After dismissing most of the partisans, Liu Hong issued another decree: anyone who couldn’t pay the required fees would be permanently blacklisted from government service.
This crackdown came to be known among scholars as the Second Disaster of Partisan Prohibition.
Compared to the original prohibition led by the eunuchs, this one was relatively mild.
Figures like Li Ying and Du Mi—men of talent—actually survived this time.
Cao Song didn’t just buy an official post for himself.
He also spent money to purchase positions for other partisans, like Zhang Huan.
That said, Zhang Huan couldn’t keep his current post as Minister of the Imperial Household—after all, that position controlled the emperor’s private treasury.
Would a money-hungry man like Liu Hong ever let an outsider manage his piggy bank?
So Cao Song forked over 200 million coins to buy Zhang Huan the title of Grand Commandant instead.
Later, Zhang Huan visited the Cao residence to express his gratitude.
“You spent 200 million to help me become Grand Commandant. I don’t even know how to thank you.”
Cao Song patted Zhang Huan’s hand and said, “Do not forget the Grand Tutor’s final wish. You must do your utmost for the country.”
Zhang Huan was deeply moved and came to respect Cao Song even more.
A few months later, at Mengde’s suggestion, Cao Song spent a staggering one billion coins to purchase the title of Minister of Works.
He then spent another 40 million to transfer his original role of Minister of Finance to Li Ying.
Altogether, including the posts he bought for others, Cao Song handed over nearly two billion coins to Liu Hong within a single year—leaving the entire court utterly shocked.
“Just how rich is this man!?”
Even Liu Hong couldn’t help but complain in private to his “father” Zhang Rang: “Everyone says the partisans are frugal, yet Cao Song has been Minister of Finance for only a few years and already has tens of billions. Doesn’t that just prove how greedy these partisans are?”
For once, Zhang Rang defended Cao Song.
“The Minister has indeed governed honestly. All of Cao’s wealth comes from the Cao family’s ironworks. Their iron makes up seventy to eighty percent of the national supply—how could they not be rich?”
“Oh?” Liu Hong’s eyes lit up.
“So you’re saying—Cao Song is that wealthy. Which means we can keep squeezing him for money in the future?”
“Yes.”
Liu Hong was so delighted he nearly jumped for joy.
The partisans had initially looked down on Cao Song for compromising with Liu Hong and buying his official position.
But afterward, when they saw that Cao Song not only upheld Chen Fan’s reforms and continued cracking down on powerful local clans, but also used his wealth and influence to aid the partisans, public opinion gradually shifted.
People came to realize that Cao Song’s actions were a helpless compromise—and thus, his reputation as one of the “Four Eminent Gentlemen” became even more firmly established.
Cao Song couldn’t help but admire Mengde’s foresight.
‘So it really was possible to brush things off by spending a bit of money?’
When Yuan Shao heard Mengde admit her true identity, he immediately grew excited.
“Everyone says the Cao family has a young pillar of support. Now that I’ve seen you in person, Miss Mengde, you truly live up to the name. It’s just a pity I made such a fool of myself in front of you yesterday.”
As he spoke, Yuan Shao reached out, trying to take hold of Mengde’s right arm.
[Yuan Shao activates his skill: Arm-in-Arm Stroll!]
Xiahou Dun scoffed coldly when he saw this and immediately raised his hand to block Yuan Shao’s pervy grab.
[Yuan Shao’s skill was blocked by Xiahou Dun!]
***
At that moment, Yuan Shao suddenly realized something—Miss Mengde was, after all, a woman.
“Arm-in-Arm Stroll” was a fairly common social ritual among scholars.
When two scholars met and hit it off, it wasn’t unusual for them to link arms and take a stroll while chatting.
Yuan Shao, as a prominent figure in scholarly circles, had mastered this “skill” long ago.
So the moment he heard Mengde’s name, he reflexively used it—completely forgetting Mengde was a young lady.
When he saw Xiahou Dun glaring coldly at him, Yuan Shao became extremely embarrassed.
“Ah… sorry! I got too excited and forgot Miss Mengde’s gender for a moment.”
