NOVPUBAs Chen Xi spoke, he quickly wrote the dispatch order, sealed it with the stamp, and placed it on the table before rushing out. If he was too late, and Lujiang were to be taken, only Lu Xun and Lu Ji of the Lu family would be able to escape, which would indeed be a tragedy.
Once out of the Political Office, Chen Xi leaped onto a horse-drawn carriage. Liu Bei’s sword was indispensable to him, and in such a rush, there was no room for error. He ordered the coachman to hurry to the Chen Family residence.
"What matter is so urgent, Master?" As Chen Xi pushed open the door, he did not wait for Old Butler Chen to pay his respects and headed straight toward the central hall of the inner courtyard, the voice of Old Butler Chen inquiring from behind him.
"I must leave for a while on an urgent matter. Do remember to inform Jian’er and Ran’er for me; I won’t go tell them personally," said Chen Xi without looking back. If he told Fan Jian or Chen Lan that he was leaving, even though they wouldn’t say anything, their mournful looks alone would be enough to torment him!
Chen Xi passed through the outer courtyard, burst into the central hall, and turned left into his study to retrieve Liu Bei’s sword. And just as he was about to leave quietly, a voice came from behind him.
"Husband, why are you in such a rush?" As Chen Xi was about to dash out of the study, Fan Jian appeared at the doorway, her expression curious as she asked, "Didn’t you say before, ’Unmoved by the collapse of Mount Tai in front of you, unblinking as the deer roam to your left?’ Why are you so hurried today?"
"I may have to leave for another three months!" Chen Xi sighed. He really didn’t want to face Fan Jian at that moment. He had barely been married for over two months, and after being away for almost three months, he had returned for only five days and now had to leave again, this time for three months. How could Chen Lan and Fan Jian, having just married, accept this?
"Husband..." Fan Jian drew out the word in dissatisfaction.
"There really is an urgent matter this time." Chen Xi said, somewhat sheepishly, and then saw three people coming toward the door—Chen Lan, Mi Zhen, and Zhen Mi.
"Greetings, Marquis Chen." "Husband." The three of them paid their respects one after another and then curiously looked at Fan Jian. Logically, shouldn’t Chen Xi would still be in the Political Office and not yet have returned home? Why was he back so early?
"Never mind that, are you here to find Jian’er to go study at Great Scholar Cai’s place?" Chen Xi glanced at the three, pausing briefly on Zhen Mi, then asked knowingly.
"Great Scholar Cai has given us a day off to rest before going." Unfortunately, today Cai Yan had no classes and let them go out to shop and relax for a bit, claiming it was important to balance work and rest.
Chen Xi was speechless. He had planned to have Chen Lan and the others take Fan Jian with them since she wouldn’t make a scene in front of others, but today, what was happening? "Well, since that’s the case, I still have some matters to attend to. Let Jian’er accompany you on your shopping trip. Any things you like will be on my account. I must be going now," he said.
After speaking, Chen Xi waved his hand and crossed the central hall, "Ran’er, you and Jian’er stay nicely at home, I’ll return as soon as I can."
Chen Lan’s face paled, but she still gracefully curtsied to Chen Xi, "May your husband return victorious."
"Marquis Chen, Marquis Chen, I want to go too." Chen Xi had just taken a few steps when Mi Zhen hurried after him. She was without supervision at home and was staying with Cai Yan. Cai Yan, still not having recovered from Cao Cao’s blow, found company in talking. She spent her days teaching Mi Zhen the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
It turned out Mi Zhen was quite talented in these areas, but her disposition was entirely different from Cai Yan’s. Pleasantly put, she had an "inner steel beneath a tender exterior," or more accurately, she had the appearance of an obedient child but was actually a little devil at heart.
After learning for a while, Mi Zhen grew tired of the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. As she saw it, since she had mastered them, why should she still be under Cai Yan’s daily control? But the gentle and refined demeanor of Cai Yan, along with her maturity, put much pressure on Mi Zhen, who had no choice but to obediently follow her instructions.
When Mi Zhen pulled her, Chen Xi immediately felt a headache coming on. Lady Mi and the current Mi Zhen were definitely not the same person; without mentioning anything else, Mi Zhen’s personality was somewhat like Sun Shangxiang’s. Could it be that she had never suffered or struggled before?
Chen Xi turned his head to look at the four of them; except for Zhen Mi, who had a cold expression, the other three all seemed eager to try, "No, this absolutely won’t do."
"So stingy," Mi Zhen disdainfully retorted, "Can’t you guarantee our safety?"
"I can, but it’s still not happening." Taking women onto the battlefield, Chen Xi couldn’t do that. Even though it wasn’t a big deal, if the commander didn’t follow military regulations, how was he supposed to enforce discipline amongst the soldiers afterward?
"Why not!" Mi Zhen became even more dissatisfied.
Chen Xi wasn’t in a rush to leave now; after all, he wasn’t short on a quarter hour, "Because you’re a woman."
"Umm…" This reasoning was quite formidable; at least according to the Women’s Precepts Mi Zhen was studying now, it seemed unsolvable. Immediately, Mi Zhen glared at Chen Xi in annoyance.
"All right, now that you know, stop bothering me. I’m leaving." Chen Xi waved his hand, not mentioning anything else, just taking Mi Zhen with him would definitely earn him murderous glares from Mi Zhu upon returning.
"Don’t go!" Mi Zhen turned and ran back, then pulled Zhen Mi over, pushing her toward Chen Xi, "Look, isn’t Mi’er sister adorable? I’ll give her to you, just take me with you."
Chen Xi looked at Zhen Mi, who was red in the face, and covered his with a hand while letting out a long sigh, "You, step aside, step aside, I absolutely cannot take you with me."
"Hmph! Stingy!" Mi Zhen said discontentedly, "What should I do if I really want to go?"
"Absolutely not going." Chen Xi sighed and added, "And don’t even think of sneaking after me. After I leave, I’ll arrange for ten teams of city guards to watch over you. If you dare to coax my wife to join you, I won’t mind having Great Scholar Cai give you additional lessons and properly re-study the Women’s Precepts. Zhen Mi, keep an eye on Mi Zhen for me."
"Oh, okay," Zhen Mi softly replied with flushed cheeks. Compared to Mi Zhen, Zhen Mi was the true definition of an obedient girl.
"Traitor," Mi Zhen looked at her comrade in arms who had defected to Chen Xi’s side, brimming with dissatisfaction, "Hengheng, I just remember what brother said, mmm mmm mmm…"
Before Mi Zhen could finish her sentence, Zhen Mi, with a cold look, covered Mi Zhen’s mouth and then gave Chen Xi a respectful curtsy before dragging Mi Zhen away.
"Tsk tsk tsk, you all just stay home nicely, I’ll be back as soon as possible," Chen Xi called out to Chen Lan and Fan Jian, who both bowed to Chen Xi and then quietly watched him.
[Zhen Mi? Mi Zhen did that on purpose, didn’t she?] Chen Xi shook his head slightly as he walked away. The shock he felt when he first saw her in Jizhou was completely different from now. Zhen Mi was beautiful indeed, but she lacked the spirit she had when he first encountered her in Jizhou, [Sigh, that incense burned back then was really spectacular, and that expression was just perfect, what a serendipitous error!] (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
