With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 271, Sima Yi was terrified.

The paper reads:
"Sima Yi, your feigned illness is infuriating. Some people have advised me to immediately execute you and make this public. If I were to do so, would you be satisfied?"

"what?"

Sima Yi was stunned and turned pale. The usually intelligent man was now completely blank and had no idea what to do.

Despite not having eaten all day, Sima Yi felt no hunger at all. Once his feigned illness was made public, Sima Yi would be finished, and it might even implicate his family.

Sima Yi was utterly despondent and filled with remorse. After a while, he went to the door and shouted loudly, "I want to see His Majesty. I beg you."

Sima Yi's voice was trembling, and it even sounded like he was about to cry.

Wang Kui snorted, "Wait here."

Wang Kui went to the palace, and Sima Yi waited anxiously for a long time before Wang Kui returned.

Wang Kui said to him indifferently, "You have angered the Emperor, and he does not want to see you right now."

Sima Yi was terrified and each day felt like an eternity. Even when food was brought to him, he had no appetite and watched as he grew thinner and thinner day by day.

Liu Xie continued to attend court and practice swordsmanship as usual, spending the rest of his time wandering around. As an emperor, he disliked staying in the palace all the time.

One day, Liu Xie was riding horses with Zhao Yun in the suburbs when suddenly an eagle flew overhead. The eagle swooped down and circled around, lingering there as if it were challenging them.

Zhao Yun looked up a few times and felt that the eagle was in the way, so he said, "Your Majesty, should we shoot it down?"

Liu Xie estimated the altitude; the distance wasn't short, approximately 150 meters.

"Zilong, if you have confidence, you might as well give it a try."

The accompanying guards also became excited. At such a distance, with the eagle constantly moving, hitting the target would be extremely difficult.

Zhao Yun remained calm and composed, took a bow from a guard beside him, first pulled the bowstring to test its strength, and then decisively drew back the bowstring, aiming at the eagle circling in the sky.

Everyone watched intently, holding their breath. Zhao Yun took a breath and swiftly shot the arrow, his movements decisive and swift, without any hesitation.

The arrow pierced the air as it flew towards the eagle. The eagle seemed to sense the danger and flapped its wings to try to dodge, but Zhao Yun's arrow was simply too fast.

With a soft thud, an arrow struck the eagle in the neck. After flapping its wings a few times, the eagle fell limply to the ground.

"Excellent, General Zhao, you are a master archer!"

Zhao Yun showed off his skills, which drew cheers and applause.

Liu Xie's gaze fell on the eagle that had fallen to the ground, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him; he thought of training the eagle.

What he's doing to Sima Yi now is like training a hawk to a hard time.

The more afraid and anxious Sima Yi became, the less eager Liu Xie was to see him.

It made him unable to eat or sleep, and he lived in fear and anxiety all day long.

"Your Majesty, news has just arrived that Zhong Yao has led a large army to besiege Pingyang City." Jia Xu rushed to deliver the message after receiving it.

Liu Xie nodded slightly. "If Cao Cao does not send troops to Pingyang, I will personally send troops."

Jia Xu said, "Yes, that's what I thought at first too. No matter what we do, we must have a legitimate reason for it. We can't just send our troops over without a cause."

If Liu Xie were to send troops directly there, there would be no justifiable reason, and sending troops would certainly make Cao Cao uneasy.

Jia Xu continued, "Whether we send troops or Cao Cao sends troops, the Southern Xiongnu cannot resist. It's just a pity to miss such a good opportunity. If we had the chance to send troops and take Pingyang, we could have stationed troops in Hedong for a long time, thus creating a huge constraint on Cao Cao."

Liu Xie waved his hand, "It's alright. Since Cao Cao is willing to send troops to deal with the Southern Xiongnu, let's leave it to him."

Suddenly remembering something, Liu Xie asked, "By the way, how's it going in Changsha?"

Jia Xu smiled and nodded, "Gan Ning would naturally not dare to neglect His Majesty's instructions. Although he initially provoked Huang Zhong and the two fought, they are getting along well now, and Huang Zhong has agreed to assist His Majesty."

"Okay! That's great!"

Liu Xie rubbed his hands together excitedly and paced back and forth a few steps.

Huang Zhong was one of the Five Tiger Generals. Even at the age of seventy, he could still cleave Xiahou Yuan in two with his sword. Liu Xie naturally couldn't miss such a fierce general.

