Hello all! So sorry this took forever to get out. Find time to write is extremely hard. This chapter isn't that long, but I wanted to get something out because it has been so damn long. Hope you enjoy.

Zhou Yu - Gōngjǐn

Lu Meng – Zǐmíng
Li Dian – Mànchéng
Cao Cao – Mèngdé
Zhuge Jun – Bóyáng
Zhuge Liang – Kǒngmíng
Zhuge Jin – Ziyu

Pang Tong - Shiyuan

Zhou Yu dismounted and handed the reins of his steed to a servant. He walked with a familiarity through the estate that could only be achieved from repeated visits. Neither guard nor servant questioned his movements as their master had informed them long ago that he was a welcomed guest in his home.

Yu arrived at his destination. Unlike the other times he had visited, he heard muffled voices from behind the closed door. Curiosity almost gripped him as he felt the temptation to listen in, but his respect for his friend's privacy won out. He rapped his knuckles against the wood frame alerting the occupants to his arrival.

Within moments, the door slid open and Yu found himself face to face with a smiling Lianshi. He greeted her kindly, but he knew he failed to school his expression in time to hide his shock at seeing her there. Lianshi didn't seem to mind however as she merely stepped aside to allow him entrance into the room.

"Please let me know if you need anything else Master Jin."

"You have done more than enough, Lianshi. Please take the day to relax yourself."

She shook her head lightly. "I find taking care of you to be relaxing. I will be back soon with some tea."

"Lianshi, we have servants—" he was cut off by the door sliding closed as she left to presumably get them tea.

Jin sighed, but he wore a fond smile upon his lips. "That woman certainly does enjoy caring for others. She will make a good wife."

"How did this development come about?"

Jin gave his longtime friend a wry smile. He was usually more composed than this. Seeing Lianshi had really thrown him for a loop.

"It was a few months ago, after our last failed meeting with the other pillars," the bitterness that tinged Jin's words was understood by Yu. He had felt the same sting of disappointment his friend had.

They, along with Lu Su and Lu Meng had been trying to convince the other pillars to form an alliance with Liu Bei and Liu Qi against Cao Cao. While they certainly expected some resistance to their plan, they underestimated just how much resistance they actually got.

The other pillars had become accustomed to the power and were in no hurry to give it up. They knew war would mean drawing Sun Quan out of his stupor so he could be the face the army needed, but no one was willing to risk him possibly taking charge of Wu once all was said and done. They had convinced themselves that Cao would not attack them. That he would be content with the land he had. Fools. Their greed and apathy made them blind to the very real threat that Cao Cao posed.

"I found Lianshi standing in front of the palace in a daze," Jin continued.

"It took awhile to coax the truth out of her, but finally she told me that Lady Xie and Concubine Xie had managed to convince our Lord that she was somehow working against him."

"Working against him how?"

"According to Lianshi, they weren't very clear on that fact. They just told him that she was going behind his back with other men and working to usurp him."

"Nonsense. I have never seen a woman more dedicated to that buffoon than Lianshi."

"I agree, but they managed to convince him regardless."

"How? Even though he spends his time glaring at the bottom of a wine jug most days, he should still have some common sense as to how dedicated she has been to him."

"Apparently, those women are rather clever. They have inserted themselves at his side and together have pushed Lianshi out. I have noticed that I have seen her training in the yard more often than not when visiting the palace, but I thought nothing of it until now."

Yu frowned. "I've noticed the same, but as you, I paid no attention to it. I had no idea this was going on right under our noses. We have been so focused on getting the pillars to agree to the alliance, we have neglected watching out for Lord Quan."

Jin nodded. "Since she came to live with me—"

"Yes. You never did explain how she came to be your—" Yu paused in order to search for the right word. Failing to do so, he decided to simply ask.

"What is the relationship you two have exactly?"

"I am her patron, nothing more."

Yu let out an hmm, which told Jin he did not quite believe what he was saying.

"Perhaps we are going about this the wrong way."

"Going about what the wrong way," Jin asked. He was somewhat grateful and somewhat annoyed with the abrupt subject change.

"Convincing the other Pillars of our plan. Perhaps we shouldn't go through them at all. Perhaps we should go directly to Lord Sun Quan."

Jin frowned at this new line of thinking, sure he didn't like where it would inevitably head.

"There is no guarantee that we can convince Lord Quan of our idea. He as just as apathetic as the rest of them."

