That feeling was mysterious and profound, yet Sima Ke could perceive its existence with exceptional clarity.

This fellow who claimed to be Ouyang Zhi from Shu Prefecture truly gave him a feeling of great familiarity, as if there should have been some connection between them.

It was unclear and difficult to explain.

But this did not prevent Sima Ke from being close to him.

Similarly, Ouyang Zhi felt the same way.

He had been utterly confused just now, not understanding why this prince was so amiable towards him. Did he know about the relationship between himself and his father?

But upon reflection, that seemed unlikely.

He knew Chen Yuan's personality. He didn't like publicity and would never reveal such a relationship to others.

He wasn't even willing to acknowledge his half-son. He was the one who insisted on it.

As he pondered, he attributed it all to the word "fate."

Sima Ke was very enthusiastic, as if he regarded the Marquis Wu'an's residence as his own home. He was very warm towards Ouyang Zhi and began to indirectly inquire about the relationship between Ouyang Zhi and Chen Yuan.

Ouyang Zhi selectively recounted what he could say, mentioning that they had met in Hidden Soldier Valley.

Sima Ke nodded repeatedly, secretly admiring Chen Yuan's skills, able to maintain such a close relationship with someone he had barely met. He needed to learn from him.

After Ouyang Zhi finished speaking, he didn't remain silent. Seeing that this prince was unpretentious, he also began to ask about his relationship with Chen Yuan.

Sima Ke laughed heartily and frankly stated that they had had some animosity before, but neither of them had taken it to heart, and they had gradually turned enemies into friends.

As for how they had transformed from enemies, he naturally couldn't elaborate.

After that, Sima Ke also revealed that his own sister was the current Eldest Princess, one of the protagonists rumored to be marrying Chen Yuan in the capital.

This immediately startled Ouyang Zhi, who began to speculate inwardly.

After saying all this, Sima Ke was still not satisfied and excitedly began to talk about a series of major events Chen Yuan had carried out in the capital, omitting the matter of abolishing royal relatives and nobles, but recounting everything else.

This made Ouyang Zhi admire Chen Yuan even more.

He thought to himself that his mother was right, Chen Yuan's future was very broad, and he would need Chen Yuan's help if he wanted to revitalize the Ouyang family and Hidden Soldier Valley.

No wonder his mother was captivated by him. Who wouldn't be charmed by such an extraordinary man?

On the other side, Chen Yuan, who had been sitting in the Zhang residence for a while, rose to take his leave. Zhang the Second personally escorted him to the gate, showing even more intimacy than before.

Chen Yuan even thought that if he took the initiative, he might be able to win this woman over.

And become Zhang Xuan's brother-in-law.

But that's not how things are done.

Zhang Xuan was his friend, and Zhang Yantong had repeatedly supported him and shown goodwill. He really didn't want to delay Zhang the Second, especially at this juncture.

To show no interest in royal women, yet be enamored with a Zhang woman, would be more of a misfortune than a blessing for the Zhang family.

Watching his daughter's behavior, Zhang Yantong frowned, wanting to stop her, but he didn't know where to start. He just sighed softly and prepared to convey Chen Yuan's intentions to the emperor.

He only hoped that the emperor would be magnanimous and not suppress Chen Yuan because of such trivial matters.

Chen Yuan returned to the Marquis Wu'an's residence and quickly learned from the steward that the Fourth Prince Sima Ke and a white-clothed man with the compound surname Ouyang had come to visit.

Sima Ke wanted to ascend to the position of Crown Prince, so it was understandable that he came to visit him seeking help. But this fellow with the compound surname Ouyang was a bit interesting.

Among the people he knew, there were only a few with the surname Ouyang. It wasn't a common surname, so he almost didn't need the steward to say more, and he guessed who the visitor was.

His cheap son, Ouyang Zhi!

But this time he had coincidentally met Sima Ke, which made him feel a bit strange, because the relationship between him and them was indeed a bit strange.

In name, they had both visited their hometowns.

As for why it was "in name," it was naturally because Ouyang Zhi was not born to Madam Xu, but was just a child of her older sister raised on her behalf.

When Chen Yuan arrived at the main hall, Sima Ke and Ouyang Zhi were chatting animatedly. Only when he approached did they notice him, and they quickly stood up and cupped their hands with a smile:

"Brother Chen."

Ouyang Zhi looked at this cheap father whom he hadn't seen for a long time, but whose aura was different from before. He also straightened his face and bowed, saying:

"Brother Chen, it's been a long time."

