Chapter 142: Warm Regards (Part 2)

Seeing Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao both calling for music and dance, the others also forced themselves to rally, ready to let this awkward matter drop.

However, after that old man surnamed Bian retreated to the threshold in front of the hall, he did not directly call his daughter out. Instead, starting with him, several people first played a passage of music. Although it was an ensemble, the rhythm was slow, without the slightest clamor, seeming rather ethereal and clear-toned…

Yet after playing for a short while, still no one appeared.

Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao were fine — after all, they were widely experienced and could keep their composure — but Xiahou Yuan and Han Dang were both thoroughly honest men, and for a moment they were somewhat baffled.

"Yigong, you don't understand," at that moment, Lou Gui could not help but speak up. "This is a common trick in dance music — deliberately dragging things out to stall for time, waiting until you grow restless before the dancer emerges. By then, in your impatience, even someone of five parts beauty you would take for eight!"

Han Dang and Xiahou Yuan beside him suddenly understood, but a flutist below lacked sufficient composure and, upon hearing this, choked, then simply went off-key, immediately drawing furious glares from the two honored guests seated above. Of course, Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao's glares were not directed at the musician, but at that fellow Lou Gui.

"Lou Zibo, would it kill you not to show off?" Gongsun Xun was utterly speechless.

"Zibo, even after doing so many things alongside Wenqi, you haven't improved in the slightest." Cao Cao was also exceptionally wordless.

Lou Gui, having made himself unwelcome, hurriedly lowered his head and played dead. However, thanks to his spoiler, the old man could no longer keep stalling, and so with a suddenly soaring note, the main attraction finally made her entrance — the person pacing in from outside the hall was a plainly dressed woman.

Gongsun Xun fixed his eyes on her, but could not help feeling somewhat disappointed. It was not that the woman's features were lacking — her head was lowered, so her face could not be clearly seen for the moment — but rather that clothes make the man, just as a saddle makes the horse. A woman from a wandering folk musician household ultimately had no finery to speak of. This plain attire could not compare even to the court musician women Gongsun Xun had seen in Luoyang, let alone the musician households of ordinary commandery offices or military camps during their banquets.

Of course, once she walked into the brightly lit hall and stepped onto the tiger skin, one could still see that this woman had distinctive qualities. At the very least, her figure was not bad, especially since in the sweltering summer heat she had been forced to wait a long time by the hall door outside, her body drenched in sweat that had long soaked through her clothes, making her figure appear especially exquisite and shapely.

From Gongsun Xun's perspective, however, his thinking this way might have been a matter of age. It must be known that his lawful wife Zhao Yun was only sixteen or seventeen this year, and even if her features were quite good, her figure was naturally lacking — one longs for what one lacks!

And just as his thoughts were wandering wildly, the woman raised her head, and everyone around could not help but be startled.

For no other reason than this woman, who appeared to be around twenty, indeed possessed seven or eight parts beauty! And when set against the previously disappointing contrast of her plain attire, it gave the impression of eight or nine parts beauty.

"This lowly servant Bian Yu greets the two young lords." The music had not yet begun, and the woman had not yet started dancing; she merely gave a slight bow.

"Good!" Cao Mengde, that demon of lust, was the first to clap.

Gongsun Xun's heart stirred, and he too smiled and raised his hand.

It must be said that the musician household was one of the rare lowly registered statuses in the present world that exceeded the scope of private servants. While the entire society had already nearly fully entered the feudal era, musician households still remained at a social stratum close to slavery — from the musician households in the palace to these wandering musician households, all were the same. These people were cast aside by the whole of society, without autonomy in marriage, without autonomy in choosing a profession, unable to rise for generations, fundamentally remnants left over from a slave society.

And the only two instances in Han history of musician households rising up had basically relied on the beauty of their women — one was Lady Li in the time of Emperor Wu of Han, the other was Zhao Feiyan in the time of Emperor Cheng of Han. Both only left their names in the histories by becoming playthings of the Son of Heaven.

So one could well imagine that this wandering folk musician household had probably staked their hopes of escaping their fate on this girl of theirs, otherwise she would not be dressed as a maiden nearing twenty. As for why she appeared here today, was it not because the hall was mostly filled with young noblemen?

