Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1095 Family Matters
Yuan Tan arranged to marry Cao Cao on that day and sent his daughter to Xu Du. However, before the wedding took place, Yuan Tan fell out with Cao Cao and the marriage fell through. Yuan Tan's daughter was in an awkward situation.

Later, Yuan Xi used Cao Song to exchange for Yuan Tan's body and daughter, which was considered as a repayment for Yuan Tan's brotherhood.

Whenever Yuan Xi thought of the scene when he met Yuan Tan in Beixin City, he would sigh with regret. If the Yuan family had not fought among themselves, Cao Cao would have had no chance at all. Of course, it is possible that he would not have risen so quickly.

Yuan Xi didn't know whether he should hate Cao Cao or thank him. For Yuan Xi, no matter what Cao Cao did, he would eventually have to embark on the road of conquering the world, but the situation might not be like this now.

At that time, he will still face Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang. Although it may not end like this, in the end, they will still have to fight.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi sighed and led everyone to complete the ceremony. At the end, Yuan Xi sat at the top and, as the clan leader, gave words of encouragement to everyone who came up to pay their respects.

After everyone talked to Yuan Xi, they retreated and left. As everyone in the ancestral hall left one after another, the number of people left became fewer and fewer.

The last person to come up was Yuan Tan's daughter. She bowed her head and said, "I wish our clan leader a long life with heaven and earth, and may he be rich and prosperous as promised, and may he enjoy endless happiness."

Yuan Xi stood up to return the greeting, and suddenly something occurred to him, so he said, "Come with me into the room. I have something to tell you."

Yuan obediently followed Yuan Xi out of the ancestral hall. All of Yuan Xi's female relatives followed him out and went back to their own rooms, but Yuan Xi took Yuan Shi back to Zhen Mi's room.

Yuan seldom came here, and she looked uneasy. Yuan Xi gave Zhen Mi a look, and Zhen Mi understood, pulled Yuan to sit down, and said with a smile: "This is your own home, don't be restrained."

Yuan whispered: "I dare not overstep my authority over the clan leader..."

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "Just call me your uncle. I have been too busy these years and have neglected your niece. I am really sorry."

Yuan bowed quickly and said, "My father betrayed the Yuan family, and I was guilty. My uncle did not pursue the matter and saved me from danger. I know it all in my heart."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi sighed and said, "It's hard for you to be so sensible. Xiansi didn't know how to judge people. It's really sad that you ended up like this."

"What happened in the past is in the past, and you are also implicated."

"how old are you?"

Yuan whispered, "I am almost 29 years old."

Yuan Xi was stunned and sighed, "It's so big now."

He remembered that when Yuan was sent away by Yuan Tan, she seemed to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. But so many years had passed in a flash.

He felt a little apologetic, "I am really negligent. At your age, you should have been married a long time ago."

"I came to you to ask if you have someone you like?"

Yuan finally came to her senses and her face turned slightly red. Although she had been waiting for this day, there were some words in her heart that she couldn't say.

Yuan Xi's questioning was normal for the ladies of the gentry, because although they did not go out, they could get to know a lot about the famous scholars in the city through conversations with other ladies.

Seeing that Yuan Shi showed hesitation, Yuan Xi thought that she was just shy, so he stood up and said, "I'm going to go out for a walk. You can chat with Madam Zhen for a while."

The two girls understood and leaned forward to comfort each other. Before leaving, Zhen Mi said, "My husband is still ill and needs to be careful of catching a cold."

Yuan Xi nodded, put on his clothes tightly, walked out the door, and saw that snowflakes had already started to fall from the sky.

This was the second day of the new year, and Yuan Xi thought that the weather was a bit troublesome. Auspicious snow meant a good harvest, but if the snow was too heavy and the ice did not melt, the next year's crops would be affected.

Moreover, the snow also caused great inconvenience to the residents in the city, the most serious of which was the consumption of firewood.

Although the residents in the city have stored a lot of firewood, the colder the weather, the faster the firewood is consumed. It is much more difficult to obtain firewood in winter than in other seasons. In addition, firewood is a life-saving item to resist the severe cold, so many people would rather eat raw food and drink raw water unless it is absolutely necessary.

Although Jicheng is rich, not everyone can afford to make fire every day. Although there is a coal mine in Heishan, Bingzhou, coal is not easy to mine now and the price remains high. Apart from military use, only wealthy gentry can afford it.

Therefore, although there was a kang in Yuan Xi's mansion before, in order to promote frugality, they would not light a fire if possible. The only way Yuan Xi could think of to save money on a daily basis was to find a female relative to rub against him to generate heat for warmth.

This method is quite effective. When the timing is right, Yuan Xi can even gather a few open-minded people together to keep each other warm. It can be said that they are having a lot of fun and their actions are obvious.

It was his own fault that he got sick a few days ago. Lu Lingqi and Madam Du returned to Jicheng. The two women and Yuan Xi had not seen each other for two years, so naturally they were passionate about each other. Yuan Xi shamelessly pulled the two women into an in-depth conversation. After they slept in the same quilt, Lu Lingqi kicked off the quilt in her sleep, so he caught a cold.

After this incident came to light, even Lu Lingqi, who was the most shameless, was too ashamed to speak out, and Yuan Xi did not dare to tell others the real reason. He could only say that he had caught a cold. He would never have thought that Ju Shou and Tian Feng were actually worried about this matter and had been arguing about it for a long time.

He walked in the yard, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar courtyard layout, and thought to himself that if he was lucky, would the world be pacified within a few years?
At that time, will I have to take the final step?

