They said that after Qin Tian and Xu Shu left Cao Camp, they hurried onward without pause.
They passed Bowang and Ye County, then reached Kunyang, entering Yingchuan territory.
Compared to Nanyang, Yingchuan was much flatter. After another day's travel, the two arrived in Yingyin County.
From there, Xuchang was just ahead.
Qin Tian arrived at his own estate.
Because Cao Cao had valued him highly, he had received many gold and silver rewards over the past seven years.
Qin Tian couldn't be bothered to manage them, so he had left it all to Cai Yan.
Though Cai Yan was learned and seemed untouched by worldly concerns, she was actually quite capable of managing the household.
Whenever Cao Cao rewarded them with gold, silver, or treasure, Cai Yan used it to buy houses and estates.
When Qin Tian told her that Cao Cao was about to welcome the Emperor to Xudu, she had taken it upon herself to buy a great deal of fertile land in the surrounding cities.
By now, Qin Tian was a great landowner. His estates together covered more than ten thousand mu, and hundreds of servants worked in his household.
When they arrived at the estate, the steward in charge of its management came to report:
"My lord, Madam and her party have left Xuchang and reached Yanling."
"Before leaving, Madam did not sell off the family's lands. She only told me to bring the land deeds to you and let you decide what to do with them!"
The steward's surname was Li, and his given name was Li Shun. Since joining Qin Tian's household, he had managed the various estates and was one of Qin Tian's most capable stewards.
At that moment, Qin Tian and Xu Shu were each washing the dust from their faces over a basin.
Hearing this, Xu Shu looked up and smiled.
"Madam is indeed a woman of grace and wisdom. This arrangement is most prudent."
Though he didn't know what Qin Tian had told Cai Yan, her way of handling things was extremely sensible.
Not selling the land would keep it from attracting Cao Cao's attention.
Handing the deeds to Qin Tian also kept him from being put in a difficult position.
It was an exceptionally clever solution.
An ordinary woman might not even have managed to leave Xuchang safely, let alone abandon such a vast estate without hesitation.
Still less would she have supported Qin Tian's decision with all her heart, as Cai Yan had.
In this respect, Cai Yan's virtue was rare indeed.
Faced with Xu Shu's praise, Qin Tian smiled faintly, wiped his face dry with a towel, and said smugly:
"Of course. My wife, Zhaoji, is the greatest virtuous wife of all time!"
The thing he was most proud of in this life was beating everyone else to Cai Yan!
In this world, Cai Yan had not been abducted, nor had she married Wei Zhongdao. She was beautiful and virtuous. He wouldn't trade her for Diaochan herself!
After praising his wife, Qin Tian turned to Li Shun.
"Who is accompanying Zhaoji?"
Li Shun quickly cupped his hands.
"My lord, quite a few people are with Madam: Elder Madam Xu, Mr. Xu, Miss Cai and the young lady, along with Steward Zhang and over a hundred household servants and guards."
The Elder Madam Xu and Mr. Xu he mentioned were Xu Shu's mother and his younger brother, Xu Kang.
As for Miss Cai, she was Qin Tian's sister-in-law, Cai Yao—Cai Zhenji.
Since Cai Yong had died while Cai Zhenji was still young, Qin Tian had taken responsibility for raising her as her brother-in-law.
Cai Zhenji wasn't well known in the Three Kingdoms era.
But her children were no ordinary people. One was Yang Huiyu, who later married Sima Shi and was posthumously honored as Empress Jingxian.
The other was Yang Hu, a famous general in the later years of the Three Kingdoms, who rose to the rank of Grand Tutor.
But Cai Zhenji was still young, just fifteen—a girl in the bloom of youth.
The other young lady was Qin Tian's daughter, whose formal name was Qin Wei and whose nickname was Suier.
As he listened to the names one by one, Qin Tian smiled knowingly.
No matter the era, family was always a source of worry—and a source of warmth.
He thought for a while, then said to Li Shun:
"There's no need for too many people to accompany Madam. Send someone to pass her a message: have the servants and carriages split into three groups. One group should go straight to Weishi, one toward Luoyang, and one head directly north."
"Also, give her this letter, so they won't worry!"
"Did you hear me clearly? Repeat my instructions back to me."
Li Shun took the letter, paused to think, then repeated Qin Tian's instructions.
Qin Tian nodded and added:
"After I leave, take these land deeds to Xun Yu's residence and ask him to sell the properties for me."
