Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1206 Abandoned Son
Cao Qing's throat was surging, and she tried hard not to make any angry sound.

She felt very aggrieved. She had spent so much effort to help Cao Zhi ascend to the throne. Although there was some selfish motive in it, her original intention was to ensure that the Cao family had a visible future.

She believed that Cao Cao's health was failing, and if things continued like this, the Cao family would be defeated sooner or later. Cao Pi was cruel and tyrannical, while Cao Zhi was kind-hearted. The former would lead the Cao family into an irretrievable situation. Only Cao Zhi could stop the Cao family's crazy and out-of-control chariot and save the lives of the Cao family members from the vicious tiger's tactics.

She also knew that by doing this, she was actually handing Cao's life into the hands of a ferocious tiger. This was no different from the surrender of the Jingzhou faction. In fact, it was also a betrayal to Cao and the Wei State.

But Cao Qing did not regret it. What she saw and learned in Shouchun made her firmly believe that the next generation of officials and ministers of the Cao family would not be able to fight against the ferocious tiger. If they continued to act in this way, everyone would die. She did this to save the Cao family!
Naturally, this idea was instilled in her by Yuan Xi intentionally. Combined with some other inexplicable factors, after Cao Qing returned to Wei, she began to think of ways to help Cao Zhi fight against Cao Pi in the fight for the crown prince.

During this period, she did a lot of things. With her help, some children of Qinghe Cui family and even Xiahou family joined Cao Zhi's faction. Just when Cao Qing thought she was gradually getting closer to this goal, the assassination attempt by Cao Pi's faction, which completely tore her apart, gave Cao Qing a heavy blow and made all her previous efforts go to waste.

It was then that Cao Qing finally realized that the fight for the prince was a bloody battle, not just playing house in the courtyard. It was ridiculous that he thought he could defeat the opponent with the political tactics in the court, but the opponent had already raised his weapon and started killing people!

What made her even more desperate was what Cao Cao said just now, which finally made Cao Qing throw away the last bit of delusion. She found out that Cao Cao had always been on the side of Cao Pi, who seemed the most unpopular!
Cao Cao's wish was very clear. He hoped that the Cao family would continue to fight to the death with the Yuan family until the final winner was decided!
Cao Qing felt a chill in her heart, she found that she was wrong from the beginning. For a man, it is absolutely impossible to make concessions in the fight for the world. No wonder Xionghu was so rude to her back then, he must have expected what would happen today!

She squatted in the grass, feeling very aggrieved, her feet numb, until she heard Cao Cao fall asleep again. Then she tiptoed out and sneaked back to her room.

She was so disheartened that she was not even willing to go to Cao Zhi to tell him what she had heard. Now that things had come to this point, was there any point in doing anything?

At this moment, a thought suddenly came to Cao Qing's mind: if her father died now, would there still be room for recovery?

Then she was shocked and wondered why she thought like that!

But once the thought arose, it seemed impossible to eliminate it, gnawing at her heart like a poisonous snake. Finally, Cao Qing made up her mind, took out a piece of silk cloth, wrote a few words on it, and then sent it out through a very secret channel.

Half a day later, in a secret room underground in a mansion somewhere in Yecheng, Cao Qing's letter was delivered to the four friends hiding there.

After seeing what Cao Qing wrote in the letter, the four friends who had been ambitious to make a comeback fell silent for a moment.

Handan Chun smiled bitterly and said, "So that's how it is. In the eyes of the king, being loyal and kind is not a strength, but a weakness."

"We put in so much effort, but in fact, from the beginning, there was no chance of winning?"

Ding Yi punched the wall hard and growled, "I really can't accept this!"

"We were completely loyal to the king, but in the end, we were ignored!"

"I'm afraid the king might not have known about it when Xu Chu came to kill us that night!"

Yang Xiu and Ding Yi looked at each other with extremely grim expressions. They did not doubt the authenticity of the information sent by Cao Qing at all, but it was difficult for them to accept it for a moment. They had done a lot for the Cao family, but now they were abandoned because of the internal strife that would affect the stability of the Wei State?

Yang Xiu sighed, "It seems that the king has never believed us from the beginning to the end."

"It is normal for the Hongnong Yang family to be suspected by the king, but Minister Ding was a close minister of the king and died in Huaicheng. He worked hard and made great contributions. The king is so cold to you brothers."

Ding Yi gnashed his teeth and said, "I want to know why I have repeatedly proposed to the king to marry the princess, but was rejected every time!"

"So you think that our Ding family is weak and not as worthy of being won over as the Yingchuan faction!"

"The Yingchuan faction is powerful now and it is hard to offend them. Even if they were the first to attack, it is difficult to pursue them because we are facing external enemies. That's fine, but they turned around and gave up on us who were forced into such a situation. I really can't accept it!"

"Why should we be treated like this? Just because we are weaker than the Yingchuan faction?"

Yang Xiu sighed, "Yes, this is indeed what the king thinks."

"The number of people who support us is also a good proof for the fight for the crown prince. From this point of view, we have already lost."

