After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Of course they are all women from good families."
"These are the women who were snatched from the homes of the noble families near Luoyang during the Southern Huns' raids. There are many people from the Yingchuan and Runan families."
"For noble women, living abroad will affect the family's reputation, so I brought them to Yecheng and asked my father to arrange them accordingly."
After Yuan Xi finished speaking, Yuan Shao hadn't spoken yet, but Yuan Shang's eyes went dark.
He suddenly realized that the women brought by Yuan Xi were not the same group of singers trained in Beixin City!
Yuan Shang had long known from the news sent from Beixin City that when Yuan Tan Xunchen arrived in Beixin City, Yuan Xi found a maid to sleep with him.
So he subconsciously believed that the women Yuan Xi brought this time were the same batch of maids from Beixin City, and they were all used to give people away to make friends.
The two of them talked on the road, and Yuan Xi asked Yuan Shang if he was interested. Yuan Shang wanted to dig a hole for Yuan Xi, so he chose four of them.
Unexpectedly, Yuan Xi, who seemed to be honest, actually set a trap for himself!
Using a noble woman as a concubine can be either big or small. Although the nobles won't say anything on the surface, if a woman of their own tribe is involved, they will definitely feel uncomfortable privately.
This bitch actually cheated himself so blatantly!
Could it be that Yuan Xi knew what he had done secretly?
Yuan Shang quickly wanted to get up, thinking that he had to send the four women back quickly, otherwise, if people knew about it, the reputation he had worked so hard to build would be damaged!
His body moved, and he just reacted, cursing in his heart, how could he be so rude!
If you really want to leave, won't you make it obvious that there is something wrong with you?
Thinking of this, he stopped and sat still, with a calm smile on his face.
When Yuan Xi saw it, he secretly admired that his third brother was so calm at such a young age. No wonder he was so appreciated by Yuan Shao. His predecessor, who had a cowardly character, could not fight against him.
However, this also has something to do with family background. A child is valued more than his mother. If the mother is from a humble background, the son will naturally have a cowardly character since he was a child and will easily fall into despair.
As for Yuan Shang, whose mother clan is powerful, he is born with a sense of self-confidence from the inside out. Even if he suffers a temporary setback, he can regain his strength. This kind of opponent is extremely difficult to deal with.
What's more important is that behind them, they are supported by counselors from aristocratic families. These wealthy families have extensive connections and know a lot of information, so they can make complex plans on this basis to control the overall situation.
What Yuan Xi is fighting now is the huge force of Yuan Shang, and all he can rely on is the knowledge of future generations.
Yuan Xi's brain was running rapidly. Based on the history of later generations, he guessed that the Yingchuan nobles supported Yuan Tan and the Jizhou nobles supported Yuan Shang. He had no chance of winning in a purely scheming competition with them.
Therefore, his chance to win is to cause the opponent to misjudge and make the wrong response, thereby moving the situation in the desired direction.
At this time Yuan Shao spoke.
"If those gentry women were kidnapped by the Xiongnu or left abroad, it would indeed damage the reputation of the gentry."
"The world's nobles are very strong, and three points have been given to me, the Yuan family. In the near future, I, the Yuan family, will be able to set an example for the world's nobles. At this time, it is also a great help to send women from the noble families back."
"You did a good job in this matter."
After hearing this, Mrs. Liu gritted her teeth secretly. Now, many nobles would accept Yuan Xi's favor, and his reputation among the nobles would spread!
We can't let this puppy get arrogant any longer!
She winked at Yuan Shang, but Yuan Shang was thinking about how to send the four women back as soon as possible. He was so distracted that he didn't see Mrs. Liu's hint.
Mrs. Liu secretly gritted her teeth and had to force a smile and said: "Xi'er has saved so many women, isn't there anyone willing to repay Xi'er?"
"Even if they were daughters of noble families, many of them would be homeless after being plundered by the Huns. Xi'er is almost twenty years old. It would be a joke if she didn't even have a concubine."
"I saw that when Xi'er entered the mansion, she was accompanied by a disfigured maid?"
"This woman's appearance is disgraceful, and it really brings disgrace to the Yuan family. Otherwise, I will give you two maids, and you can send that ugly woman away."
Yuan Xi thought to himself that those two maids were probably spies, and only fools would ask for them.
He bowed his head and said: "My mother-in-law learned that that woman saved my life on the battlefield. In order to repay her, I temporarily kept her by my side."
Mrs. Liu still wanted to speak, but Yuan Shao said directly to Yuan Xi: "These are all trivial matters. I called you back this time to prepare for your marriage."
Yuan Xi thought to himself.
According to the memory of the predecessor, although two members of the Zhen family died early and there are only a few men left, they are still a well-known family. They are also involved in many businesses in Yecheng, so they can be said to have a lot of background.
However, seeing how much Yuan Shang, mother and son were hostile to him, it was impossible not to obstruct him.
This is fine. If his reputation spreads and Mrs. Liu and Yuan Shang become jealous of her, they will naturally find ways to adopt her and lose the inheritance rights of the Yuan family.
He paid his respects to Yuan Shao and said, "The Zhen family is a well-known family. My son, I would like to thank my father for his love."
After hearing this, Mrs. Liu gritted her teeth even more.
She forced a smile and said: "Although the Zhen family is good, I heard that the head of the family has been dead for more than ten years, and the eldest son and second son also died young."
"The current only male, Ding Zhenyao, is only in his twenties. There are many orphans and widowed mothers in Zhen's house. Will he be a burden to Xi'er?"
After hearing this, Yuan Shao thought for a moment and said, "What Madam said is not unreasonable."
"There is indeed a gap between the Yuan family and the Zhen family now."
Yuan Xi cursed in his heart, Mrs. Liu is really a dog.
He said respectfully: "Excuse me, father, have you made an agreement with the Zhen family on this matter?"
"If you promise the other party but then go back on it, wouldn't it be detrimental to the reputation of my Yuan family?"
Yuan Shao nodded and said, "I did mention it to Zhen Yao's mother."
Yuan Xiyi said sternly: "In this case, it is difficult to break the contract."
"Since my father has promised to the other party, even if the Zhen family girl is physically disabled and ugly, I will fulfill my promise and marry the other party."
You are so ugly!
Mrs. Liu and Yuan Shang cursed in their hearts at the same time. They had already placed spies in the Zhen family and understood that Zhen Mi was a rare beauty because of her extraordinary appearance!
Mrs. Liu and Yuan Shang also learned through spies in Beixin City that Yuan Xi had taken in dozens of beautiful maids and hid them in the mansion to have sex every night. How could such a person be willing to marry an ugly woman?
This Yuan Xi clearly knows the details of the Zhen family daughter, but he still acts like a good girl when he gets an advantage!
wrong!
Mrs. Liu and Yuan Shang became confused, how did Yuan Xi know?
He had been away for three years and had never exchanged letters with the Yuan family. How could he know about the Zhen family?
Even if he joins forces with Yuan Tan, Yuan Tan has been fighting abroad all year round, and his power in Yecheng is only a few gentry counselors, who would not be bored enough to inquire about such trivial information about the Zhen family.
Yuan Shang narrowed his eyes. His second brother was definitely not the kind of person who completely obeyed his father, so his words must have informed Zhen Ji's details in advance.
The question is, what method did he use?
Planting spies?
Is it the Zhen Mansion, the Yuan Mansion, or his own subordinates?
Yuan Shang's face turned gloomy. No matter what the possibility was, it showed that the second brother had his own power in Ye City!