Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

"Now that you've won, why are you in such a hurry?"

Liu Bian was somewhat puzzled.

Cao Ren raised his head, the strange look in his eyes intensifying:

"Because after Zhang Fei won the battle, before he could leave, the people from Henan Yin arrived."

Liu Bian tapped his finger lightly on the edge of the table.

The man from Henan Yin?

"and then?"

Cao Ren lowered his voice: "They took Zhang Fei away."

"On what charge?"

"Fighting resulted in injuries and damage to property on the street."

Cao Ren paused.

"When the other party was taken away, they said that Zhang Fei committed violence without cause, beating people in the street, and those who were beaten were all law-abiding citizens."

Good citizen.

Liu Bian narrowed his eyes and looked at Cao Ren:

"Have you found out who those dozen or so people are?"

Cao Ren shook his head:

"I searched those people, but found nothing."

"But they are all skilled fighters; ordinary guards might not even be able to get close to them."

Liu Bian listened without saying a word.

He went over the matter in his mind again—a dozen skilled fighters deliberately appeared on Zhang Fei's usual route, deliberately at night, and deliberately chose to go out alone.

This is no coincidence.

This is like waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump.

They kept their eyes on the inn and on Liu Bei and his two companions, waiting for Zhang Fei to be alone before making their move.

They won, and the Crown Prince's face was trampled on. Everyone in the world knew that the people the Crown Prince had invited were nothing special, unable to even beat a few thugs.

After losing, government officials immediately appeared, took Zhang Fei to the government office, and left the Crown Prince in an awkward position—

Those who cannot protect themselves are disgracing the crown prince.

If they were to forcibly try to retrieve it, they would be disrespecting the Luoyang government, and Emperor Ling of Han would have yet another reason to accuse the "crown prince of being arrogant."

He stood up, walked to the window, looked at Luoyang in the night outside, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke:

"Do Liu Bei and Guan Yu know about this?"

"I don't know yet. Before I came, I specifically ordered someone to block the news."

"Can you stop them?"

"We can't stop them for long." Cao Ren paused, a hint of caution in his voice.

"I've followed Guan Yu for a few days and noticed that he goes out to check on things every half hour; it's a very consistent habit."

"Judging by the time, he will discover that Zhang Fei is gone in less than a quarter of an hour."

He stood by the window, looking outside, and tapped his fingers lightly on the windowsill a few times.

Once, twice, three times.

Then it stopped.

He turned around and looked at Cao Ren:

"Go and summon Cao Cao."

Cao Ren responded and turned to leave, but Liu Bian spoke again:

"Wait a moment."

Cao Ren stopped and turned around.

Liu Bian looked at him, his voice flat:

"Have someone go and tell the city government."

"Tonight, someone has been mobilizing troops near the Eastern Palace, plotting something sinister. The Eastern Palace is investigating this matter."

"The people detained by the Governor of Henan tonight should have their evidence sealed and should not be interrogated until the people from the Eastern Palace arrive."

He paused, his voice lowering by half an octave:

"The people over there will understand what this means."

Cao Ren stood there, digesting these words for a moment, then took a deep breath and clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"Your subject understands."

He turned around and strode out.

-

Cao Cao arrived very quickly.

When he came in, he was wearing his outer robe in a rather hasty manner, with the collar slightly askew, clearly indicating that he had just gotten out of bed.

He glanced at Liu Bian's expression, asked no further questions, sat down on the cushion Wang Ming offered, and began:

"What is it?"

Liu Bian recounted everything Cao Ren had said from beginning to end.

After listening, Cao Cao did not speak immediately. He picked up the tea Wang Ming offered, took a sip, put it down, and looked up at Liu Bian:

"What does Your Highness intend to do?"

"I plan to go and take a look," Liu Bian said softly.

Cao Cao paused for a moment, then frowned:

"Your Highness will go in person?"

"Go in person."

"This is inappropriate," Cao Cao said directly.

"Your Highness personally went to the Governor of Henan to bail out the person. Whether or not he succeeds, people outside will say that the Crown Prince is abusing his power."

"That's exactly what the people behind it want to see—"

"I'm not going to bail people out," Liu Bian interrupted him, his tone flat.

