I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 303 Long time no see, Benchu

Yuan Shu invited all the noble families and powerful people to his wedding. Among this group of people, his Cao family was not outstanding. His power, wealth and family background were not the best.

As a result, he suddenly took out such a conspicuous thing. Whether Yuan Shu liked it or not was one thing, but it would not be worth it if those people of higher status held a grudge against him.

So he quickly pulled Xiahou Dun away and went to choose some exquisite items that were more delicate and beautiful but not too outstanding.

The two of them walked around, and Cao Cao first saw what he wanted to buy, and then helped Xiahou Dun choose a gift.

After choosing for a while, they both picked out a dagger inlaid with gold, silver, pearls and jade, and with gorgeous decorations.

Although it is not easy to use, it looks nice and has a decent quality. The key is that it is expensive, making it especially suitable as a gift.

The two of them were about to check out with the gifts they had chosen, and asked the store to package them properly. However, they had only taken a few steps when they ran into Yuan Shao and Xu You who were chatting and laughing.

At that moment, the expression on Cao Cao's face froze.

He didn't have time to avoid it, Yuan Shao's eyes had already met his, and then...

"Ah Man? Why are you here?"

Yuan Shao was obviously a little surprised that Cao Cao appeared in Luoyang City. He didn't know why Cao Cao appeared here, and Xu You was also surprised.

"Aman? Why aren't you in your hometown? Why are you in Luoyang? What are you doing here?"

Cao Cao didn't know how to answer the questions from Cao Cao and Xu You.

From the moment he agreed to go north to Luoyang with Yuan Shu, he had imagined countless times what the scene would be like when he met Yuan Shao again one day.

He knew that sooner or later Yuan Shao would know about his leaving Yuan Shao and joining Yuan Shu, but he didn't know when Yuan Shao would know it, and he didn't know what Yuan Shao would think after he knew it.

Xiahou Dun, who was standing next to him, obviously knew how big an impact this scene had on Cao Cao, but he didn't know what he could or should do.

In other words, this matter should have been faced by Cao Cao himself, and he could not face Yuan Shao on Cao Cao's behalf.

Cao Cao was obviously aware of this. After a moment of trance, the scene in front of him returned to calm. The surprise, embarrassment and a trace of panic that suddenly aroused in his heart also slowly disappeared.

He is now Yuan Shu's subordinate and a member of Yi Xin. He is a rising star that Yuan Shu is very optimistic about. He has also joined the Tianxiong Army. A bright future is waiting for him. There is no need for him to care about Yuan Shao or be afraid of Yuan Shao.

Because his backer is Yuan Shu.

So he took a deep breath and forced a smile on his face.

"Benchu, Ziyuan, long time no see. Benchu, are you coming back to Luoyang because of General Yuan's wedding?"

General Yuan?
Cao Cao did not answer his question, but instead threw a question in return, which made Yuan Shao unable to react for a while.

Who is General Yuan?

Oh……

That kid Yuan Shu.

He is already a rear general.

He is an important general in the court and a real general commanding troops.

Anyone who meets him should address him respectfully as General Yuan.

Yuan Shao blinked, was silent for a moment, and finally spoke.

"Ah, that's right. My cousin is getting married. As his cousin, I should come back to congratulate him. But I came back in a hurry and didn't bring any gifts. So I asked Ziyuan to help me choose gifts. Ah Man, are you... also here to attend his wedding?"

Yuan Shao looked at what Cao Cao was holding and seemed to understand something. Cao Cao nodded.

"I am honored to be invited by General Yuan, so I am here to choose a gift."

"Oh."

Yuan Shao had not thought about other things at this time. He knew that there were elders in Cao Cao's family who served as officials under the Yuan regime. As vested interests in the era of eunuchs' rule, the Cao family's flexible method of changing families was still worthy of praise. It achieved the transition of power while completing the continuation of the family, and was regarded by many as a model of extreme operation.