"We have a means to convince him now though," Yu said with a sly smile.

And there it was. Jin knew that was what he was implying. He took a steadying breath to calm the emotions threatening to bubble up. He would not have someone he took under his protection to be used as a pawn.

"Perhaps you missed the part where I said she has fallen out of favor with Lord Quan—"

"—Only because of the two women currently bending his ear. I am sure that once we get Lady Xie and Concubine Xie away from him, he will be more receptive to her charms."

Jin took a few more steadying breathes.

"You speak as if it is easy to remove Lady Xie from his side. She is, after all his wife."

"It is doable. Her father's wealth has not been obtained from purely honorable means. We can put pressure on him."

"I will not force her into such a situation."

"What situation? Helping our Lord regain his right mind? Get rid of the women who have a harming influence on him?"

"I will not allow him to mistreat her any longer," Jin replied sharply.

Yu hummed once more, "Just her patron indeed."

Jin frowned. "You are right of course. I do see her as more than just a patron. In the short time she has been here, Huifen, myself, Qiao and Ke have come to see her as family. She is the daughter Huifen and I have always wanted but have not been blessed to have. Knowing how Lord Sun Quan has treated her makes me furious."

Zhou Yu lifted a delicate brow. He hadn't expected that answer.

"If he found her here, he would not believe your relationship to be an innocent one."

"I know," Jin replied with a frown.

"Well what he does not know will certainly not hurt him and I have no intention of informing him. Truthfully I do not believe he deserves her after so callously tossing her aside. It would be best if you limit who knows she is here."

"Of course," Jin replied, facing Yu again.

"And it may be best if you find a way to get her out of Jiankang. Even if you are currently only her patron, he will most likely not take her living with another man well. If what you told me is true, you may even stand to be in danger of being accused of working against Lord Quan."

"I have thought about this," Jin admitted. "My sister will marry soon. I plan to take Lianshi with me and introduce her to my younger brother, Bóyáng. I have already written him and he has promised to take care of her. Who knows, perhaps the two of them might find companionship with each other."

"If he is a brother of yours, I am sure he is a man of good character. She certainly cannot do worse than Lord Quan.

Jin nodded in agreement to that.

"Well, let's move on, shall we? Going directly for Lord Quan is obviously not an option at the moment, so we are back to our original plan. Getting the other pillars to agree."

Jin sighed. "A seemingly impossible task."

"Yes. It is turning out to be much more troublesome than I originally anticipated. I am at a lost as to what to do; Zǐmíng feels the same."

"Unfortunately, I do not think we will be able to make them see reason until Cao Cao has turned his eye on us."

Yu frowned, the sight marring his beautiful features. "So the advantage we would have had slips through our fingers like grains of sand."

"Do we abandon this course then? Do we bow our heads to Cao Cao?" Jin asked. It was easy to see the disgust on his face as he spat out those treacherous words.

"No," Yu replied smoothly. "While we may lose the advantage of a surprise attack, our greatest advantage still remains our alliance. As long as Liu Bei keeps to his word, we can beat Cao Cao."

"My brother will ensure that he does."

"For all our sakes, I hope he does."

=#=

Zhuyue took a moment to enjoy the calm that settled around her. It seemed like such a long time since she had felt such peace and she wanted to revel in it as much as she could. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before sipping her tea. The last few months had been busy. Between moving, training and preparing for Xiahouji and Xiaolian's marriage ceremonies, Zhuyue had precious few moments to just be.

Speaking of marriage ceremonies, this tea was terrible. Zhuyue did her best to not show her displeasure of the bitter taste that sat on her tongue. It will take a lot of rice wine to get rid of this taste. Her husband, Xiahou Dun didn't seem to mind the taste. He swallowed the entire cup causing a small smile to break through the tense look that had been present on Xiaolian's face the entire day. Her eyes turned to Zhuyue expectantly, noting that she still had tea in her cup and waiting for to drain it as Dun had. Zhuyue plastered on a smile while she forced the bitter concoction past her lips.

'The things you do for the love of your child' she thought as she forced herself to swallow. Xiaolian smiled at her before turning away, something Zhuyue was thankful for as she was able to quickly dab away the tear that had just rolled out of her eye in protest of the drink she just consumed.

"You okay there?" Dun asked with a playful smirk, it was easy to see how much she was struggling.

"How are you okay," she hissed in a whisper.