"Once they've been exchanged for gold and silver, I'll send someone to collect it."
"As for this estate, you may manage it for me. Use the proceeds as you see fit, and when I return, I'll reward you."
Hearing that Qin Tian was entrusting the estate to him to manage independently, Li Shun was delighted.
"Thank you, my lord. I'll be sure to manage it properly!"
"All right, enough talk."
Qin Tian smiled.
"How much money is left at the estate? Go get it. I'll put it to use."
Li Shun happily accepted the order and left.
Listening to Qin Tian's arrangements, Xu Shu frowned.
"Zixuan, with everything arranged this way, how are we supposed to meet up with Madam?"
"Do we have to go all the way to Chenliu?"
They were headed for Xuzhou, which meant traveling east.
But Qin Tian had arranged for Cai Yan to head north.
Their paths would never cross!
Qin Tian shook his head and smiled.
"No. We'll go straight to Xinji and wait for Madam and the others there!"
Xinji lay directly east of Xuchang.
Xu Shu was confused.
"What do you mean, Zixuan? I clearly heard you tell Madam to send three groups north. How are they going to reach Xinji?"
Qin Tian smiled faintly and leaned close to whisper:
"What I just said was a lie. The letter to my family is the real instruction!"
"The letter makes it clear that the three groups heading north are all a feint. In truth, Madam and the others are to go to Xinji!"
At this explanation, Xu Shu's expression turned odd. He looked at Qin Tian.
"You sly dog, Qin Zixuan. You're just taking your family away, yet you've turned it into a military campaign. Why be so cautious?"
"You're even deceiving your own steward?"
"That's what you don't understand, Yuanzhi! As the saying goes, a cautious sailor sails for ten thousand years!"
A strange look crossed Qin Tian's eyes.
"Neither of us holds high office anymore. Don't test the character of the people beneath you!"
"One careless mistake, and you could end up in a place beyond hope!"
Looking at Xu Shu, he thought to himself: You're the one who let your guard down and sank. If you hadn't left your mother behind in Yingchuan, how could Cao Cao have gotten leverage over you?
Hearing this, Xu Shu frowned and asked in a low voice:
"Zixuan, are you afraid Cao Cao will send troops to seize you?"
"I already told you: though Cao Cao resents me, he won't harm me!"
Qin Tian put his hands behind his back and shook his head.
"I fear not Cao Cao, but Cheng Yu. Cao Cao is still manageable; Cheng Yu will kill me!"
"Cheng Yu is Cao Cao's loyal hound. When he learns I've left, he'll surely send troops out to search for me!"
"If he can't find me, he'll certainly order my pursuit and execution!"
"By then, enemies will be all around us. If we aren't careful now, we'll meet our end at his hands."
At the mention of Cheng Yu, Xu Shu's expression grew grave as well.
He had followed Qin Tian for many years and had seen Cheng Yu's ruthlessness.
Back when Lu Bu had thrown Yanzhou into chaos and Cao's army was short on grain, Qin Tian had insisted on using troops to intimidate the great families and borrow military provisions.
But that bastard Cheng Yu had simply led soldiers into Dong'e and plundered the people.
He had forcibly procured several days' worth of provisions for Cao Cao.
It was said that the supplies included quite a bit of human flesh.
After that, Qin Tian and Cheng Yu had broken with each other completely.
Now that Cheng Yu knew Qin Tian was leaving, given his character, it was entirely possible he would order a manhunt if he couldn't bring Qin Tian back.
Thinking of this, Xu Shu hurriedly asked:
"What should we do now?"
"One word: hurry!"
Qin Tian raised a finger.
"Besides, we can't rely on anyone around us. They all have families here and won't be willing to come with us!"
"That's why I asked Li Shun to bring the estate's money. Yuanzhi, go out at once and look up some old friends. Find a few trustworthy wandering swordsmen to escort us!"
"Only then can we avoid being hunted down!"
Xu Shu nodded. He had originally been a wandering swordsman in Yingchuan—in other words, he'd been mixed up in the underworld.
Those wandering swordsmen might not be good at fighting battles, but every last one of them put loyalty first!
At a time like this, those were exactly the sort of people they could trust.
Xu Shu immediately left the estate.
Thanks to his connections, by that afternoon he had recruited more than a dozen skilled swordsmen.
After meeting each of them, Qin Tian led the group toward Xinji.
Less than a day after Qin Tian and the others departed, a messenger sent by Cao Cao arrived in Xuchang.
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