Chapter 38: A War of Words with Li Ruhai

  Li Ruhad a humble and gentle expression, with a smile on his face, but it was hard to conceal the gloomy color on his face.

  In fact, Li Ru was also very polite and respectful to Wang Yun, Cai Yong and several other old men. However, Wang Yun, Cai Yong and others all understood that Li Ru had come uninvited, and were afraid he might be up to no good, so they all looked gloomy, grunted, gazed at Li Ru with displeasure in their eyes.

  But Li Ru didn't seem to care, his eyes swept over the crowd as if he hadn't seen Wang Yun and Cai Yong's unhappiness.

  Li Ru's gloomy gaze fell on Wang Can, and he said: "First of all, congratulations are in order for having just paid respects to Master Bai Qi as his disciple."

  Li Ru paused for a moment, then said casually: "As for the matter of you leading the Yu Nan Yellow Turbans to surrender to Dong Zhuo, I have already reported it truthfully to Dong Zhuo. The Grandmaster was overjoyed when he heard about it and has agreed to accept the Yu Nan Yellow Turban soldiers. As for your surrender to Dong Zhuo, you are already an official of the imperial court, and today you also got to pay respects to Master Bo Yi as your teacher. In the future, you will be serving in the same dynasty as Master Bo Yi, what a great joy it is! Such a wonderful and celebratory occasion, how could Li Ru not attend? I came uninvited, I hope you can forgive me."

  The smile on Wang Can's face faltered for a moment, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

  I originally had a pretty good impression of Li Ru, but it turns out he's another troublemaker.

  As soon as Li Ru finished speaking, the guests began to whisper to each other about Wang Zan being a Yellow Turban bandit. They were all talking about how Wang Zan was actually from Runan and a Yellow Turban, and that Cai Yong had even taken in a Yellow Turban bandit as his disciple. This was really hard for people to accept. What made people the most angry was that Wang Zan still wanted to surrender to Dong Zhuo and help him do evil. Among the guests sitting on the seats, one or two Confucian scholars immediately waved their sleeves and wanted to stand up to refute Wang Zan, but were pulled back by those around them.

  After all, this is Cai Yong's mansion.

  The host did not speak, where can the guest intervene?

  Wang Can also understood at this time, he looked at Li Ru and saw that Li Ru showed him a strange smile. He knew in his heart that Li Ru was intentionally revealing his identity, so that the Confucian scholars present would rise up and attack him, pushing Wang Can to the opposite side of the Confucians, making it possible for Wang Can to surrender to Dong Zhuo.

  Cai Yong's face also turned pale with rage upon hearing this.

  However, Cai Yong was furious that Li Ru had stirred up trouble at the banquet and his gaze fell on Li Ru's face like a knife. Cai Yong hated to drive Li Ru out immediately. But Li Ru was Dong Zhuo's first strategist, and Cai Yong couldn't be too excessive in driving Li Ru out. Moreover, doing so would make Wang Zhen's situation even more embarrassing.

  "Slap~~~~"

  In the noisy living room, Cai Yong suddenly slammed his hand on the table, and a dull sound instantly made the noisy living room quiet. The guests sitting below looked at each other in dismay, with anger and confusion in their eyes. Cai Yong saw that the guests had stopped talking, so he cleared his throat twice, preparing to speak. However, just as Cai Yong was about to speak, Wang Yun shook his head at him.

  At this moment, Cai Yong's body suddenly stopped, and he sat back down, motionless.

  At this time, Wang Can just happened to seize the opportunity, after Cai Yong stopped everyone from speaking, he came out and bowed to Cai Yong: "Teacher, I have something to say, please forgive me for being presumptuous."

  Cai Yong's face sank like water, he glared at Li Ru, his nostrils flaring, and said: "Speak."

  Wang Can bowed again to Cai Yong and walked one meter in front of Li Ru, cupping his hands together in respect: "Wang Can pays respects to Lord Lang Zhongling."

  Li Ru hastily reached out to help Wang Can up, saying: "No need for excessive courtesy, today is the day Mr. Bo Qi celebrates on behalf of you, but it was disrupted by me, I am very uneasy in my heart, I hope you won't blame me, however, you are about to meet with Grand Master Dong, and I'm letting everyone know in advance that you will be serving together with Mr. Bo Qi, which is also a cause for celebration."

  Li Ru apologized verbally, but his face was still smiling, without any sense of guilt.

  "Don't worry about it, be happy..."

  Wang Can cursed in his heart, hating that he couldn't rush up and give Li Ru a good scolding, especially when he saw Li Ru's smug expression, which made him even more angry. The quiet living room was noisy again, and Li Ru's revelation of the inside story made the guests indignant, and they were actually going to pay their respects to Dong Zhuo, really being Dong Zhuo's running dogs.

