Talking with Zhang Ran

Yun was now having fun seeing them all suffer when Zhen Luo walks up to him and says, "I see that you are having fun."

"Give me at least this since they ignored me and compared me to some middle-aged man," says Yun not feeling like one even when he is in his mid-thirties.

"I didn't know that my oldest was interested in you," says Zhen Luo a bit worried since she respected all her older sisters.

It could create a friction between her and Zhen Jiang because she is going to marry Yun next year while Yun looked at her and says, "Trust me, I didn't know either, and knowing my mother it is definitely true that portrayals of me were circulating back then when I was younger. You can quite confirm it since you became her victim as well."

Zhen Luo giggled from hearing that since she could imagine Madam Su distributing those portrayals around the city with the help of her servants to find a match for Yun.

"She just wanted a daughter-in-law to give her grandchildren as soon as possible. How did you meet your late wife by the way?" asks Zhen Luo curiously as Yun was looking at Zhen Luo's mother disciplining Zhen Luo's older sisters.

"I encountered her while traveling to Luoyang to report the framing of the Leading General Lu Zhi back then by presenting the heads of Zhang Liang and Zhang Jiao. It was the same day I encountered Snowflake when she stumbled out of a brush before me. It was love at first sight," says Yun informing Zhen Luo about it while Zhen Luo could glimpse happiness in his eyes.

This made Zhen Luo feel a bit jealous since she never saw such an expression not even from her ex-husband making it clear that Yun married his late wife because he loved her and not because of her riches or the benefits his family would gain from this marriage.

"Anyway, I can see that you didn't inform your sisters or mother as you have said," says Yun thinking that Zhen Luo might have lied to him.

"I did inform my father and he seemed to not have informed them, that is a different thing," says Zhen Luo informing him about what could have happened since she really wrote home before coming.

"Then I have a bad feeling about all this," says Yun on edge since it could turn out to be a trap since the man they are talking about isn't present at the moment.

"Don't worry my father would never do something like that," says Zhen Luo trying to calm Yun down while hoping that her father wasn't dumb enough to really pull it off.

Soon Zhen Luo's mother joined them after she dealt with her anger as she looked at her youngest before looking at Yun and saying, "How about we go inside and you tell us why you are in the company of General Zhao and not your husband Yuan Xi."

"That would be a good idea," says Yun thinking that Zhen Luo inherited her wisdom from her mother.

Yun looked at Rin who was still playing with Zhen Fei. It seemed like she ignored all the hassle the women created and was completely concentrated on the game.

The animals were relaxing as well as Thunder went to the side ignoring the servants while Shadow was sitting on her place on top of the cart pretending to sleep while taking everything in.

Yun followed Zhen Luo and her mother before arriving at a room that was decorated with some costly items which even Yun wouldn't use in his Manor when he says, "It seems your family doesn't spare any cost to decorate the manor in the right way."

"The decoration were gifts from my son-in-law. I heard that his younger cousin is working for you," says Zhen Luo's mother talking about Sima Yi working for Yun.

"If you are talking about Sima Yi then you are right. He is working for me and is quite competent. I hope that he stays loyal to my family until the Chaos plaguing the Empire is over," says Yun as a servant enters the room with a tea set placing it on the table before Zhen Luo's mother began to prepare the tea.

"Where is father? And didn't he tell you about what I have written to him some weeks ago?" asks Zhen Luo trying to find out what her mother knew but her mother was too concentrated on preparing the tea.

"He was quite out of himself when he received your letter. It almost looked like he wanted to go to war himself if I didn't know him better since he never touched a weapon in his life," says Zhen Luo's mother now looking at Yun as she waited for the tea to be ready to be poured.

"So can one of you two tell me why you are together in Lunu and why is he calling you 'his wife'?" asks Zhen Luo's mother curious as Yun wanted to answer but Zhen Luo was faster.

"Yuan Shao has lost the battle so badly against Cao Cao that you could say that General Zhao's army laid siege against Ye with Yuan Shao being in their possession. They wanted recompensation for the death of General Zhao's father who died in battle. Lady Liu gave me and a cart full of gold as a recompensation for General Zhao's loss voiding my marriage with Yuan Xi in the process," says Zhen Luo to her mother who was thinking hard on this matter.

