Chapter 110 Victory Night

The Battle of Guandu, a famous historical battle in which a smaller force defeated a larger one, ended in a complete victory for Cao Cao, who also seized a large amount of spoils from Yuan Shao's camp.

The soldiers lit a bonfire and celebrated together, sweeping away the gloom of war.

Singing an unknown tune, the soldiers drank wine and ate meat in large gulps.

For those who survived the war, the sheer magnitude of their lives became all the more precious.

Cao Cao picked up the wine pot in front of him and drank cup after cup with the soldiers who came to offer him wine, in high spirits.

Drinking cup after cup like that, no wonder he gets a headache. People like that don't deserve any sympathy.

I was hiding behind the tent, spying, when suddenly I saw a junior officer running towards me with a grin on his face. It looked like he was coming straight for me.

"Madam, the Prime Minister requests your presence!" The young general scratched the back of his head and chuckled somewhat sheepishly.

"Me?" I pointed to my nose in surprise, glanced back at Baozi sleeping on the tatami mat, and followed the young general over.

Just as I finished drinking my cup, Cao Cao looked up, saw me, and waved to me with a smile.

It was rare to see him so smiling, so I couldn't help but shiver. I then walked up to him, looking a bit fierce but actually scared, and glared at him. "What is it?"

"Sit down," he said lazily, his thin lips barely moving.

"No way." I don't know why, but I just love to go against him.

Cao Cao glanced up at me, then suddenly grinned. Just as I was about to become wary, he unexpectedly reached out and pulled me into his arms.

As soon as he settled into his arms, the soldiers burst into laughter, drinking and jeering.

My face burned, and I hurriedly reached out to push him away, but his arms were as strong as iron, tightly wrapped around my waist, and I couldn't break free no matter what I did.

After struggling for a while, all my efforts were in vain, so I simply sat quietly on that human cushion and glanced at him sideways.

Cao Cao still smiled smugly. Another soldier came to offer him a toast, which he drank heartily. He poured the clear liquid from the exquisitely crafted wine pot into his cup and then drank it down his throat.

After only a short while, he already seemed to be drunk.

Holding the exquisite wine cask in one hand, he stood up unsteadily, put his arm around me, and staggered back to the tent.

Seeing him stumble, I was afraid he would fall to the ground, so I quickly helped him up. He didn't stand on ceremony and put half of his weight on me.

After a shaky journey, I used all my strength to finally carry him back to the tent and help him lie down on the couch.

I took off his boots, stripped off his outer robe, covered him with a felt blanket, and was about to turn and leave when I belatedly realized that I was almost lying on top of him. What was worse, his hands were still tightly wrapped around my waist. I gritted my teeth and reached behind me to pull his hands away, but his hands were clasped tightly and I couldn't pull them apart no matter what I did.

I glared at him in annoyance, our noses touching, like conjoined twins.

As the candlelight flickered, his face was illuminated by both light and shadow, possessing an indescribable allure. As I gazed at him, my cheeks felt as if they were on fire.

I cursed myself inwardly and struggled to stand up for the second time, but he suddenly rolled over. Now that was it! I was so angry that I was glaring at him. I was completely pinned down by him. The position was so ambiguous that it was beyond words.

"Hey! Once is enough for someone to commit violence while drunk. Don't try this on me again!" I yelled.

"Madam..." he mumbled, and his thin lips landed on my brow, a tender kiss that fell like a dragonfly.

I paused slightly, remembering when he was still that silly Cao Cao. On that day, we fell off a cliff together. In that cave, our clothes were soaked, and we were almost naked. He kissed me on the forehead in the same way.

I used to think that only a fool like Cao Cao would give such a kiss, a kiss full of tenderness.

The kiss slid down from my brow, landed on my eyes, the tip of my nose, and finally... gently kissed my lips.

A gentle kiss, a delicate licking, his tongue gliding over my lips again and again, until I loosened my clenched teeth and entwined with his.

Is this... the literal meaning of "mutual support in times of hardship"?

A slight chill ran down my back as my clothes were pulled to the ground. He gently placed a hand on my shoulder and deepened the kiss.

In the midst of their confusion and passion, the two had already laid bare their true selves to each other.

As we kissed, a sudden doubt flashed through my mind. I lowered my head and pounced on him, bringing my nose close to his face and sniffing like a puppy.

He groaned softly and reached out to hug me, but I dodged away. "Hmm! Why don't you smell of alcohol at all?"

