Chapter Nine: The Will to Reason

  Cao Jun came quickly and left even faster, in just a short time of two incense sticks, the tens of thousands of Cao Cao's army had already withdrawn cleanly, leaving behind only scars and Tao Ying alone with his body covered in oil.

  Seeing Cao Jun Shouxin retreat, the city wall of Xuzhou was naturally jubilant, countless soldiers and civilians sang and shouted, jumped and danced, and shouted in unison "Tao Er Gongzi", hugging each other and dancing with joy were everywhere. Tao Qian, Tao Shang and Tao Ji's family, who were overjoyed, were so excited that they cried tears of joy. As soon as they saw the Cao army leave, they rushed down the city wall in a hurry, opened the gate and welcomed the meritorious general of Xuzhou, Tao Huizhi, back to the city.

  The crowd was boiling, the atmosphere was fiery, even Chen Gui's father and son, Cao Jiao, Cao Hong and others who had always looked down on Tao Ying, as well as Zhang Zhao and three others who had only met Tao Ying once, were all smiling and cheering, waving their arms and shouting loudly, rushing to follow the crowd surging out of the city walls to welcome Tao Ying.

  Except for a few people, seeing Tao Ying emerge unscathed from the oil cauldron, Liu Bei's pale face first turned gray and then turned iron blue. Although Liu Bei did not know why Tao Ying could jump into the oil cauldron without dying, he was very clear that this jump was not to be taken lightly. The hearts of the soldiers and civilians in Xuzhou were thoroughly won over by the Tao family father and son. The glory of his own rescue of Xuzhou was also thoroughly overshadowed by Tao Ying's brilliance.

  There were also Zou Zhu and Zou Fang, brothers who were officials in Xuzhou. Seeing Tao Ying jump into the oil cauldron and then climb out again, not only did they not show any joy or delight, but instead their faces turned dark and terrifying, with both pairs of eyes fixed intently on Tao Ying's body in the distance, their gaze icy cold and venomous, as if they couldn't wait to stab him seventy or eighty times.

  "Oh no!" Fang suddenly cried out in a low voice.

  "What's wrong, brother?" Zou Ji asked, turning his head.

  "That arrow letter!" Mei Fang's face turned pale as she whispered, "I didn't think the second young master would return, and I was afraid of leaking secrets, so that arrow letter was written by me personally! What if..."

  "What?! You must be out of your mind! How dare you write that letter with your own hand? Don't you fear the news will leak and the letter falls into Master's hands, and he recognizes your handwriting?"

  "I... I was just afraid of leaking the news, so I didn't dare let others write on my behalf." Zou Fang explained with a sorrowful face.

  Mi Heng was so angry that he had an urge to strangle his own brother, but at this moment, Cao Pi, the great general of Xuzhou, happened to pass by Mi Heng and his brother, inviting them to go out of the city together to welcome Tao Ying. Mi Heng could only smile wryly and agree, then glared fiercely at Mi Fang a few times before nervously following Cao Pi and others down the city to welcome Tao Ying, the deputy director who had made great contributions to lifting the siege of Xuzhou.

  "Second Brother!"

  "Second brother!"

  After leaving the city, Tao Ji and Tao Shang, the two brothers, ran the fastest, leading the way to the front of the team. They were still more than a dozen feet away when they shouted in unison with open arms, tears streaming down their faces as they rushed towards Tao Ying. They hugged him tightly, calling out "Second Brother, Second Brother" as tears streamed down their faces. The next words were inaudible, and all they could do was hold Tao Ying and wail loudly, shaking him back and forth while holding onto Vice Director Tao, this brother who made them so proud, refusing to let go no matter what.

  "Big brother, younger brothers, spare my life! I'm almost choked to death!" Tao Ying cried out in distress, fearing that he hadn't been blown up by Old Cao, but was instead being strangled to death by his two brothers. However, despite his cries of distress, Deputy Director Tao, who had seen his fair share of backstabbing and infighting on the job, couldn't help but feel a lump form in his throat at the sight of his two brothers so worked up, moved by their rare display of brotherly affection.

  "Ming Wu, Ming Wu! Ming Wu, my child!"

  In the midst of the clamoring crowd, Tao Qian, with his white hair and beard, also rushed to the front with the support of Cao Hong's trusted followers. The people of Xu State who followed behind Tao Qian immediately surrounded the Tao family, eagerly greeting and paying respects to Tao Ying. Tao Ying did not dare to be slow, quickly pushing away his elder brother and cousin, and kneeling down on both knees in front of Tao Qian, knocking his head and saying: "Your son Tao Ying is unfilial, causing father to worry, your son deserves death."

  "My son, quickly get up." Tao Qian hastily reached out to help Tao Ying up, examining his son's injuries from head to toe. With tears streaming down his face, he said: "My son, you...you've suffered so much. You...you make your father look at you with new eyes."

