Chapter 194

"Pfft!"

Upon hearing this, Lu spiritual energy immediately made a face at Lu Bu and said, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening! We each have our own way of addressing people! Father, you are nearly a full cycle older than Brother Su Boyuan, and he isn't much older than me. What's the problem with me calling him brother?"

She absolutely refused to call Su Xuan uncle!

Wouldn't that make them a generation apart?

Besides, it would make things too distant with Su Xuan.

Absolutely not!

Brother Su Xuan is clearly so handsome and so young; how could he be an uncle?

Anyway, her father and Brother Su Boyuan aren't blood brothers, not even sworn brothers, so she, Lu spiritual energy, couldn't care less about all that.

"You..."

Lu Bu glared at Lu spiritual energy upon hearing this. He wanted to scold her, but his gaze eventually softened. He waved his hand helplessly and said, "Fine! I can't control you, do as you please! Brother it is, then!"

Who else could he dote on if not this precious daughter of his?

"Hee hee! Father, you're the best!"

Lu spiritual energy made a V-sign, happily threw herself into Lu Bu's arms, looked up, and asked, "Father, you haven't told me yet—did you contact Brother Su Boyuan? What did he suggest?"

"He definitely wouldn't agree to you acknowledging that Ding Lord Yuan as your foster father, right?"

"That man doesn't look like a good person at all, hmph! He must be up to no good."

Upon hearing this, Lady Yan glared at Lu spiritual energy and scolded, "spiritual energy! As a young lady, how can you recklessly discuss the affairs of your elders?"

"That Ding Lord Yuan is the Inspector of Bingzhou and a Commandant of Cavalry; how can you slander him?"

"If people hear you, it won't be good for you or your father. Do you understand?"

Lu spiritual energy's mouth pouted, and she became very unhappy.

Of course she knew it wasn't good to speak ill of people behind their backs.

But that Ding Lord Yuan was truly detestable.

She just hated him for no reason at all.

"Enough!"

At this moment, Lu Bu spoke up to stop Lady Yan, saying, "What spiritual energy said isn't actually wrong! That Ding Lord Yuan indeed harbors ill intentions toward me!"

"spiritual energy's intuition is very sharp, and that's good! Keep it up."

"Hee hee!"

Lu spiritual energy smiled happily upon hearing this and said, "Thank you, Father! Father is still the best!"

As she spoke, the little girl gave her mother a triumphant look.

Lady Yan looked on, feeling completely helpless.

This daughter's personality was nothing like hers; instead, it was just like her father's.

Fortunately, she hadn't inherited her father's brains, otherwise, Lady Yan would have an even bigger headache.

"Since that's the case, does Brother Su Boyuan have any good solutions?"

Lady Yan could no longer bother scolding Lu spiritual energy and looked at Lu Bu with a worried expression.

"Hmm!"

Lu Bu nodded affirmatively, took Su Xuan's letter from his bosom, and handed it to Lady Yan, saying, "Take a look! The solution is explained clearly inside!"

"It's enough to turn a bad situation into a good one!"

"However, he told me to be careful from now on;"

"The Son of Heaven's health in Luoyang is getting worse, and Ding Lord Yuan will likely lead his army into Luoyang afterward;"

"If I join Ding Lord Yuan's ranks and use his name to develop, I will definitely have to follow him to Luoyang later;"

"And if Bingzhou loses so many troops, it won't be safe; the Hu Ren will definitely not let this opportunity pass;"

"Therefore, when the time comes, I plan to entrust you all to the Su Clan Trading House, where Brother Twenty-Five and the others are, for a while;"

"Once I have established a firm footing in Luoyang, I will come to pick you up."

If he were to lead an army on an expedition, it would certainly be impossible to bring Lady Yan and the others along.

It wouldn't be safe, nor would it be convenient.

But leaving them here in Wuyuan would be equally unsafe.

Fortunately, he still had Su Xuan and Jia Twenty-Five whom he could trust.

"I understand! Let's arrange it that way when the time comes! We won't hold you back! But you must be careful yourself!"

"If there is anything you don't understand, it's best to write a letter and ask Brother Su Boyuan;"

"He truly treats you as a brother and won't lead you astray."

Lady Yan nodded and reminded him.

"Hmm!"

Lu Bu also nodded in understanding: "I know!"

The next morning, Lu Bu took the initiative to visit Ding Lord Yuan's residence.

Then, faced with Ding Lord Yuan's third recruitment attempt, Lu Bu agreed!

However, he rejected Ding Lord Yuan's proposal to adopt him as a foster son; he only wanted to be Ding Lord Yuan's subordinate and did not want to become his son.

The excuse was easy to find: just say it was a family rule.

Faced with this situation, Ding Lord Yuan had nothing to say and remarked with a look of regret, "That is truly a pity! I really think highly of you, Brother Fengxian, and I truly wanted to adopt you as my foster son!"

"I am honored by the General's kindness!"

Lu Bu smiled, raised his cup, and said nothing more.

Do you think I can't tell whether you're being sincere or not?

I may not be shrewd enough, but I'm not stupid either; my intuition won't lie to me.

Afterward, Lu Bu was appointed as a Cavalry General and Registrar.

The position of Cavalry General was something Lu Bu had fought hard to secure.

The reason was that he was a general who only knew how to lead troops, not handle administrative affairs.

Moreover, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry under his command had been carefully trained by him and had long since formed a tacit understanding, allowing them to form military arrays.

It wouldn't work if anyone else were in charge.

He didn't want his strength to be diminished because of this.

The reason was sufficient: if Ding Lord Yuan didn't agree, he wouldn't work for Ding Lord Yuan.

Naturally, Ding Lord Yuan had no choice but to agree.

As for the Registrar position?

With Su Xuan's prior warning, Lu Bu knew this was a tactic Ding Lord Yuan was using to deliberately trap him, forcing him to leave the army so he couldn't command it.

Naturally, Lu Bu wouldn't fall for it. No matter how you appoint me, I won't handle any administrative affairs; I'll just hold the title of Registrar!

If you have any objections, keep them to yourself.

The reason was sufficient: I don't understand these things, I can't learn them, and I just want to be a pure general.

For a time, Ding Lord Yuan had a massive headache: "When did this Lu Bu become so enlightened? Why has he become so difficult to deal with?"

Ding Xiu, who was standing to the side, spoke up: "Father, Lu Bu doesn't look like he's become enlightened; rather, it looks like he has an expert guiding him from behind;"

"Hmm?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Lord Yuan suddenly realized: "That's right! He made excuses and stalled the first two times; it was clearly because he wanted to consult a helper;"

"No wonder!"

"I just don't know who this person is!"

"Don't let me find out, otherwise, for ruining my plans, I will definitely make you pay."

Ding Lord Yuan was clearly filled with hatred for the person behind the scenes giving Lu Bu advice.

Ding Xiu pondered for a moment and immediately replied: "This person is very likely the General Conquering the South, Su Xuan, because Lu Bu doesn't have many good friends, and Su Xuan definitely counts as one!"

"I've inquired about it; over these years, Lu Bu has frequently traded with the Su Clan Trading House under Su Xuan's command;"

"This is also why Lu Bu has made a fortune and is so wealthy now."

Ding Xiu and Ding Lord Yuan were both very covetous of Lu Bu's vast wealth.

This was also one of the reasons why Ding Lord Yuan wanted to adopt Lu Bu as his foster son.

... ottom.

— Author's Notes —

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