Chen Gong and a Day's Affairs
The situation had become a complete disaster.
The atmosphere turned downright hostile the moment the old official was dragged away.
Xu Shu, who had been quietly drinking by himself the entire time, rose from his seat.
“Drinking sessions are best kept in moderation. I’ll take my leave now.”
Seeing Xu Shu stand, I decided I should get up as well. In an atmosphere like this, the other powerful families would keep their mouths shut about any requests or favors anyway.
“I’m starting to feel the wine myself. I should retire for the night.”
“Zilie, you’re leaving already? If it’s because of what happened earlier, that fellow is the only one who’s drunk. Why not stay a little longer…”
“No, I’m quite intoxicated. I might not even remember today’s events.”
At those words, Zhang Miao’s deathly pale face relaxed slightly. The other gentry members, rather than pressuring me, actually supported my arms and guided me to the finest guest room in the residence.
Once I lay down comfortably in the large chamber reserved for honored guests, I could hear whispers drifting in from outside.
“Whew, that took ten years off my life.”
“Still, young master Zilie is quite thoughtful, isn’t he? He excused himself the moment things grew awkward.”
“Exactly. So all of you watch your tongues from now on.”
“Let’s leave. What if young master Zilie wakes up and overhears us?”
I could hear everything—Zhang Miao scolding the other families. It almost made me laugh.
The next day.
When I woke in the morning, the servants waiting outside my door immediately sprang into action.
“Oh my! Young master, you’re awake?”
“We’ve prepared washing water and tea. Once you’ve freshened up, we’ll have breakfast ready right away.”
Zhang Miao’s servants fussed over me so attentively it became burdensome. They treated me like royalty at the slightest gesture. After changing into fresh clothes and stepping outside, I found the government office strangely quiet.
“Where is Governor Zhang?”
“He heard there are bandit groups targeting merchant caravans around Puyang and went out on reconnaissance. He should return by afternoon.”
“Master Yuanzhi accompanied him as well. The governor instructed us to serve you well while he’s away.”
“I see.”
So Xu Shu had risen at dawn and left with Zhang Miao to track down the bandits? It seemed I had slept in rather late. Or perhaps everyone had deliberately avoided sharing breakfast with me.
After finishing my meal in the annex beside the government office, I took a leisurely walk to help with digestion.
“Is your stomach feeling any better?”
“?”
I turned to find Chen Gong standing there.
“Ah, Master Gongdai.”
“You must have drunk quite heavily yesterday.”
“That’s why I retired early. You said you weren’t feeling well yesterday— are you all right now?”
“Mm. Tolerable.”
As I suspected, Chen Gong had deliberately avoided the banquet. Had he attended and heard the gentry drunkenly cursing Cao Cao and the Wei trading company, he would never have let it pass.
“Do you have any plans for today?”
“Not particularly. I originally came to see the governor, but I hear he’s gone outside the city to pursue bandits.”
“If you have nothing scheduled, would you accompany me? There’s somewhere I’d like to show you.”
“Right now?”
“Why? Is your hangover so bad you can’t ride?”
“It’s not that, but…”
“Then prepare yourself.”
Chen Gong was a cool-headed man who only spoke when he had something to say.
I retrieved my horse from the stables and followed him out. By daylight, Puyang appeared even more prosperous than before.
I assumed he wanted to show me the city by riding together, but he led us straight outside the walls. We galloped for some time, passing through nearby villages one by one, then continued deeper until we entered the mountains entirely.
Where exactly was he taking me? We had left the city and were now heading into the mountains?
I kept following Chen Gong, wondering how far we would go, until he finally stopped halfway up a mountain slope.
“Zilie.”
“Yes, Master Gongdai.”
“Tie the horses somewhere suitable. We must continue on foot from here.”
This was getting ridiculous. After tethering the horses, there was still more road ahead?
I dismounted and followed him deeper in, where I discovered a single tomb.
It looked recently constructed. Tucked deep in the mountains yet adorned with abundant marble, it clearly belonged to someone of great renown.
“Master Gongdai, whose tomb is this?”
“Master Wenli’s.”
“!?”
Wenli—Bian Rang’s courtesy name. So this was Bian Rang’s grave. I remembered now. The central figure among Yan Province’s powerful families had died, and even Cao Song had come to pay his respects.
Though Cao Cao harbored deep discomfort toward Bian Rang, the man had died during Cao Cao’s campaign in Xu Province.
“Master Wenli. Today I have brought the nephew of Yan Province’s governor.”
He did not call Cao Cao “my lord,” nor did he use “Mengde.” He simply referred to him as the governor of Yan Province—the title Chen Gong himself had helped bestow.
He offered a cup of wine in respect, and I followed by bowing deeply toward the tomb.
“Zilie.”
“Yes, Master Gongdai.”
“I needed to forge an outstanding ruler to protect this province from falling into the hands of traitors.”
What followed were Chen Gong’s true feelings.
“Together with Master Bian Wenli, the leader of Yan Province’s gentry, I had to find a suitable master for these lands. At just the right moment, Wei Zi and Bao Xun—who had raised troops in the coalition against Dong Zhuo—recommended Cao Mengde to us.”
