Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 38 All Are Godsons

Wei Xiaobao recalled the conversation between He Lingsi and He Jin, and thought to himself, "He Jin had already promised to spare Zhang Rang's life, so why was he killed by Zhang Rang in the end? Could something else have happened during that time that I don't know about? When I was listening to the story, I was only focused on the interesting parts and perhaps I have forgotten all this. When I return to the capital, I will invite the teahouse master back to the Viscount's Mansion and have him tell me stories from the Three Kingdoms every day."

There was a rush of noisy footsteps outside the door, accompanied by Zhang Rang's curses: "I want to see which short-lived villain has the audacity to barge in and spout such nonsense."

Before the voice fell, the door was pushed open with a loud bang.

Wei Xiaobao rested his head on one hand, lying sideways on the couch. He patted his hip with his other hand and squinted his eyes as he said, "I saved your lives. Can't I just lie here for a while?"

Zhang Rang saw clearly that it was Wei Xiaobao, and the anger on his face instantly disappeared. He led everyone to him and said, "It's all that damn kid's fault for not telling us clearly that it was you who sent us here."

Zhao Zhong turned around and looked at the eunuch outside the door and cursed, "Why don't you close the door and leave? Are you waiting to lose your head?"

The eunuch quickly closed the door, wondering who the hell was in this room, even the Ten Attendants were bowing down to him.

Wei Xiaobao said, "I've already been to the Queen Mother's place. You did a good job. Now you know I didn't lie to you, right?"

Zhang Rang quickly responded, "Thanks to you, otherwise we would have lost our heads."

Wei Xiaobao stretched himself and sat up, looking at Zhang Rang and said, "What a pity you are so disloyal!"

Wei Xiaobao still hadn't figured out how to persuade Zhang and the others to kill He Jin, so he started by threatening them. This was a trick Wei Xiaobao had learned at the gambling den in Yangzhou. The dice in the gambling den were always rigged. The standard dice were filled with lead, but this was heavier and easily detected. More advanced dice were filled with mercury. However, using mercury dice required considerable skill, so those who knew the game would say something to distract the other party before they rolled the dice, ideally to scare them enough to make them tremble, making it easier for them to make a mistake.

When Zhang Rang heard Wei Xiaobao's words, he knelt down hurriedly and said, "We dare not. We have all sworn allegiance to Empress Dowager He."

Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "You also swore allegiance to Empress Dowager Dong here that day, what was the result?"

The Ten Attendants were speechless.

Wei Xiaobao's eyes rolled, and he continued, "Were you the ones behind Empress Dowager Dong's appointment of Liu Xie as Prince of Chenliu and Dong Zhong as General of the Cavalry?"

Zhang Rang and the others kowtowed quickly, saying, "We wouldn't dare! This was all the Grand Empress Dowager's idea. We are all Empress Dowager He's followers now, so how could we dare do such a thing?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "You might be able to fool He Lingsi, but I'm not that easily fooled. You old cowards, you never imagined I came from a den of eunuchs. Since you don't admit it, I'll just scare you."

Wei Xiaobao said, "I believe you wouldn't dare. The Queen Mother might not believe it! Even if she did, do you think General He Jin would believe it?"

Wei Xiaobao pronounced the six words "He Jin, General He" slowly and heavily, and after he finished speaking, he deliberately stopped to check the expressions of Zhang Rang and the others.

The corner of Zhang Rang's mouth twitched.

Wei Xiaobao continued, "Don't think the Grand Empress Dowager can protect you anymore. I'm afraid she can't even protect herself. She'll soon have the Emperor issue an order to send the Grand Empress Dowager back to her fiefdom. By then, there'll only be the Empress Dowager in the palace, not the Grand Empress Dowager. If you guys don't tell the truth, I really can't save you."

Zhang Rang tumbled forward and hugged Wei Xiaobao's feet, saying, "It was indeed us who suggested this to the Empress Dowager, but we had no choice. It's not that we are disloyal, but we are worried that if He Jin becomes too powerful, we will be doomed."

