Wu Zhi's eyes bulged with fury, and the hand gripping his sword trembled despite himself. "Xiahou Fengming, you little brat! How dare you spout such outrageous words?"
Xiahou Xian glanced at Wu Zhi without even rising from his seat.
"If that is how it is, come on! Slay the Son of Heaven's envoy and take my head to consecrate your banners!"
Those words left Wu Zhi frozen on the spot.
He had merely been venting his anger at the other man's insolence. How had consecrating banners come into it?
Oh, right. Had this brat just said that he was secretly colluding with Eastern Wu, and that this was why His Majesty wanted to reclaim his military authority?
Wu Zhi suddenly slid his sword back into its scabbard.
"Do not take offense, Fengming. I acted rashly." At that moment, Wu Zhi abruptly changed his tune.
Indeed, however arrogant and overbearing he might be, he dared not shoulder a charge of treason.
He had struggled so hard to climb up from the bottom, and his clan had barely enjoyed a few days of prosperity with him. He could not let all three branches of his family be wiped off the board.
Seeing that Wu Zhi seemed to have weighed the consequences, Xiahou Xian turned from guest to host. He rose and bowed to Wu Zhi with clasped hands.
"General, you are a regional governor appointed by the late emperor. You have guarded Great Wei's northern frontier for years, rendering great service through arduous toil. Those Wu villains are cunning. They must be exploiting the outbreak of war in the southeast to frame you."
"His Majesty knows full well how loyal you are, but alas, he cannot silence all those exalted gentlemen at court."
"Ah..." Wu Zhi let out a long sigh. He took a couple of steps, returned to the seat of honor, and slowly spoke.
"As you said, Fengming, the late emperor showed me great kindness. How could I betray him?"
"It is just that those Wu villains have repeatedly sent men to make friendly overtures. I suppose this has caused His Majesty to misunderstand."
In truth, Wu Zhi had long known what the Wu State's spies intended. Naturally, he would not agree, and the Wu State did not believe he would actually rebel either.
The Wu State was merely using petty maneuvers to distract the Wei State, while the major undertaking they were truly plotting lay on the Huainan battlefield.
The two sides had thus reached a certain tacit understanding. Wu Zhi cheerfully accepted the Wu State's gifts and never tired of doing so.
He had always believed such trivial matters would hardly earn him a charge of treason.
"General, you have been foolish." Xiahou Xian put on a deeply pained expression. "You hold high office and must be cautious in every word and deed. His Majesty once said that if you were unwilling to return to the capital, you need not return. He would find a way to shield you from the wagging tongues at court."
"Well..." Wu Zhi's heart suddenly softened. "Did His Majesty truly say that?"
That, of course, was something Xiahou Xian had made up.
"General, I am a court gentleman close to His Majesty. Even if you lent me a hundred times the courage, I would not dare make such reckless claims."
"That stands to reason." Even the way Wu Zhi looked at Xiahou Xian had changed. "Come to think of it, your esteemed father was also a regional governor appointed by the late emperor. Now he, too, has returned to serve in the capital."
"How has Lord Xiahou been lately?" Wu Zhi suddenly turned the conversation toward Xiahou Mao. He wanted to learn from Xiahou Xian how this colleague, whose fate somewhat resembled his own, was faring.
Xiahou Xian was delighted to hear this. "My father is now 'too happy to spare a thought for Liang'!"
"Too happy... to spare a thought for Liang?" Wu Zhi tilted his head. "What do you mean by that, Fengming?"
Xiahou Xian explained, "When my father was commander of Yong and Liang, he had to rack his brains every day, worrying both about attacks from Shu Han and about the suspicions of court officials."
"After returning to Luoyang, he has had his lovely wife and beautiful concubines attending him every day, with no pressure at all. What could be better?"
"He is so happy that he never wants to return to that wretched place, Yong and Liang. He has come to understand a truth: a man lives only a few decades, so why not roam free and easy, paying affairs of state no heed?"
