Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 6 of Zhuangzi says: An owl caught a rotten rat, looked up at it, and exclaimed, "Hah!"

Dark clouds obscured the moon outside the window, and the light and shadow inside the hall suddenly dimmed. In a daze, when you looked at the candlelight and screen again, where were the flashes of swords, axes and arrows?
All around was silent, as if the breathing of hundreds of people that had just echoed in his ears was just a false alarm under his tense nerves.

The tense standoff, the hidden dangers in the exchange, all vanished with a single sentence.

Your youngest son is often ill; you should encourage him.

Sun Ce was shocked. What did Yuan Shu mean by this? He even said he would pass the imperial seal to me? Could he really entrust this vast empire to me?
But how could that be? Could it be a test?

"Father is joking. Is Ce'an capable of such a great task?"

Now that I have received such great kindness and been adopted as your son, I will certainly do my utmost to assist you. How could I dare to ask for more?

“When the ruler is young, his ministers will be suspicious; you should strive to be so.”

Yuan Shu stared at him for a long time, until he felt uneasy, before finally nodding slightly.

"It's late, Ce'er, you should get some rest."

"My child, I take my leave!"

Stepping out of the palace gates, the night breeze brushed against his face, and Sun Ce realized that his back was soaked with cold sweat, and his palms, which were tightly gripping his longsword, were also drenched in sweat.

Is this man really Yuan Shu tonight?

The banquet sent chills down his spine. Its imposing presence made him feel as if he were back in his childhood, facing his father Sun Jian, who had returned from the battlefield after making a mistake, his robes stained with blood, silently watching him.

He let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky, where he saw a bright moon hanging high, radiating a cool light.

The shadow of the candle and the sound of the axe!

He knew that whether there were truly deadly weapons hidden behind the screen tonight would likely remain a mystery for the rest of his life.

When he returned home, the lights were on, and veteran generals such as Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Huang Gai were waiting for him, anxiously watching the gate. When they saw him return safely, they hurriedly went to greet him.

"Young General, how is it?"

"My father was such a hero back then, but his strategy was incompetent, and he disgraced the Sun family!"

Seeing everyone's confusion, Sun Ce let out a long sigh!
"Yuan Shu adopted me as his son!"

"What! Such a good thing has happened?"

Under his astonished gaze, the old generals' eyes lit up with joy, their expressions of satisfaction even more excited than when he had conquered one or two prefectures to establish his power base.

"Excellent! Yuan Shu is based in Huainan, with abundant grain and supplies, and has many soldiers and generals under his command. Moreover, the Yuan family has held high office for four generations, and its disciples and former officials are all over the world. Half of the world's geniuses have come from his school."

"Indeed, now that the young general has become his adopted son, this can be used as a stepping stone for advancement, and the Sun family can also hope to join the ranks of the most powerful and prestigious families in the world!"

"Since he has been adopted by Lord Yuan as his godson, it is clear that he values ​​the young general highly. With his full support and cultivation in the future, why should we go to great lengths to find someone closer to us?"
It seems that before long, the Sun family army will be able to restore the name of the mighty Tiger of Jiangdong that our lord once held in the hands of the young general!

Sun Ce: "." "Don't you generals think that my acknowledging him as my adoptive father has tarnished my late father's reputation?"

The group noticed Sun Ce's expression and then awkwardly realized they had misunderstood. Could it be that the young general was actually unwilling?
In the end, it was the experienced and prudent Cheng Pu who sighed, "Young General, we know that you have great ambitions and a heart that soars higher than the sky. However, our lord also relied on Lord Yuan back then and only succeeded because of his support and assistance. How could your actions today tarnish your reputation?"

"Yes, young general, the Yuan family has produced four generations of high-ranking officials, and their fame is known throughout the land. Heroes from all over the world flock to them, but none can gain access to their services."

"In this world, without the support of powerful families, how can you achieve anything, no matter how lofty your ambitions are?"

