xymnovel Chapter 97 Each with their own ulterior motives
Chapter 97 Each with their own ulterior motives
In early winter in Luoyang, the Luo River has not yet frozen, but there are already few people traveling on the river.
In a warm room of the Yuan family's villa in the south of the city, the charcoal fire was burning brightly, keeping out the chill from outside the window.
The four sat around a table with several plates of dried fruit and a pot of warmed wine on it.
Yuan Shu toyed with his wine cup, his gaze sweeping over Cao Cao sitting opposite him from the rim of the cup, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
"Mengde, you've become quite formidable now! With a single swing of your five-colored cudgel, who in Luoyang doesn't know the name of Cao Beibu!"
"In the capital, children cry at night, and they all use your name to frighten them. Your reputation is truly immense!"
Cao Cao was twirling a dried date between his fingers when he heard this and looked up.
He could detect the sourness in Yuan Shu's words, but he didn't take it to heart. Instead, he grinned and spoke in a booming voice.
"Brother Highway, are you praising me or insulting me?"
"Of course I'm praising you."
Yuan Shu slammed his wine cup down on the table, his tone growing increasingly sarcastic: "The fact that Jian Shuo's uncle was beaten to death has made all the powerful figures in Luoyang cower in fear."
"Such prestige is beyond my reach, but I wonder how long you can maintain this prestige."
That's not just sour, it's barbed.
Cao Cao was not annoyed. He tossed the dried dates back into the dish, picked up his wine cup, and took a sip.
"I'll keep up this act for as long as I can. As the Northern Lieutenant, I'll do what this position requires."
"Jian Tu has violated the law, and I will execute him by caning. As for what others think, that is their business."
Yuan Shao sat in the main seat and did not interrupt.
He was dressed in a moon-white robe with a jade belt around his waist. With his dignified appearance, he naturally became the center of attention at the table.
At this moment, he picked up his wine cup and spoke slowly and deliberately: "Gonglu, Mengde did a really good job in this matter."
"Those arrogant eunuchs should have been taught a lesson long ago."
"Mengde's blow not only struck Jian Tu, but also shook the entire city of Luoyang. From now on, everyone should know that eunuchs are not lawless."
Once Yuan Shao spoke, Yuan Shu could say nothing more.
He snorted, picked up his wine cup, and took a sip by himself.
Cao Cao leaned forward, his gaze fixed on Yuan Shao's eyes, as if trying to see through him.
"Brother Benchu, since you say I've done a good job, then I'd like to ask you a question: when are you going to come out and do something good yourself?"
The question was so direct that Yuan Shao's smile faded for a moment.
"The time is not right!"
"At what time?" Cao Cao pressed.
Yuan Shao did not answer immediately. He picked up the wine pot, poured himself a cup, and then stared at the slightly rippling wine in the cup, remaining silent for a moment.
"Mengde, your recommendation for the civil service examination and appointment as the Northern Commandant is the best path for you!"
"I am different from you. The Yuan family has produced four generations of high-ranking officials, and its disciples and former subordinates are all over the country."
"But precisely because of this, my every move will be magnified infinitely, making it impossible for me to back down easily."
"It is better to wait for the right time than to hastily take up an official post."
"What are you waiting for?"
Yuan Shao raised his eyes, his gaze meeting Cao Cao's: "Wait for an opportunity when the Yuan family will truly be needed."
The words were spoken vaguely, but everyone present understood them.
Yuan Shao wasn't waiting for an official position; with the Yuan family's status, such a position was easily within his grasp. What he was waiting for was a decisive opportunity, a situation that would elevate the Yuan family's prestige to a new level.
Cao Cao did not press further, but simply picked up his wine cup and took a sip.
He neither said Yuan Shao was right nor wrong; he simply implied in silence that he understood, but did not fully agree.
The topic shifted to the rise of eunuchs and the increasingly chaotic state of the government.
Yuan Shao recounted several recent events in the court, his tone calm, but his brows betrayed undisguised disgust.
Cao Cao slammed his hand on the table and said that the problem of eunuchs was not caused by Jian Shuo or Wang Fu, but had become a force to be reckoned with throughout the inner court.
The two men were having a very pleasant conversation, and Yuan Shu listened from the side, but his eyes kept glancing towards the person at the end of the table.
Xu You sat at the last seat.
Xu You was dressed in a slightly worn dark robe today, with a friendly smile on his face, as he poured wine for everyone from the wine pot.
He didn't talk much; he had just been listening since the beginning, occasionally nodding in agreement and sometimes refilling other people's drinks, like a very competent companion.
Yuan Shu's gaze toward him grew increasingly cold.
"Ziyuan!"
Yuan Shu suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying an interrogative tone.
Xu You was pouring wine for Yuan Shao when he heard this. He looked up, his smile unchanged: "What advice do you have for me, Gonglu?"
"I wouldn't dare offer any guidance!"
Yuan Shu slammed his wine cup on the table. "I just want to ask you, I've heard that you've been spending the last six months in close contact with Zhang Rang's retainers?"
The atmosphere in the warm room suddenly became a little tense.
Yuan Shao's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he remained silent.
Cao Cao's gaze swept back and forth between Xu You and Yuan Shu before he put down his wine cup.
Xu You's hands did not stop. He calmly filled Yuan Shao's wine cup, then gently placed the wine pot back on the table before raising his head to meet Yuan Shu's gaze.
"Brother Gonglu is certainly well-informed."
His tone remained unhurried, and his amiable smile remained unchanged: "Indeed, You did have some dealings with Zhang Rang's retainers."
Yuan Shu sneered, "You, a scholar from Nanyang, associating with the retainers of eunuchs, don't you feel it's beneath your dignity?"
These words were spoken with great emphasis, and the warm chamber was so quiet that only the faint crackling of the charcoal fire could be heard.
Xu You did not answer immediately. He picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and then put it down.
This series of actions was performed extremely slowly, as if taking a few breaths to organize one's words, or as if deliberately letting Yuan Shu's question hang in the air for a while.
"Good question, Brother Highway!"
Xu You finally spoke, his voice low but clear: "It is indeed not a glorious thing for me to associate with the eunuch's retainers."
"But I'd like to ask you, Brother Gonglu, if no one associates with them, do you know what Zhang Rang is thinking as you sit here in this warm pavilion today?"
"Do you know what Wang Fu is thinking?"
"Do you know what grudges, what dirt on each other, and what shady dealings those powerful figures in the inner court have among themselves?"
Yuan Shu was taken aback by his series of rhetorical questions.
Xu You didn't give him time to react and continued speaking.
"You spent the last six months in Luoyang making friends with the inner court's retainers, officials, and attendants, which did not earn him a good reputation."
"But it is precisely because of this that You was able to find out some information that others could not."
"If Brother Gonglu feels that my actions are disgraceful to scholars, I have nothing to say. But I dare to say that this information is useful to you all."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Yuan Shu before settling on Yuan Shao's face.
"Zhang Rang has long harbored resentment towards Wang Fu!"
Or, to put it another way: The emperor has long been dissatisfied with Wang Fu!
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao leaned forward slightly.
Cao Cao also dropped his previous nonchalant expression and his gaze became fixed.
"Ziyuan, explain in more detail," Yuan Shao said.