  "Father is overpraising, I'm ashamed and dare not accept." Tao Ying naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to perform, and with a deep bow, said extremely respectfully: "As for suffering, it's even more impossible to mention, as the son of Father, for the military and civilians of Xuzhou to rush into boiling water and walk through fire, it's only natural. Fortunately, Cao Cao is a man of his word, and Xuzhou narrowly escaped a great disaster this time."

  Tao Qian nodded, choking back tears, and pulled Tao Ying's hand, sobbing uncontrollably. The soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou were also crying out loud, filled with gratitude and admiration for Deputy Director Tao. Some of the soldiers started shouting "Second Master! Second Master!" and soon the crowd was echoing with a loud and clear chant, "Second Master! Second Master! Second Master! Second Master——!"

  "Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the fellow villagers." Tao Ying repeatedly made a fist and returned the courtesy to all directions. Seeing tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers waving their arms and shouting for him with tears in their eyes, Deputy Director Tao secretly felt pleased and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "The ancients are indeed easy to deceive, no wonder that third-rate actor Da Er Zei can make a name for himself in the Three Kingdoms."

  Just as Cao Cao was mentioned, he arrived. Tao Ying had just cursed him in his heart, calling him a big-eared thief. Liu Bei led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun to stand before Tao Ying, with Mi Zhu and Mi Fang following behind them, forcing smiles on their faces. Tao Ying hastily stepped forward, bowed deeply to Liu Bei and said: "Junior nephew Tao Ying pays respects to his uncle, thanks to the letter worth a thousand pieces of gold from my uncle, Cao Cao's army has finally retreated. The people of Xuzhou will never forget the kindness of saving their lives."

  "This kid is hitting my face?" Liu Bei was angry in his heart, but hypocritically returned the courtesy and said: "My worthy nephew has spoken too much. Cao Cao's retreat from Xuzhou this time was entirely because of your selflessness, which moved Cao Gong, and only then did Cao's army lift the siege of Xuzhou. I had no merit at all."

  "Uncle, you must not be so overly modest," Tao said with a serious face. "Cao Cao has determined that my family is his father's killer and hates us to the bone. If it weren't for your letter advising reconciliation, would Cao Cao have retreated? Without your letter, I'm afraid Cao Cao wouldn't even give me a chance to speak, and would have beheaded me directly at the gate!"

  Our Vice Director Tao's words were humble and respectful, but when they reached our Lord Xuan De's ears, they felt like swallowing a fly, because no matter how humble Vice Director Tao was, having witnessed him jump into the oil pot to save the people of Xu Zhou from Cao Cao's retreat, everyone would only think that our Vice Director Tao was noble in character, not seeking fame or fortune, and repaying kindness with gratitude. So our Lord Xuan De couldn't help but feel extremely resentful in his heart, "Damn it, why didn't that Cao Ze kill this Tao Yan's descendant? How did this descendant manage to crawl out of the boiling oil pot alive?"

  "Big nephew!" Zhang Fei didn't care what his big brother was thinking, and he rushed up to give a loud slap that almost knocked Tao Ying to the ground. With an unusually loud voice, he happily shouted: "Big nephew, you scared me to death! When you jumped into the oil cauldron, I, Zhang Fei, almost cried out! Quickly tell me, how did you jump into the boiling oil and come out without a scratch?"

  "Yes, Second Brother, how did you manage to come out of the boiling oil pot without any injuries?" Tao Ji asked curiously. The surrounding Xuzhou soldiers and civilians, as well as Tao Qian and Mi Zhu, were also extremely curious and asked Tao Ying why he jumped into the oil pot but didn't die?

  "I... I don't know either." Deputy Director Tao's face was full of confusion, and he recalled, "When I closed my eyes and jumped into the oil pot, I thought I was dead for sure. But... after jumping in, I didn't feel anything at all, and then somehow I ended up standing beside the oil pot without realizing it."

  "Is this really possible?" The crowd exclaimed, seeing Tao Ying nodding seriously. Everyone present was shocked and amazed, exclaiming that Young Master Tao must have been protected by a heavenly spirit. Liu Bei was also extremely surprised, thinking to himself: "Could it be that Tao Qian's son is a supernatural being? Otherwise, who in the world can jump into a boiling oil cauldron and not die?"

  Of course, some people also saw the flaw, for example, Chen Kui and his son Chen Deng, the big landlords and big gentry of Xuzhou, snorted twice, looking at Tao with a smile that was not quite a smile, but did not speak.

  "Second Master, how did Cao Zhen discover your identity?" asked Mei Fang, asking in a seemingly relaxed but actually tense tone: "Second Master, did you reveal your identity to Cao Zhen yourself?"

  "Governor Cao is joking." Tao Ying bitterly smiled and replied: "Tao Ying fears death and loves life, how dare he reveal his own identity to Cao Cao?"

