Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1257 Last Will
Yuan Xi saw the food box wrapped in cotton pads placed next to Xiao Qiao and realized that it was time to eat, so he said, "Is it your turn to deliver food today?"

Xiao Qiao held her forehead and said with lingering fear: "My husband is talking normally, so I feel relieved. I called my husband twice just now, but he didn't answer. I was almost scared to death."

She seemed to have thought of something, and her face darkened. Yuan Xi sensed that she was worried and thought that she was afraid of the cold these days, so he said, "When the weather is cold, people tend to doze off. Many people have frozen to death this way."

"At least we have a house and quilts here, which is much better. Now that the siege of Jicheng has been lifted, we can burn charcoal and make a fire tomorrow."

Xiao Qiao shook her head and buried her head in Yuan Xi's arms. Seeing this, Yuan Xi pulled Xiao Qiao to the couch, wrapped them both in a blanket, and said with a smile, "You must have been freezing these days. Will this make you warmer?"

Xiao Qiao closed her eyes and snuggled into Yuan Xi's arms, whispering, "This reminds me of the time when I was with the envoy in Shouchun."

"It's been a few years."

Yuan Xi reached out his hand, scratched Xiao Qiao's nose, and said, "Why, the carefree Xiao Qiao also has times of sadness?"

"What were you thinking about just now?"

Xiao Qiao knew that Yuan Xi had noticed her, so she hesitated for a moment and said, "I was just thinking about Madam Kong."

"After I came to Jicheng, I found myself to be about the same age as Madam Kong, so we have gotten along quite well in the past two years."

"But I didn't expect her illness to be so serious. Especially after giving birth, her body visibly collapsed."

"One day, I went to talk to her, but she didn't respond and just lay quietly on the bed."

"She, she has been looking forward to seeing her husband."

Xiao Qiao sobbed, and Yuan Xi closed his eyes in pain, "I'm sorry for her"

"Everyone is going to die, she just left a little earlier."

Xiao Qiao said, "Husband, don't you believe in reincarnation?"

After hearing this, Yuan Xi sighed, "Who knows?"

"If anything, I hope she's been reincarnated."

"If not, it might be possible to meet her again."

His voice lowered, then gradually became firm, "But I can't go find her now."

"There are still many things waiting for me to do in the world. I can't leave yet."

"When we come to this world, we should cherish every day and live as long as possible. I hope you do the same."

Xiao Qiao shrank back and moved closer to Yuan Xi's arms. "I also hope that my husband can live a long life. I am willing to live a few years less."

Yuan Xi reached out his hand and hugged Xiao Qiao tighter, "The dead are gone, and the living are like this."

“Don’t forget the dead, and live every day with hope.”

"After we pacify the Xianbei, let's go back to Shouchun."

Xiao Qiao was skeptical, "My husband is lying again."

"After defeating the Xianbei, there is still the Wei Kingdom. After defeating the Wei Kingdom, there is still the Wu Kingdom. No matter how stupid I am, I know that the world cannot be pacified in just a few years."

"My husband, you don't have to be perfunctory with me. Just concentrate on fighting outside and do what you want to do. No matter how many years it takes, I will wait for you to come back."

"I believe the other ladies think the same way. We all have only one common wish, which is for our husbands to be safe."

Yuan Xi was touched and hugged Xiao Qiao tightly, saying, "I promise you, I will come back soon."

At the same time in Xudu, Cao Cao struggled to stand up. He stretched out his trembling hands and pulled out a silk book from the secret compartment under the pillow.

He slowly unfolded it. There were several lines of words on it, but there were two types of handwriting.

Because this was originally written by two people.

Lady Bian and Cao Ang.

This letter was delivered to him not long ago. Calculating the time, it should have been after Yuan Xi captured Yecheng.

Now that the overall situation in the Central Plains has been determined, Cao Cao does not think that Yuan Xi will threaten or attack him on this matter. Sending this letter at this time seems more like a kind of pity and charity.

If it were a few years ago, Cao Cao would certainly be furious and would have mobilized all his soldiers to fight the ferocious tiger to the death.

But with hundreds of battles of all sizes over the years, Cao Cao's fighting spirit had long been worn away. In his dying moments, Cao Cao had to admit that he was defeated in the end.

As for whether the successors of the Cao family can keep the foundation they have laid, Cao Cao has no confidence. He will leave these matters to the people after him. Headaches came one after another, and Cao Cao's eyes went dark. He clenched his teeth, almost breaking them. He trembled and squeezed the letter in his hand. Under the stimulation of pain, his fingers were so strong that they made a creaking sound, as if his finger bones would break at any time.

Cao Cao endured the pain and did not make a sound. After an unknown amount of time, the light slowly returned to his eyes.

He looked around, and because he liked to kill people in his dreams, the maids didn't dare to approach him when he was asleep, especially when he was dying. Who would dare to risk losing their head and come over?

Cao Cao should have been very pleased about this. What he wanted was for everyone to be afraid of him and stay away from him. He did not need anyone's pity or trust. In his life, he only believed in himself!

But somehow, as he looked at the empty house, he suddenly felt a sense of loneliness he had never felt before. He was immediately horrified and wondered what was happening to him. Was he going to die soon?
He stretched out his hand tremblingly, and the silk book in his hand had become a wrinkled ball. He unfolded the silk book with trembling hands and looked at the familiar handwriting again.

