I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 304 This is betrayal!
Looking at Wang Lang, Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun greeting and chatting with each other with smiles on their faces, Yuan Shao felt as if he had heard some news that sounded like a fairy tale.

What does "The general has invited you too" mean?
What does "The general values you" mean?

According to the context of their conversation at this moment, this general obviously refers to Yuan Shu.

So what the general meant by inviting you and valuing you is...

Yuan Shu invited Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun?

Does Yuan Shu value Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun?

What's happening here?
And what do Meng De and Yuan Rang mean?
Is it their courtesy name?

Aren’t Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun both under the age of twenty?
How can there be a courtesy name?

Why didn't he know?
What exactly happened to these two people during this period of time?
Not to mention Yuan Shao didn't understand, even the quick-witted Xu You didn't understand either, and was completely confused.

After exchanging a few words with Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun, Wang Lang turned around and looked at Yuan Shao and Xu You, who had dazed expressions on their faces.

"Meng De, Yuan Rang, were you talking to these two people just now? Who are they?"

Xiahou Dun looked at Cao Cao, shook his head and smiled.

"This is the general's cousin, Yuan Shao Benchu, the governor of Pingyuan County. That one is Yuan Benchu's friend, Xu Youziyuan, a clerk under the command of the governor of Henan."

Wang Lang was stunned when he heard this, and immediately looked at the two people again, his expression becoming a little subtle.

Speaking of which, although Wang Lang was a scholar from a traditional scholar family in Xuzhou, his style of doing things was relatively direct, without the sense of restraint that traditional scholars felt like they were bound by rules and regulations.

He likes making friends and is kind to everyone. Unless it involves issues of principle, he tries not to go against anyone.

As a result, although he is not an important figure in Yuan Shu's core team for the time being, he still has good interpersonal relationships. He often chats, drinks, and parties with many people. He is well-informed and basically knows something about everything.

This includes Yuan Shu’s own family relationships.

He had heard that the relationship between Yuan Shu and his two brothers was average, and he had even heard rumors earlier that the relationship between Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao was strained, but he didn't know if it was true.

But there is no doubt that Yuan Shu never took the initiative to mention Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao on any occasion. If they had a good relationship and cared about each other, he would not have done so.

Even during this period of time, there have been some small discussions within the Yi Xin Society, saying that Yuan Shu is the second legitimate son and Yuan Ji is the eldest legitimate son, and what should be done if Yuan Ji threatens Yuan Shu's position to inherit Yuan Feng's career.

Wang Lang was a man of sharp ears and eyes, and he understood all of this. He kept some ideas in his heart, but he never expressed his inner thoughts to others. Naturally, he would not show much respect or closeness to Yuan Shao who was standing in front of him.

So he just bowed calmly.

"King Lang of the East Sea, I greet Lord Yuan and Lord Xu."

After a simple greeting, Wang Lang seemed to realize that this was not the time for him to stay for long, so he said that he had things to do. He made an appointment with Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun to meet again in the military camp, and then go to the General's Mansion together tomorrow to attend Yuan Shu's wedding.

After Wang Lang left, the scene returned to calm. Seeing Yuan Shao staring at him, Cao Cao knew that Wang Lang had told him everything, and Yuan Shao should have guessed something. Instead, he became calm, without any worries or concerns.

He simply let go.

“Before this, General Yuan led his troops to Pei State to suppress the rebellion of the eunuchs’ remnants. He passed through Qiao County and helped the Cao and Xiahou clansmen eliminate the besieged rebels. Then, he had many conversations with our two clans. I was greatly appreciated by the general and was accepted as a deployment.

Cao was grateful for the general's appreciation, so he decided to follow the general and serve him. To facilitate his work, the elders in his family presided over the ceremony of capping Cao in advance and gave him the courtesy name Mengde. Yuan Rang did the same.

Cao Cao briefly explained the whole process without holding back, and it seemed like he was just telling a casual story.

This attitude obviously made Yuan Shao extremely dissatisfied.

He remembered that when he was preparing to enter officialdom, he once told Cao Cao that once he had made a name for himself in Luoyang and Cao Cao was almost an adult, he could then bring Cao Cao to Luoyang and let him continue to follow him.