Dun merely shrugged. "Not that bad."

"Of course you like it bitter," she mumbled as she put her cup down, glad to be done with the horrid brew. She leaned forward slightly to see Xiahouji serving her adopted parents. Her adopted father, Xiahou Yuan drank it greedily and asked for seconds. Xiahouji giggled prettily and refilled his cup.

'Of course she served a perfect cup,' Zhuyue thought to herself, a rush of jealously surging through her which she immediately stamped out. No. It was not Xiahouji's fault that she was more practiced in such domestic ways.

Instead of bemoaning that Xiaolian couldn't make a cup of tea to save her life, she should be proud of how far she had come. To be honest, Zhuyue could never foresee her adopted daughter getting married. It took so long for her to even break through the tough outer shell she wore that she simply assumed she would never let someone else in. Then Dun came along and she took to him much easier than she took to her; a fact she was still a bit envious of. Then Dian came along and he managed to somehow steal her heart. Zhuyue smiled. The once quiet girl had even found her voice and smiled so much more now. Yes. Zhuyue didn't care about the tea. She would even drink another cup of it only to see another smile grace Xiaolian's face.

The ceremony moved forward. Zhuyue had to pinch Dun several times to stop him from glaring daggers at Li Dian and she saw her sister-in-law Jiao having to do the same to Yuan who kept glaring at Zhao Yun. She was thankful when Cao Cao had finally called them away to hold consul with them. It gave her a break; or rather it would have given her a break if not for her daughter marching towards her with a severe look on her face.

She stopped in front of Zhuyue and wrung her hands together, an uncharacteristic nervous gesture coming from her.

"Help, please," she whispered.

Zhuyue arched a brow, silently demanding more of an explanation. Xiaolian nodded her head over to the side so they could speak without being overhead. Zhuyue followed, having an inkling already as to where this conversation would go.

Out of the hall, away from the guest, Zhuyue found Xiaolian pacing as best she could in her restrictive wedding robe.

"I….I am nervous."

"About the consummation?"

She nodded.

Zhuyue knew this was coming. She had spoken to Xiaolian at length about this recently, but it seems that her words did little to assuage her fear of the upcoming event.

"It is natural to be nervous for your first time, but there is no need to be. You trust Mànchéng, yes?"

She nodded once more.

"Then trust him to take the lead. He will take care of you."

"But…what…," she paused, struggling to get the words out. "Not good?"

"What if you are not good?" Zhuyue patiently supplied.

Xiaolian gave a quick nod.

"I was nervous my first time as well," Zhuyue said with a half smile.

Xiaolian gave her a look of a surprise that made her chuckle.

"He did not care and after a few seconds into it, neither did I. I just went with the flow," Zhuyue cupped Xiaolian's cheeks lightly in her hands. A sense of déjà 'vu struck her, remembering she said something similar to Lingqi years earlier.

"Do the same and it will be a night to remember. Do not worry about being perfect. Just let go."

Zhuyue gave her daughter a light kiss on the forehead and returned to the hall to rejoin the festivities, leaving Xiaolian to think on her words.

=#=

"I thank you for inviting me," Cao said once the servant who had filled their cups with wine sat the jug on the table in front of them and exited the room he and his cousins were currently in.

The three men found themselves seated crossed legged in front of a low table on the floor in one of the drawing rooms of Dun's home. Yuan sat to Cao's left, Dun to his right.

Yuan let out a snort earning a curious look from Cao.

"Did I say something wrong?" Cao asked in a calm tone.

Yuan looked to Dun who gave him a shrug and smirk, letting him know that he would have to get himself out of this one on his own.

Yuan downed his wine for a shot of liquid courage and let out an obnoxiously loud Ah. Resolved, he set the cup down, slapped his cheeks and then slapped his hands down on to his knees.

"You know damn well that we have not been happy with you as of late! My little girl has to marry because you wanted to use her and Xiaolian as pawns!"

Dun shook his head. His brother had been deep in his drinks and that always made him a bit too truthful. He would step in before things got too far, but he was curious to see how Cao would respond.

"They were of age; they would have to get married eventually anyway."

"Ah don't give me that shit Mèngdé! They still had *hic* a few seasons left before they had to. They didn't have to rush and get this done now. And now my little girl…my little girl is going to be defiled by that…that…ah he isn't such a bad guy but damnit. My little girl."

