Chapter 42

Is Xun proudly left Chen Deng's house and went back to tell Is Kuan, "It's settled. Chen Deng agreed to stay here until the New Year, and he's willing to meet our younger sister to decide if we should arrange a marriage."

Is Kuan was greatly surprised and hurriedly asked, "How did you convince Chen Deng?"

Is Xun briefly recounted the conversation and then said, "A proud man like Chen Deng despises vulgar people. So I told him that vulgar people look down on our sister for her love of reading, and he naturally became interested."

Is Kuan couldn't help but sigh, "Chen Yuanlong is truly a great talent—so the matter of introducing Chen Yuanlong to our younger sister is up to me."

Is Xun thought to himself, "Of course it's up to you. You're the best at directing such affairs, aren't you?" He couldn't help but picture the graceful figure and beautiful face of the second miss of the Is family. If he couldn't pick such a peach himself, giving it to a man of Chen Deng's caliber was better than letting it fall into the hands of some nobody. Moreover, from a long-term perspective, it was better than marrying her to someone like Zheng Yi, who was short-lived.

"But wait, Chen Deng's lifespan isn't long either... I should find time to advise him to eat less raw fish."

Sighing, he thought, "If Cao Bao's daughter were as beautiful as the second miss of the Is family, I would have gritted my teeth and accepted it, but alas..."

After returning to his room, Is Xun began to study the "Fang Sheng's Book." The book had only eighteen chapters and was very concise. He memorized it thoroughly in one night. However, he didn't know much about farming—was planting in the remote Lelang even called farming? It was just sowing seeds and waiting for them to sprout and grow, completely relying on the weather. So he didn't understand much of the content and knew the reasons behind even less. Therefore, he frequently visited Chen Deng, adopting a humble attitude and respectfully seeking advice. Chen Deng, being open, shared all his knowledge, and this allowed Is Xun to successfully bridge the gap between them.

With the distance bridged, their conversations no longer had to be limited to farming. Is Xun took the opportunity to probe Chen Deng about his understanding of the current political situation and discovered that even the great Chen Yuanlong was just so-so.

Chen Deng, though talented, had never left Xuzhou and hadn't seen many famous people. Moreover, the current political situation was chaotic, unlike the time when Zhuge Liang gave his "Longzhong Plan," where it was clear that "Cao Cao already has a million troops and is holding the emperor hostage, making it impossible to challenge him." Any intelligent scholar could see that.

So, Is Xun took the opportunity to borrow the wisdom of "predecessors" to pretend to be a genius who could see the big picture. He said, "Dong Zhuo defies heaven and acts without virtue; Gong Sunzan is violent and unkind; both are unlikely to last long. Yuan Shao is good at planning but indecisive; Yuan Shu is extravagant and dissolute; neither can achieve great things. In my opinion, the only heroes in the world who can stabilize it are the two virtuous men from Guandong."

At this time, the most powerful forces in the Central Plains were the four mentioned above. Tao Qian and Liu Biao were secondary, and the young overlord had yet to raise his flag. Liu Yan was in the southwest, so they didn't need to be mentioned. Indeed, upon hearing this, Chen Deng was very interested and asked, "What do you mean by 'two virtuous men from Guandong'?"

Is Xun held up two fingers: "Cao Cao of Dongjun and Liu Bei of Pingyuan."

Chen Deng became even more excited and asked, "Have you met these two? What makes you say this?"

Is Xun replied, "Last year, when the Yellow Turbans besieged Kong Wenju in Duchang, I was ordered to seek reinforcements from Pingyuan and met Liu Bei. He is broad-minded, respectful to scholars, and always carries a sense of benevolence. Although his name is not yet prominent, he will surely become a pillar of the state in the future. As for Cao Cao, I haven't met him yet, but he was once a northern captain in Luoyang and executed the uncle of Jian Shuo, showing his hatred for evil. He petitioned to pardon the party members, showing his commitment to justice. In Jizhou, he destroyed the temples of debauchery, showing his skill in governing. He fought bravely in Yingyang and Fanshui, showing his courage and selflessness. From this, it is clear that he has the ambition to stabilize the Han dynasty."

As he spoke, Is Xun thought, "Will these words reach Cao Cao's ears? Unfortunately, there are too few listeners, it feels like casting pearls before swine..."

Chen Deng stroked his beard in thought and said after a while, "Your words make me want to see the 'two virtuous men' as well."

On the third day after the New Year, Is Kuan ran over to report his success, saying he had finally arranged for Chen Deng to meet the younger sister, and both sides had a good impression. Chen Deng was 80% satisfied and said that once he was settled in Tancheng, he would report to his father, Chen Gui, and send someone to propose.

Is Xun was also happy. His sister was already nineteen, and it was finally time for her to get married. He quickly went back to write a letter to his father, Is Yi, to report the news.

After the fifth day of the first month, the various government offices opened, so Is Kuan and Chen Deng left the Is family compound and set off for Tancheng. Is Kuan also dragged Is Xun along. Is Xun said, "You are going to meet your superiors and take up your posts. What am I, a commoner, going to do there?" Is Kuan's intention was that the marriage between the Is, Cao, and Mi families would be finalized when they met Tao Qian. As one of the parties involved, Is Xun should also meet Tao Qian and express his gratitude.

