Chapter 34

However,

now, because of Gu Yi’s existence,

the Xiliang Army would likely not experience such a decline.

But what Gu Yi did not yet know was that

Li Jue and Guo Si were extremely jealous people.

If they were to learn that Hua Xiong’s position was already above theirs, they would probably be bursting with jealousy in a heartbeat.

Not to mention Gu Yi, who had been deeply trusted since first joining Dong Zhuo’s camp.

……

At the same time,

in the Chancellor’s residence,

Dong Zhuo and Li Ru sat opposite each other.

They were discussing a marriage.

And the protagonists of the marriage were Gu Yi and Dong Bai.

Dong Zhuo spoke:

"Wenyou, what do you think if I take Bai Er to meet Gu Yi tomorrow?"

"With that kid Gu Yi’s intelligence, I believe he will soon capture Bai Er’s heart."

Dong Zhuo valued Gu Yi extremely highly.

And as for the personality of his own granddaughter, Dong Bai, he knew it very well.

She did indeed seem a bit willful on a daily basis, but that was merely an appearance.

Dong Bai’s father and mother had passed away early.

In previous years, Dong Zhuo had been busy suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Liangzhou Rebellion.

He always felt he owed this granddaughter a lot.

And within the Xiliang Army, there were only rough men.

The only two exceptions were Li Ru and Jia Xu.

But in terms of age, these two were old enough to be Dong Bai’s father.

Li Ru was even Dong Zhuo’s eldest son-in-law.

He could be considered Dong Bai’s uncle-in-law.

Now,

Gu Yi was an excellent grandson-in-law who had fallen from the sky.

He was talented and handsome.

Dong Zhuo did not want to miss out on such a rare and good grandson-in-law.

"Chancellor, Gu Yi has only just arrived in Luoyang, after all."

"Why not let him get familiar with the surrounding environment first?"

"Moreover, Gu Yi has not yet taken a courtesy name."

"Before marriage, he must at least have a courtesy name."

Li Ru’s considerations were much more comprehensive than Dong Zhuo’s.

In reality, Gu Yi, who came from the 21st century on the Blue Planet, was completely undocumented.

Let alone Luoyang, he had not even been to any other cities of the Great Han, let alone being familiar with them.

"Wenyou, you are right."

"This kid Gu Yi is also a person of bitter fate."

"He has reached the age to have a courtesy name, but there has been no one to preside over his capping ceremony."

"What do you think of that old fellow Cai Bojie?"

Dong Zhuo thought of Cai Yong.

As a leader of the Han literary world, Cai Yong’s cultural level went without saying.

Hearing this, Li Ru pondered slightly and felt that Cai Yong was indeed a good candidate.

Moreover, Cai Yong was also one of the very few people in the entire city of Luoyang who did not oppose Dong Zhuo from the bottom of his heart.

Of course, Wang Yun was also within the scope of Li Ru and Dong Zhuo’s considerations.

But compared to Cai Yong, Wang Yun was only good at being an official; as for scholarship, forget it.

Having made up his mind, Dong Zhuo planned to take Gu Yi to find Cai Yong to get a courtesy name first.

And then further discuss the marriage between him and Dong Bai.

……. ===== CHAPTER 71 =====

Dong Zhuo was a man of decisive action.

That afternoon, he decided to go to Cai Yong’s residence to sit for a while.

And incidentally, inquire about the old man’s views on the recent situation in the world.

There was no help for it; among the scholars and poets under Dong Zhuo’s rule, only Cai Yong could be called a famous person.

As for the rest, they were either people who opposed him or sycophants like Wang Yun who only knew how to flatter.

Cai Yong’s residence was not large, but the surrounding environment was quite good.

Small bridges, flowing water, and homes.

These three elements, which rarely appeared together in Luoyang, miraculously presented themselves around Cai Yong’s residence.

"Cai Bojie, are you home?"

Dong Zhuo waved his huge palm and patted the door of Cai Yong’s residence.

Given their friendship, there was naturally no need to pay too much attention to ritual and protocol.

"Pah!"

"Dong Zhongying, you old fellow, what are you patting for?"

"My zither music has been disrupted by you."

Cai Yong got up from the courtyard, cursing, and ordered the gatekeeper to open the door.

And in Cai Yong’s hand, what he was holding just now was an ancient zither.

In addition to literary attainments, Cai Yong also had deep research into the way of the zither.

However,

as a rough man, Dong Zhuo knew absolutely nothing about ancient zithers.

He waved his hand dismissively, looked at Cai Yong with slight contempt, and said:

"Why do you fiddle with this broken zither every day?"

"Could it be that it can lay golden eggs for you?"

Facing Dong Zhuo’s "vulgar words," Cai Yong automatically chose to ignore them.

This ancient zither of his indeed had a great background.

It was considered an ancient relic and could absolutely not be measured by money.

Previously, when his eldest daughter Cai Zhaoji was engaged to Wei Zhongdao, Cai Yong had considered using this zither as part of his daughter’s dowry.

But later, before Cai Zhaoji could marry over, Wei Zhongdao had already kicked the bucket, having no fortune to enjoy the beauty’s tenderness.

And this zither remained in Cai Yong’s hands.

However,

ever since Wei Zhongdao died, the Wei family of Hedong often attributed his death to Cai Zhaoji.

They believed Cai Zhaoji was a jinx, which led to Wei Zhongdao’s early death.

Regarding this, Cai Yong tried to explain.

But in this era, feudal superstitious ideas were already deeply rooted in people’s hearts.

Coupled with the Wei family’s deliberate smearing, Cai Yong could not defend himself.

Even though he was a leader of the Han literary world, he could ultimately not clear his daughter’s name.

After that, no one in Cai Yong’s residence dared to come and propose to Cai Zhaoji.

Consequently, Cai Zhaoji was already over twenty, yet she still lived in the Cai residence, with no one to marry her. ===== CHAPTER 72 =====