Chapter 49 Blocking the door again?

After Yuan Xi sent Sun Li and his wife away, Qu Yi came over and said that all the arrangements had been made overnight and they could leave at any time.

Zhao Yun also appeared and said that the city's defenses, as well as the most important food and military equipment, had been inventoried and sealed. The daily food rations would be distributed according to the rules set by Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi was quite satisfied and arranged for Qu Yi to gather the men and prepare the luggage. He then told Zhao Yun to have people post notices in the city, stating that Zhao Yun would temporarily serve as the city defender, and that Yuan Tan would lead troops to be stationed temporarily.

Just as Lady Ma was passing by cleaning the corridor, Yuan Xi told her directly to have Sun Li honestly assist Zhao Yun and wait for his return.

Lady Ma listened with a complex expression, but she still lowered her head and agreed.

Yuan Xi then went to the backyard to find Wu Ji, only to see her arranging matters for dozens of young women. He saw her select two of them to temporarily lead the women in learning etiquette while Wu Zhao was away.

Yuan Xi couldn't help but nod in approval as he saw Wu Zhao arranging everything in an orderly manner. Wu Zhao suddenly looked up and saw Yuan Xi approaching, and she quickly came over with a worried expression.

Seeing this, Yuan Xi said, "You have done very well. Go back and pack up; we will leave today."

He was a little anxious. It was already September, and for various reasons, Cao Cao had not yet attacked Xu Province, but it would be soon. He might attack any day, and he would be too late.

He had previously asked Dong Zhao to write a family letter and sent it to Dong Fang in Chenliu Commandery, Yanzhou. If all went well, Dong Fang should have received the letter and told Prefect Zhang Miao the contents.

According to Dong Zhao, his younger brother Dong Fang respected him very much and should take the contents of the letter seriously.

The content of the letter was very simple: Dong Zhao had found a strange person among his distant relatives who understood the great events of the world and was particularly good at observing the stars and had the ability to see into the future.

This person predicted that there would be great chaos in Yanzhou, and Zhang Miao and others might lose their lives. Therefore, Dong Zhao invited the strange person to tell Zhang Miao how to avoid disaster and save his life.

This sounded full of loopholes, but at that time, almost all the noble families believed in prophecies and fortune-telling.

The trend of interpreting prophecies had been popular since Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, and by the end of the Han Dynasty, it was even more widespread among the noble families.

As long as Yuan Xi could fool them well and perform smoothly on the spot, the possibility of success was still very high.

However, the nickname that Dong Zhao came up with for Yuan Xi after thinking for a long time made Yuan Xi extremely conflicted.

Hidden Tiger, Dong Lue.

Dong Lue, slightly understand?

Yuan Xi felt that Dong Zhao was simply too talented, and his naming was so flamboyant.

The rumors of the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick had not yet appeared at that time. How did Dong Zhao choose this name?

However, the four symbols of beasts accurately avoided the dragon, phoenix, and turtle. Yuan Xi secretly rejoiced that Dong Zhao had not given himself a nickname such as Crouching Turtle or Divine Turtle, otherwise it would be too embarrassing.

He saw that Wu Zhao wanted to say something but hesitated, so he said, "Is there anything else difficult?"

"If you really don't want to go, I won't force you."

Wu Zhao waved her hands repeatedly and said, "That's not what I meant. It's just that when I was at the master's house, there were some rare books that were taken away by the Xiongnu people, and I'm afraid..."

Yuan Xi laughed and said, "So that's it. Come with me."

Wu Zhao followed Yuan Xi to the study with trepidation. Yuan Xi took out the key and opened a secret door. Inside was a small space with several boxes.

Yuan Xi stepped forward, opened the box, and pointed to the rolls of silk books inside, saying, "Is what you've been thinking about these collections of Cai Yong's books?"

Since Wu Zhao was taken to the City Lord's Mansion after her last coma, she had never seen the whereabouts of those boxes again. Now that she saw them again, she couldn't help but be extremely excited. She stepped forward to take a look and found that they were indeed her father's relics.

