Chapter Twenty-Nine: Prestige

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Fei Qian did not hear about what had happened at Wenming Garden until the following day.

He was somewhat puzzled. Ordinarily, news of such an affair should not have spread so quickly, yet somehow it seemed to have swept through the entire city of Luoyang overnight. Had someone deliberately leaked it? No wonder there were several different versions: one said Dong Zhuo had acted tyrannically; another claimed that Wang Yun and Yuan Wei had silently approved; yet another said Ding Yuan had brought troops and clashed with Dong Zhuo...

There was another thing Fei Qian found puzzling. It was hardly surprising that an official like himself had not been invited—after all, he was only a reserve functionary, and it was natural that no one would think much of him. But why had Cai Yong apparently not attended the banquet either? Cai Yong was, after all, a Palace Attendant and a genuine court official. When Fei Qian had left the Cai residence yesterday, Cai Yong had still been there. Could he have gone only after Fei Qian departed?

Then again, perhaps it was for the best that he had not gone. None of Dong Zhuo’s banquets were ever truly banquets; sooner or later, someone always ended up speaking with a knife. Supposedly, he had already clashed with Ding Yuan yesterday—which meant that the God of War, Lu Bu, would soon be making his entrance, did it not?

Fei Qian needed to speed things up...

For now, the most important thing was to build up some reputation.

In the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms era, reputation was almost like a protective talisman. At times, it could truly buy a person an extra life.

As Fei Qian remembered it, there had once been a mad scholar named Mi Heng. In Xuchang, he had tragically stripped himself bare, displaying a form of modern performance art far beyond the standards of the Three Kingdoms era. He had flaunted his spotless skin and his proud, unyielding spirit, putting on the spectacular performance of beating a drum naked while cursing Cao Cao.

It was said that Cao Cao had been so enraged that he suffered a bout of migraines right there in court...

But the clever Cao Cao was unwilling to bear the blame for slaughtering a “young intellectual.” He swallowed his fury and passed this performance artist on to Liu Biao, then serving as Governor of Jingzhou.

Liu Biao was an old fox as well, and promptly passed the burden of Mi Heng on to Huang Zu, Administrator of Jiangxia.

Huang Zu looked left and right, but could find no one else to take over this troublesome burden. Mi Heng’s provocations finally became more than he could bear, and in a moment of impulsive fury, he had Mi Heng beheaded.

Because he possessed sufficient reputation, Mi Heng provoked Cao Cao and survived. He challenged Liu Biao and survived. But when he reached Huang Zu, his reputation had been exhausted, and he was cut down...

Clearly, a high enough reputation might be worth two extra lives. Even if one could not spend it at some crucial moment as Mi Heng had, there were still countless benefits to possessing a lofty reputation in ordinary times. A renowned scholar could go anywhere and expect to be treated to the finest food and drink. It was practically the Three Kingdoms equivalent of a golden verification badge!

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But the question was, where could he acquire such reputation?

In the enormous city of Luoyang, reputation was not something one could simply obtain at will. One needed people to praise and elevate him. Should someone as insignificant as himself go into the streets and put on a performance, perhaps even stripping himself bare?

A chill ran through Fei Qian.

No, never mind. He would have to find another way.

*************

Yuan Shao had already moved out of the Yuan residence and taken up temporary lodging elsewhere. Although he had not openly explained himself to his uncle, Yuan Wei, the head of the Yuan family, Yuan Wei had not asked a single question after his departure. He had merely sent several servants and maids over, clearly indicating that he tacitly approved of Yuan Shao’s actions.

Yuan Shao gave a dry laugh. He had done what Yuan Wei wanted him to do, so was this meant to be compensation?

The current head of the Yuan family, Yuan Wei, favored Yuan Shu. This infuriated Yuan Shao, yet there was nothing he could do about it. Yuan Shu was the legitimate son, whereas Yuan Shao had been born to a singing girl. Though he was the elder son, this era placed far greater importance on birth than seniority. Thus, when Yuan Shao’s uncle, Yuan Cheng, died without an heir, Yuan Shao’s father readily had him adopted into Yuan Cheng’s line.