However, although Gongsun Xun thought of this layer, he did not merely lament the fate of musician households, nor did he dwell on things like class hatred being greater than heaven. What he was thinking about and concerned with was her surname!

A woman surnamed Bian, of lowly musician household origin, now arriving at the residence of Cao Mengde, that demon of lust, and catching his eye at a single glance — who else could it be?

It could clearly only be Lady Bian, who surpassed both Zhao Feiyan and Lady Li! This one would go from queen to empress dowager, a model for the realm for several decades.

Could it be that he was witnessing history? Or, thinking of it from another angle, the future King of Wei was now dancing to entertain him?

For a moment, as the woman gracefully danced upon that worn tiger skin, everyone in the hall, though all fixing their eyes on her, each harbored their own thoughts.

When the song and dance ended, the crowd was mostly hazy with drink. Cao Cao called out for this dance troupe to stay a few more days, and then was ordered by Lady Ding, who had come out to tidy up the situation, to be supported into the rear courtyard. Gongsun Xun and the others naturally also went to bathe and rest again.

When they returned to the guest quarters, although the Cao household sent over lovely maids to attend them, Gongsun Xun, finding the summer heat unbearable, drove them out. The night passed without a word.

Early the next morning, Gongsun Xun hastily ate breakfast at the Cao household, then took Lou Gui, Han Dang, along with Cao Cao, Xiahou Yuan, and the brothers Cao Ren and Cao Chun who had come to join the excitement, and set out directly for the Guo River according to the previous night's agreement. The group wound their way along, and by the time the sun was three poles high, they had already reached their destination of Zhi Village. Before they could attend to proper business, Cao Ren and Cao Chun began clamoring to see the ancient well where a yellow dragon had appeared. Brats are annoying wherever they are, and moreover, the others were indeed curious, so they simply summoned the local village headman to guide them for a look.

"Young Lord Cao, and this Gentleman of the Household Gongsun," when they arrived, the village headman stood respectfully to the side, then pointed toward a dilapidated well with a stele erected in front of it. "This is the well of the yellow dragon. On the day the yellow dragon flew into the sky, the county magistrate had someone erect a stele here to record it."

Cao Ren and Cao Chun swiftly jumped down from the carriage and dashed straight for the well mouth, but then timidly shrank back, not daring to look, only cautiously poking their heads forward once the other adults came up together.

"There's nothing at all!" Cao Ren was greatly disappointed. "And this well is far too broken-down and small!"

Cao Chun also nodded repeatedly.

Gongsun Xun examined it carefully and also furrowed his brows tightly. It must be known that although his mother had spoken of lightning and such, she alone had not deeply interpreted the word "dragon." Moreover, this was after all Cao Cao's hometown, and this dragon carried certain implications, so he had always been half-believing, half-doubting about this matter.

But returning to the present, looking at the ancient well before his eyes, judging by common sense alone, although this well was secluded and quiet, it was truly broken and dilapidated, and the well mouth was narrow. No matter how one looked at it, it did not seem like a place that could produce a true dragon, right?

"I fear my guess was correct — purely a rumor passed down falsely. Called a yellow dragon, but in truth it was a rumor." Cao Cao also could not help shaking his head after examining it. "A broken-down well like this, how could it produce a true dragon? What Miaocai saw that day was probably truly just a yellow fish or a water snake!"

"That's not necessarily so," Lou Zibo, who came with a built-in contrarian nature, answered while twisting his short beard. "As the saying goes, the dragon can be large or small, can rise or hide. It may well be that a flood dragon once transformed into a yellow snake and dwelt here for a long time…"

"Zibo, shut your mouth for a moment." Cao Cao suddenly loosened his clothes and said, "I have a method to prove whether it is true or false!"

Quicker than words could tell, before anyone could react, upon the originally placid well water, a yellow water-line suddenly appeared from above, falling from the sky, thoroughly shattering this tranquil atmosphere — and also thoroughly and crisply shattering that superstition of heavenly mandate which had lingered in Gongsun Xun's heart ever since he met Dian Wei.

