The Three Great Han Dynasties: Awaken Liu Bei with a scolding; you weave mats and sell sandals.

Chapter 160 Liu Bei's Final Choice

"Second brother, I had no choice."

Empress Dowager He muttered to herself, utterly at a loss and filled with helplessness. She could only turn her gaze to Liu Bian beside her.

Unfortunately, Liu Bian is still just a child and doesn't want to get involved in these adult matters at all. It's really difficult for him to make the decisions.

"Bian'er, when will you grow up? When will you be able to share your mother's burdens?"

Liu Bian ignored him, silently got up, and went straight to the side to continue playing.

He also clearly had a good understanding of his own limitations.

His mother spoke very kindly on the surface, but in reality, if she were to actually relinquish the power she had so hard-won and was about to gain to rule from behind the curtain, she would probably be the first to refuse.

"Bian'er, don't you understand your mother's good intentions?"

Empress Dowager He continued.

Liu Bian replied softly, "As long as Mother is here, I am content. As for the future, I really can't see any prospects."

In the following two weeks, two more auspicious days were chosen, and Liu Hong took Liu Bei to meet the women from the Yang and Wang families.

After meeting all the women, it was time to make a decision.

Liu Hong glanced over indifferently. Now that Liu Bei had been asked to choose one of them, he absolutely could not refuse, otherwise it would be very undignified and inappropriate.

"She's still a daughter of the Yuan family."

Inside the inner court of the Duke of Weining's mansion, Liu Bei looked at the three portraits in front of him, feeling both amused and exasperated, before finally speaking slowly.

In his heart, these three women were all equal, but since he had to choose one, he might as well choose the one who would be of the greatest help to the family, which would also fulfill his desire to protect her.

"What do you think, Madam?"

Liu Hong looked at Wu Shi beside him.

After thinking about it for a moment, Madam Wu nodded slightly: "Then it will be Yuan's daughter. I think she will be a pretty good daughter-in-law when she comes to this family."

So the matter was settled fairly well, and everyone was happy.

Just as Liu Bei was about to turn and leave, Liu Hong called him back immediately: "Now that the marriage is arranged, you should not go out so often."

There are various etiquette procedures, and you have to remember the ones that are necessary.

And remember this: Once you marry this woman from the Yuan family, you must treat her as your own wife. Never be fickle or neglect her.

Now the two families are united by marriage.

From then on, they would be as close as lips and teeth, and as related by marriage.

I have said all the things that needed to be said, and all that I, as a father, should say.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei bowed again, nodded in agreement, and only after receiving Liu Hong's approval did he slowly depart.

Liu Hong was temporarily relieved, and he only hoped that the other party could continue to make him feel this way.

As soon as Liu Bei left the Duke of Weining's mansion, he casually beckoned to his friends, and almost all the younger generation gathered around. Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, and others were all determined not to miss such a great opportunity.

"Let's go to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and have a good drink, otherwise all the grievances we've suffered these past few days will have been for nothing."

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"Of course, if my brother says we should drink, then we should certainly have a good drink."

Everyone chimed in, readily agreeing.

It's not hard to see.

The bond between them was extremely strong.

Liu Hong was quite pleased to see this.

Having just settled Liu Bei here, Liu Hong looked at Tong Yuan, Shi A, and the other wandering knights in front of him at the Weining Duke's mansion's training ground and slowly spoke.

Before they could speak, Liu Hong had already guessed their thoughts, and he waved his hand and replied, "If you only want to be recommended for official positions based on filial piety and integrity, I have already made arrangements for you to enter the officialdom."

"However, we must start from the bottom. Shi A and Tong Yuan, you two, master and disciple, will start as clerks."

"We can decide what to do next now; there's still time to make adjustments. If we delay any longer, even I, the Duke of Weining, will find it difficult to continue to intervene."

Liu Hong spoke first, naturally laying out these unpleasant words upfront.

Tong Yuan and his apprentice Shi A exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with excitement, and they both responded first, "Thank you, General."

Liu Hong nodded frequently as he listened to their words.

As they departed, some of the wandering knights seized the opportunity to continue their mission and headed straight for Liu Bei's side.

At least for the time being, it is absolutely impossible to let him run wild.

This marriage involved a union between two powerful clans, and Liu Hong was determined to kill him, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.

Not long after Liu Hong made these arrangements, Zhang Rang from the palace arrived. Judging from his gloomy face and bitter smile, the situation did not seem to be very good.

"Master Zhang, what has happened?"

Liu Hong asked, leading him to the front hall, and then asked again.

Zhang Rang, with a bitter expression on his face, felt somewhat embarrassed by Liu Hong's enthusiastic hospitality. He then said, "It's not because of the empress in the palace, but because General Xuande is about to marry Lady Yuan."

She was quite anxious, afraid of making even the slightest mistake, so she came here hoping to ask the General if she could marry Lady Liu and place her by his side.

Upon hearing this, even Liu Hong was momentarily stunned, and couldn't help but admire the Empress Dowager's quick thinking; she really knew how to come up with ideas at this critical juncture.

The Liu family of Youzhou intended to form a marriage alliance with the Yuan and Yang families, but the other party unexpectedly pulled a complete reversal, trying to win over a Liu family woman directly, which left everyone speechless.

What exactly is the purpose of the Liu family of Youzhou's actions? Can't the other side see through it?

Trying to stop it in this way is simply ridiculous.

Throughout history, dynasties have undergone earth-shaking changes, and even clans could never be so easily shaken.

Liu Hong was speechless for a moment, and suddenly understood why Zhang Rang's expression was so unpleasant when he first arrived.

"Please forgive me, Lord Liu, for this matter. It is not that I have failed in my duties, but I have no other choice. Who could possibly know about such a matter?"

Please forgive me, Mr. Liu.

Zhang Rang continued to smile wryly.

Liu Hong waved his hand to indicate that it was alright, and then spoke directly: "Lord Zhang is joking. Today, Lord Zhang has come and was able to explain the purpose of this palace. I already know Lord Zhang's good intentions. How could you be such an ignorant person?"

Liu Hong smiled slightly, then waved his hand. Immediately, a servant brought over a hundred taels of gold and placed it directly in front of Zhang Rang, which clearly showed Liu Hong's intentions.

"General, this is far too kind."

Zhang Rang quickly declined.

Liu Hong waved his hand, indicating that these were nothing at all: "They are just some small tokens of our appreciation. If an envoy comes to my Weining Duke's Mansion and we don't even offer a little bit of respect, wouldn't we be ridiculed by the world?"

Please accept this, Mr. Zhang, so that our two families can maintain our good relationship.

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