The woman, her face covered in blackish-red marks, slowly opened her eyes, staring at the roof, feeling dazed and completely unaware of her whereabouts.
She felt a pain in her left shoulder and recalled the events before she lost consciousness, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat and sitting up abruptly.
The sudden movement was too forceful, causing another sharp pain in her left shoulder. She couldn't help but turn her head and noticed that the spot where Liu Bao's bronze spear had pierced her had been carefully bandaged.
She sniffed the bandage, detecting a pungent herbal scent, indicating that medicine had been applied.
The woman lifted the quilt covering her and discovered that she had been changed into a new ruqun dress, even her close-fitting bodice had been replaced with a new one, though it felt a bit tight, making her feel somewhat suffocated.
Her face flushed, and she bit her lip, reaching into her clothes to examine herself for a long while. Only after confirming that there was nothing unusual about her body did she feel slightly relieved.
She looked up and surveyed her surroundings, realizing that she was in a wooden hut. The bed was not high, and there were some weeds and firewood on the ground. Besides that, there was only a table, and nothing else.
She wanted to get up and get out of bed, but the wound on her shoulder throbbed faintly again, forcing her to sit on the bed and rest.
The wooden door creaked open.
A young maidservant with delicate features walked in, carrying a bowl of porridge. Seeing the woman sitting by the bed, she quickly placed the porridge on the table and said, "The young lady is awake?"
"The young lady should eat the porridge first, and I will inform the lord."
Upon hearing this, the woman bowed to the maidservant and said, "I am grateful to the young lady for saving my life and treating my injuries."
The maidservant smiled and shook her head, saying, "The young lady is too kind. I am just a servant."
"The young lady's injuries were treated by a female doctor from the city, whom the lord found to help the young lady. I only assisted a little by the side."
The woman sighed in relief after hearing this and asked, "Who is the lord? Where is this place?"
The maidservant said, "The lord is the garrison commander of this Beixin City. Yesterday, he brought the injured and unconscious young lady back to his residence."
"The young lady should drink the porridge first, and I will go inform the lord."
Seeing the maidservant leave, the woman walked to the table and saw that the porridge in the wooden bowl was made from millet and was still steaming.
She picked up the wooden spoon and scooped a spoonful into her mouth. The fragrance of the millet porridge rolled on her tongue, and there were even a few shreds of meat in it.
Only then did the hunger in her stomach surge up.
She swallowed the millet porridge in small sips, grateful for surviving the ordeal, while also worrying about whether the items in those boxes had been destroyed or divided up.
Even if they were still there, how would she get them back?
She felt like she couldn't breathe and clutched her chest. After a long while, she realized what was happening and immediately pulled open the collar of her clothes, loosening the straps of her inner garment a great deal, and only then did she feel much more comfortable.
Meanwhile, in another room, Yuan Xi and the other two were still talking.
According to Dong Zhao's idea, regardless of whether Zhao Yun won or lost yesterday's bet, it would be difficult to explain to Gongsun Zan.
Dong Zhao had countermeasures for both scenarios, but Zhao Yun's direct return after losing caught him off guard.
Yuan Xi sat up straight and said to Dong Zhao, "Mr. Gongren need not worry. Zhao Yun's actions are inherently upright, and this double-edged sword strategy has already succeeded in large part."
Hearing this, Dong Zhao sighed and said, "It is fortunate that he acts so honestly; otherwise, this plan would never have worked."
"I admire the young master even more. Although Zhao Yun is unknown, the young master can deeply understand his character and strength. This ability to recognize people is truly remarkable."
Ju Yi felt a pang of jealousy in his heart and said resentfully, "When I was at my peak, I might not have been weaker than him!"
"It's just a pity that I was careless yesterday and lost by half a move. How hateful!"
Yuan Xi and Dong Zhao looked at Ju Yi's wide-open mouth, where the gaps from his two recently lost teeth were extremely obvious, and couldn't help but smile at each other.
Ju Yi only cared about drinking, not noticing the mischievous expressions of the two. He suddenly thought of something and said, "This harvest is quite plentiful. It seems that these barbarian dogs looted a lot of good things. How should we handle them?"
Yuan Xi picked up a piece of mutton with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. Although it was more gamey than the mutton of his previous life, he felt it was even more delicious at this moment.
The upper-class gentry used to dislike mutton, feeling that its flavor was too strong, but in recent years, with frequent famines, having meat to eat was already good enough, and mutton had become a popular food.