  These guests are all Confucian scholars who study the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, emphasizing loyalty to the monarch and patriotism.

  Dong Zhuo disrespected the Emperor and monopolized power, which was exactly what Confucian scholars resented. Yet Wang Can still planned to visit Dong Zhuo, naturally infuriating the Confucian scholars. However, some people remained silent. Because the big shots sitting in the front, such as Wang Yun, Cai Yong, and Lu Zhi, did not speak up, it was clear that something was amiss.

  Wang Can had long been prepared to be struck by Li Ru, his heart was calm and unruffled, he swept a glance at the crowd in the hall, Wang Can's eyes flashed with a hint of thought, and then said indifferently: "Lang Zhongling, although Wang Can bears the title of Yellow Turban bandit, this is not what Wang Can wishes for..."

  "Wait!"

  Just as Wang Can was speaking, Li Ru suddenly interrupted: "First of all, you yourself joined the Yellow Turbans' rebellion and wore the title of 'Yellow Turban bandit' on your head. This was voluntary, so how did it become involuntary?"

  Li Ru sneered twice, with a triumphant smile on his face.

  Closely pursuing and severely attacking, Wang Can thoroughly offended this group of Confucian scholars, then Wang Can could only wholeheartedly rely on Dong Zhuo.

  That's what Li Ru was thinking.

  Although Li Ru appreciated Wang Can's talent, he also praised Li Ru's four great merits. Li Ru took Wang Can as his confidant, but if Wang Can was not a member of Li Ru's camp, then Li Ru would never let Wang Can go, and would have killed him to the end, which is the right way.

  Wang Can sneered in his heart, Li Ru had indeed gone to great lengths to push him to Dong Zhuo's side.

  Unfortunately, things were not as Li Ru had predicted.

  "Lord Lang Zhong, I haven't finished speaking yet, and you're already jumping to conclusions. Isn't that a bit too hasty? Don't you even have the magnanimity to let me finish what I'm saying?"

  Li Ru smiled and said: "Good, good, I'll listen carefully."

  Wang Can nodded slightly, ignoring the chatter in the hall, and said in a low voice: "Thank you, Lord Langzhong. I hope you can let me finish speaking. As the saying goes, there is nothing that cannot be spoken to others. After I finish speaking, you will understand the whole story."

  Lu Zhi stroked his beard and smiled, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

  Wang Yun was also satisfied and nodded in approval of Wang Can's neither arrogant nor humble demeanor.

  Wang Can stood up in the hall, bowed to the crowd and said loudly: "There is a saying that children do not speak of their father's mistakes. However, since Lang Zhongling asked about Wang Can joining the Yellow Turbans, I will tell you. My father joined Zhang Jue's rebellion because he had no other choice during those difficult times. As a result, he became a Yellow Turban bandit. I was young and ignorant at that time, so I followed my father and also became a Yellow Turban bandit. Although I wore the yellow turban on my head, the unyielding heart in me never faded away. The Book of Changes says 'The heavens move constantly, and gentlemen should strive to be strong and unyielding.' Although I was a Yellow Turban bandit, I never gave up myself. Instead, I always thought about how I could surrender to the imperial court, achieve merits, and serve the country."

  At this point, those Confucian scholars nodded in satisfaction, and they were quite pleased with Wang Can's words.

  "The current emperor is young, but he is clever and quick-witted, a capable ruler. Although Wang Can was a Yellow Turban rebel of humble origin, he did not forget the country's worries despite his low status. Wang Can may not be talented, but he also wants to share the emperor's worries. Just like you gentlemen who are always thinking about sharing the country's worries, Wang Can thinks so too, which is why he wants to surrender to the imperial court."

  Wang Can's expression was sincere and his words were passionate and generous, with a tone that conveyed a sense of concern for the country and its people.

  He became more and more excited, his face flushed red, his eyes wide open, and he said loudly: "The national fortune is difficult, the people are displaced, but today's emperor is a ruler who has done something. We should strive to make progress and rush to help the country in times of difficulty. There is a saying that one should worry before the world worries and enjoy after the world enjoys. Wang Can's words are to encourage you all."

  "Well said."

  Among the guests, an old man with white hair clapped his hands and praised.

  "A great one who worries before the world's worries and enjoys after the world's joys, this saying should be a big white in life."

  Lu Zhi stroked his beard and burst out laughing, with a dense look of appreciation flashing in his eyes.

  In the hall, everyone applauded and praised Wang Can. Their eyes fell on Cai Yong, filled with envy, thinking that Cai Bojie had taken in a good disciple!

  Li Ru's eyes sparkled with a sharp light as he stared at Wang Can, his face revealing a thoughtful expression.