He has read this letter no less than a hundred times, and it has become his greatest comfort now.

The first part is Cao Ang's words, saying that he and Xionghu have reached a gentleman's agreement and decided never to return to the Cao family, but also not to be an enemy of the Cao family, so Korea is his best destination. He has married at the order of Madam Ding and just gave birth to a boy a while ago.

Cao Ang had learned that Cao Cao was ill, but was unable to fulfill his filial duties by his bedside. He asked Cao Cao to forgive his unfilial behavior and expressed his sympathy and hope that Cao Cao would be in good health.

As Cao Cao watched, his eyes seemed to be fascinated by the lamp ash, and he subconsciously raised his sleeves to cover his face.

After a long time, Cao Cao put down his sleeves again and looked at the next few sentences.

This was written by Mrs. Ding. The tone was very flat, just like Mrs. Ding's stubborn temper that never changed. There was not a word to comfort Cao Cao. She only said that she lived alone in a room in Jicheng and no one disturbed her. She was very satisfied with this kind of life and was ready to live out her life like this.

Cao Cao held the silk book in his palm, and the scene of his marriage with Madam Ding when he was young emerged in front of his eyes. How many years ago was that?
Thirty years, or forty years?
He suddenly lowered his head, covered his face with silk cloth, and let out an unwilling growl from his throat.

After a long time, Cao Cao finally raised his head again. He closed his eyes in pain and sighed to the sky: "Retribution, retribution."

"I betrayed Yuan Benchu, so did God let his son take revenge on me in the same way?"

He croaked, "But I'm not wrong!"

"I have no other choice. There is only one way to go. Yuan Benchu ​​is also a man who will kill the donkey after he has done his work. He will treat me the same way he treated Han Fu, Zhang Miao and Lu Bu. I just took the initiative!"

"I am not wrong!"

"I just lost!"

There were hurried footsteps. It was Madam Bian who was on duty in the outer room. She heard the noise and rushed over. She pushed open the door and saw Cao Cao sitting on the couch. She hurriedly asked, "Is there anything wrong, my king?"

Cao Cao felt the strength in his body draining away rapidly. He tried to support himself with his hands and said, "Call Xiahou Dun, Cao Hong, Cao Ren, Chen Qun, Dong Zhao, and Sima Yi."

He paused for a moment and said, "Ask Zihuan and Zijian to come over as well."

Soon after Xiahou Dun and the other six received the news, they rushed to the palace and waited in the outer room.

They thought there would be someone else coming, but Madam Bian came out and said, "The King wants you to go in."

Xiahou Dun and others were extremely surprised, because from this formation, it was obvious that Cao Cao was going to leave his last words, but the person he chose seemed different from what everyone had imagined before!
It would be fine if it were just the internal relatives such as the Cao and Xiahou families, but the three external officials really surprised everyone, because the leaders of the Yingchuan faction, Zhong Yao and Xun You, were not there!
What is even more incredible is how Dong Zhao, who had not previously appeared on any list of Cao Wei officials' speculation, took this crucial step?

Everyone knew that Dong Zhao and Zhong Yao had always been at odds with each other. The two of them were the leaders in submitting a petition to Cao Cao to be crowned king, so it was normal for them to have some competition. But it was quite intriguing that Dong Zhao suddenly walked ahead of Zhong Yao. Did Zhong Yao commit some big taboo?
But now the six of them had no time to think about it. They were led in by Madam Bian. Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were already kneeling and waiting at the door.

As soon as everyone entered the room, they saw Cao Cao sitting on the edge of the couch, looking at them with his eyes open.

At this moment, everyone felt that Cao Cao was looking at them, and they bowed their heads and said, "Greetings, sir."

Cao Cao said slowly: "I will not live long."

Everyone spoke up immediately, saying that Cao Cao would live a long life and that his condition would definitely get better. Cao Cao snorted, and everyone immediately fell silent.

Cao Cao said, "Now the survival of Wei is at stake, and I am powerless. From now on, I will rely on you to assist Zihuan."

Everyone bowed their heads and accepted the order. Cao Cao called Cao Pi forward and said, "Everyone present here is the pillar of the Wei State. You should be harmonious with your brothers and support the great cause of the Wei State."

Cao Pi quickly agreed. He lowered his head, but his heart was filled with ecstasy. It finally worked!

Cao Cao began to explain everything to everyone one by one, and everyone agreed in turn. From military affairs to internal affairs, it took Cao Cao half an hour to finish.

Finally, he instructed Mrs. Bian about the placement of the women in the inner house and asked them to return home. Mrs. Bian quickly agreed.

Cao Cao began to lose strength as he spoke, and his body began to tremble slightly. At that time, everyone lowered their heads and did not notice Cao Cao's abnormality. However, Cao Cao felt that his vision was slowly getting darker.

He reluctantly raised his head and stared at Dong Zhao's back. After hesitating for a moment, an inexplicable murderous intent suddenly surged in his eyes.

He was about to speak when his eyes suddenly dimmed, his body lost strength, and he fell back heavily on the couch.

Everyone was shocked and rushed to help Cao Cao lie down, only to see that Cao Cao was drooling and was already dying.

(End of this chapter)