Chapter 51: Aristocratic Families (Part 2)

Chen Xi was feeling somewhat depressed right now. The main reason was that he had miscalculated Chen Qun's reaction. Normally, troubled times were a game of chess for aristocratic families to secure a new position for themselves; at such times, branch families, offshoots, and concubine-born sons would all try their hand at it.

Generally speaking, when the head of a family discovered such implicit ambitions within the household, they would deal with it by either sending the members out to make their own way, or, if the situation remained unclear and the family could not afford to place its bets yet, by splitting the family estate. In more severe cases, the individuals would be cast out of the family entirely.

Yuan Shu was a good representative of this. If Yuan Shu had won, the headship of the Yuan family would have automatically shifted from Yuan Shao's head to Yuan Shu's. Even if Yuan Shu had previously been cast out of the family, once the grand trend was settled, history would record that Yuan Shu cast Yuan Shao out of the family instead, since only the victor had the right to inherit the ancestral estate. However, Chen Xi did not consider his own IQ and behavior to be on par with Yuan Shu's.

No sooner had Chen Xi released the news of his intention to become independent than he was kicked out of the family. Chen Xi was instantly displeased. Ordinarily, the family's method of dealing with an insignificant character like him would be to give him a bit of traveling money and let him go out to make his own way. He had not expected them to sever him from the family entirely this time. Although his parents' ancestral tablets still remained in the ancestral hall and the roots were not completely severed, it was obvious they had acted much too ruthlessly!

Chen Xi carefully deliberated on his current situation, then looked toward the Chen family's estate with a gloomy expression. He had already figured out what Chen Qun was doing, and could not help sneering repeatedly.

Killing the chicken to scare the monkeys? Chen Xi asked himself silently, and then smiled. Chen Qun was simply too confident! To actually think that one didn't need to hedge bets—even the Xun family could not guarantee that the lord they chose would definitely be the right one, which was why they hedged their bets on both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao simultaneously. Did the Chen family really think Chen Qun was a sage born once every thousand years?

Chen Xi had basically figured out Chen Qun's mindset. He guessed that, in Chen Qun's eyes, the enlightened lord he had personally chosen would inevitably unify the world under his assistance.

What a pity, though he had indeed chosen the right lord, the problem was that the man would not achieve greatness under his assistance. A Chen Qun confident to the point of arrogance would only realize there was a heaven beyond the heaven when he met Xun Yu, who could thoroughly outclass him in every possible way. The current Chen Qun was probably still in the arrogant phase of youth and youthful vigor; there was no way to simulate such an overgrown chuunibyou of this era using conventional thinking, so it was best to let him be.

Having figured all this out, Chen Xi had nothing left to fret over. Being kicked out of the family was actually fine; without those shackles, there was much more he could do. As for Chen Qun, there would be a time in the future when he could watch the man make a fool of himself.

The moment Liu Bei learned that Chen Xi had been cast out of the Chen family, he rushed over immediately, bringing Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Hua Xiong with him.

"Since Zichuan is now homeless because of me, follow me from now on. Wherever I have a bite to eat, Zichuan will definitely not go without," Liu Bei said solemnly, pulling Chen Xi's hand without even asking why he had been cast out of the Chen family.

"Hmph, that damn Chen family! Old Zhang is going to march right over there and make them understand the consequences," Zhang Fei shouted with indignation.

A warmth welled up in Chen Xi's heart. None of these people cared about the fact that he had been cast out of his family. After all, being cast out in this era implied a grave defect in personal virtue, yet these men cared nothing for that.

"Third Brother need not do that. I chose to become independent myself. The Chen family will give an explanation for this later; rest assured, they will definitely give an explanation," Chen Xi said to the group with a confident expression on his face.

Seeing that Chen Xi was still as calm as usual, Liu Bei and the others finally felt at ease. What they had worried about most was that Chen Xi would be utterly crushed by this incident.

"Zichuan, Yingchuan truly is a land blessed with outstanding people. Although we haven't secured those great talents you mentioned, we have still managed to recruit a batch of scholars," Liu Bei said with a sigh of emotion. His identity as a member of the imperial clan and the Administrator of Taishan, along with his force of over ten thousand elite troops, still held considerable appeal for these scholars eager to display their talents.