In this case, it was only natural that Cao was invited to attend Yuan Shu's wedding. As the eldest son in the family, it was understandable that Cao Cao attended the wedding just to make himself familiar with the guests.

However, what made Yuan Shao somewhat dissatisfied was why Cao Cao did not tell him about this matter?

Although I am an official in another place, I will definitely come back to congratulate Yuan Shu on his marriage. Even if it is just a superficial effort, he should not not contact me, right?

Considering that the two had not even communicated during this period, Yuan Shao quickly realized that Cao might be trying to arrange for Cao Cao to follow Yuan Shu's path and see if he could get a position and make a living under Yuan Shu.

snort!
Crafty family!
You were clearly following me before, but now that you see I'm not doing well and that bastard is doing well, you just shamelessly go and lick him?
Don’t you even look at the composition of your own family!
This quagmire family, which was born out of eunuchs, is so dirty and smelly!
Such a dirty thing wants to cling to the thigh of that self-proclaimed noble boy?

Aren’t you afraid that he will think you are dirty?

For a moment, a large number of images swept through Yuan Shao's mind like a storm, and then quickly calmed down, leaving only a blank space. When he looked at Cao Cao again, there was a hint of contempt and dissatisfaction on his face.

Xu You was quick-witted. From the few short sentences they exchanged, he seemed to have understood what Yuan Shao was thinking and why Cao Cao was here. He felt touched, so when the scene became a little awkward, he laughed out loud, breaking the awkward situation.

"Ah Man, I know that your Cao family is not in a good situation in Luoyang City now, but the world is so big, there is more than just Luoyang. If there is no place for you in Luoyang, then go somewhere else. Why do you have to do something in Luoyang that can easily lead to misunderstandings?
Besides, how powerful is Yuan Zijia? What is his status? He is the rear general, the Marquis of Yang'an County, has more than 30,000 disciples under his command, and is the commander of a large army. Right now, people from all over the world who want to serve him can line up from Luoyang to Jiangnan, let alone your Cao family?"

Xu You's words were very harsh. Not a single word mentioned eunuchs, but every word hit Cao Cao in the heart, making Cao Cao very unhappy. Xiahou Dun was so angry that his face turned red and he gritted his teeth. He was about to explode. The dagger that was going to be given to Yuan Shu was about to become a sharp weapon in his hand, but suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Meng De? Yuan Rang? Why are you here?"

Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun were stunned when they heard the words. They turned around and looked towards the voice, just in time to see Wang Lang walking towards him with a package in his hand.

After Wang Lang was recalled from other places by Yuan Shu, he served as the second-in-command of the Tianxiong Army's Military Pay Office. Because Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun were stationed close to the Military Pay Office, they were often assigned to help the Military Pay Office with some matters. Therefore, Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun often met Wang Lang.

Wang Lang was well-informed and learned that Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun were recruited by Yuan Shu personally. Thinking that more friends mean more paths, he established good relationships with them. The three of them often drank and chatted together and got along very happily.

When Cao Cao saw Wang Lang, he was delighted.

"Jing Xing? What are you doing?"

"Oh, tomorrow is the general's wedding. I am here to prepare some gifts for you, thanks for your invitation."

Wang Lang smiled and raised the package in his hand. He looked at the boxes in Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun's hands and said with a smile, "Are you here to prepare gifts too? Oh, by the way, the general has invited you as well. There aren't many people in our army who have been invited this time. Most of them are veterans, but there aren't many newcomers. It shows that the general values you!"

Xiahou Dun touched his face, and the anger in his heart disappeared, and he laughed.

"I am nothing. It has to be Meng De. The general values Meng De, so he invited me as well."

Wang Lang smiled and shook his head.

"Yuan Rang, don't be so modest. You are the descendant of the Han Dynasty's founding heroes. It's not a bad idea for you to make great achievements and bring glory to your ancestors in the future!"

"Hahahaha, Jingxing, you are too polite."

The three of them greeted each other with a smile and praised each other's business, leaving Yuan Shao and Xu You aside.

Especially Yuan Shao.

(End of this chapter)