Open and aboveboard

Wang Su rushed to the scene.

The County Commandant followed behind Wang Su.

The Governor had acted with remarkable efficiency. Shu Wan had already been imprisoned, and once orders arrived from the Imperial Court, he could be loaded into a prison cart and sent to Luoyang.

When Wang Su heard that an attempt had been made on Cao Mao's life, he was truly terrified.

If anything happened to Cao Mao, the spotless reputation he had cultivated all his life would be ruined.

For people of this era, cultivating a reputation was a means of gaining office, and holding office allowed them to further cultivate their reputation. It was a beneficial cycle.

But at Wang Su's level, cultivating a reputation was no longer about gaining office. It was about leaving his name in the annals of history and advancing his clan's interests.

The greater Wang Su's reputation became, the more readily his descendants could be recommended for office. A good reputation could shelter a family for generations.

If his reputation soured, however, leaving a stench for ten thousand years, his descendants might one day be driven out of the ranks of the greatest clans by the other powerful families acting together, and reduced to the lower tier.

Thus, when he led everyone rushing into the residence, the first person Wang Su looked at was not his own grandson, but the Noble Rural Duke, upon whom his reputation depended.

Fortunately, Cao Mao was unharmed.

Wang Su's anxious heart finally settled.

Only then did he turn to his grandson and ask how he was.

"I'm unharmed. His Majesty protected me..."

Sima Yan spoke quietly, looking at Cao Mao with a somewhat complicated gaze.

At first, he had merely thought the man strange, excessively familiar, and even a little frightening.

Later, the contrast between Cao Mao's former and current circumstances had stirred some pity in him.

Now, however, he had begun to feel some affection for this peculiar Duke of the Village.

Wang Su turned to Zheng Mao. "Who did this?!"

Zheng Mao shook his head. "I truly do not know."

Cao Mao said with a bitter smile, "I have always treated others sincerely and have never had any enemies. I truly don't know who would want to strike at me."

"There are few people in my residence. If the assassins return, I fear we won't be able to stop them."

One of the Knights said, "We entered when we heard the noise and saw several masked men fighting Lord Guo. When they saw us, they fled in haste. They appeared very familiar with the surrounding area and had made preparations beforehand. We didn't know the roads and couldn't catch them."

Sima Yan frowned. "Elite soldiers, yet you couldn't even catch a few rats who dare not show their faces in the light?!"

The Knight pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Cao Mao, however, looked greatly startled. "Familiar with the residence? Could there be a traitor inside?"

"Could they be those Wanderers I dismissed?"

Wang Su was instantly struck speechless.

Why are you stealing my lines?

Shouldn't we be the ones to raise that suspicion?

Wang Su ordered, "Send men to search the city. Also, leave twenty men here to protect the Noble Rural Duke. No one must be allowed to harm him."

"Thank you, Lord Wang!"

Cao Mao hurriedly bowed.

Ever since he had submitted a memorial requesting that Xiahou Xuan's name be cleared, these people had no longer dared address him as His Majesty.

Cao Mao felt that this was the greatest result he had achieved so far.

Wang Su kept a stern face and merely returned Cao Mao's bow, unwilling to engage with him.

But Cao Mao clearly had no intention of letting such a fine opportunity slip away. He hurriedly said, "Lord Wang, I have come to pay my respects several times lately, yet I have not been allowed through your gates."

"Have I offended you somehow and made you so angry?"

"Since childhood, I have taken Lord Xiahou, Marquis Cheng of Lanling, and others as my models, emulating their conduct. I hold you in particularly great esteem as well."

"I know you are a great scholar of classical studies and wish to learn from you. Yet since coming to Yuan City, you have never given me an opportunity to meet you."

"Lord Wang, why is that?"

Cao Mao's eyes brimmed with sorrow. He portrayed the pain of rejection by an idol to utter perfection.

Wang Su felt his hair stand on end.

This is bad. The brat means to ruin my good name!

As a capable head of a great clan, Wang Su was keenly sensitive to such matters. Cao Mao's words sounded like an expression of admiration for him and sorrow at being unable to meet.

In reality, they could easily suggest something else.

Namely, that Wang Su was afraid to clear the name of Xiahou Xuan, the former leader of the scholarly elite, and therefore did not dare meet Cao Mao.