Cao's initial reaction was to point out that if he had waited a few more seasons as Yuan had suggested, they would not have been quite as useful as bargaining tools. Men wanted their women young so they could breed their heirs. The younger the better as they have more years of fertility ahead of them. A woman at the end of her marriageable years just did not hold the same appeal as one at the beginning. With Yuan still bemoaning the loss of his 'little girl' and Dun frowning at him, Cao thought reminding them of this particular fact was probably not a good idea.

"I suppose I tend to forget that you are rather close with your daughters. I am not particularly close with any of mine," Cao said, switching to what he thought was a safer rationale. "Of course I love my children but…I never built much of a relationship with them."

Cao paused to gather his thoughts.

"Perhaps I did not because they would never be mine to keep. They would one day have to be given away to another. They could not carry on my legacy like my sons so what was the point?"

"Pretty cold rationalizing, Mèngdé," said Dun.

"It is? Isn't it? Yet I make no apologies for it. It is the way I must be."

Dun tsked and shook his head. "An asshole till the end huh?"

"I suppose I am. For the sake of my ambition I must be. I must be able to make decisions that others may call cold and callous. To apologize now…to show regret now would spit in the faces of those who died to help me realize my ambition. That is something I cannot, no I will not do."

Dun sighed and muttered, "A lofty speech as always," before downing his drink.

Cao chuckled. "I suppose it is. But that doesn't mean it is not the truth."

"Regardless," Cao continued, "They have both found men they loved. This is more than most women can say and just think, you will soon have grandchildren to spoil."

His last statement did not bring Yuan the peace he thought it would as the usually jovial man let out a miserable wail about how his daughter's innocence had been stolen. Not only did imbibing in drink may Yuan honest, it made him irrationally emotional. Dun took another drink from his half filled cup and did his best to ignore his brother. He was happy Yuan did not choose to drink on a regular basis because he was fairly sure he would wind up kicking his ass on a daily basis if he had to deal with this behavior regularly.

"Speaking of unhappy women in marriages, how are your daughter's fairing with the Emperor," Dun asked over his brother's loud blubbering sobs.

Cao smiled at the not so subtle dig from his cousin.

"Well enough. They want for nothing—"

"Except happiness," Dun interjected.

"It is nice to have someone who speaks so freely of their disdain for my actions," Cao said with a tight smile.

"Someone has to keep you humble," Dun replied. "Isn't that what you said you wanted us for? So you wouldn't lose yourself to your ambitions?"

Cao thought to himself for a moment. Had he said that? He couldn't remember, it did seem like a reasonable thing to do even if it was currently annoying him.

"The fact remains that we cannot all be so lucky to have matches bound in love. My daughters are not the first nor will they be the last to marry for something other than love."

Dun said nothing in response to Cao continued.

"My daughters have written that the Emperor has come to accept his position and has been a rather obedient little dog."

"Careful Mèngdé. Even a tame dog can bite if provoked."

The smile Cao had worn slipped from his face and his eyes grew cold. His voice took on a hard edge as he spoke.

"Yes, but should this dog dare to nip at me once more, he will be put down."

There was a silence that followed Cao's words. The light atmosphere that flowed between them was replaced by something that was almost oppressive, that is until Yuan spoke once more.

"Who *hic* w-who has a dog?"

Both men slowly turned their heads to looked at Yuan, stunned at the sheer ridiculousness of his statement. It was Cao that broke first. His shoulders shook as he tried to hold in his laughter, but his resistance did not last long. Before long, he had let out a deep belly laugh that had him bent over, clutching his sides.

"Idiot," Dun replied with a shake of head as he tried to hide his upturned lips behind his cup.

When Cao calmed down, he clapped both brothers on the shoulders. "It seems like it has been a long time I have laughed so freely. I had almost forgotten how. Come now cousins. No more serious talk. This is a joyous event, isn't it? Let us drink to the happiness of your daughters."

Cao refilled all there cups himself before humbly passing it to his cousins. The gesture was not lost on them…well it wasn't lost on Dun. Yuan probably wouldn't remember much about this day which is probably what wanted. Cao still held them in very high regard, despite the tension that had lingered between him over the last year or so with the forced marriages for Xiahouji and Xiaolian.

Cao rose his cup in preparation for a toast. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak but was stunned to silence by Yuan who gulped down his drink in one go. Yuan let out a loud burp before flashing them a drunken smile and falling backwards to the floor. This sent Cao into another round of hysterics and Dun calling them both idiots before taking another much needed drink.

