Lu Bu Breaks His Word

Liu Bei was still on tenterhooks in Xiaopei, while Lu Bu had just woken from a drunken stupor.

Lady Yan brought him water to wash his face. Once he had cleared his head a little, Lu Bu asked, "Where did Lingqi go?"

"Where else? She went to the training grounds to practice martial arts," Lady Yan replied.

Lu Bu dried his hands and continued, "Lingqi never liked needlework, even as a child. Starting tomorrow, keep her at home and teach her how to support her husband and raise children. She's not a little girl anymore."

"You're only realizing that now? Lingqi is nearly seventeen. You let her practice martial arts all these years, and now that she's about to marry, you're finally worried," Lady Yan grumbled.

"What's wrong with my daughter practicing martial arts? Wait, how do you know Lingqi is getting married?" Lu Bu asked, puzzled.

Lady Yan shook her head with a smile. "Everyone in Xiapi is talking about it now. We're to become kin with Yuan Shu of Huainan. Yuan Yao is his eldest legitimate son, so Lingqi would make a good match for him."

Lu Bu had planned to keep the news under wraps for a while and announce it only after Yuan Shu delivered the betrothal gifts—grain and supplies. He hadn't expected those people to be such loose lips.

At noon, Chen Deng and his father invited Lu Bu to their residence for a banquet.

Just when he was feeling drowsy, someone had brought him a pillow. Lu Bu was delighted and readily accepted. After taking Xu Province, he had worried that he couldn't establish a foothold.

First, Qing and Xu had been ravaged by years of war, and the Yellow Turban bandits had caused further chaos. The people's grain had been squeezed nearly dry by Tao Qian, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei. His own army was already struggling to meet its needs. Second, the Mi Family, a great clan of Donghai, had openly thrown in its lot with Liu Bei. If he wanted the local gentry to support him with money and grain, the only family he could count on was the Chen Family of Xiapi.

Lu Bu had been fretting over how to get close to the Chen Family. He had appointed himself Governor of Xuzhou, but didn't know how they would react, so he hadn't reached out to them.

The Chen father and son welcomed him warmly, praising his martial prowess throughout the banquet. They made no unreasonable demands either. As the saying went, everyone helped carry the flower palanquin: speak kindly of someone, and they were bound to find admirers. Lu Bu took a liking to them.

Lu Bu drank himself into a stupor, and his escorts carried him back to his residence.

"Father, what do you think? Do we have a chance?" After Lu Bu had left, Chen Deng asked Chen Gui.

Chen Gui stroked his beard, his eyes shrewd and deep. "Lu Bu is just a brute, but we must take this slowly. For now, make friends with him."

The rulers of Xu Province had changed frequently. Great clans like the Chen Family, with estates and influence in Xu and Yang, would not choose sides lightly as Mi Zhu had. Their whole family's future and fate were at stake.

The rumor spreading through the city that morning had made the father and son uneasy. If Yuan Shu and Lu Bu became kin, the Chen Family of Xiapi would instantly be fish on the chopping board.

Over the next several days, Chen Deng and Chen Gui took turns inviting Lu Bu to drink. They also gave him some grain, helping him through his immediate crisis. Their actions made Lu Bu quite pleased.

In early August, Yuan Shu sent Han Yin to deliver the grain and supplies he had prepared to Xiapi.

Han Yin's return infuriated Lu Lingqi. She said goodbye to Lady Yan and went to Gao Shun's camp to stew in silence.

Gao Shun tried to reassure her. "Though I've never seen Master Ziyu use his wits, this concerns both your happiness and his. I think something will come of it. Why don't we wait a little longer?"

"Wait for what? I've waited more than twenty days. Who's going to come and help us? Han Yin has brought all those betrothal gifts, and Father was so happy today he nearly jumped for joy. That scoundrel Lan Tian probably thinks I'm a withered willow, and can't wait to marry me off to someone else," Lu Lingqi said bitterly, stamping her foot.

"You should go back first, Young Lady, so no one grows suspicious. I'll go and find out what's happening."

Gao Shun thought Lu Bu hadn't made his intentions clear yet, and he might be able to sound Han Yin out.

