In the hall!
Xia Wen looked around, saw Bi Zhu had already left, and then whispered.
"I know it's fake that Third Brother fell out with the family. Although Third Brother is a bit of a background character at home, Uncle and Aunt are extremely good to him. All those rumors outside are false!"
Xia Wen lowered his voice, his childish face full of seriousness.
"Uncle said in the mansion that he would remove me from the family registry. How could that be false?!"
Xia Chen glanced at Xia Wen. Although he said that, he praised him in his heart.
"Although this kid is young and usually seems reckless, he doesn't seem to be stupid!"
"Although I don't know what happened, I think there must be a reason for you, Third Brother, and Uncle to do this!"
Xia Wen scratched his head and said with a chuckle.
"Moreover, I told my father that I wanted to come out and work with you. Although he strictly objected, he sent me three family soldiers. Isn't that meaning already very clear?"
Xia Chen was slightly stunned when he heard Xia Wen's words. Did his Third Uncle, Xia Han, tacitly approve of Xia Wen coming to him?
"Has anything happened in the family recently?"
Xia Chen pondered for a while and then asked.
"There's nothing major, but a couple of days ago, when I was in my father's courtyard, I heard him talking to my mother. My father was very drunk at the time.
Vaguely, I heard my father say that there was a vacancy for Vice Minister of Rites in the Ministry of Rites, which should have belonged to him. The Ministry of Rites had already sent the memorial to the Cabinet, but it was rejected, saying that my father was too young and needed more tempering.
Ultimately, the position of Vice Minister of Rites was filled by a great scholar from White Deer Academy!"
Xia Wen lowered his head, his mood also a bit low. He had even gone in to take a look at the time; his father was completely drunk. It was the first time Xia Wen had ever seen his father like that.
Xia Chen fell silent upon hearing this, and his Third Uncle, Xia Han, automatically appeared in his mind. He was graceful, elegant, and handsome, with the demeanor of a gentleman. When facing these Juniors, he always had a smile on his face and never discriminated based on talent or Bloodline.
"My Xia family controls military power and has a strong influence in the military. Third Uncle studying literature and entering politics has already become a taboo, especially since Third Uncle also has considerable talent in politics…
And the imperial examination is coming up soon. The Ministry of Rites manages the imperial examination, so the position of Vice Minister of Rites is particularly important. If Third Uncle takes the position of Vice Minister of Rites, even if Third Uncle is not the chief examiner of this imperial examination, he would nominally be considered a teacher to this batch of candidates…"
Xia Chen sighed, looked at Xia Wen, and said in a deep voice.
"I know. It's Your Majesty who is wary of our Xia family. He is afraid that my father will develop factions, and afraid that my Xia family will extend its influence into the civil official circles. At that time, with my Xia family accumulating military power and having literati serving, he is afraid that his Great Wu empire will not be stable!"
Xia Wen put down the teacup in his hand and stood up, his still-young face filled with coldness.
Xia Chen was somewhat surprised to hear Xia Wen's words. His younger brother was quite brave!
Moreover, he seemed reckless but was actually subtle within his roughness—a truly intelligent and wise person.
Perhaps his father was not wrong to name him Xia Wen. His younger brother definitely inherited his father's political talent.
He was indeed a peerless talent, second only to his own younger brother Xia Hao among the third generation of the Xia family!
Although he was still young, only 11 years old, he had already shown an extraordinary side.
And more importantly, he had no good feelings for Great Wu, especially for Xia Chen!
Not bad, he is a promising talent!
"Thunder and dew are all the emperor's grace!"
Xia Chen looked at Xia Wen and said calmly.
"I understand, Third Brother. I won't say that outside. My Xia family is naturally loyal to Your Majesty!"
Xia Wen looked up at Xia Chen and chuckled. The two looked at each other and suddenly smiled knowingly. Everything was understood without words.
"You can stay here with me. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the Lantern Bearers and arrange an identity for you. For now, you can follow me as an attendant!"
"Okay, no problem! I heard that Third Brother is now a fourth-rank official, and he's also in charge of the Lantern Bearers' Eagle Eye Division. He's very impressive now! My father has been in officialdom for more than ten years, and he's only a fourth-rank official now!"
Xia Wen's expression was excited. Although he was precocious and intelligent, he was still only 11 years old and a child at heart.
Bi Zhu came in and personally led Xia Wen to the side courtyard to arrange his stay.
Xia Chen, meanwhile, remained seated, deep in thought.
His Third Uncle, Xia Han, passed the imperial examination at 22, as a First Class Scholar. He is 36 this year. He has background and ability. Becoming a fourth-rank official in 14 years is incredibly fast for others, but for his Third Uncle, this speed is merely average, or even slow.
This is clearly not right!
"My Third Uncle studied at White Deer Academy when he was young and even received praise from Qi, the current Mountain Master of White Deer Academy. This is enough to show that my Third Uncle is talented.
Although the memorial was rejected by the Cabinet, the reason given was being too young, not lack of experience or ability. While the Vice Minister of Rites is indeed a high-ranking and powerful position, it is only a third-rank official position, not the top position of Minister of Rites. Being too young—what kind of reason is that?"
Xia Chen sighed. No wonder his Third Uncle was so drunk, looking utterly dispirited.
If things continued like this, his Third Uncle's official career would have already reached its peak, at most a Vice Minister. Becoming a Minister or even joining the Cabinet would be absolutely impossible.
"It seems that both my Uncle and Third Uncle have already felt the emperor's extreme distrust of our family. He wants to win them over but is also extremely wary. And sending Xia Wen here is a kind of gamble!"
Among the third generation of the Xia family, talents are emerging one after another. Although the outside world is not yet aware, most of them are still hidden away, unrecognized!
But Xia Qian and Xia Han certainly know the true situation of their next generation of descendants. Although they are all still young, they have already shown astonishing potential.
The first and second generations of the Xia family have already made the emperor so suspicious. If so many talents appear in the third generation, can the emperor sleep soundly?
"It seems that my Uncle and Third Uncle have already sensed the danger to my Xia family and have taken action.
So, according to the original historical trajectory, later, my Xia family should have firmly bet on Yaoguang, thus escaping this catastrophe of extermination, which allowed the third generation of the Xia family to burst forth with brilliant light during the Great Unification period…"
Xia Chen murmured to himself, his pupils bursting with astonishing light. His double pupils slowly rotated, and Chaos Qi permeated, as if it could open the heavens!
