When Kong Rong's family saw Yuan Xi appear, they reacted differently. Kong Rong looked frightened, but his wife and daughter looked surprised.
Kong Rong cried out in amazement: "Why are you here?"
Yuan Xi said, "Liu Yuzhou lost Xiapi and Guangling, and sent Mr. Wenlong to Yecheng for help. I formed an alliance with Liu Yuzhou on behalf of the Yuan family, so I must do what I can."
"However, it is a pleasant surprise to meet Wen Jugong and his family here. I will send someone to escort Wen Jugong and his family back to Liu Yuzhou."
Kong Rong finally realized what was happening and said angrily, "You kid are teasing me!"
He suddenly remembered that his family's lives were saved by Yuan Xi, and he felt extremely embarrassed. Should he thank Yuan Xi for saving his life?
Mrs. Kong Rong took her daughter and bowed deeply, tears in her eyes, and said, "Thank you for saving my life, young master."
Yuan Xi hurriedly said, "Madam, you are too polite. We are all acquaintances. It is our duty to help each other. No need to be polite."
Kong Rong's face twitched. Who is your acquaintance? My wife or my daughter?
He recalled that Yuan Xi had saved his wife and daughter once before, but Taiyang Yang still had complaints about the fact that they rode in the same car. Do you think he was kind or malicious?
But this time it was even more thrilling. If Yuan Xi's behavior was just a little absurd, Sun Ce's behavior could be described as cruel and terrifying.
Sun Ce treated the gentry without any regard for their reputation and even forcibly took their women. In addition, he came from a humble background, so he did not have a good reputation among the gentry.
Kong Rong thought that although Sun Ce did not touch his wife and daughter after his family of three were captured, this matter was like jumping into the Yellow River and getting a crotch full of mud that could never be washed away. It was also hard to say whether Yang would marry his daughter in the future.
He was upset but couldn't vent his anger. No matter how bad Yuan Xi's behavior was, he had saved his life. What else could he say?
Moreover, the other party was already the governor of Youzhou, a vassal on par with Liu Bei. Kong Rong was not stupid, so how could he possibly fall out with him?
He could only say stiffly: "On behalf of my whole family, I would like to thank you for saving my life."
When Yuan Xi heard the reluctance in Kong Rong's tone, he laughed in his heart. Originally, he was quite dissatisfied with Kong Rong and always thought of his shortcomings, but the words of ungratefulness just now reminded him of the complicated relationship between him and Yuan Shao. He felt something in his heart, and his disgust for Kong Rong faded a lot.
He smiled and said, "Mr. Wen, you are too polite. When I attacked Guangling, I did not guess that your family would be trapped here. It can be said that it was God's will."
He turned to Mrs. Kong Rong and said, "I didn't expect to see you again after we last met. I hope you are well, Madam."
Mrs. Kong Rong quickly returned the greeting, her face a little hot. What do you mean by "How could you speak like this since we last met?"
Seeing her daughter lowering her head and keeping silent, she thought this was strange. She always talked about Yuan Xi on weekdays, so why did she have nothing to say when they met?
She gently pulled her daughter's sleeve and whispered, "Hurry up and thank the young master."
The girl then lowered her head and said in a muffled voice: "Thank you for saving my life, young master."
Yuan Xi thought that maybe she was about to get married, and she had become more sensible and understood the differences between men and women, so he said gently, "The girl is well."
The girl lowered her head and hummed.
Yuan Xi was thinking about meeting Liu Bei's wife and daughter, so he said, "I just captured the city. It is not stable at the moment. There are many people with ill intentions. So you all have to stay here for a few days. When everything is settled, I will send you back to Liu Yuzhou in Haixi."
Kong Rong heard this and said helplessly, "I will follow your arrangements."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Then I will take my leave first."
He turned around and was about to leave when he heard the girl whisper, "Sir, are you married?"
Yuan Xi was startled, then smiled and said, "We just got married last month."
"It is a coincidence that my wife came with me. I will ask her to visit the lady some other day."
When the girl saw Yuan Xi walk out the door and his figure disappear, she felt a sudden pain in her heart, as if something was missing, and her eyes were filled with tears.
When Mrs. Kong Rong saw this, she also sighed and hugged her daughter in her arms.
Kong Rong was completely unaware of the mother and daughter's appearance. He looked out the window and said angrily, "The Yuan family kid has become just like his father, ascending to heaven overnight."
"When he came to Xuzhou, although he had a great reputation, he was just a bastard of the Yuan family. I didn't expect that he would be adopted as the head of a branch family and appointed as the governor of Youzhou. How old is he? Twenty, or twenty-one?"
"The Yuan family has accumulated a lot of experience, but unfortunately they are ambitious. Don't be fooled by their current happiness. Haha, it's hard to say what will happen in the future..."
Listening to Kong Rong's sour words, Mrs. Kong Rong said softly: "At least he saved our lives. Maybe we will need his help in the future."
After hearing this, Kong Rong wanted to retort, but suddenly it occurred to him that the Yuan family was known to be vindictive and vicious, and if his complaints got to their ears, wouldn't he be in trouble?
Thinking of this, he stopped talking reluctantly.
Yuan Xi and Tian Yu turned around and came to the other side of the yard, but they saw a room with a bolt on the door. They thought it was where Liu Bei's wife and daughter were imprisoned.
