The next day, just as Mengde and her group were preparing to resume their journey back to Luoyang, the two punks from the previous night—who were suspected to be Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu—suddenly appeared and blocked their way.
And this time, they hadn’t come alone—they brought along a bunch of followers.
One of them, a young man dressed like a scholar in his twenties, swaggered forward and spoke to Mengde with a cocky tone.
“You little yellow-haired brat, are you the one who ruined our young master’s fun last night?”
Mengde frowned and asked, “And you are?”
“The name’s Xu You. What, scared now?”
“Xu You? Hah! Never heard of you!”
“You—!”
Mengde burst out laughing as if she truly didn’t know him, instantly infuriating Xu You.
But although she pretended to be clueless, she had actually long known his name.
‘Wasn’t this the same Xu You from history?’ The one who, during the Battle of Guandu, defected to her side after being pushed out by Yuan Shao due to his family’s corruption? He was the one who suggested the strategy to burn down Wuchao and dealt a decisive blow to Yuan Shao’s forces.
And when Mengde later marched into Ye City, this guy shouted her childhood name—Cao Aman—and got himself killed by Xu Chu for being too arrogant.
‘But in this life, she didn’t have the nickname “Aman.” So maybe this unlucky fellow wouldn’t get himself killed?’
‘Then again, people who want to die usually find a way. Even if he couldn’t shout “Cao Aman,” what if he shouted “Cao Jili” instead? That would be just as suicidal.’
Now that Xu You had revealed his name, Mengde was even more certain that the two boys standing in front of her were indeed Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.
In the original timeline, the one who always snuck around stealing chickens with Yuan Shao as a child had been her male self—Cao Cao.
Even the bride-snatching incident had involved her and Yuan Shao.
But now that she had reincarnated ten years later and as a girl, there was no way she could have played with Yuan Shao as a child.
So maybe that’s why Yuan Shao had grown close to his brother Yuan Shu—despite their poor relationship in recorded history?
Mengde could only speculate.
After all, when kids are little, they don’t worry about things like political power or bloodlines.
Yuan Shu probably didn’t discriminate against Yuan Shao’s status as a concubine’s son when they were young.
But as they grew older, everything became tangled up with ambition and family interests.
Fighting over control of the Yuan clan, Yuan Shu began to look down on Yuan Shao, and their relationship deteriorated.
That kind of falling out was perfectly normal.
As Xu You fumed in silence, Yuan Shao stepped forward and respectfully cupped his hands toward Mengde.
“If you haven’t heard of Xu You, then surely you’ve heard the names Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu?”
Mengde was sorely tempted to say, “Never heard of Yuan Shao either,” but she knew now wasn’t the time for jokes.
So she returned the gesture and asked politely, “Would that be the Yuan clan of Runan? Descendants of Minister of Education Yuan Kui and Grand Commandant Yuan Feng?”
“Exactly!” Yuan Shao said proudly.
Beside him, Yuan Shu raised his chin in triumph, waiting to see how impressed the girl would be by their noble lineage.
But to his surprise, she let out a snort and said, “The illustrious Yuan clan of Runan—four generations of high office, ministers and commandants praised across the court—and yet the next generation turns out to be a bunch of petty thieves and bullies?”
“You!” Yuan Shu was furious.
He couldn’t stand anyone insulting the Yuan family.
“What did you just say!?”
“Am I wrong?” Mengde smiled coolly.
“Do you honestly think snatching someone’s bride on their wedding night is something to be proud of?”
“You’re asking for it!”
Enraged, Yuan Shu lunged forward with a punch.
But before he could land the blow, Xiahou Dun, who had been standing beside Mengde all along, reached out and blocked his attack.
Realizing that Xiahou Dun wasn’t someone to mess with, Yuan Shao quickly pulled his brother back and shielded him.
Then, trying to smooth things over, he offered an excuse for their behavior the night before.
“My brother and I were only playing around last night. We weren’t actually going to harm that bride. I mean, we’re members of the Yuan clan of Runan—do you really think we lack for women?”
“Tch. The Yuan clan of Runan…”
Hearing that, Mengde clicked her tongue bitterly.
In her previous life, she had been single her entire life.
And now, although she had become a rich young master in name, she was a girl without the equipment to enjoy female company.
She hadn’t touched a single girl in this lifetime either.
So when Yuan Shao tossed out that smug, “we don’t lack for women” line, how could she not feel a sharp pang of envy and frustration?
With her arms crossed and an annoyed expression, she said, “So, if last night really was just a joke, why are you blocking our way today? Don’t tell me you’re here to get revenge over something that insignificant. That would make your so-called noble clan look incredibly petty.”
“Well…”
Yuan Shao scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Truth be told, he and Yuan Shu had come precisely to settle the score from last night.
But now that this girl had put it that way, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
After all, if they truly had been joking, then retaliating over such a trivial matter would only make them seem small-minded.
A noble family had a reputation to uphold.
***
Just then, Yuan Shu’s eyes lit up as he thought of a different excuse.