=#=

Xiaolian sat on what was to be her marital bed with her hands balled into tight fist. Their family had escorted them as per tradition and gave them their well wishes on the impending consummation of their marriage. All that was left was Li Dian's cousin whom he was currently speaking to him in a low voice with by the door. Before Zhuyue had left, she whispered for Xiaolian to relax. Xiaolian wished she could take her mother's advice, but she found it easier said than done. She was terrified. This was something she had never done before, something she had no training for. Her mother had explained what it was that was expected of her. She understood the act, but had no idea how to go about it.

Dian finally bade farewell to his cousin and closed the door. He turned to face Xiaolian and smiled.

"What a day, huh?"

She gave him a curt nod, her body was so taut that Dian thought she might spring out of the bed and flee.

"Sorry that took so long. He was telling me how the family was getting along. They were terrible at first, but they are getting the hang of it. They have no choice but to. I'm glad they are finally fending for themselves. It really is a load off both of us," Dian said as he set about removing his ceremonial robes. Xiaolian watched him, her fist squeezing tighter. She would surely have crescent shaped indents in embedded in her palms for hours when she finally uncurled her fist.

Finally down to his small clothes, Dian stretched, his bones giving off a satisfying pop. He let out a relieved ahh before turning to face her.

"We don't have to do this right now you know. We can just go to sleep."

"No," she replied with a shake of her head. "I…I want to."

"You sure?"

She nodded in lieu of an answer. Dian nodded and moved over to her. She went rigid as she watched his movements. Dian placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, his hands ran down her arms before uncurling her tight fist and taking her hands into his.

"You looked beautiful today—Well you look beautiful every day, but today especially."

"I am not beautiful," she protested.

"I disagree," he said with a lopsided smile. Xiaolian turned her head to the side in an effort to hide her blush. She had hoped he thought she looked nice today. It was one of the things she worried about.

Dian turned her palms over and examined the marks she made on her hand. "Do these hurt?" he asked.

Xiaolian, still facing away from him, shook her head. Dian gave a soft hum before lifting her palm to his lips and planting a soft kiss on each hand. Xiaolian jumped at the feeling, surprised by the action, noting that she still felt the heat of his lips long after the kiss.

"Hey," he whispered. When he did not say anything else, she finally turned her head and looked up at him and he quickly swooped down to plant a kiss on her lips.

Xiaolian's own lips were stiff against his for a few moments, but Dian did not relent. Slowly but surely, Xiaolian's defenses broke down and she felt herself responding, a warm feeling rushing through her body, and an odd tingle low in her belly she could not identify.

"I love you," Dian whispered after breaking the kiss.

"I love you too," she replied. Dian smiled and kissed her again, pushing her back against the bed.

=#=

Xiahouji sat on her marital bed with her eyes squeezed shut. She had in fact not opened her eyes since she had been led to the bed by her adopted mother. While she wished she had the comfort of her beloved bunny, she was happy that she did not. She knew with the way she was feeling right now, she would have squeezed the life out of it due to her rising anxiety. Still she needed something to squeeze. It was her way of dealing with stress.

So with her eyes still closed, she groped around the bed in search of a pillow. She saw one when they first entered the room and had a general idea of where it may be. Her hand landed on something rather solid; something that did not feel anything like a bed should. Tilting her head to the side, she began to grope around more, rubbing her hand along the elevated surface, her fingers grazing over the smooth fabric covering the hard object beneath it. Curious she continued to feel around with her fingers, moving further along the surface till her fingers came across a crevice with another hard object atop it. She felt around in the crevice for a few seconds noting how warm it felt, the back of her hand brushing along the side of the other hard object a few times. Turning her hands over she felt for the raised object and ran her hand against it. She realized she could just about wrap her small hands around the object so she did so as best she could before giving it a squeeze and trying to pull it away from the surface it was attached to. It did not give way like she hoped, but something did shift when she pulled it. It felt as if she was pulling a cover off of something but could not quite get it off.

'What in the world is this?' she wondered to herself as she squeezed once more.

Just as she was about to swallow her fear and take a peek at the object, Zhao Yun spoke in a low voice.

"I had not thought you would be so bold, Xiahouji."