He walked up and knocked on the door, and a middle-aged female voice came out from inside: "Who is it?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "I am Yuan Xi from Jizhou. May I ask if the lady inside is Liu Yuzhou's wife?"
The middle-aged woman said, "Since you found this place, why do you still ask if you are in the same group with Sun Ce?"
"Let me tell you first, if you want to attack my daughter, kill me first!"
Yuan Xi thought that Liu Bei's wife was quite interesting.
Liu Bei's wife was not recorded in history books. It was unknown whether it was because of the respect for the elder or because something else happened. Thinking of this, he said, "Madam, don't you know that Yuan and Liu Yuzhou were originally allies?"
"I came to relieve the siege of Xuzhou at the request of Liu Yuzhou. Now that Guangling has been captured by me, Madam will be able to return to Liu Yuzhou soon."
Mennei hesitated, then softened his tone, "Really?"
Yuan Xi said: "It is absolutely true. If it is convenient for you, can we meet?"
The female voice said, "It's locked outside. If you want to see her, you can. How can I stop you?"
Yuan Xi thought that this lady spoke very bluntly and directly, which was not like a girl from a noble family at all. It seemed that Liu Bei's family was not well off when he was young, so when he married, he looked for a wife of equal status. She should not be a girl from a wealthy family.
He said aloud: "In that case, I will open the door."
Tian Yu went up to unbolt the door and pushed it open, and saw a woman with rough hands and feet, a heroic look between her brows, and a masculine appearance, standing vigilantly at the door.
When Yuan Xi saw the woman, he was stunned for a moment. What could he say about Liu's original wife? She had a straight body, a high chest, a thick waist, and strong-looking limbs. It was obvious that she had done a lot of work since she was a child. She had nothing in common with a woman from aristocratic family. Instead, she looked like a simple working woman.
There seemed to be two female figures behind the woman, one large and one small. He thought that they must be Liu Bei's daughters, so he bowed and said, "Greetings, Madam Envoy."
Seeing Yuan Xi treating her with courtesy, Mrs. Liu Bei could only return the courtesy and said, "My humble concubine has met you..."
She raised her head and asked in confusion, "What's your name?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I am the governor of Youzhou. Madam, you can call me Young Master or Envoy."
Mrs. Liu Bei looked puzzled and asked, "You are so young, but you are the governor of a state just like my husband?"
She immediately shook her head and said, "No, you don't look like a bad person. Nowadays, governors are not good people."
Yuan Xi finally couldn't help laughing out loud: "Madam, you've also insulted Liu Yuzhou with what you said."
Mrs. Liu Bei was furious when she heard this: "He is also a heartless man. He abandoned us mother and daughter and let someone run away with that vixen Gan!"
Great Khan Yuan Xi, what is going on?
He listened to Liu Bei's wife's accent and asked, "Madam, are you from Zhuo County?"
Mrs. Liu Bei nodded and said, "My husband and I are both from Zhuo County."
Yuan Xi laughed and said, "What a coincidence! My seat in Youzhou is also in Zhuo County. There are many heroic and chivalrous people there. I see that you and your wife both have such character."
Mrs. Liu Bei clapped her hands and said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Aren't we half from the same hometown?"
"People in our area all have bad tempers. It's impossible to change them. Please don't blame me, young master."
Yuan Xi found Liu Bei's wife's words more and more interesting, but he could also see that although Liu Bei's wife's words seemed a bit vulgar on the surface, she was actually very thoughtful.
The two of them had just talked so much and seemed to be getting familiar with each other, but Mrs. Liu Bei still tightly protected her two daughters behind her, not allowing him to see their faces.
Yuan Xi secretly admired her, thinking that being a parent is not easy, and said, "Madam, take the child to rest here. I will send someone to bring you three meals a day."
"When the city is stable in a few days, I will write to Liu Yuzhou to see how to send Madam back."
"I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave now."
Mrs. Liu Bei showed satisfaction on her face. "I knew you were a straightforward person, so I'm sorry I won't see you off!"
Yuan Xi laughed, bowed and said goodbye, then left with Tian Yu.
When Mrs. Liu Bei saw the footsteps of Yuan Xi and others going away, she closed the door and said to her two daughters behind her: "This kid doesn't look like he has any bad intentions, but you can't tell a person's heart from his appearance. Who knows if he will have any bad ideas when he sees you? It's better to leave him alone."
Liu Bei had two daughters, one older and one younger. The older one was about thirteen or fourteen years old. She was very dignified and beautiful, much better than her parents.
She said, "Mother, are you overthinking it? I heard that young master had no ill intentions."
Madam Liu Bei sneered, "What do you know? Men are always attracted by beauty. Look at your father. After he fell in love with that vixen Gan, how could he still remember the three of us?"
Yuan Xi took Tian Yu out of the house and mounted their horses, heading all the way to the South Gate Wharf to pick up Zhen Mi and others.
On the way, he saw some soldiers patrolling the streets, some directing civilians to clean the streets, and some checking every household. They had already begun to rectify the internal affairs of the city.
He thought to himself that he didn't know whether Sun Ce would counterattack in the future, so it was time to send someone to send a letter to Liu Bei. If Sun Ce dared to come, attacking from both sides would give him a better chance of repelling Sun Ce.
However, even if Sun Ce was driven back to Yangzhou, there would still be a lot of trouble afterwards. Should the conquered Guangling be returned to Liu Bei intact?