After learning of the Lady Wu situation, Xu Shu immediately dismounted.
Before leaving, he even shot Liu Bei an unmistakable "do your best" look, then grabbed Kongming by the sleeve and pulled him away toward the city gates.
Lady Wu was smiling brightly. She carefully wiped the mud from Liu Bei's clothes and asked with gentle curiosity:
"This gentleman looks unfamiliar. Is he one of Your Excellency's aides from Jingzhou?"
Liu Bei had been a little embarrassed being fussed over like this—but the moment she mentioned Xu Shu, his expression changed completely.
He launched straight into a lively recounting of his Jingzhou days before the Battle of Red Cliffs.
Back then, though his ambitions were constrained, he already had Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang at his side.
Who could have imagined that after less than a year together, disaster would strike, scattering them apart?
Four full years had passed before the three finally reunited again.
Lady Wu listened quietly, smiling softly, patiently adjusting his attire as he spoke.
At a distance, Xu Shu glanced back once, then turned and gave Kongming's shoulder a friendly pat.
"All thanks to Marquis Zhuge," Xu Shu said sincerely.
"Compared to those desperate days trapped in Jingzhou, our lord is a completely different man now."
Kongming sighed helplessly.
"Must you tease me like this, Yuan Zhi?"
Xu Shu laughed aloud, slinging an arm around Kongming's shoulders with easy familiarity.
"I speak from the heart!"
"Your name will echo through the ages.
Your deeds will span a thousand autumns.
A model Han minister."
"Your name alone will blaze across history.
Who wouldn't envy that?"
Xu Shu had always been straightforward—whatever he felt showed plainly on his face.
Admiration for Kongming's reputation.
Awe at his talent.
Pity for his fate.
Regret for his destiny.
Kongming was genuinely moved. Their friendship back in Nanyang had never been about reputation alone—it was because their temperaments aligned.
Xu Shu was open-hearted, righteous, and willing to risk himself for what he believed in.
To gain such a friend was no small fortune.
Thus Kongming said warmly:
"Now that Yuan Zhi has escaped that snare, it's time you found yourself a good match as well."
Xu Shu immediately turned his head away, laughing it off.
"This Chengdu city does have its own charm…"
Perhaps it was because he had been stifled in Xuchang for far too long.
Perhaps it was because Liu Bei's territory now brimmed with unfamiliar wonders.
Or perhaps it was the people themselves—both familiar and strangely changed.
In any case, Xu Shu found himself curious about everything.
Kongming smiled and took the lead, introducing him to a Chengdu that was still rough around the edges, but already beginning to take shape.
Among the local elites of Yi Province, none were more invested than Zhang Song.
When free, he taught children at the Little Academy. When busy, he practically lived in the main hall of the government office.
As he drafted documents, Zhang Song often found himself glancing upward—toward empty air.
Though half a year had passed, it still felt like a dream.
This very hall—last year at this time—had been filled with Liu Zhang drinking wine, watching dancers, deaf to the tides of the world.
This year, in the same hall, Zhang Song had witnessed the light curtain unfold, revealing future ages, revealing destiny across millennia—enough to make men stake their lives on a greater cause.
Less than a year.
Yet whether it was Zhang Song himself, all of Yi Province, the great clans, or the common people—
Everything had changed.
Sealing a document urging expanded sugarcane cultivation, Zhang Song shook his head, sighing at the fickleness of fate.
Then he saw Zhuge Liang walk in, yawning.
Beside him was another man—plain-robed, sword at his waist, smiling faintly. Tall, straight-backed, carrying the fatigue of long travel, yet impossible to mistake for anything other than a proud and solitary spirit.
Zhang Song instantly matched him to the name from Jingzhou intelligence reports.
Without hesitation, he leapt to his feet.
To Zhang Song, Liu Bei was his greatest benefactor.
And Xu Shu—who had stood by Liu Bei in his darkest days and now returned from the north—was someone even more worthy of respect.
Xu Shu gave a simple salute, then smiled at Zhang Song.
"I've heard of Zhang Ziqiao of Yi Province—
a small frame, yet harboring towering ambition.
Seeing you today, the rumors fall short."
Zhang Song felt a sting—but seeing the openness in Xu Shu's eyes, he understood.
This was a man of rare frankness.
The irritation vanished at once, and Zhang Song personally invited Xu Shu to sit.
Xu Shu glanced at the mountain of documents on the desk and chuckled.
"Kongming was just telling me—without Zhang Song's support, how could he and our lord have it so easy?"
Zhang Song waved it off repeatedly, though his heart swelled with pride.
Kongming then asked directly:
"Yuan Zhi—having come from the north, how do you think Cao Cao will move?"
Xu Shu had clearly already thought this through.
"Cao Cao will attack Jingzhou."
Kongming nodded with a sigh.
"That matches both Pang Tong's judgment and my own."
The logic was simple.
Han Zhong could be held by anyone—but if it was held by someone surnamed Liu, especially Liu Bei, it was intolerable.
Cao Cao would never allow Liu Bei to grow unchecked.
His choices were limited: Hanzhong or Jingzhou.
Hanzhong was easy to defend and hard to attack. Jingzhou was open terrain.
Guanzhong was impoverished; attacking Hanzhong would require hauling supplies from Henan.
