Chapter 66

Xun was very clear about his shortcomings. Since his work was not too busy, he decided to devote all his remaining energy to studying—after all, to achieve greater success in the future, he first needed to enrich himself. Cao Cao had a large collection of books, several times more than his own, and Xun Yu also had a considerable number of books. Xun would borrow them every day to copy and study. However, because Cao Cao valued practical matters over classical studies, most of the books he borrowed were historical texts, such as the "Records of the Grand Historian," "The Book of Han," and "The Eastern Han Annals." Sometimes, he would also seek advice from Cao Cao on historical events. Cao Cao would always share his knowledge and greatly praised Xun's eagerness to learn.

After borrowing the books, Xun would copy them himself—copying once was like memorizing once. Although copying was tiring, it was best to do it himself to deepen his memory. Since he was copying for his own reading, he wrote in running script instead of clerical or cursive script. Whenever he copied, he would especially miss the days when paper was available—after all, bamboo slips were only convenient for scraping off mistakes with a small knife, which was a minor benefit.

Seeing that Xun's work was not too demanding and he had plenty of time to study, Cao Cao later assigned him the task of making and installing stirrups. After subduing the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, the number of Cao's troops doubled to over 40,000, but the number of horses was still limited to about 2,000. Making and installing stirrups for these 2,000 horses was a significant project, and Xun was forced to stay busy in Juancheng for nearly ten days, even missing his days off.

When he finally finished his work and could take a breather, he left Juancheng and returned to his family estate, where he immediately received three letters. These were brought by Li Qian after he successfully completed his mission in Xu Province and returned. For some reason, Li Qian did not hand them over in the city but sent them to the estate.

The first letter was from Shi Kuan, saying that it was good for him to stay in Yanzhou, as he would be responsible for communication between Xu and Yanzhou. As for the few household servants he wanted, they would be prepared and sent to him soon. At this, Xun couldn't help but picture the pretty little maid Yue'er, and he covered his mouth with his sleeve, letting out a lecherous chuckle.

The second letter was from Cao Hong, saying that the harmony within the Cao family was all due to his assistance, and they would never forget it. However, he also reminded Xun not to forget his engagement to his niece, and to send someone to fetch her when the time came. This made Xun picture another graceful figure. He was very satisfied, knowing that his future... well, his life was basically secured. He wondered if, when Cao Pi became emperor, Cao Bao's daughter, who would be his future wife, would be made a princess, making him a prince consort.

The third letter was from Chen Deng, briefly describing the situation in Xu Province after Xun's departure. He mentioned that he had conducted a thorough investigation into the murder of the magistrate of Juxian County and the spies of Yuan Shu hidden in Xu Province. He had identified the suspects but had not yet gathered solid evidence, so he did not reveal their identities. Xun scratched his chin as he read, wondering who the spy was, whether he knew them or not, and if they had left any historical records. He thought hard but could not come to any conclusions.

Xun received the letters delivered by Li Qian in early February of the fourth year of Chuping. By the end of the month, a small group from Xu Province arrived, led by the old family servant who had once served in the Shi household. The group included four horse-drawn carriages, escorted by twenty Xu Province soldiers led by Zhang Kai. Xun recognized all the familiar faces, who were the Lanyang soldiers who had accompanied him to protect the old Cao family patriarch in Yanzhou.

The four carriages contained gold, silver, and silk, which the old servant told Xun were daily necessities sent by the Shi and Cao families. He also handed over a letter from Shi Kuan, which essentially said "a wise rabbit has three dens." Xun thought that since Shi Zhu was not good at managing the household and Shi Yu was the fourth son, it seemed that this time, with Shi Yi away, the family affairs would be managed by his third brother.

In the fourth carriage was the little maid Yue'er, but strangely, another woman also got off the carriage. She was dressed as a servant and had the hairstyle of an unmarried girl, around fifteen or sixteen years old. She looked somewhat familiar.

Seeing Xun, the woman quickly knelt with Yue'er and said, "I have met my master. I belong to the Cao family and have been specifically assigned to serve the young lady. Now, Lord Cao has transferred me to serve you." She then pulled out a contract from her chest and handed it to Xun.

Xun realized that this girl had been with the Cao family's young lady, his future wife, during their "chance" encounter in the snow, so he had some memory of her. He took the contract and saw that the girl's surname was Kang. He casually handed the contract to his steward, Yu Ta, and asked, "What is your name, Kang?"

