Chapter 3: This Road I Have Taken

  "What's wrong with this?" Liu Yuanji leaned forward to take a look, then looked at Liu Xiu again. Although Liu Xiu couldn't figure out what was going on, he could guess that he had probably made a mistake. He couldn't help but be curious - were people in the Han Dynasty really drinking like this, eating the dregs along with the wine? In his memories of his past life, these dregs were something to feed pigs!

  "It's really not a light illness." Liu Yuanqi saw his dazed look, shook his head helplessly, got up to fetch a long-handled wine ladle, scooped out a ladle of wine from the jar and poured it into his own wooden cup. Then he handed the ladle to Liu Xiu, indicating for him to serve himself. Liu Xiu took it with a guilty conscience, carefully scooped half a ladle for himself, looked at the still somewhat murky wine sediment, and had to force himself to drink it down.

  Although the color is not good, the aroma is pure and authentic, it's definitely a wine brewed from real grains.

  Liu Yuanqi looked at him, wanting to speak but hesitating, and picked up a green bean to toss into his mouth, chewing slowly while saying something about the benefits of reading. Liu Xiu carefully responded, not daring to say another word, lest he reveal more weaknesses.

  Tang was busy for a while, then prepared several dishes, and only came to sit down with the "father-son" pair to drink a few cups. Although she was very dissatisfied with spending money on Liu Bei's education, she also felt that her son wanted to go to school because of Liu Bei's persuasion, but seeing her husband rarely speaking so warmly to their son, she felt relieved in her heart, even if it meant spending some unjustified money, she felt willing.

  It was settled, and three days later, Liu Xiu and Liu Bei rode a cow cart together, carrying gifts and tuition fees, to Yushishan west of Zhuoxian - Lu Zhi disliked the crowded noise of Zhuoxian people, which was not conducive to quiet nursing, so he chose Yushishan as his teaching place.

  Liu Bei was scolded by Tang's family that day, and he originally thought that the opportunity to read books was not great, and he was somewhat disappointed. Unexpectedly, things went smoothly beyond his expectations. Liu Xiu took the initiative to ask him to read books, and Tang's family generously prepared a thick luggage for him, just like Liu Xiu's. Although he had more thoughts in his mind, after all, he was a fifteen-year-old boy, and the joy in his heart could not be hidden. He laughed all the way, with high spirits, but occasionally glanced at Liu Xiu with a slightly smug look.

  Liu Xiu pretended to be unaware, shrinking in the ox cart, watching Liu Bei wield his whip and hurry the old ox forward. The old ox was indeed not young anymore, although it panted heavily, it couldn't speed up no matter what. Listening to the creaking of the wheels, looking at the old ox walking slowly, Liu Xiu suddenly felt a sense of relaxation. In his past life, for the sake of justice, he had spent day and night copying ancient paintings, studying techniques for forging, researching the likes and dislikes of the brick family, never having the chance to savor the leisure of life. He even thought that only those elderly people who were approaching their end would hold a purple clay teapot full of tea stains, recline in a wicker chair at the entrance of an alley, caress the shiny handle, and savor the last rays of sunset.

  But today, he suddenly found that this slow-paced life is also quite good. No pressure to get promoted, no need to be a slave to the house, no need to worry about genetically modified food or melamine-tainted milk, natural and simple, now with the guidance of a famous teacher like Lu Zhi, with his own intelligence, he can read some books well, as Liu Bei said, even if he can't become a high-ranking official, it's still possible to be a civil servant in Zhuo County, and then marry a virtuous wife, isn't that perfect?

  Liu Xiu leaned on the swaying ox cart, indulging in his own thoughts, when suddenly he thought of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which was bound to erupt but didn't know when, and couldn't help but feel deeply depressed, letting out a long sigh.

  "Big brother, are you worried about your studies again?" Liu Bei turned his head and smiled at him reassuringly: "Don't be afraid. Not to mention that Lu Jun is not that kind of pedantic scholar, even if he was, it's no big deal. We're not trying to get a Ph.D., we just want to borrow his name so that in the future, we can have an easier time in Zhuo County. Zhuo County is where the prefecture is located, and if things go well, who knows, maybe we'll even be able to find a job at the prefect's office. When that happens, I don't know how happy your uncle will be, but at least he won't scold you like he does now."

