Zhen Rong's eyes were empty and he was in a daze, when he heard Zhen Mi call: "Sister."
Zhen Rong came back to his senses and followed Zhen Mi's hand. He happened to see Yuan Xi getting off the carriage. He was frightened and hurriedly hid behind the window.
When Zhen Mi saw it, she was angry and amused, "Sister, don't panic, he probably didn't come to ask for punishment."
Zhen Rong was startled: "How did you know?"
Zhen Mi covered her mouth and smiled: "If he really wants to do this, he should completely cut off the relationship with you and never come to visit you at this time."
After hearing this, Zhen Rong felt a little relieved, but his mood was extremely complicated.
Even if the other party is willing to let me go, what will happen?
My husband will never come back.
Yuan Xi followed the servant, crossed the gate of the mansion, and walked inside.
The servant holding his famous thorn hurriedly ran all the way to the inner chamber.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that Yuan's reputation was really useful. When the servants saw the name on the tattoo, they didn't dare to let him wait outside, but welcomed him in first.
After walking around seven times and eight times, when Yuan Xi and Wu Zhao came to the front of the main hall, the mistress of the Zhen family, Mrs. Zhang, was already waiting in front of the hall with others.
Yuan Xi looked closely and saw that Mrs. Zhang must be in her forties, but she probably took good care of herself. Her skin was very white and her appearance was upright and graceful.
The silk jacket and skirt she was wearing accentuated her figure very well. She looked like she was only in her thirties, and her charm was still there, which showed that she was a beauty even in her youth.
When Mrs. Zhang saw Yuan Xi approaching, she came up and knelt down, saying, "Ms. Zhang, the sinful woman, has met the second young master."
Yuan Xi winked at Wu Zhao, who quickly stepped forward and helped Zhang up before he knelt down.
He thought to himself, good guy, if you really endure this kneeling, you will be in trouble later.
At that moment, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "What is my aunt guilty of?"
Mrs. Zhang wanted to kneel down, but Wu Zhao held her firmly, so she had no choice but to stand up and said: "I have not brought up a good child and let my little girl get into great trouble. I hope the master will punish me."
Yuan Xi smiled and said, "That's why I came today."
Zhang's heart skipped a beat and she quickly said, "Young master, please come in and talk."
Everyone entered the room, and the guests and hosts sat down. Yuan Xi looked around briefly and found that the surroundings were decorated with carved beams and painted buildings, and the furnishings contained many antiques. He thought that it was indeed a wealthy family.
If he were in Beixin City, how could he let such a merchant's home provide more food?
Seeing Yuan Xi looking at the house curiously, Mrs. Zhang said: "A rough house will not be in the eyes of the young master, and it will make the generosity laughable."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi was surprised and said: "Madam's conversational skills are extraordinary. I heard that both men and women in the Zhen family are literate and read. It seems that Madam is well-educated."
After hearing this, Mrs. Zhang forced a smile and said, "Young Master is ridiculous. It's just that my daughter likes to read, while other women mostly do women's weaving. They don't understand the truth, and this is why they got into great trouble. It's all due to poor upbringing."
Seeing that the topic was getting to the point, Yuan Xi said bluntly: "I want to meet Mrs. Zhen Rong."
After hearing this, Mrs. Zhang sent her maid to call Zhen Rong, feeling increasingly uneasy.
Speaking of which, this matter is no longer a question of how big or small it is, but how big it is.
Not to mention whether Gao Lan was killed by Yuan Xi, or even if he was killed by Yuan Xi, the Zhen family could only accept it, because the Yuan family was the lord and had the power of life and death over their subordinates.
Lu Bu of Quyi, who had no local gentry background, would kill at will, no matter who the general was. Even Lu Bu was considered the highest-ranking prince, so he had no choice but to escape.
The Yuan family has a reputation of benevolence and righteousness and would not attack the nobles easily. But if the Yuan family really wanted to kill someone, the family that was killed would have no choice but to suffer.
Moreover, the Yuan family was kind to the gentry. At that time, Cao Cao, Sun Jian and others were killed by the gentry whenever they asked. Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shu and others even dared to openly kill Han clan members.
