Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast.

This is episode 67.

Last time, Zhou Yu and Sun Quan had concocted a scheme to get Jing province back.

They heard that Liu Bei's wife had just died, so they sent him a marriage proposal, offering him Sun Quan's younger sister.

It was plainly obvious to everyone that this was a trap, and that as soon as Liu Bei showed up

in the Southlands for his wedding, he was going to be taken hostage and ransomed

for Jing province. But in spite of this, Zhuge Liang insisted that Liu Bei should go. So despite his

reservations, Liu Bei, accompanied by the general Zhao Yun, 500 soldiers and three small silk pouches containing strategies from Zhuge Liang,

set off to the city of Nan Xu to meet with Sun Quan.

But instead of going directly to see Sun Quan, they first paid a visit to State Elder Qiao

and told him about the pending nuptials,

State Elder Qiao then went to congratulate Madam Wu, mother of the bride,

except she knew nothing about this since Sun Quan concocted the whole scheme without telling her,

figuring that there was no need since the marriage proposal was just a sham anyway.

So you can imagine Madam Wu's reaction. She sent someone to fetch Sun Quan at once.

At the same time, she also sent some servants out into the city to see if the gossip on the

streets confirmed what she had been told. Soon the servants returned from the streets and said,

It's true, your future son-in-law is already resting at a guesthouse.

His 500 soldiers are purchasing pigs, goats, and fruits in the city, making preparations for the wedding.

The matchmakers are Lv Fan on the bride's side and Liu Bei's advisor

Sun Qian on the groom side. They are welcoming Liu Bei at the guesthouse right now.

Madam Wu was startled. Momentarily, Sun Quan came in to see her. As soon as she saw him, she beat her chest and wept loudly.

...