Chapter 14: A Sigh

  Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan took their leave and departed, looking at the left-behind Liu Xiu. His heart was filled with mixed emotions. He glanced at Liu Xiu apologetically and walked out of the courtyard with his head hung low. Although Gongsun Zan was still somewhat agitated, he noticed Liu Bei's unease and smiled slightly: "Xuande, are you worried about your elder brother?"

  Liu Bei's emotions were low and he dryly laughed: "It's all because of my momentary impulsiveness, implicating Elder Brother."

  "You don't have to be so tense." Gong Sun said mysteriously with a smile: "I dare guarantee that your elder brother will not come to any harm, and who knows, maybe he'll even encounter some unexpected events that neither of us dares to think about."

  Liu Bei was taken aback, looked up at Gongsun Zan, saw that he wasn't joking, and somewhat believed him. His originally dull eyes also became more spirited, he thought for a moment, and smiled: "If it's really like this, then it would be for the best, and I won't have to be anxious all the time."

  Gongsun Zan was about to speak, but stopped. Just as they were approaching the dormitory door, he suddenly said: "Xuande, since we've already met our teacher, I'm sure there won't be any classes today. I'd like to go out and take a look at the scenery of Taogu Valley. Are you interested in coming with me?"

  Liu Bei's eyes rolled, and he agreed readily. The two of them left the temple and walked along the peach forest for a while, then followed the Peach Stream for dozens of steps before stopping to look around, making sure no one was watching. They found a rock by the stream and sat down. Gongsun Zan tilted his head, looked at Liu Bei with a smile, and asked: "Xuande, what kind of person were you in the past?"

  Liu Bei did not answer him immediately, but picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it into the water, quietly watching the ripples on the Taohua Creek. After a while, he said: "I told you before that he is physically strong, has great strength, and is unbeatable in a fight. Even when outnumbered, he rarely loses. However, I also told you that his brain isn't very good, and he's a bit foolish. Now that I think about it... it doesn't seem quite right."

  Gongsun Zan called Liu Bei outside, wanting to carefully inquire about Liu Xiu's situation. Liu Bei had told him that Liu Xiu had some bravery, but didn't like reading books and was a bit simple-minded. However, after interacting with him for just one day, Gongsun Zan felt that Liu Bei's words were somewhat problematic. Although Liu Xiu indeed wasn't good at reading books, his eyes were bright, his speech was fluent, and he didn't give off any foolish impression; on the contrary, he seemed rather cunning. Moreover, when talking about his beautiful calligraphy, he spoke evasively, making Gongsun Zan inevitably harbor some suspicions.

  After listening to Liu Bei's words, Gongsun Zan believed his judgment even more, and he quietly listened to Liu Bei continue speaking.

  "Actually, my elder brother was originally not stupid at all. I remember my mother saying that when he learned to read characters, he was faster than most children. He didn't dare to say that he could recite after just one glance, but he was indeed much faster than others. It's just that he really didn't like reading books, whether it was the "Cang Jie Pian" or the "Ji Jiu Pian". Later on, when he studied the "Lun Yu" and the "Xiao Jing", it was even more so. However, this problem of getting a headache when seeing books only started later...it seems to be related to his father."

  "His uncle?" Gong Sunzhan became even more curious.

  Because he didn't work hard at reading, he was beaten by his father several times. As a result, not only did he not correct himself, but he became even more severe, and sometimes it seemed like he was intentionally going against his father's will.

  Liu Bei seemed to be muttering to himself, thinking as he spoke: "Later on, his father also gave up hope, always saying that he was useless, a waste of space, saying that he wasn't as good as me. And later... it ended up like this."

  "His father is probably eager for him to make a name for himself." Gong Sun said with a smile, "As parents, they always hope their children can study and become accomplished. But in my opinion, what's the big deal about studying or not? Take your older brother, for example - even if he doesn't study, his physique will still allow him to achieve military merit and make a name for himself."

  "It's a pity that although the great ancestor emperor said 'no merit, no enfeoffment, those who do not keep their promises will be attacked by all under heaven', but now in our great Han dynasty, even with military merit it is still not as easy to become a marquis as it is for those bookworms. Leaving behind a thousand pieces of gold is not as good as leaving behind one classic." Liu Bei let out a long sigh and kicked a small stone into the water with his foot, causing a splash that sent up a flower of water.

