As Wei Zi’s words fell, Chen Gong’s scalp tingled.
He was to accompany Ye Feng at the banquet?
Was this a good thing?
If Chen Gong sincerely supported Ye Feng and was a solitary individual, then Wei Zi’s proposal would indeed be beneficial to him!
But he was neither.
Although he did have a good impression of Ye Feng, the rebel, it was merely an impression.
Moreover,
The Chen family behind him, while not a prominent clan, still had a large family of old and young.
If the news of him accompanying Ye Feng spread, it would mean for the Chen family…
Seemingly nothing?
After all,
They only needed to expel him from the family registry, and it seemed there would be no loss!
Thinking this,
A trace of sadness flickered across Chen Gong’s face, and he was already prepared for it.
Yes!
At this moment, he was already prepared to be expelled from the family registry!
Why?
Because it was irresistible!
Although he was not interested in Wei Zi’s proposal, he truly had no other choice.
Either he would follow Wei Zi obediently, or be escorted by Wei Zi’s guards.
Did it make a difference to him?
No difference!
Therefore,
When Wei Zi signaled his personal guards to step forward, Chen Gong hurriedly changed his tune and said:
“Lord Wei, I deeply admire Prefect Ye and am most willing to go and pay my respects!”
“Very good!”
Wei Zi smiled with satisfaction and patted Chen Gong’s shoulder.
“I’m sure Prefect Ye will be very pleased. You wouldn’t make him unhappy, would you?”
“How could I?”
Chen Gong’s smile remained unchanged, and he even flattered with a laugh:
“I can recite Prefect Ye’s deeds backwards. How could I displease him?”
“That’s good!”
Wei Zi patted Chen Gong’s shoulder again and then pointed to Yuan Mao beside him.
“You are the young master of the Pan family, aren’t you? Come, go with Uncle Wei and see the world!”
“What?!”
Hearing Wei Zi’s words, Chen Gong’s expression changed slightly, and he frowned.
“Lord Wei, this matter today has nothing to do with Yuan Mao. There’s no need to involve him, is there?”
“Oh?”
Wei Zi glanced at Chen Gong and said with indifference:
“Gongtai, is it?”
“I am currently speaking with young master Pan. Does it have anything to do with you?”
“How does it not?”
Chen Gong suppressed his anger and said with a resolute tone:
“One person’s actions, one person bears the responsibility!”
“Today’s matter was caused by me, so let me be solely responsible!”
“Heh heh…”
Wei Zi turned, walked up to Chen Gong, and looked at him with a fake smile.
“Gongtai, do you perhaps think too highly of yourself?”
“In terms of duty, Yuan Mao is a member of the Prefect’s office. If the Prefect is going, can he not go?”
“In terms of personal relations, he calls me Uncle Wei, and I naturally wouldn’t harm him!”
“Therefore…”
“Rather than worrying about Yuan Mao’s affairs, you should consider your own situation!”
Saying this, Wei Zi did not give Chen Gong another chance to speak and turned to leave.
“This…”
Chen Gong opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but for a moment, he could not find a reason.
Even though he knew he had implicated his friend, he did not know how to get him out of it.
Who was to blame when Wei Zi’s reasons were so comprehensive?
As a member of the Prefect’s office, if the Prefect tells you to go, would you dare not?
“Forget it!”
The young man called Yuan Mao gave a wry smile and placed his hand on Chen Gong’s shoulder.
“Uncle Wei is right. After all, he is an elder. He wouldn’t harm a junior like me, would he?”
“…”
Looking at the forced smile on Yuan Mao’s face, Chen Gong’s original thoughts were overturned.
No!
He could not, for his own momentary satisfaction, drag his good brother down with him.
Yes!
He could vent his anger at Ye Feng at the banquet, which could restore the reputation of the Chen family and himself.
But what about his own brother?
His own life was not important, but he had no right to decide the life and death of his good brother.
Perhaps…
He glanced at Wei Zi’s retreating figure, and Chen Gong couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh in his heart.
Was experience truly the better teacher?
………………
On the other side,
Wei Zi, leading his men into the restaurant’s kitchen, was unaware of Chen Gong’s thoughts.
He had simply made thorough preparations!
Who knew that these scholars nowadays were so tough-boned?
To be honest,
The scholars of the late Han Dynasty and those of later times were not the same people!
The scholars of the late Han Dynasty were capable of fighting on the battlefield and fiercely criticizing the masses when they dismounted.
Even if they died,
What did it matter?
As long as you did something they disliked, they would truly dare to curse you to your face.
But one thing was true,
Scholars were generally loyal, especially when it concerned their friends.
Therefore,
After coercing Chen Gong to attend the banquet, Wei Zi turned around and roped in his friend.
The implication was clear!
If you behaved yourself at the banquet, then it would be good for everyone.
But if you didn’t behave?
Your death would be in vain!
Including your friend’s family, all would have to be buried with you!
Just tell me, do you dare to act out?
Of course!
These were all subconscious battles. Wei Zi himself did not take them to heart.
He was also very busy at the moment!
After all,
Although the chefs in his residence had good skills, it was still a bit rushed to prepare a banquet in such a short time.
Why?
Because some delicacies required prior preparation, not just casual cooking.
But the Prefect’s request was urgent.
There was no other way!
