flstandardbreds Chapter 133 Sun Luban has his eye on the Guan family father and son?
Chapter 133 Sun Luban has his eye on the Guan family father and son?
Thinking of the rumors that Cao Cao had a fondness for other men's wives, Xiao Qiao shuddered in fright. Without thinking twice, she quickly said, "Lu Ban, wait a minute, I'll pack my things and go to Jianye with you."
Cao Cao has a terrible reputation, and Xiao Qiao doesn't want to be defiled by that old scoundrel when she's over forty. She can't bear the shame.
Compared to Cao Cao, Guan Yu is more trustworthy. At least Guan Yu has no history of stealing other men's wives. Once he enters Jianye, his personal safety and reputation are guaranteed, if nothing else.
Xiao Qiao dared not delay. She turned around, packed her things, and cursed Lü Meng as a scoundrel who hadn't informed the Zhou family about such a major event as the retreat. He deserved to die.
It should be noted that when Zhou Yu was alive, he regarded Lü Meng as his personal disciple. Lü Meng's military strategy, tactics, and naval command were all taught by Zhou Yu. Lü Meng was nominally Zhou Yu's subordinate but in reality, he was Zhou Yu's teacher and student. And what was the result?
At the critical moment, Lü Meng actually abandoned Zhou Yu's wife, children, and elderly parents and ran away. How could Zhou Yu have raised such an ungrateful wretch?
Xiao Qiao became more and more agitated as she cursed, and in the end she even became too lazy to pack her things, sitting on the edge of the bed and cursing along with Sun Luban.
Meanwhile, Lu Meng, who had retreated dozens of miles away to ensure that Guan Yu could not catch up even if he left the city, finally had time to think about other things. He turned to Zhang Zhao and asked, "Strategist, why do I feel so empty inside? Have we forgotten something?"
Zhang Zhao tilted his head and thought for a long time but still couldn't remember. He shook his head and said, "No, I think. I brought everything, what else could it be..."
"Achoo...achoo..." Before he could finish speaking, Lü Meng sneezed twice in a row. Then, a thought flashed through his mind, and he slapped his forehead, saying, "I think we left Old Madam Zhou and the eldest young lady at home. What should we do?"
Zhang Zhao's hand, which was stroking his beard, suddenly stopped, and he plucked out several hairs, but he didn't care about crying out in pain.
He naturally knew who the old lady and young lady Lu Meng mentioned were. They were Zhou Yu's widow Xiao Qiao and daughter-in-law Sun Luban, as well as Zhou Yu's second son Zhou Yin. How could he have forgotten this whole family?
Who is Zhou Yu? He is the spiritual pillar of Jiangdong. His status in Jiangdong is even more special than that of Zhuge Liang beside Liu Bei. Currently, all the senior generals in the Wu army, including Grand Commander Lü Meng, were promoted by Zhou Yu.
As a result, everyone ran away and abandoned Zhou Yu's entire family?
If they were to return to Jiangling, wouldn't Lu Xun, Zhu Ran, and the others fight them to the death?
Not to mention the Wu generals, even Sun Quan wouldn't stand for it. Sun Luban was Sun Quan's most beloved eldest daughter.
Zhang Zhao slapped his forehead and cursed, "I've been so overwhelmed by all sorts of trouble lately that I completely forgot about the Zhou family. I deserve to die."
Actually, it's not their fault. During the war, everyone's attention was focused on the men, so who would pay attention to the women?
The eldest son of the Zhou family, Zhou Xun, is currently in Guan Xing's hands, and the second son, Zhou Yin, is a useless person with little presence. It's normal to temporarily forget about them when you're busy.
That being said, how would we explain this to Zhou Yu's subordinates once we arrived in Jingzhou?
Zhang Zhao said urgently, "We've only gone forty or fifty li, which isn't too far. We should immediately send someone to the Zhou family manor to bring them back."
The Wei army has not yet marched south, and Guan Yu has accepted the Wu army's toll, so it's impossible for him to attack the area west of Jianye where the Zhou family manor is located. It's still not too late to go and meet them.
Lu Meng slapped himself twice in remorse and called Xu Sheng over, instructing him: "Wenxiang (Xu Sheng's courtesy name), you immediately take three thousand elite soldiers back to Jianye and bring back Old Madam Zhou and the eldest daughter."
Xu Sheng asked in surprise, "What? Didn't we bring the old lady and the young lady?"
Lu Meng's face flushed with embarrassment, and he snapped, "Go now!"
Xu Sheng dared not delay, and quickly returned to his base to muster three thousand elite soldiers. He then turned around and charged toward the Zhou family manor at top speed.
He was also Zhou Yu's old subordinate, so he couldn't possibly be indifferent to this matter. But was it too late to go back now?
