Chapter 4: Yu Zhou A Xin

  Yuzhou Xuchang City, the provincial capital is within the city walls.

  Cao Anmin, dressed in a white robe with a blue shirt, walked out of the general's mansion. The people on both sides of the street looked at him sideways as he emerged from the mansion, but they didn't seem to be afraid. On the contrary, they covered their faces and laughed, as if mocking something.

  Walking on the street, Cao Anmin saw all this with his own eyes, but he was also used to it.

  It has been three days since the last banquet, and during this time, Cao Anmin was scolded by his father Cao De for his remarks at the banquet. He was not allowed to step out of the General's Mansion for these few days, and only today was he allowed to come out and get some fresh air.

  But it is unknown who spread the rumor outside, and in these days, everyone in Xuchang City was discussing it.

  What's being discussed?

  In Xuchang, a folk song has been circulating among the people.

  Xu Chang's literary and military talents welcomed Taigong.

  Ts'ao Kung wished to capture the old dragon Chong.

  A child at a banquet holds up a funeral banner.

  Yanzhou Ah Xin wept in desperation.

  The meaning of this ballad doesn't need me to translate, Yanzhou A Xin refers to Cao Xin Cao Anmin.

  It's ridiculous that Cao Anmin hadn't even had time to take office in Cao Cao's army, yet in just three short days, the name of Ah Xin from Yanzhou spread throughout the streets and alleys.

  It's unknown who spread the rumors about Cao Anmin, but after all, news travels fast in this world. Good news stays behind closed doors, while bad news spreads far and wide. These past two days, whenever anyone saw Cao Anmin, they would either mock him a few times or call out "Xuzhou Ahxin", leaving Cao Anmin at his wit's end, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

  Just wanted to make a name for myself, got... and even got a title of "Xuzhou Ah Xin's Crying Technique"

  It turns out that Wu Xia and Ah Meng are a perfect match...

  "Who is this blind thing that dares to block Miss's way?"

  Just then, as Cao Anmin was walking down the street lost in thought, a loud and shrill cry suddenly came from up ahead.

  What's going on?

  As he walked forward, Cao Anmin was curious and saw that a luxurious carriage had stopped on the main street. A petite girl of about 16 or 17 years old stood with her hands on her hips, looking fierce, with several strong men standing upright beside the carriage, and there seemed to be someone inside the carriage as well.

  Whose little girl is this? How can she be so savage?

  Just as Cao Anmin was secretly puzzled, he heard a slightly rough voice again, "You little girl are quite rude, this is not your family's street, you can rush around by yourself, but how dare you blame me for blocking your way?"

  This person's voice was very loud, Cao Anmin had already seen this person from a distance, not because the other party looked special, but because this person was quite robust, with a height of over 1.9 meters in Cao Anmin's estimation, dark skin and bulging muscles, looking like a big black bear from afar, seemingly a martial artist.

  What surprised Cao Anmin even more was that the little girl, facing the rough man, was not intimidated at all. With her small waist and a bit of a wild attitude, she didn't back down one bit.

  "Hum! You rascal, blocking the way and speaking nonsense, do you know who I am?"

  That rascal heard this little girl being even more unreasonable, suddenly he was scratching his ears and cheeks, his face completely red, and he roughly asked: "What do you want to do?"

  Look at the tone, that rough man seemed to have some scruples, and didn't even ask who the other person was, directly asking how they would be willing to stop, it's clear that this rough man also saw the luxurious carriage behind the little girl, but so what, anyone with discerning eyes can see that in Xuchang City, only a noble family or high-ranking official's daughter could have such a luxurious carriage, and this exchange made him lose some face.

  "Hmph, you scoundrel! You blocked the way for me and my sister. Although it's your fault, I won't make things difficult for you... Just kowtow to me three times and that'll be the end of it."

  As soon as this was said, the eyes of the surrounding crowd fell on the rough man, and the former was even more red-faced and embarrassed. The eight-foot-tall man was stunned in place, unable to move or speak.

  Cao Anmin felt extremely displeased in his heart, although this little girl was lovely and delicate, he didn't expect her to be so rude and unreasonable inside. Looking at the awkward situation of that fool hesitating, Cao Anmin became somewhat indignant.

  "What am I waiting for if I don't kneel?"

  That little girl heard the rough man say that, and she couldn't help but sneer, pointing at one of the wheels of her family's carriage while coldly laughing: "Hmph, look at this. Just now when you blocked our way, your cart damaged one corner of our carriage. If you don't kneel down, just give me 100 taels of silver and I won't bother with you."

  As soon as this was said, there was another burst of surprised voices around. To know that one hundred yuan is equivalent to the salary of a local county official for several years, and it's even more astronomical for ordinary people. At this moment, this little girl asked Mang Fu for one hundred yuan, obviously trying to embarrass him.