Over on that side, Cao Cao had already begun pulling up his trousers, while most of the others were pale-faced and dazed in expression, as if fearing that in the next instant the winds and clouds would suddenly change and a thunderbolt would strike them all dead together.

Yet under the blazing summer sun, with clear skies stretching ten thousand miles, what change could there possibly be?

"How about that?" Cao Cao asked smugly. "Do you still think there is a true dragon here?"

Gongsun Xun burst out laughing, the first to react, and then he too loosened his clothes and belt, pouring out the "return-to-origin soup" that had been accumulating in his belly since morning. The two brats Cao Ren and Cao Chun followed suit, and in an instant the area beside the ancient well became too unbearable to look upon.

Pitiful was the village headman there, who wished to stop them but dared not step forward, and could only watch helplessly as this place, regarded as an auspicious treasure ground of the village, was ruined by this group of noble young lords. A spell of dizziness came over him, and he nearly fainted.

"Let's go!" After turning around, Gongsun Xun was already refreshed in spirit and no longer hesitant. "Let us go pay our respects to the Guo River!"

Thereupon, from Cao Mengde on down, the group let out a shout and took their things straight toward the banks of the Guo River, and from then on not a single one of them yearned any longer for any yellow dragon or ancient well.

However, although it was said to be proper business of paying respects to the river, because of a maternal command, it had actually been changed into the posture of a sacrificial offering.

The altar table was set out, the sacrificial victims were presented. First, everyone came forward together and offered toasts and salutations to the Guo River itself, and to the two elders Laozi and Zhuangzi who had lived by its banks. Then, Cao Cao and the others withdrew, and Gongsun Xun, using the rites for sacrificing to ancestors, presented jade and silk and once more performed earnest obeisance.

And it is worth mentioning that not only Han Dang, but Lou Gui as well remained behind Gongsun Xun in the name of a household retainer, completing this sacrificial rite. This actually stirred a faint sense of emotion in Cao Cao.

The sacrificial rites were complex and solemn, but after toiling for a long time, when it came to the final step, Gongsun Xun, without waiting for the village headman behind him to call the villagers forward to assist, abruptly kicked over the altar table serving as the sacrificial platform. The table immediately toppled from the riverbank, and together with the jade, silk, and sacrificial victims, all tumbled into the waters of the Guo River.

"Go on, go on! If the myriad things truly have spirits — whether former sages, or the River Earl, or ancestors beyond the shores of time and space — let them all feast upon my intent!" Beneath the blazing sun, above the billowing waves, Gongsun Xun, drenched in sweat, turned and flicked his sleeves as he spoke.

Honest men like Xiahou Yuan and Han Dang were once again at a loss, but Cao Cao, seeing this, laughed all the louder.

Of course, regardless of how wildly these two, Cao Cao and Gongsun Xun, gave vent to their madness, today's proper business could be considered concluded with this.

"Wenqi." After a bout of commotion, just as everyone was preparing to turn back toward the village behind them to escape the heat, Cao Cao, twisting his sweat-soaked clothes, spoke first. "In the bitter heat of summer, having come to the riverbank, how can we not go bathe?"

Gongsun Xun also immediately burst out laughing: "That is precisely the reasoning. This River Earl has just taken our offerings — if we cannot bathe, wouldn't we be letting him off too cheaply?"

At this point, the group again summoned that pale-faced village headman and asked where it would be convenient to bathe.

The village headman was frightened and trembling, but still pointed to a place: "I will not hide it from the young lord of the Cao clan and this Gentleman of the Household Gongsun — behind that grove of trees over there, the villagers have specially dug out a pool at a shallow spot by the riverbank. The current is gentle yet it remains clean flowing water, and moreover the depth is just right, with stones laid down so one won't slip. It has always been the bathing spot for farmers returning from their labors in the evening…"

"That will do nicely." Cao Cao paid no heed to anything else, and taking Gongsun Xun by the hand, went straight over.

Cao Ren and Cao Chun were just about to follow, but were each grabbed by the collar by Xiahou Yuan and pulled back.

