Chapter 7: The Journey to Luoyang (4) He Jin

  After Cao set up a grand feast at the Baixiang Building in Luoyang, Lü Bu won the competition against Yuan Shao. Cao was overjoyed and after the banquet ended, he happily took Lü Bu back to the Taifu Mansion. At this time, Cao still didn't know that because of Lü Bu's actions, he had already been saddled with a big black pot. After returning to the Cao residence, Cao excitedly told Cao Song about Lü Bu's affairs. Cao Song was also extremely delighted and hugged Lü Bu tightly, saying that wealth is unimportant, what's important is winning face for the Cao family! The most important things for aristocratic families are reputation and face!

  After three days, General He Jin finally summoned Cao Cao. Cao Cao got up early that morning, bathed and changed into his finest clothes, and went to pay his respects to General He at the general's mansion. Speaking of which, General He was also an old acquaintance of Cao Cao's. In his younger years, when Cao Cao was serving in Luoyang, he had met General He, who was then just the brother of a noblewoman. The two of them had gotten up to all sorts of mischief together. Who would have thought that now General He was the great general, second only to the emperor himself?

  Soon, Cao arrived at the General's mansion, led by Guan's family to the front hall garden. At this time, He Jin had just been summoned into the palace by Emperor Ling of Han, so Cao could only wait for He Jin here. The front hall garden of the General's mansion was a must-pass route for entering and leaving the mansion. Just as Cao was waiting for He Jin, Yuan Shao and his group also came out. They were the think tank of the General's mansion, and now it was time to get off work.

  Yuan Shao and his entourage walked towards the garden, Cao saw them, immediately stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Ben Chu?" After finishing, he smiled and looked at Yuan Shao.

  Yuan Shao also nodded and said: "Meng De? Today you finally came to the general's mansion? The wine feast set up by Meng De at Bai Xiang Lou is unforgettable for Ben Chu, Meng De, come to my mansion to sit down when you have time?"

  Cao smiled and said: "Thank you for your kindness, Mengde will definitely go when he has time."

  Yuan Shao glanced at Cao, nodded and took his leave. The rest of the people also looked at Cao with strange and angry eyes, then they all bid farewell to Cao. Cao was taken aback in his heart, what's wrong with these people today? Did he offend them? Why are they treating him like this, as if he had offended them?

  Just as Cao was wearing a puzzled expression, Xu You also walked out of the general's inner courtyard. He was probably delayed by something and left work late. Cao seized Xu You and asked: "Ziyuan, has something happened? Benchu and the others seem to be looking at me with ill intentions."

  Xu You didn't want to bother with Cao either, and was about to leave after a brief farewell. Unfortunately, Cao caught hold of Xu You, which made him furious. Xu You looked at Cao, then snorted and said: "Meng De, the hero of these chaotic times is indeed formidable! You won big time at the Baixiang Tower, even using Rui'er, humph, truly a hero!" After finishing speaking, he shook off Cao's hand with a flick of his sleeve.

  Cao Cao's head was filled with question marks as soon as he heard it. What did "winning not a little" and "losing not a lot" mean? And what did Rui'er have to do with Lü Bu? Cao Cao looked at Xu You and said, "Ziyuan, what do you mean? How did I take advantage of Rui'er? What did I win?"

  Xu You looked at Cao with contempt, then said: "Meng De? Don't you know that the bets Rui'er lost to us were all fake? And what we lost to Rui'er were all genuine treasures. Is it Rui'er's calculation? A three-year-old child, what does he understand? Cao Mengde, you're too much, a gambler, and you need to pay attention to your gambling style, actually using a three-year-old child? Hmph!" After finishing speaking, he walked out of the General's mansion.

  Cao was stunned, it turned out that Lü Bu had used the "Empty Hand Grabbing White Wolf" move, and actually, he had used a fake to exchange for someone else's treasure. Only now did Cao understand that he had been framed, and in his heart, he cried out, "Nai nai! It really wasn't me, Cao Mengde, who did it! It was my adopted son Lü Bu who did it!" But who would believe this? A three-year-old child's scheme being attributed to the young master of the great Han dynasty household, this is impossible. Even if it were true, it couldn't be acknowledged, wouldn't that be too humiliating?

  At this time, Cao was covered in black lines all over his face, and he had a big black pot on his back. What Cao did not expect was that later it would be recorded in history. In Chen Shou's "Records of the Three Kingdoms: Book of Wei: Emperor Wu's Biography", it is written: "Emperor Wu, with a cunning and deceitful nature, once at the Baixiang Tower in Luoyang, borrowed the three-year-old Wenxinhou, and deceived the world's noble families! Cao died with his eyes open underground, carrying this big black pot, which became the greatest portrayal of his heroic spirit.

