Yuan Xi made a rare act of mischief, and the negative emotions caused by the battlefield battles in the past few months were relieved a lot.
From the barrel to the floor, to the edge of the bed, and to the mats on the floor, there was water everywhere. The weather had started to get cold at that time, and Yuan Xi specially closed the doors and windows to prevent several people from catching cold.
After all the fuss, the two girls saw that Yuan Xi was a little tired. After helping Yuan Xi sleep, they packed up their clothes and went out with blushing faces.
When Yuan Xi woke up, he didn't know how long he had slept. He felt a little hungry. When he opened the window, he found that the sun was already setting and the sunset covered half of the sky.
He got dressed and walked to the center of the yard. Feeling refreshed and interested, he walked to the wooden building in the corner of the yard, stepped on the creaking wooden ladder, and slowly climbed up.
He sat in front of the window of the small house at the top and looked out of the house, with most of Beixin City in full view.
In the distant military camp, the sergeants lined up, patrolling and practicing in an orderly manner.
On the streets, farmers push small carts to transport grain to various granaries.
The people were returning home from outside the city carrying farm tools and firewood.
Young scholars wearing Confucian robes, holding bamboo slips in their hands, were walking and talking loudly.
On the edge of the small river flowing through the city, the women put their soaked clothes on the bluestone strips and beat them with wooden mallets.
Yuan Xi had seen similar familiar scenes before, but now the familiar feeling was mixed with some strangeness.
He felt that his life was gradually drifting away from such peace and tranquility.
In the days to come, he will face more blood and fire on the battlefield, more crazy fights, and more cruel deaths.
Once a general achieves great success, his bones will wither, and if he wants the world to be at peace, he must sacrifice countless lives in exchange for it.
Yuan Xi didn't know how many people in the city could survive in the next ten years. He didn't even know if he would be able to see that day.
Before that, he could only try to live each day well.
He withdrew his gaze from a distance and looked into the mansion. At this moment, he could clearly see the situation in each room.
Wu Zhao was copying bamboo slips in the study, Cao Xian was washing wild vegetables with the maid in the kitchen, and Guo Jia was holding Concubine Ji in front of the window, stretching his hand into Concubine Ji's arms, fiddling with something unknown.
Guo Jiaruo felt something, looked up at the small building, then cursed and closed the window with a snap.
Yuan Xi had no choice but to divert his attention, and suddenly found someone in the garden walking toward the small building with his head lowered. He saw that he was wearing a maid's clothes.
There are still more than a dozen maids in the mansion who have not been sent out, and the mansion is usually quite relaxed. Yuan Xi is thinking to himself which maid has come out to be lazy?
Immediately, the sound of stomping footsteps came from the wooden ladder downstairs, and the maid climbed up the ladder.
Yuan Xi was amused in his heart and kept silent. The maid climbed up the wooden ladder with difficulty and crawled halfway in from the door of the narrow wooden house on her knees. Only when she looked up did she realize that someone was inside.
She exclaimed and wanted to exit, but in her haste, she panicked, hit her head on the low roof, and fell to the ground again.
She sat up in embarrassment, holding her head, but Yuan Xi recognized her and asked in surprise: "Why are you in the house?"
When the woman heard Yuan Xi's voice, she raised her head and said in a voiceless voice: "Young Master?"
She quickly fell to the ground and worshiped: "The sinful woman didn't know that the young master was here. I hope you will be forgiven for trespassing."
Yuan Xi did not expect to see this person here, because she was Gongsun Zan's widow, Hou.
He waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter, but I don't understand. Didn't I ask Mr. Fengxiao to arrange a place for Madam to live?"
After hearing this, Ms. Hou lay on the ground and said anxiously: "My husband's other family members, Mr. Fengxiao, have all arranged residences outside the house."
"Mr. Fengxiao said that he was worried that someone would do harm to me, mother and son, so he arranged a house in the mansion for me and my youngest son to live."
Yuan Xi nodded slightly. He understood Guo Jia's idea, which was to keep a close eye on Hou's mother and son to prevent them from being kidnapped and exploited by Gongsun Zan's remnants.
He knew that there were all kinds of people in this mansion. If he married Zhen Mi in the future and saw such strange people, he didn't know what she would think.
He didn't make a sound, and Hou didn't dare to raise his head. He could only lie down, trembling slightly.
Yuan Xi looked over from this angle. Hou's clothes were stretched extremely tight by this action, and the curves of her body were revealed. A section of her fair neck was exposed in the middle of her loose hair.
Yuan Xi suddenly felt a little dry in the mouth and coughed involuntarily, which scared Hou Shi's body.
Yuan Xi said: "You should get up first."
Madam Hou slowly straightened up and knelt on the floor, still not daring to raise her head.
Yuan Xi didn't know what to say for a moment, so he said, "I heard that my wife's youngest son choked on some smoke from the fire that day, and he's still not recovered yet?"
After hearing this, Mrs. Hou had a hint of worry in her brows, but she still replied: "Thank you, Mr. Fengxiao, for your trouble. Mr. Fengxiao has already asked the doctor to prescribe the medicine, and I have just given her medicine to make her sleep."
Yuan Xi saw that Hou was dignified and soft-spoken when he spoke, which was quite typical of everyone.
He said aloud: "Jihou. What a pity."
"Madam, you hate me, right?"
After hearing this, Mrs. Hou said softly: "No, I am very grateful to you for what you have done."