He stepped forward and said, “We’re here to clear up a misunderstanding, Miss. As the saying goes, better to make peace than sow discord. Since what happened last night was just a prank, we didn’t want you to mistake us for actual villains. That’s why we came to explain ourselves.”
“Explain to me?” Mengde raised an eyebrow in disdain.
“Shouldn’t you be explaining yourselves to the Lü family? It was their bride who got snatched, after all. They’re the ones who suffered.”
“We’re planning to go to the Lü family next,” Yuan Shu quickly added.
“But we had two reasons for coming to you first. One, you seem to be from Luoyang and likely a noble yourself. Since our families will probably cross paths often, we thought it best to resolve any tension early on.”
“And two, we were hoping you could introduce us to the Lü family. If we show up alone, there’s a good chance we’ll get beaten to a pulp. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“You actually make a fair point,” Mengde nodded slightly.
“Alright then. Since you put it that way, I’ll take you to the Lü family so you can explain yourselves properly.”
Watching Yuan Shu talk so incessantly, the girl thought to herself, ‘Looks like this Yuan Gonglu isn’t quite the idiot he’s portrayed as in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, huh!’
‘Then again, that makes sense. How could someone from such a noble family possibly be a true fool? At worst, he’d just be mediocre—someone whose head is filled with knowledge but who can’t use any of it when it really matters.’
‘Judging from Yuan Shu’s behavior right now, he does seem like a mediocre type most of the time—he struggles to put his knowledge to good use. But every now and then, he shows a flash of cleverness. That already puts him a notch above those wooden-headed types who are hopeless all the time.’
“Well then, in that case, I, Yuan Shu, sincerely thank you, Miss.”
Yuan Shu cupped his hands and bowed to Mengde.
“I too thank you, Miss,” said Yuan Shao, following suit with a bow.
Then, with curiosity in his eyes, Yuan Shao looked at her and asked, “By the way, I still don’t know your name. May I ask, what is the young lady’s name?”
“Me? My name is Cao Cao. I got my courtesy name quite early—it’s Mengde.”
Yuan Shu looked genuinely surprised. “Oh? Could it be you are the daughter of the esteemed Cao Song, one of the Four Eminent Lords and a man who once held the title of Three Excellencies? The one people call ‘Young Pillar’—Cao Mengde, Miss Cao?”
“That’s right.”
Mengde forced a smile, trying to hide her embarrassment as she returned the bow.
***
A lot had happened at court over the past five years.
First, in the third year of Jianning—170 CE—Grand Tutor Chen Fan passed away at the age of eighty.
On his deathbed, he was visited by Mengde and her father, Cao Song.
The old man had devoted his life to the Han Dynasty.
For some reason, when he saw Mengde, he suddenly grabbed her hand, his face full of emotion, and exclaimed to those gathered around, “This child is the pillar of the Han Dynasty’s future!”
And just like that, Mengde—completely bewildered—was given the title Young Pillar.
In the fifth year of Jianning—172 CE—Minister over the Masses Hu Guang passed away.
That same December, General-in-Chief Dou Wu also died.
With these three virtuous and highly respected elders gone, the imperial court no longer had any regents strong enough to check the emperor’s power.
The sixteen-year-old Emperor Liu Hong finally took full control of state affairs.
The following year, to celebrate his new reign, Liu Hong changed the era name to Xiping.
The first thing he did under the new era name was to promote his family—that is, the eunuchs.
He began referring to Zhang Rang as his “Father” and Zhao Zhong as his “Mother,” elevating both to the position of Central Regular Attendant, and gave promotions to many other eunuchs as well.
The second thing he did was to start a family-run enterprise in the Xiyuan (Western Garden), where they began selling official positions.
Just like in recorded history, every official now had to pay a buy-in fee before taking office, regardless of whether their appointment was purchased or earned through promotion.
And the third thing—was purging the partisans.
Liu Hong had never forgotten what happened in the first year of Jianning! Even though Cao Jie had deceived him back then, it was all to eliminate Chen Fan and Dou Wu.
So what if those two had good reputations? What did that matter to Liu Hong? They couldn’t help him rule, and while they remained in power, he could never govern on his own.
If Cao Jie had managed to kill them that night, Liu Hong could have started ruling right after his ascension, rather than waiting five whole years.
It was the partisans who kept him a puppet for five years!
Liu Hong—who cared only for power and pleasure, and not the state—launched a fierce campaign against them.
First, he ordered all officials to retroactively pay their buy-in fees.
The partisans, who were mostly poor, couldn’t scrape together the money in time.
As a result, they were all dismissed.
Only Cao Song, who had enough family wealth, managed to keep his position as Minister of Finance by handing over forty million coins.
Liu Hong, ever the greedy man that history remembers him as, surprisingly didn’t go after Cao Song after receiving that enormous sum!?
Seeing this unfold, Mengde couldn’t help but sigh, ‘Truly, this world is full of wonders—even someone like him can become emperor.’