NOVPUBWhen Fan Jian woke up the next day, he was slightly disappointed not to see Chen Xi, as she should have been the one to help Chen Xi put on his clothes.
On the other side, Chen Lan held her wedding dress and phoenix crown in her arms and sighed regretfully. Had she known Chen Xi would come to her, she wouldn’t have taken off her wedding dress and phoenix crown and simply gone to bed. But alas, it was too late to say anything by the time Chen Xi arrived.
"Oh, Zichuan is actually here this early today," noted Lub Su with amusement, as he saw Chen Xi casually reviewing government affairs in the Political Office. "A moment in spring is worth a thousand pieces of gold; I thought you wouldn’t show up at all today."
Chen Xi glanced at Lub Su, "If there was only one, I wouldn’t need to come today, but unfortunately that isn’t the case."
Lub Su burst into laughter at this, "You’re right, quite right!"
"What a hassle," Chen Xi sighed, "Some things seem simple, but balancing them is truly troublesome."
"Many things seem easy when others do them, but are quite difficult when you have to do them yourself. Congratulations, Zichuan, on your happy marriage," Fa Zheng said, peeking his head through the door, having thought about the peaches and peach blossoms all night, and rushing to the Political Office first thing in the morning with dark circles under his eyes.
"Xiaozhi, you look even more sleep-deprived than I am," said Chen Xi with his slightly swollen eyes, curiously asking Fa Zheng.
"What’s the deal with those peaches?" Fa Zheng asked straightforwardly.
Lub Su also watched the two with a smile, as Fa Xiaozhi finally asked what he too wanted to know.
"That’s something you can keep in your hearts, indeed it was my doing. Chen Changwen, Ju Gongyu, and Chen Yuanlong are probably all suspecting this affair, but they can’t explain the eaten peach flesh and fallen peach blossoms, can they?" Chen Xi waved his hand dismissively, "Imperial power is divinely bestowed, and naturally we can borrow this power to stabilize the hearts of the people. Unifying the land under one rule is, after all, most important to us."
"Alright, let’s leave it at that," Fa Zheng wanted to inquire further about the details, but Lub Su preemptively brought the topic to a close, reasoning that as long as it was beneficial for the governance, there was no need to ask further.
"You’ll find out in time," said Chen Xi with a smile, seeing Fa Zheng’s reluctance, "Some things have simply not been summarized by anyone. However, with this peach blossom incident, we’ve captured the hearts of the people, which will make governance easier in the future. Let’s each handle our own responsibilities and await Cao Mengde’s next move."
Upon hearing this, both Fa Zheng and Lub Su appeared somewhat somber, having recently gained too much insight into Cao Cao’s strength. With only seventy percent of Liu Xuande’s forces, beating Cao Cao would be exceedingly difficult.
The most crucial issue was that no matter how Qingzhou informed Tao Qian about the matters pertaining to Cao Song, it could backfire, even bringing disaster upon themselves. One false move could potentially shift the blame for Cao Song’s predicament onto Qingzhou, a situation Chen Xi didn’t want at all—an unnecessary fuss without gaining any benefit.
Thus, although Chen Xi and company had already confirmed Cao Song would be targeted and that Cao Cao would consequently strike at Xuzhou, they could only watch as events unfolded. The reason was simple: they couldn’t find evidence in the short term to prove who was behind it. Although the Chen Family, Zhao Family, and Xuzhou Cao Family were highly suspect, they had no proof!
Similarly, Chen Xi and his allies were well aware that Cao Cao could guess that Tao Qian wasn’t responsible, but in such circumstances, whether because of vengeance for his father or other reasons, Cao Cao would need Tao Qian to give an explanation.
[However, Liu Bei’s strength has grown much now; as long as Cao Cao isn’t foolish, he won’t give Liu Bei a pretext to send troops.] Chen Xi thought about the historical calamities of Xuzhou and couldn’t help but sigh, Cao Mengde was indeed ruthless!
"Congratulations, Zichuan," said Jia Xu as he entered, bowing to Chen Xi.
"Wen He arrived quite early," Chen Xi said with a smile. "Take a seat. Let’s start with our usual tasks, and we can discuss other matters once everyone has arrived. The military generals have all been taken by Lord Xuande for drill practice, so let’s each handle our own affairs first."
Chen Xi gestured toward a seat, signaling Jia Xu to get on with his work. Soon, all the civil officials from Mount Tai arrived, and of course, they congratulated Chen Xi first, who in turn returned each courtesy.
"So, everyone has arrived," Chen Xi’s gaze swept from Lub Su to Wang Xiu, then turned from Guo Jia to Chen Chi. "Come with me for a medical check-up, all of you. You folks always avoid talking about illnesses or seeing a doctor. I told you before to go see Physician Hua yourselves, but not a single one of you went. Since that’s the case, let me accompany you there."
All faces darkened; avoiding doctors and ignoring ailments was a common issue among all present, and they would never see a physician unless absolutely necessary.
"I have Five-Stone Powder here. Just take one packet, and you’ll feel great and impervious to all diseases," Guo Jia said, immediately producing his own ’miracle cure’. "Besides, I just ate a peach from the immortals yesterday. I know my own body’s condition very well."
"Guo Fengxiao…" Chen Xi said with twitching eyelids.
"I also have medicinal pills that I bought," Lub Su said, shaking a porcelain bottle he pulled out. "One pill and you’re full of energy. Zichuan, do you want to try one?" Saying this, he uncapped the bottle and tipped out a pill.
"Lub Zijing…" Chen Xi said, somewhat exasperatedly.
"I have something like that too," Fa Zheng said as he pulled out a porcelain bottle, "Though mine doesn’t shine with golden light like yours." He too poured out a pill.
"Who else has such things?" asked Chen Xi in a deep voice.
"This stuff is pretty popular, you know. Look…" Liu Yan said, producing a bunch of small porcelain vials. "This is the premium-grade Five-Stone Powder that Yan He gave me, this is the Golden Core that Wensi bestowed upon me, this is the precious pill from Jiuzhen, this is the flower medicine sent by Wencai…" Liu Yan took out what seemed like more than a dozen types of cherished pills that were popular among noted scholars.
"I…" Seeing this situation, Chen Xi truly didn’t know what to say. He clearly remembered that such things only truly proliferated during the Wei and Jin dynasties. Why then did Liu Yan have so many varieties at this time?
In fact, what Chen Xi didn’t know was that these had already started spreading among the noted scholars by the end of the Han dynasty, and by the Wei and Jin period, not only scholars but all self-proclaimed elegant individuals used them. Eventually, it became common among all social strata. If Liu Yan could produce so many, it merely indicated that he had a wide circle of friends…
"Don’t you all know that this stuff is toxic?! If you take a little, it’s no problem, but consuming a lot can be fatal!" Chen Xi said angrily. Now he understood why Guo Jia and Fa Zheng and the rest died young. With their way of consumption, they were bound to meet an early death, and as for historical figures like Liu Yan and others who did not die, wasn’t it precisely because initially Liu Bei was so poor that they couldn’t afford to indulge in these luxury items?
Suddenly, everyone’s complexion changed, including Jia Xu who also looked slightly unsettled, clearly indicating he too had likely consumed them.
"All of you are coming with me to see Physician Hua! Especially you, Fa Xiaozhi, if I find you consuming these things again, I’ll hang you from the beams of my house. Believe me, I’ll do as I say!" Chen Xi said angrily, slamming the table. If this group continued poisoning themselves, they would end up dead sooner rather than later! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