Zhou family manor.
After half a day of fussing, Sun Luban finally got everything ready and led his family away from the manor to Jianye.
Sun Luban, her mother-in-law Xiao Qiao, and her sister-in-law Zhou Che rode in a carriage, Zhou Yin rode a horse, and everyone else walked.
Xiao Qiao remained sullen on the way, clearly still angry with Lü Meng.
Sun Luban advised, "Mother, don't be angry. I guess Lü Meng didn't abandon us on purpose, but just forgot about us in his haste to leave."
Xiao Qiao became even angrier upon hearing this, and said unhappily, "How could Lü Meng do this? Your father-in-law was..."
Sun Luban said, "It's normal for people to become distant once they leave. Men are unreliable; in crucial moments, we still have to rely on ourselves."
Xiao Qiao smiled wryly and said, "I know that, but Guan Yu has a grudge against your father and your father-in-law. I'm really worried about him taking you into his hands."
Sun Luban said, "So we need to find a way to increase our bargaining power. Guan Xing is unmarried, right? I'm going to act as a matchmaker for him and introduce Xiao Hu (Sun Luyu) to him. If it works out, we'll be relatives of the Guan family. No matter how cruel the Guan father and son are, they wouldn't mistreat their own people, would they?"
Xiao Qiao said speechlessly, "Trying to match Guan Xing and Xiao Hu together? How did you even come up with that idea? Have you forgotten what Guan Yu said when your father proposed marriage to him back then?"
"That red-faced thief said, 'How can a tiger's daughter marry a dog's son?' That's the same as saying, 'How can a tiger's son marry a dog's daughter?' Would Guan Yu agree to that?"
"Besides, Guan Yu has his eye on Zhang Zhao's granddaughter. He's already proposed marriage to the Zhang family, so why would he be interested in your Sun family?"
Sun Luban's grandfather, Sun Jian, came from a humble but powerful family, while Zhang Zhao was a member of the Zhang clan of Pengcheng. In terms of background, Zhang Zhao was much more noble than Sun Jian. In addition, Zhang Zhao was highly respected, so it was understandable that Guan Yu took a liking to the Zhang family.
Sun Luban, however, said with keen insight: "Guan Yu proposed marriage to Zhang Zhao in order to use Zhang Zhao's power to quickly stabilize Jiangdong. The fact that he did not bring it up again after being rejected by Zhang Zhao speaks volumes."
"Furthermore, Zhang Zhao's adult granddaughter is born out of wedlock, so the Guan family father and son definitely wouldn't approve of her. As for Zhang Zhao's legitimate granddaughter, she's only six years old this year, what are you afraid of?"
"So, Guan Yu's proposal to Zhang Zhao was not from the heart at all. Just listen to this and don't take it seriously."
Xiao Qiao said irritably, "If you can't be with the eldest daughter of the Zhang family, why not be with Xiao Hu? Guan Yu definitely won't agree, so don't bother trying."
Sun Luban sneered, "Do we need Guan Yu's consent? Guan Xing's consent is enough."
"Although marriage is a major event that should be decided by parents and matchmakers, judging from Guan Xing's past behavior, Guan Anguo is definitely not a good boy who listens to his father. So I don't need Guan Yu's consent, as long as Guan Xing agrees. As for Guan Yu, let Guan Xing deal with him."
"Actually, I would prefer to match Guan Xing and Xiao Che together, so that our Zhou family and the Guan family can unite as one, keeping the benefits within the family. But Xiao Che is too young."
Zhou Che, who had been sitting in the corner of the carriage lost in thought, blushed instantly and said shyly, "Sister-in-law, you're talking nonsense again. I'm ignoring you, hmph..."
After saying that, she turned her head away in a huff, her stunning profile making even Sun Luban a little jealous.
Zhou Che is the only daughter of the handsome Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao. With such excellent genes from her parents, it's no wonder she's so beautiful.
However, she was too young, only eleven years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, and she had already been betrothed to Sun Quan's eldest son, Sun Deng. No matter how powerful Sun Luban was, she would never steal her own brother's bride.
Sun Luban made a face at Zhou Che and continued to tempt his mother-in-law, saying, "Mother, think about it. If we marry into the Guan family, no matter who wins between my father and that big-eared thief, our Zhou family will be invincible."
"Even if Cao Cao defeats my father and Liu Bei and completes the unification, our family can still gain a foothold in Cao Wei by relying on the power of the Guan family. Don't forget that Guan Yu was friends with Cao Wei generals such as Xu Huang and Zhang Liao, and even Cao Cao himself. Zhang Fei was also the son-in-law of the Xiahou family. The Guan family has a foundation in Cao Wei."