Chapter 116 Going to Puyang Again

Yuan Shang drank cup after cup of wine. Hong shi knelt carefully to the side, holding the wine pot. Seeing Yuan Shang put down his empty cup, she quickly raised her hand to refill it.

Yuan Shang glanced at Hong shi, feeling somewhat irritable. Logically speaking, Hong shi was also a beauty with an extremely gentle temperament, but the two had been married for three years without producing any offspring.

Hong shi always felt it was her own problem and had even offered to arrange for Yuan Shang to take concubines, but Yuan Shang refused, making Hong shi even more grateful and tearful.

But Yuan Shang's idea was that if he took a concubine and still couldn't produce an heir, he wouldn't have a legitimate reason to divorce his wife!

Currently, Yuan Shang was only refraining from divorcing Hong shi temporarily out of concern for the Yuan family's reputation.

Seeing Yuan Shang drinking one cup of wine after another in silence, and in the blink of an eye, another pot of wine was empty, Hong shi couldn't help but whisper, "Husband, drinking too much is bad for your health. Why don't you drink a little less..."

Yuan Shang glared at Hong shi, and Hong shi quickly lowered her head, her body trembling slightly.

A corner of her sleeve lifted, revealing a section of jade-like wrist with several shocking scars on it.

Seeing this, Yuan Shang frowned slightly and said, "You go down first and bandage it properly, lest others see it and gossip!"

Hong shi quickly responded and retreated carefully.

Yuan Shang opened the cabinet beside him. The bottle of Five Stone Powder was still inside. His eyes were gloomy. What kind of magical medicine was this? That Taoist priest was just a swindler!

His second brother didn't seem to improve after taking that medicine. Later, he became suspicious and personally tried it, only to find that it had no effect!

He must have been cheated. The medicine was fake and didn't work on his second brother!

He lowered his head and pondered.

His second brother's threat was growing. Even if he didn't join forces with Yuan Tan, this hidden danger had to be dealt with in time.

It was hateful that he had been deceived for so long. He had thought his second brother was a weak and incompetent person, but he didn't expect him to be so deeply hidden!

Xu You, Pang Ji, and Shen Pei had all suggested that Yuan Xi be adopted out as soon as possible to cut off Yuan Tan's major support.

At that time, Yuan Xi would become a branch of Yuan Ji and be separated from Yuan Shao's branch. Even if Yuan Xi occupied You Province, his troops, money, and grain would all be allocated by Yuan Shang and could be taken back at any time!

In this way, Yuan Xi would be firmly controlled by Yuan Shang and would be forced to break with Yuan Tan!

If Yuan Xi refused to hand over his troops, Yuan Shang could use his mother, Madam Liu, to instigate Yuan Shao to let Yuan Tan attack Yuan Xi.

Wouldn't the two of them have to listen obediently then?

A scheme to drive a tiger to devour a wolf!

In Yuan Xi's room, Wu Zhao was squatting beside a mud stove, boiling water.

The water inside the copper kettle bubbled, and the spout made a Woohoo sound. Yuan Xi tilted his head slightly when he heard the sound, and then thought of Wu Zhao making similar sounds in the dead of night, and couldn't help but chuckle.

Wu Zhao naturally didn't know Yuan Xi's lewd thoughts. She got up, picked up the copper kettle, poured the boiling water into a teacup, and then stared blankly at the tea leaves tumbling up and down.

Yuan Xi spoke, "What are you thinking about?"

Wu Zhao turned her head, "The Zhen family's daughter is very good."

"Young Master, please don't let her down."

Yuan Xi didn't understand why and nodded, "That's natural."

Wu Zhao said softly, "Is there still no news about the marriage?"

"No," Yuan Xi said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid my third brother is thinking about how to adopt me out. I'm afraid he thinks that in this way, the Zhen family will look down on me, and the marriage will naturally fall through."

Wu Zhao sighed, "Now there are undercurrents surging in Ye City, and the situation is unclear. It would be great if there was a strategist to advise the Young Master."

Yuan Xi smiled, "It's not that easy to win over a strategist. They are all elites from prominent families."

