NOVPUBChen Xi first rejoiced and then his brow slightly furrowed. "Kongming, if your elder brother Zhuge Ziyu knows why I am here, why doesn’t he come down?"
Chen Xi looked at Zhuge Liang descending alone and knew what was going on but still couldn’t help but ask one more question, hopeful.
"We are an Aristocratic Family Member, and in this generation, there are not many outstanding individuals," Zhuge Liang bowed and said, a single sentence revealing all the helplessness.
"May I meet him, nonetheless?" Chen Xi asked somewhat helplessly, knowing that being from an aristocratic family not only meant a monopoly on knowledge and continuous glory but also signified a kind of responsibility, a burden that must be shouldered by someone.
Zhuge Liang shook his head slightly. "I am confident in my ability and do not think myself inferior to my brother, who has chosen his path, as I have chosen mine."
The magnanimity of Zhuge Liang reminded Mi Zhu of Lub Su’s kindness, Chen Xi’s intelligence, and that calm demeanor, as well as his proud yet humble tone, all of which astonished Mi Zhu. Chen Xi was right; this youth would not be inferior to Fa Xiaozhi and might even surpass him. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
"Then let it be," Chen Xi said resignedly, "Will you stay here or come live with us?"
"I will leave this place. After my departure, my brother will also leave here and return to Xuzhou Langya," Zhuge Liang replied indifferently, without any of the confusion or sadness one might expect when parting from family.
"Fine, from now on you’ll be handling state affairs with me. And should I no longer be available, then you’ll have to find someone else," Chen Xi told Zhuge Liang.
"Alright, I do need plenty of practice now. But are you so confident that I can handle it well?" a flicker of curiosity passed through Zhuge Liang’s eyes.
"If it gets messed up, it gets messed up. After all, everyone goes through that kind of thing; I just had one such experience." Chen Xi said nonchalantly, "Mount Tai can withstand some tossing about, and I believe all losses will be compensated from elsewhere eventually. Everything’s fine."
This was only because it was Zhuge Liang. With anyone else, Chen Xi would have given more thought before speaking like this or would have needed to properly mentor them for a while, yet for Zhuge Liang, there was no need. An incarnation of wisdom across the ages, a mistake made once would not occur a second time. Aside from being a bit overworked and occasionally lacking in judgment of character, the rest were but trivial matters.
"Zichuan!" Mi Zhu indicated with his eyes that speaking had no effect, and so he called out to Chen Xi in a low voice.
"Kongming, you stay here. I’m going to have a word with Zizhong. The promises made to you will remain unchanged," Chen Xi said with a smile, knowing what Mi Zhu wanted to say, and though he hesitated over Zhuge Jin, in the end, he gave up on the idea.
"Zichuan, are you really going to give up on the elder upstairs? With such disposition at such a young age, this Zhuge Kongming might soon match Fa Xiaozhi in capability. Such a rare talent should not fall into others’ hands," Mi Zhu said with a gloomy look to Chen Xi.
To claim a realm, talent was needed, and in Mi Zhu’s view, a rare talent like Zhuge Liang absolutely could not be let go. Having met Zhuge Liang and knowing that Chen Xi spoke of Zhuge Jin as another rare talent, Mi Zhu understood that he, too, could not be allowed to wander outside their influence and must be retained.
"That’s probably not going to work," Chen Xi said helplessly.
"What’s stopping us? Just keep him here and talk things over. With so many of us, can’t we persuade just one person?" Mi Zhu said angrily, clearly regarding this as Chen Xi’s inaction.
"First of all, keeping him here certainly means we can’t harm him, right? We can’t injure the other party but, on the contrary, need to treat him well with food and drink, whether it’s because of the other’s talent or because of Kongming. You would agree, wouldn’t you?" Chen Xi shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.
"I will take care of all of that," Mi Zhu said, slapping his chest confidently.
"It’s not that simple. Because of Kongming, we certainly cannot harm him, and if we put him under house arrest, sooner or later, mistakes will occur. Kongming would let him leave," Chen Xi sighed, "This goes against his wishes, and if we tried to restrict Kongming’s actions, it would only alienate him from us. Surely you wouldn’t want to kill him, right?"
After hearing this, the look on Mi Zhu’s face changed unpredictably. The idea of keeping Zhuge Jin forcefully or under house arrest was practically impossible. Furthermore, if they were to kill him, they wouldn’t be able to get past Liu Bei to begin with, and it would only cause those with talent and wisdom to hesitate greatly before joining, which is even less in Liu Bei’s interests.
"Are we just giving up like this?" Mi Zhu said with a gloomy face.
"That’s how the aristocratic families operate. But we’ve already obtained the essence. When it comes to Zhuge Ziyu, treat him with respect, send him off from the city, and ensure his personal safety. That will suffice," Chen Xi said with a smile.
The thing these ancient aristocratic families are best at is hedging their bets. They never put all their eggs in one basket. After witnessing the depth of Liu Bei’s resources at his wedding, aristocratic families will gradually start placing their formal bets on Liu Bei. Before long, Liu Bei’s influence will gain more members of these aristocratic families.
Even though Chen Xi knew very well that the aristocratic family members who came to Liu Bei would generally not be exceptionally outstanding, they were by no means useless; they would be perfectly capable as officials for a county or a district.
After all, even if the aristocratic families hated Liu Bei to death, as long as Liu Bei had the potential to conquer the world, the families would need to preserve some of their lineage for him, ensuring their survival. So even if their generation of exceptional talent failed and the family weakened, as long as the surviving lineage had family teachings and produced a reasonable figure, rising again would simply be a matter of time!
"To just let him go like this, I cannot accept it!" Mi Zhu said, flames alight in his eyes, "After seeing Zhuge Kongming, I knew that your words were absolutely without fluff. Such a character, if not working under Lord Xuande, would become an adversary. Better to end it now!" Cold light flashed in Mi Zhu’s eyes as he spoke.
"The finest of the Zhuge Family is Kongming. Although his brother is excellent, he is not as good as Kongming. Everything has to be done within limits; it’s not possible to make everything perfect. Having secured Zhuge Kongming is already a stroke of great fortune. Let’s leave the issue here," Chen Xi said with a stern expression.
Chen Xi glanced at Mi Zhu, not wishing for him, the normally kind-hearted man, to clash with Zhuge Liang over Liu Bei; after all, given Zhuge Liang’s capabilities, if Mi Zhu really acted, Zhuge Liang would doubtless notice. In the end, this would only make things difficult for Liu Bei. It was better to treat him well with decent food and drink, and then address the issue when the time came.
Mi Zhu sighed deeply, realizing that he had been a bit impulsive. Taking in a younger brother and killing the elder was not something a benevolent and virtuous ruler could do, and Liu Bei was exactly that kind of person. Even knowing that the other party would likely be an enemy upon returning, when it came to matters of benevolence, righteousness, and loyalty, he would still unhesitatingly choose to break free from such restraints,
"Alas, let it be. I hope your assessment is not wrong, and that Kongming truly is the most outstanding among the Zhuge family." Attempting to dispel the thoughts in his mind, Mi Zhu spoke somewhat dejectedly.
"I know you’re thinking of Lord Xuande’s grand vision, but some matters can’t be forced," Chen Xi said with a sigh. He had realized when he saw Zhuge Liang walking down alone why, despite being relatives, Sima Lang and Sima Yi were unwilling to show themselves in front of him. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to continue reading.)
