Zhao Yun knew that Yuan Xi was very quick in doing things, without any delay, not only in military affairs, but also in marriages. The last time Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi got married, it was extremely fast. He didn't expect that the same would be true for marrying Lu Lingqi this time.
He smiled bitterly and said, "Young Master's actions are really...unpredictable."
Yuan Xi sighed, "I feel so sorry for Zilong. We have to go back to Youzhou right after our wedding. Why don't we take my sister with us?"
Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "Master, you know."
"My wife should stay in Yecheng to ease the relationship between the two sides. Otherwise, Lord Benchu will start to suspect us."
Yuan Xi was silent. He had to admit that Zhao Yun was right.
Although he and Yuan Shao are father and son, these are unreliable in the face of family interests and the world. Especially after his power has gradually expanded in recent years, the marriage between Zhao Yun and Yuan Xing has become an important bond to maintain the two forces of Jizhou and Youzhou.
If Yuan Xing was taken away at this time, the marriage between the two families would lose the basis of trust, and both sides would fall into suspicion.
Thinking of this, he said to Lu Lingqi, "Come with me and follow my brother-in-law back to meet my sister."
"After all, we have to leave right after we get married, and we don't know when we can come back."
Lu Lingqi nodded obediently and followed Yuan Xi on horseback.
After everyone returned home, Guo Jia tried to deceive Lu Xun, and Lu Xun had no choice but to agree to serve as Guo Jia's disciple when he asked for advice. However, he refused to give in to Guo Jia's idea of accepting him as his last disciple.
Guo Jia returned to the house in a bad mood. Seeing his expression, Dong said, "What are you worried about, my husband?"
Guo Jia sighed, "I finally found someone with excellent qualifications, but that guy is so opinionated. It really pissed me off."
"It's like spending a whole day fishing, only to have the fish escape at the last minute!"
Dong smiled and said, "With time, maybe he will change his mind."
Guo Jia shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. This kid may have a more similar temperament to Ju Shou. The young master will leave for Youzhou in the next few days. I'm afraid there won't be much chance for the two to meet."
When Mrs. Dong heard this, she said disappointedly, "My husband is leaving again?"
Guo Jia has only come back once in the past two years. Who knows when he will come back next time?
Guo Jia said, "Madam and Yi'er, come back to Jicheng with me this time."
Dong was delighted when she heard this, "Really?"
Guo Jia sighed, "That's right. Madam has been teaching Yi'er these past few years, but he is old now. Madam alone can hardly teach him more advanced things."
"There is a charity school in Jicheng. Many people there have expertise and are qualified to teach him, so as not to delay him."
"You are different from other lords. If the next generation does not have real talent and knowledge, I am afraid they will just sit back and eat up all the wealth."
"Although this way you can have enough food and clothing, it is difficult to achieve success in your career."
"So no matter what, let Yi'er try his best."
Dong seemed to understand, but she didn't quite understand. Guo Jia was so highly regarded by Yuan Xi that he would have a fiefdom sooner or later. How could this be considered as barely having enough food and clothing?
Guo Jia added: "We have been apart for many years, and I am a lustful person. I am sorry for putting you in such a difficult position."
"I have privately inquired about my physical condition, and I am afraid it is no more than ten years."
Mrs. Dong was horrified and said hurriedly, "My husband will be fine!"
Guo Jia sighed, "I know what's going on."
"Life is short and regrets are inevitable. If we can be together for one more day, it will be a day. After that, life or death depends on God's will."
Dong's eyes turned red and she nodded.
Yuan Xi and Lu Lingqi visited Yuan Xing together and found that her appearance didn't seem to have changed much, but there was a hint of charm between her expression and eyebrows. They thought to themselves that Zilong was indeed extraordinary.
When Yuan Xing heard that everyone was going to leave soon, she did not show any surprise, as if she had expected it, and said: "A real man should make achievements and establish a career. I will leave your husband to me."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister. Zilong is a lucky man. He is much more blessed than me."
Yuan Xing was amused by Yuan Xi and said with her hands covering her mouth: "More fortunate than you?"
"You are too modest, brother. Isn't the woman beside you the one that every noble family in the world wants but cannot get?"
Yuan Xi was sweating. Yuan Xing took Lu Lingqi's hand and said, "If you are bullied by him, I will help you get justice."
Lu Lingqi knew that Yuan Xi and Yuan Xing had an unusual relationship, so she smiled and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Si. Anyway, he can't beat me, so it's still difficult for him to bully me."
Yuan Xing smiled, took out a box from the side, and handed it to Lu Lingqi, "Tomorrow is the wedding, I can't be there in person, so I can only ask my husband to go."
Everyone chatted and laughed for a while. Yuan Xi saw that Yuan Xing seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he said to Lu Lingqi, "You go out and wait for me for a while."
After Lu Lingqi left, Yuan Xing looked around to see if there was anyone around, then she lowered her voice and said, "I don't know whether I should tell you or not. It's about my third brother."
"But after thinking about it, I think you are the most reliable person when it comes to our Yuan family's affairs."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi's expression became serious, "Sister, please speak."
Yuan Xing pondered for a moment, "You know, Third Brother is indeed talented, but he has been acting strangely in recent years. I always feel that something is not right."
"I have a good relationship with his wife, Hong, but she is very tight-lipped and won't tell me about family scandals, so I guessed some of the things I saw."
