The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

Looking at Chen Mingzhen's smiling face, Liu Chen recalled the night Chen Mingzhen first married into the family. Because of her inferiority complex, because... she was like a ruffled little rabbit, demanding an explanation from him.

As a result, during this period, apart from being a bit busier, she was probably more at ease than when she was in the Chen family.

As for the Lü family, Liu Chen had forgotten. The reason he said that at Wang Ziting was simply because he wanted to kill He Sui.

Now that He Sui is dead, the He family's fortune is in their hands. As for this beautiful woman... Liu Chen pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Alright. Let her come to serve you tonight."

Chen Mingzhen smiled and nodded, then sat down beside Liu Chen and chatted for a while. She was quite intelligent, and she also had Liu Zhaoning and Chen Lingzi, who were related to her by blood, serving Liu Chen in bed. Although she didn't talk to Liu Chen much on ordinary days, she understood him quite well and they got along very well.

Liu Chen was also willing to talk to her.

When she felt it was about time, Chen Mingzhen led her people away, showing great understanding of the situation.

"What should I do?" Now that everyone was gone, Liu Chen was left with nothing to do. For the past twenty-odd days, he had been discussing military strategy with Huang Chong and Zhang Sheng, and now that it had all stopped, he felt quite uneasy.

"Right. Let's practice archery and long spear fighting." Liu Chen clapped his hands, stood up, and told the eunuchs to go and prepare.

Not long after, he left the palace with a long spear in hand, carrying a bow and arrows, and riding a fine horse with more than ten riders. He went to the training ground outside the palace to practice with the long spear.

He learned the spear from Zhang Sheng, of course. Zhang Sheng's assessment was that Liu Chen used it quite well.

Liu Chen didn't know his own skill level; he was just practicing diligently. What if it came in handy on the battlefield? In crucial moments, relying on others is less reliable than relying on oneself.

The day passed quickly. In the evening, Liu Chen returned to his palace and had dinner with Chen Mingzhen. He then bathed and changed clothes with the help of palace maids. He left his palace and went to his study to read for a while before returning to his palace.

The palace was dimly lit.

Eight palace maids and eunuchs stood in different positions, and bowed in unison when Liu Chen entered.

A beautiful woman was sitting on the bed.

She was dressed in coarse linen clothes, with only a wooden hairpin in her hair, and her head was slightly lowered. Her attire was extremely simple.

Her skin was as smooth and delicate as cream, and her figure was curvaceous and shapely. In modern terms, she was flawless from every angle, with an amazing figure.

Liu Chen waved his hand, dismissing the eunuchs and maids. He then sat down beside her on the bed and said, "You hate me."

"I wish I could devour your flesh and blood." Madam Lü raised her head, revealing a face filled with hatred.

Hatred distorted her pretty face, but it did not diminish her beauty; instead, it gave her an unusual charm.

"I could have chosen not to explain, but I felt that forcing myself on someone was utterly tasteless," Liu Chen chuckled, crossing his legs on the bed. "You've forgotten, this isn't our first meeting. We met at Wangziting, when He Sui was pontificating with a group of well-dressed gentlemen, talking about how Gao of Dangtu was the one who would replace the Han dynasty. That was the seed of karma planted then. This empire belongs to my family, and He Sui wanted to destroy it. What's wrong with killing him, causing his family to be ruined?"

"There's nothing wrong with seeking wealth and fortune through danger, but you also need to be alive to handle such immense wealth. He went to great lengths for this fortune; do you think he deserved to die?"

Madam Lü's eyes widened instantly as she turned to examine Liu Chen's face closely. The lighting was dim, and she hadn't seen him clearly because she had been looking down.

Once she saw Liu Chen's face clearly, Wang Ziting's memories immediately surfaced.

Yes, she remembered. A well-dressed man had indeed led his entourage up the mountain to Prince's Pavilion. She had even considered reminding her husband, never imagining that this man was none other than Liu Chen, the Prince of Beidi.

She was his wife, so she naturally knew what her husband was doing. But she never felt any danger.

Because Liu Shan was weak and incompetent. A large number of people, including Qiao Zhou, did the same, yet Liu Shan didn't kill anyone to demonstrate his power.

They didn't become so arrogant all at once. Rather, they made steady progress, step by step, gradually creating the current situation.

Nothing happened all these years. Even when Qiao Zhou carved that sentence on a pillar outside the main hall, nothing happened.

"When the crowd is large and the meeting is scheduled, everything is prepared and distributed; how can this be repeated?"

Unexpectedly... Liu Shan had such a son.

"This is fate." Madam Lü's pretty face turned deathly pale, as if she had lost all her strength, and she collapsed to the ground.

Politics is cruel.

If you plot against me, I will plot against you.

Her husband's death was not unjust.

Fortunately, they had no children; otherwise, they would probably have all been killed.

"The world is so cruel. Countries are destroyed, families are ruined, wives and children are separated." Liu Chen sighed softly, thinking of himself. He Sui made him unhappy, so he killed He Sui and took He Sui's wife.

Cao Wei was also eyeing the north covetously; if he didn't manage things well, he would also face the loss of his wife and children.

"Undress me." Liu Chen stood up, spread his arms, and called for Lady Lü to come over.

In truth, whether or not these words were spoken, Lady Lü would have been powerless to resist.

In this land, "extermination" means slaughtering all the male members of the enemy family. No matter how fierce a woman is, she can't accomplish anything.

After that, Lady Lü was just one of his concubines, and after she gave birth to a child, she could no longer cause any trouble.

It feels a little awkward now, but you'll get used to it eventually.

Lady Lü's pretty face was completely bloodless, her pearly white teeth biting her lip. She then sighed softly, knelt up as if resigned, first lowered the curtain, and then undressed Liu Chen.

His clothes slipped off.

Be honest with each other.

.........

Lady Lü was, after all, a woman whom Liu Chen had abducted. The eunuchs and palace maids were not at ease with her.

Soon they were back in the palace on duty.

...........

"Time flies, and I'm getting old."

On the bustling main road, Huang Chong rode in a palanquin, surrounded by his entourage, towards Fan County.

The swaying of the carriage made his old back creak and groan as if it were emitting a wail. A look of desolation and sorrow appeared on his face. When his father, Huang Quan, surrendered and their family received special treatment from Zhaolie, he made up his mind to die for his country. But all these years later, he still hadn't found the opportunity to die.

Before he knew it, he had grown old.

But... Huang Chong suddenly perked up, and Liu Chen's heroic face appeared in his mind. His loneliness and sorrow disappeared, replaced by a fighting spirit as fierce as fire.

He was truly fortunate to meet Liu Chen, the grandson of Liu Bei, at the end of his life.

To paraphrase Cao Cao, "An old steed in its stall may still aspire to gallop a thousand miles."

I am still very young.

Huang Chong took a deep breath, thinking, "But my back is really about to give out. Next time, I'll take the carriage; I can sit or lie down."

"Lord Wang, we have arrived at Fan County." A rider on a fine horse reined in his horse and bowed to Huang Chong.

Huang Chong nodded slightly, looked up at the city in front of him, his eyes shining brightly.

The plundering of Sichuan's wealth began here.