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

"What did you say?"

Yuan Kui looked up in surprise at Yuan Ji standing in front of him.

"Uncle, the imperial guards just went to Dong Zhuo's residence to arrest him, but they couldn't find him. Dong Zhuo must have received advance warning and escaped."

Yuan Ji repeated what he had just said.

Did Dong Zhuo escape?

this.....

Yuan Wei frowned.

How can this be?

The palace is closed in the early morning, which means that Liu Hong most likely fell ill this morning.

Where did Dong Zhuo receive the news from?

There is a traitor.

Yuan Wei immediately connected the dots to the problem.

Previously, when Duan Yu left Luoyang, the Yuan family's assassins paid a heavy price, losing dozens of lives, in order to find out who Duan Yu was meeting outside the West Garden, before they finally discovered Duan Yu's affair with He Lingman.

This is enough to prove that Duan Yu has a formidable force of assassins within Luoyang.

If the information has leaked, it is highly likely that it came from within their ranks.

"Find all the servants and maids who have entered the Yuan family's residence in Luoyang within the past year and a half, and do not let any of them go."

“I’m talking about all of them, not just servants and maids,” Yuan Wei said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing Yuan Wei's words, Yuan Ji realized what Yuan Wei was thinking.

There may be a traitor within Yuan Shikai's faction.

Yuan Ji nodded and then asked, "Uncle, what should we do now?"

"Wait," Yuan Wei said after a moment's consideration. "Let's not worry about Dong Zhuo for now."

"Since Dong Zhuo has fled, it is tantamount to admitting his guilt."

"The crime of poisoning the emperor is enough to send Dong Zhuo and Duan Yu into the abyss."

"Now all we need to do is wait, wait for the emperor to die."

Yuan Wei squinted and said, "The one in charge of the palace and the imperial guards is the Grand Eunuch Jian Shuo, who is a confidant of His Majesty."

"Your Majesty has always disliked your eldest son, Liu Bian. If a new emperor is to be established, I think... it should be the youngest son, Liu Xie, and then Jian Shuo should be allowed to protect the new emperor as he ascends the throne."

"Empress Dowager Dong has always disliked Empress He Lingsi and will definitely try every means to get rid of He Jin, and even the Empress and her eldest son will rule as regents."

"As for us, we can simply let them fight it out."

"Whether it's He Jin or Empress Dowager Dong, if they want to win on their own, they have to win us over."

"No matter who wins or loses, we will remain invincible."

At this moment, Yuan Ji was truly convinced.

From the very beginning of planning all this, his uncle Yuan Wei probably already had this in mind.

Once Liu Hong dies, the matter of deposing the official and establishing a governor will be dropped, or at least it won't turn out the way Liu Hong imagined.

Moreover, by taking this opportunity, Dong Zhuo is finished, Duan Yu is finished, and once things have calmed down, as long as Zhang Feng's actions are exposed, then the eunuchs will also be finished.

He Jin needed to win over powerful clans in order to get Liu Bian to the throne.

Empress Dowager Dong needed to win over these powerful clans in order to allow Liu Xie to succeed to the throne.

No matter how you look at it, this is a three-birds-with-one-stone strategy.

Yuan Ji felt he was smart enough, but compared to his uncle Yuan Kui, he was still far behind.

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

At the same time that Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji were plotting.

The entire city of Luoyang was plunged into panic.

Nothing stays hidden forever.

Besides, the walls of the imperial city aren't completely closed off.

The events of that morning happened so quickly that the news was not leaked.

But by noon, everything that had happened in the palace had become known to the outside world.

The emperor of Bingzhou fell into a coma, and it was rumored that he was killed by a jade pill presented by Dong Zhuo.

Empress Dowager Dong was stationed in Jiade Hall. Jian Shuo, who had just been appointed as the Commander of the Imperial Guards at the beginning of the year, led his troops to surround Jiade Hall, and all the palace gates were closed.

It seems that the Han Dynasty is about to be overthrown.

The period of change of emperors is the most turbulent time for any country.

The succession of imperial power was a matter of life and death for millions of people.

Changqiu Palace.

Starting at noon, several hundred imperial guards had appeared outside Changqiu Palace.

The Imperial Guards completely surrounded Changqiu Palace.

And without any reason, no one is allowed to leave or enter.

All the people He Lingsi sent out to gather information were sent back.

This made He Lingsi, who was in Changqiu Palace, very flustered.

He Lingsi tried to use her status as Empress to order the Imperial Guards to go to Jiade Palace to attend to the Emperor's illness.

But the Imperial Guards remained unmoved and completely ignored He Lingsi's orders.

He Lingsi herself knew that the Imperial Guards were under the command of Jian Shuo.

Unlike other palace attendants, Jian Shuo never accepted gifts, nor did he form factions with anyone; he only obeyed the emperor's orders.

This is exactly what He Lingsi was worried about.

The lights in Changqiu Palace were lit.

He Lingsi paced anxiously back and forth in the palace. Twelve looked up at the direction outside the palace, her brows almost furrowed together.

Meanwhile, Green Willow, who was He Lingsi's personal maid, followed beside He Lingsi.

"Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance. You are also pregnant, and there's nothing we can do about being anxious now. I have already sent out the message, and I'm sure the General will take action," Green Willow whispered, trying to comfort her.

He Lingsi paused slightly and reached out to touch her lower abdomen.

She had originally planned to abort the child in her womb today.

only......

Now it seems the timing is not right.

He Lingsi was also conflicted.

Rumors are circulating in the palace that the jade pills presented by Dong Zhuo, the Commandant of the Capital Region, were poisoned, which caused the emperor to suffer a hemorrhage. It is said that Dong Zhuo secretly murdered the emperor.