Liu Xie instructed, "Tell Gan Ning not to be negligent and to have them join hands and defend Changsha together."

People are in high spirits when they have good news, so Liu Xie immediately took Jia Xu and Zhao Yun to Hongyun Restaurant.

Come here and feel right at home; there's no need to be polite.

Where is Wang Yi?

After a while, Liu Xie felt that something was missing, and suddenly remembered Wang Cai's son.

Wang Cai hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, he has gone hunting."

"Hunting? Does he like hunting?" Liu Xie asked.

Wang Cai shook his head. "He has never liked hunting since he was a child, but ever since he met His Majesty, he has bought a bow and arrow and goes out of the city to hunt from time to time. Sometimes he comes back very late, and sometimes he only comes back once every few days."

"..."

Liu Xie frowned, wondering if his words had offended him.

Just then, a waiter came running with a message. As soon as he saw Wang Cai, he said in a panic, "Manager, something bad has happened! The young master is injured and has just been carried back."

Wang Cai only had this one son, and his heart immediately sank. Liu Xie waved his hand, "Go on, you don't need to serve here anymore."

Wang Cai apologized and left. When he arrived at the backyard, he saw that his son's chest was covered in blood, his clothes were torn, and there were several claw marks on his face. Wang Cai hurriedly asked what had happened.

Wang Yi didn't say much, but he snorted angrily, "I ran into a bear today, we fought, and I was no match for it."

A companion nearby said with lingering fear, "Wang Yi was too brave. We all told him to run away, but he wouldn't. He insisted on fighting the bear and almost lost his life."

Wang Cai was both surprised and angry, and couldn't help but say, "How many times have I told you to be careful when hunting? If you encounter tigers, leopards, wolves, or jackals, you should avoid them if you can. Why are you showing off?"

Wang Yi remained defiant. "I want to join the army. His Majesty said last time that if you want to join the army, you can't be cowardly and afraid of death. I must prove that I have courage and guts!"

"well said!"

Liu Xie walked over with a smile. He had been waiting in the house for a while, but he was still a little worried, so he came over out of curiosity to take a look.

"Greetings to Your Majesty."

Upon seeing the emperor, Wang Yi was extremely excited and hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects. Liu Xie walked up to him and pulled him to his feet. "Wang Yi," he said, "I praise you because you have impressed me greatly. You are much bolder than when we last met, but..."

The conversation shifted abruptly, and Liu Xie's expression darkened.

"Knowing you're no match for them, yet you act recklessly and don't know how to adapt. That's not something to be praised. If you were eaten by a wild bear today, do you think anyone would still admire you?"

"This?" Liu Xie's words left Wang Yi speechless.

After a while, he scratched his head and asked, "Does encountering a powerful enemy necessarily mean we have to avoid it?"

Liu Xie sighed, "In life, there are things you should do and things you shouldn't do. You have to learn to be flexible. For example, when you need to protect your family, no matter how strong the enemy is, you can't retreat even if you die."

Wang Yi thought about it and seemed to understand something.

"Your Majesty, I only want to hone my courage through hunting. I want to join the army!" Wang Yi raised his head again, his gaze becoming unusually firm.

Liu Xie turned to look at Wang Cai. Wang Cai seemed hesitant, but deep down, he was also proud of his son's stubbornness.

Liu Xie pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I agree. Once you've recovered from your injuries, go to the barracks and enlist. Remember, whether you can establish yourself in the army in the future depends on yourself. I won't give you any special treatment."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Wang Yi was thrilled and grinned foolishly, while Wang Cai frowned slightly.

Liu Xie walked over and said to Wang Cai, "Since he wants to join the army and has been so insistent on it, let him give it a try. Otherwise, even if you force him to stay by your side, his heart won't be in it."

Wang Cai nodded. "Your Majesty is absolutely right. These days, he's been running around outside the city all the time, and we can't see him for a day or two. Sigh... we can only let him be."

Liu Xie patted Wang Cai's shoulder twice and gave him a reassuring look.

Jia Xu saw all of this. The emperor said he wouldn't take care of Wang Yi, but how could that be?
The reason for saying this is to encourage Wang Yi to work hard on his own. If he is told that he can be taken care of, he will inevitably become arrogant and complacent, which will only harm him.