When he arrived at the Post House in Xiapi, the official there told him that Registrar Chen Gong had come to see Han Yin before him. Gao Shun wondered: What could have brought Master Gongtai here?

Gao Shun told the official not to make a fuss, then quietly went inside alone. He pressed his ear to Han Yin's door and heard Chen Gong tell the other man that he wanted to bring the marriage about as soon as possible.

Gao Shun was shocked. He slipped away and told the official not to mention that he had been there.

Though the Post House was a place for receiving guests, it was under military control. Gao Shun was one of Lu Bu's leading generals, and his word carried more weight there than Chen Gong's.

Chen Gong despised Cao the Rebel, and Yuan Shu was at odds with him too. At once, Gao Shun understood why Chen Gong was trying to arrange a marriage between the Lu and Yuan families.

Now that Yuan Shu's emissary had come to ask for the marriage again, Gao Shun no longer had time to seek advice from Lan Tian. With no other choice, he spread the new information around the city, hoping that the person Lan Tian had said would help them might appear.

After leaving the Post House, Chen Gong went straight to the government office to advise Lu Bu. He laid out the benefits of becoming kin with Yuan Shu in detail and suggested sending Lu Lingqi to Shouchun at once.

Lu Bu had never seen Chen Gong so eager. But since he had already accepted Yuan Shu's betrothal gifts, whether the wedding came sooner or later, it was happening. He summoned Gao Shun and ordered, "You're both Lingqi's teacher and her friend. I intend to send her to Shouchun tomorrow to be married. I appoint you escort general. Go with her and see her safely there. Make the preparations."

Gao Shun froze for a moment, then cupped his hands. "Yes, sir."

As Gao Shun walked along, he felt as though he were floating. Was this really beyond saving? Just outside the government office, he ran into the old fox Chen Gui.

He had often heard that the Chen father and son were fond of fawning and flattering people. Gao Shun despised such behavior. He snorted and brushed past him.

Though Gao Shun was troubled, he still carried out Lu Bu's orders.

At dawn the next day, Gao Shun led his troops out. They prepared a red wedding procession and carriage, then waited in formation outside the government office. Chen Gong also came to see Han Yin off.

When the auspicious hour arrived, Lu Bu still hadn't come out to give his daughter away. Embarrassed, Chen Gong said to Han Yin, "My lord got very drunk last night. He may have lost track of the time. Please wait here a little longer. I'll be right back."

With that, Chen Gong lifted the hem of his robe and hurried into the residence.

Lu Bu was indeed still sleeping off his drunkenness. Chen Gong rushed to the rear hall and asked Lady Yan, "Madam, where is my lord?"

"The general drank heavily last night and is still resting in bed," Lady Yan replied.

"Oh, this is a disaster! The wedding procession has been waiting outside for quite some time. Please go wake him, Madam," Chen Gong said anxiously.

Lady Yan agreed and went into the room. She woke Lu Bu, who was fast asleep. "General, aren't you sending Lingqi off to be married today? I'm afraid the auspicious hour has already passed."

"Getting married today? No, no," Lu Bu mumbled blearily, then lay back down.

Chen Gong heard them speaking inside and anxiously knocked on the door. Lu Bu sat up angrily and bellowed, "Who's out there disturbing my sleep?"

Chen Gong pushed open the door and bowed. "My lord, Han Yin and General Gao have been waiting outside the residence for quite some time."

"What are they waiting there for?" Lu Bu asked, looking baffled.

"Didn't my lord say yesterday that you would send Young Lady Lingqi to Shouchun to be married at the hour of Chen today?" Chen Gong asked in shock.

"Did I really? Was that just drunken talk?" Lu Bu asked, utterly bewildered.

"Yesterday, you even told General Gao Shun to escort her. How much did you drink last night, my lord? You've forgotten such an important matter!" Chen Gong said in dismay, thinking, If you're this fond of your wine, how can you hope to accomplish great things?

Lu Bu scratched his head. "Now that you mention it, I seem to remember something. But my daughter is marrying as a proper wife. How could we rush it like this? The three letters and six rites are essential. Tell Han Yin to go make the preparations first."

Chen Gong stood rooted to the spot. How had his lord, a mere warrior, suddenly become so particular about propriety?