The news that Yuan Xi was leaving quickly spread throughout Yecheng.
Everyone knew what was going on with Yuan Xi as the governor of Youzhou recommended by the Yuan family. Now he couldn't even completely occupy Zhuo County, but he did have real power. After all, the officials under him all came with real salaries.
There was an endless stream of people coming to visit, most of whom were unsuccessful nobles in Jizhou who wanted to find a position in Youzhou.
While entertaining people, Yuan Xi subtly revealed some of his future plans. The gentry then realized that Yuan Xi would not return directly to Beixincheng, the capital of Zhuo County, but would lead his troops directly to the border of Jizhou Bohai County and Youzhou Yuyang County to wipe out the remaining forces of Gongsun Zan and capture Yuyang County.
Yuyang is rich in salt and iron resources. Taking it down early would mean having an extra treasury. Everyone thought that Yuan Xi was too impatient. He had just been married for less than half a month and he was already expanding his territory!
And Yuan Xi actually wanted to take Zhen Mi to Yuyang!
Is this going to the battlefield with family, or going sightseeing?
Letting his family members go through dangerous places and treating the battlefield as a joke, is this fierce tiger of the Yuan family too confident?
However, some people with ulterior motives began to think about it and discussed privately. Yuan Xi had just been adopted, but he was going to take his wife away from Yecheng. Was he worried about the Yuan family?
At this time, Zhen Mi and Yuan Xi were enjoying the rare quietness. They were staying in the small building where Zhen Mi lived before her marriage.
Yuan Xi hugged Zhen Mi and sat in front of the window. He looked at the scenery in Yecheng through the cracks in the window and sighed, "The scenery here is still unique. No wonder the ancients said that the wise man loves mountains and the benevolent man loves water."
"Standing high up and observing the suffering of all living beings, one can indeed think of something different."
Zhen Mi felt the warmth coming from Yuan Xi's palm, and her pretty face flushed, "My husband, is your behavior at this time considered wise or kind?"
Yuan Xi chuckled: "The relationship between husband and wife is aboveboard, heaven and earth can bear witness to it, and of course it is witnessed by mountains and rivers."
Zhen Mi felt that Yuan Xi's hands were becoming more and more dishonest, and twisted her body, "On the night of our wedding, my husband was almost insane, and he was much more violent than afterwards."
Yuan Xi was ashamed, "Maybe it was because I drank too much at the time. I have a very low alcohol tolerance, and my mind is not clear after I get drunk, so I did some excessive things to my wife in a daze."
Zhen Mi knew that this was the truth. They had drunk several times after they got married. Yuan Xi really couldn't drink much. He couldn't drink after a few glasses and then he was almost demented.
Thinking back to the wedding night when her usually gentle and refined husband became very violent, Zhen Mi felt a little resentful.
Fortunately, Yuan Xi still had a little bit of rationality left, which allowed him to retain at least some consideration, so that Zhen Mi could finally feel the joy of being together as a couple.
She bit her teeth lightly, remembering the scene when she took Zhen Rong away that day, and she vaguely understood something. So this is how things are between men and women. Why didn't her mother mention it to her?
Thinking of Cai Zhaoji, who still had no official status, she said softly, "Sister Zhaoji is still the widow of the Wei family, right? How will my husband arrange for her to be settled?"
"To be honest, Sister Zhaoji is far more qualified to be my wife than I am, both in terms of family background and talent. Every time I see her, I feel a little ashamed."
Yuan Xi's hand groped inside Zhen Mi's skirt, and his fingers stroked her slender waist, causing Zhen Mi's body to tremble uncontrollably.
He said, "Don't think too much. The matter between Zhao Ji and I will not be sorted out in a short time. Just be a good wife."
"The most important thing for a legal wife is to have a pure mind. You are good enough now."
Zhen Mi was touched and whispered, "Does this mean that I'm a little stupid?"
Yuan Xi laughed and said, "If you weren't stupid, how could you be tricked by me?"
"It seems like we've only met a few times, and you already have a crush on me?"
"I still don't understand what attracted you."
Zhen Mi raised her head and thought for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter: "I can't explain it clearly either."
"When the Yuan and Zhen families first proposed the marriage between the two families, my mother agreed immediately."
"I was very scared at the time, and I was in a state of anxiety all day long, fearing that I would have to get married someday."
"As a result, I spent a year in fear, but there was no movement from the Yuan family. I went to ask my mother, and then I learned that my husband had stayed in Zhuo County and had not returned."
"I couldn't understand it at the time. Everyone talks about starting a family, but why does my husband seem to have no interest in getting married?"
"Or is life so good over there that you don't want to come back?"
Yuan Xi laughed out loud and increased the strength of his hands: "What kind of life is it over there? I told you a few days ago. It's not even enough to eat. How can it be considered a good life?"
Zhen Mi begged for mercy quickly, then covered her chest and said, "I know I was wrong. If my husband hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have known it was so painful."
"After I follow my husband to Zhuo County, I will definitely be able to adapt to the hard life."
Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "There is no need to suffer on purpose. Beixin City is already much better than before. Isn't the purpose of life to live a better life?"
"Where were you talking about?"
Zhen Mi thought for a moment, and then said, "I waited for my husband for a year, and then another year."
"A lot of things happened during those two years. There were wars everywhere in Jizhou, and even Yecheng was invaded by the Black Mountain bandits."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "I heard that it was really dangerous at that time. How did the Zhen family escape?"