Of course, he himself knew that the Cao family had a certain amount of power and did not necessarily need his intervention, so he said this more to express his attitude and let Cao Cao know that he, as the big brother, would not easily forget his younger brother.

But he never thought that Cao Cao would choose to follow Yuan Shu instead of him.

This is really hurtful to his self-esteem.

In the past, he remembered that Yuan Shu was better than him in everything, but he could not compare with Yuan Shu in anything. At that time, he only had two lackeys, Xu You and Cao Cao, around him. Although he did not think highly of Cao Cao, he did not regard Cao Cao as an insignificant existence.

As a result, Cao Cao actually took the initiative to change jobs? Is this a betrayal?
This is betrayal!
You think my future is not bright enough, so you betray me! That's right!
Yuan Shao looked at Cao Cao, anger rising from his heart and his eyes full of rage. If his eyes had warmth, Cao Cao would have been burned to charcoal by now.

But Cao Cao still had a calm look and felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

Xu You reacted quickly. Besides being dissatisfied and disgusted with Cao Cao, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

He was jealous that Cao Cao could be favored by Yuan Shu and invited to Yuan Shu's wedding. His future was expected to be bright, while Xu You...

There doesn't seem to be any future to speak of now.

Yuan Shao said that he would bring him to Pingyuan County to take up a post, but important positions in the county could only be appointed to local people in Pingyuan County, so it would not be Xu You's turn. Xu You also looked down upon other positions that he could appoint himself.

He could only continue to serve as an insignificant clerk in Henan Yin.

Originally, he could still feel some superiority over Cao Cao because he was an official and Cao Cao was not, but now he saw that there was not much of that sense of superiority left.

Envy, jealousy, hatred, discomfort, all kinds of emotions intertwined together, making Xu You's anger no less than Yuan Shao's.

So he spoke on behalf of Yuan Shao and said what Yuan Shao was not convenient to say.

"Meng De is so lucky that he actually followed the general and was valued by him. I think he will have a bright future! It's really a cause for celebration! But when Meng De followed Ben Chu earlier, did he ever think of today?"

Xu You's words were quite tactful, as he did not directly say the word "traitor", but that was the meaning, and anyone who heard it could tell the unpleasant meaning in his words.

Cao Cao could naturally hear it as well.

But he was already very calm.

He was not a subordinate of Yuan Shao, nor did he even have any official connection with Yuan Shao. They just engaged in petty theft together when they were young.

So his response was very frank.

"I remember clearly that we were friends when we were young, but as I grow older, I can no longer stay under the protection of my elders. A real man must always fight for a future for himself. General Yuan's reputation is known far and wide, and I really respect him. He personally invited me, so how can I refuse?"

As he spoke, Cao Cao looked at the sky outside and sighed.

"I wanted to invite Benchu and Ziyuan to rest and chat for a while, but it's getting late. I have something very important to do tomorrow. If I have free time in the future, I will meet with Benchu and Ziyuan again. Today, I will take my leave first."

After saying that, Cao Cao bowed to Yuan Shao and Xu You respectively, then walked around them and headed in the opposite direction.

Xiahou Dun glanced at Yuan Shao and Xu You, and without saying a word, followed Cao Cao's footsteps and left.

Yuan Shao and Xu You stayed where they were for a long time, without moving, which made the people passing by very curious.

After a long while, Yuan Shao took a step forward and walked out. Seeing Yuan Shao move, Xu You quickly followed him.

But soon, Xu You discovered that Yuan Shao was heading away from Jin City, but Yuan Shao did not buy the gift for Yuan Shu.

So you won’t buy it?

So Xu You plucked up the courage to ask.

"Benchu, what are you going to do with tomorrow's gift?"

Yuan Shao suddenly stopped, turned around and stared at Xu You. The look in his eyes scared Xu You.

"Ben...Benchu, what...is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?"

Yuan Shao suddenly showed a smile that Xu You found very strange: "Didn't I give Cao Cao, the eunuch's daughter, to him? How can he still ask me for this and that? He can just ask Cao for it!"

After saying this, Yuan Shao ran away.

Xu You looked at his departing back, his heart filled with fear and panic.

(End of this chapter)