"Yuan's retainer?"
As far as he knew, Xiang Zhao's network of connections didn't include anyone surnamed Yuan, much less anyone who could suddenly become a retainer of the Yuan clan. The enemy's meaning was obvious enough: Xiang Zhao had changed sides and submitted to them. For Luan Xin, who had been proudly calling himself Xiang Zhao's teacher just moments earlier, and was also Kang's Minister of Personnel, this news was a tremendous humiliation.
It was no different from being slapped across the face.
Had it been anyone else, they would have already leapt to their feet, flipped the table, and cursed the other party's ancestors for eighteen generations. Even someone with better manners would have been so rattled that their face darkened, if they didn't break into a tirade, giving everyone a good laugh. But Luan Xin was no ordinary man. He still answered at that same unhurried pace. "Are you saying that my student has betrayed her country and changed sides?"
The man smiled faintly. "How can you call that betraying her country and changing sides?"
The other onlookers also jeered with malicious glee.
"Exactly. A fine bird chooses a tree to nest in. It's only human nature."
"That's strange. I've only ever heard 'people climb toward higher ground, while water flows downhill.' I've never heard 'people go downhill, while water flows uphill.' It truly defies all reason." Luan Xin spoke with an earnest, candid expression. "My Lord rose from humble beginnings. From a mere nobody, he ascended to the throne and now commands three or four tenths of the world. Tell me, gentlemen, how many households in your former states can compare?"
So long as they did not share a dynasty name or obey a single royal court, no matter how united this allied army was, it was