With Sima Ke present, he naturally had to conceal the title of "father."

Chen Yuan nodded and slowly sat in the seat of honor:

"It has been a long time."

"Brother Chen, before you arrived, I had already chatted with Brother Ouyang for a long time. It's strange, even though I'm meeting Brother Ouyang for the first time, I feel a sense of closeness in my heart."

"Yes, yes, I also find it strange. Brother Chen, do you know why?" Ouyang Zhi asked, looking at Chen Yuan curiously.

He hoped to hear an answer.

Chen Yuan looked at their curious gazes and chuckled inwardly.

How could they not feel close?

They were half-brothers with different mothers.

They had no connection in ordinary times, but they were connected by the 'Dao'.

"Chen doesn't know about this, perhaps you two are just compatible," Chen Yuan said with a calm smile.

"Brother Chen is right."

"Did Madam Xu send you here?" Chen Yuan then turned his gaze to Ouyang Zhi and asked.

"Indeed. My mother is concerned about Brother Chen, but she has important responsibilities and cannot leave Tangshan. It just so happens that I also have some longing for the capital, so I took this errand. I hope Brother Chen doesn't mind."

"Is everything alright in Tangshan?"

Ouyang Zhi glanced at Sima Ke inconspicuously and slowly shook his head:

"Everything is fine, all is well. However, several adults and...my mother, miss Brother Chen very much."

"Well, there will be opportunities in the future," Chen Yuan nodded.

As long as everything was fine, that was good. To him now, the foundation in Tangshan was no longer so important, but after all, it was the place where he rose to prominence, so he still had some feelings for it.

"Madam Xu...mother…"

Listening to the brief conversation between Ouyang Zhi and Chen Yuan, Sima Ke was confused, but after thinking for a while, his eyes flashed with understanding, and he realized who Ouyang Zhi was.

He had investigated Chen Yuan's past and knew that he had a foundation in Tangshan and also kept a woman there, Madam Xu, who was once the most beautiful woman in Shu Prefecture.

And Ouyang Zhi was Madam Xu's son.

No wonder he was so close to him before.

So they were comrades…

Thinking of this, Sima Ke looked at Ouyang Zhi with some awkwardness, feeling uncomfortable all over, but strangely, he didn't dislike this person.

He could only sigh inwardly, guessing that this was the only person in the world who shared his fate.

He just didn't know if Chen Yuan and Madam Xu's good deeds were facilitated by this person. If that was the case, then they had once thought of the same thing.

Thinking about it, Sima Ke couldn't help but feel a sense of crisis.

Everyone said that Madam Xu was beautiful and in her prime, while his mother's age was obviously older, and she seemed to be at a disadvantage in a contest for favor.

The only thing she could offer was her status as a noble consort.

Perhaps only when his elder sister married into the Chen family and became the legal wife could he leap up and become Chen Yuan's most supportive…friend.

"Your Highness came here for the matter of establishing a Crown Prince, right?"

After Chen Yuan finished talking with Ouyang Zhi, he turned to Sima Ke.

"Brother Chen is as insightful as a god. That's right, Ke came for this matter. Father hopes that I can train in the headquarters of the Sky Survey Division for a period of time, and I will need Brother Chen's strong assistance. When I came, my mother also said that she would definitely thank Brother Chen for his help another day."

As he spoke, he glanced at Ouyang Zhi, his eyes making Ouyang Zhi feel a little strange.

Was he trying to compete for favor?

That shouldn't be…

Could it be…

Ouyang Zhi's thoughts drifted, and he thought about his father Chen Yuan's personality and preferences. He vaguely had a bold guess and took a deep breath.

No way?!

No! No!

Ouyang Zhi immediately cut off this thought, definitely thinking too much.

No, even if it was true, he couldn't think about it anymore.

Seeing that Ouyang Zhi's relationship with Chen Yuan was similar to his own, he didn't completely hide it, anyway, he couldn't guess the ins and outs of it.

Little did he know that Ouyang Zhi, who even knew that Chen Yuan had unusual preferences, was already vaguely suspicious.

"What's wrong with you?"

Seeing that Ouyang Zhi seemed a little strange, Chen Yuan frowned.

"Nothing, nothing, just thinking about some things," Ouyang Zhi waved his hand and said quickly.

