Chapter 535 – Winds and Clouds of the World (Part Five)
Upon seeing this invitation, Feng Jue’s heart surged with overwhelming joy.
Since suffering a setback at the hands of Changshou Wang, he and Huang Song had noticed the Chief Strategist under Changshou Wang—Yang Si.
Yang Si was not a well-known figure; after all, serving in Dongqing as an official or becoming a notable scholar all required a distinguished background. Someone like Yang Si naturally belonged to a lower tier, which is why he was lured to Changshou Wang’s side and was subsequently valued.
Unfortunately, Changshou Wang was ultimately not a wise ruler, and Yang Si soon found himself neglected and overlooked.
Feng Jue never expected that Yang Si’s invitation would appear on Huang Song’s desk, signaling that Yang Si had left Changshou Wang and was now without a master. If their own lord, Huang Song, could recruit him, it would be like adding wings to a tiger, greatly enhancing their strength.
Although Zhaiyang County had not experienced warfare, even this small county had its own “ecosystem,” with a complex web of relationships among the powers in play. Huang Song took full control of these dynamics, making him a genuine deputy of Zhaiyang County, indeed spending quite a bit of effort in doing so.
Just as the situation started to stabilize, Feng Jue sent letters to his former classmate friends, and quite a few good news replies had come back.
It was a pity, however, that none had arrived yet. Opportunities were scarce in Zhaiyang County, and now that Yang Si had come knocking, he was truly a talented individual. How could Feng Jue not be thrilled? No one could have too many talents, especially one as exceptional as Yang Si in his field.
Feng Jue steadied his emotions and hurriedly sent someone to call Huang Song, while intricately inquiring with the doorkeeper.
“Do you know where the person who delivered this invitation resides?”
Feng Jue took a glance at the handwriting on the invitation, neat and orderly, not at all resembling the convoluted thoughts of someone like Yang Si.
He considered that this invitation was likely penned by Yang Si’s book boy.
The doorkeeper eyed the invitation, shocked, his face turned somewhat awkward, and his gaze kept flickering.
Feng Jue furrowed his brow, sensing that there might be some twists in between, his heart dropped, a foreboding feeling creeping up.
He quickly pressed on, “Wait—when was this invitation delivered? Or… did you perhaps show disrespect to that person?”
Faced with Feng Jue’s increasingly heavy aura, the doorkeeper was at a loss.
Terrified, he waved his hands, stammering but unable to provide any useful information. The more Feng Jue looked, the more he felt the situation was dire. He thumped the table with a hand, producing a thunderous sound that made the doorkeeper shiver. He said, “Speak the truth; do not hide anything!”
The doorkeeper shook like a leaf, cold sweat pouring down his back, quickly soaking his clothing.
He shut his eyes, resigned, “This, this invitation was delivered three days ago. I did not show any disrespect to that person…”
Three days ago?
Feng Jue’s eyes widened, glaring at the doorkeeper, his heart blazing with anger, his right hand clenched tightly into a fist to suppress his rage.
“Detail that day’s happenings again, word for word, or do you know the consequences?” Feng Jue suppressed the turmoil of fury within and addressed the doorkeeper, “Do you realize the grave mistake you’ve made? I hope you can make amends; otherwise—”
In truth, even without the doorkeeper giving more details, Feng Jue could guess some things.
He had just idly flipped through the invitations, and this one was compressed underneath the others. Given Huang Song’s diligence in handling official matters, he would never deliberately stack bureaucracy; the only possibility was that the doorkeeper had rashly buried this important invitation under others.
The doorkeeper knelt to the ground; when had he ever seen Feng Jue so furious?
In the past, this noble young man was always gentle and easygoing, with a hint of lazy smile on his face, treating others warmly without pretense.
Now, as he suddenly revealed the imposing demeanor of a scion, the doorkeeper, frightened, spilled everything he knew.
Right as he finished speaking, Huang Song wandered in, appearing drowsy. Seeing the doorkeeper trembling on the ground and Feng Jue still filled with rage, he said, “Jue, what grave mistake has this little doorkeeper made to warrant such anger from you? Don’t be mad; your big brother will settle it for you.”
Though Feng Jue was filled with pent-up frustration, facing Huang Song’s playful demeanor, he couldn’t help but lose some steam.
He slammed the invitation into Huang Song’s arms, pointing at the doorkeeper, “You take a look; this troublesome servant has caused a massive problem.”
Huang Song was taken aback; he had known Feng Jue for so long, and it was rare for him to get angry.
If he really did get furious, it was definitely not a trivial matter.
Realizing this, Huang Song hurriedly opened the invitation and, upon seeing the name at the bottom, his whole face twitched.
The very person who fell him from the position of Colonel had come knocking with an invitation?
The sensation was truly surreal.
However, Huang Song quickly recognized this was a prime opportunity to recruit talent.
Although he had quite a few capable individuals under him, most were rather ordinary. Exceptional talents were indeed scarce, while Feng Jue had already reached out to former classmates, with only a handful providing positive responses; most remained watchful.
The few willing to come were looking out for Feng Jue, Huang Song’s actions in Dongqing that saved lives, and his good reputation built during the battle for Chenzhou. Otherwise, with Huang Song’s background, those aristocratic youths would never have looked his way.
It wasn’t that they underestimated him for his background; it was just Huang Song hadn’t reached the point where he could disregard his origins.
Feng Jue was exceptionally good at networking and had made many friends during his time at the academy, maintaining correspondence throughout the years.
Thus, he could potentially bring a batch of capable individuals to Huang Song.
But as of now, Huang Song was still too weak; if he were stronger, he could have doubled the number of recruits.
And this Yang Si was the first to voluntarily come knocking, a significant event indeed.
Huang Song quickly asked the doorkeeper, “Where is the person who delivered the invitation?”
The doorkeeper’s face was filled with worry, “I only know that they’re staying at a local inn. But since it’s been three days, I’m not sure if they’re still there.”
Three days had passed?
Huang Song glanced incredulously at the invitation, then at the doorkeeper, and finally at the still-fuming Feng Jue…
Okay, he could understand why Feng Jue was so angry.
Feng Jue still had quite the temper, always maintaining the restraint of a young noble. If it were Huang Song, he probably would have kicked the doorkeeper out of frustration.
In fact, he did exactly that, although he controlled the force, not kicking too hard.
“Lead the way!”
Although three days had passed, if they were lucky, perhaps the visitor hadn’t gotten angry and left yet?
However, when they hurried to the inn, the news they received was that the person had just left the city as dawn broke.
“This was only half a day ago; we can still catch up!”
Feng Jue held back the impulse to cough up blood; this doorkeeper truly knew no bounds!
Huang Song, brimming with his usual fiery temperament, took the reins given by his servants, mounted his horse, and prepared to give chase.
Watching Huang Song’s figure dart away, Feng Jue felt something crack in his mental state.
The talent that had come knocking was so easily discarded?
That feeling was akin to having several dogs barking at him.