Of course, that was true. Wang Su genuinely did not want to become entangled in this affair. But he could not show it openly, at least. Even Sima Zhao had to keep up appearances, much less him.

"This old minister is most apprehensive."

Wang Su said, "It is not that this old minister barred his doors and refused to see you. Recently, I have been busy working to clear Lord Xiahou's name, submitting memorials to the Imperial Court and informing many relatives and friends. That is why I have been unable to meet you. Please forgive me, Lord Cao."

At this point, Wang Su naturally had no choice but to declare his position.

That was precisely what Cao Mao wanted. He smiled. "Lord Wang is a great worthy! Your virtue could serve as a model for all under heaven. I shall certainly emulate you! Please accept my bow!"

"Teacher!"

Wang Su felt his head spin. After hastily offering a few perfunctory replies, he left as though fleeing.

Sima Yan was berating the Knights who had failed in their duties.

Zheng Mao, meanwhile, stood beside Cao Mao.

Zheng Mao hesitated, then said quietly, "Duke of the Village, we are foolish and truly do not know who the attackers were. But the Imperial Court has many worthy talents, and the Grand General is exceptionally wise. He will surely be able to find out."

"That would be best! Once the Grand General knows, he will surely catch the real culprit for me! I have nothing to worry about!"

Cao Mao spoke happily.

Zheng Mao was instantly at a loss for words. After taking his leave of Cao Mao, he departed with Sima Yan.

Only after they had all left did Cao Mao follow Guo Ze into the inner room.

As soon as they entered, Guo Ze put on a stern face and said severely, "My lord!"

"Hmm?"

"Such deceitful, petty tricks are truly beneath a gentleman."

"A gentleman is openhearted. How could he do such a thing?"

"I had no choice but to arrange it on your orders, but I will never do anything like this again."

Cao Mao laughed. "How can this be considered a deceitful trick?"

"This is an open and aboveboard tactic. Surely you don't think the Sima Family will fail to see through it?"

"Even Wang Su could see through it. Such a crude tactic could only fool people like Sima Yan and my uncle."

"But I'm not afraid of whether he can see through it."

"What matters is not who sent the assassins, but what consequences my death would bring."

"Even if Sima Shi cared nothing at all for his reputation, he would still have to consider the consequences of my sudden, violent death now, wouldn't he?"

"Besides, Sima Shi is a truly frightening man. I fear my ordinary tactics cannot shake him, so we must keep feeding him stronger medicine and deny him a moment's peace!"

"When I think of how the Sima Family now wants to kill me, yet doesn't dare, and even has to carefully send men to protect me, my heart feels wonderfully relieved!"

"Zishou, my Cao family may not have gained the realm through entirely rightful means, but we have our own backbone. This half of the realm was conquered by my great-grandfather!"

"And the prosperity the north enjoys today was built by my grandfather and uncle with their own hands!"

"We are unlike the Sima Family. We are not rats who know nothing but deceit!"

"I have always acted openly. Xiahou Xuan's affair, my declining the throne, even today's assassination attempt-I am not afraid of anyone knowing the reasons behind any of them."

Guo Ze asked, "But what if you push the Sima Family too far, and they disregard all this and insist on killing you?"

Cao Mao looked at him and blinked.

"Lord Guo, do you know the greatest weakness of rats who know nothing but deceit?"

"Please enlighten me."

"They contribute nothing to the state. People gather around them only out of fear or self-interest. They win neither the people's support nor anyone's loyalty, and so they can never achieve complete control."

"Killing me would be easy for them. But after killing me, they would also have to be able to handle what comes next."

"Just wait. The repercussions of this affair will be nowhere near so simple."

After this incident, the ruler and his minister returned to their former way of life, except that the residence now had a few more Knights there to protect them.

Cao Mao was not a man who liked sitting idle. Every day, he chatted with these Knights and invited them to dine with him.

Naturally, the Knights did not dare grow close to him and deliberately kept their distance. Yet they could not withstand Cao Mao's endless conversation, and eventually became familiar with him.

Although they remained aloof, Cao Mao came to know something about each of them.

Their leader, for example, was also the Knight who had first knocked on the gate that day.

His name was Cheng Ji.

He was the younger brother of Deputy General Cheng Cui.

He currently served as Assistant Cavalry Commander in the household of the General Who Conquers the West, commanding its Knights.