NOVPUBLi You and the others couldn’t be clearer that if Liu Bei were actually provided with a wine pool and meat forest, he wouldn’t last many days before succumbing. Thus, they used this ultra-luxurious mansion as a suggestive hint for the envoys of the feudal lords, engendering in them a preconceived sensory impression under Li You’s guidance.
After these people returned home, it was up to Liu Bei to do as he pleased. In any case, with the current shoddy intelligence methods, Chen Xi could make it so that Liu Bei didn’t even have to pretend, and the words "fond of luxury" would be stamped on all intelligence reports about him from the feudal lords.
Of course, the beauties were just embellishments. Mount Tai of Qingzhou was far from short on beautiful women. If Liu Bei so desired, there would be no problem in lining them up from the East Gate to the West Gate, and many would be sent to Chen Xi. Naturally, Liu Bei himself could also have quite a few if he so wished. The reality, though, was that although Liu Bei liked beautiful women, he had not taken many into his harem; most were just eye-candy. Lady Gan was indeed the only one who truly had his favor; the rest at most could be considered concubines.
This led to a conflict of thought. Chen Xi didn’t see anything wrong with Liu Bei’s behavior, but everyone else felt Liu Bei lacked an heir, which was problematic for a strong power. It wasn’t enough to have just a young and strong ruler; there had to be an excellent successor. Well, even if not excellent, there should at least be a successor, which was very important for maintaining power.
So Li You’s previous words were not solely intended to manipulate Ju Shou; in fact, there was indeed a purpose to matchmake for Liu Bei, saying it was to fill his harem -- really, to fill it. While somewhat underhanded, it was genuinely done for the sake of Liu Bei’s imperial aspirations!
As for truly allowing Liu Bei to live a life of luxury to the point of death, it wasn’t just that Chen Xi was reluctant to do so; they were also concerned about spoiling Liu Bei to ruin. What if he really was ruined? After all, history had shown that Sun Quan used beauties and luxurious mansions to effectively place Liu Bei under house arrest in Eastern Wu, even making Liu Bei develop the notion of not wanting to return. Such means of spoiling someone could indeed lead to their downfall; everything needed moderation.
The next day, Liu Bei continued his fasting, and Li You even especially invited Ju Shou to join Liu Bei in the fasting. This was truly genuine fasting. The action took Ju Shou by surprise, but he then had a better understanding of Liu Bei’s character. After all, this was a man who had risen from nothing to establish his own dominance. Although fond of luxury and leisure, he had not forgotten his struggles during the past.
"Hmm, it seems I need to send beauties and treasures to him sooner. The current Liu Bei might have started to exhibit the issues of his ancestors, but having gone through numerous hardships, he still possesses a vigor and determination that King of Zhongshan never had. Taking advantage of the current sway of corrupt officials, it’s time to ruin him before Chen Zichuan notices this clever performer named Li You. If Liu Bei rises again, it will be troublesome."
As Ju Shou followed Liu Bei in burning incense and praying, he pondered over how to win over Li You and spoil Liu Bei. As for sincerity, Ju Shou never took it to heart—it wasn’t his own soldiers he was praying for, so why should he be devout?
Meanwhile, Li You caught a glimpse of Ju Shou and started to pray sincerely. He had brought Ju Shou along precisely to make him feel the urgency, to seize the opportunity that might not come again. He wanted Ju Shou to sense that Liu Bei still felt somewhat ashamed of his greed and lasciviousness and that he still had the passion and determination from the days of quelling the Yellow Turbans coursing through his body.
The impression given to Ju Shou was meant to be that Liu Bei wanted to degenerate but couldn’t because of Chen Xi’s presence. Even though he desired beauties, he dared not voice it on Mount Tai, so he requested help from Ju Shou, an outer official. Li You was thus playing the role of a corrupt official attempting to drag Liu Bei down.
