I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 73 Marrying Yuan
While Zhou Yu was crossing the river ahead, a guest also arrived at Liu Miao's tent—

Han Yin was Yuan Shu's envoy.

Han Yin fits the stereotypical image of an envoy: always smiling, and always speaking eloquently with a string of beautiful words... It's fortunate that Han Yin came today to discuss the marriage between Liu Miao and the Yuan family, otherwise Liu Miao himself might have been tempted to simply marry Yuan Shu instead!

"Therefore, the marriage is settled!"

"it is good!"

Moved, Liu Miao grasped Han Yin's hand and said, "It is my great fortune to marry Lady Yuan today!"

"From now on, I, Liu Miao, am willing to serve as a vanguard under the General of the Rear, braving fire and water without hesitation!"

Han Yin continued to spout eloquent words: "Nonsense! Lord Liu and General Liu serve in the same court, both for the purpose of supporting the Han Dynasty. How could there be any talk of him being a mere 'vanguard'?"

"From now on, Prefect Liu and General Hou will become relatives and family, and it would be good for them to visit each other often!"

"Nature! Natural!"

Liu Miao raised his wine cup and toasted Han Yin, who jokingly said, "I heard that Zhou Yu is at the front lines fighting against Zhou Xin for Lord Liu. Why is Lord Liu still drinking and not worried at all?"

Liu Miao's cheeks were flushed, and his voice was slightly tipsy: "What's there to worry about in war? I'm just testing Zhou Xin's mettle for General Hou and helping him sweep through Jiangdong! Even if I lose, General Hou is still here, isn't he? Now that General Hou has come to Huainan, what do I have to worry about?"

Han Yin was extremely satisfied after hearing this.

Besides finalizing the marriage, his most important purpose in coming here was to observe whether Liu Miao was an ambitious person.

But looking at him today, Liu Miao seems to have no ambition at all, so there's nothing to worry about!

Just as they were enjoying their drinks, news arrived from the south that Zhou Yu had captured Niuzhu!
As soon as Zhou Tai lifted the curtain, he immediately shouted, "My lord! The commander has captured Niuzhu!"

Oh?
Although Liu Miao wasn't that surprised, he still showed a look of astonishment along with Han Yin beside him.

Han Yin hurriedly asked, "Zhou Xin's troops were all elites from Danyang. How exactly did Zhou Gongjin manage to cross the river and defeat them?"

Zhou Tai laughed loudly: "Where is there a need for victory? I heard that Zhou Xin glanced at the north and said that the clouds in the north resembled Yinglong, so he directly led his troops to retreat, taking the Niuzhu camp without shedding a drop of blood!"

Unexpectedly, the four characters "Yinglong Yunqi" pierced the hearts of Liu Miao and Han Yin!
Han Yin's eyes were glazed over as he touched Liu Miao's breath and looked at him with curiosity.

Liu Miao reacted quickly, immediately following Zhou Tai's words: "The north? Isn't the one currently in the north the General of the Rear?"

Immediately, Liu Miao stepped forward again and hugged Han Yin with delight: "I was wondering how Gongjin, a mere child, could defeat Zhou Xin. It turns out it's because the General of the Rear came to Huainan!"

"If it weren't for the General's imposing presence creating extraordinary phenomena in the sky, this battle would have been extremely difficult to win, wouldn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Han Yin also burst into laughter: "Absolutely right! Absolutely right!"

Liu Miao then relentlessly poured wine into Han Yin's cup until Han Yin stopped moving.

The next day, Han Yin woke up with a complete blank, his memory of the previous night's events was hazy in many places.

When Han Yin was about to leave, Liu Miao gave him a lot of valuables, which made Han Yin exclaim, "Lord Liu is truly a kind and honest man!"

Upon returning to Yuan Shu's camp north of the Huai River, Han Yin recounted his conversation with Liu Miao in detail. However, because he had enjoyed drinking with Liu Miao and had received gifts from him, even with his objective opinion, he couldn't help but be biased towards Liu Miao and began praising him in front of Yuan Shu.