  Liu Xiu smiled: "You're still okay, I'm not. What I'm worried about now is if the teacher wants to test our academic foundation, what can we do? I've forgotten even one sentence of the classics."

  Liu Bei turned his back to Liu Xiu, smiled silently, and didn't doubt a word he said. Liu Xiu didn't like reading books, although he had studied with him in the same school for a few days on "The Analects of Confucius", but he was deaf to it, not knowing how many times he had been scolded by his teacher, and finally returned the book to his teacher as is. Compared to Liu Xiu, he still had some confidence, not only could he recite more than half of "The Analects of Confucius", but also remembered a few sentences from "The Classic of Filial Piety". This was not because he was better at studying than Liu Xiu, as they both disliked reading books. The reason he could still remember some of it was mainly because his mother always remembered that his grandfather Liu Xiong and father Liu Hong had been high officials in the county, with Liu Hong even serving as a magistrate in Dong County, making them one of the few official families in the village. She hoped he would follow in their footsteps and strive to become an official who could feed a thousand people, so she often urged him to study hard.

  Liu Xiu was worried about Mr. Kao's examination, but he wasn't worried at all, and even had some expectations, which didn't show on his face. He just spoke softly and advised: "It doesn't matter, when the time comes, you can tell Mr. Kao that you've been ill recently."

  Liu Xiu smiled silently and shrank his body again: "At that time, I'll still have to rely on you, brother."

  "That's natural." Liu Bei puffed out his chest, thumping it loudly: "Do I need you to tell me that? All these years, whenever the village youngsters fought, which time didn't my brothers and I stand shoulder-to-shoulder, beating them until they were covered in bruises? Now your body may not be fully recovered yet, but with me around, how could I let you suffer?"

  Liu Xiu responded with a "yes", but secretly curled his lip. After deciding to come and read books, his mother, Tang Shi, didn't hesitate to remind him when packing up, saying that Liu Bei was cunning, every time the village children fought in groups, he would rush forward and put in all his effort, while following behind and playing dirty tricks, telling him to be careful in the future and not always be used as a scapegoat by Liu Bei. It's unknown whether it was because of his original impression of Liu Bei or being influenced by Tang Shi's whispers, but now he had a strong sense of vigilance against Liu Bei and didn't believe a word he said.

  Liu Bei said as he drove the ox cart into a mountain path, the cliffs on both sides gradually rose higher and the path became narrower. The old ox also struggled more and more. Liu Bei got off the cart, one hand pulling the cart and the other waving his whip, sweat dripping from his forehead. He drove the ox while saying: "Big brother, ahead is Yang Tou Fu, after passing here, Jing She is not far away."

  Liu Xiu nodded and saw that Liu Bei was having a hard time, so he also got off the carriage to help push it. As soon as he lent a hand, the old cow felt much lighter and its pace quickened. Before long, they arrived at the foot of Yang Tou Fu, where two huge rocks stood on either side of the path. The two men stopped in their tracks, but were left agape by the sight before them.

  Under the hill with a sheep's head, more than ten servants-like men holding weapons surrounded a young man with a cold smile who was leading a white horse. On the side of a big stone stood a brocade-clad youngster with his hands on his waist and eyes wide open, shouting loudly: "This road is opened by me, this tree is planted by me, if you want to enter the temple, leave your toll."

  Liu Xiu cursed under his breath, "Damn it! Gaoyang County is also the county seat, similar to the provincial capital in the past. This is also where Lu Zhi's elegant residence is located. If not for the sound of books being read aloud, at least it should be a peaceful place. How can there still be daylight robbery? Moreover, that young man was dressed well, how did he end up taking on this profession of robbery, which has no technical value but extremely high risk?"

  ——

  Blue Socks Bookworm: I'm not being unkind, I just don't have time to update! Sobbing and running away with tears!

  P.S: Two updates today.