Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The entire journey was quiet, with no one speaking. As they continued along, it was almost noon. Zhang Xiu and his followers began to bustle about, preparing meals. Ma Chao, however, was in a gloomy mood, sitting alone in silence, lost in thought.

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from behind: "General, General, you are running too fast. I drove the carriage all the way at full speed, but I couldn't catch up with you." Ma Chao heard that this familiar voice was from Xu Huang, and his face suddenly lit up with joy. He stood up quickly and looked in the direction of the voice. He saw Xu Huang driving a carriage quickly towards him.

"Whoa!" With a long neigh, the carriage stopped, right in front of Ma Chao. Xu Huang said smugly, "General, look who I've brought here!" Ma Chao's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding washing over him. He hurried forward and quickly pulled open the carriage's curtains. Inside, he saw Xun You and Zao Zhi tied together, their mouths gagged with strips of cloth.

Looking more closely, Xun You and Zao Zhi's hair was disheveled, their faces dusty, their clothes wrinkled and stained. Xun You's usually calm face now looked flustered, his eyes revealing a hint of confusion and bewilderment, as if he had no idea what was happening. Zao Zhi's face was filled with astonishment, his mouth bulging with cloth, his cheeks deformed from the pressure, and there were a few shallow scratches on his forehead, making him look rather pitiful.

Ma Chao blurted out "Nonsense" upon seeing this scene, but then he didn't bother to scold Xu Huang anymore. He quickly and nimbly jumped onto the carriage. His hands frantically untied the ropes bound the two gentlemen, and the ropes quickly came loose under his manipulation. Then, he carefully extended his fingers, gently hooked the cloth stuffed in their mouths, and slowly pulled it out, fearing to hurt the two gentlemen.

After the strips of cloth were removed, Xun You roared angrily, "Ma Mengqi, how could you treat us like this? This is absolutely ridiculous!" Zao Zhi's face flushed with anger as he shouted, "We still regard you as a gentleman and have high hopes for you, yet you resort to such banditry. It's truly disheartening!"

Seeing this, Ma Chao quickly bowed and apologized sincerely, "Gentlemen, I'm truly sorry. This was truly a misunderstanding. I truly didn't know Xu Huang would act this way. It's my fault for not being able to manage my subordinates well, and I've caused you two this injustice. Please forgive me."

Xun You glared at Ma Chao and said sternly, "Misunderstanding? How could this be a simple misunderstanding? Look at how we are now. It's a humiliation!" Zao Zhi continued, "We originally rejected your invitation, but you resorted to such tactics. How can we trust you again?"

Ma Chao nodded repeatedly, his expression filled with guilt. "It's my fault, my fault. I hope you two gentlemen will be magnanimous and not hold it against me. I promise that this will never happen again."

Xun You was still furious. "Hmph, promise? What kind of promise can you give? If Xu Huang isn't severely punished this time, we won't let this go!" Zao Zhi echoed, "That's right. You must give us an explanation. Let everyone know your stance on this behavior!"

Ma Chao quickly responded, "Of course, of course. I will punish Xu Huang severely, making him pay for his actions and appeasing the two gentlemen."

At this moment, Xun You's expression softened slightly. "I hope you can keep your word and not let us down again." Zao Zhi also sighed. "Alas, although we rejected you, we sincerely hope to help you achieve success. But you can't let this happen again." Ma Chao nodded seriously. "I understand. I will definitely learn from this lesson and never make the same mistake again."

Ma Chao was filled with regret and helplessness when he was scolded by the two men. He thought to himself that he had sincerely invited the two gentlemen, hoping that they would help him achieve his great cause, but he did not expect that Xu Huang's foolish behavior would cause such a big misunderstanding.

He secretly groaned inwardly. He had always respected Xun You and Zao Zhi as talented men and had never had such unbearable thoughts towards them, yet they were misunderstood like this. He was truly speechless. He was angry at Xu Huang's misdeeds, which had ruined his plans, but he also felt ashamed of the two gentlemen's accusations. After all, it was his own men who had caused this trouble.

Ma Chao, with a slightly gloomy expression, sternly ordered Zhang Xiu and Dian Wei, "Drag Xu Huang away and give him fifty lashes of the military staff. His treatment of you two is a testament to his unrepentant banditry and his complete lack of discipline."

Afterwards, Zhang Xiu and Dian Wei appeared to be obeying orders, stepping forward to hold Xu Huang in their arms. However, the three men were secretly winking at each other. When carrying out the punishment with the military stick, they seemed to hit him hard, with a whirring sound, but in reality, they were just pretending, not hurting Xu Huang at all. After more than ten blows, not even the slightest red mark was left, and Xu Huang was completely unharmed.

Ma Chao saw the utterly sham scene clearly before him, and instead of anger, he felt a surge of helplessness. He hadn't expected the three of them to so brazenly team up to do such a thing. It caught him off guard, and he felt he couldn't face Xun Yu and Zao Zhi. He sighed inwardly, "How could these three be so unscrupulous?" He had clearly observed the subtle movements of Zhang Xiu, Dian Wei, and Xu Huang, and knew they were acting in response to his desperate attempts to seek help from Xun Yu and Zao Zhi, only to have them refuse. They were, in fact, trying to help him in this way.

Although Ma Chao felt somewhat helpless and somewhat dissatisfied with their deceptive behavior, he had to admit that he owed them a favor. After all, they had good intentions, but their actions were inappropriate. He sighed inwardly, wondering how to properly handle this complex situation, making Xun You and Zao Zhi feel his sincerity while also worthy of their kindness, and at the same time, maintaining his proper authority. This truly gave him a headache and a dilemma.

The noisy scene here gradually became louder and even disturbed Lu Zhi's family who were resting. Lu Wan carefully supported Mrs. Lu and slowly walked over.

Mrs. Lu turned her gaze towards Dian Wei and Zhang Xiu and saw that they were pretending to beat Xu Huang, while Xu Huang was grinning and screaming. It looked very funny. Mrs. Lu couldn't help laughing and said with a smile, "Okay, okay, stop fighting." After hearing what Mrs. Lu said, the two men hurriedly backed down and stopped quickly. Then they stood aside, looked at each other and laughed secretly.

Then, Madam Lu turned to face Zao Zhi and Xun Yu and said slowly, "You two gentlemen have been wronged. I would like to apologize to you on behalf of Chao'er. Chao'er is really a good boy. He would certainly not do such a thing. It's just that these generals below saw that Chao'er wanted your help too much, so they acted on their own initiative. I also heard Wan'er tell me privately how much Chao'er values ​​you two gentlemen." Xun Yu and Zao Zhi quickly said that they dared not.

Madam Lu continued, "I've heard from Chao'er before that Mr. Xun was so eager to find the whereabouts of the emperor and my husband that he resigned from his official position and searched hard here. In this case, why don't you go to Xiliang with us, stay with Chao'er first, and help Chao'er first. If there is any news about the emperor and my husband here, Chao'er will escort us to meet them. What do you two think?" Xun Yu and Zao Zhi were tied here and had no choice but to do so. Moreover, Zao Zhi had already wavered in his invitation to Ma Chao. Xun Yu felt that this was a way to have the best of both worlds, so he accepted it.

Ma Chao's mind suddenly brightened. He thanked Madam Lu again and looked up at Xu Huang, Dian Wei, and Zhang Xiu. They all winked at him, trying to suppress their laughter. Lu Wan stepped forward and scolded him, "You stinky junior brother, now you don't have to look so bitter anymore." Ma Chao laughed heartily, and everyone else joined in the laughter.