Taiheiki

Chapter 226 Temptation
"Young master, your righteousness is admirable!" Kuai Sheng bowed deeply to Dong Zhong. "It was my ignorance that led me to this situation. Please forgive me! Just pretend I didn't say those words! Someone, bring me the jar of amber juice I brought with me. I want to drink with you all night long!"

The amber-colored wine poured from the curved neck of the jar, gleaming alluringly under the light. Dong Zhong's eyes, however, remained fixed on the rattan box filled with gold ingots, as if glued to it. He lamented inwardly: "Just one, just one! Wan'er would be mine. I'm such a fool, pushing away what was handed to me."

"Please!" Kuai Sheng raised his wine cup, seemingly oblivious to Dong Zhong's gaze: "This is a top-quality grape wine from Liangzhou. Due to the Qiang rebellion, trade routes have been cut off, making it increasingly difficult to obtain!"

"Please!" Dong Chongqiang roused himself, raised his wine cup, and the two drank it down in one gulp. Kuai Sheng seemed to have truly forgotten his purpose for coming, not mentioning a word about the affairs of the Luoyang court, but only talking about interesting anecdotes from all over the country. He was naturally eloquent, and focused on urging Dong Chongqiang to drink, while Dong Chongqiang was also feeling annoyed. In no time, he had finished the jar of grape wine, and Dong Chongqiang was already completely drunk and fell fast asleep.

When Dong Zhong woke up again, he felt as if his head was splitting open. He felt the floor beneath his feet spinning dizzily. He thought he was on a ship and mumbled something until someone poured a large bowl of slightly bitter soup into his mouth, and his mind gradually cleared.

A familiar face appeared above Dong Chong's face: a short mustache shaped like the number eight, a bald forehead, a bulbous nose, thick cheeks, and slightly slanted eyes. His robe was loose, but the loose belt revealed a fat, white belly, like a fathead fish that had been pulled ashore. It was Dong Chong's biological father, Dong Chong.

"You rascal!" Dong Chong looked at his son who had just woken up and laughed, "Where did you go gallivanting around last night, getting this drunk?"

"I'm back?" Dong Zhong pressed his forehead. His head felt like it was stuffed with a hornet's nest, buzzing loudly. He tried hard to recall what happened last night, but could only remember some jumbled fragments, as if someone had stuffed his brain into a blender last night, shredded it into pieces, and then stuffed it back in.

"That's right! Someone brought you back late last night, along with a rattan trunk. You weren't hanging out with Wang Kuang and his gang last night, were you? The foreman at the gate said that the person who brought you back wasn't one of your friends!"

"The rattan trunk?" The moment Dong Chong uttered that word, Dong Zhong felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, instantly sobering up. He grabbed his father's arm: "Where is the rattan trunk? Where is it?"

"There it is, at the foot of the bed. Don't worry, no one will touch you!" Dong Chong pointed nonchalantly to the foot of the bed. After confirming that his son was alright, he exchanged a few casual words and left. As the head of the family, he still had quite a few things to attend to.

As soon as his father left the room, Dong Zhong jumped out of bed, rushed to the door, peeked out to check that no one was around, then closed the door and barricaded it with a wooden stick. He then carefully opened the rattan box, revealing rows of gold ingots arranged in a neat five-by-five square, like well-trained soldiers. Dong Zhong let out a long breath, his tense body feeling as if all its veins had been drained, and he slumped to the ground with a slump.

"Jinzi and Wan'er are still mine!"

A few minutes later, Dong Zhong went out, found a hoe, dug a hole in a secluded spot in the courtyard, buried the wicker box inside, covered it with soil, and then covered it with withered grass. After confirming that no one could find it, he breathed a sigh of relief, clutching a gold ingot, and headed to the tavern from the previous night.

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"Master!" the servant reported to Kuai Sheng, "That young master Dong went out yesterday at noon and went to the tavern last night!"

"Hmm!" Kuai Sheng's eyes remained fixed on the bamboo slip in his hand: "He went drinking?"

"No, he didn't drink!" the servant said. "This young master Dong took out a gold ingot from his pocket, spoke with the tavern owner, Widow Xie, for a while, gave the gold ingot to Widow Xie, and took Widow Xie's daughter away!"

"Oh?" Kuai Sheng looked up in surprise: "And then? That's it?"

