I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse-Chapter 1806 - 1807: Taking Precautions Beforehand

Cao Pi is no ordinary person. He merely twitched at the corner of his mouth a few times before ordering the lower-class men behind him to carry the Great Han away. Then, as if you didn’t exist, he cupped his hands towards the crowd and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for honoring the invitation amidst your busy schedules. My humble self extends gratitude to you all."

You naturally returned to your original seat, and Zhen Luo followed your lead, sitting silently by your side. However, her gaze remained fixed on the scenery outside the window, completely indifferent to everything inside. At a viewpoint others couldn’t see, Zhen Luo’s lips curled slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

Cao Pi is a scholar, just like his father, Cao Cao, and his brother, Cao Zhi. So, his speech was full of literary elegance. To someone like you, ’removed from driving school and self-taught,’ those archaic words were like sleep-inducing bombs, leaving you dizzy and confused, not understanding a word of what Cao Pi said. The gist seemed to be about trading with Yan Province and forming a private guard to escort merchants.

Just based on this, you had to commend Cao Pi, as this was precisely what you had initially envisioned—only the timing wasn’t ripe. Your original intent was to establish an escort agency. The escort agency industry became popular during the Ming Dynasty and was rare before the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, the escort agency was just a front. On one hand, it facilitated understanding regional situations through its operations. The information exchange of this era was extremely slow. An incident in Luoyang might take over a month to reach Wuji, making it impossible to prepare in advance.

On the other hand, you harbored ambitions to conquer the world and wanted to use the escort agency to establish an unobstructed logistics route for your future endeavors.

You found it strange that Zhen Luo had paid no attention to Cao Pi from the start. Instead, she would occasionally glance at you, her expression calm and giving no indication of her thoughts.

"Second Miss, what are your thoughts?" Cao Pi finally finished speaking and specifically asked Zhen Luo.

Zhen Luo turned her head, her deep gaze fixed on Cao Pi.

Under Zhen Luo’s gaze, Cao Pi maintained a confident smile on his face. In his view, with his status, a woman like Zhen Luo would be easy to win over. Although Zhen Luo seemed indifferent to him on the surface, Cao Pi believed it was just her strategy of ’Capture by Letting Loose.’ He, Cao Pi, having encountered many women, was no stranger to their tricks to win favor.

Cao Pi was fond of Zhen Luo’s eyes. Despite rumors of her extreme ugliness, after seeing her eyes and hearing her voice, Cao Pi decided the rumors were just rumors. With his experience, he recognized Zhen Luo as an outstanding beauty.

Lost in his thoughts, Cao Pi even imagined Zhen Luo indulging him in an indecent scene.

"Done talking? If so, that’s that." With that, Zhen Luo stood up, glancing at you.

You shrugged and said with a smile, "Don’t look at me. I just noticed a girl selling melons downstairs with an exceptional appearance and figure. So, I didn’t hear a word of what he was saying."

Zhen Luo’s expression remained unchanged, but a hint of amusement flickered in her lively eyes. She cast a sidelong glance towards the door, prompting you to stand up and say to Cao Pi: "Since everything’s been said, let’s end it here. I’m starving."

"I’ve already asked the shopkeeper to prepare a feast, brave hero..."

"No need, I’m afraid you’ll add Ecstasy aphrodisiac or I Love a Stick to the dishes." You waved your hand and moved forward, causing Cao Pi’s servants to quickly move aside, possibly intimidated by your earlier actions.

Even though he was fuming inside, Cao Pi refrained from taking any action. On one hand, he couldn’t figure out Zhen Luo’s intentions; on the other hand, he couldn’t afford to ’alert the snake in the grass.’ Although he had the power to crush you like an ant, he chose to tolerate it for the bigger picture.

You and Zhen Luo left Drunken Wind Pavilion and headed straight back to the Zhen Mansion, with Zhen Luo riding in a sedan while you strolled alongside. In the city, only the powerful and wealthy could ride horses, and you clearly didn’t have that privilege. Although slightly resentful, you understood your current situation—appearing glorious only within the confines of Zhen Mansion when they needed you. Once needs were met, the stance of Zhen Luo and her mother towards you was uncertain.

During the journey, there was a chasm between you and Zhen Luo, as if from two different worlds—one a servant, the other a master.

This stark contrast made you suddenly realize something, but you quickly fell into silence. Truth be told, you weren’t impatient by nature, but you had to admit your approach to matters in the Zhen Mansion was somewhat overly cautious and conservative.

First of all, Cao Pi arrived in Wuji without revealing his identity to the public or interacting with the scholar gentry. Note that in the entire Three Kingdoms society, the scholar gentry was the real core, and merchants’ statuses were always low. This showed Cao Pi was very cautious, fearing his intentions would be uncovered, which could render all of Cao Cao’s plans futile.

From the beginning, you viewed Cao Cao as a lifelong foe, determined to prevent him from becoming powerful, even at the cost of Yuan Shao controlling Yan Province and Jizhou.

Upon returning to Zhen Mansion, you left without greeting Zhen Luo. You found Zhang Shui, who was with three young men, each looking fierce, and one with a long scar on his face.

"Old Shu!" Zhang Shui greeted you as you approached.

You nodded and looked at the three men, asking, "And who might these be?"

"They are my friends from Luo Zhuang Village."

"They’re the five cents and Ergou you mentioned?" you said with a smile, "Your timing is perfect. I have a task for you, should you be willing to accept it?"

"Old Shu, we’ve heard of your exploits from Ah-Shui. Just say the word, and we’ll do it, no need for formalities." said the scar-faced young man.

Zhang Shui introduced them from left to right to you: "Old Shu, these are Five Cents, Mountain boy, and Ergou."

You nodded; the scar-faced young man was Five Cents. Despite his youth, he was sturdy and, like Zhang Shui, had a particularly spirited appearance.

"If you accomplish this, I’ll reward you with unimaginable benefits." A slight smile appeared on your face, "Tomorrow afternoon, no, this evening, you need to make sure the County Magistrate hears something inadvertently. That Qingzhou Mu Cao Cao’s legitimate son Cao Pi has arrived in our Wuji with ill intentions, bringing with him many followers, including the general Xiahou Dun. Remember, it must appear as if the County Magistrate overheard it unintentionally."

"Old Shu, this matter is on us!" Five Cents confidently patted his chest and agreed immediately.