Chapter 81

Gan Mei was also very worried. She comforted Cai Yan, though it seemed as if she were comforting herself.

"My husband struck down the bandit leader with a single spear thrust last time. With his formidable martial arts, he should be fine, right?"

Cai Yan murmured,

"I hope so. He knows so much; surely a few strategies would be enough to defeat the enemy."

In Cai Yan's mind, Liu Bei knew everything from the heavens above to the geography below; there was nothing he could not do...

Just then,

Cai Yong walked into the courtyard with a hearty laugh.

"Yan'er, your husband defeated the Baibo Army in a single battle at Hedong. The Emperor has appointed him as Colonel Who Breaks the Captives and Marquis of the Pavilion."

"I was right about him from the start—this Liu Bei has a bright future!"

"Once my Yan'er marries into his family, she will be a Marchioness."

Cai Yan finally set her heart at ease and smiled.

"Father, it seems you weren't very agreeable at the beginning, were you?"

Cai Yong laughed heartily.

"I was merely testing him. It is fortunate that he passed my test!"

Cai Yan realized that her father could be quite thick-skinned at times...

At the Yuan family estate,

Yuan Shu drank a cup of wine.

"This Liu Xuande is truly lucky. He fights the Baibo Army and gets made a Marquis!"

Yuan Shao, however, said,

"Gonglu, the combat power of this White Wave Army is not low. Even the Xiliang cavalry led by Niu Fu were defeated."

Yuan Shu was very displeased. Born into such a high status, he had yet to be made a Marquis simply because he lacked military merit!

And Liu Bei, a commoner who sold straw sandals, had actually been made a Marquis before him!

How could he endure this!

"It's not like he has anything but Lu Zhi as a teacher!"

"He even got engaged to Cai Yan. Cai Yong must be senile!"

Yuan Shu was the type who couldn't stand to see others do well—a professional sufferer of jealousy—and for no reason at all, he began to hate Liu Bei.

Yuan Shao continued with the business at hand.

"To divide the Grand General's military power, the Emperor intends to establish the Eight Colonels of the West Garden. The Grand General has secured the position of Colonel of the Central Army for me."

Yuan Shu grew sour again, completely outdone by Yuan Shao's humble-bragging!

The Colonel of the Central Army ranked second, only below the Colonel of the Upper Army held by the Eunuch Jian Shuo!

The person he envied most was Yuan Shao.

From childhood to adulthood, Yuan Shao had always been more outstanding than him. Heroes flocked to Yuan Shao, and their elders valued Yuan Shao more.

Yuan Shao used to be a son of a concubine, with a status far lower than his!

But because he was adopted into the branch of Yuan Cheng, he became a legitimate son.

Yet this Yuan Shao had been handsome since childhood, possessed a dignified aura, and was deeply favored by several uncles, gradually becoming the leader of the Yuan family's generation.

Yuan Shu snorted.

"Go and do it then!"

Yuan Shu had likely been driven to jealousy by Yuan Shao since he was small; he envied anyone who was better than him!

"Aman has obtained the position of Colonel of the Garrison."

Yuan Shao rubbed salt into Yuan Shu's wound once more.

Yuan Shu's eyes turned red instantly!

At dusk, in the Fen River Valley,

Yufuluo and Li Le had already received news of Guo Tai's death. They led an army of eighty thousand, marching south from Taiyuan in a grand display, determined to kill Liu Bei to establish their authority!

Yufuluo said angrily,

"Liu Bei is a mere commoner; he should have stuck to selling straw sandals. Instead, he used trickery to harm Guo Tai and even received the military rank of Colonel Who Breaks the Captives!"

His Xiongnu people were the so-called Hu Ren; wasn't this Liu Hong implying something about him?

This time, he would kill Liu Bei first!

Li Le cupped his hands.

"Great King, your sixty thousand iron cavalry can wipe out Liu Bei's ten thousand troops in a single charge!"

Seeing that Guo Tai and the others were either dead or had surrendered, Li Le was now the leader of the White Wave Army, and he was in urgent need of Yufuluo's support.