Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1317 Pretending to be sick
After hearing the news, Wu quickly asked someone to prepare a carriage and rushed to Liu He's house.

At that time, everyone knew that the Liu Mansion was infected with the epidemic, and no one dared to approach. Seeing that the coachman was also afraid to move forward, Wu asked him to stop the carriage at the door and went in to visit.

Wu walked into the mansion and found that most of the maids and servants had left. The whole mansion was dead silent. Wu walked all the way to the door, knocked and asked, "Is the madam here?"

Before she could, Madam Yuan, who was covering her mouth and nose, opened the door. Seeing that it was Madam Wu, she asked in surprise, "Madam, why are you here?"

Wu saw that most of Madam Yuan's exposed skin was red and swollen, and knew that the epidemic was serious, but she walked straight into the door and said, "Why can't I come?"

She told Liu Zhang that he wanted to sacrifice her, and sighed, "Although it is a favor for me to visit you today, I actually want to be infected with the disease as well, and I want to put an end to it all."

There was no one in the room at this time. After hearing this, Mrs. Yuan closed the door and then burst out laughing.

Just when Mrs. Wu was confused, Mrs. Yuan handed her a bottle and said, "This is the juice extracted from the grass. When you apply it, your skin will swell and turn red, which is very similar to the appearance of an epidemic."

Wu suddenly opened her eyes wide when she heard this, "Madam, you mean."

Madam Yuan nodded and said, "That's right. I was just worrying about how to inform Madam, but Madam came first, which saved me a lot of trouble."

"Madam, after you apply the juice, you can pretend to be sick. When the time comes, someone will come to find you."

Wu finally understood. She wondered, "What's the point of just pretending to be sick? As long as you don't die, you won't be able to escape."

Madam Yuan said: "That's right, so I might have to die again by then."

"But this is a very risky matter. If you are not careful, you may actually die. Do you want to take this risk, Madam?"

Wu didn't quite understand what was going on, but she roughly guessed what was going on. She said without hesitation, "Of course I want it."

"If I don't leave here, I will end up living a life worse than death sooner or later. If that's the case, I might as well die early."

Mrs. Yuan listened and nodded, "Okay, Madam, go back first. Don't leave the house within three to five days."

After hearing this, Wu went back as she was told. The next day, she fell ill and her entire face became red and swollen. She was so scared that even the servants didn't dare to bring her food.

When Liu Zhang heard about it, he hurried over and greeted her from a distance through the window. When he saw Wu's red and swollen face, his face changed drastically and he quickly took a few steps back. After asking about Wu's condition, he left in a hurry.

Although he was filled with disappointment and could no longer use Wu to build connections, saving his life was the most important thing now. Who knew how terrible the spread of this disease would be?
As for Madam Yuan, she secretly asked someone to send the child away. Two days later, she received the news that Liu He had fallen ill and died. She had already used her connections to bribe the jailer, so she went to collect Liu He's body.

At that time, the officials and doctors sent by the Wei State had confirmed that Liu He had indeed died. They were signing the document when they saw Madam Yuan with a swollen face coming in. She cried out that it was bad luck and quickly stood further away. The official asked, "Are you his family member?"

"Take it away quickly, before it spreads to others!"

Yuan said in a hoarse voice: "Can you ask the superior to show mercy and let me leave the city to bury my husband?"

The official sneered: "The king has ordered that only dead people can leave the city, except for those transporting corpses. Don't even think about it!"

After hearing this, Mrs. Yuan ordered people to load Liu He's body onto a carriage and take it back to the mansion.

The next morning, the Wei general who was in charge of guarding Liu He's mansion received news that Mrs. Yuan had also died of illness.

When the general went in, he saw the bodies of Liu He and his wife lying side by side in the middle of the yard, without a breath. He thought it was bad luck and called the doctor next to him to confirm that the two were indeed dead.

Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief. In recent days, people started to die in the city. The mansion was already infected with the disease, and now another dead person was brought back. Who knew if he would be infected too? Now that all the surveillance targets were dead, he could finally leave this place!
The servant next to him said, "General, may I ask what should be done with the master's body?"

The Wei general heard this and said, "Push their bodies under the city gate, and our soldiers will take them to the grave outside the city!"

After hearing this, the servant wrapped the two bodies in straw mats, put them on a cart, and pushed them out of the city gate.

General Wei watched the cart leave and shook his head. He thought that with the rate of death at this rate, there was no telling how many people in the city would survive.

The servant was pushing the cart when he met a cart carrying corpses from Liu Zhang's mansion on the road. Seeing the corpse wrapped in mats on the other carriage, the two of them looked at each other tacitly and went towards the city gate together.

When they arrived at the city gate, the soldiers at the gate checked the death warrant signed by the Wei official and opened the city gate. Seeing this, the two servants put down the cart and were about to leave.

The soldiers at the city gate saw this and shouted, "What? Are you trying to slack off?"

"Push the cart quickly!"

The two servants heard this and said with a smile, "Sir, isn't it true that living people are not allowed to leave the city?"

The soldier asked impatiently, "Do we have to push the corpse out of the city ourselves?"

"Stop talking nonsense. I'll send someone to follow you. We'll come back after you throw the bodies away!" The two men then smiled and walked forward. Under the escort of the soldiers, they arrived at the mass grave outside the city, threw the bodies of the three people, and then returned.

