Beauty

Year 189, Luoyang, Suzaku Avenue, Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

“This winter has been quite unusual—truly colder than usual,” Yuan Xi murmured, leaning by the window of a bustling tavern where the fire roared fiercely. Gazing down at the passing crowd, he suddenly remarked.

“This winter is indeed extraordinary. But compared to previous years, Brother Xianyi, you’re rather late,” said a young woman in plain clothes behind him, gently sipping the freshly brewed tea she held.

In truth, the Han Dynasty had yet to develop the formal tea culture. However, as a time traveler, Yuan Xi had leveraged the vast influence of the Yuan family to introduce the leisurely tea customs of the later Sui and Tang periods among the upper echelons.

Before the Sui and Tang dynasties, tea was primarily used medicinally or as food. It was only through the evolution and cultivation during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties that tea transformed into a fashionable trend, much like coffee in later times.

“Heh, Wu Gu, you know well enough why I’m still here. Why don’t you try persuading your father to agree to our arrangement?” Yuan Xi turned his face with a hint of helplessness.

The young woman’s expression remained unchanged. Raising her delicate brow slightly, she looked at the shameless Yuan Xi and smiled teasingly, “Brother Xianyi, after all these years, this is the first time I’ve realized just how thick-skinned you are—thicker than the Great Wall itself.”

“Haha, Wu Gu, you flatter me,” Yuan Xi laughed as he moved to sit beside her on a wooden stool. He relaxed and said, “It’s not that I’m thick-skinned; I just can’t wait any longer. If I’m not mistaken, last night that proud disciple of your father’s from the Weishi family in Hedong, Wei Zhongdao, already visited your household, didn’t he?”

“Oh? You know that much, Xianyi?” Gao Yue pushed a cup of tea toward Yuan Xi.

Then, with a mysterious look, she said softly, “But my father didn’t immediately give his consent. He said he needed two days to consider. Still, I believe the matter will be settled soon. What do you think, Xianyi?”

“What? So soon?” Yuan Xi’s expression immediately darkened.

He had expected this to drag on for quite some time, but Gao Lao was ready to agree straight away—this really infuriated him. Just wait.

Gao Yue said nothing further, neither confirming nor denying.

“Wu Gu, you must not agree. You know I’ve always liked you—we’ve been childhood sweethearts. Besides, I’ve studied Wei Zhongdao; he’s a sickly man, not long for this world, and his fate is to bring misfortune to his wife. You absolutely must refuse!” Yuan Xi pleaded.

“Is that so? But a marriage arranged by parents and matchmakers—how can a lone woman like me have a say?” Gao Yue’s face showed no worry.

On the contrary, she smiled coquettishly at Yuan Xi and said, “Besides, I’ve heard Wei Zhongdao is quite the handsome young gentleman. He proposed to me last year, and now he formally comes to ask for my hand. It seems like a fine match.”

“Fine match, my foot! I won’t agree to this,” Yuan Xi blurted out in frustration.

Then, blushing and angry, he declared, “I simply won’t allow it. If your father forces you to marry him, I’ll snatch you away halfway through the wedding.”

Gao Yue shook her head slightly and looked out the window at the darkening sky. Turning back to the unhappy Yuan Xi, she sighed softly, “It’s late, Xianyi. I must go receive guests now. We’ll meet again when there’s time.”

Guests? Isn’t that just meeting Wei Zhongdao?

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Hearing Gao Yue’s words ignited a nameless fury in Yuan Xi’s chest. He suddenly grabbed her and pressed the famed beauty of Luoyang—the peer of Cai Yan—against the wall, shouting fiercely, “I said you’re not to marry him!”

Gao Yue, seemingly on very familiar terms with him, was not offended.

First, she smoothed her disheveled hair with her delicate hands. Then, pushing Yuan Xi’s body away, she gave up resisting when she could not budge him. Her beautiful eyes fixed on his with a complex gaze, she said, “But I must marry him!”

“Listen to me, and I guarantee you won’t have to.”

“I must obey my father’s wishes, whether I want to or not.”

“I’ll find a way to make him agree.”

Gao Yue furrowed her brows slightly, her eyes flickering as she looked at Yuan Xi.

After a pause, she spoke softly, “Xianyi, given your relationship with my father, I doubt he will ever agree. You should understand that.”