Chen Yuan stared at him and turned to answer Sima Ke's words:

"Well, Chen will help you with this matter. Also, please say hello to Noble Consort."

He had already experienced the other party's thanks.

Verbal thanks were not just verbal thanks.

"Thank you, Brother Chen."

Sima Ke smiled, thinking that he had indeed found Chen Yuan's weakness.

After the two stated their intentions, Chen Yuan ordered people to serve tea and chatted idly.

Sima Ke inconspicuously mentioned to Chen Yuan the events that had happened at the family banquet that day to see what Chen Yuan thought. After all, he hadn't reacted much when he heard about this matter before, and even resisted it a little.

But this time it was the emperor's intention, so could it be that Chen Yuan still wanted to resist the imperial decree?

But to his surprise, Chen Yuan's expression was still lukewarm, neither ecstatic nor frowning in disgust, which made him curious.

He couldn't figure out Chen Yuan's pulse at all.

In fact, Chen Yuan was not willing to say much about this matter to him. He had already refused Zhang Yantong, and the emperor must know it, so it was useless to say more to Sima Ke.

If it were normal, he would naturally not refuse if Noble Consort Yang and Princess Pingyang could serve him together, feeling that it was the blessings he had accumulated in his life.

But after knowing Jingtai's thoughts about him, his idea of getting both mother and daughter rabbits had faded a lot, and he would not risk his future.

If Jingtai was really prepared to suppress him, then he would find a way to leave the capital immediately.

It was meaningless to be suppressed here.

After chatting for a while, Sima Ke offered to leave, while Ouyang Zhi stayed in the residence to rest.

After Sima Ke, an outsider, left, Ouyang Zhi no longer concealed anything and reported to Chen Yuan about the recent situation in Tangshan and the recent events in the south of Shu Prefecture.

At the same time, he also gave Chen Yuan a letter written by Madam Xu herself.

After Chen Yuan read it, he just smiled.

The development of Tangshan was progressing steadily, the number of Jianghu martial artists recruited was increasing, and the quality was also getting higher and higher. The first batch of alien war horses from Liang Prefecture had also arrived in Tangshan.

Chen Yuan's power was expanding.

At the end of the letter, Madam Xu also expressed her longing for Chen Yuan.

Overall, it was almost the same as the previous Noble Consort Yang.

That night.

Imperial City, Imperial Study.

Jingtai sat on the dragon chair with a gloomy expression, his brow furrowed. Just now, Zhang Yantong had come to see him and vaguely expressed Chen Yuan's resistance.

He did not want to marry Princess Pingyang and hoped to rely on himself to obtain all status and power.

"Hmph, ungrateful!"

Jingtai's eyes showed a fierce light, staring at the desk in front of him, wanting to smash it directly.

Chen Yuan was still the first person who dared to disobey his imperial decree. If it were not for the fact that this person's talent was truly rare and he had the qualifications of a True Lord, he would have been furious and started planning how to deal with this person.

But Chen Yuan was different from ordinary people after all, and his martial arts talent really made him admire him and feel that he was qualified to become a war knife in the hands of the Sima imperial family.

Moreover, his reputation was very high.

Perhaps his current strength was not top-notch in the world, but his reputation was not inferior, especially in the north. If he suppressed him for no reason, it would inevitably cause criticism and further reduce the authority of the court.

While he was thinking about how to get Chen Yuan to agree to the marriage, Cao Zhengxian was also summoned. When he saw Jingtai, he immediately bowed and said:

"This old minister greets Your Majesty."

"Hmm."

"I wonder what His Majesty has summoned this old minister for?" Cao Zhengxian was a little suspicious.

"About Chen Yuan's matter."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, this old minister has already ordered people to prepare. Tomorrow morning, someone from the palace will go to announce the decree and promote Chen Yuan to the Sky Character Divine Envoy of the Sky Survey Division."

This was what Jingtai had instructed him to do before. Although he was a little uncomfortable with Chen Yuan becoming the Sky Character Divine Envoy of the Sky Survey Division, he could only do things honestly.

Grand Commander Xiao Jing, the Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow three Divine Envoys jointly requested the emperor to appoint Chen Yuan as the Sky Character Divine Envoy, and stated that he was the most suitable candidate.

Such a great force, even the emperor had to think deeply and give this position to Chen Yuan.

"This matter is not urgent yet," Jingtai said with a profound look.

