Chapter 139: The Daughter of a General
Why did they have to bring all the spoils to the palace? Cao Rui was puzzled.
In the battle involving more than 100,000 people, the affairs of each army were complicated. In the document previously reported to Shouchun by Cao Tai’s army, there was indeed a mention of a special trophy, but Cao Rui had not paid special attention to it before.
Cao Tai smiled awkwardly and whispered, "Your Majesty, I have captured a woman in Wankou who claims to be Sun Quan's daughter, Sun Luban. I have brought her outside the palace. Your Majesty, would you like to see her?"
Cao Tai was also a middle-ranking general in his forties. With a sturdy build and a full beard, such a general's smile did seem too flattering.
Cao Rui put his hands on his hips, looked at Cao Tai with a half-smile and asked, "General Cao, what do you mean by this?"
Cao Tai replied, "Your Majesty, when I raided Wankouwu, the Wu army fled and the woman was captured by my troops before she could escape. According to the court's practice, women from the families of those who rebel or follow the rebels are confiscated into the palace."
"Your Majesty, I am following the court's conventions and have no other intentions." Cao Tai said with a smile: "Should I ask someone to bring this girl in?"
If we have to find a reason, Cao Tai was right. Let's not talk about the early examples. In the first year of the Huangchu reign of the previous emperor Cao Pi, Qu Yan of Xiping in Liangzhou led the entire county in rebellion.
At that time, Jincheng Governor Su Ze led General Hao Zhao to suppress Qu Yan's rebellion and arrested several big families in Xiping and brought them to Luoyang. Among them, the daughter of Xiping Guo was sent to the Luoyang Palace.
Xiping was a new county established during the Jian'an period by separating Jincheng County from Liangzhou. The county seat was located in Xidu, which was Xining by the Qinghai Lake in later generations.
Cao Rui had known about Guo's affairs for a long time. He had seen Guo once in the palace, but he was busy with the southern expedition at that time and had no intention or time to favor her.
Cao Rui knew this practice. Since Cao Tai said so, it would be fine to meet him, just as a little embellishment in the boring days.
Cao Rui nodded: "Then bring the person in. I will wait here."
After receiving the order, Cao Tai turned around and left. Cao Rui returned to the desk and began to look through the documents.
A moment later, Cao Tai and two guards brought Sun Luban in.
Sun Luban was a captive after all, with her hands facing in front of her and her wrists tied with ropes, which made her plump and well-proportioned figure more prominent. Her pretty face was originally a little angry, but when the emperor sitting behind the desk looked up at her, her heart beat faster and she didn't know what to say.
Sun Luban knew that she would be escorted to Shouchun, and today she also knew that Cao Tai would bring her to the emperor. As for the Cao family, the people of Jiangdong always demonized them. Sun Luban remembered that the people of Jiangdong called Cao Cao "Cao Thief" or "Old Thief".
The current emperor of Wei is the grandson of Cao the thief, and he must be an ugly and ferocious person. General Cao Tai brought me to Shouchun, and he must have offered me to the emperor of Wei. If the emperor of Wei wants to do something inappropriate to me, then I will let him know that my Sun family also has a strong-willed daughter.
As the daughter of Sun Quan, Sun Luban was not an ignorant woman. She had seen many talented people from Jiangdong in Jianye and Wuchang, and her father had married her to Zhou Xun, the son of Zhou Yu.
Zhou Xun was tall and handsome like his father Zhou Yu. Previously, Sun Quan wanted to match the widowed Sun Luban with the general Quan Cong. After Sun Luban came to Wankou with her father, she also met Quan Cong several times and was more satisfied with Quan Cong's resolute face.
But whether it was Zhou Xun or Quan Cong, they were far inferior to the Wei emperor in terms of appearance and bearing. Seeing this extremely handsome face slightly raised and looking straight at her, Sun Luban was immediately confused.
Cao Tai then said, "Your Majesty, I will wait outside. Are these two tiger guards going to stay here to protect Your Majesty?"
Cao Rui glanced at Cao Tai, shook his head slightly and said, "I have been practicing martial arts since I was ten years old. How can a woman like you threaten me?"
Cao Tai smiled, saluted, turned around and walked out slowly. The two tiger guards also walked out with him. When they reached the door, they tactfully closed it.
Cao Tai came in from outside and did not see Xiahou Xuan standing in the corner of the room. At this time, Xiahou Xuan saw that something was wrong and hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I will also wait outside the hall."
Then, regardless of the emperor's lack of reply, he hurried out. While the door was not closed tightly, he blocked it with his hand and squeezed out sideways.
Cao Rui and Sun Luban were the only ones left in the hall.
Being a king requires the bearing of a king, and the most important point is to always put oneself first and use everything for one's own benefit. Therefore, from the perspective of others, the emperor's eyes are always aggressive and full of aura.
Cao Rui looked Sun Luban up and down. She looked at a loss, with her eyes wide open staring at the ground anxiously. A jade hairpin was inserted in the bun on the back of her head, and the pearls hanging on her earlobes set off her already fair face.