"In that case," Lou Gui also laughed and said, "Miaocai, and Yigong, how about we go into the village to shelter from the sun?"

Naturally, no one had any objections.

Leaving aside what happened behind them, on the other side Gongsun Xun and Cao Cao reached the riverbank, directly shed their clothes and unbelted, and entered the water naked. Presently someone brought over some plant-ash for scrubbing and left it on the bank, then departed… According to Confucian rites, bathing by the river was a refined affair of the highest order — in many places there were even festivals built around it — which was why the two of them undressed so readily.

"They did not follow us," said Gongsun Xun, a man of Liaoxi whose water skills were naturally poor, so he could only lean against the bank and soak. "Does Brother Mengde have some advice to offer?"

"It is specifically to make amends to Wenqi." Beneath the shade of the trees, within the pool, the two men faced each other bare-bodied. Cao Cao, leaning against the far side of the pool, finally spoke the truth. "That tabby cat of yours is not with me at present…"

Gongsun Xun's expression did not change… With his wits, how could he not have guessed as much? If Cao Mengde merely did not wish to return it, he would not have kept that fat cat from showing its face all this time, would he?

But how to put it? Ever since the incident with Dian Wei, Gongsun Xun's mind had been filled with all these tangled matters of heavenly mandate and territories, and his thoughts were truly somewhat unfocused. On top of that, the weather was indeed unbearably hot, and as a man of the northern frontier, he was genuinely somewhat wilted.

"Did it run away or die?" Seeing that Cao Cao could not go on, Gongsun Xun could only venture a guess on his own. "If that is truly the case, I really cannot blame you…"

"No." Cao Cao, immersed in the water, could not help but say awkwardly, "It was taken by someone who demanded it."

"Which elder of your household?" Gongsun Xun's face showed sudden understanding. "If that is so, it is also of no consequence — ultimately it was not your fault."

Cao Mengde could only give a hollow laugh. "It was demanded and taken away by the powerful eunuch Cao Jie — the very one Wenqi rebuked to his face at the Imperial Secretariat!"

Gongsun Xun was momentarily stunned, then utterly dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Cao Cao grew increasingly embarrassed. "That day, Cao Jie sent a fast rider here, promising my father this and that, all to obtain that cat. And at that time, although Cao Jie had not yet been restored to power, my father, my uncle, and I all felt that this man Cao Jie was certain to regain control of the situation… Moreover, though I appeared broad-minded on the surface, inside I was deeply despondent, and I also regarded Cao Jie as a lifeline. In a moment of confusion, I consented to this matter."

Gongsun Xun opened his mouth to speak, but not a single word came out.

"Wenqi." Cao Cao could not help but sigh. "You do not know — the very day I sent that tabby cat away, I regretted it. Not out of pity for a cat, but because I gradually came to understand: when a true man lives in this world, how can he not endure times of stagnation? What Mencius said — you and I can both recite it — yet why, when the moment comes, do we seek out ignoble means? Since I, Cao Mengde, am already in this situation, instead of immersing myself in study and tempering myself, I instead relied on sending gifts to curry favor with a powerful eunuch. If word of this got out, would I not be laughed at by all under Heaven?"

Gongsun Xun finally let out a sigh.

"Of course," Cao Cao continued, speaking from the water, "at the time I never imagined that Wenqi would suffer discord at home because of this, still less that you would help my family by seeking out the brother of the Honorable He to arrange the burial of my relatives. And what was most unexpected of all was that you would possess such generous resolve, entering the palace alone to contend with Cao Jie… Under such circumstances, do my own actions not seem all the more like those of a petty man?" At this point, Cao Cao splashed water on his face and wiped it, saying, "Wenqi, the reason I schemed in every way, even to the point of making a fool of myself last night, and still could not bring myself to speak of this directly — it is truly not that I cannot afford to compensate you for a cat, but that I am simply too ashamed to bear it, and could not bear to bring this matter up!"

Gongsun Xun slowly shook his head. "Mengde worries too much. A scholar who endures the humiliation of shame must ultimately achieve the plan of his affairs… My boldness was forced by Cao Jie's countermeasures, cornered with no choice but to act. That you can know shame and then find courage, and understand the principle of tempering yourself — that, on the contrary, fills me with admiration!"