"Moreover, strategists control the overall situation and need to know all the secrets. It's too difficult to find someone I can completely trust."

"Besides, the major strategists all have obvious problems."

Wu Zhao became interested, "What do you mean by that?"

Yuan Xi thought for a while and said, "Shen Pei is autocratic, Xu You is greedy for money, Guo Tu is wavering, Pang Ji is conceited, Xin Pi is fickle, and Xun Chen is suspicious."

"Ju Shou is both civil and military, and Tian Feng is introverted and stubborn. These two happen to be the most opinionated and extremely difficult to persuade."

"I think it's better to let nature take its course. They have been under Father's command for a long time, and their horizons and appetites have become very high. They are definitely not easy to win over."

"I've been thinking about it and decided to go to Puyang City again in the next few days."

Wu Zhao's heart skipped a beat, "To see Marquis Wen?"

"General Qu is not there. Will there be any danger?"

Yuan Xi smiled, "It's okay. My Hidden Tiger prophecy has come true, and he has benefited a lot from it. He won't be unfavorable to me for the time being."

"Then I'll go with you," Wu Zhao said.

Seeing Wu Zhao's firm gaze, Yuan Xi had no choice but to say, "Alright, I'll have the personal guards outside the city prepare the carriage in advance."

Several days later, Yuan Xi used the excuse of hunting outside the city for a few days and left Ye City with Wu Zhao.

At that time, it was almost the twelfth lunar month, and Ji Province was peaceful. Although the battle in Yanzhou to the south was in full swing, the fighting was almost entirely taking place near Juancheng in Dong Commandery.

So when Yuan Xi's carriage arrived all the way at Puyang City in Chenliu Commandery, there was no fighting along the way. A general from Lu Bu's army had already come out of the city to welcome Yuan Xi's carriage in.

Yuan Xi lifted the curtain and saw that the leading general was quite young. He spoke, "What is your esteemed name, General?"

The Hidden Tiger's great name had already spread among Lu Bu's subordinates, and the general dared not neglect him, cupping his fist and saying, "This humble general is Qin Yilu."

Yuan Xi was stunned and then laughed, "Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."

Qin Yilu was completely confused. He was just a partial general under Lu Bu's command. Was he very famous?

The carriage entered the city and arrived at the city lord's mansion. Yuan Xi and Wu Zhao, who was wearing a veil, got out of the carriage. They saw Lu Bu striding out of the house, laughing loudly, "Bu has what he has today, all thanks to the gentleman!"

He walked up to Yuan Xi, grabbed Yuan Xi's arm, and walked inside. Yuan Xi felt like he was being lifted up like a chick, his feet not touching the ground. Chen Gong also walked out, following behind Lu Bu, and couldn't help but cough.

Lu Bu reacted, put Yuan Xi down, looked at the carriage, and asked in surprise, "Dezhou is not here?"

Yuan Xi smiled, "He has something to do, only my clumsy wife and I have come."

Lu Bu laughed loudly when he heard this, "The gentleman has great courage, which shows his trust in Bu!"

"The gentleman has come from afar, and if Bu doesn't entertain you this time, it would be inexcusable!"

"Someone, prepare the wine!"

Lu Bu was obviously in a great mood and ordered the soldiers to send a message to the city, asking all his generals to attend the banquet.

As the people arrived one after another and reported their names, Yuan Xi was surprised to find that most of Lu Bu's generals, including Song Xian, Wei Xu, and Hou Cheng, had arrived!

He asked in confusion, "Marquis Wen has summoned all the generals back. Are you not planning to attack Dong Commandery?"

Everyone looked at Chen Gong when they heard this. Chen Gong said, "The two sides are deadlocked, and even Gong can't decide. Please also give the gentleman some guidance."

Yuan Xi cursed the old fox in his heart. He's asking me to work for free again. Is he addicted to it?

Seeing Yuan Xi pretending to be stupid, Chen Gong had no choice but to smile and say, "Gong was abrupt. Please take a seat, sir."

Yuan Xi declined politely and sat down in the guest seat, with Wu Zhao sitting behind him.

