To be honest, Yang Biao never doubted his son’s intelligence. A person who could awaken Spiritual Talent at the age of seventeen couldn’t be that lacking in ability. Moreover, the Yang Family of the Three Dukes of Five Generations spared no resources to nurture this legitimate son.

It wasn’t bragging; Yang Biao was confident that by the time his son reached his thirties, his governance and management skills would not be inferior to a genius like Xun Yu. However, Yang Xiu had a significant issue, one caused by his manner of education.

If one day Yang Xiu were executed, Yang Biao wouldn’t doubt the cause of death. More than half of the problems lay with Yang Xiu himself.

"Stay at home lately. I’ll find you some concubines, so you can leave behind heirs. In case one day you can’t hold your tongue and people accuse you of multiple crimes and execute you, the legitimate lineage of our Yang Family would have to choose another branch for inheritance," Yang Biao said to Yang Xiu sulkily.

Yang Xiu bowed to his father and then turned away. Watching Yang Xiu’s departing figure, Yang Biao inexplicably felt a tinge of worry.

[Alas, Dezu’s choice may not be a good thing. If the power of Cao Mengde were rising and his own strength lacking, with Dezu’s wisdom, Cao Mengde would never have disrupted matters due to his occasional nonsense. But now...]

Yang Biao sighed inwardly. He didn’t approve of Yang Xiu’s choice, but like a fledgling, Yang Xiu had grown up and his wings had hardened, so Yang Biao couldn’t force him.

[While I still have some power, if such a situation arises, I must, even at the cost of my life, ensure Dezu’s safety.] Yang Biao contemplated heavily.

Yang Biao didn’t doubt his son’s ability but worried that his personality might embroil him in situations he couldn’t extricate himself from. Cao Cao had both a tolerant side and a suspicious side; he was a hero, but a dangerous one.

[If only during this time there was just one of Yuan Benchu, Liu Xuande, or Cao Mengde, it might not be as bad. What a pity.] Yang Biao withdrew his gaze from his son, a slight shadow in his eyes.

Feeling the cold of late autumn, Sima Yi stood on the city wall, gazing into the north. He never thought he would have such worrisome times. The Son of Heaven of Han made a decision he couldn’t understand at all.

"Second young master, the family head requests your return to Henei," said the Sima family’s servant, respectfully delivering Sima Fang’s orders to the most intelligent young master of the Sima Family.

The news had just reached Chang’an, and Sima Fang’s order arrived. This place of chaos was about to erupt; staying here held no further meaning, and the Sima Family had more important matters at hand.

"Tell my father that I’m not going back. I intend to stay in Chang’an to watch this unfolding spectacle," Sima Yi said without turning back, deeming Liu Xie’s choice utterly foolish.

"Second young master, the family head requests your return to Henei to discuss vital matters," the Sima family’s servant pleaded once again.

"No, if my father wishes to do something, one less of me won’t matter. The Sima Family is big enough to find a substitute even without me," Sima Yi said, still not turning around. The Sima Family was, after all, a first-class aristocratic family.

"Second young master, the family head said, please read this letter before deciding whether to return," the servant presented a silk-lettered message to Sima Yi.

As Sima Yi unrolled the letter, he was initially indifferent, but as he read on, he became increasingly shocked. Upon reading the last few sentences, he felt overwhelmed.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling sharply, Sima Yi, who had been left pale by Sima Fang’s letter, finally calmed. His demeanor appeared almost serene, but his fists were clenched, knuckles turning white, indicating his inner turmoil.

"Zhuge Kongming, you have ruined my plans!" Sima Yi took a deep breath but ultimately couldn’t calm the anger, venting it with a single furious outburst.

"Take it away; tell my father I will not go!" Sima Yi shouted angrily. He could no longer maintain a serene demeanor of concern for the nation. He felt as though his lungs were about to explode.

The servant had no idea why the second young master was so furious. Keeping his head down as if he’d seen nothing, he left after Sima Yi and promptly burned the letter, riding swiftly to Henei.

After the Sima family’s servant left, Sima Yi grew more enraged the more he thought about it. It was clearly a good thing, but the last sentence was truly revolting. Why should he serve under Zhuge Liang? Why!

Back then, Chen Xi advised the Chen Clan Elder to explore the situation first and establish a faction centered around them for practice.

This proposal wasn’t considered exceedingly good. On one hand, they lacked power; on the other, they lacked backing. Additionally, they lacked knowledge of foreign territories. But with Chen Xi’s support and the provision of maps, the foundations were laid, and the Chen Family was willing to risk a try.

However, since the matter was dangerous, the Chen Family needed to seek cooperation. As mentioned before, their first target was the Xun Family, and their second target was their own Sima Family.

Initially, the Chen Family indeed chose the Xun Family but also reached out to the Sima Family. However, because the Chen Family didn’t clearly express the matter, the Sima Family didn’t respond much. The Chen Family later felt that joining forces with the Xun Family was enough, so they didn’t seek further allies.

Originally, the Chen and Xun families covered for each other, so no other families noticed that many young people from these families had disappeared. After all, nobody paid much attention to what these families were up to.

For those two families, the current focus was on figures like Chen Xi, Chen Qun, Xun Yu, Xun Youi, Xun Shen, Xun Yue, and others. Any interested families were watching these figures, so the Chen-Xun family’s decrease in personnel was of little concern to anyone.

Nonetheless, the Sima Family was aware of the situation. Although they didn’t react initially, a junior who wandered into the Chen Family discovered that all their capable peers had vanished! Such a significant matter would surely be reported, wouldn’t it?

With dozens capable of serving as county-level and prefecture-level officials gone from the Chen Family, how could Sima Fang not be concerned?

Of course, this was also because the Chen Family didn’t guard much against the Sima Family in this respect. They had initially aimed to involve the Sima Family in the matter. When the Sima Family didn’t respond, the idea was dropped.

Even though the Sima Family knew several young members of the Chen Family had left, they might not have cared much. However, Sima Fang had free time and was curious, so he investigated. Given the Chen Family’s lack of precaution against the Sima Family, Sima Fang discovered everything.