Hearing this, Yuan Xi grew anxious. Swearing solemnly, he promised, “I only delayed before because I feared upsetting you, Wu Gu. But now, whatever happens, don’t blame me—just make sure your father gets angry.”

A hero’s pride is no match for the affairs of the heart; love clouds the sharpest minds.

“Ah! Hee hee!” Gao Yue suddenly burst into laughter but quickly covered her mouth, feeling it was improper. She knew Yuan Xi, that scoundrel, was capable of anything.

“Heh, I knew it.” Yuan Xi grinned as she blossomed with a charming smile, feigning intoxication as he sniffed her hair.

Flustered by his teasing, Gao Yue’s cheeks flushed pink. She wrinkled her pretty nose and scolded, “Xianyi, you rogue, let me go at once! This is hardly proper!”

“Wu Gu, you like me too, don’t you?” Yuan Xi asked boldly after a long pause.

Gao Yue shook her head and cast him a sidelong glance. “To like you is too extravagant a thing for me. You are wonderful, but perhaps we’re truly not suited for each other.”

The constant push and pull with Gao Yue left Yuan Xi deeply troubled.

His father, Yuan Shao, and Gao Jing held opposing political views and refused to cooperate.

More precisely, Gao Jing, a Confucian scholar, saw through Yuan Shao’s showy hypocrisy and disdainfully avoided associating with him. Though their families were related, Gao Jing was as stubborn as Cai Yong in upholding Confucian principles.

Yuan Shao? After spending so much time with him, Yuan Xi knew clearly he was a classic example of a smiling dagger: outwardly elegant, amiable, and magnanimous, but inwardly resentful and vindictive. Even toward his own father, Yuan Xi held such opinions. But wasn’t that the nature of this era?

Moreover, Yuan Shao was embroiled in the turbulent political whirlpool of the court. As a statesman, he could not avoid intrigue. The Yuan family were powerful ministers.

Gao Jing and Yuan Shao served together in the court but were diametrically opposed in politics.

Even though Yuan Xi shamelessly sought his hand repeatedly, Gao Jing refused outright, eventually cutting off all meetings.

In Luoyang, Gao Jing was the first elder to treat the second young master of the Yuan family so disdainfully—and Yuan Xi could not retaliate. What a headache.

This made things difficult. Though Yuan Xi and Gao Yue had feelings for each other, the tangled relations meant they always restrained their emotions when they met. Gao Yue never confessed liking Yuan Xi and often urged him to give up on her.

Yet Yuan Xi, for reasons unknown, clung to her ceaselessly. Perhaps this was their fated love at first sight.

Gao Yue felt both touched and helpless.

Yuan Xi needed no introduction—his talent was dazzling, far surpassing others. This was the very reason Gao Yue favored him.

Since ancient times, talented men loved beautiful women, and beautiful women loved talented men—nothing more.

Add to that his noble lineage, four generations of high-ranking officials, and his handsome, refined demeanor—aside from some rakish tendencies, he was undoubtedly an excellent match.

Yet Gao Yue now found herself trapped in inner turmoil.

...

Cai Yan, styled Zhao Ji; former husband Wei Zhongdao.

Later, she became Yuan Xi’s favored consort and was an adversary of Emperor Xuanwu. Angered by Gao Yue’s affairs, she married Wei Zhongdao in fury. On their wedding day, Wei Zhongdao suddenly died.

She was sent back home and encountered Emperor Xuanwu again on the journey.

Unofficial histories claim the Wei family affair was orchestrated by Emperor Xuanwu’s agents.

Whether true or not is unknown, but most believe this story.

Later, when Yuan Xi entered the capital to assassinate Dong Zhuo, he met Cai Yan and hid within her household convoy. When pursued by Lü Bu, Cai Yan sheltered him at home and entrusted him to rescue Cai Yong from the prison, along with the responsibility of caring for Cai Yong’s orphan.

After rescuing Cai Yan from the Cai residence, Yuan Xi fled Chang’an and returned to Hebei.

Subsequently, Cai Yan, as the adopted daughter of Zheng Xuan, married Yuan Xi.

She bore him a daughter named Yuan Yao.

With Yuan Xi’s support, she undertook the compilation of Han history, continuing Cai Yong’s legacy.

Because of this, Cai Yan distanced herself from the palace’s power struggles. One year after completing the history, she died of illness amid the chaos of war—a tale of talented men and beautiful women in turbulent times.