Chapter 67 I am the Chosen One

Yuan Xing, the eldest daughter of the Yuan family, was even half a month older than Yuan Xi, but she had not yet married.

She had a gentle and beautiful appearance, and her demeanor was that of a proper lady from a prominent family.

She was kneeling face to face with Wu Zhao, who looked uneasy. At this moment, she turned her face and stared at Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi felt a chill in his heart and quickly knelt on the ground, bowing and saying, "Greetings, elder sister."

Only then did Yuan Xing give a graceful bow, her voice somewhat choked, "It's good that you've returned safely."

Yuan Xi was touched. Due to his personality, the original owner of this body rarely left the house, but he had many opportunities to meet with Yuan Xing, and the two had always had a good relationship.

He heard the reproach in Yuan Xing's voice and knew that Yuan Xing must have been very upset when he left. He had no choice but to bow again and say, "I have made elder sister worry."

Only then did Yuan Xing's face show a hint of satisfaction, and she smiled through her tears, "It's good that you still have a conscience."

She pointed to Wu Zhao and said, "I heard you went to see Father, but I couldn't wait to hear how you've been these three years, so I asked your maid to come over. You don't blame me, do you?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Of course not, but elder sister guessed one thing wrong. Wu Zhao is not my maid."

"Oh?" Yuan Xing's face showed a look of surprise, and she looked at Wu Zhao carefully again, as if she understood something, and the smile on her face grew even thicker.

Seeing that Yuan Xing's misunderstanding was deepening, Yuan Xi quickly explained, "She is not my concubine either. We are more like... friends."

He briefly explained Wu Zhao's background and said, "Wu Zhao saved me on the battlefield, and I respect her very much."

Yuan Xing's eyes darted around, and she said, "I just heard her talking about the things between you two. Wu Zhao's background is very tragic. Her family has all passed away, and she has nowhere to return."

"Given her previous status as a servant, it shouldn't be wronging her to be your concubine."

"If you don't take her in, do you want to just keep her by your side without giving her a title?"

"Could it be that you dislike her for being a widow?"

Yuan Xi said with a wry smile, "Why is elder sister giving me such a difficult problem as soon as we meet?"

"Wu Zhao has the talent to manage the world. In my eyes, she is much more capable than ordinary women from prominent families."

"Let's talk about this later. How about you, elder sister?"

"Has Father not let you marry yet?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xing said helplessly, "Look at you, you're bringing up things that shouldn't be brought up. Why has your mouth become so clever after three years of not seeing you?"

Wu Zhao knelt to the side, listening to Yuan Xi's words, and a complex and inexplicable emotion surged in her heart.

Along the way, she gradually understood that Yuan Xi might really be a... gentleman.

With Yuan Xi's status, if he wanted her to serve him in bed, she probably wouldn't have the ability to refuse at all.

But Yuan Xi had always treated her with courtesy, regarding Wu Zhao as a friend like Qu Yi and Dong Zhao.

The two had spent more than half a month in the narrow carriage, but Yuan Xi had always restrained himself and had not done anything overly out of line.

The sons of aristocratic families were romantic and carefree, treating their maids as someone to be summoned and dismissed at will, never asking about their wishes.

The aristocratic families regarded commoners as no different from pigs and dogs, and women had even lower status. To them, commoner women were no different from goods.

But Yuan Xi treated Wu Zhao differently.

Respect. This was something that Wu Zhao had rarely been able to detect from the men of the aristocratic families she had faced before.

When Yuan Shang went to see his mother, Madam Liu, his face was very unsightly.

He told her about the conversation between Yuan Shao and Yuan Xi, and finally said, "Second Brother is much more difficult to deal with than I imagined."

Madam Liu's face darkened, and she said coldly, "This little beast is very wicked. How did he guess the Rebellion of Ye City?"

"I have hinted to your father several times that the Rebellion of Ye City was related to Yuan Xi, but your father doesn't believe it."

Yuan Shang shook his head and said, "Mother is being too deliberate in saying that. How could a son rebel against his father? No one would take such words seriously."