Jingzhou, however, linked directly to Xuchang—logistics would be effortless.
Thus, regardless of outcome, the first real battlefield would be Jingzhou.
Kongming listened intently as Xu Shu explained, then struck the desk in admiration.
"Yuan Zhi's grasp of military affairs surpasses even before—truly seeing fire through smoke."
Xu Shu smiled lightly.
"That's why—after seeing the light curtain—I must return to Jingzhou quickly."
"What? You just arrived and you're already leaving?!"
Liu Bei rushed in, having overheard the words, his face full of shock.
Xu Shu soothed him gently.
"To achieve your great ambition, my lord, how can we seek comfort?"
"I know neither Yi Province nor Hanzhong well.
But Jingzhou—I know every river and road."
"Jiangling thrives with trade. Gong'an's workshops flourish.
Let me hold the line at Jiangling for you."
Liu Bei fell silent.
He understood the logic—yet his heart was heavy.
Sensing the mood, Xu Shu blinked mischievously.
"So—when do we drink your wedding wine?"
"I only learned from Kongming that I already missed your wedding with Lady Sun. A real pity!"
Liu Bei laughed helplessly, the gloom lifting.
Kongming, however, had already thought things through.
Once Chengdu stabilized, the southern tribes would need to be dealt with. Hanzhong remained unresolved.
Jingzhou required a capable hand.
Originally, Kongming planned to send Pang Tong back to support Guan Yu.
But now—with Xu Shu returned—there was no need to exhaust Pang Tong further.
After some light conversation, Xu Shu suddenly remembered another matter troubling Liu Bei.
"That Lu Xun your lord worries about—he should be Lu Yi of the Lu clan of Jiangdong."
Liu Bei's eyes widened.
"So… there was never a Lu Xun?"
Though he had suspected as much, Liu Bei asked:
"The great Jiangdong clans avoid neither taboo nor danger—why change his name?"
"A bestowed name," Xu Shu replied simply.
"In Xuchang, I heard that Cheng Yu dreamed of climbing Mount Tai and holding the sun.
Cao Cao added the 'sun' radical to his name as a mark of favor."
Liu Bei smacked his forehead in regret.
His first instinct—shaped by years as a wandering knight—had been to assume name changes meant evasion.
But now it was clear.
Xun contained Sun—a sign of favor indeed.
Xu Shu comforted him:
"Lu Su still lives. Lü Meng remains favored.
Lu Yi has no space to rise yet."
Strangely, Liu Bei found his anxiety gone.
Petty aristocrats—what were they to fear?
With Wolong and Fengchu together, with Yuan Zhi and Xiao Zhi both present—
Liu Bei even felt eager to clash with those clans who fed on the Han Empire's blood.
The warning of aristocratic decay shown by the light curtain—he had not forgotten for a moment.
Better to end it with his own hands than leave poison for centuries.
After chatting in the main hall, Liu Bei energetically took Xu Shu off to choose a residence in Chengdu—clearly planning to talk through the night.
Kongming understood. Xu Shu's return meant too much to their lord.
He, meanwhile, went to seek Physician Zhang.
Li Shimin had originally intended to summon Sun Simiao directly.
But recalling later gossip about Yan Liben—however unfair—it proved one thing:
In the Tang, those who passed down their skills might not be less famous than emperors.
With that thought, the Tang ruler relaxed.
Painting, poetry, writing, medicine—
All required a flourishing age as their foundation.
So what was there to hesitate about?
To the Imperial Medical Office, then.
Besides—he truly did not want to see the Wu clan girl whom Guanyinbi had summoned into the palace.
Five years old now.
Yet destined to be his consort.
The thought alone gave the emperor a headache.
Thus, for the first time since the Zhenguan era began, the Son of Heaven personally visited the Medical Office.
It caused quite a stir.
After all, everyone knew—the emperor was barely thirty, in the prime of his life.
Most ailments he would never suffer.
And those he did suffer—no physician could cure.
Add to that the shadow of Xuanwu Gate and the recently offered Illig Qaghan—
The medical officials' feelings toward their emperor were… complicated.
The Tang had seated rituals, not kneeling rites, so Li Shimin's visit was casual, unforced.
The Chief Physician quickly guessed the reason.
Sun Simiao.
At first, the Medical Office had resented this folk doctor—summoned directly by the emperor.
But after Sun Simiao crushed all opposition with sheer expertise, resentment vanished.
Yet now, with all physicians present and the Medicine King absent, the Chief Physician grew uneasy.
Li Shimin, however, was unconcerned.
After dismissing the others, he went straight to find Sun Simiao.
"The emperor's ailment has already eased. Why summon me?"
This was Sun Simiao's first sentence upon seeing him.
Rubbing his temples, Li Shimin knew it was true.
His diet had lightened over the past half-year—fish more than meat.
Bland, but his body felt lighter.
"Medicine King, do you not wonder," Li Shimin asked casually,
"where the Diagram of the Five Viscera came from?"
"Please address me by name," Sun Simiao replied.
"Not Medicine King."
"That diagram benefits a thousand years.
I came only to thank Your Majesty. After that, I will return home."
Li Shimin nodded, unsurprised.
Then he changed his tone.
"What if I told you… that diagram came from several hundred years in the future?"