About Cao Cao's reincarnation as the emperor's uncle

Chapter 56 The Drunkard Staggers, Suspicion Arises

Hu Muban swayed as she walked in.

He was strolling along leisurely when, unexpectedly, the tip of his boot brushed against the crack in the bluestone bricks, and he stumbled forward.

Fortunately, Wang Kao reacted quickly and caught him just before his nose hit the table, while simultaneously picking up a palm-sized compass from the ground.

Wang Kao held the compass and shook it:

"Primordial, is this what you use to find your way?"

Xu You was fiddling with the gilded brocade box on the table when he heard this and looked up:

"When Mr. Xu came to visit yesterday, the compass was contained in this box as a gift to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Muban and Wang Kao's eyes were drawn to the gilded brocade box.

Wang Kao seemed to be deep in thought:
"Is Xu Zijiang trying to give me some pointers?"

"I think so too."

Xu You tapped the brocade box:
"The brocade box is ornately decorated on the outside, but empty inside. The compass is small and simple, yet it can determine the direction..."

"Yesterday you only reminisced about old times and gave me this gift, but I've been pondering it all night and I feel there's more to it than meets the eye..."

Wang Kao examined the brocade box:

"Zijiang's actions have always been unconventional, which is not surprising. Perhaps he has become critical of him?"

Zhang Miao suppressed his previous emotions and slowly sat down:
“That makes sense, but I think this object also refers to the Han Dynasty. It looks gilded and inlaid with jade on the outside, but it’s hollow inside.”

Hu Muban, however, regained some of her composure and interrupted Zhang Miao:

"Does Xu Zijiang need to tell us what the Han Dynasty is like now?"

As she spoke, Hu Muban lifted the brocade box with one hand, the wine gourd jingling as it swung at her waist.

"He's not just giving Ziyuan pointers, he's even cursing us all."

Before he could finish speaking, he stumbled.

"Ji Pi!"

Hu Muban, her eyes narrowed to slits from drunkenness, glanced sideways at Xu You opposite her:
"Hush! Look at you, so anxious and uncertain. I have a feeling there's something fishy about this box..."

As Hu Muban's movements became more and more exaggerated, a crisp "crack" sound suddenly came from the bottom of the box.

Xu You was startled and leaned forward, snatching the brocade box:
"Is there a hidden layer?"

Hu Muban leaned against a pillar, her wine gourd tilted upside down.

“Ziyuan, Xu Zijiang’s reputation far surpasses ours now. As a man of integrity and upright character, he remains unscathed…”

He let out a burp, and a shrewd glint suddenly appeared in his drunken state:

"Firstly, it can be said that his reputation is well-deserved; secondly, have you ever considered... that there might be another force behind him?"

Wang Kao found a lamp and moved closer:
“Xu Zijiang came to visit us the other day. He kept trying to find out what we were thinking, and his intentions were written all over his face.”

Xu You murmured as he held the brocade box up to the candlelight:

“How could I not see it? It was Zijiang who introduced me to Benchu ​​back then, and he knows the bond between me and Benchu.”

"I've considered the possibility that he might have ulterior motives, but it doesn't make sense, unless..."

Just as Xu You was speaking, Zhang Miao, with his sharp eyes, noticed that there was a tiny magnet embedded in the bottom of the box.

Without saying a word, he drew his sword and gently pried along the gap in the magnet. With a "click," a three-inch square compartment popped out from the bottom of the box.

A bronze token engraved with the character "方" (fang) caught everyone's eye.

Yuan Shao sat down, a glint in his eyes:
"Unless, I've already been grabbed by those hands behind my back."

After saying that, he reached into his robe and took out a bronze talisman that was almost identical to the original.

The crowd stared at the two talismans, exchanging bewildered glances, while Yuan Shao recounted the events that had transpired on Cold Plum Mountain:
"Yesterday, while visiting my mother's grave, I unexpectedly encountered a strange person..."

