The Heavenly Dao Talisman trembled slightly, and wisps of blue light overflowed from it, as if the half-finished Heavenly Dao was also somewhat uneasy.
"You coward!" Wang Xuan cursed under his breath, then whispered a few more instructions before carefully hiding the secret box containing the Heavenly Dao Talisman.
By the time he stepped out of his room, his father, Wang Yun, was already impatient. Seeing Wang Xuan emerge, he didn't care whether Wang Xuan had tidied his clothes or not, and simply pulled him away.
The two of them boarded a carriage drawn by dragon-scaled horses and sped towards Cai Yong's house.
The Dragonscale Horse is a mythical beast from the main world, capable of traveling three thousand miles a day, and even when pulling a carriage, it can cover one or two thousand miles a day.
Wang Xuan's home was only about ten miles away from Cai Yong's residence, and it didn't take them long to arrive at Cai Yong's residence.
Chapter Fifty-Four: Father-in-Law
Wang Yun had visited Cai Yong's home many times. As the Grand Minister of Works of the Han Empire, he held an extremely prominent position, and the gatekeepers of the Cai family naturally remembered his appearance.
So as soon as they stepped out of the carriage, someone came forward to greet them. In addition, a servant ran into the Cai family compound to inform Cai Yong.
Wang Xuan followed behind his father and had just entered the Cai family's living room to drink a few sips of tea when the great scholar Cai Yong arrived.
"Hey, what wind blew you here, Wang Situ?" Cai Yong teased as soon as he arrived.
Wang Yun had come to Cai Yong's door because he needed something from him, so he could only let Cai Yong tease him. He forced a smile onto his chubby face, which looked somewhat comical.
“Brother Cai, we’ve known each other for most of our lives. To be honest, I’ve come here to entrust my son to you,” Wang Yun said with a sincere and honest expression.
Wang Xuan found it increasingly awkward. His father's honest and sincere expression was so similar to how he usually fooled others.
It must be said that the honest and sincere expressions of the father and son were very convincing. Later, Wang Yun even managed to fool his fierce general brother Lü Bu, so it was only a piece of cake for him to fool the upright and kind Cai Yong.
Upon hearing this, Cai Yong was slightly taken aback. He turned to look at Wang Xuan, and the more closely he looked, the more intense his gaze became.
"So, Minister Wang, you've come to propose marriage for your son!" Cai Yong said happily. "I've met your son before. He's handsome, has an extraordinary temperament, and is also very talented in literature. He and my Zhaojun are a perfect match!"
"What?! A marriage proposal?!"
Wang Xuan looked completely bewildered, and Wang Yun was also somewhat unable to come to her senses.
He said he wanted to entrust his son to Cai Yong, clearly wanting Cai Yong to take his son as his apprentice. How could Cai Yong misunderstand and think they were there to propose marriage?
Wang Yun didn't show it on his face, still wearing a simple and honest smile, but he was thinking quickly in his mind.
After a moment, he came to a conclusion: No apprentice is as close as a son-in-law!
Cai Yong was a renowned Confucian scholar. While he may not have had as many as Confucius (more than three thousand), he certainly had a considerable number of disciples, at least a hundred or more.
On the contrary, Cai Yong had no sons, only one daughter, Cai Yan. If Wang Xuan became Cai Yong's son-in-law, wouldn't Cai Yong do everything in his power to help him?
The next moment, Wang Yun made his decision, selling out his own son, and said with a loud laugh, "That's right, I've come here to propose marriage for my son!"
Wang Xuan stared blankly as these two old men got together. Before long, they finalized the marriage, and Wang Xuan gained a fiancée...
Luckily, his fiancée was Miss Cai Yan, otherwise Wang Xuan would have definitely confronted those two old geezers.
After the marriage between Wang Xuan and Cai Yan was finally settled, Wang Yun changed the subject and said to Cai Yong somewhat nervously, "My dear in-law, my son went missing for a few days. I'm sure you've heard about it, haven't you?"
Cai Yong came to his senses and felt a sense of unease. He replied, "To be able to kidnap your son from your home, there are very few people in the world today who can do that."
Wang Yun stared straight at Cai Yong and uttered a few words: "That person is the Old Immortal of Nanhua!"
Cai Yong was terrified. Although he was a renowned Confucian scholar with great strength, he was still far inferior to the Nan Hua Immortal, who possessed supernatural powers.
There is a saying in the main world: "With a single display of supernatural power, one can slay even the most powerful beings!"
A typical expert at the Celestial Realm could be obliterated by a single divine power from the Old Immortal Nanhua. Although Cai Yong was far stronger than an ordinary Celestial Realm expert, he couldn't withstand even a few moves from the Old Immortal Nanhua.
