Yanzhou, Puyang City, Dunqiu County!
Cao Cao and Cao Ren happened to be resting at an inn here on their return to Yanzhou.
This made Cao Cao, who was originally in good spirits, suddenly look dejected, as if touched by a hint of sadness.
"Big Brother, are you thinking of that woman in Dunqiu County from sixteen years ago again?"
Cao Ren, seeing through Cao Cao's thoughts, asked.
"I can't hide it from Zixiao..."
Cao Cao's voice was faint. He had always been carefree, but on this matter alone, he felt a sense of guilt.
Dunqiu County meant a great deal to Cao Cao.
Sixteen years ago, he served as the Magistrate of Dunqiu here, issuing a decree of ten crimes, punishing the powerful gentry, and bringing justice to the common people.
At the same time...
Here, he encountered a woman surnamed Lu, who bore a striking resemblance to a woman who haunted Cao Cao's dreams.
Thus, Cao Cao had a romance with her, which naturally involved intimate moments.
Cao Cao had intended to inform his father and marry her. However, the Cao clan was implicated in the "Empress Song" case, and he could barely protect himself, leading to his dismissal from office!
To protect this woman, Cao Cao only gave her a jade pendant engraved with the characters "Jili" (auspiciousness).
He never returned, temporarily severing ties with her!
He had planned to return and marry her after achieving some fame and accomplishments. Who knew that the world would be plunged into chaos, the Yellow Turban Rebellion would erupt, and the Lu family woman would die in the turmoil.
Few people knew that Cao Cao and he once had a son, who was a year older than Cao Ang. If he were alive, he would be fifteen years old now, wouldn't he?
But...
Cao Cao knew too well that amidst the riots and the chaotic times, the hope of a child surviving was extremely slim.
At this moment, the scene evoked memories...
Even Cao Cao, who usually kept his emotions in check, couldn't help but feel tears welling up in his eyes.
"These years, Miaocai and I have been searching for this child everywhere, but still without success... this child is likely..."
"Big Brother, please don't think about it too much."
Cao Ren repeatedly advised him.
Among Cao Cao's paternal cousins, only Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan knew about this matter.
Cao Cao had also repeatedly instructed his two cousins to keep an eye out for news of the child.
However, in the midst of chaos and the vast sea of people, how easy was it to find a child, or rather, for this child to survive?
"Enough!" Cao Cao calmed the agitation in his heart. "Zixiao, we won't sleep tonight. We'll travel day and night and rush back to Dong Commandery!"
"Alright!" Cao Ren nodded. How could he not understand that his elder brother did not wish to be reminded of the past and become dejected?
Ultimately, Cao Cao still felt he had let down the woman surnamed Lu, and by extension, the child in swaddling clothes at that time.
"Dada-da..."
The sound of horses' hooves echoed again. Tonight, there would be no sleep!
...
...
On a carriage traveling from Xuzhou to Yanzhou.
"Little brother, are we really not continuing the search?"
A woman dressed in a pale white dress asked gently.
Her appearance was not stunningly beautiful, but she was a rare beauty. Her clear and elegant face exuded an air of scholarly refinement.
It was precisely this temperament that greatly enhanced the woman's charm.
She was Cai Zhaoji, the most talented woman of the era.
And the young boy beside her, whom she called "little brother," was named Lu Yu, fifteen years old.
In fact, he was a child picked up by Cai Zhaoji when she was five years old, accompanied by her father Cai Yong, on their journey to Puyang's Dunqiu County.
It was heard that this child's mother had died amidst the war and chaos.
In times of turmoil, human lives were like weeds. Who would care about a baby in swaddling clothes, other than as potential food?
Fortunately, he encountered the kind-hearted Cai Zhaoji.
She picked up the child and asked her father, Cai Yong, to take him in.
Fifteen years of care and nurturing, and the little fellow gradually grew up. He had a wooden plaque with his birthdate and name—Lu Yu!
In addition, there was a jade pendant that Cai Zhaoji wore around his neck, engraved with the words "Jili"!
"Sister Zhaoji, no more searching. We've searched for five whole years without finding him. It's likely my father is nowhere to be found."
Lu Yu pursed his lips and puffed out his cheeks, replying casually.
Actually...
Lu Yu did not belong to this era. He was a transmigrator, a graduate student in history in his previous life. He had participated in "The Brain," and due to his astonishing memory, he was once hailed as the "Brain King"!
