Chapter 39

It's hard to be a wise man before the event, but easy to be one after it. Once the mystery is revealed, all the details and hidden secrets can be thoroughly connected.

When Shi Xun copied "Cai Cai Rong Mu" in front of Kong Rong, only the two of them were present. How could it spread to the boudoir of Cao Miss in Xuzhou in just a year? One possible route is that Kong Rong leaked it to the outside, but Shi Xun stayed in Beihai for half a year and didn't hear any news of his poetry spreading among the scholars. When Zheng Yi, Wang Zhong, and others occasionally mentioned it, they only talked about "What can be said about death, entrusting the body to the mountain." How could it be that the flowers bloom inside the wall but the fragrance spreads outside? How could the poetry copied in Qingzhou be known in Xuzhou?

So there is only one other possibility: Shi Yi told Shi Zhu and Shi Yu, and then these two brothers told Shi Kuan, who in turn told the Cao family...

How could it be so coincidental? As soon as it snowed, Shi Kuan dragged him to tour the garden without any explanation. While touring the garden, they happened to meet the young lady of the house, and when they met, they didn't avoid each other but even chatted. After just two sentences, the conversation turned to him... Except for the snow being a coincidence, everything else was planned, right? You, the big director, must have improvised the script last night, right?

Shi Xun was frustrated. How did he fall into the trap set by Shi Kuan with just one misstep? But then he thought again, even if he could foresee everything, he still had to step into the trap—could he refuse to go touring and admiring the snow with his cousin? Could he act like a clown to make the other party completely give up on him when he met Cao Miss?

Even if there was no such play, since Shi Kuan had already decided to make him marry Cao Miss and had written to Shi Yi, there was a 90% chance that Shi Yi would immediately agree. As his nominal uncle and the patriarch of the Shi family, did he have the right to refuse? Not to mention marrying Cao Miss, even if the patriarch made him marry a woman from the Shen family, he would have to accept it, wouldn't he?

In the "Report on the Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan," Grandpa Mao once said: "These four powers—state power, clan power, divine power, and husband power—represent all the feudal and patriarchal ideas and systems, which are four great ropes binding the Chinese people, especially the peasants." Today, Shi Xun has experienced the power of clan authority, feeling the constraints and oppression of feudal clan authority on himself—there is no personal freedom in this era if one wants to live well.

He clenched his teeth and mustered all his strength, still wanting to struggle: "Why not betroth Cao's daughter to my eighth brother?" Shi Jun hasn't even decided on a marriage yet, he is your own brother, why do you always involve me?

Shi Kuan shook his head: "Zigao has no virtue, how can he bear such a great responsibility?" He patted Shi Xun's shoulder habitually: "Hongfu, don't always consider yourself an outsider. We are brothers of the same ancestor, and your uncle has already passed away. You have no one to rely on, so consider my father as your own father and us as your own brothers. Whether the Shi family can stand firm in Xuzhou and expand our family's prestige depends entirely on you and me, and even Wen Tong, not even the eldest brother can be relied upon."

With such words, Shi Xun had no reason to refuse. He consoled himself: "Life is like being raped; if you can't resist, you might as well close your eyes and enjoy it." Cao Miss isn't unattractive, and since he is destined to marry a stranger due to the parents' command and the matchmaker's words, it might as well be Cao Miss. Although Cao Bao is just a minor character in history, in reality, he is one of the top powerful figures in Xuzhou. He should take advantage of his influence as much as possible. Could he really dream of marrying Cao Cao's daughter?

But then he thought again, not good, not good. From the brief conversation with Cao Miss, she seemed to be a female literary youth who likes poetry. Once she is married into the family and they see each other every day, wouldn't it immediately expose him? He patted his head and thought, don't be afraid, don't be afraid. With the "husband power" in his hands, would she dare to reveal her husband's true identity?

He was lost in this state of anxiety and confusion for the whole morning. In the afternoon, Cao Bao sent someone to find the Shi brothers, saying, "The governor wants to see you." Whether it was psychological or not, Shi Xun felt that Cao Bao's attitude towards him was much warmer. Could it be that his daughter had already reported back, saying that she had seen the seventh son of the Shi family and found him to be of good character, or that Shi Kuan had already told him that his seventh brother had "agreed" to the marriage and was now waiting for the father's command? Shi Xun was full of thoughts and didn't dare to look Cao Bao in the eye.

Cao Bao took the Shi brothers to meet Tao Qian. The famous governor of Xuzhou, with his wrinkled face and white hair, indeed looked like he was on his last legs. Tao Qian seemed to be quite familiar with Shi Kuan. After some pleasantries, he asked, "Have you considered what we discussed before, Shu Mian?"

Shi Kuan replied respectfully, "Thank you for the governor's favor, but I must first settle my family before I can respond to your summons."

"Of course, of course," Tao Qian said, then shifted his gaze to Shi Xun, "I hear your brother is also a talented young man. Would you be willing to serve as a clerk in the state? I am in dire need of talent."

Shi Xun hadn't decided whether to board Tao Qian's ship—once he married into the Cao family, he probably couldn't escape, but for now, he could still avoid it if possible. So he quickly declined, "I am still young and my studies are not complete. I fear I would not meet the governor's expectations."