"Minister Wang, it seems we need to reconsider our marriage proposal!" Cai Yong's expression was somewhat unfriendly, clearly indicating he was about to turn hostile.
Wang Xuan was alarmed when he saw this. How could he let Miss Cai Yan, whom he had finally won over, fly away?
He rushed forward, grabbed Cai Yong's leg, and cried, "Father-in-law, I have absolutely no relation to that old man, Nan Hua Lao Xian! It's all just my father scaring himself. You are a great Confucian scholar of our time, you can't break off the engagement!"
"If even a great scholar like yourself goes back on his word, then how many people in this world will remain honest and trustworthy? Is there any hope for this world?"
Cai Yong: "..."
Well, even Cai Yong was defeated by Wang Xuan's shamelessness. Is this still the good son-in-law he had in mind? He looks more like a street ruffian.
"Whether you've been targeted by the Old Immortal of Nanhua or not, I dare not take the risk." After thinking for a moment, Cai Yong finally decided to lend a helping hand.
"Looking at the world today, the Old Immortal Nanhua is the only master of the Divine Power Realm, invincible in the world. If he were willing to show himself and fight us openly, we would not be afraid and could contact the masters in Luoyang City to besiege him. However, the Old Immortal Nanhua has always been mysterious and unpredictable, never appearing in front of others, which makes things a bit difficult."
Wang Yun also knew this, and he nodded in agreement, saying, "It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. This is the Old Immortal Nanhua plotting against my son, and my son will definitely fall into his trap."
Wang Xuan was speechless. He clearly had no connection whatsoever with the Old Immortal Nanhua, so why didn't these two old geezers believe what he said?
"In this world, if there is anyone who can rival the Old Immortal of Nanhua, it is only Zheng Xuan, the literary sage of our time!" Cai Yong then took out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began to write, explaining, "Zheng Xuan and I are close friends. Take my letter to him and hide there; Zheng Xuan will take care of all your troubles!"
Wang Yun was overjoyed upon hearing this, and even Wang Xuan was very happy.
Putting everything else aside, this conveniently gave Wang Xuan an excuse to leave Luoyang.
At this time, the various lords of the land were engaged in a fierce battle with Dong Pangzi's underlings at Hulao Pass, and Wang Xuan had long wanted to go and see for himself.
Moreover, after leaving Luoyang, no one was watching over him, so when he traveled through time again, he didn't need to find any excuse to explain his disappearance.
Cai Yong immediately wrote a letter and solemnly handed it to Wang Xuan. Then he huddled together with Wang Yun and whispered to each other, leaving Wang Xuan aside.
Wang Xuan didn't want to bother going over there, so after saying goodbye to Wang Yun and Cai Yong, he left the living room and went to the Cai family's back garden to get some fresh air.
It was April in the main world, the time when all flowers were in full bloom. Wang Xuan looked around and saw a garden full of colorful flowers, a feast for the eyes.
What interested Wang Xuan even more was that there was a young lady in a green dress in the garden, watering the flowers with a watering can.
This young lady is about seventeen or eighteen years old. She has delicate features, pure eyes, and a scholarly air about her. Who else could she be but Miss Cai Yan?
Chapter 55 Kidnapping the Young Lady
Wang Xuan saw Cai Yan watering flowers in the garden and happily ran over to greet her.
"Sister Zhaoji, it's been a long time! I wonder how you've been?"
Cai Yan turned around and looked at Wang Xuan, saying with some surprise, "How did you end up at my house?"
"I came here specifically to see you." The girl's attitude hurt Wang Xuan, but he still shamelessly lied and tried to flirt with the goddess in front of him.
Although Wang Xuan's flirting techniques are a bit outdated in modern society, Cai Yan is not a modern woman after all.
She was overwhelmed by Wang Xuan's flirting, and a blush rose on her fair cheeks. She snapped, "You're lying! I clearly heard the servants say that Wang Situ has arrived. You must have come with your father!"
However, the young lady clearly underestimated the man's shamelessness. He wasn't embarrassed at all when his lie was exposed, and instead continued to flirt with other girls.
"I really came here specifically to see you. As for my father, he came to propose marriage on my behalf." Wang Xuan smiled sheepishly, seemingly a little shy...
How could Cai Yan possibly remain calm? She dropped the water bottle in her hand and said anxiously, "You must be lying to me, right? It can't be true!"
Ultimately, Cai Yan and Wang Xuan had only met a few times. Although she had some feelings for Wang Xuan, they were far from being at the point of discussing marriage.
What? You mean arranged marriages?
There's also a saying from this era: "First marriage follows the parents' wishes, second marriage follows the bride's wishes."
"First marriage, one obeys one's parents," which is one of the "Three Obediences" – obeying one's father at home and one's husband after marriage. This refers to the parents' command.
