Mythical Three Kingdoms

Jian Yong should have traveled from Jingzhou to Xuzhou via the Yangtze River by boat. However, after Sun Ce deployed his troops, the entire Yangtze Waterway was blocked by Zhou Yu, and the plan to pass through Yuzhou instantly turned into a pipe dream.

In addition, since Huang Chengyan was related to Liu Biao by marriage, it would not be easy for the Huang Family to leave if Liu Biao managed to counterattack and reclaim Jingbei. To mention earlier discussions with Yi Ji, the alliance had basically become an empty promise, as for Huang Xu, he had been sent away long ago.

Eventually, on Huang Yueying’s suggestion, the Huang Family decided to travel to Yanzhou by land via Wancheng, and then on to Mount Tai. This significantly slowed their pace, which is why even though Jian Yong had gone to Jingzhou before the end of the year, he had not yet returned to Mount Tai.

By the time Jian Yong and the entire Huang Family arrived in Yanzhou via Wancheng, it so happened that Liu Bei and Yuan Shao were dividing Yanzhou. Naturally, Jian Yong, coming from the south, was warmly welcomed. After lingering in the Jiyin area for several days, the Huang Family’s group split into two parties.

One party, consisting of the main Huang Family, continued towards Mount Tai, while the other was led by Jian Yong, including Huang Chengyan, Huang Yueying, and Jiang Wan. This group headed to Linyi, as Guan Yu had mentioned that Zhuge Liang was also in Linyi.

All three were very capable in wisdom and strategy and understood the situation in Linyi. Each harbored their own thoughts, so they all shared the anticipation of observing Linyi firsthand.

Huang Chengyan’s intention was simple; he just wanted to meet Chen Zichuan, who, despite his young age, had already served Liu Bei and established a significant domain in less than five years. Jiang Wan also had the desire to meet Chen Xi, driven by the ambition to excel in civil and military arts and gain recognition from royalty or those who knew the value of such talent.

As for Huang Yueying, it was even simpler; she merely wanted to see what kind of person her betrothed, Zhuge Liang, was. Though she was destined to marry him in this life, Huang Yueying still wished to see if he was suitable for her, irrespective of the fact that this knowledge would be of no practical use.

Huang Yueying was not supposed to go initially, but fortunately, Chen Xi had once instructed Jian Yong to try to satisfy Miss Huang’s requests as much as possible. She could be considered a very important character.

After all, in the era of the Three Kingdoms, if we speak of talented women, Cai Zhaoji represented the abilities in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and literary composition, while Wang Yi symbolized strategic and military prowess. Huang Yueying was undoubtedly the epitome of ingenious mechanical talent.

Of course, when Chen Xi gave those instructions to Jian Yong, he did so partly out of respect for Zhuge Liang’s feelings, advising not to treat Huang Yueying poorly. Whatever her demands, appropriate or not, as long as they were within reach, they were to be fulfilled.

As a result, Huang Yueying was fortunate to find that things she was not able to attempt at home seemed achievable simply by asking the tall, thin man who appeared honest and had a good sense of humor. He would manage to get it done.

When Huang Chengyan and the others arrived, Chen Xi was strategically encamping on a site west of Linyi, protected by a hillside and adjacent to water. Just as Xu You had estimated, Chen Xi had no intention of battling Xu You in New Linyi City, as doing so would severely delay the city’s construction.

By setting up camp a dozen miles from the city like now, Chen Xi did not believe Yuan Shao’s Army would dare launch an attack. A pincer attack from both sides would surely spell their doom. Although Zhang Yan and Wang Xiu were average in combat ability, with the city’s defenses and reinforcements coming from outside, holding the city would be a simple task.

”Kongming, your father-in-law is here. Go and welcome him,” Chen Xi said to Zhuge Liang, looking at the letter delivered by the messenger.

”Yes,” Zhuge Liang said, rising with a joyous expression and then quickly leaving.

”Is his wife also coming?” Fa Zheng asked Chen Xi, turning to him after watching Zhuge Liang leave.

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”You actually guessed it,” said Chen Xi curiously.

”What kind of father-in-law would come to the military camp to see his son-in-law for no reason?” Fa Zheng curled his lip and then, somewhat gossipily, asked, ”I wonder if Kongming’s wife is beautiful?”

”Have you seen Cai Zhaoji?” Chen Xi asked casually.

”No way, Kongming’s wife is that beautiful?” Gan Ning was truly shocked this time. Cai Yan had once played the zither for everyone during the New Year, and naturally, everyone had seen her. Her beauty was not something that could simply be described with the word ’beautiful’; it was a charisma formed through a blend of many experiences.

”I was just saying,” said Chen Xi with a smile, seeing Fa Zheng’s eyes almost pop out. Indeed, Cai Yan might not be the most beautiful, but her aura and talents were too eye-catching not to notice.

”That’s what I thought...” Fa Zheng said, curling his lip again,

”Just a bit less than Cai Zhaoji, but probably a bit more remarkable than the youngest daughter of the Mi Family,” Chen Xi quickly interjected before Fa Zheng could finish.

”To take a wife, choose virtue; to take a concubine, choose beauty, huh huh huh. Being beautiful isn’t necessarily good. Just like the youngest daughter of the Mi Family given to me, I reckon it would shorten my life by ten years,” said Fa Zheng right away, then gave an example to prove his point.

By comparison, Jiang Ying was not beautiful, even far less so than Wang Yi, which is why when Fa Zheng mentioned his own wife at the dinner table he always talked about choosing a wife for her virtue. But indeed, Fa Zheng’s wife was truly virtuous.

”That might not necessarily be the case,” Chen Xi said with a smile.

Gan Ning shook his head incessantly on the side. If it weren’t for Cai Yan’s extremely special identity, he would really have liked to have a taste of her charms; he didn’t care at all about upsetting her husband. But thinking of Cai Yan as the Cai Clan’s sole descendant, Gan Ning felt it wasn’t worth making a move. After all, there were plenty of beautiful women in the world.

When Zhuge Liang was leaving, he noticed something very strange. Although he hadn’t activated his Spiritual Talent, which reduced his ability to sense other Spiritual Talents, it shouldn’t be so off. What then were these three things that seemed like Spiritual Talents but weren’t?

Initially, Zhuge Liang thought he was confused and had pinpointed the wrong direction. But after confirming that the three talents of Chen Xi, Fa Zheng, and Gan Ning were still in the tent, and that his own Spiritual Talent was also present, and after careful verification, those three resembling Spiritual Talents were still there on the other side.

[What’s going on here?] Zhuge Liang couldn’t help but become curious and, as he moved along, he paid close attention to these three talents that closely resembled the Spiritual Talent, gradually feeling a sense of familiarity.

[Isn’t this the ability similar to Spiritual Talent that I felt in Cai Zhaoji? Speaking of which, I even made a copy with my Spiritual Talent.] After a while of pondering, Zhuge Liang remembered where he had encountered it before.

Indeed, during the New Year, when Zhuge Liang noticed a talent similar to Spiritual Talent in Cai Yan, he impulsively decided to give it a try online, since Liu Bei was beside him anyway, so no one would get hurt.

To his surprise, after going online, Zhuge Liang found out he indeed possessed that talent but was unable to use it. Cai Yan’s talent was based on her zither playing, and the level had to be no less than Cai Yan’s, which was a dream, right? (To be continued. If you like this story, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian ), and for monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)