He shook his head and drove the thought out of his mind, thinking that he was really getting too arrogant. Next year he would have a life-and-death battle with Cao Cao, who was the best fighter in the world. It was unclear who would win or lose. If he was not careful, he might die on the battlefield. Where did he get the confidence to start thinking about good things now?
Moreover, as the Son of Heaven, it is not necessarily that everything will go as planned. Look at Liu Xie, who is still being held hostage by Cao Cao in Xu City. He must have been having a very frustrating life these years, right?
Yuan Xi thought of Fu Shou who was recuperating in Shouchun, and thought that as a weak woman, she could anger Cao Cao and kill him personally, which meant she was quite a character.

However, the price was also heavy. Although Empress Fu made Cao Pi half disabled, she was also retaliated by Cao Cao and almost died. Although she survived the gates of hell, the sequelae were very serious. I am afraid that she will have difficulty in moving and the rest of her life will be very difficult.

Children's laughter could be heard from all over the yard, but Yuan Xi did not go over. Instead, he leaned quietly against the wall, enjoying this rare peace. Now, with more children, he felt that the burden on him was getting heavier and he was approaching his thirties.

In fact, he has been running around all these years and has become a bit like a social animal.

What touched Yuan Xi even more was that many things in this era were not as beautiful as he had imagined in his previous life. Although he was already the most powerful and one of the richest people in the world, there were still many things in life that he was not used to. Many aspects of this era were far less convenient than those in later generations. This also showed that the changes in human society were huge. Without the foundation laid by this era, people in later generations would not be able to inherit the brilliant culture and perseverance of China. If they were in chaos for thousands of years, they might also go down the road of decline in modern society, just like some countries in the south.

Therefore, it is the duty of the Chinese monarchs from generation to generation to enlighten the people as quickly as possible and guide them on as many paths as possible. Dynasties will definitely change, and the emperor cannot live for a hundred years. Only the will of the nation can be passed down.

Yuan Xi sat quietly amid the noisy sounds, and his restless heart, which had been restless because of the unpredictable future of the next year, gradually calmed down.

After an unknown amount of time, a maid found Yuan Xi and said that Zhen Mi had prepared food in her room and asked the maid to ask Yuan Xi to go back.

Yuan Xi returned to the house. Zhen Mi was a little surprised and said with a smile, "I asked the maid to go out and look for her husband. If she couldn't find him in the yard, she should come back immediately and there was no need to look for him in every room."

"I thought my husband had gone to another room, but I didn't expect that he was really relaxing outside."

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "You must have seen that I have been in poor health recently, and you are still worried."

Zhen Mi covered her mouth and smiled: "I didn't say anything."

The two of them sat opposite each other, picked up the wooden bowls in front of them, and ate the rather simple meal, but a kind of tacit warmth rose in their hearts.

Yuan Xi mixed the soybean paste on the wheat rice and asked casually, "Did my niece say anything to you?"

After hearing this, Zhen Mi smiled bitterly. She put down the bowl and said, "At first the child didn't want to say anything, but I finally got him to say a few words."

"But I don't know if my guess is right. This matter is very troublesome, and I don't know whether I should tell my husband."

Yuan Xi was stunned. "You speak first, and I will make the decision."

Zhen Mi sighed, "I guess she likes a married man."

Yuan Xi frowned, "How did she know him?"

"Are there any private contacts between the two?"

Zhen Mi shook her head and said, "Probably not. It's because my husband's official residence is in front, and there's only a wall between the two sides. I'm afraid that she and the other women, I don't know what method they used, privately met the official who came to visit my husband."

"Although my guess may not be correct, this child has indeed rarely been out of the house. When he went out, he was accompanied by me and the ladies, and he had no chance to meet others. He must have been peeping from some corner or crack."

Yuan Xi was about to speak, then he suddenly laughed, "Guess what I'm thinking about right now."

"The one who dared to instigate her like this was most likely Cao Xian."

Zhen Mi couldn't stop laughing after hearing this, "Cao Xian has become the scapegoat now."

She restrained her expression a little, "But I think that child is serious, I'm afraid it's difficult to change his mind."

Yuan Xi frowned and said, "But this is very unrealistic."

"She has a crush on a married man, but I can't ask him to divorce his wife. If word gets out, it will be too much and will only cause a bad impact."

Zhen Mi nodded and said, "Of course I know, so I hinted to her that this matter might be very troublesome."

"But this child actually said that being a concubine is also possible."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi was even more surprised, "How could the legitimate daughter of the Yuan family be someone else's concubine?"

Zhen Mi smiled bitterly and said, "Concubines of ordinary families are indeed not good. Even if they are concubines of my husband, it is because my husband is a king. Otherwise, their status is not high. The most important thing is that my husband respects them very much."

"But other families may not be so sure, so I finally persuaded her, saying that it would be difficult for the Yuan family to let her be a concubine to others, and asked her to think about it carefully. Besides, there are so many good men in the world, so she doesn't have to be so desperate."

"Although the child agreed on the surface, I feel that he has his own ideas in mind and cannot be changed by a few simple words."

Yuan Xi had a headache, "This child looks well-behaved, but I didn't expect him to be so stubborn."

"I'm afraid she feels that her experience in Xudu is not innocent, so she wants to lower her status?"

"I think that although Cao Cao has no bottom line in doing things, he would not do anything outrageous in this matter."

"By the way, did she say who it was?"

Zhen Mi shook her head and said, "No, this child is very tight-lipped. I only tried to find out some clues after trying indirect ways."

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "It's really strange. Let's put this matter aside for now. I've been very slow in government affairs recently and don't have much energy. Please pay more attention to her and guide her."

Zhen Mi agreed, and the two of them had their meal and took a short rest. Then Yuan Xi came to the official residence in front and asked someone to summon Zhuge Liang and others.

(End of this chapter)