Yuan Xi drove away Sun Li and his wife, and Qu Yi came over to say that everything had been arranged almost overnight and could leave at any time.
Zhao Yun also appeared later and said that the city's defenses and the most important food and weapons had been inventoried and sealed, and that the daily food would be distributed according to the rules set by Yuan Xi before.
Yuan Xi was quite satisfied and arranged for Qu Yi to gather people, pack his bags, and asked Zhao Yun to take people to post notices in the city, saying that Zhao Yun would temporarily guard the city and Yuan Tan would lead the troops to temporarily station.
Just as Ma was cleaning the corridor, Yuan Xi told her directly to ask Sun Li to assist Zhao Yun and wait for him to come back.
Ma's face was complicated after hearing this, but she still lowered her head and agreed.
Yuan Xi went to the backyard to find Wu Ji, and saw that she was arranging things for dozens of girls, and saw that she selected two of them to temporarily lead the girls to learn etiquette and music while Wu Zhao left.
Seeing that Wu Zhao had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Yuan Xi couldn't help but nodded secretly. Wu Zhao suddenly raised his head and saw Yuan Xi coming over, and he quickly came over with an uneasy look on his face.
Upon seeing this, Yuan Xi said: "You did a good job. Go back and tidy up before setting off today."
He was a little anxious in his heart. It was already September. Due to various reasons, Cao Cao had not yet attacked Xuzhou, but he calculated that it was soon. He might do it one day and he would be too late.
He had previously asked Dong Zhao to write a letter home and sent it to Dong Fan in Chenliu County, Yanzhou. If all went well, Dong Fan had received the letter and told the prefect Zhang Miao the contents.
According to Dong Zhao, Dong Fang, his younger brother, respected him quite a bit and should have taken the contents of the letter seriously.
The content of the letter is very simple. Dong Zhao has found a strange person among his distant relatives. He is knowledgeable about world affairs, is especially good at stargazing, and has 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, so Dong Zhao asked someone to go and tell Zhang Miao how to eliminate disasters and save lives.
This statement sounds full of flaws, but at that time almost all the nobles believed in prophecies and fortune telling.
The practice of interpreting prophecies has been popular since Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, and by the end of the Han Dynasty, it was widely spread among the gentry.
As long as Yuan Xi deceives well and performs smoothly on the spot, the possibility of success is still very high.
However, Dong Zhao thought about it for a long time and gave Yuan Xi a nickname that made Yuan Xi extremely...confused.
Hidden Tiger, Dong Lue.
Dong Lue...understand?
Yuan Xi felt that Dong Zhao was so talented and his name was so coquettish.
At that time, the rumors of Crouching Dragon and Phoenix had not yet come out, so how did Dong Zhao choose this name?
However, the beast of four elephants accurately avoided the dragon and phoenix turtle. Yuan Xi was secretly glad that Dong Zhao didn't give himself a nickname like Fugui or Divine Turtle, otherwise it would have been too embarrassing.
Seeing that Wu Zhao was about to speak but hesitated, he asked, "What other difficulties are there?"
"If you really don't want to go, I won't force you."
Wu Zhao waved his hands repeatedly and said: "That's not what I meant. I only have some lone books that were taken away by the Huns when I was at the master's house. I'm afraid..."
Yuan Xi laughed, "I see, you come with me."
Wu Zhao anxiously followed Yuan Xi to the study. Yuan Xi took out the key and opened a secret door. Inside was a rather small space with several boxes.
Yuan Xi stepped forward and opened the lid of the box, pointed to the volumes of silk books inside and said, "Are these Cai Zhonglang's books that you are thinking about most?"
Wu Zhao had never seen the whereabouts of those boxes since he was brought to the city lord's mansion after being unconscious last time. Now that he saw them again, he couldn't help but be extremely excited. When he stepped forward to take a look, he found that they were indeed his father's relics.
She held the silk book in her hands, looking at things and thinking about people, with tears in her eyes.
Yuan Xi looked at her expression and thought that this woman was loyal. She was not related to Cai Yong, and she also knew how to preserve these rare and unique copies.
He always felt that something was wrong, so he said: "Cai Zhonglang has been murdered for many years, why are you still staying in the house?"
"I heard that he also has a daughter named Cai Zhaoji?"
Wu Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly concealed his expression and said, "That's true."
"When Mrs. Zhaoji was sixteen, she married Hedong Wei Zhongdao, but before she went to Hedong, Mr. Wei fell ill and was bedridden."
"In less than a year, Mr. Wei passed away, and Mrs. Zhaoji returned to Luoyang to live with Mr. Zhonglang."
"I was also a newly widowed person at that time, and Mrs. Zhaoji and I shared the same illness. For fun, she often taught me how to read and write."
"Then the Han Dynasty migrated. Master Zhonglang followed him to Chang'an and was later killed by Wang Yun. I followed Mrs. Zhaoji back to Luoyang and lived there for two years until I was robbed by the Huns."
When the Han Dynasty moved, Luoyang was burned down by Dong Zhuo and the city wall was damaged, so the Southern Huns took advantage of it and invaded.
After hearing this, Yuan Xi hurriedly asked: "What about Mrs. Zhaoji?"
Wu Zhao's heart skipped a beat again, "You got lost in the chaos, maybe you're still in Luoyang?"
Yuan Xi pondered: "This is strange. Normally, she should have been snatched away from the Southern Xiongnu tribe and lived in the north."
"This year is the first year of Xingping. She should have been kidnapped to the north since the second year of Xingping. Maybe the Southern Huns will plunder Luoyang again?"
Wu Zhao opened his eyes wide in surprise: "Why are you so sure, Master?"
"Moreover, there is no rumor about Mrs. Zhaoji's maiden name. How did the young master know it?"
Yuan Xi noticed the gaffe and was speechless for a moment, so he could only blurt out: "I know some stargazing skills."
Wu Zhao was even more surprised, "I know a little about this too. Stargazing is a fortune-telling thing. How come you have to see my face? When has the young master seen Mrs. Zhaoji?"
"And the girl's name can also be calculated? This is unheard of."
Yuan Xi thought to himself: Why do you know so much about everything?
Am I Dong Lue, or are you Dong Lue?
He forced a smile and said: "My stargazing technique is different. You will know it gradually."
Wu Zhao was skeptical and said: "If I have the chance, I will ask the young master for advice."
Yuan Xi has 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 lies!
He laughed and said with a smile: "No problem, now you are worthy of Mrs. Zhaoji. When we are free in the future, we can go to Luoyang to have a look and return Cai Zhonglang's book to her."
Wu Zhao quickly bowed his head and saluted, "I will thank you on my behalf."
She wanted to get to the bottom of it, just to make Yuan Xi have to deal with it and stop investigating her origins. Now that she got through it, a stone fell in her heart.
Otherwise, if Yuan Xi keeps asking like this, he may really be exposed!
Because of their many worries and their own hidden agendas, both of them clumsily ignored certain truths.
The two walked out of the study with relief. Yuan Xi locked the secret door and took 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 are blocked!"
After hearing this, Yuan Xi was surprised and said, "What's blocking the door?"
"Gongsun Zan's army or the Southern Xiongnu?"
He thought to himself that this happened very quickly, it seemed that there was another battle to be fought.
Sun Li shook his head and said, "It's not a city gate, it's a mansion gate."
"Our city lord's mansion is surrounded by thousands of people from Beixin City!"
Yuan Xi was shocked, making trouble?
