NOVPUBLiu Bei usually had nothing much to do, but once he took an interest in something, he would find things to get involved in. Today, for instance, after settling Ma Zhong and company at the Zhang Clan’s residence, he began to gather the civil and military officers to discuss state affairs.
"Zichuan, what do you suppose Lord Xuande is urgently gathering us for?" Lub Su asked while holding a half-finished plan, following beside Chen Xi.
"Today, Lord Xuande witnessed some unfortunate affairs, and now he’s planning to find us some work to do," Chen Xi said indifferently.
"I think this is mainly your fault!" Liu Ye said very displeased from the side. "The way you’ve turned the Lord’s old home, do you think with his temperament that he could peacefully reside within it?"
"Exactly, exactly, Zichuan, you really went too far this time. Didn’t you see? That house is so vibrantly colored; it’s practically resplendent like the Xuanniao," Mi Zhu also chimed in, leaning over.
Recently, Mi Zhu didn’t need to run business errands. A business regulation was still in dispute and hadn’t been resolved, mainly because Chen Xi hadn’t requested haste. Now, as a crowd debated, Mi Zhu and the Zhang Clan, allied, enjoyed the lively verbal exchanges. Amidst their dispute, the commercial circle centered on Fenggao extending to Qingzhou flourished increasingly and was more and more worth debating over!
"The Xuanniao is also a phoenix, and a phoenix has the Five Virtues. Good, from now on, that residence shall be called the Five Virtues Residence," Chen Xi shamelessly claimed, anyhow no one among this group would suggest tearing it down to rebuild.
"Strategist..." Zhao Yun called out, and then everyone turned their heads to look at Zhao Yun. All present could act as strategists, but usually, when called without a name, it referred to Chen Xi. However, under the present circumstances, everyone was bored, and it was normal to tease Zhao Yun for fun.
"Ahem, the residence you’ve constructed is too luxurious, which violates the Han Dynasty’s tradition of frugality," Zhao Yun managed to say, albeit reluctantly.
"You’d have to ask Gong Youu about that. I only provided the building materials. How it was built, that’s Gong Youu’s business, nothing to do with me," Chen Xi casually set up the scapegoat, unceremoniously throwing Sun Qian under the bus.
"..." Sun Qian looked at Chen Xi speechlessly. "Without those materials, I couldn’t have built those buildings either. Even I have a hard time accepting it after building them, let alone Lord Xuande. What I fear most now is that the people under our rule won’t be able to accept it either."
Everyone fell silent until Fa Zheng jumped in from the side, "If I had the money, I’d also build one; this could be counted among my top three life goals."
"Xiaozhi, your aspirations are truly average. As a young man, you should have grander ambitions. Come on, what else do you aspire to?" Chen Xi looked down on Fa Zheng with contempt; those aspirations indeed seemed rather ordinary.
"Hengheng, the first major aspiration!" Fa Zheng puffed up with pride, raising his head and chest out, and everyone else stopped to listen to his grand dream. But after puffing himself up a bit, Fa Zheng deflated, looking around before whispering, "Given the chance, I must give Guo Fengxiao a proper setback; he often messes with me."
The audience fell silent. After a while, Jia Xu gave a thumbs up, "Xiaozhi, keep up the effort, I think there’s still hope for you in your lifetime."
"Exactly, exactly!" "Mmm-hmm!" "Xiaozhi, I believe in you!" Everyone placated him without sincerity. Guo Fengxiao’s craftiness was something everyone there had felt deeply. They believed that it was not a big issue for Fa Zheng to grow to a level similar to Guo Jia’s, but the idea of Fa Zheng managing to get back at Guo Jia was unrealistic. For some reason, Guo Jia seemed to dodge trouble with just his intuition, avoiding ninety percent of trouble.
Dissatisfied, Fa Zheng looked at the riffraff before him. Lately, he had begun to formally deal with government affairs, and Chen Xi had included him in the count of officials, assigning him some state affairs to handle. And yet, these scoundrels all gave him nothing but half-hearted responses. Do they really think he couldn’t tell? His talent, Fa Xiaozhi, was in analyzing people!