So that was how it all began.
“There was some prior connection, and though the man is self-righteous and hot-tempered, I judged him capable of defending Yan Province. I persuaded every powerful family in the province to support his appointment as governor.”
In those days, Chen Gong had truly been Cao Cao’s kingmaker. Cao Cao knew this well and had stated more than once that even if the Yan Province gentry were purged, Chen Gong must never be suspected.
“I still cannot believe that such a strong man passed so suddenly. That is why I visit this place often.”
“…”
“He rarely drank, yet he suddenly enjoyed a banquet, vomited blood, and collapsed. It was only natural to feel suspicious.”
“Mm…”
“At his funeral I swore an oath. If this man was assassinated, I would never forgive the one behind it—even in death—and would take their head.”
It seemed Chen Gong suspected Cao Cao of assassinating Bian Rang. Without clear evidence, however, he could only remain uneasy. To be honest, the circumstances did suggest assassination, yet Cao Cao had said nothing about it. Instead, he had even sent my father as a mourner to pray for the man’s repose.
“If you wish to understand the atmosphere in Puyang, you must know about this person. Even now, many among the gentry redden their eyes at the mere mention of Master Wenli.”
“I understand what you mean.”
Knowing Chen Gong’s intention, I resolved to report everything to Cao Cao. If he grasped the situation, he might be able to persuade Chen Gong separately.
After untying the horses on the slope and beginning our descent, Chen Gong led me to the ruins of a house at the mountain’s base. It was an abandoned residence, but its scale and decorative remnants suggested it had once belonged to a very wealthy family.
“What is this place?”
“The place where I first came to know the governor of Yan Province.”
“?”
“In the past, this was the home of Master Lu, a renowned gentry leader of Yan Province. I received his hospitality here many times.”
Master Lu? A gentry leader of Yan Province?
“At the time, the eternal traitor Dong Zhuo rampaged through Luoyang. The righteous governor of Yan Province attempted a great undertaking but failed and became a fugitive.”
Ah, so this was the story of Lu Boshe. Both the tale mentioned yesterday and the place Chen Gong had brought me to now concerned Lu Boshe. Anyone familiar with Romance of the Three Kingdoms knew this story revealed Cao Cao’s character. Still, I wanted to hear the truth from Chen Gong himself.
“Master Gongdai, I’ve never heard this story before. What exactly happened here?”
“The governor, pursued by Dong Zhuo, urgently sought shelter at Master Lu Boshe’s home. A three-hundred-tael bounty had already been placed on his head, and word of it spread within this household.”
“…”
“Master Lu reassured the governor, saying he would go buy wine. A fierce struggle broke out inside, and in the end, Master Lu and his entire family perished.”
“The cause…”
“The dead tell no tales, so no one knows. However, the governor still shudders and says, ‘If I had remained silent then, I would have been captured and killed by Dong Zhuo.’”
Whether he had killed them in a misunderstanding while trying to slaughter a pig for a meal, as the novel claimed, or whether the Lu family had truly tried to capture him after putting him at ease—no one knew the truth. Yet the fact that Cao Cao still trembled with rage at the mere mention of the story suggested it had left a deep trauma.
The words spoken yesterday came back to me.
“Can we not end up like Lu Boshe?”
The old official’s words had been an expression of fury: that Cao Cao would kill even the head of a gentry family if they fell out of favor.
“This is truly ambiguous. I never imagined the situation in Puyang was this complicated…”
I wasn’t sure these people could even be called “subordinates of the same province.” The relationship between Cao Cao and the Puyang gentry of Yan Province was that strained.
I followed Chen Gong to every place he guided me, silently vowing to report every detail to Cao Cao without omission.
Meanwhile, upon learning that Cao Xiu had left with Chen Gong, Zhang Miao and the other gentry hurriedly began preparations.
“My lord, what do you think?”
“Oooooh, what a beautiful woman indeed!”
The woman the old official had brought was in her early twenties, with a small face, slender waist, full hips, and strong thighs—a true beauty.
“We made inquiries and barely managed to bring this woman from the Qiang tribe. In Chenliu they say Lord Cao never refuses a beauty, so let us send her in.”
“Excellent! This should make up for yesterday’s mishap.”
It wasn’t only the Qiang beauty brought by the old official. The Puyang gentry summoned the most famous courtesans, and still that wasn’t enough. They pressed the merchants and families of Puyang to bring every pretty woman available at once.
“Your role is crucial. You must serve the young lord we are hosting today with the utmost care.”
Senior Gao repeatedly impressed this upon the courtesans, who giggled and asked in return.
“Since the lords speak so seriously, is a truly important person coming?”
“Y-yes. He is the nephew of the Yan Province governor. There must not be the slightest mistake.”
“Oh my, someone like that is coming?”
Zhang Miao watched with anxious eyes as the gentry each recruited beauties and prepared for the evening banquet.
“I only hope he forgets about yesterday’s incident and simply enjoys himself.”
As evening fell and they waited for Cao Xiu’s arrival, Zhang Miao completed every possible preparation.