Yuan Shu, seeing his older brother suffer this awkward moment, couldn’t help but look down and stifle a laugh.
This joke would keep him entertained for a year!
Mengde sighed helplessly and shook her head.
“Well, I suppose this counts as a case of enemies turning into friends. Now then, would you two be willing to come with me to the Lü household and apologize to Old Master Lü?”
“Of course! Of course!”
The Yuan brothers both nodded enthusiastically.
***
Soon after, the group arrived at Lü Boshe’s residence to apologize for their prank the previous night.
Lü Boshe let out a hearty laugh and accepted their apology.
But his newlywed son still looked dissatisfied, unable to understand why his father had forgiven the very people who had tried to steal his wife.
Lü Boshe gave his son a solemn warning.
“What good would refusing their apology do? Didn’t you see the clothes those two young men were wearing? Those kinds of fine garments aren’t something common folk can afford. They’re obviously nobles, just like Miss Mengde.”
“So what if we don’t accept their apology? What are we going to do—drag them to the authorities? What if we anger them and they use their connections to take revenge? Then we’ll be the ones in trouble. Now they’ve apologized and we can move on. Why get stuck in the past?”
His son protested, “But Miss Mengde seems like a good person! She would help us!”
Lü Boshe shook his head with a weary sigh.
“There’s a saying: a thief only has to get lucky once, while the victim has to be on guard every day. If those two really wanted revenge, they’d do it. You think Miss Mengde can protect us forever? Just let it go.”
Hearing this, the son had no choice but to swallow his frustration.
***
On the road back to Luoyang, Mengde traveled by carriage, while Yuan Shao rode beside it on horseback, chatting through the carriage window.
“Miss Mengde, you scared me half to death last night. I was really thinking, ‘If I get caught, what then? I’ll bring shame to the whole Yuan family! What if my uncle finds out? Will he kill me?’”
Mengde snapped at him in annoyance.
“If you knew it was the wrong thing to do, then you shouldn’t have done it in the first place! And for the record, I was helping you last night, so don’t you go misunderstanding my intentions!”
“Huh? You were helping me? How exactly were you helping me?”
“If I hadn’t shouted when I did, would you have found the strength to burst out of that bush and run for your life?”
“Uh…”
Yuan Shao was completely speechless.
***
By the afternoon, the group had returned to Luoyang.
As Mengde looked at the familiar city before her, she let out a sigh.
“We’re finally back…”
This journey had been undertaken to open up a horse-trading route with the Xiongnu and to negotiate cooperation with various influential families along the way.
For a ten-year-old, it had been a long trip full of responsibilities.
‘At this rate,’ she thought worriedly, ‘I might not grow tall because of all this stress…’
***
Upon entering the city, she quickly noticed that Luoyang was full of unfamiliar laborers from other regions.
‘Is there some big construction project happening here lately?’
Puzzled, she bid farewell to the Yuan brothers and returned home.
Once there, she immediately asked her father, Cao Song, about it.
Cao Song looked deeply troubled.
After spending so much time with the partisans, even he had begun to adopt their concern for the nation.
“The Emperor has summoned craftsmen to build a… nude swimming pavilion. It’s for him and the palace maids to, well… enjoy themselves.”
“Sigh.”
Mengde was speechless.
According to Shiyi Ji, in the third year of Zhongping, Liu Hong built a thousand nude swimming pavilions in the Western Garden for lavish pool parties with his concubines.
Of course, no one becomes an expert overnight, so he must have tested it out with a few pavilions beforehand and liked it—only then did he decide to build a thousand.
‘Unbelievable. He’s holding decadent pool parties and didn’t invite me—’
Cough cough…
‘Not that I could join in my current form anyway.’
Mengde shook off the inappropriate thoughts and quickly shifted from “lewd mode” to “concerned citizen mode.”
‘Why does the Han Dynasty always end up with these useless, pleasure-seeking emperors?!’
And then she thought of the Yuan brothers.
‘Even the ministers are a bunch of slackers!’
‘When will the Han ever get a decent ruler?’