However, considering Wang Cai's relationship with him, he will definitely take care of him appropriately when necessary.

Wang Cai understood immediately and nodded vigorously.

After leaving the restaurant, Liu Xie said to Jia Xu and Zhao Yun, "It's about time. Let's go and see Sima Yi."

Not to mention Sima Yi, who was suffering day and night, Zhang Chunhua and Sima Fu were also constantly on edge, terrified and uneasy.

Upon seeing the emperor, the two knelt on the ground, prostrated themselves in apology, and kowtowed repeatedly, like chickens pecking at rice.

"Your Majesty, spare my life!"

Liu Xie waved his hand, "Get up."

After saying this, Liu Xie went straight to Sima Yi's room. When Wang Kui opened the door and looked inside, Liu Xie almost didn't recognize him.

Sima Yi was so thin he was almost unrecognizable, his face was deathly pale, and his cheekbones were showing.

Although food was delivered to him by special personnel these past few days, Sima Yi hardly touched it. For several days in a row, even a man of iron would have a hard time enduring it.

His face no longer held its former confidence and composure; he was curled up in the corner, his eyes closed, as if he were dead.

"Sima Yi, His Majesty has arrived!"

Wang Kui strode over and shouted.

Sima Yi suddenly jolted awake, opened his eyes, and looked at the emperor. He instantly came to life and hurriedly crawled forward a few steps to the emperor's side.

"Your Majesty, spare me! I know I was wrong. I only beg Your Majesty to show leniency and give me a chance to repent."

He was imprisoned for ten days. During these days, Sima Yi suffered both mentally and physically. It would not be difficult for the emperor to kill him or even punish the entire Sima family.

Sima Yi had no hope of escaping unscathed; he could only bow his head unconditionally and pray for his life.

Seeing that the time was right, Liu Xie said, "Sima Yi, whether you are deceiving the Prime Minister or me by feigning illness, it is an unforgivable crime punishable by death. However, considering that the Sima family is a family of meritorious officials, your elder brother is serving the court, your father once served as the Northern Commandant of Luoyang, and your family name is also bestowed by the court, I will spare your life this time, and this matter will not be made public."

Sima Yi kowtowed again, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty. Sima Yi will certainly reflect on his actions in the future and be loyal to the country and Your Majesty!"

Having narrowly escaped death and preserved his reputation, Sima Yi hurriedly pledged his loyalty.

He had previously wanted to wait and see, but after this incident, he immediately gave up the idea of ​​following Cao Cao.

Liu Xie nodded. "Alright, you can stay here. In a few days, I will announce to the public that your illness has been cured and that you cannot go anywhere now."

Many people know that he has been ill, and if he suddenly recovers, it will inevitably arouse suspicion.

The emperor's willingness to keep it a secret was a tremendous favor to Sima Yi.

If someone gives you a favor, you should accept it!

If someone offers you a way out, you should accept it!

"Alright, take good care of yourself. I don't want you to look like this when I see you again."

Sima Yi nodded quickly, and Liu Xie did not linger any longer, turning around and leaving.

No sooner had he left than Sima Yi picked up the lunchbox on the ground, hurriedly opened it, and without even looking at it closely, grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth.

He was spared the death penalty and his reputation was preserved, and he breathed a sigh of relief!

…………

After Liu Qi fell ill, Liu Bei frequently visited him and would often offer words of comfort and concern.

Liu Bei told him that when spring arrives, flowers bloom, and all things revive, and the weather improves, his condition will gradually recover.

Liu Qi initially thought so too, but things took an unexpected turn.

His condition worsened, and in just a few months, he was on the verge of death, unable to get out of bed, and needed someone to take care of him in every way, from eating and drinking to using the toilet.

On this day, Madam Cai came to visit. Liu Qi struggled to sit up, and even such a simple action required someone's help.

Madam Cai waved her hand at him, "No need for formalities, we're all family."

Madam Cai was also startled by Liu Qi's appearance. Last time, when she handed over the prescription, she didn't know exactly who it was for.

Because she wasn't close to Liu Qi to begin with, Madam Cai had never come to visit him. But at this moment, seeing Liu Qi pale, weak, and trembling, Madam Cai was suddenly startled.

He looked exactly like Liu Biao, sickly and as if he were about to die at any moment.

(End of this chapter)