Chapter 093: Uncle, You Must Not Touch the Empress or the Noble Consort

“Wenruo, what urgent matter is it, exactly?” Cao Cao asked.

Xun Yu said nothing. He only kept studying Cao Cao.

The stare made Cao Cao a little uneasy, and he asked again, “I asked you what you have come for.”

Only then did Xun Yu speak. “I have heard that the Chancellor brought Lady Fu and Lady Cao back to the estate...”

“Nonsense. Who told you that?” Cao Cao denied it at once.

Xun Yu naturally did not believe him. No one understood Cao Cao better than he did.

“In that case, would it be possible for me to go to my lord’s inner quarters and have a cup of tea?”

If Cao Cao insisted nothing had happened, then as long as Xun Yu reached the inner quarters, he would be able to expose the lie.

Cao Cao knew he could not fool him, and so he simply admitted it.

“Yes, those two women are indeed in my residence. What of it? Must I report every single thing I do to you, Xun Yu?”

Xun Yu shook his head and bowed with clasped hands. “I have come today to prevent the Chancellor from doing such a foolish thing.”

Cao Cao lifted an eyebrow. “Foolish? How so?”

Xun Yu said, “My lord, the realm still inclines toward the Han. You must not overstep the bounds of ritual and law and trample upon the dignity of the imperial house!”

“If you carry this out today, word will inevitably spread. By then, your reputation will suffer greatly, and that will not be favorable to the pacification of the realm!”

Cao Cao gave a faint smile. “Wenruo, you are overreacting. They are only two women.”

Xun Yu shook his head and went on to lecture him on how power must not be used to trample laws and institutions at will.

At last, seeing that Cao Cao still would not listen, he fell to his knees before him once more.

“If my lord insists on following this course, then please draw your sword and kill me!”

Seeing this man’s fearless, ready-to-die expression, Cao Cao’s fury rose in an instant.

“Xun Yu, you have followed me for so many years. I never thought you would dare defy me like this!”

“Very well. I have indeed been too indulgent with all of you in the past, and that has made you forget your place. Since you wish to kneel, then kneel here!”

With that, Cao Cao ignored him and strode away.

Not long after, Cao Peng arrived with Xu Chu in tow.

Since Cao Cao had once said that Cao Peng could enter the Chancellor’s residence without any announcement and could go straight in, no one dared stop him.

As for Xu Chu, that iron-brained brute had been dragged along by Cao Peng.

By the time Xun Yu’s personal letter reached Cao Peng, Cao Peng had been drinking with Xu Chu and the other generals.

Xu Chu, once he had had too much to drink, dared say anything.

“You have no idea, but that Empress Fu and Consort Dong are both beauties like immortals. This time the lord has truly struck gold...”

“My heavens! No wonder we heard yesterday that the lord entered the imperial palace to make trouble for the young emperor. So that’s what it was for.”

Everyone knew exactly what kind of man Cao Cao was. As for beautiful married women, he had absolutely no resistance to them.

While the crowd was enthusiastically discussing the matter, Xun Yu’s letter arrived.

After reading it, Cao Peng understood how matters stood at once, and immediately dragged Xu Chu along to head here.

When Cao Peng appeared, a bitter smile showed in Xun Yu’s eyes.

In the end, the one coming to put out the fire was still Cao Peng, the man he had once looked down upon.

Cao Peng glanced at Xun Yu and understood what was on his mind.

He was not surprised at all that Xun Yu would do such a thing.

In later history, Xun Yu had followed Cao Cao for his entire life and had been granted high office and great honors.

And yet, because of Cao Cao’s claim to kingship, he had broken completely with him, even choosing suicide to preserve his principles.

But now Cao Cao had merely abolished the Three Excellencies and established himself as Chancellor; he was nowhere near conquering the realm.

Under such circumstances, he still wanted to forcibly take the emperor’s empress and consort.

Xun Yu naturally could not accept that.

“Anmin...”

“Sir Xun, there is no need to say more. Leave the rest to me.”

After giving Xun Yu a reassuring smile, Cao Peng led Xu Chu toward the rear courtyard of Cao Cao’s residence.

As a professional at digging people out from under walls, since this had fallen into his lap today, Cao Peng was determined to make Cao Cao look up at the heavens in tears once more.

“Anmin, aren’t you making too much of this? Isn’t it just two women?” Xu Chu could not help asking.

“Shut up. If you had kept your mouth shut, maybe this would not have become so serious today.” Cao Peng deliberately frightened him.

Xu Chu, that brute, still did not understand how grave the matter was. In the eyes of men like them, all Cao Cao had done was go after two women.

“Then what should we do? Anmin, you have to help me!” Xu Chu said anxiously.

“Relax. Between brothers, what is there not to do? I’ll help you.”

Cao Peng did not need any servant to announce him.

Standing directly in the courtyard, he shouted, “Uncle, I have urgent news to report!”

Cao Cao was truly about to explode.

He was on the verge of making everything a settled matter, only to be forcibly interrupted.

Once he heard who it was, he roared, “Cao Peng!”

“Why is it you again?”

Cao Cao shoved the door open in fury, and when he saw that it really was Cao Peng, he could scarcely stand it any longer.

“Uncle, it is not that I mean to ruin your good fortune. It’s that this cannot be left alone,” Cao Peng said solemnly.

Just listen to this boy. It cannot be left alone.

He had only found two women—was that so easy? Why did this brat have to keep opposing him again and again?

For a moment Cao Cao’s resentment surged so strongly that he could not even find where to begin scolding him.

“I have a few words to say. Please hear me out, Uncle.”

Seeing that Cao Peng was about to use the same old routine again, Cao Cao grew even more irritated.

“Then speak quickly and give me your reasons. If what you say is not convincing, you will get a beating today!”

Cao Peng smiled faintly. This was already the third time he had stopped the old general from enjoying himself, so he had plenty of experience.

“Uncle, do you really mean to ruin the fine situation before you completely?”

“The imperial clan of Han may be little more than an empty name now, but that still does not mean we may trample it underfoot as we please!”

Cao Cao had already heard this same lecture from Xun Yu, and now he snapped back sharply, “Spare me this alarmist nonsense!”

“That young emperor is nothing more than a toy in my hand. As for the noblemen in the court who dare oppose us, they have already become corpses beneath the blade. Who else would dare meddle in my affairs?”

Cao Peng looked at Cao Cao’s arrogant manner and knew at once that he had started to float again.

“In the past, King Zhou of Shang ignored human bonds, acted against Heaven’s will, and in the end brought disaster upon himself. Surely you do not need me to remind you of that.”

“Right now, there is indeed no one in the court who can oppose us. But what about the great families in the various provinces? What about the many warlords who stand against us?”

“If you seek a moment’s pleasure and allow this to become a pretext for them to denounce you, do you think such a thing is worth it?”

By the end of Cao Peng’s words, Cao Cao had no answer left.