Madam Wu followed Cai Yan to Zhen Mi. After listening to Zhen Mi's thoughts, she hesitated for a moment and said, "Please understand, Madam. I don't want to return to my family for the time being."
Everyone present was stunned. Zhen Mi asked in surprise, "Why?"
Madam Wu looked sad. "I was abducted and lost my reputation. Now if I return to my family, I will be looked down upon. It would be better for me to waste my time and raise my daughter. I will be content."
When everyone heard this, they realized that when Madam Wu was abducted, she had most likely been humiliated by Sun Ce, so she had no face to go back and face her family.
Come to think of it, Madam Wu has a beautiful appearance and figure, similar to Cai Zhaoji, each with their own strengths, and even surpasses Cai Zhaoji in maturity and charm.
How could such a beautiful woman maintain her innocence if she fell into the hands of the enemy?
Mrs. Kong Rong could not help but curse: "Sun Ce is so heartless that he will not have a good death in the future!"
Mrs. Wu felt uncomfortable. Wasn't this cursing her son in front of him?
But Mrs. Kong Rong was speaking for herself, so she couldn't say anything.
Over the past few days, Mrs. Wu has been observing secretly and listening carefully, and she has gradually discovered that her original expectations were too naive!
The fierce tiger of the Yuan family who defeated Liu Bei, Tian Kai and Gongsun Zan, became famous in the north, and made Sun Ce suffer a defeat, is not an easy person to deal with. How could he be deceived so easily?
She even suspected that Xionghu had already figured out her background and was just keeping her hanging?
Madam Wu felt more and more guilty. To be honest, it was because of her carelessness that she lost Guangling City. Now she could not bear a second failure!
What if the other party uses himself to threaten Sun Ce?
So when she heard that Sun Ce had withdrawn his troops, she was relieved. Now, when she heard that Zhen Mi wanted Madam Kong Rong to send her back to Jingzhou, her first reaction was, was the other side testing her again?
So Mrs. Wu made a decision immediately that she must not show any intention of leaving!
So she pretended to be sad and said in a sad voice: "Now I have no home to return to. If you don't abandon me, I am willing to be a maid and serve you for the rest of my life."
Zhen Mi felt sad after hearing this, her eyes reddened as she said, "Madam, you are suffering from this disaster, and I can empathize with you. Madam, don't worry, you can stay as long as you want."
"Madam wants to live in Yuan Mansion permanently, so I will take the initiative and agree to it."
Mrs. Wu bowed quickly to express her gratitude.
Zhen Mi then asked Cai Zhaoji, "Madam, you have the same surname as my sister. Are the Cai family of Jingzhou related to my sister?"
Cai Zhaoji said, "My ancestors are from Chenliu, so they are somewhat distant relatives of the Cai family in Jingzhou."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi smiled and said, "That's great. I'd like to trouble you to help Madam on weekdays and tell her about things in the mansion."
Cai Zhaoji agreed and said to Madam Wu, "Madam, please rest assured. I will talk to you in detail later. If your daughter needs care, please feel free to come to me."
When Mrs. Wu heard the women were so enthusiastic, she felt a little strange. She quickly reminded herself that the other party might have sent Cai Zhaoji to monitor and test her, so she must not let her guard down!
Speaking of the women in this mansion, the one Mrs. Wu feared the most was Cai Zhaoji.
Among the women of the gentry, Cai Zhaoji was extremely famous. She was not only proficient in calligraphy and music, but also well-read. In front of such a person, if she was not careful, she might be exposed.
Moreover, such a talented and beautiful woman is willing to be a concubine of the fierce tiger of the Yuan family. That fierce tiger must have some extraordinary qualities!
Madam Wu felt so tired. Xuzhou was such a terrible place. If she had known earlier, she would have insisted on dissuading Sun Ce from returning to Jiangdong and taken her time!
Yuan Xi stayed on the top of the city wall, watching the scout cavalry he sent out return one by one. After listening to everyone's reports, he finally confirmed that Sun Ce had indeed retreated.
The scouts followed for more than 200 miles and saw with their own eyes Sun Ce's army enter Xia Pi and head towards Tancheng.
Yuan Xi finally felt relieved. The pressure from Sun Ce was too great. Although he had won several battles, most of them were due to the strength and power of Yuan Shao's army. Now that it was his turn to face the enemy alone, many of his shortcomings were exposed.
For example, although Qu Yi was good at training soldiers, his training methods were most suitable for Bingliang soldiers, and there were many incompatibilities for Qingxu soldiers.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that he should find a strategist who was proficient in military tactics, otherwise it would be too difficult to fight wars in the future.
When he returned to the mansion, he saw that everyone was busy because Guan Yu was going to return to Haixi the next day.
Kong Rong was sitting happily at the stone table in the yard, his face flushed, holding a pot of wine in one hand and a wine glass in the other, drinking happily with Guo Jia.
Yuan Xi knew Kong Rong was drunk when he saw it, and said with a smile, "Mr. Wen is in a good mood."
Kong Rong turned his head and his face fell a little. He muttered in a low voice: "I was having a great time drinking, what a spoiler!"
Guo Jia smiled at Yuan Xi and said, "Sir, would you like to have a few drinks with me?"
When Kong Rong heard this, his face turned even uglier. Seeing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "I get drunk easily when I drink. I'm afraid I'll ruin your mood, so I won't accompany you any more."
Kong Rong watched Yuan Xi leave, and then his expression lightened up. He burped and said to Guo Jia, "Ignore him, let's drink our own!"