He stroked the markings on the talisman:

"This man's plan coincides with our grand strategy, however... if we compare the two, our current plan is inferior."

"That person is none other than the one who has been the subject of much discussion in the literary circles recently... the Emperor's uncle, Lord Liu Yuanyi."

Xu You's gaze lingered between the two talismans: "So, Zi Jiang is that royal uncle's man?"

Zhang Miao sheathed his sword.

"If that's the case, then everything that happened before makes sense. Although I've never met that royal uncle, I've heard people talk about him..."

He lowered his voice:
"Even worse, rumors have spread that... if we were to discuss who could restore the Han Dynasty, this person would be the one."

Wang Kao stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly:

"This ceremony, ostensibly meant to offer guidance, but in reality, it revealed his concern for the country and its people. It truly resembles the manner of that imperial uncle."

Yuan Shao put the two tally tokens together and smirked:
"It seems that someone has already paved the way for us to break the deadlock."

Hu Mu Ban placed the empty brocade box on her head, and at that moment, she seemed to sober up completely.

He stared at the cold light emanating from the talisman, then suddenly slapped his thigh and laughed:
"Have you all ever thought about this..."

"Yesterday, the Imperial Uncle met with Yuan Shao, and Zi Jiang gave Zi Yuan a gift. But Bo Qiu died on the same day..."

He wiped the wine stains from his beard, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes:
Is it really just a coincidence that all these things happened at once?

The hall suddenly became so quiet that the sound of incense ash falling to the ground could be heard.

……

He remained silent for a long time until Yuan Shao slowly rose and spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Gentlemen, Shao... wants to be alone for a while."

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Yuan Shao stared at the talisman that had been joined together...

A few years ago, he would often squat by the well on moonlit nights to watch his reflection in the water.

His humiliating past was like an indelible ink stain, always etched in his heart.

Because he was repeatedly mistreated at home, he always ran away...

It was around that time that he began to roam the martial world with Cao Cao, Zhang Miao, and others.

After all, young people are passionate and always ready to help those in need.

Of course, I've also done some embarrassing things...

"Let's go, Ben!"

Cao Cao and Zhang Miao's voices burst in through the door.

As the three men crouched low and slipped out the door, they bumped into a soldier carrying a lantern.

He casually tore off his raincoat and put it over his head, and heard Cao Cao's low sneer sneaking in through the gaps in the raincoat.

The three men walked through the streets with swords in hand under the moonlight when Cao Cao suddenly pointed at the bridal sedan chair ahead and raised an eyebrow:
"Dare to do something big?"

The candlelight shone through the sedan curtain, illuminating the bride's red veil. The moment Cao Cao shouted "Thief!" in a high-pitched voice, he saw the groom's turban askew in fright.

As he rushed into the wedding hall, he saw Cao Cao using his knife to lift the curtain of the sedan chair, and the bride's screams mixed with the guests' exclamations filled his ears.

After kidnapping the bride, the three of them fled.

On the way, he stumbled into a thicket of thorns. As the torches of the pursuers drew closer, Cao Cao, who was in the distance, suddenly shouted, "The thieves are here!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he leaped out. After Cao Cao circled around and met up with him, he saw his disheveled appearance caused by thorns and laughed so hard that he slapped his thigh.

It is precisely because of this that many people say they are "unrestrained and dissolute, and do not abide by etiquette and law".

But they didn't care and continued to act as chivalrous heroes, following their own beliefs.

Unlike Cao Cao, he was, after all, associated with the Yuan family of Runan, so many things about him were embellished, and people would go to great lengths to praise him in order to curry favor with the Yuan family.

……

It wasn't until he met He Yong that he truly embarked on the path he is on today.

Or rather, without He Yong, there would be no Yuan Benchu ​​today.

In the rainy twilight, a thin man dressed in tattered clothes leaned against the door, his hair still covered with bits of grass.

"Young master, could you spare a meal?"

(End of this chapter)