Chapter 35

On the way, the family servant explained the details of what had happened in detail.

It was truly a case of no coincidence being too small to be true. Si Kuan was originally studying in Jingzhou and was deeply favored by the governor, Wang Rui. This Governor Wang was the former patriarch of the Linyi Wang clan and the elder brother of the current patriarch, Wang Rong. Who would have thought that the feudal lords would rise against Dong Zhuo, and Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, would lead his troops into the county seat of Hanshou, forcing Wang Rui to commit suicide. Si Kuan had no choice but to follow Wang Rui's family and retainers to Nanyang, temporarily relying on the governor, Zhang Zi. But soon after, Sun Jian also invaded Nanyang, killing Zhang Zi, and a large group of people had to flee again. The hardships of the journey were indescribable, and it wasn't until the summer of that year that they finally returned to Linyi.

Although Si Yu and Wang Xiong were close friends and had already arranged a marriage, the formal ceremony had not yet taken place, so the two families were not yet related. Therefore, Si Kuan did not plan to stay long at the Wang residence. After resting from his journey, he reportedly detoured to the county seat of Tancheng to pay respects to several famous scholars in Xuzhou and might even have visited the governor, Tao Qian. Later, upon hearing that the Yellow Turban rebels had invaded Beihai, fearing for his family's safety, he hurriedly left Tancheng and traveled north to Zhuxian. At that time, there were many people from Qingzhou in Langya, and they were already in communication, so he easily found his elder brother, Si Zhu, who was temporarily staying at a guesthouse in the north of the city. Unfortunately, Si Zhu had just left, and he arrived just after, missing each other by a hair. He then helped settle the family and left a letter at the guesthouse, arranging for a servant to wait.

After the servant explained the whole story, Si Zhu and Si Yu both breathed a sigh of relief. But Si Xun couldn't relax. His mind was racing: "Pei country, Cao family... Could it be this coincidental?"

Who else could he think of from the Cao family of Pei? It had to be the Cao family, including Cao Cao, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Cao Chun. The Cao brothers were definitely still in Dong commandery and wouldn't have come to Xuzhou. So who could this Cao be? He vaguely remembered that Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, and his brother, Cao De, had fled their hometown to avoid Dong Zhuo's troubles and were later killed by Tao Qian... Since they were killed by Tao Qian, they must have fled to Xuzhou, right?

Could it be that he would have the chance to meet Cao Taigong? Could he use this opportunity to connect with Cao Cao? Oh, my God, what a huge surprise you've given me! But... could heaven really be so kind to him?

The answer was: no!

Soon, the group arrived at the Cao family estate, and Si Kuan welcomed them at the door. The third son, Si Kuan, was handsome and elegant, with a touch more spirit than Si Zhu and a touch more scholarly air than Si Yu. Except for his shorter beard, he was almost a clone of his father, Si Yi. Si Xun bowed deeply to his elder brother, and Si Kuan quickly supported him with both hands, warmly patting his shoulder: "Hongfu, I met Mr. Gongyou, who said that Kong Beihai highly praised your poetry. I share this interest, and we can discuss and exchange poems in the future."

Si Xun thought it was not a good sign.

In穿越 (time-travel) stories, there are many protagonists who plagiarize poetry, but most of them seem unreliable. Not to mention whether copying Tang or Song dynasty poems like "If only life could be as beautiful as the first meeting" would really win applause—Nalan Xingde was not even a top-tier poet in the Qing dynasty, so why would Tang or Song people be impressed? Even if they copied one poem after another and managed to eat and drink in literary circles without exposing themselves, it was clearly just "armchair talk." Copying poems is easy, but discussing them is hard. When literati exchange poems, it's not just about quoting a few lines. If someone asks why your poem is good and what the shortcomings of another's poem are, can you really answer if you don't have a solid foundation in ancient poetry? Even if you memorize books like "人间词话" (Words on Human Life), it won't help, as the vast sea of ancient poetry has been evaluated by only a few.

Si Xun could plagiarize poetry in front of Kong Rong and Cao Cao in the future because of the hierarchical order. Even if he couldn't answer their questions, he could find various excuses, and others might think he was being humble and didn't want to challenge his elders. But in front of peers like Si Kuan, if he plagiarized poetry and Si Kuan decided to delve into each line and section, what would he do? As the saying goes, "An expert's hand is known by a single move."

It wouldn't be embarrassing to be stumped by Cao Cao or Kong Rong, and even if he couldn't match top-tier poets, people would still think he was a second-tier poet. But if he was stumped by someone like Si Kuan, who had no reputation, he would be exposed on the spot. It's like if Jiu Qianzhang were defeated by Huang Yaoshi, people would think "Iron Palm Floating on Water" was a second-tier expert, but if he were defeated by Guo Jing, who hadn't even practiced the "Nine Yin Manual," everyone would know he was a fake.

