Seeing that Guo Jia was not surprised but rather looked somewhat proud, Hua Tuo was speechless, "The military advisor is really gifted. I'm afraid he has been partying every night without stopping."
Yuan Xi couldn't help but ask Guo Jia: "After you came to Guangling, didn't you only find two concubines? How did it end up like this?"
Guo Jia coughed and said, "The ones at home will make me tired, so I will call a few new singing girls every day. Isn't that more interesting?"
Hua Tuo asked, "How many times a day at least?"
Guo Jia thought for a moment and said, "At least? That would be only five or six times."
Everyone couldn't help but stand in awe.
Seeing everyone looking at him with complicated expressions, Guo Jia said confidently, "Food and sex are human nature. Is there anything wrong with eating more?"
Taishi Ci showed a hint of admiration on his face, and everyone knew that he was truly admiring him. After all, everyone had seen how harmful his breathing method was to his body, and Guo Jia was actually working harder than him!
Yuan Xi wanted to say something but stopped himself, trying hard to force out an expression that said "you are so great". Guo Jia became furious when he saw this. He said, "It's okay for Taishi Ci, but how dare you look down on me?"
He grabbed Yuan Xi's sleeve and said, "Sir, you also have many wives and concubines, so you should be able to understand me, right?"
Yuan Xi gently pulled his hand back: "No, I didn't, sir, please don't talk nonsense."
"Besides, if sir doesn't think this is a bad thing, why bother explaining it to me."
This was the first time Guo Jia was speechless after joining Yuan Xi. He said angrily, "My lord, you don't understand. Ziyi and I are bosom friends!"
Everyone rolled their eyes. Others were going to the battlefield to kill the enemy, but you were going to bed to commit suicide?
Hua Tuo reluctantly prescribed a prescription for Guo Jia, and at his request, he pinched his nose and added some tonic drugs into the prescription.
When Yuan Xi saw Guo Jia excitedly going to get the medicine with the prescription, he thought that he was determined to die and no one could stop him.
Forget it, Taishi Ci's persistence is belief, and Guo Jia's persistence is also belief, so let him be.
Finally, Hua Tuo took Yuan Xi's pulse and said that he was in good health, so he asked Yuan Xi to pay attention to his health.
Yuan Xi then felt relieved a little and said goodbye to Hua Tuo and returned home. As soon as he entered the door, he saw a cart of brand new blank bamboo slips being pulled in.
Cao Xian led Cao Jie and the maid to carry the things. When Yuan Xi saw this, he hurried forward to help and said, "Let me do it. These things are a bit heavy for Cao Jie."
Cao Xian smiled and said, "It's okay. She and I have been practicing the Five Animals Exercises these days, and I feel that my body is noticeably lighter. Moving some bamboo slips can also help strengthen the body."
Cao Jie glanced at Yuan Xi, then lowered his head, walked over and carefully held a few bamboo slips to his chest, then took small steps and followed Cao Xian closely.
Yuan Xi carried more than a dozen scrolls in his arms, and as he walked, he joked to Cao Ji, "You've grown up a lot this year, why are you so reserved when you see me?"
As Cao Jie walked away, he defended himself by saying, "No, no!"
"Young Master Hu, you are talking nonsense!"
Cao Xian said in front with a smile: "Why is Second Sister so irritable today? Usually she complains that she can't see the Master at all."
Cao Jie blushed and said angrily, "I follow my mother and I don't see the young master coming over for ten days or half a month, but Madam Zhen comes to pay her respects every day!"
After hearing this, Yuan Xi apologized, "Madam is now my aunt, and we should see each other every day. But now things in the city are too busy, so I leave early and come back late. I am afraid that I will disturb my aunt's rest, which is a bit impolite."
"From now on, whenever I have time, I will go and see you."
After hearing this, Cao Ji felt embarrassed and walked ahead with his head down and depressed.
Cao Xian glanced at Yuan Xi and thought to himself, why is it that the young master is sometimes smart, but sometimes so stupid?
When the three of them walked to the door, they heard coughing coming from the room. Yuan Xi pushed the door open and saw Cai Zhaoji wearing a fur coat, writing and coughing.
When she saw Yuan Xi coming in, she apologized, "I caught a cold last night and couldn't walk, so I asked Cao Xian and the others to help me move things."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "If you are sick, you should rest well. Why are you wasting your energy instead? Won't it make your condition worse?"
Cai Zhaoji said: "There are only a hundred or so classics left, all of which are extremely obscure. I can barely recognize them all. As the New Year is coming soon, I will hurry up and finish copying them so that I can feel at ease."
Yuan Xi said, "It won't take a few days. Wait, I'll ask Mr. Yuan Hua to take a look."
After a while, Hua Tuo followed Yuan Xi's carriage back, checked Cai Zhaoji's pulse, and said, "She must have caught a cold. Although the disease is not serious, it is feared that it could be transmitted to others. It is best for her to avoid contact with others during this period."
Hua Tuo wrote a prescription, and Yuan Xi asked someone to get the medicine according to the prescription. After sending Hua Tuo away, he came back and said to Cai Zhaoji: "You should go back to your room and rest and recuperate."
Cai Zhaoji said: "I might as well live in this study room. There is a bed here anyway."
Yuan Xi said helplessly: "I'm just worried that you won't get enough rest and secretly get up in the middle of the night to copy books. Don't go into the study during this period of time. Wait until you recover from your illness."
After hearing this, Cao Xian laughed and said, "Sir, you really understand Sister Zhaoji. Sister Zhaoji is really capable of doing such a thing."
