The moon is dark, the stars are sparse, and the clouds are dense.
The night was deep, but the lights were still on in the study in the backyard of Sikong Mansion.
Cao Cao looked gloomy and sat in the middle of the study. Guo Jia and Xun Yu stood in front of him.
The matter of Princess Wannian was not too difficult to deal with. He went into the palace to explain to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and it was over.
What really made Cao Cao uneasy was the mystery behind Cao Shuo's death.
"Wen Ruo, Feng Xiao, what do you think about the death of Zi Qi (Cao Shuo's name) and the frame-up of Zi Wen?" After a long silence, Cao Cao relaxed his frown and asked slowly. .
Xun Yu hesitated for a moment before replying: "This matter involves Sikong's family affairs, so I don't dare to speak nonsense."
Guo Jia didn't respond either.
Cao Cao waved his hand and comforted the two of them: "You have all followed me for several years. You all know what my temper is, but it doesn't matter."
Xun Yu then spoke: "Sikong, what happened today is actually clear."
"To be able to put a venomous snake into the Second Young Master's bedroom to kill him, and to bribe the princess's eunuchs, guards, and palace maids to jointly commit perjury to frame Young Master Ziwen, this matter must have been carefully planned."
"To be able to make this matter seamless and watertight, it must be someone close to Sikong." Guo Jia added.
"Who do you think is the real culprit behind the scenes?" Cao Cao asked.
Xun Yu hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said, "I can only think of this. I haven't thought of who it is specifically yet."
"My subordinates didn't expect..." Guo Jia also chose to stall.
"Did you not think of it or dare not say it?!" Cao Cao's eyes widened again.
Seeing Cao Cao's anger, Xun Yu and Guo Jia hurriedly knelt down in front of him: "Sikong, I really can't guess this."
"With Wen Ruo and Feng Xiao's talents, how could they not guess it?!" Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu and Guo Jia in front of him with doubt, obviously not believing what they said.
"I have a vague feeling that the murderer may be one of several young masters, but I'm really not sure who it is, so I dare not make false claims." Xun Yu explained.
"Go back to Sikong. We might as well think about this from another angle. Why was the second young master killed, and why did the murderer blame Young Master Zhang?" Guo Jia reminded Cao Cao.
"After Ang'er died, Shuo'er was the eldest son; Zhang'er was brave and always had prestige in the army..." Cao Cao muttered in a low voice, and then he realized: "The position of the heir apparent?!"
"Exactly!" Xun Yu and Guo Jia responded with their hands raised.
Cao Cao nodded slowly: "It makes sense. Then we might as well think about it. If Shuo'er and Zhang'er both die, who will be most beneficial and who is most likely to become the heir, then he may be the murderer?"
"Do you think it's Zihuan (Cao Pi) or Zijian (Cao Zhi)?"
"This is exactly what I dare not say. Looking at today's performance, it seems quite suspicious that Mr. Zihuan is eager to convict Ziwen. However, if it is understood that the death of his brother is heartbroken, it can also be explained."
"Master Zijian didn't say a word. It seems that he has nothing to do with this matter, but it is not impossible to say that he is deliberately covering it up."
"What makes the officials hesitate the most is Master Ziwen's performance today." Guo Jia analyzed the performance of the three of them one by one to Cao Cao.
"Yes, Mr. Ziwen's behavior is very different from the past. Whether it is proving his innocence or finding out the real cause of the second son's death, he is very thoughtful and observant. I am very surprised."
"I just don't know whether Mr. Ziwen suddenly became enlightened at a critical moment, or whether he had been keeping a low profile and hiding his talents." Xun Yu added to Guo Jia's analysis.
"If it's the latter, did he prove his innocence after being framed today? Or did he carefully design a painful plot to cover up the truth about his brother's murder, which is the key to preventing the official from making accurate judgments." Guo Jia expressed his inner concerns to Cao Cao.
Xun Yu: "I think so too, so I can't determine who of the three young masters is the culprit."
After listening to the analysis of the two men, Cao Cao nodded slowly. He had to admit that what they said made sense. The third son's performance today was very suspicious when he thought carefully about it.
