"Yuan An?" Yuan Shu turned his head and called out toward the door.
Hearing his young master's call, Yuan An immediately appeared at the entrance of Zou Rong's room and respectfully said to Yuan Shu,
"Young Master, I am here."
Yuan Shu instructed him,
"I will be going out with my father in a while, so I have some tasks for you to take care of.
The young lady Zou Rong in this side room is my beloved.
Find a few clever maidservants to serve her well, and do not neglect her.
Also, buy Miss Zou some new clothes, various accessories, and daily necessities—prepare plenty of everything, and get only the best. Do you understand?"
Yuan An quickly nodded and said,
"I understand, Young Master. Please rest assured, I will handle everything properly and ensure that both Miss Zou and you are satisfied!"
Yuan An thought to himself that this was the first time his young master had shown such affection for a woman. It seemed that he absolutely could not afford to neglect Miss Zou. Otherwise, a few words whispered in bed, and his own life might be in danger.
So, the young master does like beauties after all. That fair-skinned Mister Xi from before must have only been a close friend.
After arranging everything in the inner residence, Yuan Shu headed to the main hall.
By this time, Yuan Feng had already prepared a carriage and was waiting for him.
Yuan Feng's carriage was entirely crafted from the finest purple sandalwood, and the horses pulling it were top-quality black steeds.
The entire carriage exuded an air of stability and grandeur—low-key yet refined—completely opposite to Yuan Shu's flamboyantly ostentatious carriage.
To put it in modern terms, if Yuan Shu's flashy carriage were a Ferrari Enzo, then Yuan Feng's carriage would be a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
Seeing that Yuan Shu had arrived on time, Yuan Feng's expression softened considerably.
He said to Yuan Shu, "Gonglu, get in the carriage."
Yuan Shu followed Yuan Feng and boarded the carriage one after the other. The coachman gently guided the carriage out of the Yuan residence.
"Father, who is this esteemed teacher you've chosen for me?"
On most days, when Yuan Feng was scolding Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu would address him as "Father" or "Honorable Father."
If Yuan Feng was in a good mood and Yuan Shu hadn't provoked him, he would simply call him "Dad."
Yuan Feng did not have particularly high expectations for this unruly son—he only hoped he wouldn't cause trouble.
In truth, beneath Yuan Feng's strict exterior lay a soft heart. He did care deeply for his youngest son.
At this moment, Yuan Feng spoke to Yuan Shu in a gentle tone,
"Gonglu, this time, I have found you a teacher who is my dearest friend—Cai Yong, the current Court Gentleman Consultant.
My friend is a renowned Confucian scholar of the Han Dynasty. Master Cai is not only well-versed in Confucianism but also knowledgeable in astronomy, military strategy, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—there is nothing he does not excel in.
You must study diligently under him. If you can learn even thirty percent of his skills, it will benefit you for a lifetime. Do you understand?"
Yuan Shu thought to himself, "Great scholar Cai Yong! He is truly a legendary figure of the late Han Dynasty!"
It seemed that his old father had put real effort into this and wasn't just finding a random teacher to brush him off.
Reputation was also a very useful thing during the late Han and Three Kingdoms period. If he became Cai Yong's disciple, it would be beneficial both for entering official service and for attracting talented individuals. This was a valuable political resource.
Moreover, Cai Yong's daughter, Cai Wenji, was also very famous in history. He wondered whether she had been born at this point in time.
While thinking about this, Yuan Shu still obediently responded to Yuan Feng, saying,
"I understand, Father. I will follow your arrangements and diligently learn from Uncle Cai."
In Yuan Feng's mind, Yuan Shu was absolutely the type who refused to learn and repeatedly ignored discipline. No matter what he told him, Yuan Shu would always talk back.
Why was he being so agreeable today? Had he changed?
Regardless of the reason, Yuan Feng was still pleased that Yuan Shu was behaving more obediently. He nodded with satisfaction and said,
"It is good that you understand. Once you have learned from Master Cai, I will arrange a position for you in the court. You should follow the path of your two elder brothers and establish yourself in the official world. You must not continue idling around the city and making trouble as before."
The carriage slowly arrived at the gate of Cai Yong's residence.
Cai Yong's home was also located in the southern part of Luoyang. Perhaps it was because the scenery in the south of the city was more refined, which particularly attracted scholars to reside there.
As a great scholar renowned throughout the land, Cai Yong's residence was quite large.
However, since he valued frugality, his estate was not lavishly decorated.
A few green bamboo trees stood in front of the entrance, reflecting the character of a literary scholar.
Inside the courtyard, tall pines stood upright, adding an ancient and simple charm to his residence.
Since he had already arranged with Yuan Feng beforehand and knew that Yuan Shu would be coming, Cai Yong had been waiting at the gate early.
When Yuan Feng saw Cai Yong standing at the entrance, he quickly ordered the driver to stop the carriage and then pulled Yuan Shu along as he walked forward.
Yuan Shu carefully observed Cai Yong. The man appeared to be in his forties, dressed in a gray-white scholar's robe, with a long beard.
His posture was upright, and though he was not that old, he had an air of otherworldly elegance.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Cai residence, Yuan Feng clasped his hands and said,
"Brother Bojie, this weather is so hot. How could I trouble you to wait at the gate? This is truly my fault."
Cai Yong, seeing Yuan Feng being so polite, also bowed and smiled,
"Brother Zhouyang, with our relationship, why be so formal? I have missed you dearly, so I came out to wait for you."
Yuan Feng pulled Yuan Shu forward and said to Cai Yong,
"Brother Bojie, this is my son, Yuan Shu. You must have heard of his reputation—completely unrestrained and undisciplined.
I truly have no other choice, so I have brought him here in hopes that you would take him as a disciple and guide him onto the right path.
Gonglu, why aren't you greeting Brother Bojie?"
Hearing Yuan Feng call him, Yuan Shu quickly stepped forward and saluted Cai Yong,
"Your nephew, Yuan Shu, greets Uncle Cai."
Cai Yong nodded, helped Yuan Shu up, and said to Yuan Feng with a smile,
"Since my dear brother has entrusted him to me, how could I not do my best? From today onward, I will accept Yuan Shu as my disciple, hoping that he will achieve success through learning."
Yuan Feng was delighted and said, "Thank you, Brother!"
In truth, given Cai Yong's personality, the type of person he despised most was someone like Yuan Shu—a reckless, wasteful son of a wealthy family.
These kinds of people were ignorant and incompetent, contributing nothing but squandering family wealth and causing trouble. Their actions only tarnished the reputation of their ancestors.
To put it bluntly, these wastrels were like parasites, digging away at both their family's foundation and that of the Han Dynasty.
If anyone else had recommended Yuan Shu to him, let alone taking him as a disciple, Cai Yong would have been annoyed just having a conversation about him.
However, because of his deep friendship with Yuan Feng, and Yuan Feng personally coming to ask for this favor, he found it difficult to refuse.
Cai Yong was a scholar with great integrity—wealth could not corrupt him, and power could not subdue him—but he was helpless against emotional appeals from friends like Yuan Feng.
Cai Yong thought to himself: No matter how bad Yuan Shu may be, he is still young. How bad could he really be?
As long as he strictly disciplined him in the future, perhaps Yuan Shu could still amount to something.
With this thought, Cai Yong felt a little better.