"Alright, alright, no more joking. Xiaozhi, continue on, what’s your second dream?" Chen Xi asked with a contained smile and curiosity.
"To stew lamb in a Bronze Cauldron like our Lord..." Fa Zheng said, full of longing.
"Alas," Chen Xi patted Fa Zheng’s shoulder and walked away.
"Hopeless," Lub Su said, resigned.
"What a fine child!" Liu Ye shook his head as he walked past Fa Zheng.
"Hey, hey, hey... What are you guys doing?" Fa Zheng said unhappily. This was such a grand dream.
"Xiaozhi, apart from your first dream, which could be considered a dream, the latter two have really disappointed me." Jia Xu patted Fa Zheng’s shoulder with a look that said, "It’s my failure for not straightening you out."
"Hey, hey, hey..." Fa Zheng was dumbfounded. What was this all about? Since when did I have anything to do with you, Jia Wenhe? We are superior and subordinate, whether I’m crooked or not is my business, and what part of me is crooked anyway?
"I’d better go back to my laws." Mann Chong scribbled away, glancing coldly at Fa Zheng before patting his shoulder and moving on.
"Xiaozhi, keep up the good work," Jian Yong also expressed with a somber face.
"Alas, one will regret not having worked hard in their youth." Sun Qian followed up with the rhythm.
"Ah~" Mi Zhu shook his head as he walked past Fa Zheng. This group had all been influenced by Chen Xi’s erratic thinking. After all, they were young and had little to do with taboos, and they were quite a package when they joked around.
"Weishuo, you’re not going to say it too, are you?" Fa Zheng was still utterly confused. What was all this about everyone acting like he’d grown up crooked?
"Ah, my life just follows in their footsteps. Xiaozhi, take comfort!" Liu Yan dealt Fa Zheng a heavy blow.
"Take... take comfort?" Fa Zheng was scared. Why had it suddenly jumped to offering condolences?
"Wen He, Ziyang, Zijing, did you notice that Weishuo is the most ruthless? Last time it happened to me, now Xiaozhi is confused too. Truly, noted scholars are ruthless people," Chen Xi whispered.
"Makes sense. In the future, let’s have Weishuo handle the last step. What a heavy hit. Xiaozhi was just feeling proud, and now he seems to be knocked senseless," Liu Ye murmured, stroking his beard and sneaking peeks as he spoke.
"Right, right, shouldn’t we give Xiaozhi a seat at the table now? He’s qualified to use one now. He has always been suppressed in his seat by Fengxiao. Look, Xiaozhi is about to sit in Fengxiao’s old seat. This fellow must have been so tormented by Fengxiao that he’s forgotten he should have a seat of his own," Lub Su quietly remarked.
"It’s an appalling sight. He’s completely forgotten he should stand on his own and have a seat, not just accompany others," Jia Xu clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Xiaozhi, you’re now qualified to have your own seat at the table. You don’t have to sit in Fengxiao’s spot any longer as his companion." Li Youu glanced at Chen Xi and the others, who were muttering among themselves, knowing full well they were deliberately not informing Fa Zheng. With a smile, he shared the delightful surprise with Fa Zheng.
Suddenly, Fa Zheng jumped to his feet, ecstatic that he now qualified for his own seat at the table. Only as an independent could one be considered a chief. Even sitting at the lowest rank was much better than sitting at Guo Jia’s side seat.
After all, no matter how well a deputy does, the credit goes to the chief. Once he became the chief himself, glorious achievements would be beckoning him.
"Where do I sit, where do I sit?" an excited Fa Zheng inquired.
"Next to me." Before Li Youu could speak, Jia Xu and Mann Chong pointed to the spot beside them, saying, "Here." Delighted, Fa Zheng did not look elsewhere and took the offered seat. Li Youu exchanged a glance with Chen Xi, who nodded. Consequently, they remained silent, and Jia Wenhe and Mann Chong had apparently already cleared a spot between them for Fa Zheng. In his excitement, Fa Zheng failed to give it a second thought and settled down in front of Mann Chong, which probably meant his seat wouldn’t change again anytime soon. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
