Chapter 126 Worse than Beasts

The sky was just beginning to lighten when Yuan Xi awoke.

Seeing Cao Xian sleeping soundly beside him in the bedding, he had to admit that having someone to warm the bed was indeed a very good feeling.

Although Yuan Xi ultimately didn't go all the way, he did quite a few other things.

Cao Xian turned over, the curves of her body appearing especially alluring under the thin linen clothing. She drowsily stuck out her tongue and licked the corner of her mouth, making Yuan Xi's heart skip a beat again.

Yuan Xi felt that he couldn't stay like this, so he decisively got out of bed, quietly put on his clothes, and stealthily walked out the door.

The winter chill, mixed with snowflakes, instantly raised goosebumps all over his body, making him tremble a few times, and inexplicably reminded him of Cao Xian's alluring lips from last night.

Faint sounds came from the backyard. Yuan Xi followed the path, went around a few buildings, and arrived at the place, discovering that it was Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci doing morning exercises.

One was using a long staff, and the other used two short clubs. Their movements were swift and fleeting, their attacks extremely fast, and they retracted as soon as they touched, so the sound of the clubs colliding was also extremely light.

As the two unleashed their stances, their arms and clubs waved large and small circles in the air. Occasionally, lightning-fast thrusts appeared in the circles, only to be entangled by another circle.

Yuan Xi watched, mesmerized. This was a battle between experts!

Unlike Qu Yi and Zhao Yun's contest in Beixin City, Qu Yi, due to his physical condition, would not easily make large, sweeping movements, but mainly focused on defense and counterattack.

Taishi Ci, on the other hand, was in his prime, and he and Zhao Yun attacked each other head-on. Their moves were all dangerous, but they were controlled just right. The two men's weapons had their own dangers in terms of length, and they both held back some strength, barely achieving a balance of power.

Seeing the two fighting more and more fiercely, he understood why Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei's martial arts could continuously improve over the years.

Yuan Xi envied them in his heart, wishing he could become an expert like them one day, but it was more likely that he would never reach that level in his life.

He had practiced with Zhao Yun a few times, and each time he was defeated in a few moves. At that time, he asked Zhao Yun with some anticipation whether he could become a second or third-rate military general if he practiced diligently every day.

Zhao Yun was silent for a long time before comforting him, "Young Master has quite a skill in archery, so it's better to specialize in one area first."

Today, Yuan Xi saw Zhao Yun's wooden spear like a spirit snake coming out of its hole, several times faster than when he practiced with him, and he finally understood that Zhao Yun had greatly held back at that time.

If he really went to the battlefield, someone like him would probably be killed by Zhao Yun with one spear, no different from a miscellaneous soldier.

Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci fought back and forth for hundreds of moves, and both of them became more and more energetic, their bodies steaming with sweat, bursting out through their clothes.

In the end, the two men's strength was consumed more and more, and they couldn't control the strength in their hands, and the sound of the clubs colliding became louder and louder. Finally, with a snap, the two wooden sticks broke at the same time.

The two men laughed heartily, feeling a sense of mutual appreciation. They clasped their hands together and said in unison, "Refreshing!"

Yuan Xi watched, thinking of the time he held Zhao Yun's hand, but the other party immediately pulled it back, and his heart felt sour.

Alas, so you are this kind of person, Ziyun!

Only then did the two notice Yuan Xi hiding behind the tree, and they quickly came up to greet him, "Greetings, Young Master."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "You two are indeed peerless warriors. In the future, Xi's great cause will depend entirely on you two."

The two quickly expressed their modesty.

Yuan Xi then asked Taishi Ci, "How is the Old Madam's health?"

Taishi Ci replied, "Fortunately, thanks to the Young Master's concern, we found the best doctor in Ye City to treat her. Although she still coughs occasionally, she is almost well."

"She is now being taken care of by my wife. I am ashamed that I missed the matter of going to Dongwuyang some time ago."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I was the one who didn't let you go. Originally, Ziyi brought his family to seek refuge with me. If something unexpected happens, I will feel uneasy."

Hearing this, Taishi Ci immediately said, "Ci has heard that the Young Master will be going to Xuzhou in the next few days, and I am willing to accompany the Young Master!"

Yuan Xi pondered for a moment and said with difficulty, "I only have Ziyun and Brother as reliable people by my side. There is also danger in this Ye City, so I have to leave the most reliable people in the mansion to protect everyone's families."

The issue of family members is a big problem that can never be avoided. The reason why Yuan's soldiers fight so hard is that their families are all in the fortified city of Ye City, without any worries.

But relatively speaking, if something goes wrong with the location of the family members, the morale of the army will be greatly disrupted. The Ye City Rebellion in the fourth year of Chuping was like this.

Some time ago, Cao Cao desperately protected his family in Juancheng, even at the cost of slaughtering Dong'a, which was the same reason.

In later generations, when Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, all his family members fell into the hands of Lu Meng, which also greatly disrupted the morale of the army, leading to his defeat and death.

Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci also understood. Yuan Xi then said, "Besides, you two have old acquaintances with Xuande Gong, and I am also undecided on who should go to Xuzhou."

Taishi Ci said, "There are old acquaintances, but there are also some grudges."

Yuan Xi became curious and asked about the reason. After Taishi Ci explained, he understood the cause and effect of the matter.

When Kong Rong was in Duchang, he was besieged by the Yellow Turban Army led by Guan Hai, and Taishi Ci was ordered to break through the siege to seek help.

Liu Bei was indeed benevolent at that time, sending out three thousand elite soldiers, led by Zhang Fei, to relieve the siege of Kong Rong.

