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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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Ying Yue looked at him, her dark eyes reflecting the brutal, pragmatic pressure of the imperial court. "And they knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the civil officials in your own court, the traditionalists who believe a dynasty is secured through blood pacts, would relentlessly beg and pressure you to take these women into the Harem Palace."
"They would argue that it is your absolute, imperial duty to accept them to ensure the long term stability of the frontier provinces you will conquer. It is a terrifying prospect to imagine our home filled with strangers who view their marriage not as love, but as a political battlefield."
Lie Fan listened to his Empress, his heart aching slightly at the thought of the anxiety his grand ambitions had inadvertently caused the women he loved most. But hearing Ying Yue articulate it so perfectly only reinforced the absolute, unshakeable correctness of his decision.
A warm, deeply reassuring smile spread across Lie Fan's face. He pulled Ying Yue slightly closer, kissing her tenderly on the cheek.
"Their fears were entirely justified by history, but entirely unfounded under my reign," Lie Fan promised, his voice a low, comforting rumble. "Let the court ministers beg. Let the foreign kings offer their daughters. The Dragon Throne is mine, and the Harem Palace belongs to you, Diao Chan, Wenji, Lingqi, and Zhen Ji. I will marry their princesses off to my generals, I will secure the frontiers with iron and law, but I will never, ever compromise the sanctity of this family."
Ying Yue leaned her head against his broad shoulder, letting out a soft, happy sigh. The last lingering shadows of dynastic anxiety melted away in the warmth of his absolute vow.
The two of them continued to enjoy their quiet time together as the afternoon slowly bled into evening. They ate the delicate pastries, drank the soothing tea, and simply basked in the profound, unparalleled comfort of each other's presence. For those few precious hours, the Emperor of Hengyuan was allowed to simply be a husband, resting in the safest sanctuary in the world.
Time, however, waits for no man, not even an Emperor.
The peaceful evening gave way to the quiet dark of night, and soon, the sun crested the eastern horizon once more, bringing with it the dawn of a day that would forever alter the history of the central plains.
Lie Fan awoke with a sharp, crystal clear focus. The weariness of the previous days had been banished by the restful night.
,He dressed not in the heavy, ornate Mianfu of the court, nor the practical riding leathers of the workshop, but in a dignified, impeccably tailored martial robe of deep, abyssal black, embroidered with subtle, dark crimson dragons. It was an outfit that commanded absolute authority, yet spoke of a solemn, martial finality.
When he stepped out into the palace courtyards, his escort was already waiting.
Today, he was under the exclusive, terrifyingly formidable protection of his entire Yellow Ghost Bodyguard. Liu Pi, Zhang Mancheng, Zhao Hong, Guan Hai, Zhou Cang, and the rest of the newly minted Barons formed an impenetrable wall of scarred flesh and cold steel around their sovereign.
They knew exactly where they were going today, and they knew exactly who they were going to see. Their eyes were sharp, their hands resting easily on the hilts of their weapons, projecting an aura of lethal, uncompromising vigilance.
"To the Wang Estate," Lie Fan commanded, his voice echoing in the crisp morning air.
The imperial procession moved swiftly through the streets of Xiapi. The citizens, recognizing the banners of the Emperor's personal guard, cleared the wide avenues, bowing deeply as the procession passed. Yet, the atmosphere within the imperial column was heavy, steeped in the grim reality of their destination.
They soon arrived at the massive, high walls of the Wang Estate.
As Jia Xu had promised, the security was absolutely flawless, bordering on the paranoid. The outer perimeter was held by a solid ring of heavy infantry, their shields locked and halberds raised. The heavy wooden gates were manned by elite veterans of the imperial guard. As Lie Fan's procession approached, the gates were immediately hauled open, the heavy iron hinges groaning in the morning air.
Lie Fan rode into the outer courtyard, dismounting with fluid grace. He tossed Pangu's reins to a waiting guard.
"Secure the perimeter. No one enters, no one leaves," Zhang Mancheng barked to the outer guards, before falling into step right behind the Emperor, forming a tight, protective diamond around Lie Fan with his fellow Yellow Ghost commanders.
They walked through the intricately landscaped gardens of the estate. It was a beautiful, sprawling compound filled with weeping willows, arched stone bridges, and tranquil koi ponds.