  Cao knew he was misunderstood, but what could he do? His adopted son, what could he do about it? Just swallow the bitter pill and not bother with Lü Rui. If word got out, whether or not people believed it was one thing, but if they did believe it, wouldn't he be losing face big time? Thinking this, Cao smiled wryly, hey, this Rui kid is really clever, has my old self's style, and just let it go with a smile.

  Soon, He Jin returned to the General's mansion and summoned Cao. He Jin sat in the main seat, looked at Cao, this was no longer the young Cao of Luoyang years ago, now Cao had become even more mature, and he himself was no longer the butcher He Jin of old, but General He Jin. He Jin smiled and said: "Mengde, how have you been?"

  Cao saluted with his hands and said: "Cao Cao, Cao Mengde, at your service, General."

  He Jin looked at Cao and nodded, saying: "Good, very good. Meng De, we have known each other for a long time, so let's not be too formal today. I still remember the five-colored pole in Luoyang where you were once stationed. Now, Meng De will first enter the General's mansion as a named advisor, and Ben Chou and others are also advisors to the General's mansion. After you make achievements later, we will reward you!"

  Cao nodded his head and bowed to He Jin, saying: "Thank you, General!"

  He Jin nodded and said, "Meng De, since the official business is over, let's go to the side hall and chat about old times." After finishing speaking, He Jin entered the side hall, and Cao followed him in.

  The two men went to the side hall, and after the servant presented tea and withdrew, He Jin took a sip of tea and said: "Meng De, in the past you were the leader of our family's young masters, but I didn't expect that even now you still haven't changed your ways. At the Baixiang Tower, you used your adopted son to trick Yuan Shu and the others, and now they are full of resentment towards you." After speaking, He Jin burst out laughing loudly.

  At this time, Cao's heart was bitter and depressed. This was not something that Cao Mengde should have done in the first place, but who would believe him? This black pot, alas, seemed to be stuck on his back after all. Thinking of this, Cao also smiled and said: "General, Mengde has made you laugh, a momentary excitement, let Benchu and the others suffer."

  He Jin smiled and pointed at Cao Cao, saying: "Meng De, Meng De, you are really good at standing aside with a bitter smile, constantly nodding.

  He Jin then chatted with Cao about some past events, and told him that he would be visiting Cao Song at the Imperial Chancellor's residence the next day. Cao Song was preparing to step down, and as a high-ranking general, He Jin thought it was only proper for him to pay his respects. Cao thanked He Jin on behalf of his father.

  The next day, He Jin arrived at Cao's residence near dusk to pay his respects to Cao Song. Although He Jin was the General-in-Chief, Cao Song was the Commander-in-Chief, one of the Three Dukes, and by reason, the Commander-in-Chief should be in charge of military affairs for the Han Dynasty, while the General-in-Chief was only responsible for fighting wars. Now that Cao Song was about to retire, He Jin naturally came to pay his respects. Once Cao Song left, he would be in control of the Han army's power. Above him, there would no longer be a nominal superior, and below him, all the generals and governors of the various regions of the Han Dynasty would have to follow the General-in-Chief's orders.

  Because of this, Cao Song did not go out to welcome He Jin, but only let the steward bring He Jin into the mansion. After dinner, Cao Song, Cao Cao, and He Jin all came to the side hall. During dinner in the main hall, Lü Bu was not allowed to participate because the three men's meal was supposed to be a formal banquet for high-ranking officials, which children were not allowed to attend. When they arrived at the side hall, it was time for casual conversation. At this point, Lü Bu also came to the side hall and was carried by Cao Song.

  He Jin saw Lü Bu and smiled, pointing at him saying: "Meng De, is this your adopted son, Lü Bu?"

  Lv Rui only saw He Jin at this time, He Jin had a full face of flesh, a sturdy figure, but now he was a bit fat. Overall, his appearance was still passable, at least better-looking than Cao Cao. Indeed, he looked like a dog butcher. He Jin was originally a butcher, specializing in slaughtering dogs!

  Lü Bu jumped down and said, "Lü Bu has seen General He." At this time, He Jin was also over fifty years old, with white hair on both sides of his temples, older than Cao Song, so it was more suitable to call him grandfather.

  Cao shouted from the side: "Rui'er, a great general is just a great general, what's with this 'great general grandfather' nonsense? Redo your salute to the great general!"

  Lü Bu's eyes turned red, he bit his finger, looked at Cao Song and then at Cao Cao, almost crying. He Jin said: "Meng De, Rui is still a child, don't mind it, I was originally going to be a grandfather anyway, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."

