Chapter 111: A Familiar World (Part Seven)
Translator: Etern, Kim_Guo
Back to Wang Yun’s residence, neither Wang Yun nor the buttler mentioned anything about what had happened the day before. Huang Xuan said to Wang Zhong awkwardly, “Mr. Dian stays with me. Make the arrangement.”
Wang Zhong complied without hesitation. The four singing girls came and greeted. The maids attended to Huang Xuan with washing and getting changed. Huang Xuan felt embarrassed while Dian Wei didn’t mind at all. Huang Xuan laughed, but thinking of the voice he had heard yesterday, the laughter was lowered down.
“How many concubines does your master have?” Huang Xuan ased a singing girl, who was no more than 19 years old and was too afraid to answer and just said, “The mistress is still in the residence.” The mistress was referring to Wang Yun’s legal wife, who was very powerful in the house. Diao Chan had been the mistress’ personal maid since she had been little and became her nominally adoptive daughter for being perceptive.
Thinking of this, Huang Xuan felt he had been too compulsive. He washed his face carelessly and waved his hands to ask the servants to leave. Huang Xuan started his serching in the backyard. Dian Wei, who had just got out of a big bucket from a bath, called at the sight of him, “Huang Xuan!”
Huang Xuan gave Dian Wei a hug, standing on his toes, and asked, “How do you feel? Comfortable?”
“Much more comfortable than staying in a bear cave.” Dian Wei looked far better and more friendly with his newly-shaven beard, but his words terrified Huang Xuan, because no ordinary people would sleep in a bear cave.
Flute music was heard again from nearby. Huang Xuan immediately said to Dian Wei, “Brother Dian, come with me.”
Dian Wei followed.
On their way, two servants stopped Huang Xuan but were frightened by Dian Wei’s stare.
It seemed Wang Yun was entertaining a guest at a banquet in the pavilion by the pond with guards around. Huang Xuan walked over.
It was early summer. Incense sticks were burning in the pavilion. Wang Yun toasted his guest, “There are no other heroes in the world except General Fengxian.”
Lv Bu responded in humbleness, “I’m just a general of the prime minister’s residence while you are a cabinet minister of the court. How can I …”
Noises were heard while the two were enjoying themselves.
“Who is making such a noise? Wang Zhong, go and throw him out,” Wang Yun said unhappily.
No sooner had Wang Zhong complied with “Yes” than Huang Xuan said, laughing, “Lord Wang, I just came for some wine. What did I do to have offended you like this?”
Lv Bu knew the voice right away. Nobody had thrown him into a corner before in his life.
“Mr. Situ, why do you insult me like this?” he asked angrily.
Wang Yun didn’t want to offend Lv Bu. He said at once, “Mr. Huang is just staying in my house temporarily. I am going to drive him away.”
At this point, Huang Xuan already sat at the banquet with Dian Wei standing behind him. Lv Bu looked up at Dian Wei and stood up too.
Lv Bu was 2.3 meters tall. He looked down at Dian Wei, who stuck out his chest and wasn’t terrified at all. Seeing this, Wang Yun said right away, “General Feng Xian, please have a seat.” Then he said to Huang Xuan, “Zhenzai, you’d better go to your room if you don’t have other matters.” Obviously, he was helping Lv Bu, who was in charge of the army and was also Dong Zhuo’s adoptive son.
The flute wasn’t heard anymore, but Huang Xuan was still searching for the voice that seemed to have been kissed by an angel. He didn’t hear Wang Yun at all. Dian Wei took one step forward and stood in front of Huang Xuan. Wang Yun was so frightened that he sat back, face blue, very embarrassed.
Due to a shortage of water in Chang’an, Wang Yun demanded a canal to guide water into the pond in his residence. The water was deep and clear, providing a very pleasant view with the pavilion. Lv Bu was sitting facing the lotus pond, with mountains afar and a picture of joyful fishermen behind him. Huang Xuan was watching when a figure flashed by. Just then, Lv Bu shouted, “How dare you?!” and started to fight against Dian Wei.
Lv Bu was opinionated and offended many people, but perhaps this personality was related to his force, since he had never failed whenever he resorted to violent force all his life after all. Hence, although he had been thrown into a corner once, he had forgotten all about it and began attacking Dian Wei.
If the two had been fighting on horses with suitable weapons, Dian Wei would be able to hold off Lv Bu for at most 100 rounds, but Lv Bu wasn’t better on the ground. It was a tie within some moments. Huang Xuan called Rolin slightly and extended his hand. He grabbed the belt in Lv Bu’s waist, tied it around himself, pushed him away and said, “Mr. Feng Xian, shall we enjoy the banquet together?”
