worth two taels, as a gift. What do you think, Xuande?"

Before Liu Bei could speak, Zhang Fei muttered, "He's supposed to be the governor of Ji Province, yet he doesn't even have a pair of fish-scale armor."

"Third brother, you mustn't be rude!" Liu Bei scolded lightly. "Your Excellency is a renowned scholar and the governor of Ji Province. How could you not have fish-scale armor? You and I are just commoners. How are we qualified to wear fish-scale armor? Besides, we have only just arrived, and Your Excellency has already gifted us four sets of fish-scale armor. How can we convince the others?"

Then, Liu Bei bowed to Wang Fen and said, "Your Excellency is too kind. My sworn brother is just a straightforward person. Please don't take it to heart! Even without the fish-scale armor, the four of us brothers would still dare to charge into battle first without fear."

Before Wang Fen could speak, Liu Bei changed the subject and sighed, "Your Excellency, you may not know this, but my second brother is originally from Hedong. There were henchmen of the eunuchs in Hedong who bullied the weak. My second brother was so angry that he killed them. He hasn't returned home for ten years now. As the eldest brother, I only hope that one day I can let my second brother return home in glory."

“My third brother has been with me since childhood. He is diligent in everything he does and often protects me from swords. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he was wounded by arrows in three places and almost died. Since then, I have vowed to find him a pair of fish-scale armor so that he will never be wounded by arrows again.”

"My fourth brother was originally betrothed to a prominent family in Changshan, but he resolutely broke off the engagement and came with me because I was going to the capital to seek justice. I would be truly uneasy if my fourth brother got hurt." "Alas—I couldn't help but say some unpleasant things, please forgive me, Your Highness."

Although they knew Liu Bei was making things up, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun were still in turmoil.

Guan killed a village bully; what does that have to do with the Central Attendant?
How come I don't remember suffering three arrow wounds and nearly dying?
Yun was never engaged, so how could she annul the engagement?
Seeing Liu Bei start wiping away tears, Wang Fen felt like her head was about to explode: No wonder he dared to whip the inspector in public, this Liu Xuande is not one to suffer a loss!

If Wang Fen had known that Zhang Feng had not dared to retaliate after being whipped, she certainly wouldn't have been in such a hurry to host a banquet for Liu Bei as she is today.

Liu Bei's mouth is a deceitful devil.

For a moment, Wang Fen found herself in a difficult situation.

From taking advantage of Liu Bei's martial prowess for free to holding a nominal position as a warrior, and from one set of two-piece armor to four sets of fish-scale armor, Wang Fen had the first thought that she was a fool.

Taking a deep breath, Wang Fen summoned her attendants and retrieved four sets of fish scale armor from her private treasury.

The fish-scale armor in the Ye City treasury all had special markings, and even though Wang Fen was the governor of Ji Province, he could not openly give it to Liu Bei and his three companions, otherwise it would cause dissatisfaction among others.

But it's different with personal savings; it's a private relationship, and no one can gossip about it.

"Oh, you really did send it!"

Looking at the four suits of fish-scale armor that Wang Fen brought up from either side, Liu Bei felt a sense of guilt for deceiving an honest man.

Asking for prices all over the place and paying back the money on the ground.

Liu Bei had originally thought he would be satisfied if he could trick Wang Fen into giving away one set of fish scale armor and three sets of two-piece armor, but he did not expect that Wang Fen would not even haggle and would give away four sets of fish scale armor so generously!

For a moment, Liu Bei felt that the fish scale armor was too hot to handle.

Liu Bei was certainly unwilling to follow Wang Fen in deposing and installing emperors; only a fool would do something destined to fail. But to take the fish-scale armor and then report Wang Fen would truly be disrespectful to himself.

"Your Highness, please dismiss your attendants. I have important matters to discuss with you." Liu Bei's tone became more serious.

Wang Fen was slightly taken aback and asked her attendants to leave the hall first. Liu Bei also asked Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun to wait outside the hall.

Seeing that Liu Bei had even sent his sworn brother away, Wang Fen was even more surprised: "What does Xuande want to say?"

Liu Bei's expression turned solemn, and he cupped his hands, saying, "I deeply admire Your Highness's desire to eliminate the eunuchs. However, celestial changes are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, and the words of sorcerers cannot be entirely trusted. If the plan is not kept secret and the eunuchs learn of it beforehand, the sorcerers can escape elsewhere, but Your Highness will have nowhere to retreat! I urge Your Highness to consider this carefully!"

Wang Fen laughed and said, "Xuande is very thoughtful. Since I dare to be the first in the world, why should I fear death? Pingyuan Xiangkai is known to the world for his expertise in astronomy and yin-yang. In the ninth year of Yanxi, he even submitted two 'Memorials on Star Changes.' He is no ordinary diviner. Xuande, rest assured, the people of the world have suffered from eunuchs for a long time. How could they reveal my secrets?"

Liu Bei was speechless.

No wonder Cao Cao, Tao Qiu Hong, and Hua Xin refused to conspire with Wang Fen. Are all the Wangs so arrogant?

(End of this chapter)