Xiahouji's entire body froze. She had never heard Zhao Yun's voice like that before. It made her insides feel fluttery. But that wasn't what made her freeze. What made her freeze was that his voice came from right next to her. In fact, it was spoken so close to her ear that she could feel his breath fanning against it. Xiahouji's eyes shot open and she could see that Zhao Yun was indeed right next to her. He was staring at her with a look she had never seen on his face before. She could not place the dark look in her eyes, but she knew it made her stomach squirm at the sight of it. She couldn't understand why, but she also did not care at the moment. If he was this close, what exactly was she currently holding?

With great trepidation, she forced her eyes to see exactly what it was she had been grabbing. To her utter horror, Xiahouji saw that she had been fondling her new husband's manhood through his clothing. Xiahouji let out a scream and tried to fling herself off the bed, as far away from Yun as possible.

She had only been in the air for less than a second when her wrist was grabbed and she was spun around and dumped onto the very bed she had just tried to escape from. Yun's body covered hers the minute her body had settled against the bed.

Xiahouji let out a squeak that made Yun pause. He blew out a harsh breath and lifted himself off of her.

"My apologies, L—", he paused remembering they were bound as man and wife. "Xiahouji," he amended. "You must think me a beast."

"N-no," she replied, as she pressed a dainty hand against her chest, her heart fluttering wildly.

"We should go to bed. It has been a long day."

"B-but the consummation?"

"It isn't necessary. I am your protector only." He hung his head. "I…forgot myself and thought us as more. Forgive me. I am but a man…"

"N-no!" she exclaimed, sitting up in a rush and grabbing hold of his hands.

Yun stared at their joined hands in astonishment before looking at the determination she wore on her face.

"Did you forget?"

"Forget?" he repeated, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Y-you are not just my protector. I want to be…to be your wife!" she declared boldly before throwing herself against him forcing catch her.

"I-I am ready. Make me your wife, truly."

Yun searched her face for a long time. It was clear she was still nervous, but she looked so sure of her words. Yun would never deny Xiahouji anything and with pleasure, he carried out her order several times that night.

=#=

-Weeks later, Pang Tong's family home -

Zhuge Liang stroked his chin silently as he mulled over what his brother had told him. It had been some time since he had seen his older brother and he looked forward to reuniting for the wedding of their sister to Pang Tong's son. The reunion, however had been tainted by the unfortunate news from Jin that the Pillars of Wu had refused to consider Cao Cao as a credible threat.

"They must be quite a stubborn bunch if you cannot reach them with your words, brother. I truly never thought I would see that day that you could not sway someone to see your side."

Zhuge Jin sighed and pushed the away the sting of failure he felt at not being able to get the pillars to even consider an alliance.

"It is not stubbornness, but avarice. They fear giving up their position and the wealth they have because of it. A war could break their hold on the stolen power they have."

"So would Cao Cao attacking them. Do the fools not see?"

"Clearly not," scoffed Pang Tong before taking another puff of his long pipe.

Jin sighed. "An attack from Cao Cao would certainly spur them into action, but it would put us at a great disadvantage."

"Indeed," Liang replied as he stroked his chin again.

"Perhaps you should go to visit him brother," said Zhuge Jun, speaking up for the first time since they had begun this conversation.

Both brothers turned their attention to him.

Jun explained further. "It seems to me that we need a way around the Pillars to Sun Quan. If we can get that, perhaps we can convince him of the impending danger."

"Kǒngmíng, if you go back with brother Ziyu and request to see Sun Quan, they cannot deny you. To deny someone of your stature would be a great offense and would have them lose face with many scholars in the land. You can use that meeting to try and convince him."

Both Liang and Jin looked at their brother with what could only be described as pride.

"You can grown so much, Bóyáng. Your plan is a promising one," said Jin with a smile.

"Indeed it is," Liang replied. "We will leave tomorrow."

"So soon?" Xun Yu blurted out.

"Ha! I had forgotten you were there, such a quiet little mouse you are," Tong remarked with a smirk.

Yu frowned. During the time he had spent in Pang Tong's presence, he could confidently say he did not like him.

"Yes," Liang answered. "The Pillars have wasted too much time with their refusal to listen. I am afraid that to delay this meeting would give Cao Cao even more of an advantage."

"Yes, Master," Yu replied obediently. "I will go and get things ready for our trip.

Liang nodded in agreement.

"Lien is not going to be happy," Jin mused.