Now that the world is in chaos, the nobles can only choose a better lord to take care of them. The Yuan family is already considered the taller among the dwarfs.
The matter of Zhen Rong involves framing the lord's son. If one mistake is made, the Zhen family will be destroyed. It is possible that the Zhang family is uneasy. The fate of the Zhen family is now in the hands of Yuan Xi in front of her!
After a while, Zhen Rong, who was fully clothed, walked out.
However, Yuan Xi's eyes were attracted by the girl supporting Zhen Rong.
The girl wore her hair in a ponytail, her head lowered, and she wore a bright red skirt that made her figure slim and slender. When she raised her eyebrows slightly, those two lines of poetry immediately appeared in Yuan Xi's mind.
As graceful as a frightened giant, as graceful as a swimming dragon, as bright as autumn chrysanthemums, and as luxuriant as spring pines.
It seems like the moon is covered by light clouds, and the fluttering snow is like the flowing wind.
Yuan Xi thought to himself that this was Zhen Mi. She was indeed worthy of her reputation. In terms of appearance alone, she was indeed the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Wu Zhao carefully looked at Zhen Mi's eyebrows and determined that she was the woman who dressed up as Zhen Rong's maid and came to see Yuan Xing last time.
It seems that this woman Zhen Mi has a lot of ideas.
At this time, Zhen Rong knelt down with a plop, kowtowed and said: "The convict woman knows that she has committed a serious crime, so please ask the young master to deal with it. I am the only concubine. Please do not involve the Zhen family."
At this time, Zhen Mi also knelt down and said softly: "I am willing to be the master's concubine just to save my sister's life."
As soon as these words came out, Zhang and Zhen Rong's expressions changed drastically, and they said in unison: "No!"
Although gentry women at that time often called themselves concubines, this concubine was a completely different concept from being someone else's concubine.
Because concubines were different from their original wives and had an extremely low status, equivalent to goods, nobles often even used concubines to entertain distinguished guests. It can be said that concubines had no dignity.
This was the case with Yuan Shao's biological mother. She was Yuan Cheng's concubine. When Yuan Cheng's brother Yuan Pang came to visit, Yuan Cheng used him to entertain Yuan Pang, and she gave birth to Yuan Shao.
Later, Yuan Cheng died young without any children, and Yuan Shao was adopted to Yuan Cheng. Therefore, the adoption of the Yuan family was somewhat accidental, but also somewhat inevitable.
However, side reflections showed that concubines had no status, and noble women simply could not accept it.
Therefore, the concubines of the gentry were mostly from poor backgrounds, or even from prostitute families themselves, such as Liu Bei's Mrs. Gan, Cao Cao's Mrs. Bian, etc.
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said noncommittally, "Madam, please get up and talk, and send the rest of the crowd away."
Mrs. Zhang nodded, and the maid quickly gave Zhen Rong and Zhen Mi two armrests to hold on to, and they all retreated.
When Yuan Xi saw that there were only the mother and daughter of the Zhen family, she coughed and said to Zhen Rong, "Madam, can you please tell me in detail the ins and outs of the plan with my third brother?"
Zhen Rong pondered for a moment, if she told him, would the Zhen family incur revenge from Yuan Shang?
Zhen Mi saw it and said softly: "Fourth sister, don't forget, the third young master is ready to use you as a scapegoat."
After hearing this, Zhen Rong no longer hesitated, and immediately told the whole story what Yuan Shang said to him.
Some of these joints were unknown even to Mrs. Zhang. Now that she heard Zhen Rong's arrival, she couldn't help but feel furious and shouted: "Unworthy girl, you have brought misfortune to the Zhen family!"
Zhen Rong knelt down quickly again, with a sad expression on his face.
Yuan Xi tapped his fingers lightly on the bamboo mat on the ground. The Zhen family's mother and daughter felt uneasy, because logically, Zhen Rong was not qualified to avenge Gao Lan.
It was Yuan Shao who had the final say on Gao Lan's final decision. Even if he was really killed like Qu Yi, the Zhen family would never dare to say anything.
Yuan Xi retracted his finger and smiled at Zhen Rong: "Why would Madam believe what Third Brother said and think that General Gao must be dead?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned.