  At this time, Cao Song's eyes changed, He Jin was still quite understanding of the rules, but Cao Cao wasn't one to be easily scolded by Lü Bu. Cao Cao wanted to test whether He Jin would dare to show off in front of Cao Song and the Cao family. He Jin's performance was still acceptable. Cao Song picked up Lü Bu with a swoop and scolded Cao Cao, saying: "Meng De, why are you shouting so loudly? Rui'er is still a child, isn't she? Rui'er is well-behaved, Grandpa will hold her."

  Cao nodded his head and said: "Father's teachings are right, I was too rash!"

  He Jin looked at him and cupped his hands, saying: "Duke Cao, three days later, His Majesty will personally summon Duke Cao to pay respects. It is truly a loss for the great Han that such a pillar as yourself should leave the court."

  Cao Song saw He Jin complimenting himself, stroked his beard, and smiled: "The general is overpraising me. I'm old and can't serve the court anymore, it's a pity, and I've failed Your Majesty."

  Lü Rui heard this, then stroked Cao Song's beard and said: "Uncle, uncle I also want to go into the palace to play, I've never been to the imperial palace before, I want to go, I want to go!"

  Cao heard this and was taken aback for a moment, saying: "Rui'er, don't be naughty, the imperial palace is not a place to go casually, even your uncle can't go there easily, do you still want to go?"

  Cao Song patted Lü Rui on the back and said with a smile: "Alright, Grandpa will take Rui'er to see the sights."

  Cao said beside him: "Father?"

  Cao Song looked at Cao and said, "Nothing, Your Majesty has set up a family banquet, by reason all the Cao clan relatives in Luoyang should go, Rui is your adopted son, going doesn't have anything inappropriate."

  He Jin also said: "Meng De, Cao Gong is right, the emperor's intention is to invite the Cao family members, you and Rui Er should go together."

  Cao was taken aback for a moment, then cupped his hands and said: "General?"

  He Jin said: "Meng De, I just came out of the palace. The Emperor is going to host a banquet for the Cao family and Rui'er is also on the guest list."

  Cao Song and Cao were both stunned for a moment. What? Emperor Ling of Han wants to see Lü Bu? Thinking of this, the two looked at He Jin.

  He Jin smiled and said, "Meng De, isn't it because of your affair at the Baixiang Building that the Emperor found out? Meng De, you're still a young noble, you should restrain yourself."

  Cao Song also knew about Cao Cao's affair, thinking that Cao Cao had used Lü Bu to get rid of other young masters. Cao Song was still delighted to have won face for the Cao family, but he despised Cao Cao's methods. He awarded all the things Lü Bu had won to Lü Bu himself and ordered Cao Cao to increase Lü Bu's monthly allowance, deducting the excess from Cao Cao's private funds as compensation to Lü Bu. In Cao Song's heart, Lü Bu was still just a child.

  Cao Cao heard Cao Song's decision, and his heart was bitter. He had no choice but to agree, making it seem like he had gained some great advantage when in fact he had gotten nothing. How infuriating!

  Cao Song heard this and glared at Cao again, who saw the look on Cao's face and lowered his head once more, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

  Cao Song smiled and said, "So that's how it is. Meng De, you're really something. I'll personally apologize to the Emperor for this." Although he said he was apologizing, Cao Song was actually very pleased in his heart because Cao had done a good deed. There must be Han Lingdi's secret agents inside Baixiang Tower, and this was to control the officials. The Cao incident seemed like Han Lingdi was going to scold Cao through He Jin's mouth, but in reality, it was beneficial for the Cao family. Han Lingdi thought that the Cao family was indulging in pleasure, so they didn't pose a threat to the great Han dynasty and could be used with ease. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hosted a banquet for Cao Song and his family to see them off.

  He Jin then chatted with Cao Song and Cao Cao about some matters. Seeing that the sky had darkened, he bid farewell and returned to his residence.

  The next day, early in the morning, Lü Rui finished his basic exercises and learned a bit of the Seven Star Sword Technique under Wang Yue's guidance before returning to his own room. After bathing, he invited Hua Tuo over.

  During this time, Hua Tuo was studying how to prevent the plague and the source of the plague evil spirit. Lü Rui told Hua Tuo some modern preventive knowledge, which made Hua Tuo immerse himself in it, staying at the Taifu Mansion every day for research. On this day, Lü Rui suddenly summoned Hua Tuo, leaving Hua Tuo puzzled and had to put down his research to pay homage to Lü Rui.

  Lü Bu learned that he could also enter the palace with Cao Song, and then began to plot in his heart. He thought it was not enough to deceive the aristocratic families, but deceiving the emperor and eunuchs would be more interesting. This time, he wanted to deceive Emperor Ling of Han and Zhang Rang, and Hua Tuo could show off his skills at this moment.

