The news that Yuan Xi was going to get married immediately after being adopted spread throughout Yecheng.
As for the former, the nobles had already known the news and were mentally prepared, but the latter was like a scorching thunder out of the blue, which struck them hard, leaving them burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.
The illegitimate son of the Yuan family was adopted by Yuan Ji and became the legitimate son of the side branch. Although he would not be as powerful as Yuan Shang in the future and the territory he was allocated was Youzhou, the most troublesome of the thirteen states, he was still the lord of a state after all.
You have to know that many nobles would find it difficult to reach this position in their entire lives.
This governor was not a nominal position created by the Han court and the princes to disgust people, but a position of real power that was truly supported by the Yuan family and backed by troops!
Therefore, when Yuan Xi was adopted the day before yesterday, many great noble families in Yecheng were ready to make a move. At that time, Yuan Xi was not yet married. If they married into the Yuan family, their family would be tied to the Yuan family, and the revitalization of the family would be just around the corner.
Although everyone knew that Yuan Xi and the Zhen family had an agreement in advance, the Zhen family was not even second-rate in the circle of aristocratic families. They just had some money and could not compare with the big families in Yecheng.
Therefore, these noble families began to become active. On the one hand, they looked for people who could get in touch with Yuan Xi, and on the other hand, they managed to collect wealth and prepare dowries for their daughters in order to suppress the Zhen family.
As a result, after all the families were busy for a long time, news came that Yuan Xi and the Zhen family had completed the pre-wedding ceremonies and were going to marry the girl from the Zhen family the next day!
However, the nobles who really knew the inside story were even more stunned. The girl from the Zhen family was adopted by Bian Rang's widow Huan. Could it be that the family Yuan Xi really wanted to marry was the Bian family?
You should know that except for Huan's mother and daughter, all the members of Bian Rang's family were killed by Cao Cao. Although Huan was forcibly married to Cao Cao, Cao Song expelled Huan from the Cao family. Huan's identity began to become ambiguous.
If we really want to investigate carefully, Huan is still considered a member of the Bian family. According to Han law, when all the men in the family die, the family will be inherited by the mistress. In this way, Huan is the head of the Bian family.
When Huan was expelled from the Cao family by Cao Song some time ago, many nobles were still confused. Now that Yuan Xi got married, everyone realized that Yuan Xi had such a far-reaching plan!
Inside Ju Shou's residence, Ju Shou and Tian Feng were sitting opposite each other.
Tian Feng smiled rather cunningly at this moment: "Gong Yu, the envoy you are going to follow is not a simple one."
Ju Shou shook his head and said, "Yuan Hao, what does this have to do with me?"
"I have fought for the Yuan family and risked my life, but now I am being driven out of Jizhou. What hope do you think I have?"
Tian Feng looked alert, "Gong Yu, remember not to say anything careless."
"You can complain like this in front of Benchu Gong, just like me, the worst that can happen is that you will be disliked."
"But if you say it behind his back, what will Benchu Gong think if it gets to his ears?"
Ju Shou still stiffened his neck and asked, "Why, Lord Benchu can still kill me?"
Tian Feng sneered, "Gong Yu, don't think you can get carried away just because you've fought a few battles!"
"I know you have great ambitions since you were young and you are good at strategy, but when it comes to internal fighting, you can't compare to Guo Tuxinping and the others!"
"Right now, Lord Benchu has too many people under his command and too few resources. There is no higher position for him unless he seizes the whole world."
"Youzhou is a good opportunity. If you don't go, I still want to go."
Ju Shou shook his head and said, "Yuan Hao, you don't need to comfort me. Youzhou is just a state. No matter how powerful it is, can it compare to Jizhou?"
"Even Jizhou can't make it. You also know how many forces there are in Youzhou. What can you do with only half of Zhuo County and a few thousand soldiers?"
"A good cook cannot cook without rice."
Tian Feng taunted, "Gong Yu, you are used to fighting big battles, so you don't know how to fight small battles?"
"You're used to riding in a carriage, so you can't walk anymore, right?"
Ju Su sighed, "You don't have to provoke me. I started as a deputy driver and rose to the position of military supervisor after going through a lot of hardships. Now that Gongsun Zan has been defeated, they want to get rid of me and send me to Youzhou as a military officer. I am back to the way I was before."
"What hope do you have of realizing my ambition?"
Tian Feng said angrily: "I am still a deputy driver now, that was your previous position!"
"I didn't say anything!"
"You need to change your bad habits. You are more outspoken than me. Be careful what you say!"
He slapped his head and said, "I forgot!"
"I came to you to borrow money, but you kept talking nonsense and I almost fell for your trick!"
Ju Su's face froze. How did Tian Feng come back to his senses?
He hurriedly said: "I'm not lending it to you, but I need money these days!"
"That being said, Master Xianyi is my new lord after all. He is getting married, so I have to prepare some gifts."
Tian Feng said with a headache: "I am the same!"
"I asked you to place a few of our clan members there, so I owe him a favor."
"Although these young men are good at studying and doing things, they have no place in Jizhou. It would be good if they could settle down in Youzhou."
"As a result, I wanted to give a gift, but I found that I didn't have anything good at home."
"Our salary is half money and half grain. Five baht coins are worthless, but we can't send grain to the wedding."
"I came to ask if you have any silk or brocade at home. Please lend me a dozen pieces first."
When Ju Su heard this, he shook his head and said, "You know I don't like these things, so why would I hide them?"