Listening to the comforting advice, Sun Ce felt extremely annoyed and finally understood why Yuan Shu dared to force him to become an adopted son.

Even if he were to tell everyone what happened today, no one would believe that Sun Ce was unwilling; they would just think he was being hypocritical after getting the benefit.

People in this world only mistake their own greed for the desires of others, and only regard the lies they are willing to believe as the truth!
If the line, "My youngest son is often ill, you should encourage him," were to be circulated, how would the world view Sun Ce?
Perhaps they all thought that Yuan Shu had shown them great favor and treated them like his own son, and that the favor was as heavy as a mountain!
I fear those envious and jealous people will be like owls catching a rotten rat, looking up at him and saying, "Hmph!"

Have you not heard the saying: How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan?
As Sun Ce lamented his lack of understanding despite his talent and ambition, the main hall of Shouchun Palace fell silent.

Yuan Shu sipped the honey water to sober up, and a different person had already entered the hall.

"Cousin, what brings you here?"

"Are there any women of marriageable age in the clan? Go and choose one who is intelligent, beautiful and outstanding, and pick a day to have her adopted into my family."

"only!"

Although he was curious, given his experience in the study during the day, Yuan Yin dared not ask him any more questions now that he was facing him.
Anyway, it's a simple matter. If it were a son, the clan might hesitate, but if it were a daughter, everyone would probably be eager to send her to their cousin's name so as to establish a connection.

Watching his departing figure, Yuan Shu toyed with the jade seal in his hand, frowning and remaining silent.

If Sun Ce could be killed, there would be no need for this trouble. But now the army consists of 100,000 rabble who were forcibly conscripted from the people. The only ones with real fighting power are the Sun family army left behind by Sun Jian!
Although this group of Sun family soldiers had been dismantled and reorganized in recent years and was now under his control and no longer under Sun Ce's command, if he were to actually kill Sun Ce, he would surely lose the hearts of the people, which would be tantamount to cutting off his own limbs in front of all the lords of the world and offering his neck for execution.

Therefore, Sun Ce not only could not be killed, but also had to be taken good care of and treated "kindly".

Even veteran generals like Cheng, Han, and Huang, who are close to Sun Jian, would be greatly pleased to see their young general valued by me and have a promising future. They would be willing to work hard for Sun Ce for the sake of his words, "Your young son is often ill, so you should encourage him."
Yuan Shu smiled knowingly. "Bo Fu, my son, how can you treat him well enough by only recognizing him as an adopted son?"

I, Yuan Shu, am determined to get you this time!
I'm going to tie you to my ship so tightly that you can't even jump off! Even if I become emperor, you, Sun Ce, will be dragged down and your entire family will be executed!

Even if you wanted to betray your allegiance and defect to the enemy, people's first thought would be, "What future Crown Prince of the Zhong family would willingly surrender? This must be a trap; it's definitely a feigned surrender!"

The key point is right now. I, Yuan Gonglu, have been a high-ranking official for four generations, making me one of the top warlords of our time. And what about you, Sun Ce? You are unknown and haven't even earned the title of "Little Conqueror" in Jiangdong.

In this situation, even if you, Sun Ce, have a mouth full of words, no one will believe that you are unwilling to be my adopted son. Even if you jump into the Yellow River, how can you wash away the Yuan family's labels that are all over your body?
The world is unaware of your lofty ambitions; they only know that I have been incredibly kind to you!
In this inherently complex web of power struggles, the interests of the Yuan and Sun families will be subtly intertwined, woven together layer by layer, like spider silk.

By the time you realize you're trapped, no matter how powerful you are, your will will be like that of a caged beast, a bird in a cage, or a fish in a net, bound by the cage and unable to break free.

The jade seal in his hand gleamed with a bewitching glow under the candlelight. He chuckled softly and murmured something under his breath.

"This is an open scheme, and there's no solution!"

(End of this chapter)