Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1302 Abdication
When Yuan Xi heard that Xia Hou had come to his house, he stood up and left, saying, "If I don't see her, can I return her to her?"

"Besides, she is a newly widowed woman and doesn't know how to avoid suspicion. My reputation is so bad, isn't she afraid of attracting criticism by coming to see me?"

Bu Lianshi had followed Yuan Xi for a while and had heard some of the absurd things Yuan Xi did when he was young, so she smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you were young and reckless. Do you regret it now?"

"But logically, women should be afraid of the king, so why are they afraid of the king now?"

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "That's Zhang Fei's widow. I don't want his two brothers to kill me now."

He was really scared. The last incident with Liu Cong's mother, Madam Cai, had made Yuan Xi realize that being involved with other people's wives would lead to endless troubles, so he wanted to nip the trouble in the bud.

He took Bu Lianshi's hand and walked out, "Let's go out and hide for a while. Madam Mi will take care of the rest."

Bu Lianshi felt helpless and thought to herself that it was so pitiful that Madam Mi was sold like this.

As a result, when the two of them walked to the side of the corridor and were about to ask someone to prepare the carriage, they saw from afar Mrs. Mi and a slender woman in linen mourning clothes walking towards them. It was Xiahou.

Both sides saw it at the same time. When Xiahou saw Bu Lianshi, how could she not guess the identity of Yuan Xi beside her? She hurried over. When Yuan Xi saw her, he cried out in pain.

Xiahou fell to her knees in front of Yuan Xi and said, "I am Xiahou, the widow of the General of the Cavalry of Hannan. I pay my respects to His Majesty the Prince of Jin."

Yuan Xi took a step back and said, "Madam Xiahou, please get up first."

Bu Lianshi went up to help Lady Xiahou up, but Yuan Xi looked at Madam Mi depressedly, thinking to himself, you have really screwed me, why did you block me here?

Mrs. Mi was also extremely helpless. As Liu Bei's adopted daughter, she was related to Lady Xiahou. Moreover, Lady Xiahou's request was in line with filial piety. Mrs. Mi could not bear to refuse. She had to take Lady Xiahou out to relax. She never expected that Yuan Xi did not hide, but instead ran to the courtyard in a swagger?

In fact, Yuan Xi should be blamed for this matter. If he wanted to avoid it, it would be safest to go out the back door. Now he has to go to the front door to find a carriage, which is really a trap for himself.

Lady Xiahou stopped Bu Lianshi and bowed again, "My father passed away early, and it was my uncle who raised me and brought me up, just like your own daughter. Now I boldly beg for your ashes to be buried with me, I am deeply grateful."

"I have nothing to repay you. If Your Majesty has any request, I will do my best to fulfill it even if it means sacrificing my own life. I hope Your Majesty will show mercy."

Yuan Xi felt his teeth ache, so he could only say, "Madam, please get up first."

He thought that this was not an easy trick. As a general like Xiahou Yuan, the Jin army would not leave his body exposed in the wilderness as a sign of respect. Moreover, the body of Cao Xiu, who died in the same battle, was sent back by Yuan Xi to undermine the morale of Cao's army. He could not use similar excuses to prevaricate.

Madam Mi also went up to persuade her a few words, and only then did Mrs. Xiahou stand up timidly and look at Yuan Xi anxiously.

Only then did Yuan Xi see Xiahou's appearance clearly. She was slender and thin, with a pretty oval face. She looked quite young, which made sense. When she married Zhang Fei around the time of the Xuzhou Rebellion, she was only thirteen or fourteen years old. Now, less than ten years have passed, and she is only in her early twenties, but she is already a widow.

Thinking of this, Yuan Xi sighed, "It's a pity that General Zhang was assassinated."

Xiahou said hurriedly: "Prince Jin helped the king to avenge my husband. I am deeply grateful to the king."

"Now I also know that my request is a bit excessive and makes it difficult for the king, but my uncle and I are like father and daughter. Although my uncle was once the enemy of the King of Jin, he is dead and gone. I hope the king will show mercy."

Yuan Xi sighed, "I am still a bit fierce. Never mind."

"General Xiahou's coffin is in Shouchun. It's really inconvenient. Madam, please go first. When I finish my affairs in Jianghuai, I will find a way to report to you. How do you think?"

He wanted to just brush it off, but unexpectedly, Xiahou gritted her teeth and said, "Since I know the whereabouts of my uncle's body, I will go to meet him myself. I hope the king can give me a token to guide me along the way."

"My family has a small fortune, which I have sold and brought with me. Although I know these possessions are insignificant to you, they are all I can give. I hope the king will pity my filial piety."

After saying this, Lady Xiahou was about to kneel down and kowtow again. Yuan Xi asked Lady Mi and Master Bu Lian to hold her back, and said helplessly, "I know what the lady meant."

"But Jianghuai has not been completely pacified yet. I promise to give Madam an explanation. How do you think?"

After hearing this, Xiahou just lowered her head and said nothing.

Madam Mi also advised: "Your Majesty is a man of his word. Since you have said so, what is there for Madam to worry about?"

Xiahou hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Forgive me for being blunt, but Your Majesty first defeated Wei and then destroyed Wu. Now your power is unrivaled in the world, and sooner or later you will establish a new dynasty."