"Your brother is well-versed and accomplished. Since you are together, you should learn from him," Tao Qian said. It seemed that he was just making a casual offer out of respect for Shi Kuan, without any real intention of recruiting Shi Xun. However, his casual words inspired Shi Xun. Yes, he could follow Shi Kuan to study classics, saying that he must focus on his studies and temporarily put aside poetry. That way, he could escape the disaster, right?

Tao Qian then asked Shi Kuan, "And that other matter..."

Shi Kuan smiled slightly, "Cao Shuyuan has already agreed. He is waiting for my father to send someone to propose the marriage to my seventh brother. As for the other party..."

Tao Qian nodded repeatedly, "Very good, very good. You can rest assured. As long as your father agrees, I will personally go to propose the marriage to Zizhong. He will certainly not refuse. If both marriages can be completed on the same day, it will be a beautiful story, and Xuzhou will naturally be at peace."

Damn, it turns out the big director is Tao Qian! It's likely that when Shi Kuan returned from Jingzhou and visited Tao Qian, they had already planned this. But at that time, Shi Kuan might not have known about his existence. Who did he have in mind for Cao's daughter? Could it be Shi Jun...

Shi Xun began a long chain of reasoning and deduction in his mind: He came from the future, and this little butterfly hadn't flapped its wings much yet. If he hadn't been there, would the plan to marry the Cao and Mi families have succeeded? Cao's daughter might have married Shi Jun, and the story of her becoming Lu Bu's concubine is probably just a fictional account. But Mi Zhu's sister historically married Liu Bei, not involving Shi Kuan...

Then he thought again, in this era, remarriage was not uncommon. Even if Mi's wife was not a virgin, she could still remarry Liu Bei after her husband's death. Ultimately, Mi Zhu gave his sister to Liu Bei for political reasons, to secure his position in Liu Bei's group. Liu Bei married Mi Zhu's sister to gain his brother-in-law's wealth. Historically, Liu Bei's first wife was taken by Lu Bu, but from Mi's wife to Sun's wife and then to Wu's wife, all were political marriages...

Perhaps Mi's wife was a second marriage, which is why Liu Bei didn't particularly like her. Otherwise, why would Liu Bei, after becoming emperor, posthumously honor his concubine Gan as empress, while the fate of Mi's wife and Sun's wife remained unknown?

Not good, he was getting distracted, overthinking, which was not beneficial... He needed to focus on the most important issue. Liu Bei eventually took control of Xuzhou, which means that even though the Cao and Mi families were related, their conflicts were not resolved. Was it because something happened in between, or was it inevitable?

After returning from the state capital, the Shi brothers threw themselves into the busy work of buying land and setting up estates. Shi Kuan had already sent letters to the Cao family's estates in various counties, asking the eldest and fourth brothers to bring their families and assets to Tancheng. With Cao Bao's help, he quickly bought more than ten acres of irrigated land and a small estate in the south of Tancheng. Unfortunately, Xuzhou had been relatively peaceful in recent years, and many refugees from the north had flooded in, so there were limited idle fields near the central cities. Even with Cao Bao's help, it was difficult to acquire large tracts of good land, which were all controlled by powerful families. Even Tao Qian wouldn't go out of his way to offend them for the Shi family.

It was said that the southern Guangling region was mostly marshy, but some areas could be cultivated for rice once the water was drained. Because the population was small, some of this land could still be purchased. So Shi Kuan left Shi Xun to manage the newly acquired estate and soon set off for Guangling.

Shi Xun was busy in the estate for about half a month before Shi Zhu and others arrived. Shi Zhu was fine, but he was eagerly looking forward to seeing Shi Yu. He handed all the estate affairs to his fourth brother and quickly went to "study" with his eldest brother.

In December, Shi Yi sent a letter from Beihai, as expected, fully agreeing to Shi Kuan's plan. He asked the patriarch of the Wang family in Linyi, Wang Rong, to help propose the marriage to the Cao family and Tao Qian to help propose the marriage to the Mi family. He also said that there was no need to wait for him to return, and Shi Zhu could temporarily take his place to help the three brothers (including Shi Yu and the Wang family) complete the various preparations for the marriage.

Shi Xun was completely at a loss and could only pretend to have "pre-wedding syndrome," spending all day reading books and entrusting all the affairs to Shi Zhu (actually, Shi Yu was the one doing the work).

A few days before New Year's Eve, Shi Kuan finally returned from Guangling. Not only did he buy an estate and more than ten acres of land, but he also brought back a person, claiming it was a "good match for his younger sister." Shi Xun didn't like this guy at first sight. He was nearly thirty, with a fair complexion and a long beard, and had a good appearance, but he always held his neck stiffly, his chin up, his mouth twisted, and his eyes looking up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle—what's your deal? Where did you learn such arrogance?

But when Shi Kuan introduced him by name, Shi Xun immediately knelt down—damn, it's this great god, indeed famous for his arrogance, so arrogant that even the greatest warlords would give him a thumbs up!