Visiting Xi Zhicai

Yuan Shu returned to the private seating upstairs amidst the laughter of the crowd. 

He didn't care about others' attitudes at all; after all, he had already obtained what he wanted. 

"Brother Gonglu, why did you behave like that today?" Cao Cao asked with a puzzled expression. 

Cao Cao had anticipated that Yuan Shu wouldn't receive a particularly favorable evaluation. 

However, no matter how poor the evaluation might be, Xu Shao would usually give a perfunctory comment like "talent of a county" in exchange for money. 

But such a harsh evaluation as today's was truly unprecedented. 

In Cao Cao's opinion, Xu Shao's evaluation had a lot to do with Yuan Shu's responses. Acting like a scoundrel in private was one thing, but how could he speak so recklessly on stage in such a formal setting? 

Yuan Shu smiled at Cao Cao and said, "I merely spoke the truth. The world doesn't understand me, but there's nothing I can do about it. Oh, Brother Mengde, do you understand me?" 

Cao Cao forced an awkward smile and said, "I do. Brother Gonglu has great ambitions and will surely establish a great legacy one day." 

Seeing Yuan Shu nod in satisfaction, Cao Cao thought to himself that he had lied again today. There was no other way—if he wanted Yuan Shu to keep spending money on him, he had to flatter him a bit. After all, getting money required some effort. 

The next few people who went on stage were all fairly mediocre talents. After the shocks of Cao Cao and Yuan Shu's performances, Xu Shao had little mood to evaluate these ordinary individuals and dismissed them with casual comments. 

By around noon, this month's talent review event came to an official end, and the young noblemen and scholars began to leave Huayu Pavilion one after another. 

"Brother Mengde, shall we meet again another day?" Yuan Shu cupped his hands toward Cao Cao, showing no sign of being affected by the harsh evaluation. 

"Of course! Brother Gonglu, let's meet again another day. I still have official duties to attend to today, so I won't stay to chat," Cao Cao replied, noting Yuan Shu's carefree demeanor. He thought to himself that Yuan Gonglu's mental resilience was truly impressive. 

If an ordinary scholar were to receive such a scathing critique from Xu Shao, they might feel utterly devastated. 

After parting ways with Cao Cao, Yuan Shu called over Yuan An and pointed at the figure of Xi Zhicai. 

"Yuan An, do you see that gentleman in the blue robe?" 

Yuan An nodded and replied, "Yes, I see him. What are your instructions, young master?" 

"Follow him. Find out where he lives and gather all the information you can about him. Understand?" 

Yuan An quickly responded, "Rest assured, young master, I understand." 

He then left Yuan Shu and discreetly followed Xi Zhicai. 

Although Yuan An didn't ask questions, he found it quite puzzling. 

Why was the young master asking him to follow this unfamiliar blue-robed man? 

Could it be just because the man was handsome? 

Could it be that the young master had such preferences? 

It wasn't unheard of for noble officials during the late Han dynasty to have a fondness for beautiful men, though it was rare. But who would've thought his own young master might be among them? 

Shaking his head, Yuan An dismissed his thoughts, reminding himself to focus on carrying out the task properly. 

By mid-afternoon, Yuan Shu was reclining in his courtyard, enjoying pastries. A young maid poured peach blossom wine for him, attending to him with care. Life was quite comfortable. 

At this moment, Yuan An walked in from outside and bowed to Yuan Shu, saying:

"Young master, I've found out everything. That gentleman in blue from earlier, his surname is Xi, given name Zhong, and courtesy name Zhicai. He's from Yingchuan and came to Luoyang for scholarly pursuits."

Yuan Shu nodded in approval. While Yuan An wasn't particularly talented, he was efficient in getting things done.

Currently, Yuan Shu had very few capable people at his disposal, with Yuan An being the only one he could rely on. 

It seemed like he needed to recruit more talents; with more people under him, he could truly flaunt his status as a young master.

He glanced at the maidservant attending to him. She looked decent enough, but there weren't enough of them either.

It was about time to recruit more servants to serve him properly.

Satisfied, he said to Yuan An:

"Not bad, you've gathered plenty of details. By the way, where does this Xi gentleman live?"

Yuan An replied, "He lives near Jiaofang Street in the southern part of the city. It seems he bought the house himself, so his family background must be fairly good."

During the late Han dynasty, educational resources were extremely scarce. Even those from humble backgrounds needed some wealth to afford education, not to mention the offspring of aristocratic families.

Yuan Shu stood up and said to Yuan An, "Let's go. We'll pay this Xi gentleman a visit."

"Huh? Go directly?" Yuan An was taken aback. They had just finished gathering information, and now they were going to approach him immediately? So impatient?

What if this Xi gentleman outright refused?

Shouldn't this sort of thing be approached gradually?

Yuan Shu had no idea what sort of inappropriate thoughts Yuan An was having. If he did, he'd have kicked him by now.

"Of course, we can't just show up empty-handed. We need to bring generous gifts!" Yuan Shu said with his usual extravagance.

Since he wasn't sure what to gift, Yuan Shu decided to go straight to the point—money. Twenty thousand coins as a token of goodwill, while also indulging in his habit of lavish spending.

By the hour of Shen (late afternoon), Yuan Shu, accompanied by Yuan An, drove their carriage to the southern part of the city.

"Young master, this is the place," Yuan An said, pointing to a modest courtyard by the street.

The courtyard wasn't large, but it was well-maintained, with tree branches stretching out from inside the walls, giving off a vibrant and lively vibe.

A young servant stood near the courtyard gate, glancing around. 

When he spotted Yuan Shu and Yuan An, he walked toward them.

The young servant bowed to Yuan Shu and said:

"You must be Yuan Shu, the esteemed young master. My master has instructed me to wait here for your arrival."

Yuan Shu hadn't expected that Xi Zhicai would know he was coming. Surprised, he asked:

"Your master knew I would come?"

The young servant nodded and said:

"My master mentioned earlier this morning that a young master named Yuan Shu would come to visit around this time."

Yuan Shu couldn't help but marvel. He remembered that Xi Zhicai had a talent called foresight. Truly a rare genius.

His resolve to recruit Xi Zhicai grew even stronger.

Yuan Shu and Yuan An followed the young servant into Xi Zhicai's courtyard. The yard was planted with a few pine trees, creating a serene and pleasant atmosphere.

At the center of the courtyard was a small water feature for aesthetic enjoyment. Indeed, as the saying goes, "The wise delight in water, the virtuous delight in mountains."

"My master is waiting for you in the main hall," the young servant said, pointing to the largest room in the center of the courtyard, which was presumably Xi Zhicai's reception room.

"Thank you, young sir," Yuan Shu said to the servant, then entered the hall with Yuan An.

He had no choice but to bring Yuan An along, as the gift they were presenting to Xi Zhicai was still with him.

Upon entering the room, Yuan Shu saw Xi Zhicai seated to the side, sipping tea. A small square table in front of him held a Go board. Xi Zhicai was deeply engrossed in studying the board while occasionally taking a sip of tea.

Yuan Shu could understand the aristocrats' fondness for tea during the late Han dynasty. 

To him, their tea-drinking habit was akin to modern white-collar workers drinking coffee—aside from enjoying the taste, it also added a touch of sophistication to their image.