Chapter 029: Few Friends, Many Enemies

The Prime Minister's central military tent was spacious enough not to feel cramped with just a few people inside. Yet Liu Yan's wretched, nearly ear-splitting cries tore through the solemn atmosphere, leaving not a trace of the dignity that should have prevailed.

Zhuge Liang cleared his throat softly. The sound was not loud, but to those present, its effect was astonishing. Especially Liu Yan, who had been wailing like a shrew; at that faint cough he instantly sealed his lips, not daring to utter another word despite the pain that made cold sweat stream down his face. He bit his lip tightly, tears welling in his eyes, looking pitifully at Zhuge Liang. Slowly, he sank to his knees with a thud, pleading in a choked voice, "Prime Minister, this young man was insolent and disrespectful, violating the order of rank. I beg you to uphold justice."

Zhuge Liang glanced at him and waved his hand. "Get up and stand aside. Let me first clarify what happened before making a judgment."

"Yes..." Liu Yan clutched his hand, wiped away his tears with his arm, and stood aside, sniffling softly in grievance. The tent fell into a heavy silence that made it hard to breathe.

Zhuge Liang cast his gaze toward the entrance, where Zhuge Qiao and Fu Xing stood, and beckoned them forward. Zhuge Qiao stepped up and saluted. "Prime Minister, I had just left camp and happened upon Fu Xing, who was present during the incident, so I brought him here."

Zhuge Liang nodded. "Fu Xing, did you witness the conflict between Liu Yu and Wei Ba with your own eyes?"

Fu Xing stepped forward and bowed. "I did."

"Good. Tell me exactly what happened."

Fu Xing glanced at Wei Ba, then at Liu Yan, hesitated for a moment, and began recounting the events. Wei Ba stood silently to one side, watching Fu Xing with a half-smile. He had no idea what Fu Xing would say, but he certainly wasn't placing his hopes on him. Since Fu Xing had been walking with Liu Yu, their relationship was naturally closer than with a fellow townsman he had never met. If Fu Xing decided to distort the truth and take Liu Yu's side, Wei Ba could understand that.

Yet, to his surprise, Fu Xing did nothing of the sort. He recounted every detail of the confrontation after entering the camp, not withholding a thing. As soon as he began, mentioning their arrival on horseback, Liu Yan's expression darkened, his eyes filled with venomous glare at Fu Xing. If not for Zhuge Liang's presence, he might have rushed forward and struck Fu Xing himself.

When Fu Xing described how Wei Ba repeatedly called Liu Yu a beauty, causing Liu Yu to become enraged and ultimately order a beating, escalating until Liu Yu himself drew his sword to kill Wei Ba, Liu Yan could restrain himself no longer. He leapt forward and slapped Fu Xing hard across the face. "You wretch, how dare you slander him! I see—it’s because you’re from Yiyang too, helping your fellow townsman, isn’t it?"

Fu Xing's face burned with pain. He stepped back and bowed. "General, I am only speaking the truth, without concealment or favoritism, regardless of our shared hometown. If you do not believe me, you may ask others in the camp for confirmation."

"Nonsense, you are clearly taking his side!" Liu Yan raged. "Even if Yu'er was at fault, it was because of the likes of you—and especially you—leading him astray..."

Wei Ba watched coldly from the sidelines, quite satisfied with Liu Yan’s unreasonable and foolish outburst. Zhuge Liang sighed and waved his hand. "Someone, help the General to rest. Wei Ba, I now understand what happened. The fault does not lie with you. However, you did twist the General’s finger and strike him in public, which could be seen as insubordination. But since he insulted your father first, I will not hold this against you. Still, as a young man, you must guard against such rashness in the future. Be steady in your conduct and never act so recklessly again. Do you understand?"

Wei Ba bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Prime Minister. I will remember your words."

"Very well, you may go. Leave your account books here; I will pass them on to Staff Officer Yang."

"Thank you, Prime Minister. I take my leave." Wei Ba glanced at the pale-faced Liu Yan and was about to go when he caught sight of Fu Xing standing by with head lowered. A thought occurred to him. He had a good impression of Fu Xing and did not wish to see him suffer for his honesty, but he could not openly threaten Liu Yan in front of Zhuge Liang, and Liu Yan wouldn’t listen anyway. He considered for a moment, then walked over to Fu Xing and bowed.

Fu Xing was startled and quickly returned the gesture.

"Thank you, Brother Fu, for speaking up for justice. If not for you, I could not have cleared my name today, no matter how hard I tried."

"You’re too kind, Brother Wei. Even had I not spoken the truth, the Prime Minister’s wisdom would not have allowed you to suffer injustice." Fu Xing, clearly more seasoned, shot Wei Ba a telling look, signaling him not to say the wrong thing or thank the wrong person.

Wei Ba understood but deliberately continued, "The Prime Minister is burdened with state affairs and cannot attend to every small matter. Even if the truth emerged later, I would have suffered in the meantime. I shall remember your great kindness. After I inform my father, I will come to thank you in person."

