The Proposal

The next day arrived and Yun was done spending time at the Frontline. He just wanted to get to Guangling to give his son his final rest after stopping in Jianye to see his daughter and his grandchild.

But before going there he needed to see someone which he would meet in Baqui south of their current location on neutral land since it was neither in control of Sun Quan, Liu Bei, or Cao Cao.

Dian Wei was beside Yun as they arrived at Baqui. They walked through the village until arriving at a small inn which served specialties of the regions.

They sat down on a table when Dian Wei asks, "Who are we meeting here?"

"Someone that owes us a debt," says Yun seriously as they were clothed in simple robes to not catch too much attention at the moment.

Word spread fast after Cao Cao's loss against Sun Quan at the Battle of the Red Cliffs with people forgetting that a third party was involved as well.

The waiter arrived and placed some water on the table when Yun whispers, "Has he arrived yet?"

"There are rumors of him being in the village but he hasn't come here yet," whispers the waiter back before writing something down and leaving.

The waiter is one of Yun's spies who was undercover in this village and keeps informing about the development in the region he is stationed at when a big man enters the inn.

He strode forward before stopping at Yun's table and sitting down across of Yun wearing a round strawhat when Yun hears, "I am sorry about your loss."

"We are not here to talk about the past," says Yun ignoring the pain he was feeling while saying, "I will get my revenge for it sooner or later but until then tell your brother to wash his neck everyday since one day could be the day I appear before his doorstep to behead him."

"I don't think you just called me here to tell my brother the obvious," says the man removing his strawhat revealing that under it was Guan Yu as he continues, "Why are we really here?"

"My youngest son needs a wife and you need someone to marry your daughter in the future so I am suggesting that we make a marriage arrangements for the two until they can decide if they really want to marry each other. I don't want to force my son nor your daughter into marriage that isn't out of their own desire. My late wife would also agree with me on this matter since she and I married each other because we loved each other," says Yun suggesting something bold to Guan Yu since it would be seen as treason by Zhang Fei and Liu Bei.

"I can't do that. They will think that I am changing side just like you did with Cao Cao in the last battle," says Guan Yu seriously wanting to deny this proposal when Yun stops Guan Yu by raising his index finger.

"You can just tell them that it was to appease my rage for your beloved younger brother by sacrificing your daughter to me. They won't be the wiser and your daughter won't have to marry my son if they don't like each other," says Yun trying to convince Guan Yu to do as he suggests when he sees his friend glare at him.

"Just think about this," says Yun as he wanted to write a scenario which could happen to Guan Yu in the future when he says, "What if Liu Bei forces your daughter to become his mistress hoping for stronger children since her father is a formidable warrior as are his sons."

This didn't make Guan Yu happy as Yun dragged his older brother's name through the mud when Yun continues, "You do remember that MI Shi never wanted to return to Liu Bei because of her disappointment after being close to him. I think Lady Gan is the same but she has already children with your brother so she might be staying for their own good after being abandoned by Liu Bei more than once."

Guan Yu couldn't say anything back at Yun since it was a truth that Yun was spilling before him with Liu Bei abandoning his wives at any given moment.

"They won't be happy," says Guan Yu holding his forehead like he was having a headache.

"Nor will I until I have Zhang Fei's head but I will appease myself with your daughter marrying my son for now," says Yun half-joking about this matter before pouring himself another cup of wine.

"If you want Jing, you should take it now because I will retreat with my men to retake Xiapi and then focus my eyes on the northwestern front of Cao Cao trying to recruit some young blood there while my son-in-law will have his eyes on the south," says Yun giving Guan Yu a hint before drinking from his cup again.

"Also don't forget to return Jing back to Sun Quan when the time is right. I wouldn't want to get involved in the battle that would come to be from such an incident," says Yun seriously warning Guan Yu now more openly before pouring himself another drink.

"Are you threatening me now?" asks Guan Yu seriously as Yun only smirks at him.

"I don't tell threats," says Yun as he now releases his Qi making everyone in the inn feel the pressure of being in Yun's presence when he says, "I only make promises, Guan Yu. And I promise you that if your brother doesn't give Jing at the given time to Sun Quan that it will be ugly for everyone involved."

Yun saw the civilians in the inn fall unconscious making him stop releasing his Qi making the pressure vanished when Guan Yu notices that the waiter wasn't affected by Yun's pressure at all as he places another wine jar replacing the one that broke under the pressure.

"One of your spies, I see," says Guan Yu coming to that conclusion after seeing the waiter still standing normally.

"He is," says Yun not hiding it.

"I won't promise anything since it won't be my decision in the end," says Guan Yu seriously taking Yun's advice and warning to heart when Yun touches the food finally showing to Guan Yu that it wasn't poisoned by his spy while Dian Wei was already through his food while Yun and Guan Yu had their conversation.

Guan Yu joined them as they stayed for the day and parted ways the next day as Guan Yu had to make preparations to take over Jing while Yun headed for Jianye with Dian Wei.

"Was it wise to tell him that?" asks Dian Wei worried that Guan Yu could get in their way.

"It depends on him now. If he follows my advice or dooms himself and his men," says Yun seriously knowing that Guan Yu wouldn't easily surrender Jing even if Yun stood before him.

"But let us rather focus on Xiapi now instead of something that will happen in some years," says Yun seriously as he needed to make sure that Xiapi was secured to have a foothold to the North.

Once Xiapi was retaken Yun would need to make a critical change to the landscape since Xiapi has one massive flaw which even he can't overcome and it is the rivers around the city which could be used against the city.

It took them a week to reach Jianye finding his army stationed outside the city waiting for him receiving reports from Pang Tong and Tang Shi about their losses in this war while cleaning himself to meet with his daughter and son-in-law.

Yun trimmed his beard making it look more civil almost elegant as well as his hair which had grown out since the war began disturbing him a lot since he loved his short hair which already had some gray hairs mixed in.

He put on his armor and left his greatsword behind while being escorted by Zheng and Sun Ren into Jianye. The city was as lively as he remembered it from the last time he was there.

Many people stopped for a moment from doing their things when they saw Yun but returned to their daily chores after seeing Sun Ren escort him.

"It seems, they are scared of me," says Yun jokingly knowing that he would make people nervous because of his size and attire.

"Don't mind them, father-in-law. They just need to get to make themselves a picture of you," says Sun Ren knowing that the people of Jianye are honest and warmth in nature.

"Oh, I don't really mind. Now that I think about it, what is the name of my grandchild?" asks Yun curious to find out as Sun Ren and Zheng looked at him confused.

"Didn't she tell you?" asks Zheng confused as Yun was now looking at him confused.

"If you mean your sister than I have to disappoint you but no," says Yun seriously as Zheng was holding his head now in frustration.

"I don't have one nephew but two," says Sun Ren revealing that Mulan had twins just like her mother before her.

"Twins, and they are boys," says Yun which didn't plaster a smile on his face since this could to lead to a division between both in the future or even the whole Sun Clan.

"Yes, Jian and Xian," says Zheng making it sound like a wordplay as their name rhyme.

"At least they rhyme with each other," says Yun seriously as they were now near the Sun Mansion making Yun a bit nervous since he would meet his grandchildren.

He knew that they wouldn't remember him for long since they are babies but he wanted to leave a good first impression on them which would last for at least a couple of hours since babies were still developing their minds remembering only the faces of the people they see daily.

They entered the Mansion and could see many servants bow to them because of Sun Ren when they arrived at a door which would lead to the room Mulan and her children were staying in.