However, Zhang Fei did not think highly of Taishi Ci, and Taishi Ci also thought highly of himself, so the two did not get along and looked down on each other. After repelling the Yellow Turbans, they separated.

Yuan Xi thought to himself, no wonder Liu Bei's talent for poaching people didn't allow Taishi Ci to seek refuge. It turned out that Zhang Fei had ruined things?

Speaking of which, he was also lucky. He didn't take the usual path, but went the other way, and was lucky enough to let Taishi Ci seek refuge.

However, looking at it this way, Liu Bei relied too much on Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Without an internal affairs talent like Zhuge Liang to coordinate in the middle, he actually buried a lot of mines.

Especially Zhang Fei, who was somewhat slighting of his subordinates, leading to poor popularity and laying hidden dangers.

No wonder when he later guarded Xiapi, his subordinate general Cao Bao rebelled, opened the city gate and led Lu Bu's army into the city, causing Liu Bei to collapse and lose Xuzhou.

But the rebellion of the entire city could not be caused by Zhang Fei alone. The most fundamental reason was that Liu Bei had not completely subdued the Xuzhou gentry.

Yuan Xi's eyes lit up. In that case, Xuzhou should not be united, and he could make arrangements in advance!

He immediately said, "Then Ziyi will go with me this time, and Ziyun can stay."

Yuan Xi, who was poaching other people's walls, was most afraid of Liu Bei, a colleague, and Liu Bei's level was obviously much higher than his own, so it was best not to let Zhao Yun meet him.

He approached Zhao Yun and whispered, "Staying in Ye City is also a good opportunity. My sister may come over often, so it depends on you whether you can grasp it."

Zhao Yun nodded helplessly, thinking that the Young Master was good in everything, but he was too whimsical.

He was just a good family with some ancestral land, and his status was vastly different from the Yuan family. How could Yuan Xi be sure that he had a chance?

Yuan Xi smiled at Taishi Ci again, "Kong Beihai is also in Xiapi this time. Going to Xuzhou this time will allow Brother to repay him another favor."

After Yuan Xi explained, Taishi Ci learned that when Kong Rong's army was defeated that day, Kong Rong followed Liu Bei and fled to Xuzhou, but because he was too hasty, he left his wife and family behind.

Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi captured Beihai and captured Kong Rong's wife. Yuan Xi had planned it long ago, so he asked Yuan Tan to bring these people over, and now it was time to use them.

Soon after, Kong Rong will be summoned by the imperial court to be the Grand Artisan, and later the Grand Master of Zhongda, with considerable influence.

If he could use Kong Rong, he would be a very useful chess piece.

However, Yuan Xi didn't have full confidence in his heart, after all, he had taken away other people's territory.

With the arrangements made, Yuan Xi asked Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci to act separately, and the two left after receiving their orders.

Only then did Yuan Xi realize that he had been standing in the snow for too long. Although he was wearing leather shoes, his feet were still a little numb with cold. He stomped his feet and hurried back to the house to warm up.

When he entered the house, he found that Cao Xian had already gotten up, draped in close-fitting linen clothing, and was guarding the yellow mud stove in the corner of the room to boil water.

She used copper tongs to clamp strips of charcoal and put them into the bottom of the stove. The charcoal gradually turned red, and the heat filled the room, making it warm.

When she saw Yuan Xi coming back, she quickly said, "This concubine didn't know where the Young Master went, and didn't dare to act rashly. This concubine will immediately ask the kitchen to prepare food."

Yuan Xi said, "Don't worry, I'm not too hungry yet."

Cao Xian put the copper pot on the stove, knelt down this time, and said uneasily, "Is the Young Master not satisfied with this concubine?"

Cao Xian's linen clothing was very close-fitting, setting off her already mature body very alluringly. Yuan Xi looked at it from this angle, and couldn't help but feel a surge of qi and blood. He said hoarsely, "No, you are very good."

Cao Xian raised her head, "Then why doesn't the Young Master want me?"

Yuan Xi coughed, "What we did last night was almost the same, right? Let's talk about it when I come back."

Cao Xian's eyes rolled a few times, and she stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, "Then am I the Young Master's person?"

Yuan Xi felt overwhelmed and had to say, "Of course, I'm not the kind of person who abandons what he starts, so are you relieved now?"

Hearing this, Cao Xian leaned her head on Yuan Xi's knees with peace of mind and said softly, "Please don't blame this concubine, Young Master. This concubine and her daughters have no one to rely on. This concubine really has no choice."

"This concubine is very afraid, afraid that one day Mother will be sent back again."

Yuan Xi raised his restless hand, brushed past Cao Xian's shoulder on her back, and finally landed on her head.

He gently stroked Cao Xian's hair and said, "No, you did a very good job. Regarding the matters of you and your mother, I will help you to the end, for both sentimental and rational reasons."

Cao Xian's eyes were slightly red, and she nodded.

Yuan Xi thought that the things in the world are really wonderful. Some things are not forced, but they just come together, as if by chance.

Just like Wu Zhao and the Huan family and daughters.

Some things he racked his brains to plan, but he suffered heavy obstacles, and still has no clue.

Just like the marriage with Zhen Mi.

He understood that this matter couldn't be rushed. He was still a member of the Yuan family and was controlled by others, especially Liu Shi.

The only effective way is still adoption.

Thinking that Yuan Tan's side has been building momentum almost enough, and the reasons are very sufficient, it should be all ready now.

However, when he visited Yuan Tan, he found that the other party's face was not very good-looking either.

Yuan Shao did raise the issue of adoption, but what Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi did not expect was that most of the strategists actually supported Yuan Tan's adoption, not Yuan Xi!