Speaking of which, Liu Yu’s current mindset is rather strange. In the past, Gongsun Zan always opposed him. Even when he tried to reason with Gongsun Zan, it was to no avail, and he nearly burst with anger.
Now suddenly, Liu Yu found that even if he praised Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Zan had nothing to say. Occasionally bringing up Gongsun Zan to complint, Liu Yu thought, we have political disagreents, not enmity. Look how magnanimous I am.
One must know that in politics, silence is considered silent support. Liu Yu suddenly felt he had released a lifeti of anger. Occasionally praising the unfortunate Gongsun Zan, who had died in battle, made him consider visiting Jicheng to offer incense if he had ti.
Liu Yu was well aware that, to Gongsun Zan, his most frustrating enemy was not Yuan Shao, but him, Liu Yu. Yuan Shao could be considered less skilled, but Liu Yu was seen by Gongsun Zan as a hindrance.
To offer incense to soone who infuriated him, Liu Yu felt a sense of satisfaction thinking about how Gongsun Zan, if he knew underground, would be furious.
It’s worth ntioning Liu Yu doesn’t disparage Gongsun Zan. On the contrary, he now admits Gongsun Zan’s achievents, but he still holds his attitude towards Gongsun Zan’s tendency for killing.
This way of lifting his spirits on Gongsun Zan’s account made Liu Yu’s days quite joyful. By the way, he also supports Liu Bei now, as Liu Xie’s actions had displeased him.
For the Han Imperial Kinsman, loyalty to the emperor isn’t as strong as it seems. They tend to regard issues from a familial perspective, so seeing the emperor’s poor performance on the throne, they start thinking of changing players.
This clan creature never straightens their position. They protect collective clan interests, not the emperor’s, though most of the ti, the emperor’s and clan’s interests coincide.
Of course, when the emperor cuts the vassals, the clan and emperor’s interests conflict. To be blunt, in turbulent tis, one must look at strength, and Liu Bei is decent and has great strength. Liu Yu, though having no interest in being emperor, is interested in supporting soone he favors.
Not long ago, Liu Xie embarrassed Liu Yu, recently urged by Dong Cheng to oppose Cao Cao. Wasn’t it because the Xiliang rebel faction was repelled, the Qiang People submitted, and Cao Cao’s main forces went north to confront Xianbei?
Liu Yu didn’t support opposing Cao Cao and thought Cao Cao was doing well, with nothing crossing the line. Because of this, he had a falling out with Dong Cheng, and Liu Xie, as the referee, made a biased call, annoying Liu Yu, being treated this way as Liu Xie’s uncle.
In retaliation, Liu Yu stopped caring about Liu Xie. The last ti during Li Jue’s period, he endured a biased call, eased by Liu Ye, yet now urged by Dong Cheng, he felt loyal ministers like Dong Cheng were ridiculous enough to be killed.
At least half of the Imperial Court consists of loyal ministers, and outside there’s Liu Bei. These ministers haven’t reached the point of showing loyalty to non-Han forces.
Only Dong Cheng considers himself a loyal minister, deeming those who disagree with him as treacherous. Liu Yu nearly spat out blood in anger, questioning Dong Cheng’s loyalty and ntal state!
The Imperial Court isn’t devoid of capable individuals, and Liu Xie had opportunities to gradually regain power. The current situation is much better than during Li Jue’s ti, Cao Cao was manageable, but Dong Cheng kept seeking death.
Liu Yu felt that Liu Xie hadn’t grasped the current situation yet. Calling it wisdom, Liu Yu saw it as re cleverness without courage to take decisive steps.
So, after being wronged by Dong Cheng, Liu Yu turned away from Liu Xie. As an Imperial Uncle, he didn’t bother about these issues, so he took leave and stayed ho, no longer attending court sessions.
On the other side, Chen Xi first passed by the Zhen Family and gifted a pair of bracelets to Zhen Mi. Although not particularly valuable, Zhen Mi was very pleased but was visibly wary after noticing the bracelet on Chen Yun’s wrist.
She said nothing, only ntioning she would visit Chen Xi’s family on the second day of the new year.
After returning ho, receiving the bracelet made Fan Jian quite happy. However, seeing Chen Lan only had a single red jade bracelet, she was sowhat displeased, asking Chen Xi to buy another.
"Sister, don’t make it difficult for our husband." Chen Lan was very excited upon receiving the bracelet, imdiately recognizing it as the bracelet from before.
"He said he’d treat us equally, but now he can’t even do that. Didn’t you see Chen Yun also has one?" Fan Jian said displeased, considering Chen Lan was properly married, not a concubine, so shouldn’t be treated this way.
"Sister, this bracelet was a gift from our husband long ago. I pawned it back then, and it wasn’t easy for him to find it." Chen Lan reminisced, lifting her hand, the character "Chen" clearly visible in the light.
Unlike Chen Xi, who rarely used this bracelet, for Chen Lan, whether past or present, it was her most cherished gift, naturally knowing how to showcase its unique internal beauty.
Fan Jian, seeing that character, visibly showed a hint of envy. Chen Lan continued, "This was a gift from my father-in-law to our husband back then, which he later passed to . The other bracelet bears the character ’Xi’.
Fan Jian felt imdiately jealous, realizing that Chen Xi’s father didn’t leave much, yet Chen Xi gifted sothing so valuable to Chen Lan.
"You continue chatting, I’ll go check on Chen Bo." Chen Xi turned to leave, avoiding nurous sharp glances from Fan Jian. Chen Lan, lost in past mories, noticed not Fan Jian’s expression; life was much harder then than now.
Fan Jian cast a sideways glance at the escaping Chen Xi, looking enviously at the bracelet on Chen Lan’s wrist. Sighing silently about her own, she thought fondly of enduring hardships together back then.
"Chen Bo, accompany for a ga of chess." Chen Xi carried a chessboard and a chess box, calling into Butler Chen’s room.
Butler Chen opened the door, a small child behind him watching Chen Xi fearfully. Chen Xi glanced at the child, rembering he was Butler Chen’s grandson, whom he’d only seen a few tis.
"This is the old master’s chessboard..." Butler Chen began to apologize, but upon seeing the chessboard Chen Xi held, his eyes reddened slightly, mories flooding in, realizing past thoughts had unknowingly co true.
"Co, let’s play a ga. It’s been a long ti since we played chess together." Chen Xi strode into Butler Chen’s room, almost indistinguishable from the inner courtyard, aside from being less graceful, exuding more antiquity. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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