Chapter 983: The Families of Yuzhou

“Creak.” The door opened, and the waiter quickly brought two vegetarian dishes and one meat dish, placing a bowl of soup in the center of the table. It served as an indirect relief for Chen Xi from his predicament.

“Hurry and eat. I’ll read you stories from Spring and Autumn after, and it won’t taste good if it gets cold.” With that, Chen Xi began filling Xin Xianying’s small bowl with food to keep her from speaking.

Xin Xianying muttered a response and began shoveling rice into her mouth with her chopsticks. She was clearly unhappy with how Chen Xi was handling things. She couldn't understand why both Zhen Mi and Chen Xi were so downcast. If no one was happy, why did things have to continue like this? Her little mind couldn’t grasp it.

Chen Xi kept adding food to Xin Xianying’s bowl. It was fortunate that this wasn’t one of those small, individualized meal tables; otherwise, it would have been awkward for him to reach over and serve her.

Chen Xi had only kickstarted the trend of stir-frying dishes, but now stir-fried foods had sprung up everywhere like bamboo shoots after rain. After all, no matter the era, the Chinese people valued food above all else. Once they had the means and the time, developing culinary traditions was almost instinctive, ingrained deep in their bones.

While Xin Xianying ate, Chen Xi mulled over his previous actions. In the end, he could only sigh internally. If he couldn’t let go of the mental barriers in his heart, there was almost no chance between him and Zhen Mi.

It wasn’t about love or the lack of it. As a visually oriented person, everything about Zhen Mi aligned with Chen Xi’s aesthetic. As for the distinction between emotion and desire, Chen Xi didn’t need to overthink it. Unless one lacks the ability, those two are forever intertwined, and missing either leaves one incomplete.

Not to mention that Chen Xi wasn’t even sure if he could differentiate between Zhen Mi and the strong-willed look she once gave him. Even if he could, falling for her was just a matter of time. In fact, he was probably already ensnared, but he refused to further taint the relationship between himself and Zhen Mi.

There’s truth to the saying, “Love grows over time.” When someone’s presence becomes a habit, even the loss of a pet cat or dog can cause heartache—let alone a person with whom one shares feelings.

While Chen Xi was lost in thought, Xin Xianying had already finished her meal and was now sitting quietly, waiting for him to snap out of his daze.

When Chen Xi finally came back to his senses, he saw Xin Xianying, her little head resting on her hands, watching him patiently. A slight blush tinged her cheeks, a natural response from feeling full and sleepy—a typical childlike instinct, especially in such a quiet, idle moment.

"You’ve already finished?" Chen Xi asked, somewhat embarrassed, noticing her drowsiness.

"Mm," Xin Xianying hummed softly, her eyes half-closed, a little too sleepy to remain fully polite. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she added, "I wanted to say earlier, Sister Mi was reading me Spring and Autumn while you were away."

“Is that so?” Chen Xi nodded slowly. “And what are your thoughts?”

"Sister Mi asked me the same thing. Back then, I said I didn’t know. But now, I’d say… they didn’t try hard enough," Xin Xianying said, tilting her head as if unsure whether she was making fun of it or pondering seriously.

"That’s an improvement," Chen Xi chuckled. Xin Xianying’s answer might have seemed odd, but since Spring and Autumn hadn’t yet reached the era of absolute strife between vassals, her assessment wasn’t wrong. Failures often could be attributed to a lack of effort.

“So, you need to keep working hard,” Chen Xi said with a smile, his gaze falling on the red string around Xin Xianying’s neck, reminding him of the golden pendant Zhen Mi wore around her wrist. It seemed like this was all he could offer her.

"I will!" Xin Xianying declared, suddenly energized after their conversation. She jumped off her chair and walked over to Chen Xi's side. "Sister Mi is just upstairs on the third floor. Won’t you go see her?"

"No, you’ll understand in about ten years," Chen Xi smiled, reaching out to take her hand. “But when the time comes, make sure you choose wisely. Don’t fall for someone like me, who had ill intentions from the start.”

Xin Xianying tilted her head, completely clueless about what Chen Xi was talking about. He didn’t bother explaining, merely leading her downstairs hand-in-hand, only releasing her once they reached the bottom.

“Click.” The door of another private room on the second floor opened, and a group of family heads from Yuzhou looked out, chuckling wryly at the sight of the now-empty table across from them.

“Who would’ve thought we’d bump into him just by going out for a meal?” Xu Lin said, glancing at the other family heads from Yuzhou who were present.

"It’s not like he wanted to see us. What can we say?" Ding Chong, who was both a close friend of Cao Cao and the head of the Ding family, shook his head. Sometimes, being the head of a family left you with little choice.

"What a pity. If I’d known back then that his son would become so formidable, I wouldn’t have been opposed to my daughter marrying him. But times have changed," Fan Zhong quipped in a teasing tone. The number of aristocratic families and powerful clans in the world wasn’t vast, so anyone could trace a connection if they tried. The only difference was how close or distant those ties were. Fan’s comment had been nothing more than a casual remark back in the day.

"I think we should talk with the families of Jizhou. Qing and Xu are becoming too powerful. If we don’t join forces, we’ll only be picked off and divided," Guo Dan said, glancing at the departing figure of Chen Xi and addressing the others in the room.

"It’s not that simple. We might find that the Jizhou families are our biggest competitors. The Zhen family is no joke. Whether it’s their ruthless takeover of half of Jizhou or the rumors of Zhang’s daughter being betrothed to Liu Xuande, it all points to the Jizhou families having already made their preparations," He Kui, the head of the He family, suddenly interjected. His words silenced the entire room.

At this point, the aristocratic families had given up on opposing the behemoth that was Liu Bei. They would follow his lead if they could, and if not, they certainly wouldn’t defy him. The purpose of the families had always been to ensure their own prosperity, not to cause trouble or get themselves killed.

"After arriving in Jizhou, I also gathered some information. Apparently, Zhang’s daughter—Zhen’s eldest—is quite fond of him. The two are often seen together," Meng Jian, also known as Meng Gongwei, said with a teasing smile. Though he was the only non-family-head present, no one took him lightly.

If someone who wasn’t a family head attended a gathering like this, they were either a fraud or a monster. It was clear that Meng Jian was no fraud, and the other family heads paid close attention.

"In that case, we’re the weakest ones here," Guo Dan said with a bitter expression. Aristocratic families were powerful, but only against weaker foes. When facing someone like Liu Bei, a single family was nothing more than a speck to be crushed.

"Maybe we should pay him a visit. After all, he’s a fellow native of Yingchuan," Guo Dan continued. "Look at the Zhen family’s boldness. We need to show some sincerity too. Whoever has an eligible daughter should consider it. Whether it works out or not, at least it opens a line of communication. If we stay silent like this, sooner or later we’ll be in trouble!"

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