If a woman is widowed and childless after marriage, or is divorced, she does not need others to make decisions for her remarriage; she can simply choose according to her own preferences.
When Miss Cai Yan was sixteen, she married Wei Zhongdao of the Wei family in Hedong. Although Wei Zhongdao was already bedridden when she married him and died a few months later, and Miss Cai Yan is still a virgin, she has at least been married once.
For her second marriage, Ms. Cai Yan decided to take charge of her own life.
She glared at Wang Xuan angrily and said in a deliberately fierce tone, "I don't agree to this marriage, and you have to refuse it too!"
Only a fool would refuse a beautiful young lady who's offered herself up! Wang Xuan chuckled inwardly, but feigned helplessness on his face, explaining, "This isn't up to me. Your father and my father, those two old geezers, are having a very heated discussion, wishing we could get married tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Cai Yan turned pale with fright. Having experienced a failed marriage, she had developed a fear of marriage.
After scaring the young lady, Wang Xuan offered her advice: "I think Mr. Cai Yong cares a lot about your marriage. Even if you don't want to marry me, he will find you another husband."
“I think you should leave Luoyang for a while and stop hanging around under your father’s nose. Maybe he’ll forget about it after a while.”
Wang Xuan's intentions were clearly impure. He wanted to travel to Qingzhou to become a disciple of the literary sage Zheng Xuan, and also wanted to visit Hulao Pass to witness the fierce battle between his valiant brothers. However, the journey was long and lonely for him traveling alone, so he decided to bring a young lady along...
"You mean you want me to run away from home?" Cai Yan looked at Wang Xuan with some suspicion, hesitating, "Where can I go if I leave Luoyang?"
Cai Yan's hometown had been destroyed in the previous Yellow Turban Rebellion, and even her relatives had almost all died because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Party Prohibitions, leaving her with nowhere to go.
Wang Xuan finally revealed his true intentions, taking out Cai Yong's letter from his pocket and handing it to Miss Cai Yan.
"This is a letter your father wrote himself to Zheng Xuan, the Sage of Literature. He asked me to take this letter to Zheng Xuan's school to listen to his lectures. Would you like to come with me?"
Zheng Xuan was the most famous Confucian scholar of his time, and intellectuals all over the world regarded him as an idol. Cai Yan, a talented woman, was no exception.
“Since we’re going to study under Master Zheng Xuan, I agree to go with you.” Cai Yan, unaware of Wang Xuan’s sinister intentions, readily agreed.
Then the two of them got together, and Wang Xuan told Cai Yan many tips and tricks for running away from home.
If Cai Yong had heard this, she would have definitely beaten Wang Xuan out with sticks. This brat was clearly corrupting her daughter!
Before long, Wang Yun and Cai Yong finished their conversation, and Wang Xuan had no reason to linger there any longer, so he had no choice but to go back with Wang Yun.
Early the next morning, Wang Yun arranged for two guards to escort Wang Xuan away from Luoyang to Donglai County in Qingzhou to become Zheng Xuan's disciple.
It's worth mentioning that these two guards were not ordinary people. They were named Li Dian and Yue Jin, respectively. In the original Three Kingdoms storyline, they were generals under Cao Cao, the kind of people who would be remembered in history.
However, since Wang Xuan had actually transmigrated to this world, he naturally had to try to recruit those fierce generals.
The title of Grand Minister Wang Yun is still very useful. He may not be able to recruit peerless experts like Lü Bu and Guan Yu who are at the Celestial Realm, but experts like Li Dian and Yue Jin who are at the Transcendent Realm can be easily captured if enough resources are invested.
After some investigation, Wang Xuan found the whereabouts of the two men and urged his father to recruit them.
Wang Yun was a very capable person, and he was decisive in recruiting experts. Wang Xuan was not clear about the specific process, but the result was that Li Dian and Yue Jin became the Wang family's retainers.
"Brother Li Dian, Brother Le Jin, I'll trouble you to escort me this time. Once we arrive in Donglai County, I'll speak with Mr. Zheng Xuan, and you can also audit his classes." Wang Xuan didn't waste any words and directly promised benefits.
Li Dian and Yue Jin were overjoyed. Although they followed the Divine Martial Path, which was different from Zheng Xuan's Immortal Martial Path, they both ultimately belonged to the martial arts path and arrived at the same goal. Being able to listen to Zheng Xuan's teachings was naturally very beneficial.
The three of them rode on dragon-scaled horses and headed straight for the city gate of Luoyang.
Before even leaving the city, Wang Xuan spotted a young girl in a bright green dress looking up and gazing around the city gate. Who else could it be but Cai Yan?
"It seems the knowledge I imparted to Miss Cai Yan before was quite effective; she actually managed to sneak out." Wang Xuan grinned from ear to ear as he walked over to meet up with Cai Yan.