Xie An regretted it the moment he finished speaking. He realized he had overreacted.
Mostly, Liu Acheng's talk of snow had been far too pointed, and every other word out of his mouth was about the greater good. With Xi Chao behind him, Xie An wanted no part of it. Then Wang Xizhi happened to walk into the line of fire, and he lost control for a moment... He knew perfectly well that what he had said was wrong. It was sheer sophistry, a game of words.
Besides, he could hardly voice the mockery and irritation behind his words. The Langya Wang Clan was the foremost noble house of the day, and a marriage ally of the Xie Family. Mocking Wang Jiang Province to death would do nothing but harm.
The Northern Expedition was a matter of national righteousness, too. Did he really want to follow Cai Mo's example? Hadn't Cai Mo been marched into the Court Commandant's offices in prison clothes after saying the Northern Expedition would not work?
Honestly, even so, those remarks would ordinarily have caused no trouble. That was the atmosphere in Kuaiji; nobody would really take offense. The problem was that there were two young men here, wasn't there? And that Liu Acheng had already subdued the mood earlier. If he or Xi Chao behind him stepped forward now and came charging at Xie An with their usual vigor, he would have to relive that day in the hall before all the worthies of Kuaiji.
Only last time, he had criticized Xi Chao for not knowing when to stop. Now he was the one who had gone too far.
At that thought, Xie Anshi felt nothing but irritation.
While Xie An was lost in his tangled thoughts, Wang Xizhi was still bewildered, unable to understand