[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-the-ming":3,"chapter-overthrowing-the-ming-overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-54":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing the Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2289281,4476,"Chapter 54: Lending a Hand","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-54",54,"\u003Cp>(Please help reach 80 follow-reads, thank you.)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn't that Li You didn't smoke in his past life, but the main hall was truly too stifling, so he sat down at a table by the entrance with Wang Qiong and Skinny Monkey. He could hear, amidst the noisy clamor from the kitchen, the sobbing and screaming of women mixed in, and couldn't help but ask Wang Qiong beside him, \"How come it sounds like there are many kitchen maids?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heh, those aren't kitchen maids. They were all hostages tied up along with their wives and children!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Skinny Monkey, who worshipped Li You's prowess, hurriedly replied, \"In the end, when the shopkeepers of their families came to ransom them, they haggled and only ransomed the children, refusing the wives, so there have been some wives staying here ever since... But there are also the twelve women snatched from Lueyang last time... Actually, they live lives worse than death; I feel it would be better to just die!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You glanced at Skinny Monkey and didn't ask further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before long, Niu Jinku shouted for a group of mountain bandits to clear the card tables and prepare to eat. The area of this main hall was truly vast; setting up twenty or thirty tables for two or three hundred people was absolutely no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Niu Jinku even specifically rearranged the tables and chairs into two rows, with the head seat set at the northernmost end of the main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a short while, Wu Zhuge brought Dayun'er to the outer courtyard hall. As soon as Dayun'er entered, her eyes were fixed hotly upon Li You.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You acted as if he hadn't seen her, joining everyone around in calling out and rising to bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Zhuge walked straight to his seat and sat down, only then waving his hand, and the crowd quickly took their seats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You scanned the room and didn't find the Fourth Master Shi Dayong or the Third Master Zhang Zhuanggen, feeling a bit regretful; this was a great opportunity for socializing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the meal began, Wu Zhuge naturally gave an embellished account of what happened at Mao'er Dam during the day, followed by a fierce boast of Li You's exploits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing of the Liu brothers' arrogant provocations, the crowd—including Niu Jinku, Shi Dayong, and other tough men—roared in anger. Later, when Li You won back the pride of the group, many in the hall felt vindicated, and he instantly gained immense favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, there were also many who opened their eyes wide, ran off to quietly ask Skinny Monkey and Wang Qiong, and finally stared at Li You with even more dazed expressions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Arrows can curve? What a load of stinking bullshit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it, I think our Master has grown old and senile, falling for this scholar's tricks, and everyone has been completely hoodwinked!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The dog thing, if he can snap a piece of hardwood with his bare hands, then I'll believe he can make arrows curve... Hahaha...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were a few who were even more disgusted by Li You; these were the archers under Zhang Cang. Archers had always held a high status in feudal armies, so they were used to being overbearing, especially the three who had jumped ship from Shi Dayong's side: Kong Xiu, Zheng Daniu, and Cui Sanzao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come, let me pour wine for everyone!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Wu Zhuge finished speaking, Dayun'er stood up and picked up the wine jar, turning her body slightly to pour for Wu Zhuge first. She seemed to have just bathed, as she still had a faint scent on her, and she wasn't wearing a padded jacket but a thin floral dress. Whether intentional or not, as she poured the wine, she faced Wu Zhuge, naturally turning her back to Li You.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With a wife like this at home, even wolfberry can't cure the exhaustion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You sighed, then, as if possessed by a ghost, grabbed a large, thick bowl of rice, wrinkled his nose, and began devouring it with fatty meat slices. He polished off two large bowls, sweating profusely from his forehead, only then feeling comfortable all over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he had eaten chestnut rice at Mao'er Dam at noon, he had been truly terrified by hunger, and his body's memory made him unable to care about maintaining the demeanor of a scholar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the heavy eating came the heavy drinking; the hall was filled with the sound of chewing. The wine bought here was Luzhou Daqu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Li You's view, this wine was just like the white liquor from his past life. Li You downed five or six cups and felt his head heating up, but he still hadn't caught Wang Qiong from Wu Zhuge's side and Zhang Cang from the grain office to drink with, so he had no choice but to down several more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, as if drunk, he chatted and boasted with them, arms draped over each other's shoulders, until the hour of the Rat. Only then did Li You's eyes clear up. He thought to himself that drinking ruins things and hurried to find Wu Zhuge; he was determined to get some grain for the Nanshan side tonight no matter what!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By this time, a small number of people had left the hall, but most were sleeping soundly right there. Looking over, he suddenly discovered Wu Zhuge was still there, but he had long since passed out on the table. Dayun'er's watery eyes met his...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Li, the Great Master has been very weak lately, extremely weak. Sleeping here won't do. I can't support him alone; give me a hand, and we'll help him to bed... together!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To bed? Together?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You was a bit dazed, feeling that there was... something predatory in this woman's words!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So bold? So terrifying?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You, who had been single since birth, felt a bit cowardly. Flirting with Dayun'er before was a matter of necessity; seeing her keep looking at him, he thought he might as well make use of this handsome face and push his luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, he only wanted to survive and was willing to sacrifice his looks, but now that the life-and-death crisis was gone, how could he still have such sordid thoughts?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You's nerves were suddenly strangely tense and stimulated, and his instinctive reaction was to agree directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no choice but to walk up, pull away Wu Zhuge's right arm, and hoist half of his body. Dayun'er supported his left armpit, and the two walked out of the hall, along the pitch-black corridor, toward the inner courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the corridor, the moonlight also seemed to be cowering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Wu Zhuge was fat, Li You had a strong body, so he bore most of the weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my, when will the Master ever change this habit of loving wine like his own life? Once he drinks, the world shakes at night; even if the bed frame collapses, he won't wake up, and I'm afraid he won't be able to get up until the sun is high tomorrow!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dayun'er said coquettishly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li You's heart was pounding quite hard, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dayun'er suddenly let go of Wu Zhuge's left armpit and ran directly to Li You's right side. A scent of soap and a woman's body fragrance rushed into his nostrils one after another...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dayun'er was dressed thinly and pressed tightly against his right side. She reached out and grabbed him with practiced ease, and her expression immediately turned surprised...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh...\" Dayun'er's small mouth opened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm...\" Li You frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>",1267,"2026-06-20T03:32:06.992Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","002bbc6a36fe011e395fc3e2a65507ab3a9ccb807c012881ea9b840f52762f52","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-55","overthrowing-the-ming-chapter-53",71,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-the-ming-cover.jpg"]