I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 79 Enlightenment

Liu Miao first met with Chen Wu.

Chen Wu was seven feet tall and had a dignified appearance. However, he often wore the same silly smile as Zhou Tai, which was quite endearing. Liu Miao was happy to have Chen Wu serve as his bodyguard, acting as his two henchmen.

From now on, when I go out, I'll bring these two behind me. They'll look like two door gods, so festive!

Large and small boats also traveled back and forth between Shuxian and Jiangdong along the Longshushui-Chaohu-Ruxukou route, making the most of the water transport, often transporting nearly a thousand households a day!

Liu Miao's family also began to board the ship and head towards Jiangdong.

"Gongjin has already captured Dangtu in Jiangdong. You may temporarily go there to settle down."

Although Lu and Lü, along with Lu Yi and Lü Meng, were afraid of being separated from Liu Miao, they were fortunate that Lu Kang was on the same boat as them, so they boarded the boat and left.

Only Yuan, who was left alone in her room by Liu Miao on their wedding night, threw a tantrum and refused to get on the boat no matter what.

Upon seeing Liu Miao come looking for her, she immediately turned away, saying, "I don't want to go to Jiangdong!"

Liu Miao asked her, "Are you really not going?"

"I really won't go!"

"it is good."

Liu Miao didn't tolerate her and immediately walked out of the room.

"Hey!"

Seeing that Liu Miao was about to leave her again, Madam Yuan immediately chased after him, her shell-like teeth clenched so tightly they made a creaking sound: "Where are you going?"

Liu Miao spread his hands: "Since you don't want to go to Jiangdong, then you can stay here!"

Yuan bit her lip hard, her bright eyes already welling up with tears: "Aren't you going to care about me anymore?"

"You're such a grown man, do you still need someone to discipline you?"

Liu Miao sighed helplessly, saying that it was better to have a sensible and beautiful woman, as there were fewer problems.

"If you want to leave, then leave; if you don't want to leave, then don't leave. It's a simple matter of giving a straight answer. Can't you just give me a definite answer?"

Yuan was already feeling wronged, and seeing Liu Miao still treating her this way, she simply turned around and went back to lock the door, refusing to see Liu Miao again.

When Lady Lu still hadn't seen Lady Yuan by the time the ship departed, she went to ask Liu Miao. Upon learning that Lady Yuan had indeed been kept by Liu Miao, she unusually complained to him, "My husband shouldn't have done this."

“She is a noblewoman of the Yuan family. She has married far away and has no close relatives by her side. She must be feeling anxious. Her husband should be more understanding and considerate. How can he abandon her?”

After obtaining Lu Kang's consent, Madam Lu asked the boatman to wait a moment while she and Madam Lü returned to the mansion and knocked on Madam Yuan's door.

When the two met Madam Yuan, her eyes were red and swollen, and she looked broken and cold.

Instead of bowing to Yuan as usual and addressing her as the principal wife, Madam Lu stepped forward and gently cupped Yuan's face, saying with some heartache, "How could such a beautiful face be ruined like this?"

Yuan Shi, however, was unmoved and immediately dodged away, looking at the two warily: "Did Liu Miao send you?"

Madam Lu shook her head, and she and Madam Lü each took one of Madam Yuan's hands and led her into the room to sit on the couch.

“My husband has been busy with important matters these days and has no time to take care of us.”

When Madam Yuan heard that Madam Lu and the others were not sent by Liu Miao, she was both annoyed and amused. She pouted and turned around, saying, "Then why are you looking for me when we are not related?"

Madam Lu grasped Madam Yuan's hand and was immediately amazed. She praised Madam Yuan, saying, "If I didn't have eyes to look at it, I would really think it was a piece of delicate white jade in my hand!"

"Madam is now Liu's legal wife, and we are all family. How can you say we are not related?"

"If even husband and wife are not considered close, then what reliable affection is there in this world?"

Yuan was about to burst into laughter after being praised by Lu, but she instantly flew into a rage after hearing what Lu said next!
"Husband and wife? Does he treat me like his wife?"

“Where does one get married and then run away on the very night? And after he came back, he acted like nothing had happened, busy with something all day long, he… he… he…”

Tears welled up in Madam Yuan's eyes again, and she finally asked the question she had always wanted to ask but had never dared to—

"Does Liu Miao not like me?"

Yuan was already beautiful, but now her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her eyes were moist with dew, and her cheeks were like jade cups overflowing with fine wine. Her fair hands gently covered her red lips, and her shoulders trembled slightly, like lotus leaves swaying in the wind.

Seeing this, not only men, but even the two women, Madam Lu and Madam Lü, felt sorry for her.

On the other side, Madam Lü quickly advised, "With such beauty as your wife, how could your husband not be pleased? My appearance is far inferior to yours, yet my husband has not disliked me. What are you worried about?"

It was only because Lady Lü was too close to Lady Yuan, and Lady Yuan was sobbing with her head down, that all Lady Yuan could see at that moment was a swaying expanse of white...

Yuan Shi then became even more indignant: "I am different from you!"

"What's the difference?"

"..."

To verify this, Yuan turned around and glanced at Lu.

Although not as powerful as the Lü family, it was still quite turbulent!
Madam Yuan cried even louder!

