Chapter 41: History is Changing

  "Tell me about what happened to him in Taoyuan." Liu Yuanji ordered a few dishes and some wine, then slowly and calmly spoke to Liu Bei. From start to finish, he didn't take a single glance at Liu Shu, as if Liu Shu wasn't his son, but rather Liu Bei was.

  Liu Xiu was quite perplexed, but he had already gotten used to his father's unreasonable favoritism over the past few months. He didn't show any signs of displeasure and sat quietly on the side with a calm smile on his face as Liu Bei spoke enthusiastically. He found Liu Bei's sudden excitement today somewhat strange and felt that he seemed too passionate, wondering if he was trying to make an impression in front of his father or had some other intention.

  Liu Bei told them about what happened after they arrived at Peach Valley, and it was also clear and logical, vividly describing the scene, especially when he talked about Liu Xiu defeating Yan Yu, although he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, but later on, he had asked many classmates in detail, and now when he told them, it was as if he had seen it himself.

  Liu Yuanqi listened quietly, occasionally interjecting a sentence or two, his face calm as still water, without any ripples, even when Liu Bei mentioned that he had cut off his own war sword and was almost defeated by Yan Rou, he only raised an eyebrow and did not say a word.

  As they spoke, the wine waiter brought up the wine and dishes. The three of them ate and chatted, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. With Liu Bei speaking on his behalf, Liu Xiu became quiet and buried his head in eating. Before long, he had swept away a plate of roasted meat in front of him, then swallowed a pot of dog meat with soup and water, and finally rubbed his belly with some lingering regret.

  Liu Yuanqi finally looked at him and then at Liu Bei, a warm smile on his face: "Xuande, is it enough to eat? If not, I'll call for some more."

  "That's enough." Liu Bei hastily smiled and said: "I'm not as good at eating as big brother, these are already sufficient."

  "Haha, he's a rough guy, and all that's left is the ability to eat this." Liu Yuanqi took out his wallet from his waist and pulled out a string of money, placing it on the table. He said to Liu Bei: "Take this money, go to the cloth market later to buy some fabric, and I'll bring it back for your mother to make you new clothes. You're following the teacher to study now, and wearing such shabby clothes will make people look down on you."

  Liu Bei hastily thanked him. Mrs. Tang, because of Liu Xiu's sake, paid his tuition fees for him, but she was not very comfortable in her heart, made new clothes for Liu Xiu, but did not prepare them for him, and now he is still wearing the old clothes with patches. After finishing eating, he wiped his mouth and bid farewell to Liu Yuanqi, and hurried to the cloth shop to buy cloth.

  In the room, only Liu Yuanqi and Liu Xiu were left. The smile on Liu Yuanqi's face slowly faded away as Liu Bei walked out of the door. He held his wine cup, took a sip, lowered his head to think for a moment, and suddenly said: "Is reading good?"

  Liu Xiu hesitated for a moment: "Okay."

  "These days, apart from practicing martial arts and competing, what books have you read?" Liu Yuanqi put down his wine cup and said slowly.

  Liu Xiu didn't dare to slack off, and recited the results of his own memorization of "The Classic of Filial Piety" and "Analects of Confucius" for these few days. Finally, he also recited a few passages as requested by Liu Yuanqi, seeing Liu Yuanqi's expression clear up, only then did he secretly let out a sigh of relief. Old Dad suddenly came to watch them, and took them out to eat, but he always felt that it wasn't such a simple matter.

  "The book is read well, but that brave and good fighting character has not changed." Liu Yuanqi commented after listening: "Also, how did you shoot Xuan De's eyebrow?"

  "That's unexpected."

  "Unexpected?" Liu Yuanqi rolled his eyes and suddenly became very stern: "Do you know that because of this unexpected event, Li Ding's eyes no longer have him in them?"

  Liu Xiu was taken aback, and suddenly realized that his father's attitude towards Li Ding at this moment was somewhat disrespectful, completely unlike his previous respectful tone when mentioning Li Ding. However, his thoughts were quickly absorbed by Liu Yuanqi's words just now, and he recalled the scene where Liu Bei went to see Li Ding that day, but returned with a gloomy face.

  "What's the big deal?"

