Three Kingdoms: Ten Times Speed, Diao Chan Says I'm Too Fast

Outside Sima Gate.

Yuan Wei lowered his head, bent over, and walked with unusually slow steps.

His expression was more solemn than ever before.

"Lord Yuan..."

Yang Ci's voice rang in Yuan Wei's ears: "Lord Yuan is getting a little anxious."

Upon hearing Yang Ci's voice, Yuan Wei turned his head to look at Yang Ci, who was gradually approaching from behind.

Even if Yang Ci hadn't said anything, Yuan Wei had sensed that he seemed to have fallen into Duan Yu's trap.

Using his pretext, Duan Yu revealed some things that Duan Yu himself was reluctant to say aloud.

Of course, this is not his biggest worry right now.

He initially just didn't want Duan Yu to benefit.

However, he is now worried about something else.

Zhang Jiao.

Duan Yu has met Zhang Jiao!

If that's the case, could Duan Yu know about the past between the Yuan family and Zhang Jiao?

Although he was very cautious at the time and did not leave any evidence, Zhang Jiao was very likely to tell Duan Yu what had happened.

Moreover, if Duan Yu were to inform the emperor of these matters...

So......

The Yuan family may face annihilation!

This is what Yuan Wei is most worried about right now.

How to do?

If Duan Yu really tells Liu Hong about this, how will Yuan Shi deal with herself?

“What Lord Yang said is absolutely right, but…” Yuan Wei shook his head and sighed, “But it’s too late. This time, Duan Yu has won.”

Yuan Wei stopped and cupped his hands in greeting to Yang Ci, saying, "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

"However, I still want to remind Lord Yang, this Duan Yu..."

"If we don't eliminate it soon, it will surely become a great threat to the world in the future!"

After saying this, Yuan Wei boarded the carriage that was parked outside Sima Gate.

Behind him, Yang Ci, with his back hunched, stood still.

Yang Biao, the son of Yang Ci, who was the Minister of Justice, stood half a step behind Yang Ci.

“Father, I feel like Yuan Wei is acting a bit strange.” Yang Biao said with some doubt, “At first, His Majesty just wanted to use Father and Yuan Wei to suppress Duan Yu.”

"But why was Yuan Wei so eager to kill Duan Yu later?"

Dressed in court attire and leaning on a cane, Yang Ci slightly raised his head, glanced at Yuan Wei who was gradually walking away, and then sighed.

"The Yuan family is in Runan, a thousand miles away from Liangzhou, but the Yang family..."

Yang Ci shook his head and sighed as he walked toward the carriage.

Yang Biao, who was following behind, was completely bewildered.

............

West Garden.

In a great mood today, Liu Hong once again took Duan Yu to the West Garden, the place where the two first met.

Not only was Liu Hong in a great mood, but Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, who were with Liu Hong, were also in a very good mood.

Sitting on the dragon carriage, Liu Hong kept praising Duan Yu.

"My dear minister, you are truly my finest steed. With you, the Han Dynasty has you, and I have no worries."

"My dear minister, tell me, what reward do you desire?"

Liu Hong said with a smile.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong, who were standing to the side, exchanged a glance, smiled, and then said:

"Your Majesty, Lord Duan has not only killed the bandit leader Zhang Jiao, but also relieved the troubles of Ji Province. Ji Province has not taken a million refugees and will soon recover its strength. Lord Duan has truly solved a major problem for Ji Province and should be rewarded handsomely."

Zhao Zhong quickly echoed this.

Liu Hong smiled and nodded in response: "That's how it should be, that's how it should be."

"Then tell me, how should I reward Minister Duan?"

The two old foxes already knew what Liu Hong wanted them to say.

“Your Majesty, this old servant asks, since ancient times, even harmony between ruler and subject cannot compare to the closeness of family.” Zhang Rang said with a smile, “Lord Duan is so loyal to the emperor and loves his country, why doesn’t Your Majesty strengthen the bond between you and Lord Duan through marriage?”

"If we can strengthen our ties with Lord Duan through marriage, then we can avoid the slanderous words of some petty people in the court that could attack Lord Duan in the future."

"Oh?"

Liu Hong raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise, and asked, "What you mean by this 'marriage strengthening ties'?"

Zhang Rang chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, this old servant has heard that although Lord Duan is married, he does not have a principal wife."

"There is currently a princess in the royal family who is of marriageable age, and she is exactly the same age as Lord Duan."

Duan Yu listened to the two of them singing back and forth, wanting to laugh but holding it in.

Zhang Rang had already spoken to him privately when he came from Nangong.

It is said that Liu Hong intended to arrange the marriage.

Duan Yu also learned from Zhang Rang who the person to whom the arranged marriage was.

Princess Liu Xiu of Yangdi, the youngest daughter of the late Emperor Liu Zhi.

If Zhang Rang hadn't reminded him, Duan Yu wouldn't have known that the woman beside Princess Yang'an Liu Hua, whom he met at Fu Wan's residence that night, was Princess Yangdi Liu Xiu.

Princess Liu Xiu of Yangdi was the youngest daughter of Emperor Huan, Liu Zhi.

She was a princess who was officially conferred her title in the seventh year of the Yanxi era.