The escorting soldier kept away from the two until they were escorted back to the city and pushed the two away on a cart. The soldier said to others, "It's really hell. There are dead people coming in and out every day. We are so close, who knows if the news will get in one day."

Another soldier said helplessly: "What can we do? Where is a safe place in the city now?"

That evening, Liu He and the other two finally crawled out from the pile of dead bodies. They were all still frightened and felt like they had survived a calamity.

Wu said to Madam Yuan, "I didn't expect that you would use this method to escape from Xudu. I will never forget your kindness in giving me a new life."

Madam Yuan said, "You are too polite, Madam. I just wanted to save my husband. I was lucky to escape so smoothly and the anesthetic didn't have any problems."

Liu He said to the two women, "Let's leave quickly while it's dark. There are dead bodies here that are infected with the disease. Maybe we have been infected already."

"We should be able to find someone to pick us up after walking a dozen miles east. We must act in secret and must not be discovered."

The two women didn't understand and could only nod ignorantly. Liu He, however, looked towards the city of Xudu and thought to himself that he had escaped, but where was the emperor?

The emperor is being watched by many people. If he wants to fake his death in this way, I'm afraid he can't hide it from anyone, right?

At this time, the secret letter from the two servants in the city had been delivered to Lu Yu's desk in a mansion somewhere. He couldn't help but think that Liu He's escape proved that this trick of relying on the epidemic was feasible.

Although Liu He was also a member of the royal family, people in the city were in a panic, and he died of an illness, so others avoided him, which was why the plan was able to succeed so smoothly.

But it is hard to say about Liu Xie, because on the one hand, he is the emperor. Even if he is the emperor of the previous dynasty, there are standards and etiquette for his burial. He can't be thrown out of the city as hastily as Liu He was.

Therefore, Liu Xie faked his death and had to be put into a coffin and buried. The corpse alone could not last for such a long time, not to mention that even if it was transported out of the city, there would probably be dozens of people watching over the burial.

Lu Yu no longer dared to tamper with the cemetery because that was how Empress Fu was rescued last time. However, the incident still attracted the attention of Cao Wei officials, who went to the cemetery to investigate.

Lu Yu remembered that it was Xu Chu who went there the first time, but the later one was most likely instructed by Zhong Yao. He was a very difficult person to deal with, and if he used the same trick again, he would easily be able to see through his flaws.

What made Lu Yu even more speechless was that Dong Zhao, who had always been targeted, was still in prison. However, Lu Yu sent someone to deliver a secret letter, saying that he could be rescued, but Dong Zhao did not reply and just stayed in prison obediently.

Lu Yu is still not sure whether Dong Zhao is his lord's man. He seems to have done something, but also seems to have done nothing. Now that he has expressed his refusal, Lu Yu can only find a way to save Liu Xie first.

The next day, news came from the palace that Liu Xie had also contracted the disease.

As soon as the news came out, the maids and guards around Liu Xie were extremely panicked and hurried to report to the Wei court. After Hua Xin learned about it, he sent a doctor to check.

After repeated confirmation by several doctors, Liu He was indeed infected with the disease, and it was the most serious one.

It is no wonder that they could not see that this medicine that could cause allergic reactions and swelling on the head and face was secretly developed by Hua Tuo's disciples under the guidance of Yuan Xi in recent years. It was extracted from poisonous herbs and the symptoms were very similar to those of epidemic diseases. Moreover, a mild poisoning reaction could cause the pulse to become disordered, making it difficult to tell the difference between the real and the fake.

At this time, Liu Xie was lying on the bed, dying. He said to the concubines around him: "I am dying soon. You can go. I still have some savings in my harem. You can divide it among yourself."

After hearing this, several concubines decided to leave. After all, Liu Xie had been deposed and was seriously ill and dying. They had no one to rely on, so they had to find a way to survive in the future, right?
Cao stood up and walked to the back room with several concubines. After they left, Liu Xie showed a sneer on his face.

When disaster strikes, everyone flees. It's just as it is.

He was naturally pretending to be sick. The Jin State had already contacted him and told him several plans to escape. Liu Xie didn't want to leave, but after thinking about it, he decided to cooperate with the other party.

Because the official from the Procuratorate convinced him with one sentence, "Your Majesty wanted to fight against Cao Wei with death and make it infamous forever, but you didn't expect that there are still many people outside the city who want to rescue Your Majesty?"

"Let's put it another way. General Guan, under the order of King Hannan, led tens of thousands of people to risk their lives to attack the city. Does Your Majesty want to watch them die like this?"

Liu Xie lay on the bed, staring at the roof in a daze. After a while, footsteps were heard. It was Cao who came back. Liu Xie was a little surprised and asked, "Why don't you leave?"

"If you return to the Cao family, you will naturally have someone to protect you. Do you really want to watch me die?"

Cao said, "Since I have married the king, I must be faithful to him forever."

"No matter what the king's condition is, I will accompany him till the end."

After hearing this, Liu Xie felt mixed emotions. Cao had pushed him to such a point, but was still not as loyal to him as a woman.

But he immediately became numb. If Cao was staring at him like this, how could he fake his death and escape?

(End of this chapter)