Cao Cao smiled bitterly again and again. "Be that as it may, sometimes when I wake from dreams at night, my heart is still hard to calm!"

"Oh?"

"Here there is only you and me, so I will speak plainly. Do not be fooled by my broad-minded and unrestrained manner — when I see Wenqi on a white horse with a silver saddle, going off to serve as a thousand-bushel County Magistrate, and then think of how you executed Wang Fu, rebuked Cao Jie to his face, and are held in esteem by all under Heaven… whether in official rank or in reputation, you have clearly overtaken me, and in my heart there is truly some envy."

"Can even Cao Mengde envy another?" Gongsun Xun could not help but laugh. "Surely you are not bluffing me?"

"Why would I bluff you?" Cao Cao promptly curled his lip. "Do you know, last night when I saw that Bian Yu, a person like jade, for a moment I wished to take her in directly. It was only because Wenqi was here, and my heart was laden with cares, that I had no mind for it… Tossing and turning last night, I was not thinking of Bian Yu, but of you, Wenqi!"

Gongsun Xun could not help but laugh inwardly… Had he not been the same? He too had spent the whole night thinking of the Yellow Dragon and of you, Cao Mengde, which was why he had declined the beautiful maidservant's attendance.

And with this thought, Gongsun Xun showed a faint smile on his face. "Whatever the case, Brother Mengde has been frank with me, so let the matter of the cat end here. When I return, I will naturally have words to explain to my wife… Beyond this, I have one more thing to say to you, Brother Mengde."

"If you can simply not laugh at me over this matter, that will be enough." Cao Mengde exhaled deeply. "As for the rest, speak freely!"

"This matter of the Yellow Dragon — at this moment I also find it absurd and laughable," Gongsun Xun suddenly said with a serious expression. "But within absurdity there is also reason. Last night, when I heard what your brother-in-law Xiahou Miaocai said, I had some thoughts…"

"I would hear them in detail."

"A dragon can be great or small, can rise or hide. When great, it stirs clouds and breathes mist; when small, it conceals its form and hides its scales. When rising, it soars through the cosmos; when hiding, it lurks within a well or a basin… This is what my mother taught me. I wonder if it is correct?"

"If it is a true dragon, it is naturally so."

"Among these, when a true dragon has not yet encountered wind and rain, it is often mistaken by people for a water snake or a yellow fish — is that not also a common thing?"

Cao Cao laughed heartily and nodded.

"But if it is a true dragon, how could it feel ashamed of itself just because it is shrunken within a well or a basin? When the wind and rain gather, it will naturally soar into the sky." Leaning against the pool's wall, Gongsun Xun earnestly urged, "Brother Mengde, your talent and virtue are both excellent. That day when we drank together, you said you wished to become General Who Conquers the West to fulfill your life's ambition — I did not doubt it in the slightest then, and it is the same today! When a true man lives in this world, he should not let his resolve falter for a single day! The aspirations of one barely past twenty should be all the more so!"

Hearing these words, Cao Cao suddenly rose from the pool. Caring nothing for his complete nakedness, he bowed in salute right there in the water. "Wenqi's generous intent in encouraging me today — Cao will absolutely never dare forget it!"

Gongsun Xun laughed heartily as well. His water skills being very poor, he reached out to brace against the pool's edge, intending to stand and return the salute… However, the moment he pressed his hand against the bank, he felt something alive and slippery beneath it. Turning his head to look, he was greatly alarmed, let out a cry of fright, and fled — half running, half swimming — straight to the opposite side.

Cao Cao raised his eyes to look and could not help but laugh uproariously. "A great man who compares himself to a dragon, yet afraid of a water snake?"

Gongsun Xun fled from that spot, turned back to look, and saw it was indeed only a yellow water snake. His face could not help but flush crimson. "I am a northerner, unfamiliar with the creatures of the south — I thought it was a venomous snake!"