"I suppose this will swindle quite a few treasures. Hearing that Yuan Shao has been quite ambitious recently, he probably won’t cherish that prized horse between his legs anymore. If I interact with Ju Shou a few more times, I’ll probably be able to deceive him. Alas, if the Jade Seal were with Yuan Shao, given his current boldness, I just need to swindle him well, let him believe Liu Bei is to ascend the throne, and I could probably deceive him out of it. It’s a pity it’s with Yuan Shu; that guy would definitely not let go." 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
After Li You finished burning incense and praying, he felt somewhat helpless. While Ju Shou was still with his eyes closed, Li You greedily eyed him like looking at a fat sheep, then silently turned back, waiting for Liu Bei and Ju Shou to open their eyes.
Ju Shou was not particularly devout either, and after skipping some passages, he opened his eyes to find that Li Youu had finished reciting. Ju Shou instantly surmised that the other man must have also skipped parts of the text—clear evidence that Li Youu was not devout either. Ju Shou immediately realized that in Liu Bei’s service, Li Youu must be playing the role of a scoundrel.
Caught by surprise when he noticed Ju Shou opening his eyes early, Li Youu’s face momentarily flashed with a bemused expression, followed by an awkward smile, [Heh heh heh, this guy isn’t even devout when chanting scriptures. Liu Ziyang has probably hit the mark! Let’s see if I can’t calculate your demise.]
Li Youu gently rose to his feet, having been kneeling on a cashmere carpet all along—such a light action of his naturally made no sound. After he got up, he slowly retreated toward the door.
Seeing Li Youu’s gesture, Ju Shou also slowly stood up, following suit, and stepped out of the room where he saw Li Youu waiting for him in a chair.
Seeing Ju Shou follow him out, Li Youu thought to himself, [Fa Xiaozhi’s estimate was quite accurate, this guy really did follow me out.]
"Please have a seat, Ju Gong," Li Youu said, standing up and gesturing invitingly to Ju Shou, "Try this tea. It is from the finest leaves of the Chen Family."
"Exquisite tea." Ju Shou, not quite understanding this novel concept, still knew how to flatter. After setting down the tea cup, he looked at Ju Shou and said, "I have seen Wen Ru come out at a leisurely pace, perhaps there is something you wish to teach me?"
"Please forgive me, Ju Gong. The inside is crowded with too many miscellaneous people, and I fear even walls might have ears. Only this vacant hall is suitable for conversation. You’ve been to Mount Tai for a day; how do you perceive Chen Zichuan?" Li Youu carefully surveyed his surroundings as he spoke, fearful that someone might overhear them.
"A breathtaking talent, I fear there are few in this world who could match him," Ju Shou said, his gaze fixed on Li Youu’s eyes, and upon seeing the contempt at the bottom of Li Youu’s eyes, he completely relaxed.
[Fool, I am scorning you!] Li Youu restrained the contempt in his own eyes as he looked at Ju Shou, "Ju Gong, I fear you haven’t said all there is to say. Setting aside how Chen Zichuan is astonishingly talented, the master of Mount Tai in Qingzhou should be Liu Xuande, should he not?"
Ju Shou remained silent as Li Youu continued, "Chen Zichuan holds sole administrative power over Mount Tai in Qingzhou. Sometimes even Lord Xuande needs to seek Chen Zichuan’s approval to get involved. This is not the behavior of a loyal subject, and moreover, he has forged close ties with several valiant generals. I fear he means harm to Lord Xuande!"
Ju Shou sneered inwardly. After hearing Li Youu’s words, he knew that Li Youu was a thoroughgoing scoundrel, but such a scoundrel was vital to him. What he needed was for Mount Tai to split; ideally, the generals of Mount Tai would become divided, for even the mightiest fortress is breached from within!
With the famed ministers and valiant generals of Mount Tai grafted onto his Jizhou, would he have to fear an unstable world? The ability of Chen Zichuan could be seen merely by looking at the prosperity of Fenggao, the harmony of Mount Tai, and the bravery of its soldiers. If Lub Zijing, Liu Ziyang, Guan Yunchang, and Zhao Zilong could be won over, the Yuan Clan’s prosperity would be just around the corner! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