"When the time comes, Hannan may become the target of Your Majesty's sword, so I can only take advantage of the opportunity when the two countries are still on good terms and come to Your Majesty to ask for help."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi fell silent. Although Xiahou Shi did not know the inside story, she was very smart and keenly sensed the hidden dangers between the two countries.

And Xiahou's guess was correct. Yuan Xi kept Xiahou Yuan as a card not only to deal with Wei, but also to influence Hannan. However, he did not expect Zhang Fei to be assassinated so early.

However, at this sensitive time, Yuan Xi would never tell the Xiahou family the truth, nor would he hand over Xiahou Yuan. At this time, the Wei Kingdom has not been destroyed, and Liu Bei seems to be dying. If Xiahou Yuan really goes to Hannan Kingdom and turns around to join forces with the Wei Kingdom, wouldn't Yuan Xi be stupid?
This matter, to put it in a bigger context, concerns hundreds of thousands of lives between the Three Kingdoms. Not to mention Xiahou Shi selling her property, even if she sold herself to Yuan Xi, Yuan Xi would definitely not agree. So Yuan Xi had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to lie. He said, "Madam, Jianghuai has been busy with military affairs recently. I can't delay national affairs for this matter, so I can only promise to give you an explanation in the future."

"The Wei army is planning to attack Shouchun from Yuzhou. Madam cannot go there for the time being. You can return to Changsha first. If you really don't want to, you can wait in Wankou, but I can't guarantee that I can do it in the next one or two years."

"With that said, I'll take my leave."

After saying that, Yuan Xi took Bu Lianshi to the carriage and went out, leaving Madam Mi and Lady Xiahou in a disheveled state. Shouldn't they see the guests off? Why did they say goodbye?

Whose mansion is this?
Madam Mi could only persuade her with a few words, but Xiahou seemed to be thinking about something and said to Madam Mi, "In this case, I will take my leave first."

"I will return to Changsha soon. Take care, sister."

Madam Mi watched Lady Xiahou get on the carriage and leave, wondering if she had guessed something.

At this time, Xu Du had not yet received the news of the demise of the Wu Kingdom, but the city was busy preparing for another thing.

demise.

After Liu Xie submitted the petition for the fourth time, Cao Pi finally accepted it and issued an edict to the world to witness the great feat of abdication of the Han Dynasty.

At that time, it was less than a year since he ascended the throne. The reason why he was so urgent was that Cao Pi vaguely felt that if he did not take advantage of the general trend of the times, his chances in the future would become increasingly slim.

Now all the officials came to congratulate him. Many of the Han officials who had previously served under Liu Xie also knew that the Han court was about to fall, so they secretly wrote to Cao Pi, requesting to defect to the Wei court.

Cao Pi was also happy to create momentum. With a stroke of his pen, he transferred all the Han court officials under Liu Xie to the Wei court, and gave them high official positions. This caused quite a few complaints from Cao Wei officials.

However, at this time, no official of Cao Wei would openly jump out to sing a different tune. Of course, there were also some diehards in the Han court, headed by Liu He, and there were about seven or eight others, most of whom were descendants of the Han royal family.

Now Liu Xie was sitting facing Liu He. He said, "Thank you for supporting me over the years, brother."

"I feel ashamed to face my ancestors. Abdication is a shame for the Liu clan. I am the only one who is needed. Brother, please find a way to leave the city in advance."

Liu He said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, there is no need to blame yourself. The Han Dynasty has run out of luck. It is not your Majesty's fault."

"He can guess that your majesty wants to do something stupid, but if you anger Cao Pi, given his tolerance, it may be detrimental to your majesty's safety."

Liu Xie laughed when he heard this and said, "Brother, I was afraid of Cao Cao's power and was timid and cowardly. As a result, the Wei Kingdom was in greater danger."

"But what I got in return was Cao's further encroachment. In the end, I was unable to protect anyone, including my queen."

"Now I have figured it out. The more afraid I am, the more the enemy will press me, until they force me to the edge of the cliff and wait for me to jump off."

"If that's the case, then why should I retreat?

"I will not jump down obediently. I have thought it through. Even if I die, I will drag Cao Wei to be buried with me!"

"If Cao Pi has the guts, he can kill me on the spot. I want to see if he has the courage to face the criticism from the world!"

After hearing this, Liu He realized that Liu Xie had made up his mind, so he said, "I will accompany your majesty."

Liu Xie refused, "No, Cao Pi may not dare to attack me, but he will definitely vent his anger on you. Leave the city quickly and don't worry about me."

Liu He said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, in such a vast world, where is there any place for the Liu clan?"

Liu Xie said, "How about going to the King of Hannan?"

Liu He shook his head: "King Hannan knew it was impossible but still did it. His courage is commendable, but he did not take advantage of the situation. I am no longer able to assist him."

Liu Xie sighed and said, "If I had known this would happen, I would have given up the throne and let Yuan Shao assist your father to ascend the throne. Maybe the Han Dynasty could have continued its rule."

Liu He shook his head and said, "It's the same. Dong Zhuo would not agree at that time, and Yuan Shao would not be loyal to the Han Dynasty. In the final analysis, it was the Han Dynasty that lost its way and declined. Outsiders cannot be blamed."

Liu Xie laughed, "It's true that outsiders can't be blamed."

"Well, let me witness with my own eyes the last rays of light of the Han Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)