The maid twisted her hands and lowered her eyes, replying, "Master, I have no name. Since I am the fourth in my family, the young lady calls me Si'er." Xun thought that he already had a maid named Si, so he didn't want another one to confuse things. He scratched his chin, and a mischievous idea came to him. "I'll give you a name. From now on, you'll be called Kang Min." He looked at the maid again, noting that she was of average appearance. He thought he definitely wouldn't keep her for himself and would marry her off to someone with the surname Ma in the future.

"Thank you, Master, for giving me a name," Kang Min said, then pulled out something from her chest and presented it with both hands. "This is from the young lady... the Cao family's young lady, for you."

Xun took it and saw that it was a light yellow sachet embroidered with a strange bird and a line of small text: "彼采葛兮" (He gathers the hemp).

Xun knew this line was from the "Book of Songs," specifically "The Gathering of Hemp" from the "Winds of the King." The poem was short and divided into three parts: "He gathers the hemp, one day without seeing him feels like three months; he gathers the mugwort, one day without seeing him feels like three autumns; he gathers the wormwood, one day without seeing him feels like three years." It expressed a deep longing. Holding the sachet, he felt a warm current in his heart, surprised that the Cao family's young lady had such feelings. He thought to himself, "If you are so affectionate, I swear to heaven that I will come to fetch you in two years and treat you well for the rest of my life."

He pointed to the strange bird on the sachet and asked, "Is this a mandarin duck?" Before Kang Min could answer, Yue'er laughed, "Master... no, Master, this is not a mandarin duck, it's a lovebird." Xun was startled, thinking that his future wife's embroidery was decent, but her drawing skills needed improvement. He had guessed it was a mandarin duck, but he thought it was impossible for a young lady to embroider a pterodactyl...

He chuckled and tied the sachet to his waist. As he turned his head, he suddenly wondered why his fiancée had sent him a sachet and a personal maid. Even if she really wanted to send the maid, she would need her father, Cao Bao, to agree. Was this the young lady's idea, her father's, or even Cao Hong's? Was the maid sent to serve him, or to spy on him?

Thinking about this, he felt a chill down his spine. He imagined that in two years, when he brought his wife home, Kang Min would run over to fawn on her—

"Young lady, you're here. I have already investigated the household thoroughly. Those who can be bribed have been won over, and those who cannot have been silenced and buried in the backyard as fertilizer. Here are the household accounts and the keys to each room. As the master instructed, all the letters and documents to and from the young master have been copied..."

The more he thought, the more the chill rose up his spine. He turned to Yu Ta and asked, "Do we have anyone with the surname Ma in our estate...?"

That evening, Xun, missing the days when Yue'er helped him scrub his back at the Shi residence, ordered a bath to be prepared. He had no ulterior motives; he just felt that the experience of having a young girl help him scrub was different from having a man do it—unless the man was a professional who could smoke a cigarette, wrap a towel around one hand, and scrub without spilling a single speck of ash, leaving the guest's body clean and the towel spotless.

Unfortunately, such professionals were hard to find in this era, so he preferred to have a young girl help him, both for the scrubbing and for the visual pleasure—especially since the newly hired maids were not suitable for such a task.

The servants quickly brought in a large wooden tub filled with hot water. Xun stripped naked and comfortably soaked in it until his skin turned red and sweat poured down his forehead. He then groaned and called out, "Come in."

In the steam, the little maid lowered her head and quickly walked into the room, circling behind Xun. Xun leaned forward, exposing his entire back, and felt a small hand wrapped in a towel press against his back. "Mm-hmm," he closed his eyes in satisfaction, "You can be a bit firmer..." As soon as he said this, he felt a powerful force penetrate his entire body—was that a small hand? It felt like a tank had rolled over his back!

He let out a scream and jumped two feet out of the tub, instinctively spinning 180 degrees in the air before landing back in the tub. He then realized that the person helping him scrub was not Yue'er but Guan Si!

He stared at Guan Si, wondering why this little girl had come in. Guan Si had her sleeves rolled up, revealing arms that were not as slender as her height suggested, and her right hand was still wrapped in a towel. She stared at him in shock, her eyes slowly moving from his face down to his chest, abdomen, and... "Ah!" This time, it was Guan Si who screamed. She covered her face with both