I love you (Cao Cao Side Story Part 1)

He prioritized the well-being of the nation.

What is lightness?

As the smiling woman quietly departed...

He then understood.

What is excruciating pain?

—Epigraph

The night was cool as water.

A rapid sound of horses' hooves came from afar, heading straight for the Prime Minister's residence.

"How is it?" Someone was waiting at the entrance of the Prime Minister's residence. When he saw the newcomer dismount, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked.

"Young Master He?" The man was somewhat surprised to see a young man in brocade robes waiting at the door. He quickly clasped his hands and said, "I have already gone to Danyang, and I did not find Madam Pei at Chunfeng Deyi Tower."

He Yan took a slight step back, nodded weakly, and turned to enter the mansion.

As soon as He Yan entered the mansion, he stopped and froze.

Under the moonlight stood a figure dressed in bright purple, with quite a few white hairs on his temples.

“Madam Huan, she…” He Yan opened his mouth.

"No need for further words, continue the search." Cao Cao turned away with a flick of his sleeve, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“It’s been over a year already, Madam Huan might have already…” Looking at that usually upright figure, which now carried a hint of desolation, He Yan couldn’t help but raise his voice.

"I want to see him alive or dead," Cao Cao said coldly, his thin lips slightly pursed.

He simply couldn't believe that someone could disappear so completely!

Pei Xiao, I will find you no matter where I am!

In the fourteenth year of Jian'an, all the people of Luoyang knew that Prime Minister Cao was searching for a woman named Pei Xiao.

Such a hopeless search, wishing one could dig three feet into the ground, wishing one could ascend to the heavens.

In the fifteenth year of Jian'an, he was still searching for that woman.

Inside the room, the candlelight was dim.

As Cao Cao held the bamboo slips in the book, he thought of that woman, and a sudden, uncontrollable pain began to ache in a certain part of his heart.

Every time, no matter how she tried to escape, she could not escape his grasp.

But this time, he experienced an unpredictable sense of unease.

She vanished before his eyes, turning into a wisp of smoke from his embrace. He preferred to believe it was just another little trick she used to escape, a mere illusion.

He preferred to believe that she was still alive and well somewhere, still that spirited and arrogant woman...

Suddenly, I had a splitting headache.

Cao Cao gritted his teeth, put down the book in his hand, stood up, and immersed his head in the cold water beside him.

The icy water poured over him, but it did not alleviate his pain in the slightest.

Such intense pain.

He straightened up, wiped the water off his head with a cloth, and lay back on the couch.

In the past, there was always a pair of hands gently pressing her head.

Warm, soft hands...

He had never met a woman more peculiar than her; sometimes she was rude, sometimes gentle, and he was certain that she was so soft-hearted…

Just like that time when he was trapped at Nanbanxia. When she heard that he was in danger, even though she was far away in Danyang and heavily pregnant, she still rushed to see him "one last time".

He reached into his robes and pulled out a jade pendant. The pendant looked very cheap, but it had been warmed slightly by his body heat.

The intense pain gradually subsided by dawn.

"Your Excellency, Wang Tu requests an audience!" A voice suddenly called out from outside; it was Xu Chu's voice.

"Wang Tu?" Cao Cao got up and opened the door, only to see Xu Chu, who was furious, binding Wang Tu's hands behind his back and forcing him to kneel on the ground. "Weren't you supposed to set off last night to scout out the enemy's situation?" Cao Cao raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked at Wang Tu.

Wang Tu knelt on the ground, head bowed, silent.

"Your Excellency, military orders are absolute! Wang Tu has squandered a crucial opportunity for battle because of a woman, and was still lingering in a courtesan's room until the early hours of the morning!"

With narrowed eyes, Cao Cao coldly looked at Wang Tu, who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "Take him to prison and execute him on a chosen day."

Eight words were enough to sentence Wang Tu to death.

To Cao Cao's surprise, a woman barged into his study at noon.

Looking at the pale-faced woman kneeling before him, Cao Cao looked at her with interest and said, "Raise your head."

Upon hearing this, the woman stiffened slightly and looked up with trembling hands.

"Lai Ying'er?"

This woman was originally a famous singing and dancing girl in Luoyang, renowned for her singing and dancing skills. She now resides in the Prime Minister's residence as a singing and dancing girl.

"This servant is willing to die in place of the king." She kowtowed heavily.

She must be the singing girl Xu Chu mentioned who caused Wang Tu to miss a crucial military opportunity.

"Upon hearing of the perilous nature of Wang Tu's mission, I feared he might not return. Overwhelmed with emotion, I wept uncontrollably until dawn... This caused Wang Tu to miss a crucial opportunity. I beg the Prime Minister's court to punish me, and let me die in Wang Tu's place..."

Lai Ying'er knelt on the cold ground, pleading.

In the past, Cao Cao would have scoffed and coldly watched her weeping and pleading.

Lai Ying'er was still kowtowing, her fair forehead hitting the cold ground, again and again, each time with great force.

