He Mansion Wedding Banquet
"Yuan Gonglu, what do you mean by this? Are you hoping for your brother to have bad luck?!" Yuan Shao, hearing Yuan Shu say he would be unlucky, spoke angrily to him.
Yuan Shu spread his hands helplessly and said to Yuan Shao:
"Sigh, that's not what I meant. There's no way to explain it to you.
You'll understand soon enough."
Seeing Yuan Shu speak like this, Yuan Shao became even more furious and was about to lash out when Cao Cao stopped him.
"Brother Benchu, both of you are from prestigious families. Why waste time arguing?
We should hurry to the Grand General's mansion. It wouldn't be good to arrive late."
As he stopped Yuan Shao, Cao Cao frantically gestured at him.
For the sake of the money, Yuan Shao decided not to argue with Yuan Shu any further and just let out a cold snort.
The Grand General He Jin's mansion was located in the center of Luoyang, just two streets away from the imperial palace.
He Jin came from a butcher's background and only climbed to the position of Grand General by relying on his sister's favor in the palace.
Because of this, his heritage couldn't compare to the Yuan family, which had produced officials for four generations.
The mansion itself was enormous, built extravagantly, exuding the aura of a wealthy upstart.
Even the two stone lions at the entrance were taller than a person, showcasing extreme luxury.
Since it was a joyous occasion for the He family, nearly all of He Jin's faction in the court had gathered.
The entrance was bustling with carriages and people, creating a lively scene.
"Gentlemen, do you have an invitation from the Grand General's mansion?"
As they approached the entrance, a guard stopped them and politely asked.
Cao Cao took out the invitation from his robe, handed it to the guard, and said courteously:
"Apologies for the trouble, General. Yuan Benchu and Yuan Gonglu of the Yuan family, along with Cao Mengde of the Cao family, are here to attend."
The guard checked the invitation and, seeing no issues, allowed them to pass.
Upon entering the mansion, the three began registering their gift money.
The guests who had arrived were all quite generous, with the lowest offering at least 100,000 coins, while the highest reached up to 800,000 coins.
Yuan Shu walked up with his nose held high, stood before the official in charge of registering the gifts, and said:
"For the three of us, each will contribute 1,000,000 coins!"
His words startled the official. Were these young noblemen really this wealthy?
Afraid he had misheard, the official asked again:
"Each person, 1,000,000 coins? Are you certain, young master?"
Yuan Shu didn't respond but instead arrogantly slammed a total of 3,000,000 coins onto the table.
Since the guests were willing to give, the official had no choice but to accept the money. After registering their names, he announced loudly:
"Young masters Yuan Gonglu, Yuan Benchu, and Cao Mengde—each offering a gift of 1,000,000 coins!
A total of 3,000,000 coins!"
Announcing the gift amount was a common practice in ancient weddings, allowing the most generous guests to gain prestige.
"Ding! The host has completed the spending challenge of 5,000,000 coins!
Congratulations, host! The challenge mission is complete! Would you like to claim your reward?"
At the very moment the He mansion's official announced the gift amount, the system notified Yuan Shu that his mission was completed.
It seems the system is quite wise, knowing that giving gifts to He Jin is purely a waste of money.
Yuan Shu silently said, "Not settling it for now, I'll deal with it later."
They're still in the Grand General's residence, and who knows what kind of trouble Cao Cao might stir up later—it's better not to get distracted.
"Why is this Yuan family brat giving so much money to the Grand General?"
"Yeah, I've never heard of Lord Sikong being on good terms with the Grand General."
"Probably that wastrel Yuan Shu acting on his own."
"Could be. That kid doesn't seem too bright; he could do anything."
Hearing the steward announce the gift money, many guests started whispering, discussing why Yuan Shu gave so much.
Yuan Shu had no need to bother with such discussions.
A few hundred thousand coins was indeed a lot, but at the level of He Jin and Yuan Feng, this amount was practically nothing.
So Yuan Shu's actions wouldn't have the slightest impact on Yuan Feng.
The three of them found seats. Since there were too many guests at the banquet, no one from the He family specifically came to entertain them.
The wedding proceeded with its tedious and dull rituals, and the bride remained veiled the entire time.
After an hour of ceremonies, even when the bride was escorted to the bridal chamber, no one saw what she looked like.
Yuan Shu teased Cao Cao,
"Mengde, where's that Yin Meier you've been thinking about?"
Cao Cao gave a sly smile and said,
"What's the rush? Before coming here today, I made all the necessary preparations. By the end of the night, Yin Meier will surely be mine."
Hearing this, Yuan Shao frowned and said to Cao Cao,
"Mengde, this is the Grand General's residence. We must not act recklessly."
Cao Cao nonchalantly replied,
"I know what I'm doing. In a while, I'll need your cooperation for a little plan."
Yuan Shu thought to himself, "Not good, this treacherous Cao is up to something."
He focused all his attention on Cao Cao, thinking, "If someone has to get screwed over, let it be Yuan Shao—don't drag me into it."
Cao Cao observed his surroundings. Now that the tedious rituals were over, everyone was drinking and socializing at their tables.
It was rare to have so many high-ranking officials gathered together—this was a prime opportunity to build connections. Many were already slurring their words from drinking too much.
Cao Cao nodded to himself, feeling the timing was just right. He turned to Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao and said,
"Brother Benchu, Brother Gonglu, follow me. I need a favor from you both."
Yuan Shu thought, "Here it comes. Cao is about to make his move—I better stick close to him."
With Cao Cao's cunning, as long as he followed along, there shouldn't be much danger.
Cao Cao led the two toward the inner hall of the He residence, taking well-trodden paths, showing an uncanny familiarity with the place.
"This treacherous Cao must have scouted the place beforehand."
Eventually, they arrived near a room elaborately decorated in red—the bridal chamber.
The sedan chair that had carried the bride was still parked at the entrance.
"Mengde, isn't this the newlyweds' room?" Yuan Shao looked around in surprise and asked.
He couldn't understand why Cao Cao brought them here. Was he not afraid the Grand General's household would misunderstand?
Yuan Shu thought, "Brother, you're really too naive. Can't you see that Cao is about to cause trouble?"
Cao Cao ignored Yuan Shao's question and carefully observed the surroundings.
Just as Yuan Shao looked at him in confusion, Cao Cao suddenly shouted,
"There's a thief in the residence! Catch the thief!"
Yuan Shao was shocked, "Mengde, what are you doing?!"
Today was He Xian's wedding, and many esteemed guests were in attendance. If news spread that a thief had broken in, it would undoubtedly cause a huge commotion.
If the investigation later revealed that Cao Mengde was responsible, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, who came with him, would not be able to escape blame either.
Watching Cao Cao shouting with all his might, Yuan Shu thought, "This is my first time witnessing what it truly means to 'a thief crying thief'."
With Cao Cao's outburst, the entire He residence descended into chaos. People frantically searched for the supposed thief.
Seeing the moment was right, Cao Cao charged straight into the bridal chamber.
At this moment, He Xian was still in the front hall entertaining guests, so only Yin Meier was inside the room.