"My husband is a very stubborn person. He risked his own life to save our mother and son, which makes me very confused."
"Why would you save your enemy's family?"
Yuan Xi thought to himself, of course it's because you are valuable.
If Gongsun Zan could survive, he might not be able to use it to contain Gongsun Du's power in Liaodong. But if Gongsun Zan dies, then he can only use his family members.
But he couldn't say this clearly, so he had to play it off, "Jihou can be considered a hero. He competes with my father for the world. It's hard to say who is right and who is wrong."
After hearing this, Mrs. Hou was a little surprised and couldn't help but raise her head.
Yuan Xi discovered that Hou was indeed very beautiful, probably less than thirty years old, and well-maintained, with a slim figure and an attractive appearance.
When Mrs. Hou saw Yuan Xi looking over, she hurriedly lowered her head and said, "After my late husband died, I always felt ashamed of him and wanted to die, but I didn't have the courage. I thought about my youngest son several times, so I have survived until now. "
"I happened to see the wooden building, but it reminded me of the original watchtower, which was burned to ashes in a fire."
"I wanted to come up and have a look. I met the young master unexpectedly. I am willing to be punished."
Yuan Xi thought to himself that any punishment would be acceptable?
He suppressed the evil thoughts in his heart and said, "It's not a big deal, madam, don't take it to heart."
"Speaking of which, Madam's father was originally the governor of Zhuo County? Do you know Mr. Ziqian (Lu Zhi)?"
After hearing this, Mrs. Hou's eyes showed a look of memories, and she said softly: "My late father passed away a few years ago."
"My father is indeed on good terms with Mr. Ziqian, and he is quite popular among the scholars in Zhuo County. When I was not married, there were often scholars coming and going in the house and talking loudly."
"But after my father passed away, my late husband didn't like scholars, so we gradually stopped having contact with him."
Yuan Xi thought that this relationship might not be useful, so he said: "Thank you for your hard work, madam. If I want to meet the scholars of Zhuojun in the future, can I borrow my father's name?"
Naturally, the Hou family did not dare to refuse, and immediately responded: "I am willing to serve you."
The two of them had nothing to say for a while, and the atmosphere fell into silence. Hou lowered his head, sweating slightly on his vest, and his heartbeat gradually increased.
Yuan Xi suddenly moved, making Hou Shi tremble slightly in fright. As a result, Yuan Xi said, "Excuse me, madam. Please go back first."
Madam Hou felt relieved. She stepped back and tried to go down the stairs, but her foot was missing. She couldn't help but exclaimed and was about to fall down.
Yuan Xi suddenly reached out his hand and grabbed Hou Shi's wrist before Hou Shi stabilized his body.
Her face turned red, remembering that when she rushed across the wooden plank on the watchtower, it was Yuan Xi who pulled her over.
The two of them stopped like this for a moment, and then Yuan Xi said, "Madam, please step firmly."
Hou finally woke up from a dream and quickly stepped on the ladder.
She waited for a while and found that Yuan Xi was still holding her wrist and whispered: "Young master, you can let go."
Yuan Xi said "oh" and then let go of his hand. Hou climbed down in a panic. When he stood on the ground, he bowed his head and ran away like a frightened rabbit.
Yuan Xi looked at his palms, shook the hem of his clothes vigorously, and sat upright for a while before the bottom of his robe returned to its original state.
He was a little embarrassed. He had obviously vented his anger with Wu Zhao and Cao Xian before, but why did he react so badly when he touched Hou's hand?
Has he been holding it in for too long, or is he particularly interested in a woman of Hou's status?
Mrs. Hou fled back to the house and saw that her youngest son was still sleeping soundly, so she felt relieved a little.
She secretly cursed herself for being shameless, why she was having sex with another man just after her husband died, not to mention that that man was the son of her husband's enemy!
But when she thought about how she had been obedient to Gongsun Zan all these years, in the end Gongsun Zan wanted to kill herself and her children regardless of friendship, which made Hou feel resentful in her heart.
Thinking about the feeling of her body when she was in physical contact with Yuan Xi twice, she unconsciously covered her chest with her hands, feeling a sense of depraved revenge.
Soon the day came for Yuan Xi to set off.
Under the leadership of Qu Yi and Tian Yu, soldiers and people of Beixin City marked the boundaries around the city, laid down wooden stakes, dug deep ditches, and expanded the boundaries of Beixin City.
The corresponding work was extremely complicated, including leveling the ground, diverting river water, and cutting down trees, which made Qu Yi, who was not good at this, miserable.
However, Tian Yu, who was only a few years older than Yuan Xi, showed extraordinary talents in internal affairs and arranged these things in an orderly manner, which made Yuan Xi sigh. Sure enough, some people are talented.
It can only be said that Liu Bei missed Tian Yu, which was a big loss.
When Yuan Xi went back this time, he was accompanied by Zhao Yuntai Shici. The existing five or six thousand soldiers in Beixin City were temporarily commanded by Qu Yi and Tian Yu. He was not too worried. The biggest threat now was that the Black Mountain Army was seriously injured and faced the winter. I won't call you.
Yuan Xi, Wu Zhao and Cao Xian were in a carriage, Guo Jia and Ji Concubine were in a carriage, Zhao Yuntai Shici was on horseback, and dozens of cavalry guards left Beixin City on a crisp autumn day and embarked on the journey back to Yecheng. road.
(End of chapter)
