Chapter 118 Night Talk at the Tavern

Cao Cao looked down and saw me chuckling. He knew I was laughing at how he had been entangled with the girls at the brothel earlier, so he smiled back, unconcerned.

Just as he was laughing, a very familiar-looking woman suddenly walked out of the door.

Is it her?

I was completely taken aback.

"What's wrong?" Cao Cao tugged at my hand.

"Bright Moon!" I stuffed the steamed bun into Cao Cao's arms, walked to the entrance of Fengyue Tower, and called out.

The woman stiffened slightly, turned around, and looked at me with a surprised expression. "Mrs. Pei?"

It really was him. I saw him in Danyang. He was the former madam of Chunfeng Tower, the Mingyue that Rouge mentioned. But didn't she sell Chunfeng Tower and leave with that man? How could she be in Xuchang? How could she have fallen into prostitution again? And how could she be at Fengyue Tower? Moreover... judging from her appearance, with her heavy makeup, she seemed quite destitute.

Seeing my surprised expression, Mingyue actually chuckled. Beneath her heavy makeup, fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes, giving her a desolate look.

"Mingyue! Where have you been! A guest has specifically requested your service!" The madam's voice rang out from inside the building.

Mingyue responded and turned to enter the brothel.

"You know her?" Cao Cao appeared beside me without me noticing.

I nodded subconsciously, but my heart felt cold.

Did Yan Zhi's prediction come true? That heartless man... finally abandoned Mingyue?

Cao Cao didn't ask any further questions. He took me to a restaurant, ordered some dishes, and we started eating.

As evening approached, the sky gradually darkened, and silvery-white snowflakes began to fall.

"Wow, it's snowing!" I stuffed the steamed bun into Cao Cao's arms and looked at the snowflakes falling outside the tavern, which were very beautiful. "This is the first snow of the year."

"Hmm." Cao Cao looked at me with a smile.

When I saw him staring at me, I was taken aback and blushed slightly.

"Does it hurt?" he suddenly asked.

"What?" I was taken aback.

"Sixty strokes of the cane," Cao Cao laughed.

Upon hearing this, I immediately flew into a rage. "What do you think? Do you think it hurts or not?!"

"If I had known this would happen, I certainly wouldn't have been willing to hit you back then," Cao Cao said with a smile.

I was speechless for a moment. When did this guy start saying such sweet words?

“Yuan Shao still has some troops remaining. After this snowfall, once we have had a chance to rest and recuperate, we will soon be setting out on another campaign,” Cao Cao suddenly said.

"Mm," I replied.

"Do you think I can come back... and see you again?" he suddenly asked in an extremely soft voice.

I was slightly taken aback and retorted, "What nonsense are you talking about? Of course I can see it."

"Really?" Cao Cao looked at me and asked again.

"Really." I nodded.

"You swear?"

"I swear." I hurriedly made this promise, intimidated by his doomed air as he prepared to go to war.

"You can't go back on your word," Cao Cao suddenly laughed.

Looking at his sly face, I suddenly had a feeling that I had been tricked into joining a pirate ship.

"You promised me I could see you again when I came back, so you're not allowed to run away again while I'm not in Xuchang," Cao Cao said with a smile.

I was stunned again. How could a person be so cunning... even taking advantage of my sympathy...

I knew that such an arrogant person would never say such things; it was clearly a trap to lure me in! He knew I'd respond better to gentle persuasion than force, so he launched a sweet offensive!

"Um... when I left Xuchang, did you have a headache?" Recalling what the old woman had just said, I hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help but ask.

"Yes," Cao Cao readily admitted with a smile, showing no intention of hiding my identity as a lone hero.

"...Does it hurt a lot?"

"Yes, it hurts so much I feel like I'm dying." Cao Cao nodded and laughed with an air of seriousness.

"How could this be..."

"But it's strange, as long as you're by my side, I don't feel any pain."

My face started to burn, and I yelled, "Do you think I'm some kind of headache medicine?!"

“Better than medicine.” He held a steamed bun in one hand and took my left hand with the other, gently stroking the bracelet on my left wrist. “Remember to stay by my side for the rest of your life, otherwise if I have a headache and die from the pain, no one will care. How pitiful.”

Well, he does hold the steamed bun quite well.

"Pah, pah, pah, nonsense." Startled by his seemingly serious yet fake tone, a sadness welled up inside me from nowhere.

Cao Cao then laughed triumphantly.

After dinner, it was already dark. Cao Cao wrapped me and Baozi in his arms, called a carriage, and we returned to the Prime Minister's residence.

They helped me out of the car and asked the guards at the gate, who said that Military Advisor Guo had already left.

I secretly cursed, wondering if that girl Tuanzi had succeeded yet... (Someone: Successed? That sounds a bit strange...) I hope all my hard work hasn't been in vain...

Cao Cao carried the steamed bun all the way to Tongmeng Pavilion. I turned around, took the steamed bun from him, and then pushed him out, saying, "Alright, alright, you should get some rest."

"Can't I stay?"

I shook my head, very resolutely.

Cao Cao stroked my face and obediently left without saying anything more.

Seeing Cao Cao leave, I turned around and pushed open the door.

As soon as the door opened, a strong smell of alcohol hit me.

"Drink! Have another drink!" Tuanzi lay on the ground, drunk and incoherent.

I quickly put down the steamed buns and went over to help her up. "Tuanzi, get up! How did you get so drunk!"

Tuanzi opened her eyes with great difficulty, her tongue even tied in knots: "My young master is the most powerful... He can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk... He can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk!"

My brow furrowed in worry. "Where is your young master?"

"Young master... young master..." Tuanzi mumbled, then suddenly lowered her head and began to sob softly.

I was extremely surprised that such a stubborn little dumpling could cry.

"If... I were a dumpling, how wonderful that would be..." The dumpling's shoulders trembled with each sob. "If... I were just a dumpling... how wonderful that would be..."

Sigh, I'm quite drunk...

I raised my hand, touched my forehead, and sighed deeply.

Plan one: to have sex while drunk, failed.

I learned a painful lesson about the dangers of drunken promiscuity! Those were proven effective policies, so why don't they work for everyone else?

I can almost picture Guo Jia drinking cup after cup, without batting an eye... and in the end, it's not Guo Jia who collapses to the ground, but Tuanzi herself.

This perfectly illustrates the saying, "Trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead!"

There was nothing wrong with any of the steps, the only mistake was underestimating the fortune teller's alcohol tolerance...

What a waste of my day out! After coaxing Baozi to sleep, I plopped down in front of the bronze mirror and stared blankly at the silver hairpin in my hair.

As he was looking at it, his hand touched something next to the bronze mirror. Looking down, he saw it was the fortune teller's glasses.