I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 25 Poaching

Shu County, the Prefectural Governor's Office.

Liu Miao placed the carved hard bow with a sinking wood core against his left knee, his five fingers tracing the worn deer sinew threads wrapped around the bow's rim.

He rolled up the right sleeve of his robe, gripped the feather of the mulberry wood arrow with three fingers, lowered his right shoulder slightly, and drew a silver arc with the horn bow, the taut bowstring vibrating in his ears!

The next moment, a white-feathered arrow was stuck diagonally into a poplar target ten steps away, the shaft of which gleamed with a bluish-white luster in the autumn sun!

"Pretty!"

Liu Miao couldn't help but cheer, while Chen Yu, standing beside him, was speechless after glancing at the dozens of arrows scattered around the target...

"Gongwei! How was my arrow shot?"

Chen Yu ignored him.

Liu Miao wiped the sweat from his brow, sat down next to Chen Yu, and tossed the carved bow into his arms.

Chen Yu was hit by the hard bow and wanted to retaliate, but his years of scholarly discipline prevented him from doing so. Instead, he held the hard bow and began to curse indirectly.

"What a fine bow! What a fine bow! A bow as strong as yours should have been in the hands of a master archer like Yang Youji, renowned throughout the land and conquering the world. But now it is locked in this courtyard, and someone can only hit one arrow after a whole day of trying. How pitiful!"

"what."

Liu Miao braced himself back with both hands, exposing his muscular chest, and looked at Chen Yu with great interest.

"Is Gongwei still angry about what happened at the Zhou residence that day?"

Chen Yu didn't speak, but just pursed his lips and continued to whisper to Liu Miao while holding his hard bow.

"Gongwei, Gongwei~"

Liu Miao shook Chen Yu twice, showing him the scenery in the courtyard.

"Like that poplar target, no matter how many arrows are scattered around it, some arrows will still land on it, won't they?"

"My goal in archery is to hit the target, so it doesn't matter how many arrows I miss! Similarly, the matter of marrying Wu, although the process was a bit tortuous, it was ultimately accomplished, wasn't it?"

Chen Yu, clutching the hard bow, glanced into the courtyard, then pretended to put his hand over his eye socket: "Where's the arrow? Where is it? I can't see it. Could it be that Lady Sun Jian is already in your bed?"

"Haha."

Seeing Chen Yu's reaction, Liu Miao was not annoyed at all; instead, he laughed out loud.

"If Gongwei can't see the arrow, does that mean he can't see the target either?"

“I can’t see!”

"..."

Liu Miao held a deep-seated admiration for the stubbornness of certain gentlemen of this era, but also a deep-seated belief that they were insane...

Liu Miao simply said, "This target is right here in front of the hall!"

"Does Gongwei really think that I called you to watch me shoot arrows because I had nothing better to do?"

Chen Yu looked at him with suspicion: "Isn't that right?"

"..."

Liu Miao reluctantly got up.

"To be honest, the reason I called you here is because I didn't want you to show your face!"

Hearing this, Chen Yu became even angrier: "Could it be that I, Chen Gongwei! A descendant of Grand Commandant Chen Qiu! Am I so shameful that I cannot be seen by others?"

Chen Yu tossed the hard bow to Liu Miao and was about to rush out the door, but Liu Miao reacted quickly and grabbed him.

"Guests have arrived at the prefectural governor's residence today."

"The guest's surname is Chen, but he is not related to you. He is the son of Chen Wen, the governor of Yangzhou!"

Chen Wen! Chen Yu immediately panicked: "Why isn't he staying in Jiujiang? What is he doing here in Lujiang?"

"Of course we're arresting you! You think we're arresting me?"

After joking with Chen Yu, Liu Miao laughed and said, "If I hadn't gone to the Sun family, it probably wouldn't have been Chen Wen's son who came today, but Chen Wen's troops!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu disregarded his previous animosity with Liu Miao and directly asked Liu Miao, "What do Zhongshan and Lu Zhongyi intend to do? Do they intend to betray the General of the Rear and defect to Yuan Shao?"

Chen Wen was a man of Yuan Shao.

Therefore, Chen Wen sent his son to see Lu Kang, which must have been his intention to win Lu Kang over to Yuan Shao, unify the Huainan camp, and prevent Yuan Shu from entering Huainan!

At this moment, Chen Yu grabbed Liu Miao's clothes, his eyes full of pleading.

"Zhongshan! If the General of the Rear cannot establish a foothold in Huainan and recuperate here, he will surely perish!"

"If the General is defeated and killed, who will save the Han Dynasty and its people?"

It must be me! Could it be you?

Liu Miao simply couldn't equate "Yuan Shu" with "the Han Dynasty" and "the common people," but he still tried to appease Chen Yu:

"Gongwei, rest assured, how could I possibly betray the General at this time?"

At the same time, Liu Miao silently added another sentence in his mind—

Unless Cao Cao can pursue Yuan Shu all the way to the Huai River, he might actually agree to Chen Wen and the others' request to form a united front against Yuan!

However, judging from Chen Yu's unwavering loyalty to Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu still enjoys considerable prestige among the literati. At the same time, Cao Cao cannot disregard his home province of Yanzhou and fail to resist Tao Qian of Xuzhou and Li Jue of Guanzhong, and actually pursue Yuan Shu all the way to Huainan...

In other words, even though Yuan Shu suffered a crushing defeat, his strength was still intact. The few insignificant people in Huainan simply could not possibly stand against Yuan Shu.

Given this, why did Liu Miao suddenly decide to openly oppose Yuan Shu at this time? Was he waiting for Yuan Shu to take control of Huainan and then cut off his head?

Therefore, Liu Miao gave Chen Yu a reassuring look and then tossed the carved hard bow back to him.

"I'll go see if those people have left. If Gongwei has nothing to do, he can practice his archery here!"

Chen Yu sighed again as he watched Liu Miao walk away.

“Zhongshan, Zhongshan, although you may look unreliable, you are ultimately dependable.”

"But why won't you open your heart to me? Do you think I would do you any harm?"

Chen Yu shook his head helplessly, then drew an arrow from the quiver beside him, nocked it, and shot it. Surprisingly, he hit the poplar target that Liu Miao had spent a whole day trying to hit!
Liu Miao walked out of the backyard, intending to go directly to the front hall for receiving guests, but saw a boy sneaking around in the corner, seemingly eavesdropping on something.

"Boyan?"

Liu Miao was somewhat shocked!

Who would have thought that Lu Xun, this upright gentleman with thick eyebrows and big eyes, would one day be eavesdropping by the wall! Is it really true that people's hearts have become corrupted these days?

Lu Xun was startled when he heard someone call his name from behind!
However, upon seeing that it was Liu Miao, he clearly lowered his guard, gestured for Liu Miao to be quiet, and called Liu Miao over.

Liu Miao curiously crouched over and, sure enough, heard rustling voices.

Two people.

They are all women.

The first thing Liu Miao heard made him furious!
A flirtatious voice came from inside—

"That Liu Zhongshan is nothing but a lecherous scoundrel. How can he be as honest and kind as my husband?"

“Good sister, if you are willing, I will have my husband send the betrothal gifts right away. How about we two share one husband?”

hiss……

Liu Miao's eyes widened.

This is... they're trying to poach my man?
(End of this chapter)