Wu Zhi listened in bewilderment, and Xiahou Xian hurriedly explained, "General, that last remark was only a joke of my father's. You are a man who must assist our sage sovereign in accomplishing great deeds."
"Hahaha!" Wu Zhi burst into laughter, as though a great stone weighing on his heart had finally been set down.
"You truly are a worthy talent, Fengming. No wonder you have won His Majesty's appreciation at such a young age."
Wu Zhi now felt that surrendering his military authority was actually the better choice. He had originally thought that once he declined, his descendants would decline along with him.
But from what he had seen today, had not this Xiahou Xian also been recruited into the Son of Heaven's service?
"Ah, what a pity. I wonder whether you know, Fengming, that our two families nearly became in-laws." Wu Zhi began cultivating a closer connection.
"Yes," Xiahou Xian said. "But the timing was unfortunate. His Majesty happened to bestow a marriage upon me just then."
"So be it. Such is timing, such is fate. I, Wu Zhi, helped the late emperor ascend to the supreme throne. That is achievement enough. Would it not be just as good to return to the capital and become a Lord Wu who is too happy to spare a thought for Ji?"
At that moment, Xiahou Xian felt that although Wu Zhi was contemptuous of others, arrogant, extravagant, and debauched, most of it stemmed from his temperament.
If anything was to blame, it was that he was a man ruled by his passions.
That evening, Wu Zhi held a banquet to entertain Xiahou Xian and arranged for dancing girls to enliven the feast.
The dancing girls all had shapely figures and alluring eyes. Unlike the relatively "respectable" dancers in the imperial palace, they were household courtesans kept on scholars' estates.
Wu Zhi was prone to getting carried away once he drank. His face was flushed now as he looked cheerfully at Xiahou Xian.
Xiahou Xian dreaded that he might draw his sword and cause trouble again. If that happened, it would be difficult to bring things to a close.
Who would have expected Wu Zhi to say, "You have come a long way, Fengming, and there is little in my residence with which to entertain you. Whichever of these catches your fancy, just take her to a side courtyard, lift her skirts, and get down to business."
Well, this...
Though it sounded somewhat incredible, this was indeed a normal social activity among the Wei State's scholar-officials...
If you visited my residence today and I entertained you well, then when I visited yours another day, I would need to find some amusement too.
In the end, Xiahou Xian declined. "I appreciate your kindness, General. But I must set out for the capital tomorrow, so it would be rather inconvenient."
Wu Zhi drained a cup of wine in great gulps and said no more. After all, Xiahou Xian was a junior; making a polite offer was enough.
Once the dancing girls withdrew, Wu Zhi called toward the doorway. Before long, a young woman entered the banquet hall with small steps.
Wu Zhi introduced her. "Fengming, this is my daughter, Wu Yu."
"Yu'er, come closer. This is Xiahou Fengming."
Wu Zhi had suddenly begun making introductions of his own accord, leaving Xiahou Xian unable to understand for a moment.
Ordinarily, an unmarried woman would not readily show herself in public, yet Wu Zhi had so brazenly summoned a maiden to this banquet hall?
On closer thought, though, there was nothing particularly strange about it.
This was the "peculiar taste" of the era of Emperor Wen, Cao Pi.
Back when Cao Pi was still General of the Household for All Purposes, the Four Friends often drank and made merry together.
When Cao Pi was enjoying himself to the fullest, he would summon Lady Guo, the future Empress Guo, for everyone to admire.
Just like that, Lady Guo was effectively "violated by the eyes" of the assembled men.
When Cao Cao learned of it, he flew into a thunderous rage and directly dismissed and banished Wu Zhi, who had enjoyed looking the most. Only after Cao Pi ascended the throne did he dare employ Wu Zhi again.
Wu Yu looked very cold, but she did not seem as ignorant of etiquette as Wu Zhi.
She dipped into a bow, her cherry-like lips parting slightly. "This humble girl of the Wu family greets you, Master Xiahou."