"Young Master Dong took Widow Xie's daughter home, and hasn't stepped out of the house since, not even once, until dark today!" The servant said, a hint of disdain creeping onto his face.

Kuai Sheng's face also showed a look of astonishment. It seemed that he had not expected that the emperor's cousin's first reaction after receiving the money would be to go and have a wild time with the daughter of a widow in a tavern. This was too far from his noble status, wasn't it? But soon the astonishment on Kuai Sheng's face turned into a smile: "Good, good, very good!"

“Master, what good is there in such a debauched and shallow man?” the servant said anxiously.

"You just don't understand!" Kuai Sheng seemed to be in a good mood. This servant was also a trusted confidant who had been involved in the matter extensively, so he answered very clearly: "This box of gold was originally a pebble I used to test the waters. I tested it last night, and I didn't expect that although this young master Dong had drunk quite a bit of wine, his mind was still clear, and he didn't fall for the trap. I had no choice but to get him drunk with wine first, and then send this box of gold back to his home, just to leave a glimmer of hope. If he doesn't like anything, then I'll have to find another way. But he revealed his true colors today, so things are much easier now!"

"Does Master mean that this Young Master Dong is actually beneficial to your plan?" the servant asked.

"Hmm!" Kuai Sheng laughed, "In the end, the reason I went to such great lengths was to use him to get rid of the current General Dou. If he is really shrewd and capable, wouldn't it be counterproductive to replace General Dou with General Dong? It's better to have a mediocre person!"

"Master is right!" the servant said with heartfelt admiration. "Then when shall we go to see this Young Master Dong?"

"No rush!" Kuai Sheng smiled. "This new beauty is enjoying herself, so let's not be the ones to spoil the fun! Anyway, the chest of gold is already in this Young Master Dong's hands. Once a cat has tasted fish, why would it go back to eating vegetarian food? Let's just wait and see!"

Just as Kuai Sheng had predicted, Dong Zhong quickly grasped the allure of gold. Aside from Xie Wan'er, these yellow, gleaming things were incredibly effective. His long-suppressed desires erupted; fine horses, fine wine, beautiful women, luxurious clothes, and the admiring gazes of others could all be bought with gold. Dong Zhong soon forgot where the gold had come from and began to indulge in unrestrained pleasure, as if he had fallen into a captivating dream from which he didn't want to wake. But like everything else in the world, dreams eventually end.

"How could it be so fast!" Dong Zhong looked at the rattan trunk, which was now much emptier. The fifty ingots of gold horseshoe that were originally neatly arranged inside were almost gone. Clearly, once the gold was gone, he would have to return to his old life. The thought of this was unbearable for him.

"Ah Chong, someone's looking for you outside!" The servant's voice came from the outer room. Dong Chong shook his head dejectedly, wanting the servant to say he wasn't home, but the servant said, "It's the man who brought you back when you were drunk that night. You should thank him, otherwise outsiders will definitely say that our Dong family is ungrateful!"

“Kuai, that Kuai Sheng! He’s been silent these past few days. What does he want to see me now? Does he want that box of gold back? What should we do?” Dong Zhong nodded helplessly, filled with anxiety. Of course, he knew that this was something he couldn’t avoid.

"Bring it in!" He put the last few gold coins from the rattan box into his pocket. If the other party asked for them back, he would only have to shamelessly say that he had no money and would pay them back slowly in the future. Dong Zhong thought to himself.

A few minutes later, two men in blue robes entered the courtyard. After bowing to Dong Zhong, the one in front said, "Young Master Dong, my master has been preoccupied with some trivial matters these past few days and has not had time to pay his respects. Please forgive him! He heard that you have had some expenses these days, so he asked me to send some over. Please do not refuse!" With that, he waved his hand, and the man in blue robes behind him presented a rattan box that looked exactly the same as the first one.

"Is this one too?" Dong Zhong looked at the rattan box in front of him and finally managed to utter this question after a long while.

“That’s right, fifty gold pieces!” the man in blue said. “My master said that gentlemen are obliged to share money, so please don’t take this small amount of gold and silver to heart. My master’s kindness is as clear as the sun and moon, so please don’t be shy about it!” After saying this, he bowed to Dong Zhong again and turned to leave.

Dong Zhong stretched out his right hand, wanting to call out to the newcomers, but the words remained unspoken. After the two men in blue left, he walked to the wicker box, opened it, and saw that it still contained two layers of five-by-five gold ingots, gleaming lovely in the sunlight. Dong Zhong reached out his right hand, picked one up, and played with it in his hand, only to find that the originally cool gold ingot had suddenly become hot to the touch.