Cai Zhaoji saw that her thoughts were exposed, so she said helplessly: "What about the remaining books?"
Yuan Xi pointed at Cao Xian and said, "Don't worry about it. There's not much going on in the city recently. I'll just copy with her."
Seeing Cao Jie's disappointed face, Cao Xian quickly said, "Now my second sister writes fast and well, much better than me."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said to Cao Ji, "Then you can come and help as well."
Only then did Cao Jie become happy.
After a few days, Cai Zhaoji's illness became more serious at first, and then began to slowly improve.
However, Zhen Mi fell ill again.
She was lying on the couch, and seeing Yuan Xi watching the maids brewing medicine, she smiled and said, "I was careless this time. I thought Sister Zhaoji would soon recover, so I went over to talk to her, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
Yuan Xi looked helpless. He had been paying attention to everyone. Cai Zhaoji had less contact with others before she recovered from her illness. As a result, Zhen Mi didn't take it seriously. She went to see Cai Zhaoji the day before yesterday, and the result was also posted.
Zhen Mi said apologetically, "My husband, please don't share a room with me during this period of time. Wait until I recover from my illness."
"It's all my fault. So, do we have to spend the New Year in Guangling City?"
After hearing this, Yuan Xi comforted her, "Don't worry about it. It's nice to spend the New Year here."
"It's just right to wait until the New Year is over and we have finished copying the classics, then we can take a boat back to Youzhou."
"The most urgent thing now is that you take good care of your health and don't think about anything else."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi had no choice but to nod.
Cai Zhaoji and Zhen Mi both fell ill, so Yuan Xi simply asked the maid to take care of them and moved into the study himself.
He and the Cao Xian sisters could not understand most of the words in the remaining obscure classics, so they had to call all the people in the mansion who could read to discuss and figure it out together.
Yuan Xi was surprised to find that the ones who knew the most rare characters were Mrs. Huan and Mrs. Cai.
As the widow of the famous scholar Bian Rang, it is not surprising that Huan knows many characters. But does the Cai family in Jingzhou also have such a deep family tradition?
He asked Mrs. Cai about it, but she was unwilling to say more, so Yuan Xi had to give up. As long as he could help, it was enough for him, and he didn't care about anything else.
There are four people copying books in the room now, Yuan Xi, Cao Xian, Cao Jie, and Madam Wu.
Mrs. Wu was copying classics and secretly glanced at Yuan Xi out of the corner of her eye.
She felt that this fierce tiger from the Yuan family had extremely deep thoughts and seemed to be testing her all the time. This made her worried every day and she couldn't sleep well, fearing that her identity would be exposed one day.
But now I have waited for the opportunity!
After living here for two months, she has already figured out the living habits of everyone in the mansion.
Zhen Mi's illness has not been fully cured in the past few days, and she will probably need to recuperate for ten days or half a month.
Cai Zhaoji is almost recovered now. It is estimated that in a few days, she will return to her study and copy the books again.
During the Chinese New Year, the sisters Cao Xian and Cao Jie would not stay in the study, but would live with Huan.
Zhao Ji was a person who would not feel at ease until she finished her work, so she would definitely be in a hurry to finish copying the classics. As a result, she would stay in the study room late at night, and her room would most likely be empty at night!
On New Year's Eve, Yuan Xi will go to patrol the city, leaving the mansion with a few hours for him to act!
Mrs. Wu had already found out that Sun Ce had already occupied Lujiang County and was confronting Liu Yao of Wu County, which was only a few hundred miles away from here.
New Year's Eve is the time when everyone in the mansion is least vigilant. This is the best time for him to steal the token and escape back to Lujiang. As long as he leaves the city, he can use the token to requisition merchant ships and go to Lujiang County to meet Sun Ce!
Thinking of this, Mrs. Wu felt deeply sorry. The Yuan family had been very good to her, but not only did she not repay them, she also deceived them and even ended up stealing. This was truly ungentlemanly behavior.
But she had no other choice. Yuan Xi and Sun Ce had become mortal enemies. If her identity was exposed, what would she do if he used her to threaten Sun Ce?
Madam Wu didn't dare to take the risk. She thought that she could only find another chance to repay the gift of the horse. Besides, Yuan Xi had robbed Sun Ce's Guangling City, so that should be considered a lot of repayment, right?
As Yuan Xi was copying, he felt his wrists getting sore. He looked up and saw that it was almost noon.
He thought for a moment and said to Mrs. Wu, "The Spring Festival is just a few days away, so it's time to buy some New Year's gifts. Let's do this before the New Year."
"Madam has been a great help these days, but it's been hard work."
After hearing this, Mrs. Wu stood up and thanked him without showing any emotion. She was trying to suppress her excitement as she could finally leave!
Seeing that the sisters Cao Xian and Cao Jie were still copying, Yuan Xi said, "You too, go out and have fun on the street more often."
"Go to my room and get some Juan to buy some New Year gifts for my uncle and aunt."
After hearing this, Cao Xian cheered and pulled Cao Jie out. She suddenly stopped and asked, "Shall we go to the street?"
Yuan Xi looked at the two women's expectant eyes and said with a smile, "Well, after dinner, you two can follow me and take a carriage to the city to have a look."
Only then did Cao Xian and Cao Jie cheer and ran away hand in hand.
Yuan Xi looked at the backs of the two girls and thought to himself how good it was to be young. Seeing them, he could feel the warmth between family members even in this cold winter.