"It would explain the reaction your father had when he returned from Ye the last time when he went. He was furious because he wasn't welcomed into Ye like he normally would," says Zhen Luo's mother as the tea was ready and she poured it for Yun, her daughter, and herself.

"But not the reaction he had when he stormed off. He wouldn't react this abruptly just because of one of his daughters. It must be because the business with the Yuan Family is falling apart now that you aren't part of their family," says Zhen Luo's mother seeing through her husband easily before taking a sip from her cup.

Yun drank from his cup as did Zhen Luo when Yun smiles and says, "The Yuan Family will collapse very soon. He shouldn't cry over spilled milk and wait for three to four years. Yuan Shao will soon die and his sons will battle each other for the inheritance which Yuan Shao will leave behind. Cao Cao will use this opportunity to sponsor one of the sons so they can weaken themselves before he takes everything for himself."

"I see that you have quite the foresight, General Zhao," says Zhen Luo's mother curiously as Yun only shakes his head.

"If you didn't see it coming then you are underestimating Cao Cao. He is a cunning fox who will weaken his enemy if he can before striking. He did it with Lu Bu as he did it with Liu Bei and now he is doing it with Yuan Shao who must be on his deathbed thanks to the injuries he suffered from me," says Yun not bragging about what he did to Yuan Shao but telling Zhen Luo's mother to not underestimated Cao Cao.

"Then you must have come to take us away if my intuition can be trusted. You are afraid that they will use Zhen Luo against you by using us as bargaining tools," says Zhen Luo's mother easily deducting why they have come without knowing the content of the letter Zhen Luo sent home.

"That is right. Your daughter is quite an intelligent woman and it would be a waste to separate her head from her neck just because they are using her family against her to get to me. Even more so after my mother approved of her becoming her daughter-in-law," says Yun seriously while containing a smile on his face which was fake.

"How much time do we have to prepare?" asks Zhen Luo's mother seriously maintaining also a fake smile on her face.

"I can give you two weeks while I play around as a doctor to keep my actual persona credible," says Yun as he finished his tea.

"What if my husband doesn't return in time?" asks Zhen Luo's mother curious to find out what Yun was about to say.

"Don't worry, I will put my best man into finding him right away," says Yun as he stands up before walking towards the door when he stops and he turns around before asking embarrassed, "Do you have a portrayal of him? My best man won't be able to find him without knowing what he looks like."

"Of course, dear," says Zhen Luo's mother as she asked one of the servants to fetch one of the portrayals of her husband, Zhen Yi.

"What is your name, madam? I should remember it since we will be becoming in-laws soon," says Yun curious since he couldn't call her always Zhen Luo's mother or Madam.

"Zhang Ran, but most just call me, Madam Zhang," says Madam Zhang as she finished her tea before the servant enters the room with the portrayal of Zhen Yi.

She hands it over and Yun leaves the room while saying, "I will leave you two alone so you can talk between each other without me disturbing you since you seem to have a lot to talk about."

He walks back out towards Thunder and Shadow before calling Shadow over who landed on his shoulder when Yun shows her the portrayal of Zhen Yi and he says, "Find him for me. He should be somewhere in the city. If he isn't, return to me immediately."

Shadow then flies away to fulfill her mission while Yun helped Thunder to get the cart off so he could roam easily without dragging the cart around. Yun then watched the children playing when the ball landed before Yun.

Yun then began to juggle the ball with his feet before doing some old trick that he still remembered from his childhood as Arthur, making Rin and Fei look at him surprised since they have never seen what Yun was doing at the moment.

Fei wanted to learn from Yun but Yun just returned the ball to them before thinking of creating football in this era when Shadow landed on his left shoulder.

"Have you found him that fast?" asks Yun surprised as Shadow nods before jumping to the ground.

She begins to write with her talons, 'He is drunk holding a sheathed sword while walking here.'

Yun frowned upon hearing that before saying to himself, "He must have taken quite a hit when Zhen Luo left the Yuan Family and now that they have to abandon Lunu it might look even bigger. I can't do much about it. I should leave it to Zhen Luo and her mother since I am an outsider."

Yun then petted Shadow in her favorite spot making her happy before feeding her some dried meat. He then turned to watch the children which were trying to imitate him.