Under ordinary circumstances, such an adoption would have been quite favorable. Since Yuan Cheng had no son, Yuan Shao would eventually have inherited his estate. Unfortunately, before the adoption ceremony could even take place, Yuan Cheng fell gravely ill and died in the prime of his life. Strictly speaking, Yuan Shao was therefore left in the awkward position of belonging half to Yuan Cheng and half to Yuan Feng. He could inherit neither Yuan Cheng’s property, while Yuan Feng already had a legitimate son in Yuan Shu...

It was from that moment onward that Yuan Shu had begun to distance himself from Yuan Shao, becoming noticeably colder toward him.

Remembering all this, Yuan Shao gave a scornful laugh. Only the short-sighted remained fixated on the inheritance left by their fathers. A true man ought to surpass his predecessors. The things Yuan Shu valued were precisely the things Yuan Shao did not care for.

Unfortunately, General-in-Chief He Jin had died. Yuan Shao had eventually pieced together the truth: his death could not be separated from the Yuan family and Yuan Wei. That was also the principal reason Yuan Shao had moved out of the Yuan residence.

When Yuan Shao had first established ties with General-in-Chief He Jin, he had relied on the Yuan family not at all. Instead, he had gained access through Zhang Jin, one of He Jin’s retainers. In that sense, it could not be said that Yuan Shao’s current office had been entirely unrelated to the support of the Yuan family, but the vast majority of what he had achieved had been won through his own efforts.

After learning that Yuan Shao had taken up a position under General-in-Chief He Jin, Yuan Wei had gone with the flow and assigned him several tasks that might have harmed the reputation of an upright official. Yuan Shao had accepted that. He had even accepted being used as the Yuan family’s mouthpiece. But what he had never expected was that, in order to carry out his own plans, Yuan Wei would ultimately betray not only General-in-Chief He Jin, but Yuan Shao as well.

In the end, Yuan Shao had struck first at the critical moment. As the vanguard in the campaign to eliminate the eunuchs, he had not only erased the stain of failing to protect the General-in-Chief, but had also earned, together with Cao Cao, the praise of several scholar-officials.

Even so, none of that could make up for Yuan Shao’s losses.

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Yuan Wei had effectively strangled Yuan Shao’s future with his own hands.

But Yuan Wei was, after all, the head of the Yuan family—and Yuan Shao’s own uncle. How could Yuan Shao pursue the matter to its bitter end? Unless he was prepared to abandon the surname Yuan entirely, what else could he do?

Yuan Shao was well aware of the recent change in Cao Cao’s attitude. Yet his proud nature made him unwilling to offer an explanation. Those who understood him would understand him.

Cao Cao had naturally suffered losses in the affair as well. Though the fault had not been his, Yuan Shao’s pride still told him that even if Cao Cao failed to understand him, he would one day, when circumstances permitted, make some recompense.

After all, they had once been brothers.

Yuan Shao could no longer remain within the Yuan family. Otherwise, one day he would lose control of himself. He recalled the story of Chong Er, the fugitive prince of the Spring and Autumn period who had lived abroad, and that was why he had decided to leave the Yuan residence.

This was only the first step. Next, Yuan Shao intended to leave Luoyang!

Only by breaking free of Luoyang, the Yuan family’s stronghold, could he completely escape Yuan Wei’s control. Otherwise, no matter how well Yuan Shao fared in Luoyang, so long as Yuan Wei continued to support Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao would ultimately be unable to escape becoming a stepping stone for Yuan Shu.

But before leaving Luoyang, Yuan Shao felt that there were still certain things he needed to do.

He needed reputation.

As someone born into an eminent aristocratic family, he understood better than anyone the benefits of reputation. Therefore, when he left Luoyang, he would have to accomplish something that would win universal praise!

He would make the entire realm understand that he, Yuan Shao—Yuan Benchu—was not merely a son of the Yuan family, but a paragon of the age: a man who dared to act and accept responsibility, a man of unmatched boldness and grandeur!

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