Three Kingdoms Episode 20

With Diaochan being dead, the show needed to bring in another lone female character with lines.

Liu Bei enters the palace to see the ailing emperor and is greeted by Consort Dong. She instructs the Imperial Uncle to see his nephew in the toilet. No, don't laugh. With Cao Cao's spies all over the palace, the toilet is really the only place where the emperor can have any privacy. It's a heartbreakingly honest moment when the emperor refers to his toilet seat as the only real throne he has. He and Liu Bei conspire on how to gather outside forces to take on Cao Cao.

After Liu Bei leaves, the emperor writes a bloody note on silk and instructs Consort Dong to sew it into his jade belt. The next day, claiming he feels so much better, the emperor takes Consort Dong's father, Dong Cheng, along with him to the temple to worship the ancestors. Without saying anything to each other, the emperor leaves his jade belt behind and Dong Cheng puts it on.

Ah, but Cao Cao wouldn't be Cao Cao if he wasn't Cao Cao. Wait, that doesn't make any sense. Anyway, as Dong Cheng is leaving the temple, here comes a very suspicious Cao Cao (with soldiers). He was hoping to worship at the temple with the emperor but since he missed the young man, why doesn't Dong Cheng join him instead?

Once inside Cao Cao gets right down to business. What did the emperor say to the old man? Dong Cheng can honestly reply the emperor didn't say anything to him. Cao Cao notices the fancy new belt and Dong Cheng (the dumbass) can't come up with a good lie on the spot and tells Cao Cao the emperor just gave it to him. Cao Cao asks if he can admire the belt up close. Unable to say no, Dong Cheng hands the belt over. Cao Cao puts it on and asks how does it look on him, can he have it? Again unable to say no, Dong Cheng officially gifts it to the prime minister. Yet Cao Cao messes with us all and returns the belt, saying he's not worthy of such a gift. What are you up to, Cao Cao?

Later, Dong Cheng is able to get the bloody official imperial decree to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei is piddling in a garden when soldiers come to "invite" him to visit the palace. It's fun to see how Liu Bei's smears of dirt on his face change from scene to scene. Liu Bei and Cao Cao have a looooooooooooong conversation about nothing so I'm not going to relate what was said. It isn't until the end that Liu Bei asks Cao Cao why the prime minister hasn't killed him by now. Cao Cao admits that Liu Bei is a formidable warrior, but he has no real army to fight with, so Cao Cao doesn't view him as a real threat.

Just then the two men receive news that Yuan Shao has had a major victory and his power is growing. At the next court gathering a messenger runs in to report that Yuan Shu has offered to turn the Imperial Jade Seal over to his brother, Yuan Shao, as well as merge their armies together. Liu Bei steps up and offers to ride out and capture Yuan Shu before the two brothers can join forces.

As Liu Bei and his troops are setting out he is stopped by Dong Cheng. The old man has a message from the emperor. Now that Liu Bei is going to be out of Cao Cao's reach, he should stay out and establish his own power base.

Meanwhile, Cao Cao gives orders for a couple of his generals to go get Liu Bei and bring him back. Then why did you let him go in the first place?

This was a rather slow episode. Not much happened here.