He had to come to the largest restaurant to see if their kitchen had any pre-prepared ingredients.
Fortunately,
As the largest restaurant in Chenliu City, this place did have some good things.
“Is it all here?”
Nodding with satisfaction, Wei Zi waved his hand and directly ordered:
“Take it away!”
“Take it all away!”
“Move these cooks, ingredients, and tableware back!”
Saying this, Wei Zi looked at the shopkeeper with a displeased expression and smilingly handed over a token.
“Here!”
“Take this!”
“Go to the Wei family later to collect your money. We won’t shortchange you!”
“Yes, yes…”
Although he was still a thousand times unwilling, facing the notorious second master of the Wei family, the hotel shopkeeper truly dared not say anything.
Even if you have a lot of money, you have to have the life to spend it!
Who was this man?
The second master of the Wei family!
Let alone him taking some ingredients, even if this restaurant was demolished, what would it matter?
The Hedong Wei family was not just for show!
………………
As time passed, Ye Feng’s parade army was finally approaching its end.
Given that the city was rather crowded, the army eventually set up camp outside the city.
Yes!
After entering the city through the East Gate and parading, they exited through the West Gate and found a place to camp.
How to put it?
It was boring!
The road within Chenliu City was only a few kilometers long, and it was covered in no time by riding horses.
But the procession was too long!
Twenty thousand cavalry, five men to a row, the entire procession was several kilometers long.
This meant that,
Even if Ye Feng was the first to reach the destination, he could not leave immediately.
He couldn’t just disappear while the army was still marching, could he?
That would be inappropriate!
Therefore,
Ye Feng insisted on waiting in place for over an hour before finally seeing the tail of the procession.
However,
Before he could even think about what to say, another group of people couldn’t help themselves.
Who?
It was Zhang Miao, of course!
Originally, he had only guessed that Ye Feng was showing off, but now it was almost confirmed.
Who would forcefully demand to enter the city and then run out through the West Gate?
Were they bored?
If this was not a demonstration against him, he would be willing to twist off his head and kick it around like a ball!
So,
As the demonstration procession neared its end, Zhang Miao rushed forward and appeared directly in front of Ye Feng.
“???”
Looking at Zhang Miao, who was almost pierced by a halberd from a personal guard, Ye Feng was full of question marks.
“What the…?”
“Prefect Zhang, what is the meaning of this?”
“Uh…”
Zhang Miao, his face slightly flushed, waved his hand with a sheepish smile.
“The horse was a bit spooked. My apologies, my apologies!”
“It’s alright!”
Confirming that this fellow was not here to cause trouble, Ye Feng smiled and waved his hand.
“Since that is the case, Prefect, please proceed. I still have some matters to attend to!”
“Ah?”
“Don’t go!”
Seeing Ye Feng about to leave after speaking, Zhang Miao became anxious and quickly stepped forward.
“Prefect Ye, you must have worked hard on this journey. I, I have prepared some humble wine at my manor. If you don’t find it beneath you, would you join me for a drink?”
“Hmm?”
Ye Feng heard this, stopped, and turned to examine Zhang Miao from head to toe.
What was this fellow’s intention?
All the local officials now wished they could stay as far away from him as possible, yet this fellow was still trying to get closer?
There was something fishy!
It was definitely fishy!
However,
Since arriving in this late Han era, he, Ye Feng, was not one to shy away from trouble.
“That would be excellent!”
Nodding with a smile, Ye Feng pointed to the cavalry beside him.
“Prefect, my two thousand brothers have also been hungry all the way. I wonder if…”
“No, no problem!”
Despite the forced smile on his face, Zhang Miao agreed without hesitation.
It was just the food and drink for twenty thousand cavalry, wasn’t it?
He, he…
Even if he couldn’t afford it, he had to find a way. If all else failed, he’d sell blood to make it happen!
After all,
He was not afraid of Ye Feng setting conditions now, he was afraid of Ye Feng remaining silent as before.
Setting conditions meant there was room for negotiation, it was merely a matter of parting with some money.
Not setting conditions?
Then it was over!
Perhaps tonight, a group of masked men would break into his house and chop them all up with knives.
Therefore,
Although Ye Feng’s condition was a little excessive, Zhang Miao gritted his teeth and agreed.
Anyway, he did not intend to bear this expense alone.
He had to find a good excuse to make the influential families in the prefecture share the cost.
Of course!
More importantly, he wanted to find out who the culprit was so that he could seek revenge in the future!
He,
One of the Eight Chefs,
The most outstanding young generation of the Zhang family of Dongping, could not be taken advantage of like this.
It was a pity that,
Facing Zhang Miao’s subtle probing, Ye Feng was completely bewildered.
When did I ever hear of you?
Nonsense!
Of course, it was the eighteen lords who were going to attack Dong, but could he tell him that?
No!
Let alone the fact that this event had not yet happened, even if it had… forget it!
Then let’s just find an excuse!
What should he find?
Right!
If he remembered correctly, this fellow was also a good friend who had a love-hate relationship with Old Cao?
Got it!
It must be Old Cao!
Thinking of this,
Ye Feng’s smile remained unchanged, but his mind was quickly coming up with a reason.
There was no other way!
Cao Cao had never mentioned Zhang Miao, so he had to find a good entry point, right?