Chapter 2: Guests at Shinya (2)
“If Liu Bei comes, send him away respectfully. You must not add any superfluous remarks.”
…Before leaving for the journey and packing the necessary luggage, Zhuge Liang stopped on the porch and spoke to me again.
“I understand.”
I answered him respectfully.
Historically, Zhuge Liang at present is in a situation where he doesn’t want to go out into the secular world. Therefore, he is extremely reluctant to meet Liu Bei, who wants to recommend him. That is why Liu Bei visits this mountain valley three times, and the phrase “Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage” was born.
“If something happens, tell Jun (均).”
“……”
Zhuge Kongming, leaving the house after leaving the words to ask his third older brother for help. I could only watch his departing back with a deep sigh.
“Hoo.”
A sigh escaping from my mouth.
That’s because, for 15 years since I was born as a daughter of the Zhuge family, it was the first historical event I was directly experiencing. No matter how well I know the development, I couldn’t help but feel tense.
“Liu Bei….”
Once Zhuge Liang disappeared from my sight, I sat back down on the porch, where a cool breeze came in. Then, I closed my eyes and began to fall into deep thought.
“……”
Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage.
If the history that has been passed down to the 21st century is true, Liu Bei will visit Kongming a total of three times and finally recommend him. No matter how much Kongming avoids him, it was the future that would happen anyway. Judging by the fact that he had devised the Plan for the Three Kingdoms, it seemed that he also knew that it was a destiny he couldn’t avoid deep inside his heart.
“Hmm….”
As the worries poured in, I propped my chin and frowned.
If so, if following Liu Bei is an event that will happen anyway, is there a need to make him come here three times?
Wouldn’t it be better to follow him early and raise the soldiers of Xinyang?
…This was to gain a year compared to the original history, and it would be a way to further strengthen the military power of Liu Bei’s army.
“I’m worried.”
Although Zhuge Liang had instructed me not to reveal his whereabouts, I couldn’t help but be curious about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms without the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage.
“…Why are you thinking so deeply?”
“……!!”
A voice came from behind as I was lost in miscellaneous worries. Turning my head, I saw my youngest older brother, Zhuge Jun, standing with a smile.
He, who would later rise to the rank of General of the Protectorate (長水校尉) of Shu Han, looked closely at my face and said.
“Are you perhaps worried about something? Then, tell your older brother.”
Zhuge Jun spoke, shrugging his shoulders as if to trust himself. And his smiling expression made it seem as if he was just happy to see his younger sister.
“Ah, yes.”
I answered reluctantly.
I didn’t know well because there wasn’t much content in the book, but this Zhuge Jun seemed to cherish his younger sister quite a bit.
“I, I have a worry.”
…Well, as I had something to worry about, the timing was good, he came, so it wouldn’t be bad to ask him about the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage. Of course, the problem was that I had to talk about it philosophically.
“What is it?”
He was not like a relationship counselor, but he listened to my story with a serious expression. I told him that it was nothing special.
“…There’s something that could go against righteousness, but broadly speaking, it’s something that could benefit the world. Would you do it, older brother?”
By ‘something for the world’ here, I mean skipping the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage and advancing the meeting between Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei. Going against righteousness was a way of avoiding possible historical distortions.
If history is distorted, people could be harmed, and this could be seen as against right and wrong, so it was probably not wrong.
“Hmm……”
Zhuge Jun, pondering for a moment at my question.
After a short deliberation with a serious expression, he then opened his mouth slowly. A rather calm voice echoed on the porch.
“…If the question is just that, I will not hesitate to choose the former.”
Zhuge Jun, who chose ‘righteousness’ over ‘something for the world’.
He immediately added further explanation in case I was puzzled.
“The moment you go against righteousness, it’s not something for the world. Remember, we must always distinguish right from wrong precisely and live, and we must always think about what is right and wrong.”
“……”
At his answer, I closed my eyes and bowed my head.
Well, as a human being, it would be rash to touch history for the simple reason of curiosity. At least, it didn’t seem like something to be decided by sitting on this porch floor.
…Come to think of it, the reduction of Liu Bei’s visit would not only have advantages, and in the worst case, it could really distort history and even affect my life, so it seemed that a more careful thought was needed.
“Thank you, older brother.”
I smiled brightly at him, having finished my deliberation. Zhuge Jun scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
“Ah, no! Rather, the meaning of you asking such a question seems big. This older brother is just touched.”
“……”
It was a body of a mere girl who could have a hard time living in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but looking at how I could make a few men chuckle with a smiling face and a few words, it didn’t seem so bad either.
“…The sun seems to be setting soon. Go inside after staying a while.”
“Yes, older brother.”
Zhuge Jun, clearing his throat a few times, entered his room. I nodded and turned my gaze back to the yard.
“……”
As Zhuge Jun said, the blue sky slowly began to turn red. The smiling sun fell between the trees, and the white moon began to take its place.
“Well,”
As the sun completely set, I also got up and prepared to enter my room. I was too tired to think about anything else.
“Let’s leave tomorrow’s work to tomorrow’s me.”
After muttering something in a rough tone like a boy, I opened the sliding door of the thatched house room.
…A dull sound of wood colliding with each other echoed in the air.
.
.
.
“I’m sleepy….”
Unlike the modern era, where I could sleep as much as I wanted, the wake-up time in Wolong Mountain was set at dawn, as it was for the scholars.
“Are you up?”
“……”
After getting up and dragging my sleepy body, eating the meager breakfast prepared by Zhuge Jun was the first thing in my daily routine.
After that, I would spend the morning in my room, reading the pretentious military books, and then lunch would come. Since the sunlight started to shine at this time, it would get quite warm outside, so I always went out to the porch and fell into contemplation, unless the wind and rain came in.
This was my only unchanged routine for 15 years.
And it was the same today.
“Please, stop with the vegetables….”
…About two hours after grumbling at the same vegetable side dishes that had been repeated for hundreds of days and sitting on the porch, the sound of the gate, which would never ring unless Zhuge Liang’s friend came, suddenly began to ring in the yard.
[Bang Bang]
“Huh?”
It didn’t seem like a noble scholar had come because the gate was knocked quite rudely. I frowned and carefully headed toward the door.
Who had come?
Since Zhuge Liang had gone yesterday, there was no one to come.
“Is Mr. Wolong there?”
“……!!”
At the voice of a middle-aged man coming from outside the door,
My hand heading for the doorknob stopped.
My pupils began to shake slightly.
Only then did the person come to mind, who would call Kongming ‘Wolong’ and stupidly come here, not knowing that Kongming was not here.
‘Could it be…’
‘Already?’
…Zhuge Liang said he would come within this week, but it was the very next day.
I made a disapproving face at the unexpected visit from ‘him.’
“Oh, is anyone there? Please open the door for a moment, thank you!”
“……”
The guest from Xinyang, who was speaking in a rather urgent voice, seemed to have a variety of emotions, especially excitement and anticipation.
‘He came….’
As if it was destiny for Kongming to follow him, as I was reborn as Zhuge Lang, it was also the future that I couldn’t avoid welcoming him as a guest.
I took a short deep breath and opened the gate with force.
And what I saw was,
“Oh!”
“……”
Large ears that drooped to the chin,
Long arms that seemed to reach to the knees,
And a man with a generous personality, as if elegant behavior was ingrained in him.
Yes, I felt like I was looking at Buddha.
“Excuse me, is this the place where Mr. Wolong lives?”
“……”
The guest standing in front of the gate, in other words, the one who would become the emperor of Shu Han and compete for the world,
Liu Bei spoke to me.