Chapter 44: Beauty Is a Sin

Sun Ce spoke as he made a subtle gesture, his face showing a hint of ruthlessness. Over the years, his hands had been stained with more than a little blood, and whenever he wavered, he believed that killing was the simplest way to resolve problems. Now, feeling as if he was bound at every turn by Liu Xie, he thought it might be more straightforward to simply kill him outright. Although Liu Xie had once saved his life, the foundation of Jiangdong weighed more heavily on his mind. Such thoughts, however, he shared only with Zhou Yu, for he knew how immature they were.

“We cannot do that,” Zhou Yu replied. “With him in our hands, he remains a powerful threat to Cao Cao. If he dies, Cao Cao will have cause to turn on us, and Jiangdong will become the target of every warlord. Cao Cao could then install another emperor at will, and we would be the ones to suffer.”

Hearing this, Sun Ce nodded helplessly, accepting Zhou Yu’s judgment.

“Then, what do you think we should do about this?” he asked.

“His Majesty is a man who’s hard to see through, but in the end, he is still human. If he truly had imperial ambitions, would he be asking for women when he has not a single capable general under his command? If he were seeking bodyguards, perhaps he really intended to build his own power, but women... Hmph! Give them to him. He’s a clever man and knows what we want—surely, what he seeks is nothing more than a life of ease.”

Zhou Yu indeed possessed a heroic bearing, but the reason he and Sun Ce became close companions was because he too was confident and decisive by nature.

After hearing all that had happened between Sun Ce and Liu Xie, Zhou Yu immediately judged that while Liu Xie was clever and capable of patience, he was by no means a man determined to rule supreme. The reason Liu Xie orchestrated his own journey from Lingzhou to Wu was purely for the sake of freedom; as long as Sun Ce could grant him that, Liu Xie would cooperate with whatever Jiangdong required.

In this era, no matter who you were, without soldiers and horses at your command, you were merely meat on the chopping block. Even Zhou Yu’s close bond with Sun Ce, so close that Sun Ce was willing to share two beautiful women with him, stemmed from the days when a twenty-something Sun Ce, passing through Danyang with his army, was given all the money and provisions Zhou Yu had at the time. In this era, there was only one hard currency: armed force.

“So, we let him indulge himself in the palace for now, and he’ll eventually accept our terms?”

“Naturally. He certainly doesn’t wish to end up as he was in Xuchang.”

Zhou Yu smiled confidently, thinking to himself that he had seen many men like Liu Xie, and now that Liu Xie had fallen into his hands, he was sure he could keep him firmly under control.

So, Sun Ce settled on the strategy of temporarily housing Liu Xie in Wu, watching him in secret for the moment, all in search of the perfect moment to unleash the explosive news for maximum effect—to wound both Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, and then to ascend fully onto the stage of the Central Plains.

As for Liu Xie, after a bout of self-indulgence, he slept soundly beside Fu Shou. Whatever Sun Ce and his advisors plotted mattered little to him.

That same night, two anxious young women were secretly ushered in through the back gate of the newly restored palace, and temporarily settled in a side hall next to Liu Xie’s chambers.

After arriving, apart from a maidservant bringing them some food, no one came to disturb these two girls, who were no more than seventeen or eighteen.

“Sister, this must be Sun Ce’s residence, yes? Tonight, do you think...”

The reason the sisters had won Sun Ce’s favor was not without cause. Although Liu Xie had yet to see them, when he finally did, he would realize that, in terms of beauty alone, even Fu Shou paled in comparison—she could only make up for it with the grace she had refined over years by Liu Xie’s side.

Though born of the same mother, the elder sister, a year or two older, had a face as cold as frost, exuding a natural air of heroism and an expression that warned strangers away. For a straightforward man like Sun Ce, she was precisely his type—or, to put it another way, such a woman awakened the possessiveness within him. Her name was Qiao Feng.

By contrast, the younger sister sat closely beside her sister, half leaning on her shoulder—not out of affectation, but with a genuine air of vulnerability. Her big, expressive eyes seemed to speak to you with every blink, her petite figure delicate and endearing, though in certain respects, she was by no means small. Who could resist such a charming girl? Her name was Qiao Shuang.

Before sending the two sisters to Liu Xie’s palace, Sun Ce had slapped himself hard across the face, hating himself for procrastinating on this matter when he was so decisive in all others.

Seeing her younger sister on the verge of tears, her heart pounding anxiously, Qiao Feng sighed softly yet spoke with resolute courage.

“If you do not wish it, I will go and speak to him. If he dares force himself upon us, I would rather die! Then we shall see if he still has the desire for such things!”

“Sister, you mustn’t! I would rather serve him with all my heart than see you come to harm. If anything were to happen to you, I could not go on living!”

Qiao Shuang clearly relied heavily on her sister. Hearing these words, she clung tightly to her sleeve, as if afraid Sun Ce might barge in that very moment and her sister would rush to confront him.

“He won’t come tonight,” Qiao Feng reassured her. “This palace is quiet; aside from the maids, there’s hardly anyone here. I think they’re just keeping us here for a few days.”

After comforting her sister, Qiao Feng waited until deep into the night before Qiao Shuang finally fell asleep. Qiao Feng quietly pushed open the door, gazing at the vast, empty palace, her brow furrowing.

“If he built such a grand palace long ago, why does he not live here himself, but sends the two of us instead?”

Suppressing her urge to explore the grounds, Qiao Feng took several deep breaths, then closed the window and lay down on the bed.

She understood that, given her and her sister’s circumstances, sometimes one could only accept fate. In this era, beauty itself was a kind of crime.

She did not know what tomorrow would bring for her and her sister; all she knew was that she had to protect her, just as she had for all these years.