After Yuan Xi entered, he saw Hou's daughter sleeping soundly on the couch, and asked in a low voice, "Are you all right?"
Hou said softly, "If you are blessed, it is already very good."
In order not to disturb the child, the two of them lowered their voices, which made them look like guilty thieves. Hou felt at a loss and said in a hoarse voice, "Sir, please sit down."
The two men sat down opposite each other. Hou leaned forward and held up the teapot to serve tea to the bowl in front of Yuan Xi.
Her waist was very thin, and even when she twisted it, she didn't look bloated at all. When she bent down, the tightly covered neckline inevitably squeezed out a small gap, revealing some ambiguous whiteness.
To be fair, the Marquis's wife had a slim figure, so her breasts were inevitably not that impressive, but with a face that always wore a smile, she had a unique charm.
Yuan Xi couldn't help coughing and bent his body slightly. Hou seemed to notice it as well, and quickly covered her collar with her hand and sat up straight.
The two of them just felt a little dry in the mouth. Seeing this, Yuan Xi made up his mind and told them the suggestions of all the advisers today.
Finally, Yuan Xi said, "When I rescued my wife on the high building that day, I didn't have such thoughts. I just felt that my wife's daughter shouldn't die like this."
"But times have changed. The situation has changed now. Madam's status as a widow may cause considerable trouble to Madam and her daughter in the future."
"I will not take back the promise of marriage between the two families."
"But the Madam's status should no longer be associated with the Gongsun family, so I came here to ask Madam's opinion."
"Whether to go or stay, the decision is up to you, Madam."
Hou pursed her lips and asked, "Sir, do you want to marry me to someone else?"
Yuan Xi was embarrassed, "This"
Hou sighed softly, "In troubled times, we women don't have so many choices."
"Although people in the world have many objections to women remarrying, Empress Lü, as the queen, still fell into the hands of the enemy for several years. Who can explain it?"
"From beginning to end, I have never done anything wrong to the Gongsun family."
When she said this, her face darkened a little, probably because she thought of Gongsun Zan's ruthlessness on the high building.
Was it Gongsun Zan's knife that really chilled her heart?
Yuan Xi sighed, "I hope Madam can think positively."
He always felt that he was forcing others to do things that were difficult, but he saw Hou raised her head with a half-smile on her face, "Who do you want me to marry, sir?"
Yuan Xi was speechless for a moment, "Why did Madam ask me about this?"
Hou sighed slightly, "My appearance is so vulgar that you want to drive me away."
"Well, I will leave my daughter here and leave tomorrow."
Yuan Xi sighed, "Madam, you know that's not what I meant."
"Back then, Bogui died because of me. Doesn't Madam hate me?"
"Besides, I am afraid that people will criticize my wife. If she marries the murderer of her husband, she will not be able to hold her head up high in the future."
Hou sneered and said, "Young Master has a really good heart."
"You have kept me in your mansion for such a long time. What do people think? Are you pretending to be confused?"
"Can I marry someone else?"
Yuan Xi thought that this was the point where he was in a dilemma, and sighed, "I have many wives and concubines, I am afraid that my wife will be wronged."
"And what's the difference between what I do and what Cao Cao did to Bian's widow?"
Hou said softly, "I heard that Cao Cao killed Bian Rang, which was an unreasonable and unrighteous act."
"You and my late husband met on the battlefield, life and death are decided by fate, this is a fair decision."
"Moreover, you gave my late husband a chance to live, but he refused. What you did was aboveboard and cannot be criticized."
"I am just an ordinary woman. Even if I leave the mansion, it is difficult for me to protect myself. Now I just want a place to stay. I don't want to compete for favors. I want to live a simple life and raise my daughter to adulthood. That will be enough for me."
"Now my status as a concubine has hindered your ambition, so I should repay you for saving my mother and her life with my remaining body, which is also a way of repaying your kindness."
"If you don't mind my poor body, I am willing to follow you."
Yuan Xi said subconsciously: "I am willing to give Madam a status and treat her with courtesy. In the future, I will never force Madam to do anything against her will."
Hou bowed and said, "Thank you for taking me in. I hope you can give me more guidance in the future."
Yuan Xi also hurriedly returned the greeting. There was not necessarily much true love between him and Hou. It was just that the two of them made the most appropriate choice based on their current situation and each took what they needed.
They both raised their heads at the same time. Hou's face became hot as she looked at Yuan Xi, and she couldn't help but lower her head.
Yuan Xi couldn't help but wanted to reach out his hand, but he heard a cough outside, followed by a scream, and then the sound of footsteps hurriedly fading away.
Yuan Xi was so angry that he stood up and rushed outside, "Cao Xian, you eavesdropped again!"
"Look how I teach you a lesson today!"
Soon, Cao Xian's screams and pleas for mercy were heard from a distance.
The voice reached inside the door. Hou felt the cold autumn wind blowing in from the window, but there was a slight warmth on her face.
Cao Xian broke free from Yuan Xi's hold and ran to Lu Lingqi's room, shouting, "Madam, save me!"
Lu Lingqi came out after hearing the sound and asked, "What's wrong?"
Cao Xian said pitifully, "I dare not say it."
Yuan Xi had already caught up by now, feeling both angry and amused, and said, "Just tell me, I will never hit you on the head."
After hearing this, Cao Xian couldn't help but hold his head and secretly looked at Yuan Xi through the gap in his sleeves.
Lu Lingqi sighed and said to Cao Xian, "You see, I can't do anything about my husband. After all, he secretly brought Madam Du back and never told me."
