Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

Xizhi Cai smiled and bowed to Li You, who didn’t mind the gesture. As long as they remained in Taishan, Xu Chu would be safe. There would certainly be a crowd of onlookers, and even if Dian Wei were as strong as Lu Bu, he couldn’t withstand so many people. If he dared to kill, Dian Wei would never make it back.

After watching Xizhi Cai leave, Li You turned his gaze to Xu Chu. ”Do you think you can beat him? According to the intelligence from Yanzhou, even Lu Bu couldn’t gain the upper hand in a melee against that guy.”

”Don’t worry, Chief. The other guy may be strong, but when it comes to raw power, I, Xu Zhongkang, fear no one!” Xu Chu said, flexing his fists. ”I’ll make sure he ends up battered and bruised.”

”Alright, just don’t kill him. Beating him half to death is fine, though. You’ll both recover quickly. Do you need me to have Generals Zhang and Hua stand by to support you?” Li You asked, recalling Zhang Fei’s description of Xu Chu’s strength and Lu Bu’s comments about Zhang Fei’s power. Xu Chu seemed reliable.

”No need. Just have General Zhang protect our lord. I’ll make sure that guy understands true strength,” Xu Chu said with a hearty laugh.

On the other side, Xizhi Cai was asking Dian Wei a similar question and received the same response. Dian Wei assured him that he would definitely treat his opponent like a punching bag.

”That fat guy may be strong, but he’s definitely no match for me,” Dian Wei said confidently. He had absolute faith in his own strength.

”Alright, just don’t kill him,” Xizhi Cai replied nonchalantly. He already understood that his opponent was on par with an internal energy expert. For someone of that level, external injuries wouldn’t be a big deal as long as they were well-fed and still breathing.

After returning to the inn, Xizhi Cai helped Dian Wei write a challenge letter, using ancient seal script so complex that even Xizhi Cai had to look up some of the characters. Once finished, he had Dian Wei send it off.

When Xu Chu received the letter, he couldn’t recognize a single word on it. To him, it felt like a taunt about his intelligence, mocking him for being uneducated and illiterate.”Chief Li, can you help me read this challenge letter?” Xu Chu asked, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

”Sure.” Li You, who was about to head home, was a bit puzzled by Xu Chu’s request but quickly understood the situation. ”You can’t read it? I thought your family had a private tutor. Didn’t you study when you were younger?”

Opening the letter, Li You nearly spat out blood. This was clearly a display of intellect, showing off that the writer was well-read.

”It says: Tomorrow morning, five miles outside the eastern gate, a one-on-one duel. If you’re afraid of losing, feel free to bring your friends. Dian Wei. I know you probably can’t read what I wrote, but seeing your size, it’s obvious you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed. I won’t insult you any further.” Li You translated the message with some effort, though the meaning was clear enough.

Xu Chu’s face turned as dark as coal. He grabbed the bamboo slip and crushed it into powder. ”Tomorrow, I’m going to beat him so badly he won’t be able to take care of himself!”

”Alright, Zhongkang, do your best. Consider this a day off to relax,” Li You said with a sigh, patting Xu Chu on the back.

By the time Chen Xi finished introducing Zhuge Liang to all the civil and military officials in Taishan, night had fallen.

”Welcome home, Master,” the Chen family steward greeted as he opened the door and bowed.

”No one else came by, right? From now on, this young man will be staying with us. Treat him as a distinguished guest,” Chen Xi instructed. He didn’t want to take advantage of Zhuge Liang; after all, as a childless nobleman, he saw little difference between being called ”Master” or ”Young Master.”

”Chen Changwen, the head of the Chen family in Yingchuan, is here,” the steward said, noticeably excited.

”Oh, just give me his visiting card. I’ll greet him when he arrives. I also have some matters to discuss with him,” Chen Xi said. If Chen Qun didn’t show up, it would openly reveal the conflict between them. Although their differences were not deep-rooted—Chen Xi sought freedom while Chen Qun pursued power—showing respect was important, especially after Chen Xi had demonstrated his capabilities. If Chen Qun didn’t attend the wedding, it would cause a stir.

”Do you prefer to stay in the outer courtyard or the inner courtyard?” Chen Xi asked Zhuge Liang.

”What’s the difference?” Zhuge Liang inquired, puzzled.

”The outer courtyard has only male servants, except for the steward’s wife. The inner courtyard is all women, except for me,” Chen Xi explained, offering a comment that left Zhuge Liang speechless.

”Whichever is fine,” Zhuge Liang replied, a faint blush crossing his face.

”Alright, then stay in the inner courtyard. I’ll give you a private residence,” Chen Xi said casually before turning to the steward. ”Assign Kongming ten maids. Make sure he has everything he needs—clothes, food, lodging, and access to books. He can borrow any volumes he needs from Cai Zhaoji’s collection.”

Then, turning to Zhuge Liang, Chen Xi added, ”Just to be clear, you can look, but no touching. At least not for the next two years.”

Zhuge Liang, who had been composed until now, suddenly felt embarrassed. ”Haha, just kidding. We have too many maids at home. Occasionally, people send more over, and now we could form a whole squad,” Chen Xi said with a wry smile.

Whenever a general returned victorious, they would present Chen Xi with a few maids. Combined with the ones Liu Bei had gifted him, Chen Xi finally understood why ancient officials often had dozens of concubines. At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if his household staff exceeded a hundred by next year. However, Chen Xi found it hard to treat these women as mere playthings, as his moral and ethical values, formed over decades, hadn’t been completely eroded.

For this reason, Chen Xi had long told the maids in his household that any who found a suitable match and wished to marry would receive a dowry from him. However, so far, none had taken him up on the offer. Perhaps it was because there wasn’t much work in his household, and the maids enjoyed a lot of free time. Since neither Chen Lan nor Fan Jian troubled them, and they had plenty of time to rest, they preferred staying rather than leaving. Chen Xi couldn’t bring himself to send them all away, so he provided them with books and had Chen Lan or Fan Jian teach them whenever they had time.

”Hmm, they all know how to read. If you need them to copy or write something, they can help. Besides borrowing books from Cai Zhaoji, you can also look through my collection of miscellaneous books,” Chen Xi said with a smile.

Zhuge Liang had no idea what Chen Xi’s ”miscellaneous books” were, but when he received them that evening, he was shocked. The writing style, the verbosity, the radical ideas—were these really written by Chen Xi?

For the first time, Zhuge Liang realized that a person’s wisdom could be so eccentric. One book extolled the virtues of hard work, while the next argued that talent could overshadow even ninety-nine times the effort. One book praised the benefits of unification, while another championed the advantages of diversity. After reading a few, Zhuge Liang decided he couldn’t continue; if he did, he feared Chen Xi’s unconventional thinking might start to influence him.