Si Xun didn't really want to follow the Si brothers south to Langya to avoid trouble. Although this place was temporarily peaceful, there were no opportunities, and in a few years, Cao Cao might invade, leaving a trail of blood and destruction. Then Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Liu Bei, and Lü Bu would fight for years. So the scholars of Qingzhou, including Si Yi, first fled south to Xuzhou and then were forced to cross the Yangtze River to Jiangdong. If that day came, he might also be forced to cross the Yangtze River. Would he really follow the Si family and that green-eyed, purple-bearded child for the rest of his life?

So he had been thinking on the way whether to find an excuse to leave after the Si family settled down. For example, he could go to Taishi Ci and learn martial arts for a while. In a chaotic era, having martial skills would increase his chances of survival. At least he needed to improve his horsemanship, so he could run away if he couldn't fight.

Although Taishi Ci would also go south to Jiangdong in a few years, since he and Taishi Ziyi were friends rather than relatives, it would be easier to leave him later.

Because of Si Kuan's casual comment about poetry, Si Xun immediately decided to leave as soon as possible.

Si Kuan led the brothers into the estate, and Si Yu proposed to meet the owner. Si Xun's heart was pounding, and he hurriedly tidied his clothes— he needed to make a good impression on Cao Taigong and get a recommendation letter to directly visit the future Emperor Wu of Wei in Dong commandery. But Si Kuan shook his head and said, "The owner is still serving in the state and is not in the estate."

What? Serving in the state? Who could it be? Could it be Cao De, Cao Cao's brother? Didn't the Cao family and Tao Qian always have a bad relationship? Was his judgment wrong?

There are two completely different accounts in historical records about the deaths of Cao Taigong, Cao Song, and Cao De. One version says that Cao Cao sent people to welcome his father, and Tao Qian, to please Cao Cao, sent his general Zhang Kai to escort them. Then Zhang Kai, tempted by the wealth, killed the Cao family on the way—this is the version used in the novel. But there is another version that says Tao Qian was the mastermind behind the attack and sent troops to intercept and kill Cao Song and Cao De.

In his previous life, Si Xun was a Three Kingdoms enthusiast and tended to believe the second version. At that time, the warlords in Guandong formed two opposing groups: one was the Yuan Shao-Cao Cao group, to which Liu Biao also belonged, and the other was the Yuan Shu-Gongsun Zan-Sun Jian group, to which Tao Qian also belonged. The two sides had fought several battles. So when Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, Gongsun Zan's appointed governor of Qingzhou, Tian Kai, sent Liu Bei to help.

Since Tao Qian and Cao Cao belonged to different camps and were enemies, it was unreasonable for Tao Qian to send people to escort Cao Song and his son. At that time, although Gongsun Zan had been defeated by Yuan Shao at Jieqiao, his power had not diminished, and Yuan Shu was watching in the south. Tao Qian had no reason to change camps so quickly and flatter Cao Cao—besides, if he wanted to flatter someone, he should flatter the leader, Yuan Shao, not Cao Cao.

But now, it seemed that someone from the Cao family was serving in the state, under Tao Qian—was his judgment wrong? Or was the complexity of history beyond the scope of historians, with too many secrets hidden in the depths?

While he was thinking, Si Zhu asked, "Which Cao is serving in the state?" Si Kuan smiled faintly, "It is Cao Bao, styled Shuyuan, who is a favorite of Governor Tao and serves as a military officer."

Cao, Cao Bao! Si Xun almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

The "Records of the Three Kingdoms" only mentioned Cao Bao once, and Si Xun couldn't remember the details, but he remembered Cao Bao's story in the novel well—Cao Bao was an old general of Tao Qian, later followed Liu Bei, and when Liu Bei went to fight Yuan Shu, he left Zhang Fei to guard the city. Zhang Fei, being drunk and capricious, whipped Cao Bao, who then conspired with Lü Bu to seize Xiapi. He was eventually killed by Zhang Fei.

Whether in history or in the novel, Cao Bao was a minor character, a mere extra. If compared to an RPG game, Cao Song might be an important character guiding the main plot, while Cao Bao was just a useless NPC with a single line, whose presence or absence had no impact on the story.

Damn, I knew heaven wouldn't be so kind to me!

Si Xun entered the room Si Kuan had arranged for him, full of disappointment and resentment. The maid, Yue'er, greeted him with tears in her eyes, "Master, you... you're finally back..." Si Xun glanced at her, and his mood improved slightly. He had planned to tease her as usual, but after a long day's journey and a sudden blow, he felt exhausted and listless, unable to muster the energy. He just waved his hand lightly, "Bring water for me to bathe."

He didn't plan to make any decisions about his future actions for the time being. He intended to sleep well and think about it in the morning. But just as he was about to undress and go to bed, he heard someone knocking on the door, and Si Kuan's voice came, "Hongfu, are you asleep? I have something to talk to you about."

Si Xun was startled and felt cold sweat on his back—could it be that this guy wanted to discuss poetry with him in the middle of the night? What should he do?