Chapter 18 The two of them hide the truth from each other

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi finished the remaining half bowl of porridge in front of him, stood up, and said, "Please, both of you, take your time. I'll head over there first."

"Mr. Gongren can pack his bags at any time. When the time comes, I'll have Brother Qu send someone to escort you to Henei."

The two men stood up to see Yuan Xi off, then sat down again.

Seeing Yuan Xi had gone some distance, Dong Zhao thought for a moment and said to Qu Yi, "Dezhou, do you think the young master is truly devoted to the Han Dynasty?"

Ju Yi drank his wine in silence, not caring at all, and said, "I'm a rough man, I only know how to fight. Thinking is something for you strategists to do."

Dong Zhao thought to himself, 'It's because I can't understand that I'm asking you.'

Yuan Xi, on the surface, emulates Liu Yu, and also lives a simple life, but Liu Yu may not necessarily be truly simple.

At that time, Liu Yu was widely known for his simple life, and was praised for often wearing coarse clothes.

But Liu Yu also had another side. His concubines, on the other hand, all wore gorgeous clothes, and therefore some people said that he was inconsistent.

However, Dong Zhao didn't really care about these things. Most famous scholars in this era were pretentious in order to achieve certain goals, putting on a show for others, which was understandable.

No lord is purely simple, otherwise they wouldn't be able to reach that position.

Ultimately, Liu Yu's biggest problem was his lack of ability, which led to his defeat and the death of a large number of his subordinates.

In this chaotic world, incompetent good people are unwelcome, they are synonymous with being at the mercy of others.

And the lord that Dong Zhao wants to rely on is someone with the ability of a hero, someone who can protect the safety of those around him in this chaotic world and reach the end.

As for whether the other party sincerely wants to restore the Han Dynasty, that is not the most important thing.

Dong Zhao couldn't see through Yuan Xi.

He felt that Yuan Xi's personality was actually very complex, not at all as he appeared in front of others.

But this is also a kind of trait, the ability to pretend.

Even if it's an act, but having the art of controlling subordinates, being able to win battles, being good at accepting subordinates' suggestions, and being able to treat the people kindly, having a reputation for benevolence and righteousness, is already better than many governors!

Yuan Xi walked in the courtyard, thinking about Dong Zhao and Qu Yi.

He couldn't gain their complete loyalty entirely because his own strength was too weak.

Although this world values reputation, after all, a good bird chooses a tree to perch on. Many famous officials and generals in later generations have also changed lords. People like Zhuge Liang, who were loyal to one person from beginning to end, were extremely rare.

If the lord is incompetent, the ministers will be exhausted and will not gain the loyalty of the ministers.

Benevolence and righteousness do not represent incompetence. A benevolent and righteous person can also be decisive in killing, and must use all means when necessary.

Some people understand this from the beginning, some people have to wander around and suffer countless losses before they realize this truth.

Now, what Yuan Xi can do is to keep winning in this chaotic world, so that more talents will attach themselves to him.

He followed the young maidservant to the wooden house, waved her away, and knocked twice on the door.

A response came from inside the house, and Yuan Xi opened the door and walked in.

He saw the woman he had brought back yesterday kneeling on the couch, bowing her head to him, and said, "Are you feeling better, madam?"

The woman lowered her head and said, "Much better, thank you, young master, for saving my life."

Yuan Xi replied, "Madam, you don't need to be so polite. I should be thanking you for saving my life yesterday."

"If you hadn't helped me stab that Xiongnu chieftain, I'm afraid I would have died."

The woman lowered her head and said, "I am terrified. Young master saved hundreds of women from danger, and your words about punishing those who violate the Han are deafening. You are truly a hero of this era."

Yuan Xi was surprised and said, "Madam, with such eloquence, you must have a family background. May I ask where you are from?"

The woman's body trembled, she didn't expect to almost reveal her secret!

She had something on her mind and didn't dare to reveal her origin, so she concealed it and said, "This humble servant was originally a servant in the official's household in Luoyang. Hearing the master speak, I naturally learned a few words. I dare not show off in front of the general."

Yuan Xi thought that this was interesting. However, at that time, the gentry mostly attached themselves to elegance, and many famous scholars, including the maids and servants in their homes, each had their own strengths, either proficient in music or roughly versed in literature. He didn't take it to heart.

Seeing that the woman was still lowering her head, he said, "Madam, you don't need to be so polite, you can raise your head."

The woman still lowered her head and said, "This servant's appearance is ugly, I'm afraid it will frighten the young master."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Madam, you have saved my life, how can there be any fright? I hope you won't worry."

Seeing this, the woman hesitated before raising her head.

Yuan Xi saw that her face was covered with black and red marks, and she was still trying to make a crooked mouth and slanted eyes, and he found it a little funny. "Madam, you can rest assured, I have no other intentions. Yesterday, when you were unconscious under the carriage, I brought you back to my mansion."

Hearing this, the woman was stunned for a moment, and then immediately understood, her face flushed.

Yuan Xi made it clear that yesterday she was injured and unconscious, and her face was normal after she fainted. Now, there was no point for her to continue to pretend to have a crooked mouth.

She no longer made squinting gestures, and said in a low voice, "This servant's face was ruined when I was young, I was afraid of scaring the general, so I did this, please forgive me, general."

Seeing that she was no longer concealing it, Yuan Xi saw that although her face was mottled with marks, her features were extremely upright.

If this woman didn't have large birthmarks on her face, she should have been extremely beautiful. Even with the birthmarks, she was still very charming.

It was difficult to predict her fate in the hands of the Xiongnu. No wonder she had to distort her features. From this, it seemed that this woman was also a smart and knowledgeable person.

His heart moved, "How were you taken away by the Xiongnu?"

The woman hesitated for a moment and said, "This servant lived in the master's house in Luoyang, as a family servant. My husband died early and I was widowed. When the Xiongnu went south to make trouble, I was kidnapped along with hundreds of Han women, and it has been several months now."

"If it weren't for the general's rescue, this servant would have been in a desperate situation, not knowing whether I was alive or dead. I am grateful for your saving grace."

Her words were half true and half false. Yuan Xi listened and sighed, "The Han Dynasty is weak and cannot protect its people. It is not the fault of the people."

Hearing this, the woman raised her head in surprise. She didn't expect these words to be spoken by a member of a noble family!

She then had the opportunity to carefully look at Yuan Xi's face. His face was square and his expression was clear. If he didn't have a shortcoming, he could be considered a handsome man.

But there was a big problem.

He had almost no beard.

Adult men in this world valued having a beard. The so-called handsome men all had a full beard, but there were also two types of people who didn't have beards.

One was eunuchs, and the other was those who were born without much beard, the so-called man with a woman's face.

Seeing that the other party's gaze was lingering on his chin, Yuan Xi immediately understood and smiled wryly, "I have almost no beard, and my father doesn't like it very much either."

His third younger brother, Yuan Shang, was the most favored, because he had a thick beard, which was considered to be handsome.

He said, "My name is Yuan Xi, courtesy name Xianyi, the second son of the Governor of Ji Province."

Hearing this, the woman's heart shook, and she involuntarily said, "I am Zhaoji... surname..."

She suddenly reacted, her mind raced, and she quickly changed her words, "Surname Wu."

"Wu Zhao."