As the emperor in front of her looked at her face and figure unscrupulously, Sun Luban's face gradually began to turn slightly red.
Sun Luban gritted her teeth, raised her head and tried to look at the emperor and said, "How long do you want to see me, Your Majesty?" Cao Rui looked a little surprised: "I haven't asked you yet, but you are asking me."
Sun Luban suppressed her anger and said with all her might, "How can you look at me like that? Your Majesty, please treat me with courtesy."
Cao Rui chuckled: "Since you know that I am His Majesty, how dare you speak to me like this? You are my prisoner now."
Sun Luban said: "Since I am a prisoner, I will kill or chop me up, Your Majesty, please give me a quick death."
Cao Rui shook his head slightly: "Sun Luban, right? I heard that your name is Dahu, you are really a daughter of a general. Your father, Sun Quan, was also a minister of the Wei Dynasty. You'd better call yourself a minister in front of me."
Sun Luban understood the emperor's mockery and was not at all angry about what she had just said, so she gradually became bolder.
Sun Luban looked up at the emperor's handsome face, and her eyes met the emperor's. She looked into the emperor's eyes and said, "If I am a general, the Cao family unified the nine provinces, so your Majesty is also a general."
"Hahaha." Cao Rui laughed. Ever since the southern tour in Luoyang, he had been either busy with military affairs or handling government affairs, and had hardly a day off. Now that most of the busy and trivial matters were over, it was a rare relief to have such a pretty and sharp-tongued beauty to have a light argument with him.
It was indeed a quarrel. The so-called "General's words" were Cao Rui's own words turned back to himself. As for the so-called "unification of the nine states", the Great Wei had never really unified the world. The so-called "nine states" could only be the nine states that belonged to the Wei State in the thirteen states of the former Han Dynasty.
Cao Rui looked at Sun Luban and said, "I will not waste my words on you. Although your father, Sun Quan, was a traitor, he was once a minister of Wei. Once you arrive in Shouchun, I will not be able to let you go back. I can only bring your father and mother to Wei to pay homage to me one day."
"Da Hu, right? Are you willing to be my maid? If you don't want to, I can find a general who has made great contributions and is widowed to marry you off."
Cao Rui said this with a smile, but since the words came from the emperor's mouth, the meaning behind them made Sun Luban dare not underestimate them. The emperor said he would make a general of himself, and according to the custom of that era, he would really do so.
Cao Rui did not speak, just sitting in the hall and looking at Sun Luban's face. Sun Luban lowered her head slightly, her eyes moving and looking around uneasily. After thinking for a moment, she raised her head and glanced at the emperor, but her eyes met the emperor's again.
After all, he was the emperor, and his appearance was so handsome. Among the many heroes in Jiangdong, no one's appearance could compare to his. His father was only the King of Wu.
People live under the eaves, and I was forced to do it, so it doesn't count as going against my father's wishes. If... if I serve the emperor, it wouldn't be a bad thing, right?
Sun Luban nodded slightly and said to the emperor: "I obey your order and am willing to serve your Majesty."
Cao Rui pointed to the place next to him with his right hand: "Come forward and come next to me."
Sun Luban had just agreed to the emperor's order, so she naturally could not refuse the emperor's order. Although she didn't know what the emperor was going to do, she was a mature woman who had been married and widowed for several years. She felt uneasy and a little restless, so she unconsciously followed the emperor's request and walked to the emperor's desk in small steps.
Cao Rui also stood up from his seat, took two steps forward and stood in front of Sun Luban. Sun Luban was half a head shorter than him, and from a close distance, he could clearly see the blush on Sun Luban's face.
"Raise your hand." Cao Rui said softly.
"Ah?" Sun Luban was stunned and looked up at the emperor. At such a close distance, she could almost see the emperor's eyelashes.
Cao Rui frowned slightly: "Raise your hands, I will untie you."
The blush on Sun Luban's face spread further. Her wrists were tied in front of her body, and when they were lifted up from the bottom, the graceful figure was squeezed more obviously.
Cao Rui didn't say much. After untying the rope on Sun Luban's wrist, he saw the reddened marks and shook his head. He really didn't know who tied the rope so tightly. Sun Luban was just a woman and couldn't fly.
The rope had been untied. Cao Rui gently lifted Sun Luban's chin with his hand, looked at her face for a few seconds, then turned around and sat down at the table.
While Sun Luban was still standing there in a daze, the emperor pointed at the door and said to her, "Go out now. The door is over there. When you go out, call Cao Tai back and let Xiahou Xuan come in."
Seeing that Sun Luban hadn't moved yet, Cao Rui shook his head and said, "Do you still want me to send you off in person?"
Sun Luban seemed more and more at a loss. She then bowed deeply, turned around and walked out quickly.
At this time, the emperor was sitting upright in the hall, watching Sun Luban walk out quietly from behind.
(End of this chapter)