Cao Cao shut his mouth and looked at him.

Liu Bian sat down at the table, mentally reviewed the events of the night, and began to speak:

"Their move, ostensibly aimed at Zhang Fei, was actually a test of me."

He paused:

"What they want to see is whether I can protect my people in Luoyang."

"If I can't protect him, he knows my limits; if I use my power to suppress him, he knows my nature. Either way, he wins."

After listening, Cao Cao ultimately stopped arguing and nodded.

"Your Highness is right."

He looked up. "I'm thinking about something—who's behind all that?"

Liu Bian did not answer.

He simply looked at Cao Cao, waiting for him to continue.

Cao Cao lowered his voice even further:

"There are few people in Luoyang who can mobilize more than a dozen skilled fighters in the city, who can make the Henan governor's men arrive at such a convenient time, and who can erase everyone's identities completely afterward."

He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:

"The Yuan family."

Liu Bian tapped his finger lightly on the edge of the table.

He neither denied nor confirmed, but simply asked:

"Where's the evidence?"

Cao Cao shook his head: "No. But I think that this trip to the Governor of Henan might yield some results."

Liu Bian stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the night outside.

The moon was already obscured by clouds, and it was even darker.

"Then let's go take a look."

He turned around:

"Walk."

-

The office of the Governor of Henan was located in the northwest of the East Market, not far from the East Palace.

Two constables stood at the entrance of the government office. Seeing someone approaching, they were about to stop him when Cao Cao stepped forward and whispered a few words. The constables' expressions changed, and they quickly stepped aside.

Upon entering the government office, it was brightly lit.

In the main hall, a man was sitting behind his desk reviewing documents. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, saw Liu Bian, and paused for a moment.

Xu Guan, the governor of Henan.

He quickly stood up, walked around the desk, and stepped forward to bow:

"Your Highness, your arrival so late at night is an insult to me..."

Liu Bian waved his hand and said calmly:

Where are they?

Xu Guan's smile froze slightly, then returned to normal:

"The brawlers have been taken into custody, and the case files are ready. However... according to the law, an interrogation is required first—"

"According to the law?"

Cao Cao suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but he lightly tapped the table with the back of his knife.

"Lord Xu, as the Prefect of Henan, is certainly diligent in handling the case tonight."

"He even has to personally intervene in these street brawls."

Xu Guan glanced at Cao Cao, then quickly looked away:

"Cao Gong is joking; he's only doing this for the court."

Liu Bian raised his hand to stop them, his tone remaining calm:

"Bring us the sealed evidence."

Soon, several wooden boxes were carried up, containing the personal belongings of the dozen or so men:

Ropes, short blades, packages, boots, and even one or two inconspicuous copper coins.

Liu Bian glanced at it only once before turning his attention to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao approached, looking at the pile of ordinary trinkets as if they were ordinary objects, but his hand was extremely steady.

Instead of touching the blade or looking at the money, he picked up a pair of boots, turned them over, and examined the mud on the soles.

"There's fine sand in this mud," Cao Cao muttered to himself.

"The mud at Dongshikou is sticky with little fine sand. It's more like... it came from that newly paved sand road in the south of the city."

Xu Guan's eyelids twitched.

Cao Cao picked up a piece of blue silk used for leg bindings, rubbed the corner of the silk with his fingertip, and suddenly laughed:

"The silk wasn't cheap, and the color was perfect. Would an ordinary 'lawful citizen' go out at night using such elaborate leg bindings?"

Sweat began to bead on Xu Guan's forehead, but he still forced himself to remain calm: "Maybe...maybe he's a guard."

"Guards?" Cao Cao placed a copper coin under the lamp and gently turned it.

There is an extremely fine engraving on the edge of the copper coin, as if someone had scraped it with the tip of a knife, leaving an almost invisible stroke of the character "袁" – not for others to see, but for "one of our own" to recognize.

Cao Cao did not hand over the coin; instead, he gently placed it back into the box, as if casually saying:

"The Yuan family of Runan is known for its strict adherence to rules when employing people. They also always do a discreet job of marking routes for others in private."