Wei Xiaobao said, "He Jin has already promised Empress Dowager He to spare your lives. With Empress Dowager He here, what are you worried about?"

Wei Xiaobao knew that it was time to start the game. Once the other party showed the number and knew the size, he would roll the dice.

Zhang Rang said, "The general can let us go, but his subordinates, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others, won't." Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were both He Jin's subordinates, so why did they fight so badly after returning? Never mind, I'll go and see what's going on in the Three Kingdoms when I get back. It's really a mess."

Wei Xiaobao asked, "Did you also want to harm Yuan Shao back then?"

Zhang Rang shook his head and said, "Yuan Shao, a descendant of three high officials, claims to be the leader of the clean class. He is irreconcilable with my eunuch faction. If He Jin seizes power, Yuan Shao will undoubtedly encourage him to eliminate us."

Wei Xiaobao knew nothing about factional disputes, and had never experienced the Factional Rebellion during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. So he asked, "What is the Qingliu?"

When Zhang Rang heard Wei Xiaobao ask this, he guessed that he was definitely not from an aristocratic family. He said, "The so-called Qingliu are those scholars. They look down on us eunuchs and spread rumors that we are disrupting the government. In fact, since Emperor Guangwu, every eunuch has been loyal to the court and the emperor. Forefathers like Cai Lun and Shan Chao have made great contributions to the royal family. Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, was even more talented and appointed talented people to the court. He recommended many great scholars from aristocratic families to the court. I didn't expect Cao Cao to ally with the Qingliu to deal with us!"

Wei Xiaobao laughed in his heart: "So Cao Cao's grandfather was also a eunuch. How can a eunuch have a son? Do they have to enter the palace to become eunuchs after giving birth to a son? Oh, right, wasn't Tang Zhou Zhang Rang's godson? Maybe Cao Cao's father was just the godson of his eunuch grandfather. Is it popular to raise godsons at that time? I'll adopt a godson for fun when I have the chance. Then Cao Cao's son eventually became emperor and took over the Han Dynasty. Doesn't that mean the great-grandson is rebelling against his great-grandfather? What a mess."

Zhang Rang saw a smile on Wei Xiaobao's face, and he didn't know what he was thinking, so he didn't dare to say anything more.

Wei Xiaobao thought of the Zhuang family again. "Scholars are all good people. My good wife Shuang'er and her whole family are scholars. Scholars are only meant to be harmed by others, why would they think of harming others? Are these old turtles trying to trick me?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "Those scholars have a hard time killing a chicken, so how could they kill you? Can the Queen Mother believe what you say?"

Zhang Rang said, "They can't kill us, but the general can. That's why we came up with this idea to check and balance the general."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "So, He Jin was just being used as a knife by Yuan Shao. As a result, the knife didn't kill these old turtles, but was broken by the turtle shell instead."

Wei Xiaobao leaned close to Zhang Rang's ear and asked, "Do you want to live?"

Zhang Rang looked up at Wei Xiaobao's eyes and nodded after a long while.

Wei Xiaobao whispered in Zhang Rang's ear for a long time.

Zhang Rang asked in surprise, "Won't Empress Dowager He blame me?"

Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Who is closer, a son or a brother? As long as you get the jade seal back, the Queen Mother will reward you in no time. How can she blame you?"

Zhang Rang was puzzled, not understanding which faction the man before him belonged to. Unsure whether to agree or not, he said, "This is a serious matter. Let's discuss it before we get back to you."

Wei Xiaobao stood up and walked out the door, saying, "Time is running out, you should discuss it quickly. If they make a move first, you will really lose your heads."

Zhang Rang asked hurriedly, "How will we find you then?"

Wei Xiaobao turned around and smiled: "Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. I will come to find you when the time comes."

Before leaving, seeing Tang Zhou kneeling by the door, Wei Xiaobao said, "You have a good godson. When the time comes to summon He Ru to the palace, you can let him go."

After saying this, Wei Xiaobao laughed and left.

(End of this chapter)