Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 140 Zhu Miao: I will take care of your son myself, so don't worry!

Yuan Shao died, and his death was utterly meaningless.

Even though Wang Kuang, Zou Jing, and others were indignant about Dian Wei's "tyranny," they had to admit that Dian Wei had indeed warned Yuan Shao beforehand, but unexpectedly Yuan Shao suddenly drew his sword against him.

This behavior is already considered disorderly conduct!

"Do you also intend to resist with weapons?"

Dian Wei's fierce eyes swept over the group, clearly showing that he didn't mind killing a few more people to avenge His Highness the Crown Prince.

The crowd, who had just been mourning Yuan Shao with sorrowful faces, no longer cared about him. Wang Qian, the chief clerk of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, who arrived later, stepped forward with a solemn expression and bowed to Dian Wei, saying, "I am Wang Qian, the chief clerk of the General of Chariots and Cavalry. I beg you, Dian Wei, to investigate thoroughly. We have no intention of treason, and the General of Chariots and Cavalry has no intention of treason either. This is Yuan Shao's matter alone. I beg you, Dian Wei, not to kill the innocent."

Wang Qian shook his head slightly and sighed inwardly. He couldn't care less about Yuan Shao, who was already dead, even though he was a member of the Yuan family.

Can a dead Yuan Shao be compared to the living masses?

Besides, what time is it? He's a thug who just killed dozens of people, and you're still trying to gain fame for yourself by following your usual habits, and you almost dragged everyone down with you!

Although the Wang family of Shanyang was not as illustrious as the Yuan family of Runan, which had four generations of three dukes, it was still a family with two generations of three dukes. His grandfather, Wang Gong, served as Grand Commandant during the reign of Emperor Xiaoshun.

His father, Wang Chang, was known for his strict enforcement of the law. He was promoted four times to the position of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and later became the Commandant of the Capital Region. In the first year of Jianning (168 AD), he was appointed Minister of Works by the current emperor.

With Wang Qian's keen eye, he could naturally see the discord between He Jin and Yuan Shao today. After learning the details from Fan Zeng, the Sima of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, he was filled with resentment towards He Jin.

Last year, he accepted He Jin's invitation to serve as the Chief Secretary of the General of Chariots and Cavalry. He repeatedly advised He Jin to reconcile with the Crown Prince and not to look down on the Crown Prince who held military and political power. However, He Jin gradually distanced himself from him because of his advice and did not even discuss Bian Rang's remonstrance with him.

I accepted your recruitment and did my best to assist you, which was already giving you a lot of face, but you treat everyone's future and lives like a joke!
Kuai Yue, the Eastern Cao Yuan who came with Wang Qian, had a gloomy expression, and his resentment was no less than Wang Qian's. He had long foreseen He Jin's defeat and was planning to ask He Jin for a post outside the capital for training the next day, but he did not expect this incident to happen today.

Xu Chu stepped forward, returned Wang Qian's greeting, and said gently, "Chief Secretary Wang, do not worry. Today we are only here on orders to arrest Bian Rang and to order all personnel of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's office not to leave. There is no other reason."

Xu Chu remembered that His Highness the Crown Prince had once said that there were many talented people in the General of Chariots and Cavalry’s mansion, but they were being wasted by following He Jin.

He vaguely remembered that this Chief Secretary Wang was also one of the talents mentioned by the Crown Prince. As long as they did not resist and did not participate in Bian Rang's affairs, Xu Chu had no intention of making things difficult for them. Perhaps in a while they would become colleagues in the Crown Prince's residence?
"Thank you Dian Zhongdun and Xu Weishuai."

Wang Qian was quite grateful for this. Compared with Dian Wei and Xu Chu's attitude towards Yuan Shao, and then seeing their respect for him, Wang Qian suddenly felt that Dian Wei and Xu Chu were not so hateful after all, they were just following orders.

With the cooperation of Chief Secretary Wang Qian, the scattered soldiers in the General of Chariots and Cavalry's mansion laid down their weapons. Only a few loyalists from the He family of Nanyang stubbornly resisted, but were eventually killed on the spot.

In the main hall of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's mansion, Zhu Miao, clad in crimson iron armor and wearing a plumed helmet, strode into the hall like a proud rooster, his eyes fixed on He Jin, who sat quietly in the main seat.

Zhu Miao didn't stand on ceremony at all, plopping down directly at the table on the lower right side, leaning against the jade armrest, and looking at He Jin without any decorum.

But for some reason, he, who had previously hated He Jin with a vengeance, now felt little hatred upon seeing He Jin sitting there in a disheveled state, looking haggard. Instead, he felt a sense of shared sorrow for the fallen. He then waved to the people behind him and said, "Junyi, Zishan, Boyi, you all wait outside the door. Give us brothers some space to talk."

Seeing the hesitation of the crowd, Zhu Miao patted the iron armor on his chest and grinned, "Although I am not as brave and fierce as He Sui, with this armor on, even if he has malicious intentions, I will not be unable to call for help."

"Besides..." Zhu Miao looked at He Jin with a complicated expression, sighed slowly, and said, "He won't make a move."

Zhang He, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou exchanged bewildered glances, puzzled by his actions. After all, Zhu Miao's current demeanor was completely different from his earlier impassioned display of leading his men into the General of Chariots and Cavalry's mansion and even personally killing five people. Nevertheless, they obeyed his orders and withdrew.

The main hall doors creaked shut, plunging the room into silence. Zhu Miao rose and lit the candles in the hall. The flickering candlelight illuminated his deep gaze. He looked at He Jin and said slowly, "He Suigao, why have you come to this?"

