After Yuan Xi entered Ye City, he asked Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci to take the carriage back to the mansion first, while he took Sun Li and went directly to see Yuan Shao with Yuan Tan.
When the two men entered the house, they found that in addition to Yuan Shao, Liu and Yuan Shang were also there.
Yuan Xi met the three people in turn. Liu said with a fake smile: "Xi'er is promising. He will soon set up his own business."
Yuan Xi didn't even blink, he bowed his head and said: "It's all thanks to my father and mother who helped me. I am so overwhelmed."
"Forget it," Liu sneered, "It was Xi'er who did it, I didn't do anything."
Yuan Shao seemed not to have heard what Liu said, and said, "Since the matter has been decided, I have asked someone to calculate, and two days later is a suitable date."
"When the time comes, all the male members of the Yuan family will be at the Yuan family ancestral temple to undergo the adoption ceremony."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said respectfully, "Thank you, father."
"Xi will definitely live up to my father's expectations."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao said to his three sons, "Although Xi'er is to be adopted by another branch, they are all members of the Yuan family after all. If any of you three do anything to betray the Yuan family, the other two should attack him together."
The three of them quickly responded, "Yes."
Yuan Shao nodded slightly and said nothing more. In this way, the rumors about himself and Yuan Ji in Yecheng could come to an end.
Afterwards, Yuan Shao asked Yuan Xi to go back and rest, while Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang hurriedly sent Yuan Xi out. They spoke flattering words to Yuan Xi, obviously doing it for Yuan Shao in the room to see.
Yuan Shang watched Yuan Xi leave the house. The smile on his face slowly disappeared, and a hint of gloom appeared between his brows.
When he returned to his room, he found that Liu had been there for a long time. She was looking unhappy and scolded Hong, saying, "You are so clumsy and you don't look like a daughter of an aristocratic family at all!"
Hong knelt on the ground, frantically picking up a spilled tea bowl, and whispered, "Mother, calm down. I know I was wrong."
Liu said coldly: "After three years of marriage, there is still no movement in the belly. I don't know..."
After hearing this, Yuan Shang said to Hong: "You go out first."
Seeing Hong holding the tea bowl and leaving, Yuan Shang said, "Mother, why bother with her? Be careful not to get upset."
Liu looked annoyed: "I just can't stand seeing Yuan Xi taking advantage!"
"Born by a bastard, now he can run a branch all on his own!"
"I can't even drink my tea when I think about him being on equal footing with you in the future!"
Yuan Shang sat on the ground and said calmly, "It doesn't matter. Everything he has was given by the Yuan family. He can't jump up and down."
After hearing this, Liu said, "I heard that he was secretly having an affair with Yuan Tan. Is that true?"
"I think Yuan Tan is still determined to make you the next head of the Yuan family. What if the two of them team up to cause trouble for you?"
Yuan Shang said confidently: "Don't worry, mother. My eldest brother is brave but not wise. He is not worth it. My second brother will not escape from my grasp."
"He just wants the Zhen family's property, right? I can give it to him, but then I can take advantage of his weakness."
After hearing this, Liu sighed and said, "Although the Zhen family's family background is not as good as ours, I heard that the girls of the Zhen family are beautiful. He really got the upper hand."
Yuan Shang said calmly: "When I take control of the Yuan family and become the ruler of the world, what kind of woman can't I get?"
"Now I just need to control the second brother and make him and the eldest brother become enemies."
After hearing this, Liu said happily, "Since Shang'er has made up his mind, I feel relieved."
"What belongs to your father belongs to us, mother and son. No one else can have a piece of it!"
"And this adoption is also a warning to your father's concubines, don't be foolish and try to get your hands on our things!"
Seeing Liu leave happily, Yuan Shang felt a little annoyed. He opened the cabinet next to him, which contained several small bottles of various shapes.
This was presented by a Taoist alchemist from the Taiping Dao who came from the south a few days ago.
Although his body showed a slight response after using it, it was still far from satisfactory. However, compared to improving his hidden illness, Yuan Shang was fascinated by another benefit brought by the Five Stones Powder.
After using it, he felt dazed, as if he had entered an ethereal state. He felt that everything in the world was under his control and he could clearly understand the thoughts and ideas of the people around him.
What this brought him was an immense spiritual pleasure that made him feel that anything between men and women could not compare to this feeling.
He found that he seemed to be slowly becoming dependent on these things.
But the alchemist also brought another piece of good news.
The forces over there fully supported Yuan Shang in seizing the position of patriarch.
Of course, in exchange for this, Yuan Shang stood idly by and watched what happened in Xuzhou for the next year.
Yuan Shang sneered, this is a good plan!
Their intention was very clear. They might have reached some deal with Yuan Shu, but at the same time they were secretly plotting to take over Xuzhou, trying to play both sides into account.
Yuan Shu's army is now attacking Xuzhou, but after taking Xia Pi, it will be difficult to defend it, after all, there are enemies all around.
Liu Bei and Yuan Shao are allies. It's not easy to snatch the other party from Liu Bei, but it's okay to snatch it from Yuan Shu, right?
Yuan Shang tapped his fingers slowly on the table, thinking of exchanging these bottles of Wu Shi San for an entire county. Obviously, he was thinking too much.
But Yuan Shang had his own plans.
At present, Xuzhou is far less troublesome to him than the powerful forces of Lu Bu, who directly threaten the western part of Jizhou.
The first thing he has to solve next year is the hidden danger in the western part of Jizhou. It will not be too late to deal with the matter of Xuzhou later.