Will this matter involve Duan Yu?

If Duan Yu is involved, and if her affair with Duan Yu is discovered, she will definitely be implicated, and then she will be doomed.

I was conflicted, anxious, and faced with an impending change.

But now she is trapped inside Changqiu Palace and cannot get out.

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

The Jiade Hall was also heavily guarded.

Apart from the various important palace gates, such as Sima Gate and Jiade Gate, almost all the imperial guards had gathered in Jiade Hall.

Inside the Jiade Hall, the firelight illuminated the entire place as if it were daytime.

Jian Shuo was standing in front of Liu Hong's bedroom.

A bitter smell of Chinese herbal medicine wafted from the shop.

Burning copper braziers lined both sides of the main hall, making the interior extremely hot.

All the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy were gathered in the main hall of the Jiade Hall to conduct a joint consultation on Liu Hong's condition.

But without exception, none of them yielded any results.

Empress Dowager Dong did not leave Jiade Palace once from the early morning.

Liu Xie, the second son, has been taken to the Jiade Palace.

As for the eldest prince, Liu Bian, he was placed under house arrest in the Wende Palace, which was separated from the Changqiu Palace by one side to the east and the other to the west.

Inside the bedchamber, Liu Hong remained unconscious, his face completely pale.

In the afternoon, he started having full-body convulsions, foaming at the mouth, and rolling his eyes upwards.

Moreover, he has even lost control of his bladder and bowels.

The final conclusion from the Imperial Medical Academy was that Liu Hong's condition was due to insufficient vital energy and the retention of pathogenic factors.

In layman's terms, it's the mechanism by which disordered Qi and blood lead to brain lesions.

There is no cure.

"Your Majesty, please make a decision as soon as possible."

Jian Shuo knelt before Liu Hong's sickbed and said to Empress Dowager Dong, "Your Majesty is seriously ill, but the position of Crown Prince has not yet been confirmed. As Your Majesty's birth mother, you are the mother of the nation. Everything in the palace should be decided by you."

Wearing a long black dress, Empress Dowager Dong, whose eyes were already red from crying, wiped the corners of her eyes with the handkerchief in her hand.

"His Majesty has not left an imperial edict to establish the position of Crown Prince, so how can I make a decision?"

Jian Shuo, kneeling on the ground, said, "Why doesn't the Empress Dowager summon the ministers to discuss this matter?"

"Firstly, to solicit the opinions of all the officials, and secondly, to get a glimpse of their thoughts."

"And..."

At this point, a figure suddenly appeared in Jian Shuo's mind.

"Your Majesty, Dong Zhuo poisoned His Majesty, and his crimes deserve to be punished. Now, Duan Yu occupies Liangzhou and is a powerful minister. If he is not restrained, he may cause a great disaster. Once Duan Yu rebels in Liangzhou, and Dong Zhuo has already fled, it will be impossible to stop him."

"Duan Yu has a strong army and abundant resources in Liangzhou. If we don't act before he can react, it could lead to disaster."

Jian Shuo's words immediately caused Empress Dowager Dong, who was wiping away tears, to show a look of horror.

Although Empress Dowager Dong had never had contact with Duan Yu before.

However, even within the inner palace, Empress Dowager Dong had heard of Duan Yu's name quite often.

There were rumors about him being a peerless general, invincible, and unconquerable.

Empress Dowager Dong wasn't worried about Dong Zhuo, but if Duan Yu were to rebel...

That would probably be a huge disaster.

Therefore, after Jian Shuo said these words, Empress Dowager Dong immediately panicked.

"Very well, very well, then let's do as you say. Tomorrow, summon the ministers to the palace to discuss the matter of establishing an heir." Empress Dowager Dong said, nodding.

“Yes.” Jian Shuo cupped his hands in a fist salute.

...........

Inside Luoyang City, at the General's Mansion.

Almost identical to the imperial palace in Luoyang, the General's Mansion was also brightly lit at this time.

Moreover, whether in front of the mansion gate or inside the mansion, there were soldiers everywhere wearing armor and holding weapons.

After He Lingsi's message reached the General's Mansion in the early morning, He Jin made a series of arrangements.

First, he used his power as the Grand General to directly control the city's garrison.

Then, they sent people to the palace to investigate the situation, and then sent people to monitor the Tiger Legion camp outside the city.

At present, there are only two troops in Luoyang.

One was the Imperial Guards in the palace, and the other was the Tiger Warriors outside the city.

The five schools of the Northern Army had been completely wiped out during the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and had not yet been reorganized.

This resulted in He Jin being a great general, but having no usable troops at his disposal.

As for the Hanoi troops that had been assembled earlier, they had already been disbanded after the crisis of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was resolved.

The remaining troops are now stationed at the eight passes of Luoyang.

The only troops He Jin can control now are the city's garrison.

But there are fewer than 10,000 people.

At this moment, in the main hall of He Jin's residence, there were only He Jin and his two brothers, He Miao.

He Miao, standing opposite He Jin, was also wearing armor.

“Brother, His Majesty is critically ill and the position of Crown Prince has not yet been established. Previously, many ministers advised His Majesty to establish a Crown Prince as soon as possible, but His Majesty did not agree. In fact, he wanted to appoint Marquis Dong as the Crown Prince. If you do not take action, I am afraid that our entire clan will be in danger.”

Upon seeing this, He Miao said anxiously, "Now that the Empress is trapped in the palace without any news, it means that the Empress is in a bad situation."

"If we don't think of another way, we might end up like the Dou family."

He Jin frowned as he listened to He Miao's words: "I'm thinking about that too, but do you expect me to attack the palace now?"

"We have neither soldiers nor generals at our disposal, what should we do?"

After thinking for a moment, He Miao said, "I have a way!"