After everyone was seated, Yuan Xi saw a maid coming up to pour wine for him and said modestly, "Excuse me, I don't drink wine."

Lu Bu was stunned for a moment and then shook his head, "How can a real man not drink wine!"

Yuan Xi smiled, "Drinking wine affects stargazing."

Lu Bu had nothing to say when he heard this and said dejectedly, "The gentleman's temperament is somewhat similar to that of Gao Shun."

"Oh, why hasn't Gao Shun come yet?"

"Qin Yilu, what are you doing!"

Qin Yilu, who was sitting at the end of the seat, quickly stood up and said with a forced smile, "This humble general has already invited him. General Gao said he was reorganizing his troops, and General Zhang said he was patrolling the city. They may be a little late."

Lu Bu snorted coldly, "There is no danger in Puyang City. I think those two are just lazy and dragging their feet!"

"It's fine if Gao Shun doesn't drink, but Zhang Liao has also learned to lie!"

"Never mind, don't let this ruin the fun. Qin Yilu, your wife is in the backyard, right? Let her come out and pour wine!"

Qin Yilu quickly stood up, his face full of smiles, "As Marquis Wen commands."

At this time, two generals entered the gate of the mansion. Hearing Lu Bu's words, they couldn't help but look at each other and frowned slightly.

Lu Bu smiled at Yuan Xi, "This Qin Yilu is my fellow villager. He is not good at fighting, but he married a beautiful wife. According to our Bing Province custom, when we meet distinguished guests, we have to let the wife come out to offer wine to show respect!"

Of the two generals who came in, one had a serious face and looked like an extremely rigid person. He was about to speak, but the other general quickly pulled him back.

In the next room of the hall where everyone was sitting, a charming beauty was waiting anxiously. Hearing Lu Bu's words next door, her face turned pale, she bit her lip tightly, and was about to get up and come in.

At this time, Yuan Xi spoke, "I have long heard that Marquis Wen also has a wife. Why not let her come out to pour wine?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone's breathing stopped.

Lu Bu was stunned for a moment and then became furious, slamming the table and shouting, "How dare you deceive me?"

"I am a dignified Marquis, how can my family pour wine?"

"If it weren't for the fact that you have helped me so much, I would have stabbed you to death with my halberd!"

As soon as these words came out, all the generals in the hall changed color. They hadn't seen Marquis Wen get so angry in a long time!

Wu Zhao's body was also trembling slightly. She leaned closer to Yuan Xi, and only felt a little relieved when she saw that his body was sitting upright like a mountain.

Yuan Xi was not afraid, sat up straight, and said, "Has Marquis Wen not heard of 'Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself'?"

The beauty in the next room heard that this Hidden Tiger was actually contradicting Marquis Wen for the sake of herself, whom he had never met before, and couldn't help but sweat.

Lu Bu snorted coldly, "How do you know that Qin Yilu doesn't want to?"

He pointed to Qin Yilu and said, "Tell me, do you want to or not?"

Qin Yilu said with a smile on his face, "I want to, of course I want to."

Lu Bu said triumphantly, "Look, he himself wants to, I didn't force him!"

Yuan Xi shook his head, "No, I'm talking about General Qin's wife."

Lu Bu was stunned for a moment and then laughed, "I thought the gentleman had some brilliant idea. When a woman marries, she follows her husband. How dare his wife not listen to him?"

The generals nodded slightly when they heard this.

Yuan Xi smiled, "Then is Marquis Wen willing to send his family to entertain guests?"

Lu Bu choked.

He felt more and more that he couldn't save face and said unhappily, "The words of a pedantic scholar!"

"I am the lord, and he is my subordinate. How can they be compared on the same day!"

Yuan Xi said slowly, "May I ask presumptuously, what are Marquis Wen's plans for the future?"

Lu Bu didn't expect Yuan Xi to suddenly ask this and couldn't help but say, "What do you mean?"

Seeing that the time was ripe, Yuan Xi said, "Is Marquis Wen very satisfied with occupying a commandery now?"

"Summoning women for pleasure and not thinking about making progress, is this still the Marquis Wen who once looked down on the world?"

"I am very disappointed."