Who would have thought that when he transmigrated, he was just a one-year-old baby. His mother died before his eyes, and he was powerless. Even he himself was about to be buried amidst the chaos of war.
Fortunately, a beautiful, lovely young lady saved his life.
Later, he learned that this young lady was the renowned tragic talent, Cai Zhaoji!
To thank her, and to prevent her from experiencing the fate of "playing the Qin and Pipa," "playing the flute in the frontier," and "narrating sorrow with snow," Lu Yu, from the age of ten, pestered Cai Zhaoji to accompany him south in search of his father.
Cai Zhaoji couldn't refuse this little brother.
She had no choice but to leave Luoyang and take Lu Yu to Xuzhou.
Because of this, they avoided Dong Zhuo's chaos in the capital and the plundering by the Southern Xiongnu.
"We haven't found Father for over five years, and Sister Zhaoji has had to endure hardship. Sister won't blame me, will she?"
Lu Yu leaned his head towards Cai Zhaoji, and the intimate words unique to siblings were spoken.
"Endure hardship?" Cai Zhaoji waved her hand gently. "When did we endure hardship?"
"With your intelligent mind and your incredible insight and judgment, wherever we went, be it county officials, governors, or provincial leaders, they all warmly welcomed us and provided us with food and provisions..."
"What they sought was merely the words you call 'divulging heavenly secrets'!"
"Do you know what everyone calls you?"
"What?" Lu Yu asked curiously.
In fact, he knew everything, but he was willing to listen to Sister Zhaoji tell him.
"First, some called you 'Young Dragon,' then others changed it to 'Hidden Dragon.' The Yuedan Commentary even proposed—'He who obtains the 'Hidden Dragon' can end the chaotic times and dominate the world!'"
Cai Zhaoji looked at Lu Yu and said with a smile. "Brother Lu Yu is only fifteen years old, but this reputation is quite significant..."
"This journey to find my father sounds like it was filled with overcoming obstacles, but in reality, it was merely a scenic tour between us siblings. There wasn't any feeling of enduring hardship at all."
"It's just a pity that after more than five years, your father is still not found."
Heh heh...
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu chuckled.
Was it important whether he found that scumbag "cheap" father?
Not at all!
He had simply made up an excuse to lead Sister Zhaoji out of Luoyang, that place of troubles.
In Lu Yu's limited memories of his birth mother, he only knew that his mother’s surname was Lu, and he took his mother’s surname.
As for the reason...
It was because fifteen years ago, that "scumbag" father, whom his mother refused to name, had left and never returned!
Apart from the jade pendant engraved with the characters "Jili" worn on his chest, Lu Yu knew nothing about his so-called scumbag father!
The reason he insisted on finding him was that Lu Yu figured such a scumbag deserved to be punished severely!
For his mother, and to vent his anger for almost perishing in the war-torn chaos!
"Let's search again slowly... With Sister Zhaoji accompanying me, I'll find him sooner or later!"
Seeing Lu Yu say this...
Cai Zhaoji fell into thought.
She had always listened to this little brother's every word.
It seemed... he possessed wisdom far beyond his years!
His judgment and assessment of the world's developing situation were 'monstrously' accurate!
Especially after Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang to the ground, and the Southern Xiongnu's left贤王 took the opportunity to plunder, abducting many women from Luoyang to the Xiongnu...
Cai Zhaoji's relationship with Lu Yu had evolved from mere obedience to "dependence"!
She couldn't imagine that if it weren't for Lu Yu pestering her to go south in search of relatives, would she, Cai Zhaoji, also have become one of those unfortunate women abducted by the Southern Xiongnu?
In the frontier, among the barbarians!
Cai Zhaoji had read in books that barbarians would lock Han women in sheep pens and use them as breeding tools, ravaging and molesting them at will!
Those unfortunate abducted women would probably never return to the Central Plains in their lifetimes!
Every time she thought of this, Cai Zhaoji felt a chill of fear.
Even with tears in her eyes, it was precisely because of this that despite being a few years older, Cai Zhaoji had always followed Lu Yu's lead.
And this younger brother's judgment of the current situation had, up to this point, been entirely correct.
Thinking of this...
Cai Zhaoji continued to ask, "Little brother, why are you giving up the search for your father this time and insisting on returning to Yanzhou? Could it be that in this chaotic world... Yanzhou is safer than Xuzhou?"
...
...