"Then do you think Zhao Da can find out the results?" Cao Cao asked the two of them again.
"How could a person who could devise such a thorough plan fail to arrange an escape route for himself? How could he personally arrange and bribe these servants?"
"Even if we really investigate, I'm afraid there won't be any results." Guo Jia shook his head slightly helplessly.
"Wen Ruo, what do you think?" Cao Cao turned to Xun Yu.
Xun Yu did not answer Cao Cao's question, but asked: "Sikong, even if Zhao Da can really find out who the culprit is, how do you plan to deal with it? Are you really prepared to execute him?"
As soon as Xun Yu said these words, Cao Cao's expression changed instantly.
Guo Jia immediately guessed the hidden meaning of Xun Yu's words and quickly lowered his head.
"You already have two sons dead. Do you really want to kill the third one yourself? Even if tiger poison does not eat its sons, if Sikong does this, his reputation will be damaged."
"Especially this third son, who was killed because of his brother's murder. Spreading the news will make Sikong lose face."
"Although Sikong is open-minded and doesn't care about the eyes of the world. But now he is surrounded by powerful enemies. If Sikong wants to win in the cracks, he needs more people."
"So my subordinates suggest that Sikong make a careful decision!" Xun Yu pushed the decision-making power to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao's face was gloomy. He suddenly grabbed the bamboo slips on the desk in front of him and threw them out. He cursed angrily: "You mean, Shuo'er's death was in vain?!"
Xun Yu hurriedly lowered his head and kowtowed: "I made a mistake, please calm down Sikong!"
Guo Jia also lowered his head hard. Cao Cao was already furious and he did not dare to say any more.
Cao Cao glared at the two people in front of him, panting heavily, and it took a while before he slowly calmed down.
Although he was very reluctant, he also understood that Xun Yu's suggestion was the most reasonable.
Now tracing Cao Shuo's death and executing another son will indeed have a great impact on his reputation, and may even cause civil strife and cause chaos to the newly stable situation.
What's more, although he loved Cao Zhi the most, there were things he admired about Cao Pi and Cao Zhang. Of course, he would not be willing to kill them if they really wanted to kill them.
Cao Cao sighed helplessly: "Wen Ruo, you didn't make a mistake. What you said makes sense. We really can't afford the trouble now."
He said with some reluctance: "I don't have to deal with this brother-killer, but I have to know who he is, right?"
"Lord, continue to investigate. This person must be careful and guarded, so it will not be easy for us to detect him. It is better to loosen the outside and tighten the inside to make him think that the matter is over. As time goes by, he will reveal his flaws."
Seeing that Cao Cao's attitude had relaxed, Guo Jia raised his head and expressed his suggestion.
Cao Cao's expression completely softened and he nodded: "That makes sense. Feng Xiao, I'll leave this matter to you!" Cao Cao ordered Guo Jia.
"Here!" Guo Jia quickly bowed his head and accepted the order.
Xun Yu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Cao Cao finally accepted his suggestion.
"That's it for now. I have something else I want to discuss with you. Nowadays, powerful enemies are everywhere. If I want to completely defeat them, I need the help of more talents."
"I moved to Xudu, the capital, and the folk customs gradually stabilized. I am determined to restore the Yuedan Ping of the past to recruit talents to govern the country and stabilize the country. What do you think?" Cao Cao put forward his idea to the two of them.
"Rebuilding the Yuedan Review, allowing famous officials in the world to accept reviews, and selecting talented and learned people for employment is indeed a good way to select talents." Xun Yu expressed his approval of Cao Cao's proposal.
"It's just that Xu Shao has passed away and Xu Jing has also gone to Jiaozhou. If we want to re-run the Yuedan Review, we must choose another highly respected sage to be the judge." Guo Jia raised his concerns after thinking deeply.
"Fengxiao is right, I have thought of a suitable candidate." Cao Cao said with a smile.
"who is it?"
"Zheng Xuan, who lives in Xuzhou!" Cao Cao gave his answer.