No matter who takes Xuzhou, they can stop Yuan Tan's march south from Qingzhou, and he will be trapped in one state and will no longer be able to make any waves.
As a result, Yuan Tan had no choice but to submit to him, and there was no force in the Yuan family that could resist him.
I will integrate Yuan Tan's forces, build an extremely powerful Yuan family, and dominate the world!
As he thought about it, he couldn't help but pick up another bottle and pour the powder inside into his mouth. A strange smile appeared on his face and he fell into a beautiful fantasy again.
Hong looked inside from outside the door and saw that Yuan Shang looked crazy, so she had to close the door to prevent outsiders from seeing him.
She was sad in her heart. Everyone else envied her status, but who knew her own suffering?
Yuan Xi and Sun Li returned home. The atmosphere in the mansion was quite joyful. Guo Jia took his concubines to see his wife and children, Taishi Ci also went to find his family, and Cao Xian went to find his mother Huan and two sisters. Laughter and joy could be heard from every room.
Only Zhao Yun was practicing spearmanship alone in the backyard.
This time he used a real gun. The iron spear was elusive when used. Sometimes it made a loud noise, and sometimes it was silent, as if it came alive.
The spear tip appeared like a snake's tongue, and then suddenly disappeared, hiding behind Zhao Yun.
When the cold light of the gun tip appeared again, it had already pierced through the wooden stake in front of him, leaving a hole that went through it from front to back.
Yuan Xi felt a chill down his spine as he watched, he didn't even see clearly how the shot was fired!
He couldn't help but envy Zhao Yun's talent. He also wanted to stand in front of the enemy army with a spear, point the spear at the general, and scare away the army!
However, he knew that he would never be able to reach such a height in his lifetime. The reason why famous generals are famous is not only because of their self-discipline, but also because of their innate extraordinary talents.
Being able to survive a long battle is something that not everyone can do.
There are certainly geniuses among those who died in battle, but those who survived the battles are the geniuses among geniuses.
Zhao Yun finished his spear drill without blushing or beating his heart. Yuan Xi asked, "Brother Zilong, you seem to be in a bad mood?"
Zhao Yun said in a deep voice: "Zilong will not delay the young master's business."
Yuan Xi smiled inwardly. He now understood Zhao Yun's mental state. What he meant was that he was indeed a little worried, but it was not easy for him to say it out loud.
Zhao Yun should have been keenly aware of the troubles and crises that would follow Yuan Xi's adoption.
After Yuan Xi's branch set up its own faction, the support of the Yuan family would be greatly weakened, and the relationship between the two sides would also become weaker.
Yuan Xi believed that Zhao Yun would not let Yuan Xing's affairs affect the overall situation. What Zhao Yun was worried about was that someone in Yecheng would threaten the people around Yuan Xi.
Yuan Xi thought that everyone in the mansion should leave as soon as possible, otherwise they would not be able to leave in the future.
The families of Taishi Ci and Guo Jia were easy to deal with, they could just be taken away directly, but Huan's mother and daughter were a bit troublesome.
Although he could also take her away by force, doing so would be tantamount to violating the terms of the previous negotiations between Yuan and Cao, and would be considered a blatant seizure of Cao Cao's concubines. This practice would undoubtedly be unwelcome among the gentry.
If you really want to take Huan away, you need some plausible and legitimate excuses.
At this time, in Huan's house, she sent Cao Jie away and was talking quietly to Cao Xian.
Listening to Cao Xian talking about these days and Yuan Xi's affairs, Huan's face became hot, and she said in disbelief, "Almost everything has been done, and the only thing left is the last step?"
"Sir, do you have a hidden illness?"
Cao Xian blushed and whispered, "How could that be? I think he and Sister Wu Zhao are quite normal."
Huan froze, "Why is that? Did you make the young master unhappy?"
Cao Xian thought for a moment and said, "The young master also mentioned this before. He said that if a woman gave birth to a child too early, it would be bad for her health. He also explained a lot of things to me, but I only understood it vaguely."
In ancient times, women gave birth early because they had a short lifespan, so they needed to marry early and have more offspring. However, this caused women to give birth too early, which led to a shorter lifespan, thus creating a vicious cycle.
However, this is also the cruelest survival of the fittest. Those who can persist will naturally have stronger bodies than ordinary women. It is through this selection from generation to generation that the health of future generations is guaranteed.
But this was all achieved at the cost of the woman's life, which shows that nothing is perfect.
After hearing what Cao Xian said, Huan was puzzled and asked, "Is there such a truth?"
"I have read medical books before, but I have never heard of such a theory."
She thought to herself that maybe Yuan Xi was lying to Cao Xian, maybe he liked older people?
But that's fine, Cao Xian will grow up sooner or later, but what if Yuan Xi really likes married women as rumored?
Cao Xian said: "Young Master has extraordinary insights, and often talks about things that I have never heard of."
She then said worriedly, "Let's not talk about my own affairs. What I am most worried about is my mother."
"I heard that after the young master is adopted, he will take his family and leave Yecheng, but what should mother do?"
"My mother is still Cao Cao's concubine."
Huan gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, and then resolutely said: "I can't leave, but you can."
"Then you can take your two sisters away."
Cao Xian heard this and shook his head, saying, "Sir, I'm sure you will find a way. I'll go and ask you for help right now."
Huan said in a low voice: "You are not allowed to go!"
"Young Master will do great things in the future, and your future will depend on him. You can't let my affairs drag him down!"
After hearing this, Cao Xian nodded with tears in his eyes.
At this time in Tancheng, Xia Pi County, an old man was treating Chen Deng.