The Three Great Han Dynasties: Awaken Liu Bei with a scolding; you weave mats and sell sandals.

Inside the Yuan family compound, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu seemed to wake from a dream, their faces filled with shock. They immediately rushed to their uncle's side.

Before the death of the current head of the family, Yuan Wei, this matter was urgently reported.

As soon as the two finished speaking, Yuan Wei chuckled, stroked his beard, and said slowly, "Do you think that General Liu Hong just disappeared like that?"

"The Liu family of Youzhou were killed so easily?"

A hint of coldness crept onto Yuan Wei's face.

He had been navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom for many years, and anything within the rules of the game could not escape his discerning eyes.

"Does Uncle mean... this is just a trick, a smokescreen?"

A smokescreen, to lure the person behind it all out?

In the blink of an eye, Yuan Shao probably understood the meaning behind his uncle's words.

Yuan Wei smiled slightly, with a hint of appreciation: "Not bad."

He paused, then continued, "You'll see, by tomorrow, someone will surely step forward in the court."

And when that time comes, who will benefit? Who, if not the ringleader, will at least be an accomplice? Or, they'll be fools.

If it's the former, then General Liu will naturally come out and teach him a lesson to deter the villains and continue to uphold the prestige of the Liu family; if it's the latter, then no one will care if he dies in the court.

After all, he's probably just a bunch of clowns, and the fact that he doesn't even have an ally to warn him shows that he's not going to go very far in the court.

Yuan Wei's words had a double meaning; the former referred to Liu Hong's scheming, while the latter foreshadowed the fate of the person behind it all.

Yuan Shao nodded secretly, agreeing wholeheartedly.

Yuan Shu remained silent at this moment, even though he had other thoughts in mind, it was not appropriate to say them out loud at this time.

Otherwise, wouldn't that be going against the uncle in front of me?

Even if he is the eldest son of the Yuan family, he will certainly not fare well if he disobeys Yuan Kui at this critical juncture.

I don't know.

His hesitant and indecisive behavior only made Yuan Wei more disappointed.

If the future head of the Yuan family doesn't even have this much courage and decisiveness, how can he possibly shoulder the responsibility of the Yuan family's legacy of four generations of high-ranking officials?

How can the Yuan family continue to move forward in this chaotic world, instead of going downhill step by step?

However, Yuan Wei would never say these words aloud.

People his age naturally understand a principle early on: many things cannot be understood simply by breaking down the reasons and explaining them word by word.

This is why, within the aristocratic families, they often do not place all their bets on their direct descendants.

In times of peace, the rules governing the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children and superior and inferior children are beyond reproach; but in times of chaos, there are many virtuous and talented individuals who can provide assistance to the gentry.

If Cai was Liu Hong's own family member, and therefore knew the inside story but didn't care much, then Yuan, with her mature analysis and understanding of Liu Hong, was able to make a calm judgment.

But now, in this General's mansion, He Jin presents a completely different picture.

He frowned and slapped the table, unable to hide his joy. Even his younger brother, He Miao, couldn't figure out what his older brother was thinking.

Gradually, a flash of inspiration struck He Miao.

He seemed to realize something, and looking at his elder brother, he hesitated before speaking, "Could it be... that the assassination attempt on Liu Hong tonight was actually carried out by you, elder brother?"

He Jin glanced at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

He Miao, however, seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, and began to analyze on his own: "Brother, you're quite the schemer. Now that Liu Hong has been assassinated, whether he lives or dies, the power of the Grand General will certainly not be entirely entrusted to the imperial clan by His Majesty. After all, the members of the clan are all of the Liu lineage. If their power becomes too great, how can His Majesty not have any worries?"

Looking across the court, there was no one else capable of undertaking such a major undertaking. Even if there were, the gentry in the court would certainly not readily agree.

After all, the appearance of Liu Hong had already dealt them all a heavy blow. These aristocratic families would never make the same mistake twice.

"At that time, His Majesty will only be able to rely on us, his maternal relatives, to stand on equal footing with these aristocratic families."

He Miao wasn't stupid; at least at this moment, when analyzing these situations, he still showed some basic court etiquette.

After hearing this, He Jin gently tapped him, then stroked his smooth chin and said leisurely, "The strange thing is, at this very moment."

Why hasn't Sun Jian come to my General's Mansion to report back yet?

In response, He Miao had another flash of inspiration and came up with his own unique idea: "Perhaps."

He wasn't sure whether Liu Hong was dead or alive, so he absolutely dared not involve my General's Mansion in this matter. Otherwise, if my General's Mansion turned against him, dealing with a mere Sun Jian would be a piece of cake.

It has to be said that He Miao's line of thinking seems quite reasonable; at first glance, it actually makes sense.

"Then send someone to the Sun family's residence to see what their current situation is."

He Jin was indeed a cautious person.

After all, the assassination attempt on Liu Hong would fail if it failed.

He was about to lose his life, so he couldn't afford to continue being so complacent.

After all, even if one wields immense power, one must remain humble and seek stability in order to have a new opportunity; otherwise, it will be like a mirage, vanishing in an instant.

Sun Jian thus became a crucial figure in tonight's assassination attempt.

Whoever finds him first will undoubtedly have the greatest initiative and the first-mover advantage, which is almost certain.

"Search the General's Mansion for the assassin. Everyone must cooperate, or face execution."

"The General's Mansion is arresting people and investigating the assassin. Cooperate. Cooperate."

In the night in Luoyang, shouts rose and fell, one after another, piercing through the deep darkness.

The sound added further ripples of turmoil to the late night in Luoyang.

The homes of the three dukes, the major clans, and the residences of military generals were all searched.

Tonight, the Liu family of the General's Mansion will not let a single person escape, not even in the front hall, the middle hall, or the inner quarters.

However, they still maintained some semblance of propriety.

First, let the women of the inner quarters hide, and then they will continue searching.

Otherwise, if the families of the members of each household are disturbed, it could truly incur public wrath.

This was certainly not a situation that the Liu family of Youzhou wanted to happen, and it would bring them no benefit whatsoever.

It's hard to say whether the Sun family was lucky or unlucky.

Soon, a series of loud knocks sounded on the door, accompanied by a cold, deep voice: "The General's Mansion is searching for assassins. Open the door immediately! Quickly!"

Inside the house, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, who had just finished tidying up and returned, had just breathed a sigh of relief and carried the unconscious Sun Jian to the back courtyard when a loud noise came from outside, which seemed to come at a very opportune moment.

The two exchanged a glance, both wearing a wry smile.

That shout just now almost scared them out of their wits.