I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 466 Undressing

Chapter 466 Undressing
The last time Liu Miao met Yuan Tan was during the Battle of Hedong.

At that time, Liu Miao had just pacified Jingzhou and still needed to join forces with Cao Cao to barely resist Yuan Shao.

Yuan Tan was merely the eldest son of the Yuan family, who was not favored and was adopted out.

But now, with Yuan Shao and Liu Miao successively declaring themselves emperors, and with the formation of a north-south divide and a confrontation between Han and Zhao, Liu Miao has now become the emperor of the Han Dynasty, while Yuan Tan, thanks to his father's status, has become one of the most powerful people in the world today.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have let Yuan Tan go back."

This is of course a joke.

If Yuan Tan is not released, or even if he is allowed to die in Jiangdong, then Yuan Shang's position as heir apparent is almost a certainty. So how could Liu Miao allow such a thing to happen?

Moreover, it's somewhat strange that I'm only wondering whether Yuan Tan thinks of me.

Liu Miao leaned close to Lady Wen's ear and asked, "I wonder if Yuan Tan still misses you, Madam?"

"Humph."

These days, Ms. Wen has become noticeably quieter.

After learning that she had been abandoned by the Yuan family, Madam Wen finally stopped acting arrogantly and haughtily.

However, the moment Yuan Tan was mentioned, his suppressed true nature was immediately exposed.

"Now that he has a new wife, why would he remember me, his old flame?"

While mocking, Wen also threw in a few curses.

"And then there's Cao Mengde's eldest daughter, Cao Shi. Men don't know her well, but we women, when we were in Ye City, roughly knew her character! Humph! Who knows, she might be cheating on someone with another man right now!"

"Oh?"

Liu Miao was somewhat surprised.

"Mengde's daughter... surely not?"

"Why not?"

Wen spat lightly, transferring her resentment towards Yuan Tan onto Cao.

"I heard that when the eldest daughter of the Cao family was betrothed to Xiahou Mao, she was so upset that she wanted to die because she thought he was ugly! Now that she's married to Yuan Tan, does she think she'll change her ways?"

"..."

When Liu Miao heard the name "Xiahou Mao", he understood instantly!
He looked in the direction of Yuan Tan with some pity.

I almost forgot, Cao Cao's eldest daughter was far more formidable than his eldest son!
So much so that Liu Miao now suspects that Cao Shi, the Princess of Qinghe, might not have been in one man's bed, but in many men's beds...

"Probably not."

Liu Miao carefully defended Princess Qinghe.

"At least the Yuan family is watching over Ye City, so she shouldn't do anything stupid."

Otherwise, Yuan Tan would be in a really bad situation...

Of course, this is a completely different matter from him leading the Wuhuan to ravage the people of Qingzhou.

Liu Miao set up camp where he was, and at the same time sent a messenger to deliver a letter to Yuan Tan's camp.

The letters were written with great sincerity. Liu Miao personally wrote them by pressing the paper against Wen's back. If they were to circulate, they would certainly be considered a piece of calligraphy.

The gist of it is that Liu Miao assured Yuan Tan that he truly did not have a deep understanding of his wife, Lady Wen.

Despite the war, the Liu and Yuan families were still relatives, so Yuan Tan should take his wife back home as soon as possible before the war started.

But after seeing the letter, Yuan Tan inexplicably went mad and tore it to pieces!
"How dare Liu Miao insult me?"

"Tell Liu Miao! He's a despicable woman; let him take it if he wants it!"

"When I lead my army to defeat them, drink from the Yangtze River, and reach Nanjing, I will surely take them down as well..."

But halfway through his tirade, Yuan Tan suddenly stopped, revealing a pained expression.

He was so angry that he almost forgot that Liu Miao's empress was the daughter of Yuan Ji, whom Yuan Shu had personally married off, and the legitimate daughter of the Yuan family of Runan!

Moreover, Yuan Tan himself had been adopted by Yuan Shao and given to Yuan Ji. How could he dare to speak so arrogantly about Liu Miao's wives and concubines?
The frustration of not being chosen made Yuan Tan even more upset! He had no choice but to turn his sword on the weaker party and hurl insults at the Wen family.

"Bitch!"

"How can she still have the face to live?"

"You shameless woman! Can't she learn from those chaste and virtuous women and protect the reputation of the Yuan family?"

"..."

Liu Miao's messenger relayed Yuan Tan's words to Wen Shi verbatim.