Cao Cao could not help but sneer. "A round-headed water snake — I have never heard of any being venomous…"

Gongsun Xun's face grew even redder. "Snakes are of many varied kinds — how do you know this one is not poisonous?"

Cao Cao nodded repeatedly with a solemn expression. "Wenqi is right. This is no venomous snake at all — clearly it is a venomous flood dragon about to transform into a dragon… only it has been pressed by Wenqi's single palm into a half-dead state."

Gongsun Xun was mortified beyond measure. Looking closely, he saw that the snake had indeed been left barely alive by that one palm strike of his. Embarrassment turning to indignation, he went straight up, seized the snake by the tail, and flung it far into the Guo River.

After such an incident, and with the knots in both their hearts now untied, they naturally could not be bothered with further idle talk. So the two helped each other scrub their backs with the plant-ash, then hastily rose and departed. As it happened, by the time they finished bathing, the sky had gradually grown overcast, and a cooler breeze had sprung up, yet without any sense of impending rain — it was rather pleasant, and one imagined the return journey would not be as vexing as the trip out had been.

In fact, with the wind clear and the air fresh, the company stood by their horses, somewhat reluctant to leave the Guo River.

"The Guo River flows on and on," Cao Cao, reining in his horse by the waterside, pointed with lofty assurance. "Thinking on it carefully, though it is no great river, it lies at the very heart of the Central Plains, and the cultural elegance along its course is no weaker than anywhere else…"

"That is true enough," Gongsun Xun responded calmly, his expression unchanged. "Setting aside all else, Laozi and Zhuangzi alone are sufficient to make it worthy of praise — to say nothing of you, Brother Mengde, a hidden dragon here."

Cao Cao immediately burst into laughter — whether or not this counted as shamelessness was unclear. "In truth, Wenqi's maternal clan is also from this place. Perhaps one day this region will take pride in you as well!"

The two of them engaged in a bout of mutual flattery, which made the honest man Xiahou Yuan rather uncomfortable listening in, so he hastily stepped forward to remonstrate. "We have just paid our respects to the ancient sages — how can you now speak of them so casually?"

"Does Miaocai hold me in such low regard?" Cao Cao, hearing this, laughed all the harder. "Though I, Cao Mengde, am in low straits today, how do you know that in days to come I cannot stand alongside those two ancient sages?"

"That is not what I meant…"

"Well said — Brother Mengde's resolve is commendable!" Xiahou Yuan was just about to retort when Gongsun Xun cut him off. "If at barely twenty years of age one still lacks resolve, must one wait until seventy or eighty, a heroic man in his twilight years, for his grand ambition to remain unflagging?"

"That is precisely the meaning." Cao Cao, increasingly buoyant, spurred his horse and rode off with the wind. "How do you know that I, Cao Mengde, cannot one day become Cao Who Conquers the West, or that Wenqi cannot become Gongsun Who Guards the North? And how do you know that this meeting of ours today, slaying a flood dragon, will not be mourned and honored by later generations for a thousand years?!"

"How has it now become slaying a flood dragon?" Lou Gui was utterly speechless.

"Oh," Gongsun Xun answered offhandedly, also spurring his horse to chase after Cao Mengde. "Just now while we were bathing, Brother Mengde and I encountered a venomous flood dragon that meant to ambush us. Brother Mengde held down its tail, and I seized its head — we split it in two and finished it off!"

As they spoke, Cao and Gongsun had already ridden far off, and from the look of it they were laughing heartily on horseback. These two sentences, however, were blown back by the clear breeze, swirling in place where they had been, leaving the company momentarily bewildered.

—————I am the dragon about to become a dividing line—————

"In the fifth year of the Xiping era of the Later Han, in the third month, a yellow dragon appeared at Qiao. Qiao was the home district of the Grand Ancestor's own mother. Three years later, the Grand Ancestor went to visit Cao Cao and bathed with him in the Guo River at Qiao County, where they again encountered a venomous flood dragon transforming into a dragon. Together they slew it — the Grand Ancestor took its head, and Cao took its tail." — Old Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Grand Ancestor, Martial Emperor

PS: Also, new book group 684558115 — everyone please join.

(End of Chapter)