Chapter 845: Zhang Jiao on his deathbed [2]

Xiaquyang.

A huge wooden building about thirty meters high stood on the south side outside Xiaquyang city.

Countless Huang Jin soldiers transported beams of wood from afar and then slowly moved them onto the high platform.

Hundreds of thousands of people surrounded Xiaquyang, all of them wrapped in yellow turbans.

Looking down from high altitude, it was like a yellow ocean.

Half a month ago, Zhang Jiao ordered the construction of an altar to heaven outside Xiaquyang to ask the Yellow Heaven Taiping Dao where the future would go.

And it only took half a month for the thirty-meter-high altar to heaven to be almost built.

And Zhang Jiao had already ordered that the sacrifice to heaven and prayer for blessings would begin in three days.

At this time, inside Xiaquyang city, the area around the mansion where Zhang Jiao lived was full of Liangzhou elites disguised as Huang Jin soldiers.

Hao Zhao and Zhang Xiu guarded the gate personally.

Even Lu Bu was temporarily transferred to the city to be responsible for guarding the inner residence.

The entire mansion was surrounded by three layers inside and three layers outside, airtight.

Now Xiaquyang had hundreds of thousands of Huang Jin soldiers, and any slight mistake could lead to uncontrollable factors in the next plan.

Therefore, now, as long as it was about Zhang Jiao, only Duan Yu was personally responsible.

Even when Duan Yu was not there, it had to be implemented after Jia Xu, Li Ru, and Cheng Yu had all passed it.

And today, the atmosphere of this mansion seemed particularly heavy.

These past few days, Zhang Jiao's health had been deteriorating.

Even the potion synthesized by Duan Yu using the system had lost its effect.

Since escaping from Quliang, Zhang Jiao had not been in a coma again.

But after Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang died in Xiaquyang that day, possibly because of the injury to his spirit, Zhang Jiao's health began to deteriorate again in the following days.

And Duan Yu, upon learning that Zhang Jiao's health began to deteriorate, had to start the plan ahead of schedule.

If it followed Duan Yu's plan, it would have to wait until the Taiping Dao believers in Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou were all concentrated in Xiaquyang before starting.

But now, because of Zhang Jiao's health, it had to be advanced.

And this morning, Zhang Jiao fell into a coma again.

In the room, Zhang Jiao, who had become so thin that he was out of shape and had a pale face, lay on the sickbed.

Zhang Ning, with teary eyes, knelt by the bed, holding Zhang Jiao's hand with both hands.

"Ziyi... has Ziyi come?" Zhang Jiao said weakly: "Silly child, stop crying."

"Father... Father can... before dying, seeing you find a good husband, I have no regrets."

"People will eventually die... Father... Father has no regrets in this life." Zhang Jiao tried his best to support a smile and look at Zhang Ning by the bed.

Zhang Ning shook her head while crying, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes to her cheeks and dripping onto the skirt she was wearing.

"No, Ning'er doesn't want Father to die, Father, you will definitely live a long life."

"Heh."

Zhang Jiao gave a miserable laugh.

If one could not die, who wouldn't want to live?

Outside the door, the sound of dense footsteps rang out.

Duan Yu, accompanied by Jia Xu, Li Ru, and Cheng Yu, was walking toward the room.

After arriving at the door, Duan Yu looked back at the three.

"I will enter first, and we will talk about the rest after I come out," Duan Yu said.

All three nodded.

Then Duan Yu pushed open the door before him.

As soon as the door was pushed open, a bitter smell of herbs rushed into Duan Yu's nasal cavity.

There was no one in the room, and Duan Yu walked directly toward the bedroom to the side.

Just as he reached the door of the bedroom, Duan Yu saw Zhang Ning kneeling beside the bed.

Hearing the footsteps behind her, Zhang Ning turned her head and saw Duan Yu.

Tears flowed down like a broken kite, unstoppable.

"Husband, Father..."

Zhang Ning looked at Duan Yu with pleading eyes.

The identities of Duan Yu and Zhang Ning were destined not to be exposed in front of outsiders.

But fortunately, Zhang Jiao was still alive, so a simple wedding was held for Duan Yu and Zhang Ning.

The two also became husband and wife under Zhang Jiao's witness.

Not just in name, but already in substance.

Duan Yu stepped forward to Zhang Ning's side and comforted her softly: "Don't worry, I will find a way."

It seemed that Duan Yu's comfort had some effect, or perhaps Duan Yu's arrival gave Zhang Ning some reliance.

The crying Zhang Ning wiped away her tears.

"Ning'er, you go out first, Father has something to say to Ziyi," Zhang Jiao, lying on the sickbed, looked at his daughter Zhang Ning.

Zhang Ning bit her red lips, turned her head, and looked at Duan Yu with pleading eyes.

Duan Yu nodded slightly to signal Zhang Ning to rest assured.

Zhang Ning then slowly stood up and left the bedroom, walking out of the room while looking back three times for every step.

"Ziyi, I... I am afraid I don't have much time left," Zhang Jiao closed his eyes and said: "The only thing I can help you with is this last thing."

"I am satisfied to see Ning'er married before I die."

"As for the Taiping Dao believers in this world, I hope you can treat them well in the future, after all, they are all innocent."

"If it weren't for me, they wouldn't have lost their homes."

Duan Yu took a deep breath and shook his head: "Please rest assured, Father-in-law, after all Taiping Dao believers arrive in Liangzhou, I will treat them equally."

"And Father-in-law doesn't need to blame yourself. The commoners are not suffering because of you."

"The people under heaven have suffered for a long time, and Father-in-law was just used by others."

Zhang Jiao shook his head slowly: "The sin is mine. Even if I was used, it was because I was too arrogant, thinking I could control everything."

"But in the end, I found that I couldn't even save my closest people. If it weren't for the beginning..."

Zhang Jiao, lying on the sickbed, might have thought of the deaths of Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, his eyes sad.

"Ziyi, in the future, with Ning'er by your side, it doesn't matter if you are rich or noble, as long as you are safe. In the future, if you have children, it would be better if it's a daughter. If it's a son, I also hope he can live a plain life." ===== CHAPTER 847 =====