  Hua Tuo entered Lü Bu's chamber, saw Lü Bu and bowed his hands: "Hua Tuo pays respects to the young master. I don't know if the young master is unwell? Why was Hua summoned here for treatment?"

  Lü Rui heard this and said, "Nonsense! You're an old man, I'm in good health, what illness do I have?" Lü Rui said: "I don't have any illness, I invited you here to ask you some things."

  Hua Tuo cupped his hands and said: "I don't know what you want to ask me about, young master?"

  Lv Rui said: "Old Hua Tuo, can you make the medicine for the inner chamber? If so, if it's enough for two people to use for a year, how much time will it take? Hurry up and tell me."

  Hua Tuo was taken aback and thought he had misheard, so he asked: "Sir, are you referring to a medicine for the boudoir?"

  Lü Rui listened and said: "Nonsense, it's just a medicine for men and women to indulge in carnal pleasures. Don't you know that?"

  Hua Tuo was stunned and didn't speak for a while before saying: "Young Master?"

  With a swift movement, he circled around to Hua Tuo's back and pointed his wooden sword at the old man's waist, saying: "Hua Tuo, old fellow, speak quickly, do you have it or not? Otherwise, I'll drag you out and give you a beating!" Lü Rui had followed Wang Yue in practicing martial arts and had made some progress, with good lightness skills and speed.

  Hua Tuo turned around and looked at Lü Rui, cupping his hands and saying: "Reporting to the young master, I have enough of this medicine in my hand for two people to use for a year. Moreover, this medicine is personally researched by me, and compared with other medicines, mine has less harm to the human body." After finishing speaking, he also showed a proud expression.

  Lü Rui was overjoyed and said with a smile: "Old man, hurry up, give me all of them, I want everything."

  Hua Tuo nodded and said: "I don't know what use the young master has for this thing? Is it to be given to Lord Cao to take? Does the young master know that this matter must be kept under control? If it's for some other purpose, please tell me, old man will hand over the elixir."

  Lü Rui suddenly heard that his grandmother was still making a show of herself with Hua Tuo? Thinking of this, Lü Rui asked: "Old man, are you going to hand it over or not?"

  Hua Tuo showed a firm gaze and said: "If you don't give me a clear reason, I'd rather die than hand it over."

  Nainai's, Hua Tuo this old man's temper is up again, dare to threaten himself? Lü Rui picked up a bamboo slip from the table and threw it at Hua Tuo, saying: "Old man, I'm not asking for something for nothing. There's something here that you'll definitely like. I'll exchange it with you."

  Hua Tuo picked up the bamboo slip and took a look, it was Bian Que's acupuncture record, a bamboo slip recording Bian Que of the Warring States period. This thing was won back by Lü Rui from Bai Xiang Lou, a young master of a noble family, everything is good, this is a collection of ancient books, lost to Lü Rui, and this is only the first volume.

  Lü Rui glared at Hua Tuo and said, "Old man, if you hand over the elixir, I'll give you the next volume after we succeed. If not, you're now a servant in my household, and killing you would be as easy as flipping my palm. I know you're not afraid of death, but if you die, your medical skills won't be able to progress, nor can they be passed on to your disciples to help more people. Don't try to act tough with me."

  What a vicious threat! Lü Rui knew that Hua Tuo was not afraid of death, but he feared that his medical skills would be lost and unable to cure more poor people. This is Hua Tuo's weakness, Lü Rui figured it out and from time to time took it out to treat his arrogant temper.

  Hua Tuo was taken aback for a moment, then looked at the bamboo slips, put them in his bosom, and asked: "Is what you said true, young master?"

  Lü Rui nodded and said impatiently: "When has this young master ever broken his word? Quickly bring the medicine."

  Hua Tuo had no choice but to follow Lü's words and do as he said. He couldn't die now, he had to solve more illnesses and save more people!

  Soon, Hua Tuo sent over the elixir, and Lü Rui took a look. It was a small gourd containing red pills that were extremely small, only a few grains larger than his thumb. This was the "chamber medicine"? It seemed to be quite extraordinary indeed. Looking at these pills, Lü Rui revealed an evil smile. Cheating ordinary people wasn't impressive; cheating the Emperor would be a true feat! Humph, and there was Zhang Rang - he had killed Lü Bu's entire family, and Lü Rui would definitely make him pay the price. This would also count as doing something good for his own family after being reborn as a human. With this elixir, Emperor Ling of Han and Zhang Rang would surely... Lü Rui couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh secretly in his room. Two days later, he would enter the palace and cheat Emperor Ling of Han and Zhang Rang!