Yuan Xi felt a little regretful in his heart. This steamed food did have a bit of an overpowering taste, but using it for barbecue would be too costly.
In these chaotic times, spices were a luxury and difficult to obtain. Having extra money to buy spices was not as reassuring as storing a few more bags of rice and flour.
He put down his wooden chopsticks and said, "This is what I'm thinking."
"For military merits, calculate them based on the number of heads. This is a detailed task that requires multiple verifications and cannot be completed in a few days, so we can take our time."
"After calculating the value of the wealth and goods, first provide compensation to the fallen soldiers."
"Take out a portion of the remainder and distribute it to the soldiers who participated in yesterday's battle, and use the rest to buy grain in Ji Province."
"As for the cultural relics and antiques that are difficult to value in money, I would like to take out a large portion of them and hand them over to Mr. Gongren."
Dong Zhao was somewhat surprised to hear this, "Hand them over to me?"
Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Mr. Gongren, more than a year ago, you wanted to join Zhang Yang, the governor of Henei, but in the end, you still wanted to go to Chang'an, right?"
"As a result, I kept you here. I feel truly sorry, so I can only offer these things as an apology. The officials and gentry in Chang'an have always loved elegance, and these cultural relics are useless to me. Mr. Gongren can use them to build relationships and make more friends."
Hearing this, Dong Zhao was touched, still not believing it, "Is the young master really letting me go?"
For the past year, he had always wanted to leave this place because he had offended Yuan Shao and felt insecure.
Although Yuan Xi treated him well, this place was still under Yuan Shao's rule, and if the news leaked, he would not survive.
Now, suddenly hearing that Yuan Xi was going to let him go and even send him many valuable treasures, how could he not be happy?
But Dong Zhao didn't know why, but he felt a bit lost in his heart.
Yuan Xi easily let him go, and he felt unbalanced.
Could it be that Yuan Xi didn't think highly of him as a strategist?
He felt a bit depressed and couldn't help but say it directly, "Does the young master think that I don't have the ability to assist the lord in achieving great things?"
Hearing this, Yuan Xi knelt on the mat and bowed to Dong Zhao, "Mr. Gongren, you are too kind."
"I am incompetent, trapped in this city for several years, unable to seize even a single commandery, all because the time is not right."
"In my heart, Mr. Gongren is a wise man of this era, no less than Tian Feng and Ju Shou. It is a pity that my father has no capacity for people, which is not your fault."
"Therefore, I am willing to help you, a hidden dragon, emerge from the abyss. If one day you achieve success in Chang'an, and still remember our companionship today, I will be satisfied."
This was extremely high praise. Tian Feng and Ju Shou were now the two major strategists under Yuan Shao, whom others could only aspire to.
Yuan Xi's words were sincere.
Dong Zhao played a crucial role in Cao Cao's escorting Emperor Xian of Han in the future.
What he needed to do now was to turn Cao Cao, this hidden chess piece, into his own!
His greatest enemies in this world were only Cao Cao and a few others, whom Yuan Xi had no confidence in dealing with. He could only seize every opportunity to undermine Cao Cao, in order to find a glimmer of hope for victory.
Yuan Xi believed that he was not a genius, so in this chaotic world of heroes, he could only try his best to seize every opportunity and do his best to find a way to survive!
Just like yesterday, he risked his life and defeated Liu Bao, barely winning against Zhao Yun.
Hearing this, Dong Zhao was also moved. He returned the bow and said, "I will surely remember the young master's kindness today. I will repay a drop of kindness with a spring."
Yuan Xi was also delighted to hear this. Having these words made his efforts to keep Dong Zhao for so long worthwhile!
Dong Zhao was only in his thirties at this time, in his prime, although he had many military merits, he was suspected by Yuan Shao and forced to flee, his future unknown.
Only Yuan Xi knew that Dong Zhao would become one of Cao Cao's important strategists in the future.
Yuan Xi and Dong Zhao both felt that they had resolved a major issue in their hearts and were in a better mood, frequently raising their glasses, and eating most of the food in front of them.
Only Qu Yi hadn't recovered from yesterday's defeat by Zhao Yun, and was drinking in silence.
Dong Zhao saw this and, feeling cheerful, wanted to tease Qu Yi a few words, when he saw a young maidservant walk in and say to Yuan Xi, "Lord, the injured young lady you brought back yesterday has awakened."