After more than a month of long journey, Cao Pi and his party finally arrived at Juancheng. What he saw along the way made Cao Pi unable to calm down for a long time, and the idea of ​​​​protecting himself wisely began to fade away.

The Cao Mansion in Juancheng has been upgraded by more than one level compared to the Cao Mansion in Qiao County. The six-entry courtyard connects the courtyard and the verandah. The magnificent layout style made Cao Pi startled from ear to ear when he first saw it.

"Zihuan, I feel that I have changed a lot since I came to Juancheng. I am still as happy as when I was in Qiao County." Cao Zhen said to Cao Pi with a bitter face.

"Let's go, Weng Weng will be in a hurry later." After Cao Pi came to Juancheng, he and Cao Zhen would go to Cao Song's mansion every day to learn Huang Lao's way. Before, the time to practice martial arts was done by Cao Cao or Cao Cao's clan.

My younger brother Cao Ren came to teach archery.

Cao Ren had been fighting against Tao Qian and Yuan Shu in the Huaisi area. After Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, Cao Ren came with more than a thousand cavalry under his command. Cao Ren was appointed by Cao Cao as the Sima of another department. If Cao Cao got involved in affairs, he would hand over Cao Pi, Cao Zhen and Cao Zhang.

Entrust it to Cao Ren and let Cao Ren teach for him.

Cao Pi and Cao Pi soon arrived at Cao Song's mansion. Cao Pi saw a man about thirty years old holding many books and walking out of the mansion dejectedly. Even the servants of Cao Song's mansion were stunned when they saw him.

Contempt on the face.

"Weng Weng, who was that person just now?" Cao Pi asked curiously after greeting Cao Song.

"Mao Jie, Mao Xiaoxian, one of your father's great men." Cao Song said with disdain and disgust on his face.

"Does Weng Weng dislike him?" Cao Pi remembered that Cao Cao once mentioned Mao Xiaoxian, and Cao Cao's attitude towards Mao Jie was not very bad. Cao Pi didn't know why Cao Song had such a big grudge against Mao Jie.

"This guy comes here every now and then with a few tattered slips of paper and talks about how to grow grain and save money. I think he's just trying to trick everyone into giving away all their fields." Cao Song cursed and said, "This guy wants to

Ask Wen Chao to sign a letter with him, so that you can convince your father to listen to him."

Cao Pi remembered Cao Cao's attitude when he mentioned Mao Jie, and after hearing Cao Song's words, he felt that he must get to know this person well.

"I heard that when he was a county official, this guy liked to do all kinds of things. I think it's all false. They talk about the world's morality and justice, but their hearts are full of money and silk. They all rely on pretending to be real."

Cao Song taught Cao Pi and Cao Zhen, "You must stay away from people like this in the future, and don't be used by them."

Cao Pi knew that Cao Song had neither common people nor national justice in his heart. What Cao Song valued most was family interests, which was also the way of survival pursued by the vast majority of late Han gentry.

After Cao Song said this, he took the two of them to start teaching. Cao Pi decided to find an opportunity to contact Mao Jie. He wanted to see whether this person was an honest person or a greedy person.

The next morning, Cao De did not come to the mansion to give lectures to the scholars. After Cao Pi changed into simple clothes, he planned to sneak out of his dog hole to get in touch with Mao Jie.

"I knew you were definitely going." Cao Pi was startled by the voice behind him. He turned around and saw Cao Zhen behind him.

"Do you know what I'm going to do?" Cao Pi asked, looking at Cao Zhen's proud look.

"Of course I'm looking for Mao Jie." Cao Zhen said confidently.

"How did you know?" Cao Pi thought that he had not told Cao Zhen about this yesterday, so he asked doubtfully.

"I guessed it when I saw your absent-minded look during dinner yesterday." Cao Zhen's pride was palpable. Cao Pi didn't expect Cao Zhen to be so attentive, "Weng Weng said that we should have less contact with people like him, but you still want to go to him.

."

"I have my own sense of proportion."

"Do you know where his home is?"

"I asked Dong Da to inquire about it last night."

"Zihuan, I want to advise you..."

"Going together?"

"Let's go together!"

The two went through the dog hole, and Cao Pi found Mao Jie's home according to Dong Da's description last night. After asking passers-by, the two confirmed that the dilapidated yard in front of them was Mao Jie's residence.

Mao Jie's residence is a small and narrow courtyard. The courtyard door consists of two wooden boards, one long and one short. The two wooden boards are actually not the same color. A lot of the plaster on the low wall has fallen off, revealing the original earthy yellow color.

Raising a few chickens, not to mention compared with court officials, but even compared with ordinary people, they look very shabby.

"Is this really Mao Jie's house? It's too shabby." Cao Zhen said to Cao Pi in disbelief.

"Now do you still believe what Weng Weng said?" Cao Pi decided that his guess was correct and thought that this trip was not in vain. He walked straight towards the courtyard gate. Cao Zhen was speechless for a moment and quickly followed Cao Pi.

Behind.

"Dong~dong~dong~"

Cao Pi knocked on the door of Mao Jie's house. After waiting for a while, a handsome boy as old as Cao Pi and Cao Pi opened the door.

"Who are you?" the boy asked carefully, staring at the two of them.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Xiaoxian at home? We came here specifically to consult Mr. Xiaoxian."

