Chapter 94

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Upon seeing this situation, Zhen Mi extinguished all her previous fantasies. What she had seen was merely an uncertain future. If the established path could be erased by someone, could the Zhen family avoid it?

Thinking about this, Zhen Mi sighed helplessly. As her mother, Lady Zhang, gained more control over the Zhen family, the traditions left by her father, Zhen Yi, were gradually fading away. Although the Zhen family seemed to be growing richer and more prosperous, after seeing the changes in the mirror, Zhen Mi had a feeling that the current Zhen family was like a blazing fire and blooming flowers, beautiful but only the last moment before decline.

Zhen Mi strongly wished her mother would change course and restore the old system, but she was just a golden canary in the Zhen family, without any real power. Though she was smart and had great potential, as an eight-year-old girl, Lady Zhang might listen to her about trivial matters, but she would never allow Zhen Mi to interfere in the truly important decisions that determined the family's direction.

"Blazing fire and blooming flowers, the last beauty before destruction." Zhen Mi looked up at the sky, where snowflakes slowly fell. The gloomy weather seemed to reflect her mood at that moment. Who would know that a little girl had so many thoughts?

Chen Xi handed the plan to Mi Zhu and then left it alone. After all, the Zhen family, which had just swallowed the Zhang and Su families, was in a similar situation to when Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, the two fools, first returned to Zhongshan, full of pride and satisfaction...

"It's snowing." Standing by the window, Chen Xi watched the snowflakes falling outside, reaching out to catch one. "I wonder how Zijian is preparing. Winter has come, and spring means the start of kidnappings. Don't set your sights on Mei Wu; dazzling wealth is not to be desired."

"Is Zichuan still worried about Zijian?" Lu Su, wrapped in a fur coat and sipping ginger tea, said. A child from the south who had never seen snow naturally couldn't withstand the cold.

"I'm a bit worried he might bring back something on the side. Forget it, let him do as he pleases. With his four thousand infantry, there's basically no one in the world who can defeat them head-on. Uh, I misspoke, there is someone in Chang'an who can defeat them." Chen Xi first spoke with pride, then realized he had made a mistake. "Hmm, Gao Shun can't defeat them either. He doesn't have enough men. After all, Zijian has four thousand men, all of whom follow orders strictly, face the blade without flinching, and are ready to die for their cause."

"Zichuan, I actually have some insights into training troops, but after seeing Wenze's training, I felt I was far behind. But after seeing Zijian, I realized it wasn't just a matter of being behind. Can Zichuan tell me the secret?" Lu Su paused for a long time before speaking, only after Chen Xi turned to look at him did he carefully open his mouth.

"The method can be told, but the troops Zijian trained are a rare opportunity." Chen Xi smiled bitterly and told Lu Su the whole story, as well as his speculations, which made Lu Su's eyes shine with excitement, eager to try it out.

"That's inhumane." Liu Ye raised his head and criticized.

"Silence doesn't mean you're mute. I've recently gathered a pile of evidence of your law-breaking, and I've already handed it over to Boning. I'm looking forward to seeing you caught by Boning." Chen Xi turned and threatened.

"Aww~" Liu Ye stretched lazily, having been corrupted by Chen Xi. "Hmph, you don't know that the Han law has a clause called 'kinship concealment,' which means no crime. Boning says that if I break the law, he will hide me, and since he is the one who catches me, hiding me is not a crime. So you get it."

Chen Xi almost sprayed tea on Liu Ye. Could it be played like this? Upon further thought, there really was such a law, and it seemed to have been practiced since the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

"Zijun, what do you think of this law?" Chen Xi turned to Lu Su and hinted.

Poor Lu Su, wrapped in a fur coat with a foot warmer from Chen Xi, still shivered from the cold, paying no attention to Chen Xi's expression, just nodding repeatedly. "This law is very reasonable. Law should not go against human nature. Enforcing law without considering human nature is not in line with human desires. Law, law, the enforcer is still a person, and it ultimately comes down to human governance."

"… You pass." Chen Xi looked at Lu Su speechlessly and turned to Liu Ye.

"The days are getting shorter. Why don't we go have some fun? I have some singing girls at my place. Zichuan, Zijun, do you want to come?" Liu Ye changed the topic, seeing that Chen Xi was bored.

"Crack~" The door of the government hall was pushed open, a cold wind blew in, and Chen Xi couldn't help but shrink his neck, while Lu Su huddled into a ball, his eyes glaring fiercely at the person who entered.

Liu Bei, who had entered, naturally saw the intense hostility in Lu Su's eyes, but he just smiled, considering that Lu Su was still freezing despite being wrapped up, and closed the door behind him.

"If Zijun is too cold, we can move the government affairs to my living room. I have three foot warmers there, much better than this open space." Liu Bei smiled, not wanting his subordinates to be so cold that they couldn't handle government affairs. Draining the pond to catch all the fish was not a good habit.

"Thank you, Lord Xuande." Lu Su shivered and said.

Chen Xi glanced at Lu Su. He knew that such a thick fur coat wouldn't make him cold; it was just that Lu Su wasn't used to the climate here. In a couple of years, he would be fine. As for really shivering from the cold, that was impossible; it was all psychological.

"Where are Fengxiao and Xiaozhi?" Liu Bei looked around the empty government hall and asked curiously.

"Fengxiao said he took Xiaozhi to experience the hardships of the common people." Chen Xi had a strange smile on his face.

"You can just say they ran away. I won't mind. Actually, I'm surprised Zichuan is still here." Liu Bei instantly understood what it meant. What hardship of the common people? They just didn't want to handle these trivial government affairs and went to drink and listen to music.

"I'm here because I have things to handle. I need to calculate the dates. Fengxiao dug a big hole, and we might need to prepare early." Chen Xi sighed. "In Qingzhou, he mixed intrigue and strategy, and the Yellow Turbans will have to act. Food is always a problem. The Lu family's grain hasn't arrived yet, and the Mi family is still suppressing the Zhen family, so they can't help. By the end of March, the hook Fengxiao set will catch a group of fish, but I'm afraid we might be overwhelmed..."

"Crack~" Another person pushed the door open. "Hey, Zijun is still so afraid of the cold." He didn't even close the door. "Greetings, Lord!"

"Fengxiao, close the door for me!" Lu Su shivered even more, completely losing his composure.

"Really, I heard that you should face what you fear to overcome it." Guo Jia grabbed Fa Zheng and muttered, clearly noticing that Fa Zheng was a bit dazed.

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