She kept saying, "This servant is willing to die in the king's place..."

"If you die, who will sing and dance to cheer me up?" Cao Cao's voice carried a hint of laughter, but it sent chills down one's spine.

Lai Ying'er's face turned pale, but she continued to kowtow.

She kept saying, "This servant is willing to die in the king's place..."

Talking on and on, endlessly.

"If you can train every singing girl in the manor to be as outstanding as you within a month, I will spare Wang Tu's life... You will die in his place... Are you satisfied with that?" Cao Cao smiled faintly.

"Thank you, Prime Minister." Upon hearing this, Lai Ying'er suddenly looked up and revealed a relieved smile.

There were bloodstains on her fair forehead from her recent kowtow, but her smile was flawless and pure.

Cao Cao was slightly taken aback, then narrowed his eyes. That smile was so familiar... it was Pei Xiao's smile.

For a month, Cao Cao watched as the singing girl tirelessly trained the singing and dancing girls in his mansion. She sang until her voice became hoarse, and she danced until she could barely walk.

After a month, she actually managed to complete the challenges he had deliberately set up.

She did all this desperately just so she could die in place of a man.

"Thank you for your kindness, Prime Minister." Kneeling before him, Lai Ying'er expressed her gratitude in a hoarse voice, but her face was adorned with a warm smile.

Cao Cao looked at the woman before him and said, "Actually... you don't have to die."

"My mind is made up."

With just six words, this servant's mind is made up.

"Would you like to see him again?" Cao Cao wondered why he was being so talkative today.

Lai Ying'er shook her head, her exquisitely beautiful face showing no trace of sorrow; she was willing to die in place of that man.

"Does he love you?" Cao Cao asked suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere.

Lai Ying'er was slightly taken aback.

One starry night, a woman leaned against him and asked, "Do you love me?"

He did not answer.

At this moment, seeing that the woman before him was willing to die in place of that man, Cao Cao suddenly became very curious about this matter.

Lai Ying'er smiled faintly, "I love him."

It has nothing to do with whether he loves me or not, it's just that... I love him... that's all.

Cao Cao stared at her for a long time before getting up and leaving.

"Wang Tu is pardoned and found not guilty."

Behind her, the woman sighed softly, as if relieved.

"Thank you so much, Prime Minister!"

Cao Cao strode away, personally going to the prison to release Wang Tu. Behind him, he heard Lai Ying'er's tearful voice filled with gratitude.

"Prime Minister!" The man sitting in the prison cell looked very excited when he saw Cao Cao.

"Release him," Cao Cao ordered.

The jailer opened the cell door, and Wang Tu practically rushed out, kneeling at Cao Cao's feet.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty! I, Wang Tu, have missed a crucial opportunity in the war and deserve to die! I am willing to personally eliminate that scourge, but I beg Your Majesty to give me a chance to atone for my sins!" Wang Tu pleaded desperately.

No one noticed that Cao Cao's fist was slowly clenching, and his thin lips were pressed into a straight line.

"You don't love her?" Cao Cao's cold voice rang out in the air.

"She's just a songstress. I, Wang Tu, am willing to kill her myself. I only ask that Your Excellency give me a chance to atone for my crimes!" Wang Tu hurriedly said, trying his best to show his loyalty.

Cao Cao lowered his head and coldly looked at the man prostrate at his feet.

I love him...

The image of Lai Ying'er's gentle smile appeared before Cao Cao's eyes. He turned around and drew a knife from the waist of a guard beside him.

With a sharp slash, he aimed his sword fiercely at Wang Tu.

Fresh blood was scattered all around.

Silly woman...

That time, at Chibi, during that raging fire, that woman named Pei Xiao was just as foolish.

Despite being in enemy territory, she insisted that Sima Zhao tell him about Zhou Yu's plan.

Even... when that arrow came flying, she actually dared to stand in front of him!

That woman named Pei Xiao.

She actually dared to stand in his way, dared to offer to die in his place! She didn't even ask for his permission! What a presumptuous woman…

Pei Xiao once asked him, "Do you love me?"

He did not answer.

Even... he couldn't even protect her child.

That woman, even at the very last moment, still cared for him, helped him, and was willing to die for him...

He made no promises to her, no recognition of her status, and couldn't even guarantee her safety...

How could there be such a foolish woman...

It has nothing to do with whether he loves her or not; it's just that she loves him...

With his thin lips pressed into a straight line, Cao Cao sliced ​​off Wang Tu's head with a single stroke of his sword.

He didn't know if he wanted to kill Wang Tu, or himself...

He threw down his sword, turned around instinctively, and rushed towards Lai Ying'er's room.

Three feet of white silk, and her life has ended.

The woman hanging from the beam was lifeless, yet she remained beautiful, without the grotesque features of a hanged person or the twisted pain of a dying struggle.

A faint smile even graced her snow-white face.

That sense of peace.

Silly woman...

He had promised Pei Xiao that he would never drink alcohol again.

But that night, he emptied all the wine jars on the ground, yet his mind remained perfectly clear.