He Jin didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. His lips curled down slightly, as if Zhu Miao was mocking his misfortune. He ignored him completely and stared indifferently at the bamboo slip in his hand. It was a copy of the memorial to the throne that had been submitted to the Ministry of Personnel and then passed on to the Crown Prince.

"What I mean is, why did you go to such lengths?"

Upon hearing this, He Jin's fingers trembled slightly as he held the bamboo slip, but his gaze remained fixed on the memorial. He kept his head down and said calmly, "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? How could a mediocre person like you understand my thoughts?"

"Yes, I am indeed an ordinary man. I only want to be a wealthy man, sleeping until the afternoon, enjoying delicacies at my disposal, and embracing my beautiful wife and concubines while listening to songs and appreciating music. For me, this would be the perfect life." Zhu Miao shook his head and chuckled, looking at He Jin with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

He also understood that his thoughts were simply because he had been bullied too much by He Jin in his early years, and this life of a wealthy man was the life he had dreamed of in his past.

But He Jin, who had studied and practiced martial arts since childhood, was different. His sights were always set on official career, and being in his prime, he was naturally not satisfied with that.

"However, even if you don't want to be a wealthy man like me, His Highness the Crown Prince is not a heartless person. If you serve him wholeheartedly, he will reward you accordingly."

Zhu Miao sighed, his expression full of emotion, feeling that the world was truly strange. He Jin had tried his best but failed, while Zhu Miao had obtained cockfighting and horse racing without asking. Zhu Miao sighed again and said, "His Highness has promised me that if the rebellion in Taishan County is successfully quelled, he will be granted the title of Marquis, and he also asked if I would like to be appointed as the Governor of Yanzhou."

"Heh, should I, General Wei, submit a memorial of congratulations?" He Jin placed the bamboo slip in his hand on the table and finally turned his gaze to Zhu Miao, his expression quite complicated.

There was a hint of jealousy, and a hint of resentment.

In fact, He Jin knew that He Miao was right; his good nephew was not someone he could control, but he was unwilling to give up.

The fact that the Crown Prince was able to return to the palace from the Taoist temple outside the palace was a compromise made at the cost of many political interests. Otherwise, how could there have been a palace coup to establish a Crown Prince, and how could the Crown Prince have the power he has now?
Therefore, he felt that he had done a great favor for the crown prince. Moreover, so many imperial brothers-in-law in the two Han dynasties were able to hold high positions and wield great power, so why couldn't he?
Therefore, upon seeing Bian Rang's audacious memorial, he gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and prepared to take a gamble!
If he wins the bet, the brat will be forced to grant him power under pressure; if he loses, he can simply become a wealthy man.

Could this little brat possibly kill him?

Ha, it would be good if this little brat killed him too, then the history books could add another "great achievement" of the crown prince killing his uncle.

However, thinking of this, He Jin's expression darkened, and he felt somewhat sorry for his son.

"If the Crown Prince wants to kill me, then I entrust Xian'er to you." He Jin sighed, his voice slightly weak, and his shoulders slumped slightly.

This was the first time in his life that he had shown weakness in front of Zhu Miao.

Zhu Miao was slightly taken aback, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

He Jin's first wife passed away after giving birth to He Xian. Afterwards, in order to ensure He Xian's position as the eldest son, He Jin did not accept marriage proposals from aristocratic families. He publicly stated that he deeply loved his deceased wife and did not want to remarry, and only took a few beautiful concubines.

Coincidentally, he only had one son, He Xian, so He Xian was also pampered from a young age.

Thinking of this, Zhu Miao couldn't help but say with a half-smile, "He's your lifeblood. Aren't you afraid that my son and I will inflict all the bullying you inflicted on me back then on him?"

He Jin chuckled lightly, a hint of disdain in his voice, and said with a slight upturn of his lips, "You won't."

“Others might, but someone like you wouldn’t. Having suffered, you wouldn’t stand by and watch Ah Xian suffer the same way.”

A surge of anger welled up in Zhu Miao's heart. He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingertips turned white from the force, and the veins on his arms bulged. He then punched He Jin hard in the face.

Caught off guard by the sudden punch, He Jin was knocked to the ground by Zhu Miao, his face visibly swollen and red. However, he did not retaliate, but calmly sat back down.

Seeing He Jin's calm and composed expression, Zhu Miao became even more furious. His chest heaved uncontrollably, and he clenched his fists, roaring, "You scoundrel! Since you knew the consequences would be dire, why did you choose to oppose His Highness the Crown Prince!"

In fact, when he first entered the He family, He Jin treated him like a brother and took good care of him in many ways.

However, as He Jin's circle of friends grew larger, he was also instigated by them to distance themselves from him and bully him, just as many scholars and treacherous officials in the General of Chariots and Cavalry's mansion were now urging him to compete with the Crown Prince for power.

Suddenly, the main hall door was opened, and Zhang He and the others entered with weapons in hand after hearing the commotion inside. They found He Jin with a swollen face and Zhu Miao unharmed.

Zhu Miao regained his composure and said calmly, "Junyi has come at the right time. Let's go back to the manor."

"only!"

Zhu Miao took a deep breath and slowly walked out of the hall. But just before leaving the main hall, he left a sentence without turning back.

“I will take care of your son myself, so you don’t need to worry.”

The main hall doors closed again. Inside the quiet hall, He Jin slowly put down the bamboo slip in his hand, but couldn't help but burst into laughter. His laughter echoed in the hall, but as he laughed, his eyes became moist, and a tear slowly slid down his cheek.

"Thanks, Brother Miao."

(3175 words)
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P.S.: I'm late with the update. I went to sweep the tombs today. Apparently, it's said that this year's Qingming Festival falls in a certain month, so it's not auspicious to sweep tombs during Qingming. Therefore, I went a week in advance. I didn't know this beforehand.

The second update will be posted later.

(End of this chapter)