Chapter 370: North Liang Drinks Two Cups of Green Ant Wine

Chen Zhibao left the small willowy manor first, followed by Bai Hu'er Lian from the Listening Tide Pavilion.

Xu Xiao arrived at the secluded manor, which had no exterior walls. Thanks to the maid Green Lacquer's extensive gossiping, most of the servants already knew about a certain individual who could make the usually unsmiling General Chen behave unusually. After the last departure, General Chen had been noticeably in good spirits. For a while, they had speculated whether the visitor was the Prefect Li Gongde, but concluded it was unlikely, as Master Li's reputation wasn't good, and given General Chen's temperament and status, he wouldn't intentionally curry favor like that. After much guessing, they could only conclude it was likely an old general who had retired from the Northern Liang army, perhaps even one of General Chen's former subordinates. Only the manor's old steward had guessed the truth but dared not spread it indiscriminately. This time, when the King of Northern Liang personally visited, the old steward also did not make a fuss. He still received Xu Xiao under the shade of a tree in the backyard and had Green Lacquer, who had met Xu Xiao before, bring some homemade fruits and pastries. After eating a little, Xu Xiao smiled and stood up, asking the maid to lead him to Chen Zhibao's study. The young maid, Green Lacquer, dared not act on her own initiative. However, she also found it awkward to directly state that they, as maids, were not allowed to clean General Chen's study; the general himself took care of it when he came to the quiet manor to rest. Through constant observation, it had become an unwritten rule that servants did not enter the general's study. Even if the study door remained open year-round and dust accumulated, no one would enter. As the maid hesitated, the steward, who had been waiting quietly in the distance, quickly jogged over. He personally led the Great General to the study. Upon reaching the doorway, the old steward quickly walked away, taking the puzzled maid, Green Lacquer, with him.

Xu Xiao stepped over the threshold with his hands clasped behind his back and walked to the desk, where he saw a blank sheet of white paper, not a single word written on it.

When a woman marries and leaves home, she brings a dowry. When a man travels, unless he is marrying into a family, he naturally goes by himself.

The litchi had, after all, left the branch.

Xu Xiao rolled up the white paper, tucked it into his sleeve, and softly said, "This is good too."

Xu Xiao looked around. The bookshelves were filled with rare, collected military treatises and historical records. They were not preserved in cases made of imperial woods like red sandalwood or huanghuali, clearly intended for easy access and reading at any time. Xu Xiao remained in a daze for a while, recalling past events. He remembered Zhibao as a very mischievous child, incredibly naughty, who loved to ride on Old Brother Chen's neck and pull his beard. Xu Xiao himself often carried the boy around in the military camp when he was young. That little rascal was full of mischief; he would hold it in before being carried, only to relieve himself midway through. When did he start becoming so quiet? Probably on the day they offered incense and wine at the hastily built cenotaph. Zhibao knelt at the grave, burying his head in the earth, and even Xu Xiao didn't know if the child had cried. Later, the Northern Liang army grew, their iron hooves trampling the six kingdoms. Afterwards, they were summoned to the capital by imperial decree. Before their audience with the emperor, Xu Xiao once spoke frankly with Chen Zhibao, asking if he wanted to be granted territory and become a king of a different surname. Xu Xiao offered to retire in the capital, perhaps serve as a Minister of War to simply pass the time, while Chen Zhibao would go to Northern Liang as the dynasty's only king of a different surname, controlling the northwest's strategic choke point for the dynasty. At that time, the Emperor also had this idea, but Chen Zhibao ultimately refused, saying that the capital was an unstable place and he was uneasy about his adopted father being a hostage for him.

Later, in the imperial court, the Emperor once again subtly probed, asking Chen Zhibao if he was willing to join forces with King Yan Chu to pacify the southern barbarians for the court. This was an overt move to establish two kings of different surnames at once, terrifying all the civil and military officials, who turned pale. Even Great General Gu Jiantang, who possessed deep cultivation in composure, erupted in fury on the spot, abruptly flinging his sleeves and turning his back. King Yan Chu, meanwhile, looked up at the main hall's ceiling, saying nothing. The Old Grand Preceptor, the civil leader and mentor of the current Grand Preceptor Zhang, knelt and repeatedly kowtowed, bleeding profusely, offering a desperate remonstrance to the Emperor not to grant such an irregular reward. That year, Chen Zhibao, in white, was only seventeen, and Xu Fengnian was about eight. In recent years, Xu Xiao began to find it difficult to understand what this adopted son truly desired, unsure where his bottom line lay. The more unconcerned Chen Zhibao seemed with desires, and the more he seemed to be accumulating power, the more Xu Xiao dared not die easily of old age. For the Butcher knew that once he died, Chen Zhibao, who appeared to contend for nothing, could seize everything. When that day truly arrived, a Northern Liang stuck in a precarious position might not be enough to satisfy Chen Zhibao's ambition. Why did the newly enthroned Zhao Emperor again enfeoff Chen Zhibao as a vassal king? On the surface, it seemed generous and magnanimous, rewarding merit and not minding two kings of different surnames supporting each other from north to south. But was it not also to have the father and son mutually restrain and check each other?

Xu Xiao had no doubt that Chen Zhibao, once he established his own power, would either not want to or would be unable to contend for the world.

Xu Xiao walked out of the manor, muttering to himself, "I hope it's still not too late for both sides."