"No she will not," Liang confirmed with a frown.

"I will remain behind. She will not be alone. It will also give me time to get to know Lianshi."

"Thank you truly for taking care of her brother," said Jin with a smile as he squeezed his brother's shoulder affectionately. "It almost makes up for the fact that you chose to serve Kǒngmíng's Lord instead of mine. Almost."

Jun let out a laugh. "I am sorry brother, but after what we just heard, I feel as if I made the right choice. The Pillars do not make serving Wu sound very appealing."

Jin sighed. "They don't. Sun Quan has forced this. When Lord Sun Jian and Lord Sun Ce ruled, it was not like this. They took control of their lands and ruled it with honor and fairness. Sun Quan has sullied their legacy. He does not deserve the name Sun."

"You could always join us," Tong said with a cheeky smile. "With the three Zhuge brothers together, our kingdom wouldn't be anything to sneeze at; even with an incompetent, cowardly Lordling."

"Shiyuan," Liang said with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Have I said anything that was untrue?" he challenged with a rose brow that couldn't be seen under his massive hat.

The answer that met him was silence.

"That's what I thought," he replied smugly.

"A cowardly Lord and a drunken fool, What a choice to make," Jin said with a sigh.

"You forgot incompetent," Tong added helpfully.

Liang sighed again. "We shall make him into a Lord worth serving, Shiyuan. Mark my words."

Tong merely hummed, clearly disbelieving Liang's declaration.

"Still, Shiyuan brings up a good point. Perhaps you should join us. Your talents are wasted in Wu. I would love to serve with my brother once more.

"As would I," said Jun.

"It is an enticing offer. Huifen would certainly be happy about it. She has missed you all terribly and truthfully, I have questioned my service to Sun Quan as of late."

Jin let out a tired sigh. "Let us see what comes from this alliance. I will make my decision then."

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Sun Quan sat before his council wondering how things had escalated so quickly. Last night, he had been approached by Zhou Yu and told that Zhuge Liang, brother to Zhuge Jin had arrived for a visit. Quan did not see why he needed to be bothered about this announcement. Liang's brother Jin served Wu for years. It made sense that his brother would visit him occasionally. Yu had insisted that Liang was a scholar of great renown and his visit could not be ignored nor could it simply be passed to the Pillars to be taken care of. Then Yu had demanded he be sober for said meeting so Quan had to abstain from drinking.

It was a grumpy Quan that greeted Liang, who was of course flanked by Jin and someone named Xun Yu. Before they could even get tea served, a servant had rushed in declaring that a messenger from Cao Cao had arrived. Irritation rising, he was forced to postpone the meeting with Liang to meet with the messenger.

Meeting the messenger made his day progressively worse. The man handed him a scroll From Cao Cao requesting the submission of him and his people to his rule. With a pounding headache and a thirst for wine like never before, Quan had to call an emergency meeting with the Pillars to tackle this new threat.

Before he could officially start the meeting, Zhuge Liang, invited by his brother Jin joined the meeting and handed him a scroll of his own, requesting an alliance between him and Liu Bei.

Now Sun Quan sat at the head of his council, both scrolls partially opened on the table before him and his Pillars arguing amongst each other about which offer should be taken. He stared at the scroll, eyes unfocused, not truly taking in the words that were partially visible to him. How did things escalate so quickly? What was he suppose to do?

"Enough!" Quan said. His head was pounding and their chattering was annoying him. He really needed a drink.

The usually drunken lord's command was heeded. They waited in patient silence for Quan to speak again. To them it look like he was weighing his options, but in reality, he was waiting for the pounding in his head to abate slightly.

With his head pounding more to the rhythm of soldiers marching rather than beating war drums, Quan finally looked out at his advisors who were all currently looking expectantly at him. His eyes slipped closed, wishing he had someone to rub his temples for him. Idly his thoughts turned to Lianshi and not his wife. Lianshi always gave the best massages. His wife…he could never remember actually getting a massage from her. No matter, he pushed the thought out of his head. They were waiting for him.

"Tell me your thoughts."

The moment the words left his mouth, one of the advisors shot up and spoke quickly.

"My Lord, we cannot bow before a scoundrel like Cao Cao!"

