Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Several henchmen rushed forward, grabbed He Lian's arm, pinched her chin, and were about to pour the poisoned wine into her mouth!

Liu Bian burst into tears, Tang struggled desperately, and He Lian closed her eyes in despair... A thought flashed through her mind: Liu Ce... where are you...?

At this critical moment!

"Clang... Crack!!!"

The broken door to the courtyard was kicked open!

Wood chips flew everywhere, and fragments covered Li Ru's men's heads and faces!

A group of men dressed in black armor and with curved swords at their waists rushed in!

Each of them had sharp eyes and moved as fast as lightning. With a flash of their blades, Li Ru's men were knocked to the ground and pinned down!

The leader was a burly man, his face covered with a black cloth, holding a sword at the ready. He roared, and the sound made everyone's ears ring:

"By order of the Prince of Yan! The Empress Dowager and the Prince of Hongnong are the closest relatives of the Han Dynasty. Anyone who dares to lay a finger on them will be killed...without...pardon!"

Li Ru was stunned, frozen in place: "Yan...Yan King Liu Ce's men? How come they're in Luoyang?!"

No one answered him.

One of the Imperial Guards raised his hand and slapped him across the face, making him spin around three times.

Another person kicked him in the back of the knee, and Li Ru fell to his knees with a thud, his knee hitting the blue bricks, wincing in pain.

The flask of poisoned wine was kicked over, spilling onto the ground.

Just as Li Ru was about to draw his sword to fight back, the leader of the Imperial Guards slammed a scabbard into his face with his backhand. "Smack!" Blood spurted out from his nose on the spot, and Li Ru fell face-first into the mud, lying on the ground groaning and unable to get up.

From the moment Li Ru entered the room to the moment the Imperial Guards came to the rescue, it took no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

He Lian, Liu Bian, and Tang Shi stood there, their eyes wide, unable to believe what was happening before their eyes.

Just a moment ago we were on the verge of death, and now...

The leader knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a salute, and said in a respectful yet efficient tone:

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, and Princess Consort, you have been frightened! I am a squad leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard under the command of the Prince of Yan. I have been lying in wait in Luoyang for a long time on the orders of my lord, specifically to protect the three of you! I arrived a moment too late, causing you such distress; I deserve death!"

He Lian's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.

She pulled Liu Bian into her arms, then grabbed Tang's hand, her lips trembling, and it took her a long time to speak:

"Prince Yan... Liu Ce... Bian'er, quickly... quickly thank your royal uncle for saving our lives! It was your royal uncle who saved the lives of us three!"

Although Liu Bian was trembling with fear, tears welled up in his eyes again upon hearing these words, and he kept murmuring, "Uncle... it was Uncle who came to save me... Uncle hasn't forgotten me..."

The leader of the Imperial Guards stood up, glanced around the room, and quickly ordered, "Brothers, clean up the mess! Tie these guys up like dumplings and throw them in the corner, don't make a sound! Empress Dowager, Your Highness, Princess Consort, please follow me through the secret passage, there's no time to lose!"

Several Imperial Guards quickly tied Li Ru and his men up, stuffed rags into their mouths, and threw them into a corner.

Li Ru lay on the ground, his face smeared with blood from his nose, and could only watch helplessly as He Lianniang and her two companions were protected by the Imperial Guards and disappeared without a trace.

When Dong Zhuo received the news, he was so angry that he overturned the table and sent men to chase after them. However, He Lian and his party had already left Luoyang, changed into carriages, and were galloping towards Youzhou.

Dong Zhuo didn't get a single hair!

...

Prime Minister's Mansion.

Dong Zhuo was eating grapes when he heard a report that He Lianniang and her two children had been rescued. He flew into a rage and overturned the table!

"What?! They were rescued?! Who did this?!"

"They are...the men of Liu Ce, the Prince of Yan..."

Dong Zhuo's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Liu Ce? He's in Luoyang!"

"According to investigation, it's the Embroidered Uniform Guard... who had been infiltrating Luoyang for some time..."

Then... Dong Zhuo flew into a rage and smashed everything he could in the room.

Vases, teacups, inkstones, writing brushes, memorials, screens... all shattered on the floor with a crash, and several maids huddled in a corner, trembling with fear.

"Liu Ce! Prince Liu Ce of Yan! That bastard!" Dong Zhuo roared, his face flushed and neck bulging, making the roof tiles tremble. "He ruined my plans! He ruined my grand scheme! I'll kill him! I'll raze his Youzhou to the ground! I'll tear him to pieces!"

Li Ru stood to one side, his nose stuffed with two wads of cloth, his face bruised and battered, wincing in pain, yet he still had to grit his teeth and offer his advice:

"My lord, please calm down... my lord, please calm down..."

"Calm down my ass!" Dong Zhuo kicked over a flower stand. "I, Dong Zhuo, have dominated Xiliang for ten years and have never suffered such a loss! What is Liu Ce? A mere brat who dares to ruin my plans?!"

Li Ru wiped his sweat and said cautiously, "My lord, that... inexperienced brat just crushed the Xianbei royal court and destroyed Goguryeo a few years ago, and even performed the Fenglangjuxu ceremony..."

Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo choked.

Li Ru continued, "He also controls the three provinces of Youzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou, with a large army, mountains of grain, hundreds of thousands of warhorses, and a multitude of fierce generals under his command, including Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Dian Wei, Yuwen Chengdu..."

Dong Zhuo choked again.

Li Ru earnestly advised, "My lord, we really can't defeat him right now."

Dong Zhuo's fat face twitched twice.

Of course he knew how formidable Liu Ce was... He, a soldier from Xiliang, was only good at bullying ordinary people, but fighting against Liu Ce's "regular army"? Wasn't that like an egg hitting a rock?

Dong Zhuo's face turned a deep purplish-red. After holding it in for a long time, he plopped down on the couch, panting heavily, and said in a voice half-deaf, "I...of course I know! I was just venting and cursing him! Anyway, he can't hear me!"

Li Ru's lips twitched. "My lord, the way you were shouting just now could be heard all over the next street."

Li Ru said expressionlessly, "My lord is wise."

Then, Dong Zhuo continued cursing, "Liu Ce, you bastard! You stole my people! You ruined my plans! You just wait! Sooner or later..."

He cursed for a full fifteen minutes until his mouth was dry, then he stopped to drink some tea.

Dong Zhuo grumbled and cursed for a while, then suddenly an idea struck him, and his eyes lit up: "That's it! Let's use His Majesty's name to abolish Ji Province and Bing Province for him! Then he'll only have You Province left, right? Let's see how long he can keep jumping around!"

Li Ru thought to himself, speechless: Okay...it really is okay.

...

...

...

(The Embroidered Uniform Guard is hidden within the Luoyang Imperial Palace, with 100 guards at the palace gates, 120 patrolmen, and 50 emergency guards. For a detailed breakdown of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's roles, please refer to Chapter 154.)