She held the silk books, thinking of her loved ones, and her eyes were filled with tears.

Yuan Xi looked at her expression and thought that this woman was loyal. She was not related to Cai Yong, but she knew how to preserve these precious rare books.

He always felt that something was wrong and said, "Cai Yong has been killed for many years. Why are you still in the mansion?"

"I heard that he also has a daughter named Cai Zhaoji?"

Wu Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly concealed her expression and said, "That's right."

"Lady Zhaoji married Wei Zhongdao of Hedong when she was sixteen, but before she went to Hedong, Young Master Wei fell ill and was bedridden."

"In less than a year, Young Master Wei passed away, and Lady Zhaoji returned to Luoyang and lived with the master."

"At that time, I was also newly widowed, and Lady Zhaoji and I sympathized with each other. For pastime, she often taught me to read and write."

"After that, the Han court moved, and the master went to Chang'an, and was later killed by Wang Yun. I followed Lady Zhaoji back to Luoyang and lived there for two years until I encountered the Xiongnu raid."

During the Han court's relocation, Luoyang was burned down by Dong Zhuo, and the city walls were damaged, so the Southern Xiongnu took advantage of the situation.

Yuan Xi listened and hurriedly said, "What about Lady Zhaoji?"

Wu Zhao's heart skipped another beat, "She was lost in the chaos. Maybe she's still in Luoyang?"

Yuan Xi pondered, "That's strange. According to what they say, she should have been taken to the Southern Xiongnu tribe and ended up in the Northern lands."

"This year is the first year of Xingping. She should have been captured to the Northern lands in the second year of Xingping. Maybe the Southern Xiongnu will raid Luoyang again?"

Wu Zhao opened her eyes wide in surprise: "Why is the lord so sure?"

"Moreover, Lady Zhaoji's maiden name has not been spread. How does the lord know it?"

Yuan Xi realized he had misspoke and was speechless for a moment, so he had to make up a story: "I know some star-gazing techniques."

Wu Zhao was even more surprised, "I also know a little about this. To observe the stars and look at fate, you must have seen the person's face. When did the lord see Lady Zhaoji?"

"Moreover, you can even calculate the maiden name? That's unheard of."

Yuan Xi thought, why do you know everything?

Am I Dong Lue, or are you Dong Lue?

He forced a smile and said, "My star-gazing technique is different. You will know it slowly."

Wu Zhao said suspiciously, "If I have the chance, I will ask the lord for advice."

Yuan Xi had a headache. Why does this woman like to get to the bottom of things so much!

For this lie, I have to make up several more lies!

He laughed and said, "No problem. Now you can be considered worthy of that Lady Zhaoji. When we have time in the future, we can go to Luoyang to see her and return Cai Yong's books to her."

Wu Zhao quickly bowed and said, "I will thank you on behalf of the lady."

She was trying to get to the bottom of things just to make Yuan Xi feel compelled to stop pursuing her origins. Now that she saw that she had gotten away with it, she finally felt relieved.

Otherwise, if Yuan Xi continued to ask, she might really be exposed!

The two of them had many concerns and harbored their own ulterior motives, but they were both clumsily ignoring certain truths.

The two walked out of the study with relief. Yuan Xi locked the secret door and led Wu Zhao to the courtyard, where he saw Sun Li rushing over.

When he saw Yuan Xi, he quickly came over and shouted, "Brother, something bad has happened! We're being blocked!"

Yuan Xi was shocked and said, "What blocked?"

"Is it Gongsun Zan's army or the Southern Xiongnu?"

He thought, this is coming pretty fast. It seems like there's going to be another battle.

Sun Li shook his head and said, "It's not the city gate, it's the mansion gate."

"Our City Lord's Mansion is surrounded by thousands of people from Beixin City!"

Yuan Xi was shocked. A riot?