"I wonder what news there is this time."
In the study, Yuan Shao opened the secret letter Liu Xie had sent him, unfolded it, and began reading.
But this time, the first words that met his eyes were not the familiar greeting, "May these words be as meeting face-to-face; may opening this letter bring you a smile." Instead, they were words that made his hair stand on end.
[Grand General, my identity has been exposed.]
"What?!"
The instant he saw those words, Yuan Shao's expression changed. Unimaginable panic and fear swept through him, and the letter slipped from his hand to the floor.
But he had no attention to spare for that.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
He was finished!
Liu Xie's identity being exposed meant that his installation of a false Son of Heaven had also come to light. He would become the target of every arrow, the target of punitive campaigns by lords across the realm!
Just like Dong Zhuo back then!
No, his plight would be even more terrible than Dong Zhuo's!
"How could... how is this possible! How could his identity have been exposed? He clearly fooled so many people-even Kong Rong couldn't tell!"
"How could he have been exposed!"
Yuan Shao's face was deathly pale. He could not accept this fact.
His entire life even began flashing before his eyes: from first showing his mettle in his youth, to scheming to have He Jin summon Dong Zhuo to the capital, to gaining instant fame by angrily denouncing Dong Zhuo at the Imperial Court, and finally to his glorious moment leading the Eighteen Route Lords against Dong Zhuo.
Then he had subdued the three provinces of Ji, Qing, and Bing, laying his foundations and becoming foremost among the realm's lords...
His past glories surfaced