Zhuge Jin and Zhou Yu exchanged looks. In the corner or Jin's eye he could see Lu Su and Lu Meng doing the same. The one who spoke had been adamantly against standing up to Cao, yet with the threat now breathing down their collective necks, he seems to finally understand the urgency they tried to impart on him before and now supported the idea of war. The idiot; all of them were idiots. If only they had listened before, they could have struck a swift and decisive blow. Now they were responding to the threat, not initiating it. They were effectively on the back foot at the beginning and that was never a good position to be in for a war.

A few advisors nodded in agreement, but another advisor spoke up to speak against it.

"But we cannot hope to match the might of his army! We must surrender!" he implored.

Fighting broke out amongst the group again and Quan gave a heavy sigh. His headache was starting to throb violently against his skull again.

"Cao Cao's demand for our surrender…Liu Bei's request for an alliance…," Quan muttered before closing his eyes once more, willing the pain in his head to go away.

"We will have a decision soon," Zhuge Liang remarked as he kept his eyes trained on Quan. Jin silently agreed.

'What would my father have done? Or my brother?' he tried to focus on these thoughts; tried to imagine seeing his brother and father as they would be if they were in this moment instead of him.

"Fight."

Quan's eyes flew open. Had he truly heard that? He looked around to see that his advisors had still fought amongst themselves, no longer paying any heed to him. He was the only one to hear the voices of his brother and father, telling them what he should do, what he had to do.

"Surrender, alliance…Both options are reasonable, I think," Quan said aloud. Silence fell over the group once more, all eyes looking curiously at him to see what his final decision would be.

Quan paused. He could see in the back of the hall more had joined them. His trusted generals, his little sister. People who depended on him. What a sorry Lord he had been. He looked at the group in the back once more. Lianshi was not among them. A pang of regret bloomed in his breast. He needed to find her; to apologize. He was stronger with her at his side, but for now, a decision needed to be made.

"What would Wu look like under the thumb of Cao Cao? Could we truly flourish? Could we truly be what my father and my brother had envisioned for us? Surrender would be the easier route. I know this. But taking that path would clip our wings. Wings that are meant to spread and fly high. I have faith that Wu can one day achieve true greatness. I have faith in you all."

Quan stood. "I must think of our future and under Cao Cao we will have none!"

Quan grasped the sword that rested against his throne and unsheathed it. With a mighty swing, he brought it down on the scroll holding Cao's demand for surrender, cleaving it and the table beneath in twain. The scroll holding proposal of an alliance from Liu Bei flew up and Quan plucked it from the air with a surety that had not been seen in him before.

"We will fight! We will join forces with Liu Bei, and defeat Cao Cao!" Quan roared with a power that had even a few of the naysayers bobbing their heads quickly in agreement.

"From now on, any who suggest surrender, will swiftly meet their end at the edge of my blade!"

Cheers broke out amongst group followed by a flurry of fevered salutes. A few remained silent, their heads bowed low as they mourned the loss of their cushy lives that they would surely now lose. Times were changing and it was clear that the drunken lord of Wu was no more.

Zhuge Liang hid a smile behind his fan, clearly pleased with this turn of events.

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Cao Cao was aroused from his sleep by an urgent message. It seems the messenger he had sent to Sun Quan had finally returned, bringing Quan's answer to his request for surrender with him. Cao summoned his generals for an emergency meeting. Bleary eyed they assembled; grumbling in annoyance at having been woken up from their slumber by something they were certain could have waited until the morning. Once they had all assembled, Man Chong being the last to arrive as he was the hardest to wake, Cao bade one of the servants to summon the messenger forward. He was surprised to instead find a foot soldier being led in holding a medium sized box. The soldier held the box out at arm's length and he looked a bit green.

"What's this?" Cao asked as he propped his chin up on his fist, stifling a yawn that threatened to escape past his lips.

The soldier placed the box at Cao's feet and scrambled quickly away from it. He saluted with shaking hands and spoke with a quivering voice.

"L-lord Sun Quan's answer, my lord. It arrived not long ago."

Cao quirked a brow and looked to Cao Pi. Pi took the unspoken order and opened the box, tsking once he saw the contents. He tipped the box over with his boot, spilling the items within out before Cao. Inside was the head of his messenger and the scroll he sent to Quan cut into two jagged halfs.

Cao Cao stared at the contents with an impassive face for a few moments before a wolfish grin crept across his face. He threw his head back and barked out a harsh laugh.

"So that is how you want to play it Sun Quan? Very well. The stage is set. The battle of Chi Bi comes."