  Many people around Tao Ying calmed down, Tao Qian, Tao Shang and Tao Ji showed surprise on their faces, Chen Gui and Chen Deng father and son's hearts skipped a beat, Liu Bei's eyelids moved slightly, while Zhen Zhong and Zhen Fang brothers were extremely tense. But what no one expected was that Tao Ying suddenly came up with another sentence: "Tao Ying did not reveal his identity, but unfortunately, a Cao army scout happened to have seen Tao Ying before, exposing his identity, which led to the events that followed."

  "So that's how it is!" Meng Chuo and Meng Fang exclaimed in unison, a huge weight finally lifted off their minds. They silently cursed themselves for being overly cautious, thinking that if they had known earlier that Cao Jun's men could identify Tao Ying's identity, they wouldn't have needed to take such great risks.

  Tao Ying's words also deceived Zhuo and his brother, Zhuo Fang. The old and cunning Liu Bei and Chen Gui, father and son, were both suspicious, especially Chen Gui, who knew Tao Ying well, had doubts in their hearts. They thought to themselves: "Was the Cao army's spy exposed? How is this possible? Our lord's two sons rarely appear in public, spending most of their time reading books or practicing martial arts. It wouldn't be easy for the Cao army's spies to know what they look like."

  "Father, I'll dare to speak up, the servants in our household should be slightly investigated and screened." Tao Ying also knew that his words were hard for the three old foxes of Shu to believe, so he said to Tao Qian: "Father definitely wouldn't dare to believe it, but the Cao army's spy who saw through my identity used to work as a servant in our household for over half a year! So when he saw me, he immediately recognized my identity!"

  "What's this?!" Tao Qian, who had been deep in thought with his head bowed, finally spoke up and rebuked Cao Hong: "Cao Hong, I appointed you as the chief controller of the army, entrusting all matters of Xuzhou to you. How could you still allow Cao's spies to sneak into my residence? Do you know your crime?"

  "We deserve to die ten thousand times!" Cao Hong was frightened and hastily knelt down to apologize to Tao Qian, quickly answering: "Please rest assured, my lord. After I return to the city, I will carefully screen all the servants in the mansion and not let a single spy escape!"

  Tao Qian hummed and reluctantly accepted Cao Hong's apology, while Liu Bei and Chen Gui on the side were greatly relieved. The Mi Zhu brothers were even more delighted, thinking to themselves that it served Tao Ying right for being so unlucky as to run into a cunning and discerning Cao army scout like this one, who thought he could deceive his way out of trouble - not a chance!

  "Father, no one is perfect, who can be faultless? We cannot blame General Cao Hong too much." Vice Director Tao hypocritically acted as a good person and said to Tao Qian: "Besides, I think that for the lower-ranking officials in the mansion, just slightly investigate and distinguish them, but absolutely do not implicate the innocent because of one Cao army spy who has already escaped from the mansion."

  Tao Qian nodded repeatedly, extremely satisfied with his son's generosity and kindness. Tao Ying glanced at Liu Bei and Guan Yu intentionally or unintentionally, a smile playing on the corner of his mouth. To himself, he thought, "I must remain calm and rational. It would be unwise to turn against Liu Bei now. Firstly, there is no conclusive evidence; secondly, turning against him now would bring me infamy for ingratitude and disloyalty; thirdly, given Xu State's current situation - where blood has flowed as much as it can and vitality has been drained as much as it can be - what we need now, apart from planting more flowers and fewer thorns, is a watchdog! A guard dog!"

  "Master, please mount your horse." The familiar voice of Zhang Zong, the great general of Xuzhou, interrupted Tao Ying's thoughts. Zhang Zong, who usually didn't even bother to speak a few words to Tao Ying, was now beaming with smiles and had personally led over a warhorse for him. He said sincerely: "Master, please mount your horse, I will lead it back to the city for you."

  "General Zhang, let me do it." Tao Ji, who was secretly mocking Er Ge yesterday, squeezed forward and reached out to grab the reins from Zhang's hand. "Second Brother, let your younger brother hold the horse for you."

  "Prince, please mount your horse!" Around Tao Ying, countless sincere shouts erupted, with numerous Xuzhou soldiers and civilians, as well as numerous Liu army officers, spontaneously making way on both sides of the road, clearing a straight path for Tao Ying to return to the city, while chanting rhythmic slogans: "Prince! Prince! Prince! Prince——!"

  Hearing this loud slogan, and seeing the sincere smiles of Xuzhou's military and civilians, as well as the road back to the city packed with people yet straight as a pen, Tao Ying's eyes welled up with hot tears. He bowed his hands to the people of Xuzhou and choked out: "People, you have been too kind to Tao Ying!"

  "Prince!" The countless common people burst into tears, and countless others voluntarily knelt down to Tao Ying, wailing loudly on the ground...

  "Little beast!" A man with a complex mind had a warm and approving smile on his face, but in his heart he was furiously roaring, "Little beast! Tao Ying's little beast! The Tao Ying little beast who ruined my great plan! I won't kill you, I swear to be a human being——!"