  "No, even if one has military achievements like Duan Taiwei, they still need to fawn on the eunuchs to become a Taiwei. On the other hand, those bookworms who have never even killed a single person keep rotating in and out of the three ducal positions." Gong Sunzhan also let out a long sigh with a similar sentiment: "From this point of view, it's no wonder that Ah Rong is so anxious, but what a pity..."

  Liu Bei smiled silently and did not answer, staring blankly at the distant rolling hills in a daze.

  Lu Min explained the situation to Liu Xiu and asked for his opinion. Liu Xiu was overjoyed, of course, it was what he had been hoping for, and immediately agreed. Although being a copyist didn't necessarily mean he would be able to get close to Lu Zhi, it was still a good opportunity. On the first day at Jing She, there was already such progress, which exceeded his expectations, where could he possibly have any dissatisfaction?

  Lu Min was delighted to see him agree, and asked more about his studies. Liu Xiu didn't dare to boast on this point, fearing that he would reveal his weaknesses, so he understated himself, almost saying that he was illiterate. In fact, although he hadn't studied ancient characters specifically, due to calligraphy and seal carving, he wasn't unfamiliar with seal script and clerical script.

  Two men talked for a while, Lu Min let Liu Xiu go back to make some preparations, and he himself went to see Lu Zhi. He told Lu Zhi about the situation that Gongsun Zan had introduced earlier in detail. Lu Zhi listened, remained silent for a long time, and finally said: "Zi Xing, help me draft a letter, tell Cai Boji and Yang Baoxian about the situation here. The court and relatives are not yet settled, I'm worried that it will turn to conquest again. Most of the officials in charge of border affairs in the imperial court do not understand the situation, let alone those eunuchs around the emperor. If they have a lucky psychology, I'm afraid something big will happen."

  Lu Min didn't dare to slack off and nodded repeatedly.

  Lu Zhi said, "You send someone to the city and tell Li Ding about what Gongsun Zan said. He has some connections with the Governor and the Magistrate, so he should have a chance to speak up. Although Gaoping is somewhat far from the border, it's not unreachable either. It's always good to make preparations early."

  "Yes." Lu Min bowed again and replied, seeing that Lu Zhi had nothing else to say, he got up and went aside to draft a letter. After finishing writing, he handed it over to Lu Zhi to read through once. Lu Zhi picked up his brush and revised a few words, then let him go out to find Liu Xiu, have Liu Xiu make a fair copy, and then have him take it to Zhuo County, where it would be sent to Luoyang by official post.

  Liu Xiu heard that the letter was sent to Cai Yong, and he did not dare to be careless. According to Lu Min's request, he wrote it clearly with neat clerical script, checked it twice carefully, and then handed it over to Lu Min. Lu Min took him to the study room, taught him to tie the wooden slips with fine twine, fill them with green ink, print Lu Zhi's private seal on them, and then rush to Zhuo County.

  Lu Min went to attend to some matters and wouldn't be able to teach for a while, and Lu Zhi hadn't arranged any copying tasks yet. So Liu Xiu returned to his dormitory, took out the letter that Liu Bei had brought, and started doing his homework. Before long, Gong Sun Zan and Liu Bei returned. As soon as they entered the door, Liu Bei carefully looked at Liu Xiu's face, saw that it was normal, without any of yesterday's anger, and only then did he feel relieved. He gave Gong Sun Zan a look of admiration, and happily said to Liu Xiu: "Big brother, what did Mr. Sheng say to you?"

  "It's nothing much, just that it gave me some time to copy articles for the master." Liu Xiu said lightly.

  "What?" Liu Bei was surprised, and then immediately showed a look of envy: "You're going to study with Master Lu?"

  Liu Xiulian shook her head repeatedly: "It's not reading, just copying and writing."

  "Blockhead." Gong Sunzhan couldn't help but laugh and scold: "Although it's just copying, being the first to see Master's handwritten article manuscript is a hundred times better than listening to Master lecture. This blockhead of yours is really lucky, like a mountain that can't be stopped."