Is Xun was extremely impatient. He thought, "You only realize I'm a 'party' now? Did you ask my opinion on this marriage? You made the decision yourself, so why do you need me to show up?"

But he had no choice. He had to follow his brother to the state office in Tancheng. Indeed, Tao Qian asked about the matter as soon as they met. Is Kuan replied, "Father Is Yi has already agreed. The Wang family of Linyi will soon send someone to propose to the Cao family. Please also finalize the marriage with the Mi family." Tao Qian stroked his white beard and nodded, "I have already spoken with Mi Zizhong. In a few days, I will send someone to propose. You should also prepare the betrothal gifts."

The marriage process in the Han dynasty included the following steps: proposing, proposing with gifts, asking for names, confirming the match, sending betrothal gifts, and setting the wedding date. The step of proposing with gifts involved the man's family sending someone to inspect the woman, but it was mostly a formality unless the woman had a serious disability or was extremely ugly. The match was mainly based on social status, which was already considered in the proposing stage. After proposing with gifts, the next step was to ask for names, similar to the later practice of "matching the eight characters," to ensure that the two families were not of the same surname (marriage between same surnames was forbidden) and that the match was auspicious. However, it was rare for a fortune-teller to deliberately claim it was inauspicious, so it was also a formality. Confirming the match involved the man's family informing the woman's family that the fortune-telling was favorable and that the marriage could proceed. Then, the man's family would send betrothal gifts to the woman's family.

With the support of the highest official in the state, Tao Qian, the marriage between the Is, Cao, and Mi families would proceed smoothly, so the Is family needed to prepare the betrothal gifts quickly.

Is Xun nodded and then told Tao Qian, "There is another piece of good news to report, Sir. Yuanlong has also discussed marriage with my younger sister, and we are waiting for the approval of both sets of parents."

Tao Qian was delighted, "This is excellent news. I will write to Han Yu to inform him. The Is and Chen families are well-matched, and I hope he will agree." Han Yu referred to Chen Deng's father, the former governor of Pei, Chen Gui, whose courtesy name was Han Yu.

Chen Deng hurriedly bowed in gratitude. Tao Qian continued, "I thought it would be a double joy, but it can be a triple joy. Why don't we quickly propose, perform the fortune-telling, and finalize the marriages, and get them done in the spring?"

Is Xun thought, "Is it necessary to be so rushed?" He understood that Tao Qian wanted to quickly arrange the marriage between the Is, Cao, and Mi families to resolve the conflict between the Cao brothers and the Mi brothers, to prevent chaos in Xuzhou after his death. But it didn't have to be so urgent. Did this old man think he couldn't last a few more months and was about to die?

He quickly knelt down and apologized, "Please forgive me, Brother and Sir. I am not yet ready to marry."

Is Kuan and Tao Qian were puzzled and asked what he meant. Is Xun had already planned his response and pretended to wipe away tears as he reported, "My father passed away less than three years ago, and I am still in mourning. I cannot marry."

Is Kuan stomped his foot, "Ah, this is all my fault!"

In the Eastern Han, scholars placed great importance on filial piety. After the death of a father, one had to wear mourning clothes and observe a three-year mourning period. During this time, one could not marry or engage in sexual activity. More strictly, one had to live in a hut near the grave, reduce food intake, and avoid any entertainment. However, Is Xun had escaped from Lelang and couldn't stay by his father's grave. He also couldn't find appropriate mourning clothes on the journey. When he arrived at the Is family in Beihai, Is Yi, who had no feelings for his cousin, suggested that he didn't need to observe the full three years of mourning. He only needed to mourn until the end of the year, and when he moved his parents' remains back to their hometown, he could then live in a hut near the grave to show his filial piety.

On one hand, Is Yi was the patriarch, and what he said was final. On the other hand, Is Xun wasn't really Is Xun and had no feelings for Is Yi, nor did he want to wear mourning clothes for three years, so he immediately agreed. Over time, everyone forgot about this, especially Is Kuan, who probably didn't even think about it.

Even Is Xun himself only remembered this when he needed an excuse to avoid the marriage with the Cao family. He could have used this reason to decline Tao Qian's summons earlier, instead of pretending to be a humble student. After explaining the situation, Tao Qian asked, "When will you complete the mourning period?" Is Xun replied, "My father passed away at the end of the first year of Chuping, so it has only been one year."

Tao Qian's face immediately darkened, and he turned to look at Is Kuan. Is Kuan was at a loss, but Chen Deng, thinking quickly, quickly intervened, "Since the mourning period can be completed later, we can finalize the marriage now and hold the ceremony in two years. Surely, the Is and Cao families won't break the engagement in the meantime, right?" Tao Qian nodded, "That's the best we can do."

When they left, Chen Deng pulled Is Xun aside, away from Is Kuan, and asked directly, "Is Xun, you don't want to marry the Cao family's daughter, do you? Why?"

Is Xun was startled. He thought, "No wonder Chen Yuanlong is so quick-witted!"