"I did use this incident to make Bei Xin City isolated and helpless several times, but I didn't expect Second Brother to hold on."

Yuan Shang had learned about the bet between Yuan Shao and Yuan Xi regarding Ye City through his mother, Madam Liu.

But he did not question it at all. Instead, he said to Yuan Shao that since Second Brother was so confident, it meant that either he had a wise advisor or he had the ability to avoid danger.

If that was the case, then Second Brother's choice to go to Bei Xin City would definitely not be dangerous.

Praise to kill.

Yuan Shao listened and felt that it seemed very reasonable, so he was not as concerned about the affairs of Bei Xin City as before.

Yuan Shang sneered in his heart at the time. Even if he was wrong and Yuan Xi was killed by Gongsun Zan's army after the city was captured, it could only be said that Second Brother was unlucky and misjudged. What could Yuan Shao do to him?

Now that Yuan Xi had returned safely, Yuan Shang began to mutter in his heart. Did Second Brother really have the ability to predict the future?

In his mind, the threat of Yuan Xi had already begun to rise!

However, as Yuan Shao's favorite son, Yuan Shang had a firm grasp of Yuan Shao's personality.

Yuan Shao's bottom line was that it didn't matter if his three sons fought and competed, as it could be a good exercise, as long as they didn't collude with the enemy or endanger their lives.

But Yuan Shang had always had a vague premonition that Yuan Xi might pose a threat to him in the future!

Yuan Shang didn't know where this feeling came from. Several advisors also said that he was overthinking it, but Yuan Shang always felt that something was wrong.

It was hard to imagine that the Rebellion of Ye City was a wild guess. No advisor had predicted this before!

If this matter were to spread and be known by others, perhaps some people would favor Yuan Xi and secretly defect to him!

Over the past few years, Yuan Shang had always regarded Yuan Tan as his greatest opponent, gradually eroding his power, and had never taken the departed Second Brother seriously.

But Yuan Shang found that his Second Brother was not a weakling to be manipulated at will. On the contrary, as soon as they met, he had secretly suffered a setback!

Yuan Shang extremely hated this feeling of being unable to control the situation.

He had to suppress Second Brother firmly and get a hold of his weakness, otherwise he would not be qualified to be the head of the Yuan family!

Where should he start to find Second Brother's weakness?

The Zhen family marriage?

Two thousand soldiers and horses?

The bet in Xu Province?

The missing Gao Lan?

Could he sow discord between Eldest Brother and Second Brother?

Are there spies of Second Brother among my staff?

He had to carry out a major purge!

His mind began to race, and his eyes became more and more fierce.

He still had a trump card that he hadn't used. Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi didn't know that Gao Lan was sent out by him with premeditation!

A hint of a smile appeared on Yuan Shang's face. If something really happened to Gao Lan, Second Brother would be in big trouble.

Whoever fights me will ultimately fail!

In the future, Father's advisors and generals will all be mine!

Those prophecies about Second Brother will be completely shattered by me!

Only I can unify the North! Unify the world!

You should all just be idle sons of the world!

Yuan Xi told Yuan Xing about the customs and scenery of Bei Xin City. He had stayed there for three years, so naturally he could speak more vividly than Wu Zhao, who had only stayed for a month or so.

Yuan Xing listened with wide eyes, exclaiming, "The scenery of the North is so interesting. It's a pity that I can't see it."

Yuan Xi said with a wry smile, "You Province is a good place, with fertile land, but there are too many wars and bandits, making it difficult to grow grain. I often don't have enough to eat."

"Speaking of which, my appetite has increased a lot. I ate some on the road today, and I'm still a little hungry now."

Yuan Xing felt a little distressed, "Who told you to have a falling out with Father? It's still early before dinner. I have a small stove here. Should I have someone make something for you?"

She called over a maid and asked, then sighed, "But unfortunately, there's only some sesame oil and white flour left, but these things can only be used to make flatbread."

"There's also some extremely rare sugar, which I heard was only produced in Jiangdong a few years ago and is very popular among the aristocratic families."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "These few things are enough. Even if we don't make flatbread, we can make something else."