Zhen Rong stammered: "Isn't it?"
"The Third Young Master has a reputation of benevolence, justice and integrity in Yecheng. How could he deceive me?"
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "What did the third brother say at that time?"
"He said that the husband is very likely to be poisoned by the young master," Zhen Rong stuttered. She suddenly realized that Yuan Shang had not finished his words!
Yuan Xi sighed: "My third brother can do one thing and plan several directions at the same time. In doing so, he just wants to drag me and the Zhen family into trouble at the same time."
"I am being plotted, let alone Madam."
"This matter involves some grudges between my third brother and I. My wife was just taken advantage of, so it is not my fault to be deceived."
"Also, Brother Gao is still alive and well. Madam's mourning clothes can be replaced."
Zhen Rong's eyes flashed with tears, and she covered her mouth and said, "My husband is really not dead?"
Yuan Xi nodded and said: "He is doing well in Beixin City. It's just a small accident."
Only then did Zhen Rong relax, her body was shaking, and Zhen Mi quickly supported her.
Mrs. Zhang also breathed a long sigh of relief. Gao Lan was not dead. But secondly, the key is that in this way, there is still room for change, and the Zhen family can still be saved!
Otherwise, according to Yuan Shang's plan, it would be hard to say how many of the Zhen family would be able to survive, let alone the family property.
The Zhang family knew that they could no longer interfere with the Yuan family's affairs. The second and third sons started fighting for some reason, and the Zhen family was caught in the middle. What could they gain from it?
No, you can’t let your daughter marry into the Yuan family, otherwise sooner or later the Zhen family will be implicated!
Thinking of this, she said decisively: "My daughter is not worthy of the young master, so let's forget about this marriage."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "No."
Mrs. Zhang was startled, but then she understood. She made a decisive decision and said through gritted teeth: "I can expel the little girl from the house and give her to the young master as my concubine."
As soon as these words came out, Zhen Rong's expression suddenly changed and he shouted, but Zhen Mi lowered her head and remained silent.
Mrs. Zhang thought very clearly that since Yuan Xi saw Zhen Mi's beauty, it was normal for him not to let go. Moreover, Yuan Shang's targeting of the Zhen family was most likely to compete for Zhen Mi.
Now that Zhen Mi is a hot potato, why not give up and let the two sons fight!
For the future of the Zhen family, Zhen Mi can only be sacrificed!
Yuan Xi thought that Mr. Zhang was very hard-hearted, but it was a pity that Mr. Zhang didn't know what he was going to do.
Others want it too, and so does the Zhen family's property.
After all this effort, the Zhen family still wants to stay out of the matter, no way!
Yuan Xi sighed and said, "It's a pity that Madam will miss a good opportunity."
"I heard that the Zhen family is one of the richest people in the world, with trading houses spread across several states, thousands of slaves, and numerous trade routes."
"If there is support from the Zhen family's money and food, it will not be a problem to raise tens of thousands of soldiers and horses."
"Madam, do you really think that even if you give me the girl, your third brother will not think about the Zhen family's property?"
"And the Zhen family has already stepped in. It's easy to get in, but it's hard to get out."
"The third brother is holding a handle on the Zhen family. Does Madam think that he can have a good relationship with the Zhen family in the future?"
"I only came here to show the Zhen family a clear path, but Madam wants to stay out of it. Isn't it too good of a idea?"
Mrs. Zhang broke into a cold sweat. The Yuan family's children were indeed extraordinary. They were more powerful than the Zhen family and had well-planned plans. How could I, a group of orphans and widowers, plus an only son Zhen Yao, negotiate terms with others?
It is the lesser of two evils. Although Yuan Shang is more powerful than Yuan Xi, the other party has already made it clear that he is trying to harm the Zhen family. If he cooperates with the other party, all his bones will be eaten.
It is even very possible that Yuan Shang originally wanted to swallow up the Zhen family, beat Zhen Mi into a sinner, and take her as a concubine!
Zhang saw Zhen Mi also nodded slightly to her, and finally leaned down and said, "Please give me some advice, Master."
"If I can continue the fragrance of the Zhen family, I am willing to do anything for you."