"Oh? Lord Xuande didn't get to see Xun Wenruo?" Chen Xi asked curiously. "Logically speaking, as long as Xun Yu was at home, even if he were unwilling to accept your recruitment, he would still sit down and have a chat with you. How could you not have seen him?"

"Alas, fortune did not smile upon us and we missed him. His fourth younger brother, Xun Chen, said he was out visiting friends and might not return for three to five months," Liu Bei said helplessly. "I could only leave my calling card and gifts, asking him to put in a good word for us when his eldest brother returns."

"Xun Chen?" Chen Xi felt his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. The Xun family had no shortage of talents, and Xun Chen was one of them. If memory served him right, this fellow seemed to be Yuan Shao's chief strategist. The Xun family loved playing hedges; if they placed bets on two sides, naturally one side couldn't be overwhelmingly strong while the other was overwhelmingly weak. This meant that if Xun Yu's political acumen was a hundred, Xun Chen's would undoubtedly be around ninety-two or ninety-three.

Thinking further, this fellow Xun Chen seemed to have secured a massive territory for Yuan Shao right off the bat—Han Fu was literally talked into submission by Xun Chen. Later on, during the Battle of Guandu, he once again appeared as a chief strategist, fiercely outshining Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Xu You, and Shen Pei. Most importantly, this fellow uttered not a single word during the entire Battle of Guandu, and vanished right after it ended, much like Li Ru.

Well, this was a mysterious figure whose capability was probably slightly superior even to Ju Shou's. He was a person of consequence and definitely worth poaching.

At this thought, Chen Xi spoke up: "Lord Xuande, since we didn't get to see Wenruo, let's go find Youruo. Any single member of the Xun family pulled at random can handle affairs of state. Don't worry, we can just pull anyone from that household—if we can't find the older brother, we'll look for the younger brother; if we can't find the younger brother, we'll look for the nephew. In any case, whoever is willing to follow us, we'll take them. Taishan is short on scholars anyway, so whoever comes, we take."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, recalling Xun Chen's poised and measured demeanor at the entrance of the Xun family estate, and nodded in agreement with Chen Xi's suggestion.

Liu Bei's party took Chen Xi to the Xun family residence and offered yet another massive pile of gifts. The result this time was rather amusing: Xun Yu, Xun Yan, Xun Chen, and Xun You—every single one of this generation who could be put to work was away from home. Xun Yu had gone to visit friends, Xun Yan had gone traveling, Xun Chen had gone north in search of an enlightened lord, and Xun You had gone to look for his uncle Xun Yu.

Very well, even a fool like Chen Xi could understand by now that the Xun family had no intention of placing their bets on Liu Bei at this moment. But then again, he was indeed making somewhat unreasonable demands. Although Liu Bei currently looked glorious, he was actually a tree without roots. To make these people acknowledge him and come to his side, he needed to produce something that allowed them to see hope; otherwise, it was utterly impossible.

"Lord Xuande, it seems fortune truly is not on our side," Chen Xi maintained a smile on his face. Aristocratic families sought safety first, and only then advancement. Since they felt the time wasn't right, then when the time came later, they wouldn't get the chance anymore. What Chen Xi did find a pity, however, was that a dream team lineup was probably out of the question. Ah, such was fate!

As for everything else, Chen Xi didn't feel it was a pity. Whatever needed to be done would still be done regardless of these people. Since none of these aristocratic families looked favorably upon Liu Bei, he, Chen Xi, would simply trample these aristocratic families underfoot. He would make them watch with wide eyes as Liu Bei—a mat-weaver and straw-sandal vendor with no foundation whatsoever—step by step ascended to that supreme throne. He was very much looking forward to seeing the regret in those people's eyes.

"Indeed, fortune is not on our side." Liu Bei didn't show the slightest trace of being struck by a blow. He had already experienced enough hardships; this little matter was completely insignificant to him.

P.S.: See? I knew the cover image would show up eventually whether you paid attention to it or not.