There was no limit to force. When Lv Bu found that he couldn’t touch the teenager before him at all, he fixed his eyes on him and sat back slowly. Huang Xuan poured a cup of wine for himself and said to Wang Yun whose face had turned black, “I wonder what Lord Wang and General Lv Bu were talking about.”
Wang Yun was tactful, for, otherwise, he wouldn’t be succeessful in working for Dong Zhuo. On the other hand, he was too proud to sit at the same banquet as a vulgar person, so he stood up and said, “Excuse me.”
Huang Xuan had been at countless banquets with all kinds of people. He knew well about arrogant people like Wang Yun. He sneered and said, “Lord Wang, do you really think Lv Bu will kill Dong Zhuo and sell his head to you after a banquet?”
Both Lv Bu and Wang Yun were stunned. Lv Bu had had no idea about the plan; Wang Yun was shocked at his thoughts being figured out. Lv Bu stood up once again. Wang Yun composed himself and said, “Zhenzai, why did you say so?”
Huang Xuan said with a smile, “I’d like to make a deal with Lord Wang. General Feng Xian, please relax. If Dong Zhuo dies, you will be the general of the armies of the entire Liangzhou. Wouldn’t that be great?”
Lv Bu sneered, “Even though you have strong arms which are able to hold off 100 men, will you be able to hold off 1,000 men? 10,000 men?” As a scholar, Wang Yun didn’t believe there was anybody who could hold off an army either. Neither did he believe a single assassin could kill one of the most ambitious and intrepid men of the age.
Huang Xuan hummed contemptuously and said, pointing to the outside of the window, “Lord Situ, please look!” Then he took the rifle and aimed. In a wink, a big bird fell off, then the second and the third. The other two were shocked. Huang Xuan handed the rifle to Dian Wei and asked, “Do you think Dong Zhuo can survive such a shot?”
Wang Yun had seen arrows shot within 200 steps, but the bird Huang Xuan had shot was beyond the range of the arrow, even of the view. He looked at Lv Bu involuntarily.
Lv Bu and Dong Zhuo had been at odds since a long time ago, Diao Chao was just the immediate cause: Dong Zhuo had grabbed Lv Bu’s beloved concubine one year before; the Liangzhou army was in the charge of Li Cui and Guo Si, who were Dong Zhuo’s subordinates, while Lv Bu had only to secure a place in life by nepotism and valor. He had been holding a grudge against Dong Zhuo.
Lv Bu had never seen one so forceful as Huang Xuan. He thought Huang Xuan must be armed with something, so he remained silent and kept drinking.
Huang Xuan laughed, sat straight and said, “As to how many men I can hold off, don’t worry about it. Dong Zhuo is so wicked that he has aroused the indignation of both man and god. With the help of Lord Situ from the court and you from the army, I will definitely kill this evil man!” Then he smiled at Wang Yun, whose heart was beating so fast, and said, “Lord Wang Yun, can you afford the price?”
Seeing that Lv Bu still remained quiet, Wang Yun replied, “The court has been in short of money since the moving of capital, because of Dong Zhuo. If you can kill him, all the property in Mei Castle belongs to you.” Mei Castle was also called Emperor Castle. Dong Zhuo’s family had been living there since it had been built. It had been said that the grains in it wouldn’t been eaten up within 30 years and the treasures in it were innumerable. However, currently, they all belonged to Dong Zhuo. Naturally, Wang Yun was just pretending to be generous for he was giving away others’ wealth. Huang Xuan couldn’t help thinking, “Maybe this guy is thinking about killing me after the whole matter is over.”
Whether Wang Yun indended to give Huang Xuan the treasures for real or not, they didn’t interest Huang Xuan, because all the things that couldn’t be taken home were useless to him.
Huang Xuan giggled and said to Wang Yun, “I heard that when Dong Zhuo moved the capital, you collected and organised all the books and documents in the two libraries of Orchid Pavilion and Stone Room and then transported them to Chang’an in boxes. You also collected books from other places and stored them. Is it true?”
Huang Xuan had got this information from Rolin’s materials the night before. He had few matters to be remembered by later generations but two or three. As a scholar, he had made great contributions to the storage of the historical documents of the Han Dynasty, which were made of bamboo slips and silk and could be taken home by Huang Xuan.
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