Less than two years later, Emperor Huan, Liu Zhi, died. At that time, Liu Xiu was still a minor.

I've just turned twenty.

Normally, princesses would get married around the age of fourteen or fifteen.

However, because Liu Xiu was the daughter of Emperor Huan Liu Zhi, and was of the same generation as Liu Hong, and had grown up by the side of Princess Yang'an Liu Hua, Liu Hong had never interfered with her marriage, and it had been delayed until now.

If we consider age and generation, Liu Hong and Liu Xiu are cousins.

Liu Hong's great-grandfather was Liu Kai, the Prince of Hejian, and Emperor Huan, Liu Zhi, was the grandson of Liu Kai, the Prince of Hejian. In other words, Princess Yangdi, Liu Xiu's great-grandfather was also Liu Kai, the Prince of Hejian.

However, Liu Hong is older than Liu Xiu.

“Your Majesty, the old servant is referring to Princess Yangdi, who is currently residing with Princess Yang'an. Moreover, I presume Lord Duan has already met her.” Zhang Rang winked at Duan Yu.

"Ah?" Liu Hong feigned surprise and said with a smile, "I never expected that Minister Duan and the Imperial Sister would have such a predestined relationship?"

"Isn't this a coincidence? Haha!"

"Minister Duan, now that you have met my imperial sister, that is even better."

"I have heard that you do not have many wives and daughters. Now that you hold a high position, you need to have more children."

"And my younger sister's age is also appropriate."

"Therefore, I will take the liberty of betrothing my younger sister to you. As for whether she is a principal wife or not, I will not discuss that. I have heard that you only have two secondary wives in your family. As for not being concubines, it does not disgrace the royal family."

"Minister Duan, would you be willing to marry into my family?" Liu Hong asked, looking at Duan Yu.

Duan Yu thought to herself, "Can I refuse?"

Liu Hong asked if he was willing to form a closer family relationship with him, not if he was willing to marry Liu Xiu.

If he says he's unwilling, it's tantamount to saying he's unwilling to become even closer to Liu Hong through marriage.

Of course, there's not much of a downside to marrying a princess.

As for the claim that Liu Hong wanted to use a princess as an informant...

That's probably unlikely.

None of his wives in the harem were mere ornaments.

Marrying Princess Yangdi would not have any disadvantages other than giving him the status of being a member of the imperial family.

At least before the world descended into chaos, this identity still held considerable value.

"Your Majesty, Duan Yu, thanks you for your grace."

Duan Yu stopped and bowed respectfully to Liu Hong, saying, "I am of humble origin, but to have gained Your Majesty's favor and trust, I can only repay you with my life!"

"Good, good, good!"

"Ha ha!"

Liu Hong laughed heartily and said, "From now on, Minister Duan and I will be even closer than family."

"Let's go! Today I'm hosting a banquet for Minister Duan in the West Garden. I'll drink with Minister Duan until we're both drunk!"

Before long, Duan Yu followed Liu Hong to the West Garden.

............

It was the height of summer, and the sun was blazing.

Compared to when Duan Yu first came to Xiyuan, Xiyuan is now much more desolate.

The Taiping Rebellion wiped out all of Liu Hong's wealth accumulated over many years.

Most of the money, grain, and jewels treasured in the West Garden have already been emptied to expand the army.

The horses that Duan Yu brought back from the Xiongnu were all used to expand the cavalry.

Without money, Liu Hong could no longer support his extravagant spending habits.

Many of the facilities in Xiyuan have also fallen into disrepair.

"Does Minister Duan still remember the first time I met Minister Duan?"

Liu Hong walked in front of Duan Yu and said with some melancholy, "My Western Garden was once a riot of color, but now it is dilapidated. Alas..."

Duan Yu, who was following behind Liu Hong, raised his head slightly.

Liu Hong was just pleading poverty to him.

Duan Yu understood perfectly.

“Your Majesty, I have income from both the salt and paper businesses. I previously used this money to support the Liangzhou campaign against the Qiang, which resulted in huge losses.”

"But Liangzhou is now stable."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to pay five hundred million coins annually to rebuild the West Garden," Duan Yu said.

Liu Hong, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

He turned around and stared at Duan Yu with wide eyes, then grabbed Duan Yu's hand and said, "Minister Duan, you...you deserve such a reward from me."

"How could I possibly take so much of your money for no reason?"

Liu Hong said he was embarrassed to take it.

But those eyes were already shining.

After the Zhen family incident in Jizhou was exposed, the secrets of the white paper and the snow salt could no longer be kept.

Since you can't hide it, just bring it out proactively; that way, you'll seem more sincere.

Duan Yu had already made this preparation beforehand.

Before Duan Yu could say anything...

Whether Liu Hong was afraid that Duan Yu would change his mind or was just anxious, he waved his hand and said, "Zhang Rang, you immediately draft an imperial edict to promote Minister Duan to a higher rank."

"Duan Aiqing is hereby granted the title of Marquis of Ji, with an additional 3,000 households in his fief."

"Also, go and invite the Empress and Princess Yangdi here. I'm going to hold a grand banquet in the West Garden!" Liu Hong said happily.