Liu Bei: My younger brother is a deity.

Chapter 69 Yan Liang Gets Beaten Up

In early June, the weather gradually warmed up.

Zhuoxian County.

Lousang Village.

Under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, several children were squatting on the ground, flicking pebbles.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of horses' hooves. They looked up and immediately erupted into chaos.

"Liu Bei is back!"

"Liu Quan is back!"

"Liu Deran is back!"

A group of children took off running towards the convoy, shouting and yelling, startling the sparrows in the trees into flight.

Liu Bei, mounted on his horse, greeted the children with a smile.

"Black Egg, why are you so dark again?"

"Ergou, your pants are about to fall down!"

"Liu Ye! Can you stop eating your snot, you son of a bitch?" Liu Bei pretended to vomit. "I'm going to throw up!"

The children burst into laughter.

As Liu Quan watched this scene, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

Zhang Fei laughed so hard he almost fell over. "This Liu Ye is truly a brave man. I would never dare to eat boogers like that."

Liu Deran also laughed and said, "This kid eats everything. I even saw him eat a frog raw."

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, the convoy slowly drove into the village.

The villagers along the road stopped and nodded with smiles.

Soon, Liu Yuanqi led a group of villagers out to greet them.

Liu was also in the crowd.

"Abei, Aquan, you're back. Was your journey smooth? How are things in Luoyang?" Liu Yuanqi asked.

Liu Bei briefly recounted the events in Luoyang, which caused a stir among the crowd.

The way everyone looked at Liu Quan changed.

Everyone was filled with awe!

That's Luoyang!

Yuan Gu has shown extraordinary talent since childhood. I never expected him to make such a great name in Luoyang. He truly deserves to be a member of the Liu family!

At this moment, Liu Yuanqi noticed some unfamiliar faces in the group.

Just as he was about to ask, he saw Liu Bei wink at him.

So he laughed and said, "Alright, alright, everyone, let Abei and the others go home and rest first. Stop crowding around."

After Liu Bei returned home and spoke with his mother for a while, he sent Zhang Fei, Zhou Cang, Yan Liang, and others to the horse farm before taking Liu Quan to Liu Yuanqi's house.

Liu Yuanqi is asking Liu Deran a question.

Liu Deran said, "Let's wait until Xuande and Yuan Gu arrive before we talk about it."

When Liu Bei arrived, he brought up the conflict with Yuan Shu.

Liu Yuanqi's expression changed drastically. "What? You...you killed dozens of Yuan family henchmen? And injured Yuan family's eldest son?"

Liu Bei hurriedly said, "Uncle, don't be alarmed. It was Yuan Shu who led a hundred cavalry to chase and kill us first. We were just fighting back in self-defense."

"Self-defense?" Liu Yuanqi smiled bitterly. "That's the Yuan family! The Yuan family, with four generations of high-ranking officials! You've caused such a huge disaster, what are you going to do in the future?"

Liu Quan said calmly, "Uncle, please don't worry. Although the Yuan family is powerful, they are not monolithic. Yuan Shu's secret departure from the capital was an unauthorized action, and Yuan Feng may not dare to make a fuss about it. Besides, he was the one who struck first, so he is in the wrong. Even if this matter goes to the Emperor, I am not afraid."

Liu Deran also said, "Father, now Abei, Aquan, and I have all become disciples of Liu Kuan. Liu Kuan once served as Grand Commandant, and his disciples and former officials are all over the world. We are not people without any background."

As he spoke, he grinned and pointed at Liu Quan: "Besides, Quan will soon be Lord Cai's son-in-law. Lord Cai is a renowned scholar, and he has connections with the Yuan family. With that relationship, what is Father worried about?"

Liu Yuanqi was startled again. "Which Lord Cai?"

Liu Bei laughed and said, "It is the famous Cai Bojie, Cai Yong."

"Great!"

Liu Yuanqi slapped his thigh and looked at Liu Quan with a gratified expression, thinking to himself, "An immortal is indeed an immortal; he has truly accomplished something great this time in the capital."

Then he thought, "That's right, Quan is an immortal. So what if the Yuan family is powerful? Can they possibly fight against a god?"

A sense of relief washed over me.

…………

Ruyang County.

The Yuan residence.

Yuan Shao, dressed in plain clothes, sat upright on the mat, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand, which was a letter sent by He Yong from Luoyang.