"To be exact, we were defeated when we were cornered that night."

Handan Chun said, "What should we do then?"

"Are we just going to sit here and wait for death?"

Ding Yi's expression changed several times, and he suddenly said, "Why should we die?"

"I do not accept!"

Seeing this, Ding Yi said, "Should we find a way out first, and then meet the king and explain the situation?"

Yang Xiu said, "Salute, you think it's too simple."

"Not to mention that there are people from the other side outside, it's a question whether you can even walk to the gate of the palace." "And even if you can avoid the countless Yingchuan Sect's spies on the street, if you meet the king, you can be sure that the king will listen to our statement instead of letting the Yingchuan Sect accuse us and execute us directly?"

"You know, the king is no longer the same as he was a few years ago. His body can no longer support him, and he can no longer suppress the Yingchuan Sect!"

"If he wants to go against the wishes of the Yingchuan Sect and support the Fourth Young Master to take the throne, it will inevitably lead to the Second Young Master and the Yingchuan Sect becoming desperate and turning against each other!"

"Given the king's physical condition, will he still have enough deterrent power to make the Yingchuan faction obey?"

"So it is indeed as the princess said in the letter. The king now has only one choice, and that is the choice of the Yingchuan faction!"

"Accept the reality, there is nothing we can do!"

Ding Yi sat down dejectedly. "There is no way out. We will die if we go out. Are we going to be trapped here to death?"

Ding Chong saw that although Yang Xiu said this, he did not lose his composure, so he said, "Dezu, you seem to have another solution, right?"

Yang Xiu hesitated for a moment and said, "There is indeed one more option, but you may not be willing to do so."

Ding Yi said, "What's the point of being willing or not? We are lucky to have a way to survive now. How can we be picky?"

Yang Xiu said, "What if you are asked to cooperate with the enemy who killed your father?"

Ding Yi didn't react for a moment and asked in confusion: "What is Dezu talking about?"

Ding Chong seemed to be thinking about something, and his face gradually became gloomy.

Handan Chun sighed, "Now that Dezu has said this, I finally understand."

"Come to think of it, what forces in Yecheng dare to protect us, and what forces can hide from Yingchuan's search?"

Ding Yi finally figured it out. He was speechless and said, "This, this is not..."

Yang Xiu said in a deep voice: "In fact, you probably already thought of it in your heart, but you just don't want to admit it."

"Only the fierce tiger has such strength and courage."

"He certainly didn't have any good intentions in doing this. I'm afraid he wants to use us to stir up internal strife in the Cao family, so that both sides will suffer losses and he can reap the benefits."

"From this point of view, it was right for the king to give up on us."

"If we are willing to bow our heads and ask Xiong Hu for help, he will definitely provide us with an escape route, but the price is that you two brothers will have to cooperate with the enemy who killed your father. Can you accept that?"

Ding Yi was speechless. If Xiong Hu really cooperated, he would be disloyal and unfilial. If the news got out, what difference would it be like being dead?
There is an even more sensitive point. Thinking of this, Ding Yi secretly looked at Ding Yi and found that the man's face was gloomy, as if he would collapse at any time.

Ding Yi naturally knew what his brother was thinking. Ever since he met Cao Qing, he had been so fascinated by her that he had lost his appetite. But at the same time, there was a thorn in Ding Yi's heart, which was Cao Qing's experience of being captured.

You should know that after Cao Qing and Madam Ding were captured by the Jin army in Yuzhou, they were sent to Shouchun where the evil tiger was. Almost everyone in Yecheng knew about this experience.

And given the rumor that Xionghu is lustful, it is almost impossible for a woman of Cao Qing's status and appearance to escape unscathed when she falls into Xionghu's hands, so Cao Qing's marriage has always been full of twists and turns.

Ding Yi naturally knew this, but he was obsessed with Cao Qing's appearance. No matter what he thought in his heart, at least he accepted this fact on the surface. Ding Yi was also very tactful and did not expose the scar in his brother's heart.

But Yang Xiu's words might have touched Ding Yi's heart again. Cao Qing naturally had no ability to rescue the four friends. There was only one possibility, that is, Cao Qing used the secret spy force of Xionghu.

This blatantly posed a question to Ding Yi: In what capacity did Cao Qing work for Xionghu?

The more Ding Yi thought about it, the more chest tightness he felt, and even some images that were not suitable for children appeared in his mind. He felt a green light begin to flash on his head, and he almost couldn't breathe and started coughing loudly.

Ding Yi hurried over to give Ding Yi a back massage. After a long while, Ding Yi finally calmed down. He looked at Ding Yi with gratitude, thinking that the most reliable person is still his own brother.

He thought for a moment, and finally turned around and said to Yang Xiu: "Ancestor De, the Yang family also had conflicts with the evil tiger, didn't they?"

"The marriage between the Yang family and the Ma family was also ruined by the evil tiger, right?"

"With Dezu's ability, I'm afraid he has already figured out that our forces are under the control of Xionghu. I want to ask, what does Dezu think?"

(End of this chapter)