  "Ah..." As expected, the eight-foot-tall man's face turned pale with difficulty, but he gritted his teeth and said loudly: "Alright, I've offended the young lady. I'll make three bows to apologize..."

  As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't hesitate and immediately knelt down on one knee in the direction of the little girl, but because of her figure, a single kneel unexpectedly brought about a burst of whistling wind around him.

  "Haha, with a golden knee under his feet, how can he bow down to others!"

  And just at this moment, when everyone wanted to see how the ruffian would kneel down to the young woman, a white-clad youth suddenly darted out from the crowd and flew swiftly to the front of the ruffian. With one hand, he seized the latter's knees just as they were about to touch the ground, his strength astonishing everyone around him.

  At the same time, in the blink of an eye, an unbelievable scene appeared before everyone's eyes. A young man dressed as a refined scholar actually held down the knees of a robust eight-foot-tall man with one hand, his face not red or out of breath, and his speed was so fast that it made people secretly admire him.

  To know, this burly man's height is nearly 1.9 meters, with a sturdy build and a weight of over 300 pounds. This time, with the momentum of kneeling down and adding the force of diving, the instantaneous weight reached at least 500 pounds. The young man could block his opponent's momentum with just one hand, showing how astonishingly powerful he was.

  At this moment, the person in the car also whispered: "A boy... has a golden lotus under his knees."

  "Hum, who are you to interfere?" At this time, the little girl saw that her opponent was about to kowtow to herself and was feeling proud, but suddenly a white-clothed youth appeared out of nowhere, and seemingly with extraordinary skills, shouted in a tender voice.

  The young man helped the ruffian up, and without even looking at the little girl, he bowed his hands to the former and said: "How can a strong man kneel down for just a hundred pieces of silver? Isn't that making a laughing stock of oneself?"

  That sturdy fellow was taken aback, looking at the slightly delicate white-clad youth in front of him, his face suddenly showing some surprise. However, he secretly admired the other's strength, which was not inferior to his own. With a mix of admiration and gratitude, he said: "Thank you, brother, for your righteousness. I am Zhou Bo, may I ask what you just said? 'A man has gold under his knees'? This kind of remark is something I've never heard before, I don't know your esteemed surname and name."

  "My name is Zhou Bao, and I'm honored to meet you. My courtesy name is Anmin. Just now, I saw Brother Zhou being bullied by this little girl, and I was so angry that I came out to help. I spoke hastily, and I hope Brother Zhou won't blame me."

  "Hmph, so you're that Yangzhou Ah Xin. I thought it was some family's hero being so chivalrous, but it turns out to be just a mediocre person, haha."

  With a slight smile, Cao Anmin ignored the girl's nonsense and took out a jade pendant from his pocket, handing it to the other person, saying coldly: "This is a family heirloom, worth about 300 taels of silver. Miss, please take it quickly, don't make things difficult for Brother Zhou."

  "Brother Cao, this..."

  "Hmph, this broken jade is worth a lot of money." Without even giving it a glance, that little girl let out another delicate hum.

  Just as Cao Anmin was about to explode, a soft and gentle female voice suddenly came from inside the car, "Ting Mei, don't make things difficult for others anymore. Accompany these two men, it's not good to cause a scene on the street."

  As soon as this was said, the little girl was about to scold two more sentences, but after hearing this voice, she stopped and stared fiercely at the two people in front of her, then hid in the car and hummed coldly.

  "Let you off today, don't let Miss see you again, humph."

  "Third sister, don't talk nonsense."

  Cao Anmin did not expect that the person sitting in the car was a woman, and listening to this voice seemed to be the sister of that little girl, but looking at it, it was more dignified than that younger sister.

  No, it's thousands and tens of thousands times more elegant.

  "Why is there such a big difference in being human... just because we are women..."

  "What? What did Brother Cao say?" Seeing the carriage gradually moving further and further away, Zhou Ding was suddenly bewildered by Cao Anmin's words.

  "Ah ha, I mean... that... why is Zhou brother's skin so dark?" Cao Anmin casually laughed and immediately changed the subject.

  "Oh... Zhou Zhuang was originally a Jiangdong person, and when he was young, his family declined and moved to Yanzhou. He tried to rely on his relatives but failed, so he had to do some hard labor to make a living. As for this skin color, it's born with."

  "Are Zhou brothers from Jiangdong?"

  "Yes, ah... I haven't thanked Master E yet. Thank you, Brother Cao, for lending a helping hand and throwing in a thousand gold coins. If I may be so bold, Zhou Yu is willing to do his utmost as a humble servant."

  Suddenly a sentence made Cao Anmin stunned for a moment, and he came back to his senses, thinking of Zhou Yu...

  Zhou Bo... Zhou Bo... Huh? ??

  Sounds familiar?

  P.S: If you think it's still somewhat meaningful, I'd be grateful if you could collect it; that would satisfy me.