Yuan Xi broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that it was only a matter of time before this matter was exposed. After all, Madam Du had lived in the mansion for such a long time. As long as Lu Lingqi asked Madam Cao Xianhou about the people in the mansion, she would definitely know that Madam Du had come to Beixin City with Chen Gui's convoy.
At this point, he had no choice but to play dumb. "I thought it was no big deal. I have absolutely no other thoughts about her. When she came to Beixin City, I did not restrict her movements. The same goes for her leaving. She can come as she pleases and leave as she pleases."
After hearing this, Lu Lingqi's expression lightened up a little, "Do you really think so?"
Yuan Xi quickly said, "Really? If I had thought about it, could I have put it behind my mind and even forgotten to tell you?"
"If I really cared about her, I should try my best to hide it, right?"
Lu Lingqi sighed, "But I promised her that I would escort her back to Bingzhou safely."
"Do you know who I asked to send her away?"
Yuan Xi was confused, "Isn't it Mr. Han Yu?"
Lu Lingqi shook her head and said, "Of course, how could I know Mr. Han Yu? I asked my master to take Madam Du out of the house."
"How can my husband be so irresponsible as to be worthy of our deceased master?"
Yuan Xi sweat broke out in his mouth, and he found himself in a dilemma.
If he admitted that he knew the whereabouts of Mrs. Du, it would prove that he definitely had ulterior motives.
If I don't tell you the whereabouts of Mrs. Du, I will be betraying Qu Yi's last trust.
Cao Xian looked at Yuan Xi, then at Lu Lingqi, and thought that this development was not right. He hadn't even revealed the explosive news that the young master was going to marry a marquis, so why did the young master seem to be unable to handle it?
Should I add insult to injury or give the young master a hand?
She clapped her hands and said, "Oh, look at me, how could I have forgotten that the Master said that he had already made arrangements for Madam Du, but he just didn't have time to tell Madam!"
"Sir, isn't it?"
Yuan Xi saw Cao Xian winking at him desperately, and immediately understood what he meant. He smiled at Lu Lingqi and said, "Look, I thought it was a big deal and didn't mention it to my wife."
"I forgot about that. I have already arranged for Madam Du to stay somewhere else, and I plan to send her back after a while."
"Madam, would you like to meet her?"
After hearing this, Lu Lingqi nodded with satisfaction, "You still have some conscience. I thought you were hiding it from me on purpose."
"But then I think about it, you didn't seem to have other intentions when you placed Mrs. Du so close to you."
Yuan Xi felt his vest was soaked with cold sweat. Lu Lingqi really knew the whereabouts of Mrs. Du!
Did someone tell her this, or did she discover something strange herself?
He was feeling anxious, and Lu Lingqi said, "I will go see her tomorrow, and you can come with me, my husband."
When Yuan Xi saw Lu Lingqi enter the room, he took Cao Xian aside and whispered, "Did you tell her?"
Cao Xian cried out in grievance: "How is that possible? I would never betray you, sir!"
Yuan Xi thought it was strange and asked again: "Then how did you know?"
Cao Xian said proudly, "During the autumn harvest and planting season a while ago, the young master lived in the military camp outside the city, but Sun Li often came back, took the food from the kitchen and walked out through the back door. This must be abnormal."
"But he was back for a short time. I thought there might be something fishy going on nearby, so I followed him there. I found that Sun Li went to the house to deliver food, and Madam Du's voice could be heard from inside."
"I just realized that this must have been done by you, young master."
Yuan Xi was sweating profusely. He wanted to keep the news as secret as possible, so he sent Sun Li to deliver food. Unexpectedly, this revealed a flaw.
He said in a hateful voice: "Sun Li, this kid, didn't he even know you were following him?"
"This is all in vain!"
Cao Xian said proudly: "Sir, please don't look down on me. I have been practicing the Five Animal Exercises all the time!"
"Besides, the young master lives in the military camp outside the city. When Madam Lu comes back to sleep, I will ask her how to make her footsteps light so that no one can hear her."
"Madam has taught me a lot of tricks. Now I am making rapid progress. I have practiced to the point where Madam can only hear my footsteps when I am seven steps away."
Yuan Xi was amazed. Cao Xian's talent was all in peeping and eavesdropping!
But he was still wondering how Lu Lingqi found out the whereabouts of Mrs. Du?
He found that having too many women around him was not a good thing. There were only a few of them, but the backyard was already a mess!
Yuan Xi gradually realized the sadness of a middle-aged man hiding in the toilet.
However, in the past, disciples from aristocratic families were worried about having no offspring, so it was very common for them to take in many concubines. Now Yuan Xi has the confidence. If Zhen Mi successfully gives birth to a boy, he can devote his energy to foreign affairs.
However, the situation in Youzhou was tense. Yuan Xi felt a headache when he thought of the chaotic situation in Liaodong. If there was no other way, he could only sit down and negotiate with Gongsun Du and Chanyu Tadun to join forces to deal with the Xianbei outside the Guanwai who were heading south.
If the Xianbei can be driven completely to the north, a huge vacuum zone will appear on the Korean Peninsula. If Yuan Xi can take advantage of the opportunity and expand his territory, it will be very worthwhile.
The only regret is that this springboard would have been most suitable at the nearest Qingzhou Peninsula, but now it seems that Yuan Tan can no longer be relied upon.
Yuan Xi began to ponder, what price would it cost to allow Gongsun Du and Wuhuan to invade the Korean Peninsula controlled by the Xianbei?