Chapter 26: A Visit from a Newcomer

"Liu Bei?"

Lady Cai furrowed her brows, clearly displeased. She harbored a deep-seated contempt for this so-called member of the Liu clan who had sought refuge with Liu Biao some time ago. Having achieved nothing by the age of forty, he had ultimately relied on his distant kinship to the Liu family to convince Liu Biao to take him in and grant him a city to guard.

Recently, however, her disdain for Liu Bei had been replaced by a growing sense of dread. It was not only because Liu Bei commanded formidable generals like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, but also because his reputation for virtue during his time in Xinye had stirred a sharp sense of crisis within her. More importantly, it was clear that Liu Bei was in league with her stepson, Liu Qi. As the mother of Liu Cong, she felt compelled to do everything in her power to suppress him.

"Is this a letter from Xuande?" Liu Biao’s weak voice drifted from the bed.

"Yes, my lord," Cai Mao replied. He slowly approached the bedside, knelt on one knee, and presented the bamboo slips with both hands.

Liu Biao struggled to sit up, but he froze the moment he saw the sealed slips. Generally, bamboo slips were bundled and sealed with clay and official signets only to ensure that top-secret information remained private. With no active military conflicts in Jingzhou, he could not fathom why his kinsman would make such a grand display of secrecy.

"My lady, see what Xuande has to say," Liu Biao said after a brief glance, gesturing to Lady Cai.

Cai Mao broke the clay seal and handed the bundle to his sister. Lady Cai took the slips and scanned them quickly. A moment later, her brows knitted together, as if she had encountered something incomprehensible.

"My lady, what does the letter say?"

"Liu Bei claims that Emperor Xiaowu has arrived in the Great Han, and he hopes you will send someone to meet him."

Emperor Xiaowu!

Cai Mao, standing behind his sister, was stunned. Had Liu Bei lost his mind? Emperor Xiaowu had been dead for nearly three hundred years, his body interred in the Maoling Mausoleum; how could he possibly have appeared in the Later Han? Cai Mao was utterly bewildered.

Liu Biao, lying on his sickbed, was equally taken aback. Like Cai Mao, he found the news impossible to believe. He reached out with some effort to take the slips from Lady Cai, scanning them to confirm that they indeed read as she had said.

***

Emperor Xiaowu had come to the Han?

After a long silence, Liu Biao turned his gaze to Cai Mao, who stood waiting at his side. "De-gui, what do you think of this?"

"This..." Cai Mao was at a loss for words. If Liu Bei had been asking for grain or supplies, he would have had a hundred ways to manipulate him. But now that Liu Bei seemed to be suffering from some form of hysteria, Cai Mao found his motives impossible to discern.

"My lord, it is likely that Liu Bei has simply lost his wits. There is no need to pay him any mind."

"Ignore it?" Liu Biao felt a lingering sense of anxiety.

Seeing Liu Biao’s hesitation, Cai Mao’s eyes darted as he hit upon a brilliant idea. "My lord, why not send the eldest son to Xinye to investigate what Liu Bei is truly planning?"

"Qi'er?" Liu Biao pondered for a moment and found the suggestion reasonable. Sending his eldest son, Liu Qi, would be a sufficient gesture to acknowledge the gravity of Liu Bei’s correspondence.

"Very well, De-gui. Call Qi'er to see me."

"As you command, my lord."

About a quarter of an hour later, as Liu Qi entered the room, Lady Cai quietly slipped out. She had not gone far before she saw her brother waiting nearby. Seeing her emerge, Cai Mao hurried over.

"De-gui, you handled that well. Letting Liu Qi deal with this ridiculous mess is perfect."

"Thank you, sister."

As members of the Jingzhou Cai clan, they were staunch supporters of Lady Cai’s son, Liu Cong, and were determined to see him rise to power. If Liu Cong did anything good, no matter how small, it was amplified; if he made a mistake, no matter how large, it was covered up. Under the combined influence of Lady Cai inside and Cai Mao outside, Liu Cong had become increasingly favored by Liu Biao, and his status had risen accordingly. Their next step was to maneuver Liu Qi out of Jingzhou to pave the way for Liu Cong’s succession.

"By the way, sister," Cai Mao whispered, "if Liu Bei went to such great lengths to send this letter, do you think... could Emperor Xiaowu actually..."

"Liu Bei has lost his mind—have you lost yours too? The Emperor’s tomb is at Maoling; how can the dead return to life? I don't know what Liu Bei is plotting, but remember: keep a constant watch on him. We must not let him seize control of Jingzhou. This land belongs to Cong'er."

"You are right, sister. I stand corrected."

***

At the farmhouse inn, after seeing off a group of tourists, Zhang Bo was sweeping the courtyard when he saw a man walk slowly toward the entrance.

The man looked to be in his late twenties, his hair tied in a bun. Though he possessed an air of nobility, he did not seem unapproachable; in fact, he seemed quite down-to-earth. Zhang Bo studied him for a moment, unable to determine if he were a modern person or a historical reenactor, so he decided to wait and observe.

After all, he still felt embarrassed by a previous encounter. He had once seen a group of men dressed like Wu Song and Lu Zhishen, assumed they were from the past, and began bragging to them. Only after a few drinks did it become clear they were just fans of historical dramas. The sheer awkwardness of that moment was enough to make his skin crawl.

Now, whenever he saw someone in ancient attire, he treated them as a modern person, relying on later conversation and payment methods to distinguish the truth. Zhang Bo rose from his recliner and walked toward the man.

"Friend, are you looking for a meal or a place to stay?"

As he spoke, Zhang Bo noticed the man seemed troubled, his face etched with worry.

"Innkeeper, just a simple bowl of noodles, please."

Though a bowl of noodles wouldn't make him much money, Zhang Bo followed the principle that profit should never be turned away and headed to the kitchen. Five minutes later, he returned with the steaming bowl to find the man sitting at the stone table, still lost in thought.

"Friend, are you facing some kind of trouble?" Zhang Bo asked as he set the bowl down.

The man did not hide his distress. "My son is gravely ill. I fear he does not have much time left."

"I see... what is the illness?"

"The physician says he has contracted the 'bean pox'."

"Bean pox"—the name was unfamiliar to Zhang Bo. He pulled out his phone to look it up. The result made his jaw drop. In modern times, the "bean pox" had a much more infamous name:

Smallpox.