As he read the words one by one, his brows gradually relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Liu Quan... how could this boy be so highly praised by Bo Qiu?"

He pondered for a moment, then recalled that Xu You had mentioned this boy in a letter a few days ago.

He impressed Kong Wenju twice at the Qingtan Conference with his extraordinary literary talent; now Boqiu says he has "the courage of gods and demons" and has killed Yuan Shu, who fled in a sorry state.

He was both literary and martial, and had a blood feud with Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shao placed the bamboo slips on the table, tapped them lightly with his fingertips, and pondered for a long time.

Although this person is currently just the son of a powerful local magnate, given his current momentum, his future prospects are limitless.

If we could befriend them and bring them under our command, they would be a great asset.

However... I am currently observing mourning in Ruyang, while the other party has returned to Youzhou, and the distance between us is more than a thousand miles.

If we wait until the mourning period is over to make a decision, it will be too late.

"Got it."

Yuan Shao's mind raced.

This young man has just had a conflict with Yuan Shu, which is an excellent pretext.

He immediately summoned a servant, ordered him to bring a brush, ink, and silk, laid them on the table, and dipped the brush in ink.

The opening lines state:

"To Liu Junyuan: I have just heard that you and my younger brother, Gonglu, had a falling out, which escalated to the point of armed conflict. I was shocked and horrified to hear this. My brother is young and impetuous, and his actions are rash and impulsive. As his elder brother, I apologize on his behalf and earnestly hope that you will forgive him..."

Yuan Shao's writing was fluent and his words extremely humble, as if he wanted to humiliate Yuan Shu to the point of being ashamed. In any case, it was Yuan Shu's face that was being damaged, and he felt no remorse whatsoever.

In closing, he subtly expressed his desire for closeness and invited Liu Quan to visit Ruyang sometime in the future.

After writing, he put down his brush, blew on the ink to dry it, carefully rolled up the silk scroll, tied it with a ribbon, and summoned his trusted family members:

"Send this letter to Lousang Village, Zhuojun, Youzhou, and personally deliver it to Liu Quan and Liu Yuangu."

"Here you are."

The family members obeyed and left.

Yuan Shao stood with his hands behind his back by the window, gazing thoughtfully at the verdant pine and cypress tree in the courtyard.

…………

As evening fell, the setting sun bathed the horse farm's fence in a golden hue.

Liu Bei and Liu Quan rode over and saw several figures in the field from afar.

As they approached, they saw Yan Liang standing behind Guan Yu with a bruised and swollen face.

His eyes were bruised and there was blood at the corner of his mouth.

His face was swollen like a pig's head.

Zhou Cang stood to the side, arms crossed, grinning with a gloating expression.

Liu Bei dismounted, frowning as he asked, "What happened?"

Zhou Cang suppressed a laugh and quickly replied, "My lord, when Yan Zhuangshi arrived at the horse farm, he heard that he would be under the command of General Guan and General Han. He was very dissatisfied and immediately challenged General Guan to a duel."

"And then?" Liu Quan dismounted and asked with great interest.

"And then they got beaten up!" Zhou Cang finally couldn't help but laugh out loud. "One battle on horseback, one battle on foot, two meals in total!"

Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu.

Guan Yu stroked his long beard with one hand and said calmly, "Your martial arts are passable, but they still need refinement."

Although his tone was calm, one could hear the arrogance in his voice.

Yan Liang stood behind him without saying a word. His swollen face showed neither shame nor anger, but his eyes revealed reverence.

Was he defeated by Guan Yu?

Liu Quan thought to himself.

That's good, at least I won't die at Guan Yu's hands!

Liu Bei smiled and shook his head, patting Yan Liang on the shoulder: "Yun Chang's martial arts are superb; it's not shameful to lose to him. You can learn from him more often in the future."

Yan Liang responded in a muffled voice and then stepped aside.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with everyone and inquiring about the recent situations of Han Dang and Yan Rou, Liu Bei said seriously, "Tomorrow I will summon Jian Yong so that we can all get together and discuss our plans for July."

Everyone knows that July is the month when the imperial army officially sets off to conquer the Xianbei.

This battle is the purpose of their return.

Liu Quan leaned against the fence, gazing at the sunset glow on the horizon, silently calculating the days ahead.

One month left.