Zhen Mi said, "There is a secret room under the Zhen family mansion. It is not a problem to stay there for a few days in times of crisis. Fortunately, the siege of Yecheng was lifted soon."
"At that time, I had been waiting for two years. I was getting older. There were also rumors in Yecheng that the Zhen family was marrying up. As a result, Yuan changed her mind."
"I feel a little resentful. The Zhen family did nothing wrong. It was the Yuan family who proposed the marriage to the Zhen family."
"For three years, I sat in the small building day and night, feeling the passing of time, and sometimes I felt resentful towards my husband whom I had never met."
Yuan Xi couldn't help but laugh, "Are you so anxious?"
"If you were a few years older, wouldn't you have screamed even more on your wedding night?"
After hearing this, Zhen Mi was so angry that she hit Yuan Xi hard on the chest with her elbow. "My husband is good-looking and looks like a modest gentleman, but how can he speak so vulgarly? You can't judge a person by his appearance!"
Yuan Xi apologized immediately, and Zhen Mi was satisfied. She continued, "Until that day, when I heard that my husband had returned from Zhuo County, I became curious and wanted to see what this person who had left me alone for three years looked like."
"I asked Fourth Sister to take me to Yuan's house, and then I met my husband."
"At that time, my husband was making sugar cakes and ignored my sister and me when we came in."
Yuan Xi thought about it and couldn't help but feel ashamed: "The things used at that time were actually quite expensive, so I didn't want to waste them, so I didn't notice you when you came in."
Zhen Mi pursed her lips and smiled: "But for me, I have never seen anyone from the aristocratic family take food so seriously."
"At that time, I was thinking that my husband is really different from others."
"Later, I heard my husband talk about the interesting things in Zhuo County. I couldn't help but think that my husband would rather stay in the bitter cold north than come back to get married. That place must be very interesting, right?"
"So because of my husband's stories, I have developed a yearning for the scenery of the North. In comparison, I stay in this mansion day after day, living the same life. Maybe it will be the same after marriage?"
"Perhaps it was at this time that I had an idea. If I marry my husband, wouldn't I be able to visit the North?"
Yuan Xi was greatly shocked, thinking that this was how Zhen Mi got her idea!
It is true that people's yearning for the strange world outside often only requires an inconspicuous reason, a sudden idea.
He said, "It's not always so good out there. Besides the beautiful mountains and rivers and the rushing rivers, there are also bandits, wars, natural disasters, starving people, and corpses everywhere."
Zhen Mi's face turned pale. "My husband, please don't scare me. If you think I'm a burden, I won't go."
Yuan Xi shook his head: "I just don't want you to be exposed to the cruelty outside, especially the battlefield. That kind of scene is really not pleasant."
Zhen Mi said softly, "But this time my husband took me out, wasn't he using this excuse to cover up his tracks?"
Yuan Xi was surprised when he heard this: "How did you guess that?"
"Did anyone tell you?"
He thought that it would be fine if Cai Zhaoji, who helped him handle military affairs, could guess it, but how could Zhen Mi also guess it?
Zhen Mi said anxiously, "I heard about my husband's war from Madam Cai."
"My husband values the lives of his soldiers. How could he allow me to take him to the battlefield and endanger the lives of his soldiers?"
"Unless my husband has other intentions."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi nodded slightly, thinking that as expected, someone with a keen eye could guess the clues. Since Zhen Mi, as a woman, could think of it, someone with a keen eye might be able to guess it. He should be more careful.
He took Zhen Mi's hand and said, "Just follow me this time."
"Don't delay fighting, and don't delay seeing the scenery!"
Zhen Mi listened, her eyes sparkled, and she nodded gently, "I believe in my husband."
A few days later, it was the day for Yuan Xi to set off.
Perhaps Yuan Shao took their friendship into consideration, so he asked Yuan Shang to allocate another thousand soldiers to Yuan Xi.
However, Yuan Xi knew in his heart that Yuan Shao might have simple ideas, but Yuan Shang might not be the same. Among these one thousand soldiers, who knows how many spies Yuan Shang has.
He did not say anything, but just thanked Yuan Shang: "Thank you for your kindness, Master. Please let Master Xianfu convey my gratitude to the Master."
After hearing this, Yuan Shang smiled and said, "Master Xianyi, there is no need to be polite. I will pass on the message."
When Yuan Shang left, Yuan Xi found Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci and said, "Things are almost done here. We will set off tomorrow."
The next day, the two men led a thousand soldiers and several carriages out of Yecheng.
Guo Jia left his wife in Yecheng and set off with two concubines. Taishi Ci also left his mother, wife and daughter behind. Taishi Ci's mother could not stand the severe cold in the north, so she had to stay and be taken care of by Taishi Ci's wife.
The four members of the Huan family, including Cai Zhaoji, left in the carriage. It was meaningless for them to stay in Yecheng. Instead, they would be easily coveted and targeted by those who wanted to harm Yuan Xi.
Inside the carriage, Yuan Xi saw Zhen Mi lift the curtain and stare in the direction of the Zhen Mansion in silence. The joy of the journey on her face was diluted by sadness. He knew that she was worried about her mother, Zhang.
But if people want to grow up, they have to leave their parents sooner or later. If Zhen Mi wants to be independent in the future, she can only face the pain of separation.