When Yuan Shu heard Liu Miao say that his arrival had caused the clouds to produce an unusual phenomenon, giving birth to an Yinglong, his eyes lit up!
Yuan Shu is now increasingly certain that Liu Miao is his lucky star!
First came the imperial seal, then came the Yinglong (a mythical dragon).

Yuan Shu's previously suppressed ambitions were reignited by Liu Miao's provocation, causing him to shrug uncomfortably, as if wings were about to sprout from his back.

“Zhongshan is truly a good man!” “Since he is marrying off his daughter in place of his brother, a generous dowry should be prepared to demonstrate the prestige of the Yuan family!”

Yuan Shu ordered his chief clerk, Yan Xiang, to inventory the treasury, intending to send more goods to Liu Miao, but Yan Xiang stopped him.

"Our army doesn't have much wealth to begin with, and we've already given Liu Miao a lot before. How can we give him more now?"

Yuan Shu didn't manage accounts and was completely unaware of the preciousness of daily necessities.

Instead of heeding Yan Xiang's advice, they mocked him for being petty.

"Wealth and possessions are merely external things; how can they possibly increase if stored in the treasury?"

“When my daughter from the Yuan family is married off, she is marrying into a member of the Han imperial family. If I didn’t have such wealth, Zhongshan would probably think I was being disrespectful to him!”

Yan Xiang argued forcefully: "Then Liu Miao should at least pay some betrothal gifts!"

"What are you talking about? Zhongshan... Zhou Ang has always occupied the position of Prefect of Jiujiang. Where would he get extra wealth?"

Yuan Shu originally wanted to say that Liu Miao had even sent the Imperial Seal of the State, so was there any dowry in the world more valuable than the Imperial Seal?

But remembering that Yan Xiang had previously disagreed with him keeping the imperial seal, he didn't say anything.

Seeing that Yan Xiang was still frowning, Yuan Shu immediately tried to persuade him kindly: "Anyway, we are about to head to Huainan! With the wealth of Huainan, are we afraid that we won't be able to collect money?"

When Yan Xiang saw that Yuan Shu was determined to befriend Liu Miao, he knew that his attempts to dissuade him were futile. He could only follow Yuan Shu's orders and load the last bit of wealth from the camp onto a ship to send to Liu Miao as part of Yuan's dowry.

At this time, Yuan Ji's daughter, Lady Yuan, had been brought here from Runan.

Wearing a dark red straight-hemmed robe, adorned with pearls, jade hairpins, and elaborate ornaments, and with a pair of bright moon earrings hanging from her ears, Lady Yuan was curiously looking out the window of the boat.

Seeing the surging river, just like the melancholy in her heart, Lady Yuan couldn't help but ask when Lady Yuan Shu came to visit, "What kind of person is Liu Miao, whom I am about to marry?"

"He is a member of the Han imperial family and is currently the Governor of Yangzhou and General Who Conquers the East."

“Auntie knows, that’s not what I was asking.”

Yuan said worriedly, "Although I am in Runan, I heard on the way here that Liu Miao is... a lecherous man."

"What man isn't lustful?"

Yuan Shu's wife was a woman who had seen a lot in life, and she had come to terms with some things.

She took out a piece of silk from her bosom, on which were faintly visible pictures and words.

"You lost your mother at a young age, so there are some things you may not know. Today, your aunt will teach you these things on behalf of your mother."

Madam Yuan took the silk handkerchief, glanced at it, and immediately blushed and spat out, "How could you give me something like this, Aunt?"

"Silly child, I've also heard that Liu Miao is fond of beautiful women. If you don't learn these skills, how will you win his favor?"

Yuan Shu's wife pointed at Yuan's chest: "You must study that thing I gave you carefully, understand?"

"I am a noblewoman of the Yuan family, how could I learn these things to please Liu Miao?"

Ignoring Yuan Shu's wife's good intentions, Lady Yuan threw the silk handkerchief on the ground, declaring, "Even if Liu Miao dislikes me, I will absolutely not learn anything from that!! Absolutely not!!!"

(End of this chapter)