Two days later, at dusk, Dong Zhong and Kuai Sheng met again at the tavern. This time, however, they met in a secluded private room on the second floor, right next to the riverbank—a veritable "private room" of the tavern. This time, Dong Zhong didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "What do you plan to do to get my aunt to become Empress Dowager in Luoyang?"

“This matter must be handled step by step!” Kuai Sheng said with a smile. “First, we must ask the Nobleman of Shenyuan to write a personal letter to the Emperor. Only in this way can we gain the Emperor’s trust, and then we can proceed with the rest!”

“No!” Dong Zhong shook his head: “I have inquired about it these past few days. Although the Kuai family of Jingzhou can be considered one of the most prominent families in Jingzhou, they are nothing in Luoyang. If you don’t have enough power to overthrow the General, your aunt will not write a letter for you.”

"Of course, our Kuai family doesn't have the power to overthrow the Grand General. However, in this matter, I, Kuai Sheng, am merely a henchman running around. The real mastermind behind the scenes is someone else!" Kuai Sheng said in a low voice.

"Someone else? Who is it?" Dou Zhong asked.

Kuai Sheng hesitated for a moment before replying, "Deng Zhong of the Deng family of Nanyang!"

"The Deng family of Nanyang?" Dong Zhong gasped, his expression turning serious. In the political arena of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Deng family of Nanyang was always a force to be reckoned with. However, he still shook his head: "That's not enough. After all, he doesn't hold an official position in Luoyang, nor does he command any troops!"

"And there's also Wei Cong, the Governor of Jiaozhou, Protector of the Baiyue, and Marquis of Buqi!" Kuai Sheng whispered. "You should have heard of his reputation. He has been ordered to go north to quell the E'zhai rebels. This man has tens of thousands of elite troops under his command, as well as various treasures produced in Jiaozhou, and his family's wealth is in the hundreds of millions. He has also formed an alliance with Yuan Shao of the Yuan family of Runan!"

"The Yuan family of Runan?" Dong Zhong finally couldn't hold back any longer: "But isn't Yuan Wei of the Yuan family of Runan in charge of the Secretariat along with the Grand General? Aren't the two very close friends?"

"Hehe!" Kuai Sheng laughed, "These are all superficial matters. Besides, which do you think is better, two people sharing power or one person holding power alone?"

Dong Zhong remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "These are all your words, without any evidence. Moreover, with so many people plotting this, how could there be no word from them? I don't believe it!"

“Young Master Dong, such matters are punishable by the extermination of an entire clan. How could there be any proof? Am I supposed to come to you with a piece of brocade stained with bloody fingerprints? Wouldn’t that be a joke?” Kuai Sheng said with a wry smile, “In the end, these important figures don’t act until they see the benefits. Only when they receive a secret edict from the Emperor will they truly commit to action. Otherwise, they will always act in secret, leaving no trace on the surface!”

Dong Zhong fell silent. Kuai Sheng's meaning was clear: important figures like Deng Zhong, Wei Cong, and Yuan Wei, regardless of their true intentions, would outwardly maintain their loyalty to General Dou. To get them to take a stand, a secret imperial edict was necessary. Only with that edict could they legitimately turn against Dou Wu. The Dong family's value lay in their ability to gain the emperor's trust and obtain the secret edict.

"So, in other words, our Dong family has to contact the Emperor, obtain a secret edict, and take the greatest risks. And those people you mentioned don't have to do anything, yet they can reap the rewards afterward?" Dong Zhong said in a low voice, "Isn't that a bit too unfair?"

"Young Master Dong, you're mistaken!" Kuai Sheng laughed. "Those men are either in positions of great power or living in wealth and luxury. Even if they do nothing, General Dou will still benefit them. As for how you and your family are doing in Hejian, I don't need to say. If the grand plan succeeds and the Emperor assumes power, the Dou family will be finished. Those men will simply be advancing further. Your aunt is the Empress Dowager, your father is most likely a Grand General, and you will at least be a Colonel of the Five Armies, Commander of the Imperial Guard, or a General of the Five Offices. Your father should even be granted a marquisate. In this whole affair, your family benefits the most, so naturally you should also take the greatest risk, shouldn't you?"

(End of this chapter)