  "Of course." Liu Yuanji's hands rested on the table as he straightened up, and suddenly there was an inexplicable aura about him. He looked at the empty cups and plates on the table, but Liu Xiu felt a chill run down his spine - had his old man had some strange encounter recently? Why did he feel like a different person now? Just like that beautiful woman on the wall with the pink dress, who wore fine clothes but had the demeanor of a maid. The only difference was that his new clothes made him look like an uncouth country bumpkin, while his demeanor exuded elegance.

  "The eyebrows are the officials of longevity, governing good fortune. If one eyebrow is broken, his good fortune will also be broken." Liu Yuanqi said calmly: "Li Ding used to appreciate Xuande because he had a good eyebrow, although he suffered many hardships, but in the end, he could achieve great things, so he deliberately cultivated him. But now... Li Ding says that his facial features have been ruined, destined to never rise to prominence in his life, and there is no more value in cultivating him."

  Liu Xu was taken aback, feeling both amused and terrified. He found it amusing because Li Ding had taken a liking to Liu Bei simply because of his good eyebrows, but he felt fearful because although this was superstition, it couldn't be denied that this superstition had indeed been correct.

  He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Ah-weng, you just said that Xuande has a good eyebrow, is it this left eyebrow that I injured? His right eyebrow was originally broken, so it's not a good eyebrow?"

  Liu Yuan nodded and raised the corner of his mouth: "The male lead is on the left, the female lead is on the right. The left eyebrow is in charge of a man's good fortune, the right eyebrow is in charge of his wife. Xuande's right eyebrow has several breaks, indicating that he will lose his wife repeatedly. However, as long as a great man achieves success and fame, losing a few wives doesn't matter. But now you've injured his left eyebrow, so his career won't have any prospects. If he also loses his wives repeatedly, wouldn't he be miserable to the extreme? How could Li Ding cultivate such a person?"

  Liu Xiu was shocked again, although he wasn't familiar with history, but he also knew that Liu Bei had a "good point", which was to lose his wife. Whenever he lost a battle, his wife would be captured and taken away. Didn't Guan Yu ride alone for thousands of miles just to protect two sisters-in-law? In the Battle of Changban Slope, Lady Gan and Lady Mi fell into trouble, and Lady Mi jumped into a well and died. If it weren't for Zhao Yun's seven advances and retreats, even Lady Gan wouldn't have been saved.

  Feelings... this is also fate.

  Liu Xiu didn't know what to say anymore, if this was also a coincidence, purely a guess, then this guess was too accurate.

  Liu Xiu suddenly thought, if it's said like this, his arrow that shot the black dragon, isn't it already changing the course of history, and in an instant, killing off one of the Three Kingdoms' great heroes? Liu Bei's fate... is also too miserable. Will he still meet Guan Yu and Zhang Fei? Will he still meet Zhuge Liang? Did he die in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, or did he die in the warlords' mixed battles? Was it at the hands of Lü Bu, or was it at the hands of Cao Cao? Or perhaps he died at the hands of a nameless small soldier?

  Is this really the Eastern Han Dynasty, or is it a strange continent where witchcraft runs rampant?

  "It's not just Li Ding who is disappointed, I am also very disappointed." Liu Yuanqi saw Liu Xiu's face turn red and white, thinking he was feeling regretful, and continued to say: "Among the many young people in our clan, only Xuande has the most talent. In order to help him, I don't know how many times I argued with your mother, but... your inexplicable arrow destroyed all my efforts."

  Liu Xiu rubbed his head and smiled wryly: "Ah, old man, if you're counting on Xuande to achieve something and bring benefits to our family, that's a bit far-fetched. Li Jun has already said it, he will lose his wife and suffer many hardships, by the time he succeeds, who knows when that'll be, probably not in this lifetime."

  What he said is not a lie, it seems that after Liu Bei became the emperor of Shu, there were no Liu family members around him. The name of Liu Xiu was never even heard, whether he became a cannon fodder or Liu Bei didn't promote him, that's unclear. Anyway, his family shouldn't have benefited from Liu Bei's glory, and my dad's investment is a total loss.

  "Since you can't rely on him, who can you rely on?" Liu Yuanqi sneered: "Is it just because of your reckless bravery in fighting with others?"