Chapter 106

Lord Yuan Shao was stunned, his face full of confusion: "Although I am happy that you say so, Mengde, I am a bit bewildered!"

"Forget it! You have always been flighty; I can't be bothered with you!"

Then, Lord Yuan Shao smiled and apologized to Su Xuan, offering his congratulations: "I haven't congratulated Brother Su Boyuan on your promotion yet! This is being appointed as a General and enfeoffed as a Marquis!"

"It is the dream of a lifetime for many, yet Brother Su Boyuan has achieved it at just seventeen;"

"Compared to the Marquis of Guanjun, Huo the Swift Cavalry, you are not far behind!"

"Congratulations! Brother Su Boyuan's future is truly limitless."

Although he had already anticipated it, when Su Xuan's reward was truly issued,

Lord Yuan Shao still felt a fierce sense of envy in his heart.

If only it were him, how good that would be?

"It's all that damned Dong Zhuo's fault. If he hadn't been so incompetent and ruined the Jizhou battlefield before I could even arrive, Su Xuan and General Huangfu Song wouldn't have been able to take the credit for the victory in Jizhou;"

"What a pity!"

While Lord Yuan Shao felt regret in his heart, he was also filled with resentment toward Dong Zhuo.

Everything was Dong Zhuo's fault.

If his uncle hadn't forbidden it, he would have even wanted to kill Dong Zhuo.

Unfortunately, Dong Zhuo still had value, so he couldn't be wiped out just like that.

But Lord Yuan Shao swore that once Dong Zhuo's value was squeezed dry, that would be the time he would kill Dong Zhuo with his own hands.

"Same to you! Same to you!"

Su Xuan smiled modestly: "Hasn't Brother Benchu also become the Administrator of Bohai? You are not much worse than me!"

"Moreover, my foundation is shallow; how can I be compared to the Lord Yuan clan, who have served as the Three Excellencies for four generations, behind Brother Benchu?"

"I am just lucky right now, having taken a small step ahead for the moment!"

"After this, I fear it will be extremely difficult for me to advance further;"

"On the contrary, Brother Benchu, your future is truly one of soaring success. I believe that in a few years, you will have surpassed me and left me in the dust."

Isn't it just about saying nice things?

It doesn't cost anything, so who can't do it?

It was just to fool Lord Yuan Shao.

He still remembered the grudges the Lord Yuan clan held against him and his father!

When the time was ripe, he would naturally take his revenge.

For now, naturally, it was best to keep things pleasant.

"Haha!"

Sure enough, Lord Yuan Shao felt extremely comfortable upon hearing Su Xuan's words.

The slight jealousy he had felt due to Su Xuan's promotion instantly dissipated.

He found Su Xuan increasingly pleasing to the eye.

This little brother is quite sensible!

Indeed, with his own background and family, why should he envy Su Xuan?

The rewards he earned through his own hard work would be surpassed by him in a few years.

It should be Su Xuan envying him.

No matter how strong your abilities are, so what?

Won't you still be defeated by reality, defeated by the background of my Lord Yuan clan?

"Indeed!"

At this moment, Cao Cao, who was standing to the side, rolled his eyes and immediately chimed in: "Su Boyuan, I hadn't realized it until you said it. The one I should truly envy is Brother Benchu!"

"Brother Benchu, in the future, I fear I will have to rely on you."

Although it was necessary to be on good terms with Su Xuan,

for the sake of his own future, Cao Cao felt that he still needed to continue clinging tightly to Lord Yuan Shao's leg and keep him happy.

"Haha!"

Seeing Cao Cao's attitude, Lord Yuan Shao couldn't help but laugh loudly: "No problem! In the future, as long as I, Lord Yuan Shao, have a bite to eat, there will definitely be a bowl of soup for you, Cao Mengde."

The few of them chatted like this as they left the palace, and afterward, they parted ways and returned to their respective residences.

"Congratulations to the Lord for being enfeoffed as Marquis of Duxiang, becoming General Who Pacifies the South and Administrator of Nan Commandery."

As soon as he entered the door, Xi Zhicai, Xun You, Cheng Yu, Old Dian Wei, and others stepped forward to offer their congratulations.

"Haha! Same to you! Same to you!"

Su Xuan replied with a smile: "I have now received the Emperor's permission and have the authority to open an office and establish my own staff. You have all campaigned with me and established countless merits; naturally, I will not treat you poorly;"

"When I open my office and establish my staff, there will be no shortage of rewards for you."

Even Su Xuan himself had not expected the Emperor to grant him the authority to open an office and establish his own staff this time.

This was extremely important.

"It seems! This is the Emperor's compensation for suppressing me and not letting me serve as an official in the court?"

Su Xuan speculated in his heart.

A good thing!

That evening, Su Xuan held a banquet at his home, hosting Xun You and the others, and celebrated thoroughly.

The next morning,

"Pack up our things; let us depart from Luoyang, this place of trouble, as soon as possible and head to Nan Commandery to take up our posts!"

"The real development is about to begin!"

Su Xuan instructed Jia San and the others with excitement.

He had waited a long time for this day; now, he could finally begin the next step.

"Yes!"

Jia San and the others immediately took orders and began to pack.

In truth, there wasn't much to pack; it was mainly Bian Yu'er who had more things.

How many days had Su Xuan been in Luoyang?

He had nothing at all.

"We should indeed depart early! Now, every day we stay longer, there might be one more day of unexpected trouble!"

"Once we leave Luoyang, even if the Emperor knows that our two families are about to be united in marriage, he won't be able to do anything to you for the time being! Hehe!"

Xun You replied with a smile.

"Hehe! That is exactly the logic!"

Su Xuan also smiled knowingly, then said to Xun You and the others: "Gongda, you all go pack as well! We will depart this afternoon!"

"If we are fast, we might be able to reach Chenggao by tonight and rendezvous with Huang Hansheng and the others!"

"Additionally, we should be able to arrive at Yingyin the day after tomorrow."

"Just in time to confirm the marriage matters with Lord Ciming on the way;"

"Also, we must take that brat Guo Jia to Nanyang; we cannot let him stay in Yingyin. Otherwise, with you not there, no one will be able to control him."

Although Guo Jia had not been very decisive about joining him, Su Xuan still did not intend to let go of such a talent.

Otherwise, should he leave him to aid the enemy?

Absolutely impossible.

"Very well!"

Xun You smiled slightly, naturally having no objections.

Since Su Xuan was so attentive to the marriage with his younger cousin, that was a good thing!

As for Guo Jia?

He felt that the Lord was right; they could not continue to leave this fellow alone in Yingyin to enjoy himself.

After Xun You and the others went to pack,

Su Xuan summoned Jia Yi and gave him many instructions regarding things the Secret Guards needed to pay attention to and prepare for in Luoyang.

Many pieces of information and plans were related to his future schemes.

— Author's Notes —

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