"My father isn't here. You two might as well come in and take a nap. My father usually comes home at noon." When the boy heard that Cao Pi and the two came to see his father, he made a gesture of invitation. Cao Pi followed suit without being polite.

The boy entered the inner hall.

"I haven't asked for the young master's name yet." Cao Pi looked at the boy's polite behavior and thought that Mao Jie's tutor was still very strict.

"My name is Mao Ji, what do you two gentlemen call me?"

"Aji, is your father back?" When Cao Pi was about to speak, a woman's voice came from outside the hall, "Hey~ who are you?"

The woman who spoke was about thirty years old, dressed simply, with an ordinary silver hairpin in her hair as the only decoration on her body. She was holding a basket of eggs in her hand, obviously she had just finished work.
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"Madam, my name is Cao Pi, and this is my brother Cao Zhen. We have made a special trip to consult Mr. Xiaoxian today." Cao Pi saluted and replied.

"You little devil is so funny. You pretend to be an adult, but you are just like Ah Ji." The woman sneered and said to Mao Ji, "This is your first time bringing a friend to your home, and my mother won't blame you.

As for you, why do you let your friends use your father's name?"

"Mom, I first met these two young masters. They came to see my father." Mao Ji looked at his mother's careless expression and explained helplessly.

"Are you really here to find your husband?" Mother Mao looked at the two of them who together were not yet old enough to tie their hair, with a look of disbelief.

"I heard about Mr. Xiaoxian's method of storing grain some time ago, and I'm here to ask Mr. Xiao for advice today." Cao Pi answered truthfully.

"You two gentlemen, please wait a moment." Mao Ji suddenly realized something and pulled Mao's mother out of the inner hall.

"Mother, these two are the sons of Mr. Cao," Mao Ji said eagerly.

"Cao Shijun? You said he was Cao Cao..." Mao's mother suddenly realized that she had made a mistake. She covered her mouth and asked in a low voice, "You said he was the son of Cao Shijun's family?"

Mao Ji nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, and then whispered: "Dad has been having a lot of trouble with Cao Shijun's clan generals recently because of the farming matter. Mom, you just made peace with..."

"I don't know who they are! Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

"I haven't had time to ask yet!"

"What should we do now? If you offend Cao Shijun's young master, your father's position as an official will end. Your father will not be beheaded, right?" Mao's mother said with a worried look on her face.

"Mom, stop thinking so wildly. It seems that the two young masters are not here to accuse us. They are really interested in daddy's method of storing grain." Mao Ji felt helpless at his mother's strange ideas.

"You are really stupid at reading. How can you have any reason for your family to turn their elbows outward?" Mao's mother dismissed Mao Ji's words and only recognized her own truth.

Cao Pi listened to the two people talking louder and louder, and they gradually started to quarrel. He couldn't laugh or cry for a while.

"Mrs. Mao, Mr. Mao, I heard everything you said. We really just came to ask Mr. Xiaoxian for advice. We have no other meaning. You are overthinking."

"Mr. Cao, I just said it casually, please don't take it to heart..."

"You haven't had breakfast yet, I'll make it for you right now..."

"Aji, please entertain the two gentlemen..."

Cao Pi watched Mao's mother walking towards the kitchen in a hurry, looked at the sun hanging high in the sky, and thought that Mao Jie really married a strange woman.

At noon, Cao Pi had lunch for the first time after traveling through time. Mao's mother's craftsmanship was indeed very good. Cao Pi and Cao Zhen wiped out all the dishes made by Mao's mother even after they had breakfast. Mao's mother and Mao Ji found out that the two

After there was no ill intention, my attitude changed from cautious to relaxed.

"Does Mr. Xiaoxian go home every day at noon?" Cao Pi asked.

"My dad comes back every day. I don't know what happened today, but he hasn't come back yet." Mao Ji said after some hesitation, "Maybe something delayed me today."

While Cao Pi and Mao Jie were talking, there was a knock on the door outside the courtyard.

"My father is back, please sit down for a moment." Mao Ji stood up and walked quickly to the courtyard gate.

"Zihuan, what should we ask later? I always think it's a little strange for us to be like this." Cao Zhen asked Cao Pi in a low voice.

"Just listen to me in a moment." Cao Pi looked calm, not realizing how weird the combination of his six or seven-year-old age and what he said and did was. Cao Zhen looked at Cao Pi's confident look and stopped.

Say more.

"You two, I'm afraid you won't be able to wait for my father today." Mao Ji returned to the front hall and said to Cao Pi and Cao Pi, "My father just asked someone to send a message that he is going to visit Mr. Cao Hong... in the afternoon."

"In this case, the two of us will not disturb you any more. Thank you, madam and young master, for your hospitality." Cao Pi immediately got up and said goodbye with Cao Zhen, and walked towards Cao Hong's Mansion.

Mao Ji looked at the two people's retreating figures and felt that today's events were a bit ridiculous. Is his father really so famous? Why did even Cao Cao's son come to ask for advice? Didn't his father say that he proposed to store grain?

Will this method harm the interests of those noble families?

Mao Ji was puzzled, and Mao's mother hit Mao Ji on the back of the head with a burst of chestnuts.

"Mom, why did you hit me?" Mao Ji asked aggrievedly, touching the back of his head.
Chapter completed!