"Thank you, thank you indeed." Fu Xing breathed a sigh of relief. With General Wei Yan’s family behind him, even if Liu Yan bore him a grudge, Zhuge Liang would not make things difficult. He could no longer stay under Liu Yan, but with Wei Yan’s support, perhaps better prospects awaited.

After expressing his gratitude again, Wei Ba stepped out of the tent. No sooner had he exited than he was met by a startling scene. Wei Feng and Wei Wu approached at a brisk pace, leading a dozen fierce-looking personal guards, all clad in bright armor and fully armed as though heading into battle. Though their numbers were small, their formation was as tight as a charge, ready to rescue Wei Ba at a moment’s notice. The central camp’s guards were tense but did not react too aggressively, given their opponents were few. Only the guards before the main tent set up a defensive stance, while the others merely grew more alert, the strain plain on their faces.

"Brother, what is this about?"

Wei Feng hurried to Wei Ba, squeezed his shoulder, and scrutinized him exaggeratedly from head to toe, nervously asking, "Aba, are you hurt anywhere? Did anyone bully you?"

Wei Ba suppressed a laugh and replied with feigned seriousness, "Brother, what are you saying? With the Prime Minister present, who could possibly bully me? I am perfectly well."

"Good, good." Wei Feng waved his hand, and the guards surged around Wei Ba, forming a tight protective circle. He whispered, "Wait here a moment while I enter and speak to the Prime Minister."

Wei Ba nodded repeatedly and quickly briefed Wei Feng on what had happened inside, especially highlighting Fu Xing’s role. Wei Feng’s eyebrows rose. "He helped you? That makes things easier. Don’t worry—if he helped you, he is a friend of the Wei family. Anyone who tries to harm him will answer to us."

With that, Wei Feng went to the tent entrance, put on a respectful demeanor, announced himself, and was soon summoned inside. He entered, knelt before Zhuge Liang, and said, "Prime Minister, I am at fault and await your punishment."

Zhuge Liang looked at him in surprise. "What have you done now?"

Wei Feng squeezed his eyes and sniffed, making his voice tremble with feigned emotion. "Prime Minister, I was drilling with my father when I heard reports that my brother Wei Ba was being attacked in your camp, with cavalry involved. Worried for his safety, I rushed here with my troops, unable in the haste to remove our armor, thus violating your orders."

Zhuge Liang smiled wryly. "You feared I would not act justly and would wrong your brother?"

Wei Feng kowtowed repeatedly. "You misunderstand, Prime Minister. Your reputation for fairness is beyond question. I had no such fear. It’s just that my brother recently recovered from illness and is still a bit muddled. I worried that he might offend someone with careless words or even violate your orders, and so I panicked. Fortunately, after asking around, I learned he had done nothing wrong and realized I had acted rashly. I have brought those witnesses outside if you wish to question them."

"No need—I have already heard Fu Xing’s account. I trust he would not tarnish General Fu’s legacy with a lie." Zhuge Liang waved his hand dismissively. "There is no need for punishment—take Wei Ba and your men and go, lest you arouse suspicion."

"Thank you, Prime Minister." Wei Feng rose, about to leave, when he remembered something and turned back. "Prime Minister, may I make a request?"

Zhuge Liang, already guessing his intention, frowned slightly but did not object. "Speak."

"My brother told me it was Fu Xing who spoke up on his behalf, clearing his name. I would like to invite him to a small banquet as a token of our thanks, with your permission."

Zhuge Liang nodded. "That is as it should be. I approve."

Wei Feng beamed and saluted Fu Xing. "Brother Fu, do you have time to join us at my camp tonight? My father and I would like to offer you a modest banquet to express our gratitude."

Fu Xing smiled. "You are too kind, Brother Wei. I shall be honored to attend."

"It’s settled, then."

"It’s settled."

Wei Feng smiled, turned, and left the tent with Wei Ba and Wei Wu, their guards escorting them away in grand fashion. Once outside the camp, Wei Feng slapped Wei Ba on the shoulder, elated. "Well done! Your plan worked like a charm—a couple of tears, and everything was settled."

"That’s called advancing by retreating, defending instead of attacking," Wei Ba replied with a smug grin. "We couldn’t win against the Prime Minister head-on. Since we got what we wanted, we had to give him a way to resolve the matter gracefully."

Wei Feng nodded. "Makes perfect sense. Aba, you’ve earned another merit—not only did you bring honor to Father, you also secured a friend for our Wei family."

Wei Ba was unconcerned. "Is it really such a big deal to have one more friend? Fu Xing is just a petty captain, not some powerful general."

"That’s where you’re wrong. If he were a great general, I wouldn’t dare call him friend." Wei Feng glanced around to ensure no one was listening, then clapped Wei Ba on the shoulder and sighed. "What you don’t understand is that for our Wei family, gaining another enemy is commonplace, but gaining a friend is exceedingly rare. In truth, we hardly have any friends at all."

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