Chapter 751: So-called Shame

Regardless of whether people think Yuan Shu is eccentric or believe he has issues with his thinking, Yuan Shu maintains that for the past forty years, he has adhered to the virtues he was raised with. Yuan Shu views the common people as mere ants and sees himself and all noble families as pioneers.

Because of this, Yuan Shu holds an extreme arrogance towards the commoners and those from humble origins. It is precisely this arrogance that makes Yuan Shu believe that engaging with ants is beneath him. Their duty as pioneers is to guide these ants forward, but to communicate with them is beneath their dignity!

In Yuan Shu’s eyes, engaging with ants is already demeaning, so what does it mean to exploit them? Shameful? No, in Yuan Shu’s view, it's disgraceful!

As pioneers, they expanded territories and created the civilization of Huaxia. For them to lower themselves to exploiting these ants—creatures whose deaths would go unnoticed—is unthinkable. Some upstarts may consider exploiting others a mark of success, but for Yuan Shu, it’s a disgrace if noble families abandon the mission of expanding territories and creating civilizations to exploit the common people.

In Yuan Shu's mind, the decline in the dignity of the noble families to such a level only left him with one thought—those noble families should be purged. To Yuan Shu, the existence of such families was an insult to the noble class.

According to Yuan Shu’s principles, the commoners can be trampled on, ignored, or left to their own devices, but noble families who accept the offerings of these ants must fulfill their promises. When has anyone ever seen lofty deities break their promises to mortals? The noble families have fallen!

"Come, let’s go and ask the elders of my family—just how much disgrace will our noble family endure!" Yuan Shu angrily flicked his sleeve and headed straight for the Yuan family's ancestral residence.

How laughable it is! If deities must exploit mortals to exist, then what value do they have? If noble families no longer aim to create civilization, expand territories, and educate the masses, but instead turn to exploiting them, then what value do they have?

The glory of our thousand-year heritage and the brilliance of our generations—is that something gained through exploiting the people? The Yuan family’s honor, through four generations of Three Excellencies, was never earned by exploiting mere ants! Could the noble family’s dignity end with me?

As Yuan Shu stepped into the ancestral residence of the Yuan family, he had already drawn the sword from his waist, and Ji Ling, his loyal general, held his two-bladed spear, ready to act upon Yuan Shu's command.

"Greetings, Master," a maid immediately bowed upon seeing Yuan Shu approach. As always, Yuan Shu passed by without even sparing her a glance.

"Bang!" Yuan Shu kicked open the side door of the central hall. Though the main door of the hall was open, and inside there was singing and dancing, Yuan Shu made no effort to hide his anger. He kicked the side door open and swept a furious gaze over the high-ranking members of the Yu Province noble families and the elders of the Yuan family.

The once lively and cheerful hall suddenly fell silent under Yuan Shu’s angry gaze, leaving only the maidservants performing their dance in the center.

"You may all leave," Yuan Li, one of the elders, looked at the furious Yuan Shu, turned his head slowly, and calmly instructed the maidservants and servants.

After the servants had left, Yuan Li gestured to a seat, "Sit down, Gonglu. What matter has made you so angry? For those in power, the basic principle is to not let emotions show." His tone carried a hint of reproach, implying that Yuan Shu lacked self-control.

"Report!" A pitiful cry suddenly interrupted the scene as a servant rushed in, cutting off the words Yuan Shu was about to say. Instantly, Yuan Li’s face turned dark. "Drag this disrespectful wretch out and give him thirty lashes!"

"Terrible news! Liu Bei’s army is attacking!" the servant shouted in despair.

"What? That’s impossible!" Yuan Li and the other high-ranking noble elders were all shocked. They stood up abruptly, their previous composure vanishing. Only Yuan Shu remained cold, sweeping his gaze over the crowd, while Ji Ling stood like an iron tower, expressionless, behind him.

"Gonglu, is this the reason for your anger?" Yuan Li immediately assumed Yuan Shu’s rage was related to this event. With such a major issue, it made sense for Yuan Shu to barge in with murderous intent.

"My lord!" Yan Xiang hurriedly entered and whispered urgently. Yuan Shu’s words earlier had deeply shocked him, but he understood now was not the time for internal conflict.

"Indeed!" Yuan Shu slammed his sword into the table, nearly impaling one of the noble family heads, but no one dared pay attention to Yuan Shu’s aggressive behavior at this moment.

"Quickly, send someone to find Zhou Gongjin! If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have provoked Liu Xuande. What should we do? What should we do!" Yuan Li frantically commanded.

"Ha!" Yuan Shu sneered, pulling his sword out of the table, mocking Yuan Li's words with a cold laugh. "Get out of the way. When was it your place to issue orders and command my generals?"

Yuan Li's face flushed red instantly. Yuan Shu had openly humiliated him in front of everyone. Originally, Yuan Li had planned to use this opportunity to establish the idea that the Yuan family could control Yuan Shu. However, he hadn't expected the once half-dead Yuan Shu to display such boldness.

"Xi Bo, go inform Gongjin and the others. I’ll wait for them at the government office in Shouchun," Yuan Shu said, not even sparing a glance at Yuan Li, turning to address Yan Xiang.

"Tiger, prepare the army!" After Yan Xiang left, Yuan Shu turned to his trusted general, Ji Ling.

"Yes!" Ji Ling clasped his fist in salute and strode out. Yuan Shu, with his three-foot-long sword in hand, swept his gaze over the noble families, snorted coldly, and left the hall. After his departure, the nobles immediately erupted into a flurry of arguments. Each of them wanted to gain an advantage without making any sacrifices. For two hundred years, the noble families of Yu Province had long lost the bloodthirsty spirit they once had.

When Yan Xiang arrived at Zhou Yu's residence, there were already several people standing outside, listening attentively.

At this point, Yan Xiang couldn’t be bothered by the possibility of arousing public resentment. He decisively pushed open the door, only to see Zhou Yu sitting on the ground, leaning against the main pillar of the stone pavilion, gently strumming a zither, while Xiao Qiao danced gracefully to the music by his side. The scene was one of perfect harmony between talent and beauty.

With a final resonant note, Zhou Yu slowly stopped playing, and Xiao Qiao gracefully folded her fan and stood quietly behind him.

"Apologies for disturbing you two," Yan Xiang bowed deeply toward Zhou Yu. Though Zhou Yu was not even half his age, Yan Xiang did not dare to underestimate him.

"Xiao Qiao, go accompany your sister. I have to go to the battlefield." Zhou Yu stood up slowly, without even asking Yan Xiang what had happened, smiled gently at Xiao Qiao, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Zhou Lang," Xiao Qiao responded softly and then retreated gracefully.

"Gongjin, you already know what’s happened?" Yan Xiang looked at Zhou Yu, asking in disbelief. To remain so calm and play the zither when such a crisis had arisen—this level of composure was almost inhuman.

"Liu Xuande has attacked. What else could it be? How far have they gotten?" Zhou Yu asked with his eyes still closed.

"They’re at the gates," Yan Xiang answered, assuming that Zhou Yu had already formulated a brilliant plan, but couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Zhou Yu’s hand trembled slightly at this reply. He then slowly opened his eyes and glanced silently in the direction where Xiao Qiao had left. Turning back, he looked at Yan Xiang. "Let’s go! It’s time to meet them."

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