His eyes, which had been closed just moments before, slowly opened. In the candlelight, there was not a trace of drunkenness in them; he was perfectly sober.

He's faking being drunk?!

He was pretending to be drunk...

This guy who pretends to be weak while actually being strong... I knew I couldn't trust him!

"You, you, you..." I glanced at the exquisite wine pot he had just been holding on the table beside me, reached out and picked it up, smelled it, but there was no aroma of wine at all. I licked it with my tongue, but it had no taste...

I simply tilted my head back and took a sip. After the wine went down my throat, I glared at Cao, who was sitting on the couch with an innocent look on his face. That was no wine at all; it was clearly just a pot of water!

His fair chest gleamed like marble in the candlelight. There were no grotesque, tangled muscles, but rather well-defined lines and not an ounce of excess fat. I couldn't help but swallow hard, and my face flushed. He laughed, making no attempt to hide his embarrassment, and sat there casually on the couch, letting me admire him.

"You lied to me!" I glared at him.

"Oh? Where did I lie to you?" He raised his eyebrows slightly, looking at me with a half-smile.

"This pot clearly contains water, why do you say it's wine?"

"When did I say it was wine?" Cao laughed.

"Then why did you pretend to be drunk?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Hmm..." He narrowed his eyes and smiled, "I'm captivated."

Wow?! I'm speechless. Is this supposed to be sweet talk?

"In short, you have ulterior motives and malicious intentions!" I shouted, at a loss for words, as if I were making a fuss over nothing.

"I am so sad," he said softly, without a trace of sadness on his face.

"You're the one who accused me first?!" I stared at him incredulously.

"My wife said that I was not allowed to drink anymore, so I stopped drinking. Even when my wife ran away from home because she was playing, I didn't touch a drop of alcohol. But my wife actually..." He shook his head and sighed softly.

I was dumbfounded. How did the situation reverse? I had become the heartless and fickle person.

"When did I ever say you couldn't drink!" Before the words were even finished, I suddenly froze, remembering that day...

"You're drunk," I said.

“…I’m drunk.” That was his voice.

"Alcohol is a poison that burns through the intestines. You know you have a headache, yet you still drink it!"

"Um."

"You're not allowed to drink it anymore."

"good……"

The "okay" was muffled, but the words still echoed in my ears. I stared in disbelief at the arrogant man before me. Could he really be so easy to talk to? So obedient? It was utterly ridiculous...

When I came to my senses, I realized that I had somehow been pulled back into his arms.

"How will you make it up to me, my wife..." he said softly, leaning forward.

I stared blankly at the man before me. He was a powerful figure who dominated the Three Kingdoms period; he was Cao Cao from history…

But he is Baozi's father...

Moreover, just like Guo Jia's forgetfulness, then... he will also forget An Ruo's existence? Then... the issue of a substitute will no longer exist.

Can I stay by his side?

I drifted off to sleep without even realizing it.

When I woke up the next day, Cao Cao was no longer beside me. But Baozi had been brought to my side at some point. He was already awake, his big, dark, bright eyes blinking as he looked at me. His long eyelashes cast shadows under his eyes, fluttering beautifully.

I laughed and reached out to hug him.

Baozi buried her head in my arms, grinning with her toothless mouth, her eyes crinkling with laughter, "Ya ya..."

After feeding Baozi, I was about to take him out when I noticed two guards standing at the door. As soon as they saw me, they bowed respectfully and said, "Madam, the Prime Minister has instructed you to rest well in the camp."

I raised an eyebrow slightly. Everything was fine last night, so why are they sending people to guard me this morning? Are they afraid I'll run away? Damn it, am I really that unreliable?! (Student: Indeed unreliable, with a history of such behavior... Pei Xiaopai Fei...)

The war is over, and we should have already returned to the capital. Why are we still lingering here?

I took the steamed bun back to the tatami mat and sat down, frowning in thought.

Baozi waved her little hand in front of me, and my eyes lit up. I quickly grabbed Baozi and rushed out.

“Madam…” the guard reached out to stop him.

“My son needs to pee! Move aside!” I frowned and pouted.

Baozi was speechless with exasperation. Why did his mother always have to smear him like that?

"This... Madam, please don't make things difficult for your subordinate..."

Seeing that they still wouldn't let go, I was getting anxious when I saw Baozi loosen her grip and throw something out of the camp.

"Ahhh! My jewelry!" I screamed, and while the two guards were still stunned, I quickly rushed out.