"You've also seen that she seems to be often abused by her third brother."
Yuan Xi nodded slightly. He had noticed the scar on Hong's wrist that day, but this was Yuan Shang's family affair and he, as an outsider, had no right to interfere.
Yuan Xing lowered her voice, "From Hong's words and deeds, I guessed that the third brother's words and deeds in recent years have been quite abnormal. Moreover, the two of them have no children so far, and the third brother has not taken a concubine. It seems that he is addicted to Wushisan."
After listening to this, Yuan Xi fell into deep thought. He knew that Yuan Shang used the Five-Stone Powder, but he had never thought about it carefully because Yuan Shang had no children!
He immediately sensed the danger. With his adoption, Yuan Shang had already been designated as the next head of the Yuan family. The nobles on both sides had taken sides, and a balance of power was formed in Jizhou.
It can be said that this situation is a dangerous balance, which depends entirely on Yuan Shao to preside over the overall situation. As long as something happens to Yuan Shao, this seemingly stable situation can be broken by unknown external forces at any time.
If Yuan Shang really had problems with his offspring, I'm afraid even if Yuan Shao were still alive, he might not be able to suppress such a change!
Yuan Xi immediately thought, since Yuan Shang had no offspring, could Yuan Tan really not plan to take advantage of the situation?
And Yuan Shao should have taken precautions against this, right?
Yuan Xi felt the difficulty of the situation. He had previously neglected the seriousness of the problem. The main reason was that Yuan Xi had already set up his own family. Whether Yuan Shang had offspring or not did not have much impact on Yuan Xi, so Yuan Xi subconsciously ignored it.
But now think about it, if the worst case scenario occurred after Yuan Shao's death, or if this bomb exploded before Yuan Shao's death, it would have a great impact on Yuan Xi.
The bomb for the Yuan family was the dispute between Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan.
Over the past few days, Yuan Xi gradually discovered that there was a reason why Yuan Shao did not choose Yuan Tan, and it was not as simple as personal preference.
Yuan Tan was much more ruthless than Yuan Shang, and in order to fight for the family property, he later defected to Yuan's mortal enemy Cao Cao, which was tantamount to a complete betrayal of the Yuan family.
Therefore, Yuan Xi now does not want Yuan Tan to be in charge of the Yuan family, because with Yuan Tan's style of doing things, he will sooner or later do something irreparable.
Of course, in Yuan Xi's heart, the three former brothers would eventually become enemies sooner or later.
But that was after all the great enemies in the world were defeated. If we fought against each other while powerful enemies like Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were still alive, we would only be making things easier for others and become a joke for all eternity.
Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "I understand what Sister means. I will be careful and take precautions."
"This matter must not be spread at this moment. Whether it is true or false, if someone uses it, Jizhou will be in chaos."
Yuan Xing also knew the seriousness of the matter, so she nodded slightly in agreement.
Inside Yuan Shao's residence, Yuan Shao looked at the wedding invitation and shook his head, saying, "Xian Yi's actions are always unexpected."
"The wedding was held in such a hurry. Is the situation in Youzhou so bad?"
Yuan Shang said sourly, "Xian Yi is really lucky. He went to Hanoi and was appreciated by Marquis Wen. He even arrived in time when I was about to defeat the Black Mountain Army. He took advantage of me."
"My father is a little biased towards him. Even if he doesn't come to Montenegro, I will be able to defeat the Montenegro army sooner or later."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao sneered and said, "You haven't made much progress in these few years!"
Yuan Shang rarely saw Yuan Shao so angry, so he quickly lowered his head and cursed Yuan Xi in his heart, asking how come he could always disgust him even after he was adopted out!
Yuan Shao knew that Yuan Shang had been dissatisfied, so he asked, "Do you know why Xian Yi's proposal was accepted?"
"Because the proposal he made will not only benefit him, but also bring the greatest benefit to our Yuan family, so I will agree to it!"
"His plan is not a conspiracy, but an open and aboveboard one. No one can refuse to accept it!"
"If you are willing to humble yourself and learn from him, and not do those sneaky little things, but act openly and honestly, this is the demeanor of the head of the Yuan family!"
"You have to know that you are no longer the third son of the Yuan family, but the next heir designated by me, so you must do better than everyone else!"
After Yuan Shao said this series, he became a little anxious and couldn't help coughing. Yuan Shang hurried forward to serve him tea and pat his back.
Yuan Shao picked up the cup of tea and drank a few sips before he calmed down. Seeing this, Yuan Shang said, "Father, your cough has not improved. I heard that the Taoist priests of the Taiping Dao have made some Five Stone Powder, which is quite effective in relieving pain. Would you like to try it, father?"
Yuan Shao waved his hand and said, "I have heard of this, but this kind of illness is not so easy to cure. I am in good health now and do not want to take any medicine. Let's talk about it later."
"Go back and think about my words carefully."
Yuan Shang quickly responded and said, "Father, your teaching is correct. I must think hard and make progress."
Yuan Shao nodded with satisfaction and said, "You are the most like me among the three of us. Do a good job."
"There's Xianyi's wedding tomorrow, go there in my place."
Yuan Shang agreed and said goodbye and left. Yuan Shao sat in the room, silent.
Yuan Shang is indeed the one most like himself, but Yuan Xi has surpassed himself when he was the same age.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the Yuan family?