Yet, the beauty felt entirely hollow. It was a gilded cage, a luxurious tomb for a dying dynasty. The silence within the estate was oppressive, the women and children of the Cao clan had been strictly confined to their inner quarters for the duration of the Emperor's visit.
Lie Fan was guided by a silent, highly disciplined officer toward a specific, isolated pavilion situated in the very center of the estate's most beautiful garden.
As they approached the pavilion, the meticulous hand of Chancellor Jia Xu became immediately apparent. The area was surrounded by a loose, seemingly unobtrusive ring of "servants." They were dressed in plain, unadorned tunics, holding serving trays or grooming the nearby bushes.
However, Lie Fan's trained eyes instantly recognized their true nature. The way they stood perfectly balanced on the balls of their feet, the sharp, calculating movements of their eyes, and the deliberate way their hands hovered near the hidden folds of their sleeves, these were not gardeners.
They were elite Oriole Agents, the most lethal, highly trained assassins and spies in the Oriole's terrifying intelligence network. They were there to ensure that Cao Cao made absolutely no sudden, desperate moves.
Lie Fan gestured for the Yellow Ghost Bodyguards to halt at the base of the pavilion's wooden steps. They obeyed instantly, forming an intimidating, silent blockade, their hands resting on their swords, their eyes locked onto the pavilion.
Lie Fan ascended the few wooden steps alone.
The pavilion was an open air structure, its gracefully curved roof providing ample shade from the morning sun. In the absolute center of the wooden floor sat a large, magnificent circular table made of polished mahogany.
And, exactly as Lie Fan had ordered, the table was an absolute masterpiece of culinary art. The Imperial Kitchen had spared absolutely no expense. The table groaned under the weight of silver platters and exquisite jade bowls.
There were perfectly roasted pheasants glazed in honey and ginger, delicate steamed dumplings filled with the finest river shrimp, rich, fragrant stews of venison and rare mountain mushrooms, and vibrant, meticulously carved platters of fresh fruits.
Resting in the center of the feast were two elegant, long necked porcelain jugs containing the most expensive, aged plum wine in the imperial cellars.
It was a feast fit for an Emperor. It was a feast fit for the end of the world.
Sitting at the far side of the table, his back straight and his hands resting calmly in his lap, was Cao Cao.
The Lord of Wei looked vastly different from the broken, wheezing, half dead man who had been dragged in a medical carriage across the continent.
The intensive medical care ordered by Lie Fan had pulled him back from the brink of the Yellow Springs. His breathing was steady, the sickly pallor had vanished from his skin, and the terrifying, piercing intellect had fully returned to his dark eyes.
He was dressed simply but elegantly in robes of deep, muted crimson. He wore no armor, no sword, and no crown. Yet, he still radiated the undeniable, magnetic aura of a supreme ruler. He was a man who had commanded millions, a man who had composed brilliant poetry while entire cities burned, a man whose ambition had nearly swallowed the earth.
As Lie Fan stepped fully into the shade of the pavilion, Cao Cao's eyes locked onto him.
For a moment, the two greatest warlords of their era simply looked at each other in complete silence. The air between them was thick with the weight of a hundred battles, a thousand schemes, and the blood of countless men who had died because these two titans had fundamentally disagreed on who should rule the heavens.
Slowly, deliberately, Cao Cao pushed his chair back. He stood up from the lavish table. He did not move with the frantic energy of a condemned prisoner, nor did he cower in the presence of his executioner. He stood tall, projecting a profound, tragic dignity.
He raised his hands, bringing them together in a slow, perfectly executed, and incredibly calm gesture of formal greeting.
"Emperor Lie Fan," Cao Cao spoke, his voice a steady, resonant baritone that betrayed absolutely no fear, only the weary, philosophical acceptance of a man who knew his final move had been played.
Lie Fan stopped opposite him across the table. He looked at the feast, he looked at the lethal Oriole Agents lurking in the garden, and finally, he looked directly into the eyes of his greatest rival.
He raised his own hands, returning the formal, martial greeting with an equal measure of profound respect.
"Brother Cao Mengde," Lie Fan replied, his voice calm and steady, carrying the solemn weight of the history they were about to conclude.
