Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

With these words, everyone drank another bottle.

Seeing that the topic of conversation was about to change again, Sima Shi gave Li Xi a look, and Li Xi understood and asked:
"Xiu Yuan, I have one thing that I don't understand. Didn't your father, Mr. Chen, arrive in Shouchun from Luoyang yesterday? Why didn't you ride in the same carriage with Mr. Chen and come to Shouchun together, but stayed overnight?"

"Yeah, why is that?"

"Xiu Yuan won't be too busy in Luoyang, right? Just this one day is enough?"

"Well, maybe the father and son have different ranks. Why ask more questions to avoid suspicion?"

Everyone in the room started chatting, and Chen Ben became the focus of everyone's attention again.

As early as when they were studying at the Imperial College, Sima Shi and Li Xi had a very good relationship. Although they had not met for several years, their relationship soon became warm again after Sima Shi returned to Luoyang and served as Shangshu Lang.

The son of Sikong had a bright future, so it was inevitable that Li Xi wanted to be friends with him. As for listening to Sima Shi's words and probing him at the banquet, these were just trivial matters.

Everyone was chatting excitedly, but Chen Ben's face showed some sadness. He was getting drunker and drunk, and he also revealed some of his true feelings: "You all don't know, when I returned to Luoyang to meet my master, I thought I would hear some praises, but unexpectedly, all I heard was scolding."

"How could this be?" Xiahou Xuan, who was always calm, also changed color slightly and frowned.

"This shouldn't be the case. Xiu Yuan has made great contributions. Why shouldn't Lord Chen be happy?" Sima Shi asked.

Chen Ben lowered his head slightly, feeling grief-stricken, almost crying: "My master said that I was the eldest son, but I didn't act like one at all. I took this risky voyage to the sea without informing him in advance. He said that I was an unfilial person, and was far inferior to my younger brother Xiu Yuan (Chen Qian)... He also said that I shouldn't work with the princes, and that I lost the dignity of the nobles..."

Under the influence of alcohol, Chen Ben covered his face with his hands and started sobbing in front of everyone: "I really don't know why I am inferior to Xiu Yuan that my master is so disrespectful to me that he doesn't even want to ride in the same car with me!"

Chen Ben's loss of composure brought the cheerful atmosphere of the banquet to an abrupt end. After looking at each other, the hosts Sima Shi and Xiahou Xuan walked up to Chen Ben, one on each side, patted him on the shoulders gently, and tried to calm him down.

There are tens of thousands of people in the world, and there are tens of thousands of different people at banquets. Judging from what happened today, Chen Ben is the kind of person who gets drunk easily and easily reveals his true feelings when drunk.

Sima Shi whispered to comfort Chen Ben, but Chen Ben suddenly asked: "Ziyuan, you are also the eldest son in the family. Will Sikong favor Zishang and look down on you?"

Sima Shi thought, of course not, but it was difficult to say it directly, so he could only persuade: "Every family has its own difficulties. Zishang and I are not often with our father, so there are still some differences."

"Taichu, how is your family?" Chen Ben looked at Xiahou Xuan again and found that he was the only male in Xiahou Xuan's family, so he cried even harder.

Everyone became a little annoyed by Chen Ben's crying.

Xiahou Xuan was the only son in the family, and he inherited his father Xiahou Shang's title of Marquis at an early age, so there was nothing much to say. Sima Shi was also valued by Sima Yi at home, and he spared no effort to cultivate him since he was young. And Wu Xi, Li Xi, Guo Tong, Wang Hun, Wang Shen, etc. present today are all the eldest sons of their respective families.

The thought of a father not liking the eldest son but the second son was enough to make one's scalp numb. Not to mention that there had been rumors in Luozhong that Chen Jiao wanted to ask for an imperial decree to let the second son inherit the title.

Now that Chen Jiao has entered Shouchun to serve as the Recorder of the Secretariat and the Shangshu Pushe, he holds a high position of power and has the emperor's favor, so the chances of this happening are even greater.

No wonder Chen Ben lost his composure today. Although he is in his twenties and has been an official for several years, he still feels powerless to deal with this incident at home.

The banquet was almost over. Chen Ben cried harder and harder, and couldn't stop, so everyone couldn't drink anymore. After Sima Shi asked Li Xi to send Chen Ben back to his residence, he said goodbye to Xiahou Xuan, Wu Xi and others one by one, and sent everyone out of the courtyard.

Shi Bao was the last one left.

Sima Shi gently closed the courtyard door and led Shi Bao inside. After the two sat down again, Sima Shi's expression gradually became serious and he looked at Shi Bao:
"Prime Minister asked me to take Zhongrong to see the young talents of Wei. Today I finally get to see them. What do you think?"

Shi Bao shook his head: "From what we talked about tonight, not all the outstanding people in the noble families are like Sima Ziyuan and Xiahou Taichu."

Sima Shi said in a deep voice: "Xiahou Taichu and I are certainly different from them. What do you think of the rest of them, Zhongrong?"

"Li Xi is sinister, Wu Hui is boastful, Guo Tong is average, and Wang Hun and Wang Shen are outstanding people." Shi Bao said calmly: "As for Chen Ben... it's really ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous about this?" Sima Shi asked again.

Shi Bao laughed, "A gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement, but Chen Ben is a man of few learnings who does not understand such a simple truth. Your Majesty has praised him so much, ordering him to sail with the fleet to Japan, and ordering him to preach and make a name for himself in Luoyang, but he still cares about what Mr. Chen says. Even if he doesn't recognize this father, what can he do? In my opinion, this man will not achieve much in his life."

Sima Shi nodded silently, stood up and walked to the courtyard and stood there for a while, then turned to Shi Bao and said, "Zhongrong, please stay at my house tonight. Although my humble abode is small, there is still room for a bed."

"Okay." Shi Bao responded straightforwardly.

……

The next afternoon, Shouchun Palace.

Liu Ye hurried into the palace from outside.

The Right Supervisor of the Privy Council had the power to enter the study courtyard directly. Liu Ye walked straight to the door of the cabinet, knocked gently, and then walked in.

Dong Zhao frowned and asked, "Why is Zi Yang in such a hurry? What happened?"

Cao Zhen, Sima Yi, and Chen Jiao also looked over here.

"Gentlemen, there is urgent military information from Donghai County in Xuzhou." Liu Ye said with a serious face: "Four days ago, the Wu army fleet sailed over the sea and plundered the coastal areas of Licheng and Quxian."

"How many people from the Wu army have come?" Cao Zhen stood up and asked in a deep voice.

"I don't know the exact number, but according to the military reports from Licheng and Quxian, the Wu army that came this time has at least four to five thousand troops. The exact number is unknown." Liu Ye paused and said, "General, gentlemen, I have a guess, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not."

"What should be said and what should not be said? Just say it!" Cao Zhen shouted.

"Why didn't the Wu army attack other places, but only Licheng?" Liu Ye said slowly: "Do you remember that in the sixth year of Huangchu, Licheng rebelled, and a rebel leader named Tang Zi fled to Wu by sea? This person is the only one related to Licheng in Wu!" (End of this chapter)