Back at the Northern Liang Prince's Residence.

In the grand hall, there were no armored guards to display an aura of solemnity; half of his six adopted sons were present. There was Qi Dangguo, the standard-bearer; Ye Xizhen, who studied under the talented Zhao Changling; and Yao Jian, skilled in geomancy and dragon-vein seeking.

Chen Zhibao, Yuan Zuozong, and Chu Lushuan were no longer in Northern Liang.

Only the four of them remained: father and three sons.

Seeing their adopted father gently take a seat, Ye Xizhen and Yao Jian exchanged a glance and slowly knelt. Qi Dangguo remained unmoving, glaring fiercely at his two accomplished brothers, his face filled with anger.

Xu Xiao leaned back in his chair, hands tucked into his sleeves, and said, "For years, our Northern Liang intelligence agency has been split in two. Lu Qiu'er managed one half, and Xizhen, you oversaw the other. Not long ago, two individuals each spent a thousand taels of gold to hire a blind woman named Xue Songguan to kill Fengnian. Xizhen, your payment was the first move, and Lu Qiu'er's was the backup. Since this blind zither player never goes back on her word once she takes money, Lu Qiu'er's thousand taels were somewhat wasted, only serving to make her stop short. Whether Fengnian can survive in Beiman still depends on his own struggle. I know that before Changling died, he always thought highly of Zhibao, believing that if he could command the Northern Liang iron cavalry, unifying the Spring and Autumn Period would be nothing, let alone conquering Beiman later. Changling was a peerless national scholar who played no tricks; he never concealed this belief from me. Before his death, he held my hand, and his last words clearly stated that Zhibao could become a king of great talent and vision, like the Emperor of Great Qin. So, Xizhen, you inherited Changling's dying wish. Over the years, I couldn't trace those unspoken slanders, nor did I want Lu Qiu'er to investigate them, but a little thought makes it clear who was fanning the flames. Moreover, this was originally Yishan's intention for me to keep my abilities hidden. For this, I don't blame you. Xizhen, you just wanted to uphold your master's reputation, to prove Li Yishan wrong, to prove Li Yishan was inferior to Zhao Changling. These past years, the hearts of the old Northern Liang forces have been scattered, especially those old fellows who once urged me to claim the throne; they have been nursing a persistent resentment that has never dissipated."

"As for you, Yao Jian, you have always firmly believed in Huang Longshi's saying that a white-clad figure would also slay the python-dragon. You've been single-minded since childhood, wanting to become a national preceptor like the Qilin True Man of Beiman, and you harbor the grand ambition of continuing the legacy of Taoism throughout the land. If I had openly tried to dissuade you, our father-son bond would likely have dissolved long ago. How else could you have traveled across Northern Liang with Fengnian all those years? So, I kept silent and endured."

Xu Xiao was truly old. With his hands resting on the back of the chair, his not-tall frame slowly rose from the seat. The young general who had once fearlessly led the charge, never tiring or fearing death, now struggled so much. Finally, he said, "Now, I can't even say for certain that I am right, and you are wrong."

Xu Xiao walked out of the grand hall. Qi Dangguo stood guard at the doorway, his back to Yao Jian and Ye Xizhen.

Ye Xizhen stood up first, stumbled to pick up the pot of wine left by his adopted father, holding two wine cups between the fingers of one hand. He raised the wine pot to his nose with the other hand, and the tear-streaked scholar smiled and whispered, "See? I told you it was definitely Green Ant wine. You insisted on betting it was yellow wine. Yellow wine needs to be warmed, and if you don't mind the trouble, I certainly do."

Yao Jian did not stand, remaining seated cross-legged.

Ye Xizhen sat before him and poured two cups of wine.

Ye Xizhen raised a cup of Green Ant wine, wiped away his tears with his sleeve, and chuckled, "What's wrong, Old Yao? Can't bear to part with those few rooms full of your tattered books?"

The expressionless Yao Jian gripped his wine cup and shook his head. "There's nothing to miss. Leaving them to Fengnian is actually quite good. He used to love stealing books when he was a child; this time, he won't have to worry about my scolding. Whether I live or die, I am just one person. But you, are you at ease with your entire family?"

Ye Xizhen laughed heartily. "Completely at ease. For something like this, how could I not trust my adopted father?"

Yao Jian nodded.

Ye Xizhen raised his cup towards Yao Jian. "A toast?"

Yao Jian rolled his eyes. "No toast. Your drinking habits have always been terrible. Which celebration didn't end with several jin of wine spilled at your feet, all wasted by you? Toasting with you would lower my standing."

The scholar Ye Xizhen covered his face with his sleeve and drained the cup.

Yao Jian, without prompting, also drained the wine in his cup, closed his eyes, and softly murmured, "Too bad there are no side dishes for the wine."

The two men finished their two cups of wine, then simultaneously knelt facing the doorway.

Qi Dangguo, standing at the doorway, rubbed his eyes.

Looking at his adopted father, who was leaning against a large red-painted pillar outside the door, Qi Dangguo closed the door. He walked over and squatted beside the old man, his voice hoarse as he said, "I just don't understand why they think so much. Isn't it better to just live well?"

Perhaps tired from standing, Xu Xiao sat on the steps and softly said, "Your adopted father doesn't know either. The people who could tell me the answers, like Changling, like Yishan, are all gone."