Mythical Three Kingdoms

Liu Bei’s words left Chen Xi speechless, causing him to be somewhat stunned.

”Zichuan, just as you’ve said, for those above, private morals aren’t an issue. Over time, I’ve been thinking about this and have come to understand it,” Liu Bei said with a calm and serene expression, gazing into the distance before drawing his gaze back.

”What’s important to me is to discover and utilize talents, to place every individual in a suitable role; as for the rest, I don’t need to consider it. Even if they harbored grudges against me, if they were the only ones capable of prospering this world, then I would employ them!” Liu Bei declared in a firm voice, his expression resolutely determined.

”I understand,” Chen Xi waved his hand, [This is what real scheming is all about. It’s different from one’s disposition, different from the general trend, and different from strategic planning. Xi Zhicai, you gambler, but you’ve won your bet, and I won’t expose you.]

”However, such a person doesn’t exist. The only one I’ve seen capable of strengthening the world, and not just boasting, is you, Zichuan. It’s a shame, Zichuan, that you can’t change your sluggish ways. I’ve already given you half a month off,” Liu Bei said, noticing Chen Xi’s look of understanding and bringing the conversation back to more practical matters.

Chen Xi pulled a face but remained silent. Having been in the Han Dynasty for so long, the thing he had learned best was to turn a blind eye, and without Lub Su around, he indeed found it difficult to take action.

”Tomorrow, I’ll have Anguo lead a team to deal with the hidden dangers around Mount Tai of Qing Xu,” Liu Bei said, seeing that Chen Xi was not speaking. Shaking his head slightly, he did not wish to belabor the point; Chen Xi’s character, to put it nicely, was not greedy for power, or less generously, without a push, he would just keep staying there idle.

”At that time, have Anguo and Boyan go down with them to see how many middle and lower-level officials are slacking off,” Chen Xi said with a smile.

Sending out Lul Xun and Lu Yu was a good thing, but safety still needed to be a concern. Their abilities were still lacking compared to the time when Fa Zheng, in a moment of exasperation, had come killing down from Northern Yizhou.

”The Zijia...” Liu Bei said with a headache, ”My teacher was a Great Confucian Scholar, and yet the Zijia turns out to be so stubborn.”

”When they’re young, mischievous children are often smarter than the obedient ones,” Chen Xi said with a smile.

Lu Zijia caused chaos in Fenggao, making it a mess, but no one really came forward to complain. Even if they were concerned about Liu Bei because of past relations, there should have been at least one or two honest fellows who would step up. After all, there were even those who reported Guo Jia and Chen Xi for improper conduct; what was Lu Yu? If there was true wrongdoing, someone would definitely come forth to report it.

”Is Zichuan referring to his own mischievousness in the past?” Liu Bei asked with a smile.

”Perhaps, I didn’t realize it at the time,” Chen Xi said with a hint of nostalgia on his face.

After some idle chatter with Liu Bei, Liu Bei did not assign any official duties to Chen Xi. In Liu Bei’s view, if Chen Xi wanted to do it, he would do it; if not, it was not a big deal. Everything in Mount Tai was progressing step by step in an orderly fashion, and as for Chen Xi’s role, it was probably just to stand at the highest point and plan the direction.

When Chen Xi returned home again, the butler handed him an invitation from Mi Zhu. After glancing through it, Chen Xi knew when he should deal with these matters tomorrow. As for him, however trivial those matters were, the way they were handled did not really matter.

As he entered the inner courtyard, Chen Xi saw Fan Jian wearing pink clothes seated beside a stone table, resting her head on her hands, revealing a section of her snowy white wrist lost in thought.

”What are you thinking about?” Chen Xi patted Fan Jian’s head. The neatly combed hair, fixed with a golden hairpin, came loose, and her long hair tumbled down, leaving only the topmost bun intact.

”Ah!” Fan Jian gasped, spotting the golden hairpin that had fallen onto the stone table, and pouted her lips.

Chen Xi reached out to grab the hairpin first, ”Let me put it on for you, don’t stay outside for too long, it’s still a bit chilly.”

Returning to the dresser, Chen Xi absentmindedly combed Fan Jian’s hair, hardly recalling the last time he had combed it for her.

The passage of time was always so powerful; the originally indifferent sense of responsibility gradually developed into affection with the flow of time and Fan Jian’s growing popularity. Perhaps it was only with this mentality that one could persistently continue onward.

Chen Xi didn’t know why, but as he combed her hair, he suddenly felt a surge of desire. It was unclear who was the first to close their eyes in a haze, but after a gentle kiss, the two of them rolled into the inner chamber. One might question if it was a blatant tryst during daylight or a moment of intense affection.

”My lord...” Fan Jian’s slightly sugary voice reached Chen Xi’s ear.

”Hmm,” Chen Xi, caressing Fan Jian’s smooth back and looking at the afternoon sun, said, ”Time flies, it’s already been two years. Jian’er, do you have any wishes?”

”Wishes?” Fan Jian furrowed her brows in thought, then after a long while, she spoke, ”I hope my lord will cherish Jian’er, I hope the Chen family will prosper more and more, um...” Fan Jian paused again for a long while, ”I call the shots at home!”

”Hahaha!” Chen Xi almost choked on his laughter. Because Fan Liang had only one daughter and she had married the son of his close family friend, she was never taught the art of scheming and politicking, which is why Fan Jian sometimes made silly, naive mistakes, mostly out of fear of losing Chen Xi’s affection.

”You talk as if Ran’er will fight with you for that,” Chen Xi said with a laugh, ”Ran’er won’t contradict you; she has been through much more than you and knows how to cherish. She will be considerate towards you.”

Fan Jian didn’t understand these things. Sometimes, she would childishly drive away maids, but neither Chen Yun nor Chen Ying ever said they were disliked by Fan Jian. It was more like hiding her candy in fear that others would eat it and then behaving as if there were no silver here — very silly and cute.

[She’s still a little girl at heart, but recently she hasn’t been mixing with Mi Zhen and the others quite as much.] Chen Xi gently patted the surprised and joyous Fan Jian and thought to himself. Compared to Chen Lan’s maturity, Fan Jian’s mentality seemed to have remained at the moment he first held her, never maturing.

After comforting Fan Jian, Chen Xi got out of bed carefully and tucked in the bed corners before heading towards the quietest courtyard of the inner house, where Chen Lan resided.

”I’ve seen the head of the household,” Chen Ying said cautiously with a bow, then quietly pushed open the door, ”The lady is still resting; she didn’t sleep well last night due to the disturbance and has just settled.”

”Oh, then I’ll just take a look and leave, and not disturb her,” said Chen Xi. After making sure that Chen Lan was still resting, he didn’t bother her further.

”Let me know when Ran’er awakes, and by the way, tell Yun’er to accompany me to Fragrance Pavilion tomorrow.” Chen Xi stepped out and glanced at Chen Ying’s beautiful features, thinking to himself that honestly, she was even more attractive than Chen Lan.

”Yes, head of the household,” Chen Ying bowed slightly, revealing a glimpse of her pale skin.

”Just remember to inform Chen Yun, and by the way, the green clothes you’re wearing look more comfortable. Is Chen Yun still reading books as she used to?” Chen Xi glanced at Chen Ying’s exposed pale skin and casually turned his head to speak. The maid’s everything belonged to the head of the household in this utterly rotten and realistic feudal era. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)