"I knew it! He looked disdainful when he married me; he definitely didn't like me!"

Lu and Lü were initially puzzled, but when Yuan angrily placed both hands on her chest, the two women immediately understood.

"This..." Even Madam Lu was somewhat dazed.

Because she had previously treated Madam Yuan with the courtesy due to a principal wife, she had not done anything disrespectful.

But upon closer inspection today, Madam Lu realized that Madam Yuan was truly pitiful to an excessive degree…

"Uh-huh-huh."

Mrs. Yuan kept sobbing, her thin and frail body trembling.

She took out the silk handkerchief from her bosom again and cried out, "Even the people in these paintings have it, but I am the only one who doesn't. Am I not even qualified to be a wife?"

As Yuan made his move, both Lu and Lü's pupils dilated in shock!
They originally thought the Yuan family was just a flat area, but now it seems to be a complete trap!

Upon receiving the silk, unlike Yuan's initial shyness, both Lu and Lü began to admire the paintings with great interest.

Madam Lu glanced at the woman in the painting, then looked at Madam Yuan, trying her best not to show any pity, and advised again, "Madam is probably overthinking things."

"People in this world are all different; how can there be any two people who are exactly alike?"

A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in Madam Yuan's previously dim eyes, but it vanished in an instant: "But almost every woman has it."

"..."

Lu knew that even though people were all different, Yuan was far too gifted, so she tried to persuade her from a different angle.

"Please rest assured, my husband will absolutely not dislike you because of this."

"Then why doesn't he come looking for me?"

Yuan questioned Lu.

“I heard all about it on my way here. They say that Liu Miao is a lecherous man and is even called ‘Lord Wild Kite’, but he hasn’t done any of these things with me. What else could it be but dislike?”

So that's what it was about!

Lu immediately understood Yuan's dilemma and found the key to solving the problem!
"Madam has misunderstood."

"My husband hasn't come to see me lately because he's busy with important matters."

Yuan curled her lip again, clearly unconvinced by this explanation.

Busy? Even if you're busy, don't you have time to spend the middle of the night with your newlywed wife?

Lady Lu only told Lady Yuan what Liu Miao had been doing these days.

“These days, my husband has been eating and sleeping at the dock outside the city, transporting the people who fled from the north to Jiangdong.”

"That dock is crowded almost every day and every night; not even a mosquito can get in. A little bit of chaos can cause a lot of delays. In addition, some powerful families are arrogant and domineering, always trying to take all their wealth onto the ships and squeeze out ordinary people's seats. Ordinary people can't handle it, so only husband can step in... Madam, you might as well think about it yourself. With so many people and so many things to deal with every day, does husband have time to take care of all the big and small affairs at home?"

Madam Yuan's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and she also asked with some curiosity, "Why transport the people across the river?"

The woman beside her looked somber, while the woman next to her sighed softly.

“Huainan was originally peaceful, but now it has been ravaged by war. Wives are losing their husbands and children are losing their parents. If we stay here, no one can guarantee that their loved ones will not be disturbed.”

“My husband has always been kind and compassionate. He cannot bear to see people displaced and suffering, which is why he wants to take them to Jiangdong to settle them down.”

Yuan's eyes were still red, but at least her body was no longer twitching.

The phrase "the child has lost his parents" instantly reminded Yuan of herself.

As Yuan Ji's daughter, she should have had no worries about her parents' safety, but unexpectedly, her whole family was slaughtered by Dong Zhuo overnight. Not only did her father die, but none of her brothers and sisters who went to Luoyang survived.

Upon hearing this news, Madam Yuan was heartbroken! If it weren't for her duty to fulfill her filial duties to her father, she would have wanted to find a rope and follow her loved one in death.

Therefore, when she heard that Liu Miao did it to prevent the children of ordinary people from suffering the same fate, Yuan's perception of Liu Miao finally changed slightly.

Seeing that Madam Yuan had stopped crying, Madam Lu knew she had found the root of the problem and pressed her advantage.

"Furthermore, my lady is still a virgin. Even if she has seen some things, there are some things she may still not be able to endure... And my husband is physically strong. If my lady suffers pain and cannot board the ship, wouldn't that be even more painful?"

At this point, Madam Lü, who was standing nearby, nodded in agreement.
Although Madam Yuan did not understand what Madam Lu was talking about in detail, she still guessed something, so she hesitated and asked, "Is it true? Is the only reason he hasn't come to see me?"

"It must be so."

Both Madam Lu and Madam Lü were older than Madam Yuan and were also mothers, so they were more patient than Madam Yuan. With their careful guidance, Madam Yuan finally stopped crying and started smiling. The coldness in her heart was finally melted away by the two suns.

"Alright, I'll listen to my two older sisters and go to Jiangdong with you... But let me make this clear beforehand, this is for your sake, not for Liu Miao's sake!"

Having married far away, Yuan finally had someone to rely on, and nestled against Lu and Lü's chests, she uttered a sigh of gratitude—

"If only I had married one of my two elder sisters instead of Liu Miao!"

"It's a pity that men and women are different, otherwise who would want Liu Miao!"

"..."

Madam Lu's expression was strange. After a long while, she said softly, "Actually, it's not that it's impossible between women..."

"Um???"

(End of this chapter)