"Hmm? Your Majesty..." Cao Zhengxian was stunned. It was clearly the emperor who had just issued an edict to prepare to appoint Chen Yuan as the Sky Character Divine Envoy, so why was it not urgent now?

"Zhang Yantong came here just now, and Chen Yuan doesn't want to marry Pingyang," Jingtai said in a deep voice.

He had indeed thought about letting Chen Yuan become the Sky Character Divine Envoy so that he could better cultivate him, but Zhang Yantong told him that Chen Yuan had no intention of getting married.

This immediately made his heart sink.

He was preparing to suppress this person's unruly personality first.

When he asked the emperor for marriage, that was when he would give him this position!

"What...this..." Cao Zhengxian pondered for a long time after hearing this.

"Do you think Chen Yuan really thinks so, or does he not want to get too involved with the royal family?" Jingtai asked, looking at him calmly.

Looking at the emperor's eyes, Cao Zhengxian wanted to add some fuel to the fire for Chen Yuan, but after thinking about it carefully, he still did not take action and said:

"This old minister thinks that perhaps the matter of Yang Hucheng before has left a thorn in Chen Yuan's heart. After all, Princess Pingyang was born to Noble Consort, and they used to have some disagreements."

Jingtai frowned, also thinking about this.

"Hasn't he already resolved his grievances with Ke'er?"

As far as he knew, Chen Yuan was now basically supporting Sima Ke to ascend to the throne, so there should be no grudges.

"The Fourth Prince's grievances have been resolved, but the grievances with Noble Consort have not been resolved. It is said that Noble Consort did not allow the Fourth Prince to enter the palace before and also rebuked him. Perhaps it was because of this matter."

Jingtai's eyes flickered:

"What do you mean?"

"The one who tied the bell must untie it. Chen Yuan became famous at a young age and is arrogant. His personality has always been ruthless, so it may be difficult for him to bow his head first. It is better to have the Noble Consort go to the Marquis Wu'an's residence to encourage him on behalf of Your Majesty, and perhaps it will have a miraculous effect," Cao Zhengxian said carefully.

"Well, let's do that first. What if Chen Yuan still doesn't know what's good for him?"

"Then Your Majesty can issue an edict in the court. As long as Chen Yuan still has ambition and wants to have greater power, he will definitely not dare to refuse Your Majesty's edict," Cao Zhengxian did not believe that Chen Yuan would dare to refuse.

If he really did not know whether to live or die, then he would be demoted to a prefecture outside the capital to suppress him for a few more years, temper his temperament, and let him know that in the court, the emperor was the sky.

He would not allow such an arrogant person to exist!

Jingtai squinted his eyes and looked at the somewhat dim sky outside. He said to the outside:

"Come, summon Noble Consort Yang."

"The matter of the Sky Character Divine Envoy will be put on hold first. Don't rush, let this kid have some sense of propriety, hmph," Jingtai snorted coldly, feeling unhappy with Chen Yuan's arrogance.

At this time, he would first go along with him. When he made a Dao oath and became one with the royal family, he would naturally have a way to handle him.

"Your Majesty is wise," Cao Zhengxian immediately gave him a flattering remark.

Not long after, Noble Consort Yang hurriedly came with several maids, looked up at the emperor, and bowed, saying:

"This concubine greets Your Majesty."

Jingtai looked at Yang Huanyu and said in a deep voice:

"My beloved concubine..."

He told her the news that Chen Yuan was unwilling to marry and revealed that it was her reason that Chen Yuan had grudges and ruined his plan to win over Chen Yuan.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Noble Consort Yang was really a little scared at first, thinking that the emperor knew about her becoming a Dao companion with Chen Yuan, and she was uneasy. Now she had a bottom line.

"This matter can't be blamed on you, but I don't want Chen Yuan to refuse this marriage because of you. I have other plans, understand?"

"This concubine...this concubine…"

"In a while, you take some things and go to the Marquis Wu'an's residence to comfort the Marquis Wu'an on behalf of me, and try to resolve this grievance. Chen Yuan is capable and helpful to Ke'er," Jingtai said lightly.

"Yes, this concubine understands."

Although she put on a crying face, she was secretly overjoyed.

She was just thinking about how to leave the palace, but she didn't expect the emperor to give her a chance directly.

Her Yuan Qi had recovered, and it was the time when she was anxious.

"Don't rush to come back, it is best to persuade this person to resolve the grievance."

"Yes, this concubine will definitely do her best."

Thank you all for your support!!!!!!!

(End of this chapter)