Guo Jia smiled and drank the cup, thinking that Kong Rong's words were easy to trick. He wanted to go to Luoyang to meet the Han Emperor. On the one hand, he felt that Liu Bei was not doing well, but on the other hand, it might not be Liu Bei's plan to get around the Han Emperor.
Although the Han Emperor was in a weak position, he was still useful. At least several princes had placed spies around him.
In this way, he could put some thought into it and make some arrangements in advance. People like Kong Rong, although they hate the young master, may be able to use him in return.
Yuan Xi walked all the way to Zhen Mi's room. When he passed Kong Rong's room, he heard the door creak open. It was Kong Rong's wife and daughter who came out.
She bowed deeply to Yuan Xi and said, "Thank you very much for saving my life twice. After this separation, I am afraid we may never meet again."
Yuan Xi hurriedly stopped Madam Kong Rong and sighed, "No, I was young and frivolous last time and affected the reputation of the lady. I feel deeply ashamed."
Mrs. Kong Rong chuckled and said, "I had almost forgotten about it, but you are still bringing it up."
Yuan Xi blushed and said, "I didn't think it through."
Kong Rong's daughter tugged at Mrs. Kong Rong's sleeve. Mrs. Kong Rong noticed it and sighed, "My daughter has something to give to you, young master."
Kong Rong's daughter raised her head and met Yuan Xi's gaze. She blushed instantly and quickly lowered her head.
The hands behind her back were shaking slightly, and she was holding something but didn't dare to take it out.
She didn't dare to look up again, and said hesitantly, "Mother, there are so many people coming and going here, I, I can't say anything."
Mrs. Kong Rong sighed, pointed to the corridor behind the house, and said, "There's no one over there. Go and talk to the young master."
Kong Rong's daughter lowered her head and walked to the back of the house shyly. Yuan Xi turned his head to look at Kong Rong's wife, and saw her nodding to him with a wry smile on her face, so he followed her.
Yuan Xi went around to the back of the house and saw Kong Rong's daughter with her head lowered, scratching the blue bricks on the ground with her embroidered shoes under her skirt.
He took a few steps forward and said gently, "Girl, please tell me what you want to say. I will do my best to do what I can."
Kong Rong's daughter thought to herself, "If I ask you to take me away, will you agree?"
However, she knew that this was impossible and Kong Rong would never agree.
She bit her lip, took out a piece of silk cloth, and opened it with trembling hands.
Yuan Xi took a closer look and found that it was actually a piece of fried black sugar cake.
Kong Rong's daughter said softly, "Thank you for the meal we had in the carriage that day."
"But I tried several times and they all got burnt. This is the best one. Please don't laugh at me, sir."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi laughed and said, "The girl is thoughtful, how can I laugh at her."
He took the silk cloth from Kong Rong's daughter, and their fingers touched. Kong Rong's daughter trembled and quickly pulled her hand back.
Seeing Yuan Xi solemnly wrap the silk cloth and put it in his arms, Kong Rong's daughter's originally gloomy eyes revealed a hint of joy.
She lowered her head and whispered, "My mother said she had forgotten the days in the carriage, but I always remember them."
Yuan Xi opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
He more or less understood Kong Rong's daughter's feelings, but he was powerless now. Kong Rong was afraid that he would never agree until his death.
The two of them were speechless for a while. Kong Rong's daughter seemed to have mustered up all her courage and whispered, "Please turn around, sir. I have something to say."
Yuan Xi thought to himself, maybe he is too shy to say something to her face?
But he turned around and said, "Okay, girl, go ahead."
Suddenly he felt his waist tighten, and Kong Rong's daughter hugged him from behind, and then her face was pressed tightly against his vest.
Yuan Xi was stunned.
The two of them just stood there silently, and soon, sobbing sounds were heard from behind.
It was unknown how long it had been before Kong Rong's daughter loosened her hand. Yuan Xi heard footsteps quickly leaving the corner, followed by the sound of the door closing.
He touched his vest with his back hand and found two wet spots.
He raised his hands, stood there for a while, and left with heavy steps amid the faint sound of crying in the house.
Half a month later, Guan Yu escorted Liu Bei's wife, daughter and Kong Rong's family back to Haixi.
Liu Bei had been standing behind the city gate. When he saw Kong Rong getting off the car, he quickly stepped forward and took Kong Rong's hand, saying apologetically: "I failed to lead the army well, and even caused Wen Jugong to be defeated. I am really ashamed."
Kong Rong heard this and sighed, "Your Excellency, there is no need to do this. It is because I am incompetent that I am holding you back and cannot be of any help."
"Rong will marry his daughter to Taiyang today, then he will flee to Sili to find the emperor and serve the Han Dynasty loyally."
Liu Bei heard this and sighed, "Si Li is very dangerous now. Why would Lord Wen Ju go there in person?"
Kong Rong said, "I have made up my mind. When I see the emperor, I will make your wishes known to him."
Seeing Kong Rong's insistence, Liu Bei had no choice but to nod and say, "Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Wen Ju."
At this time, Chen Deng was in his mansion in the city. He said to Hua Tuo, "General Guan has returned. I think the lord will meet Master Xianyi in the near future."
"Mr. Yuanhua will be able to meet him then."
After hearing this, Hua Tuo stroked his beard and said, "That's great. I want to see what Master Xianyi is capable of."
He then said, "But before, someone from the Taiyang family came to ask me for a favor, which was about Kong Rong's daughter."
"This matter is not very bright, and I am a little hesitant."
Chen Deng listened and asked in confusion: "What's the matter?"