Chapter 65: Dong Yi

Dressed in a white skirt, Dong Yi looked a little less composed, but gained a touch of liveliness and vitality.

Following behind her as she rose were four or five attendants carrying trays covered in red cloth.

And a soldier leading a warhorse.

Besides that, there were two maidservants holding a large red brocade box.

Duan Yu: "......"

What is she doing?

She couldn't possibly be offering a betrothal gift to herself, could she?

Making such a big scene?

While Duan Yu was pondering, Dong Yi had already walked over to his opposite side with a smile, her hands behind her back.

Then, imitating the etiquette of a young lady from a noble family, she placed her hands at her waist and bowed slightly.

"This young woman, Dong Yi, pays her respects."

"I am deeply grateful for your rescue today, Benefactor. I have prepared a meager gift as a token of my appreciation; I hope you will kindly accept it."

As she spoke, Dong Yi waved her hand toward those behind her.

The five maidservants carrying the trays stepped forward and lifted the red cloths from the trays.

In an instant, a golden light shimmered.

Each tray was neatly stacked with gold cakes.

Gold was a high-value currency, used mostly by wealthy households and powerful noble clans.

Commoners mostly still used Five-Zhu coins.

And in the Eastern Han, there were no gold ingots, mostly gold cakes.

Stacks upon stacks of gold cakes were piled together, numbering in the hundreds.

Dong Yi said with a smile: "There are five hundred gold here."

"In addition."

Dong Yi beckoned again.

An attendant led the warhorse forward.

"I have heard that a fine horse should be paired with a hero. This warhorse is named the Ink Jade Qilin Beast; it is a horse my father obtained with great effort, and today I present it to you, Benefactor."

"And there is more."

More?

Duan Yu was stunned.

This is too extravagant.

Five hundred gold, plus a horse that looked like it was worth a thousand gold and hard to come by.

To say it was a fine horse worth a thousand gold would not be an exaggeration at all.

Nowadays, an ordinary warhorse costs tens of thousands of coins, and a better one costs a hundred thousand.

And that is in border regions like Liangzhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou.

If it were in the Central Plains, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, or places like that, the price of a good horse would be no less than two hundred thousand coins.

But that only refers to good horses among ordinary warhorses.

Like Lu Bu's Red Hare, Cao Cao's Jueying, Zhang Fei's Wuzhui, Liu Bei's Dilu......

For horses like these, even if you had a thousand gold, you might not be able to obtain one.

The warhorse before him, with not a single stray hair on its body, entirely black, and standing nearly eight feet at the shoulder, was definitely a horse worth a thousand gold and hard to find.

It must be said, Duan Yu had to re-evaluate Dong Yi's family background again.

This family doesn't seem like an ordinary powerful clan.

Two maidservants held a red brocade box together and came before Dong Yi.

Dong Yi opened the brocade box.

Duan Yu saw it; it was a bow.

The bow body was pale gold, reflecting a metallic luster under the sunlight.

Two lifelike golden dragons were carved onto the bow, flying toward both sides.

The dragon mouths were exactly at the two ends.

A golden silk thread served as the bowstring.

Besides that, there was a quiver filled with arrows.

It was impossible to tell what kind of hide the quiver was made of.

But it was inlaid with a circle of gemstones and jewelry around it.

The light was dazzling.

"Benefactor is skilled with the bow and arrow," Dong Yi said. "This bow is called the Precious Carved Bow; it is incredibly powerful, and cannot be drawn by anyone who is not a warrior."

"None of the generals under my father's command can draw this bow."

"Today, I present it to you, Benefactor; please kindly accept it."

"In addition."

Another maidservant stepped forward.

She held a purple sandalwood box.

Dong Yi pulled open the drawer inlaid with gold rings.

Pearls and jewels overflowed.

Inside were gold and silver jewelry.

"This is a gift for your wife, Benefactor; please accept it as well."

Before Duan Yu could refuse.

The maidservants had already placed the gifts one by one onto the ox cart behind Duan Yu.

They put down the gifts and the gold, and took away the animal skins.

Even that warhorse was tied to Duan Yu's ox cart.

Dong Yi placed her hands in front of her and walked gracefully to Duan Yu's side.

With her back to the maidservants, Dong Yi winked playfully.

"That......" Duan Yu looked at the graceful Dong Yi before him and said: "How about I save you two more times?"

Dong Yi's eyes widened instantly, and then she covered her red lips, suppressing her laughter.

"Alright, just accept it," Dong Yi said with a smile. "Didn't you say you wanted to protect your home first? Getting so much money all at once today is enough for you to protect your home, right?"

"To tell you the truth, I originally wanted to recruit you for my father."

"But I've changed my mind now. I think you're right."

"No matter what, one's foundation is the most important thing. Since I cannot change my father, I will do it myself."

"I hope you will come to help me when the time comes."

She said with sincerity in her eyes: "Don't be in a hurry to refuse me. Rest assured, I will definitely offer you a condition you cannot refuse."

"Alright, I have to go back."

"You should go back too. You have a beautiful wife waiting for you at home, you know," Dong Yi whispered, then turned around gracefully and waved goodbye.

Duan Yu remained standing there, disheveled in the wind.

It was not until Dong Yi's figure disappeared.

That Duan Yu finally came to his senses.

"What a...... remarkable woman."

Having been delayed at Dong Yi's place for a while, it was already afternoon when Duan Yu left the city.

Just after exiting the Dongmen, Duan Yu saw Gao Shun waiting outside the Dongmen, guarding that broken cart.

The body of his late mother was no longer on the cart; presumably, she had already been buried.

"Over here." ===== CHAPTER 67 =====