"I heard that Xu You has a lot of silk, gold and silver in his house. Why don't you go find him?"
Tian Feng cursed: "That guy is too greedy and ruthless. He is corrupt and does everything he can. His things are too dirty for me!"
"You said that Lord Benchu sent him to Youzhou. Do you think he went too far?"
Ju Shou sighed, "Don't even mention it. I feel uncomfortable when I think about working with him and being half a head shorter than him."
"I'm afraid that once he gets to Youzhou, he'll plunder the place completely."
Tian Feng heard this and laughed, "Master Xianyi, can you let him do whatever he wants?"
"There will be something interesting to watch then."
Ju Su said, "I hope so."
"If you really want to earn a reputation for being honest, you won't ask for too much in gifts for this wedding."
"This wedding is so hasty, I'm afraid you don't want to give everyone time to prepare gifts?"
Tian Feng pondered: "That makes sense."
He reacted randomly: "No matter how big or small the gift is, it has to be talented. No, you have to give me half of the gift, otherwise we are not friends!"
Ju Su was furious: "Why, you are threatening me again? Take the five pieces of silk quickly, I won't give them away!"
Tian Feng said: "Too few, ten horses!"
"There's not much left, take it if you want!"
"Bullshit, you must be hiding something!"
The two began to bargain and started to argue passionately.
Yuan Shao's inner residence.
Liu was lying on the couch, and Hong was gently pounding her legs. She sneered at Yuan Shang and said, "I heard that you were fooled by that little beast?"
Yuan Shang said bitterly: "I never thought he was so cunning!"
Liu said angrily, "You have become a laughing stock among the nobles in Ye City now!"
"He's the eldest son of the main branch, but he's being played around by a newly adopted stepson!"
"You can just let others do this kind of thing from behind, why do you have to do it yourself?"
"Now everyone knows you've lost face!"
After hearing this, Yuan Shang said in frustration, "I thought I had a sure win, but I didn't expect to be tricked!"
He had no place to vent his anger, and Yuan Xi did not give him any chance to make another move. He got married in a hurry, leaving Yuan Shang helpless for a while.
Hong was listening to all these disputes silently. She got nervous for a moment and made a mistake in hitting Liu on the knee.
Liu cried out in pain, her face turned cold, "How did you do it?"
Yuan Shang was just having trouble getting angry, so he stood up suddenly, kicked Hong to the ground, and shouted, "Bitch, apologize to your mother!"
Hong kowtowed quickly, and Liu waved her hand and said, "Forget it, be smarter next time."
She turned to Yuan Shang and said, "Forget about your own family, but be nicer to your wife in front of outsiders. After all, she is a bitch, so who are you?"
"If others hear it, they will only laugh at you."
Yuan Shang nodded quickly. He was angry and stared at Hong, scaring her so much that she lowered her head.
Liu said to Hong, "You go out first."
Hong felt as if she had been pardoned and quickly retreated.
Liu said to Yuan Shang, "I know you are dissatisfied with her, but if you change her to someone else, you won't be able to improve."
"Don't think you have a sure win now. You will win only when you truly become the head of the Yuan family."
"If you want to divorce your wife and take a concubine later, it's up to you, but now at least you have to pretend."
"And what you did yesterday has reached your father's ears."
"He said something to me, do you know what it was?"
"Enough is enough!"
After hearing this, Yuan Shang turned pale.
Liu sneered and said, "Everything you have was given by your father. Don't test your father's bottom line for that insignificant little beast!"
"You're going to do big things!"
After hearing this, Yuan Shang bowed and said, "I will follow your instructions, mother."
After hearing this, Liu nodded in satisfaction and said, "You can go out now. We have to give face to that little bastard at his wedding. Go and prepare the gifts, so that others won't say that we are impolite."
Yuan Shang quickly agreed and withdrew.
A fierce light flashed in Liu's eyes. "You little beast, don't think that I can't deal with you after you were adopted. You are not worth my effort now!"
I'll deal with you after I've dealt with Yuan Tan!
In Gao Lan's house, he said to Zhen Rong depressedly: "You said that there will be a wedding tomorrow, in what capacity should we congratulate him?"
Zhen Rong looked like she had lost all hope in life: "My husband asked me, who else can I ask?"
"I still can't figure out what's going on!"
Because Zhang kept it a secret from everyone, Zhen Rong just learned about Zhen Mi's adoption plan and was immediately confused.
Little sister is not little sister anymore?
Become a member of the Bian family?
Yuan Xi is not my brother-in-law anymore?
What was it before that?
Gao Lan was in even more complicated feelings. He secretly surrendered to Yuan Xi, but on the surface he was still working for Yuan Shang. Both sides knew that Yuan Shang had seduced Zhen Rong, but no one would break the window paper.
What Gao Lan was worried about was that, through his relationship with Zhen Rong, Yuan Xi would marry Zhen Mi, and his relationship with Yuan Xi would become closer.
Now that Yuan Xi has come to break into Zhen Mi's house, is it good or bad for me?
The advantage is that Yuan Shang will be less suspicious of him, but the disadvantage is that Gao Lan cannot see clearly what Yuan Xi's future attitude will be.
Just sit on both sides and wait and see?
Gao Lan is a very smart man and is very good at judging situations, so naturally he has many more worries than the average person.
Some others, on the other hand, have recognized their true nature early on, so they have fewer such worries.
For example, Liu Bei.
But his current situation can be said to be a dilemma.