The formal greeting hung in the warm, quiet air of the garden pavilion, a profound acknowledgment of the shared, bloody history between two men who had fought over the destiny of millions.
Cao Cao slowly lowered his hands, a faint, ghostly smirk touching his lips, the very same expression that had once sent shivers down the spines of the Han court and terrified warlords across the central plains. He gestured loosely toward the lavish, groaning table with an open palm.
"Please, take a seat wherever you like, Your Majesty," Cao Cao offered, his voice carrying a dry, self deprecating edge. He let out a soft, wheezing breath, gesturing to his own thinned frame. "After all, you are the Emperor of the earth now. How could a weak, sickly, defeated man like me presume to tell the Emperor of Hengyuan where he should sit at his own banquet?"
Lie Fan listened to the sharp, underlying wit that still remained entirely intact despite the physical toll of captivity. He let out a warm, resonant chuckle that echoed pleasantly beneath the wooden eaves of the pavilion. He stepped fully up to the table, though he did not immediately take his seat, looking at Cao Cao with a gaze of genuine, nostalgic warmth.
"A weak, sickly man?" Lie Fan repeated, shaking his head with a wide smile. "Brother Mengde, even if you were bedridden and blind, you would still be the most dangerous man in any room you occupied. But it is strange, is it not? To stand here now, at the end of all things, and look back at the beginning."
Lie Fan paced slowly around the mahogany table, his dark crimson robes brushing against the meticulously carved wooden chairs.
"I remember the early days," Lie Fan mused, his voice softening with the heavy weight of decades past. "During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and later during the great Anti Dong Zhuo Alliance. We were cordial then, were we not? We even shared a genuine sense of brotherhood. We drank wine in the encampments, complained about the incompetence of the Han eunuchs, and swore to bring order to the chaos. We were comrades, Brother Mengde, right up until the Warlord era truly began."
Cao Cao's eyes narrowed slightly, the memories of their youth flashing behind his dark irises. "We were comrades because we were the only two men in those camps who actually saw the world for what it was."
"Exactly," Lie Fan agreed, resting his hands on the back of a chair. "When the empire fractured, we both knew, inevitably, that we would become each other's greatest obstacles. We shared the exact same towering ambition, to sweep the board clean and unify the heavens. But the paths we chose to walk to reach that summit... they were fundamentally different."
Lie Fan paused, a sudden, highly amused glint flashing in his eyes. "But, for all our differences, for all the blood we spilled on each other's borders, there is one thing I have always respected about you, Brother Mengde. Your path was ruthless, it was bloody, and it was pragmatic... but it was never hypocritical."
Lie Fan leaned forward slightly. "You never walked the sickening, two faced path of Liu Bei."
For a split second, Cao Cao blinked. And then, a low, rumbling sound began in his chest, rising up through his throat until the Lord of Wei threw his head back and let out a genuine, booming laugh. It was a laugh of pure, unadulterated shared understanding.
Lie Fan joined him, his own rich laughter mingling with Cao Cao's. The Oriole Agents lurking in the distant willows exchanged confused, wary glances, entirely entirely bewildered by the sight of the supreme executioner and the condemned man laughing together like old friends at a tavern.
But it was the absolute truth, and they both knew it. Among all the warlords, all the pretenders, and all the ambitious nobles, only Lie Fan and Cao Cao had truly seen through the 'Benevolent Uncle Liu'.
Lie Fan knew the truth because of the infallible, historical knowledge he retained from his past life, he knew the brutal betrayals and the ruthless pragmatism Liu Bei hid behind his tears.
Cao Cao, on the other hand, knew it simply because his peerless, piercing insight into human nature could spot a fraud a hundred miles away. They had both recognized the venomous ambition hiding behind Liu Bei's woven straw sandals and Confucian platitudes.
"The Weaver of Mats," Cao Cao chuckled, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye, shaking his head. "He would weep for a trampled peasant while secretly plotting to steal his sworn brother's province. He painted himself in the colors of a saint, which made him infinitely more detestable than a man who simply admits he wants the crown. You and I, Lie Fan... we never lied about what we were."
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty
Age: 36 (203 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 2325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 11)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 1,010 (+20)
VIT: 659 (+20)
AGI: 653 (+10)
INT: 691
CHR: 98
WIS: 569
WILL: 436
ATR Points: 0