With each curse, Wen's face grew paler, completely devoid of color.

Based on her understanding of her husband, Lady Wen believed that these were indeed the words Yuan Tan had uttered.

If it were someone else, how would they know to attack its weakest point?
Especially when Lady Wen heard Yuan Tan even begin to insult a wet nurse who had long since died, she finally shouted, "Enough!"

Ms. Wen leaned against the haystack, her beautiful face desolate, streaked with tears. Her thin fingers dug deep into the soil, as if trying to crush the pebbles on the ground, while her disheveled hair clung to her tear-streaked face. Anyone who saw her would feel heartbroken.

Liu Miao also looked melancholy at this moment.

"What to do?"

"Cao Cao doesn't want her, and Yuan Tan doesn't want her either, so where should I send her?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Wen immediately sat up, glared fiercely at Liu Miao, and then ran towards the distant wilderness.

"His Majesty!"

Zhou Tai gestured with his lip: "Not going after them?"

"Why chase after her? I can't even avoid her."

However, Liu Miao wrapped his coat tighter: "Don't worry, she'll come back in this cold weather."

Just as Liu Miao had predicted.

As evening approached, Wen limped back to the Han army camp.

Zhou Tai led him into Liu Miao's makeshift tent, then tactfully left, intending to search Chen Wu's place to see if he had any hidden treasures... Meanwhile, inside Liu Miao's tent.

A single wax candle emitted only a faint light, illuminating a space of no more than a foot or two around it.

Liu Miao looked towards the Wen family, but all he could see was a blurry blur.

"Why are you back?"

"My foot is twisted."

"Just take a break, isn't that enough?"

"Gululu——"

Instead of Wen's mouth, her stomach began to rumble.

"hungry?"

"Um……"

"There's food over there."

With a pitiful expression, Ms. Wen rummaged through the package next to her and finally found a baked flatbread and a small piece of dry, hard jerky.

Wen did not find any of these things objectionable.

These days of marching made Wen realize that even Emperor Liu Miao, on the march, only ate this kind of food.

With a bowl of cooled water, Wen quickly devoured the already meager amount of food.

Having eaten and drunk my fill, I was finally able to think about other things.

Looking at Liu Miao in the dim candlelight, Lady Wen finally steeled her heart and walked up to him.

"What are you doing? If you need warmth, go gather firewood and burn it yourself."

Before Liu Miao could react, Wen had already pulled out her belt.

"doing what?"

Liu Miao's eyes instantly turned wary.

"I am a respectable man! What are you doing?"

Wen didn't speak, but simply took off her clothes one by one, until she was completely naked and standing there.

Seeing that Wen was so decisive, Liu Miao stopped pretending.

He lifted the paraffin wax and placed it on a high place, as if to get a clearer view.

"It's too far, come over."

Wen obediently took a step forward, and could already feel the heat of the candlelight below her abdomen.

"What? Are you going to give up on yourself?"

Wen shook his head, but hesitated, unable to utter a single word for a long time, until finally managing to squeeze out a sentence—

"Just now, I saw human bones."

"One big and one small."

"It's small, but this big."

Wen Shi drew a very, very small shape for Liu Miao.

Liu Miao raised the paraffin wax even higher: "What? Scared?"

Wen did not answer, but his silence conveyed certainty.

However, Lady Wen asked Liu Miao a question.

"Was all of this done by Yuan Tan?"

Liu Miao nodded, of course!

"Otherwise what? Was it me who did it?"

"You also come from a powerful and influential family, and you must have treated people like dirt most of the time. Why are you suddenly afraid and regretting it now?"

Wen closed her eyes, trying to avoid the candlelight that was getting closer and closer to her face.

Even with her eyes closed, Liu Miao's question still pierced Wen Shi's heart like a thorn.

Just then, a drop of wax oil fell from the paraffin in Liu Miao's hand and landed on Wen's chest.

"hiss--"

The scalding touch made Wen let out a soft groan.

But for some reason, Wen felt a strange sensation rising from her heels, then a tingling, numb feeling shooting straight to the back of her head.

Upon seeing this, Liu Miao straightened the paraffin wax.

"Have you really thought it through?"

"You should know that Yuan Tan is currently not far from here!"

Upon hearing Liu Miao's words, Lady Wen bit her red lips.

However, after only a moment, Ms. Wen released her teeth and sighed softly.

"Since you have abandoned me, why should I care about you?"