My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 517 Father and Son Discuss Marriage
After entering Tancheng, Liu Bei personally led Liu Feng to the backyard to pay respects to his mother, wife, and Liu Feng's younger brothers and sisters.

It must be said that Liu Bei was in excellent physical condition. In the past few years, he gave birth to a younger brother and two younger sisters for Liu Feng.

Liu Bei now has four sons and four daughters. Although this is far from comparable to Cao Cao's twenty-nine sons in the original timeline, considering that Liu Bei was able to have three more sons after arriving in Jingzhou, he can certainly match Sun Quan's achievement of having seven sons.

Thanks to the care of doctors and the sanitation system designed by Liu Feng, and because there were no more fierce battles in Xuzhou in this timeline, Liu Bei's family members did not fall into the hands of various warlords one after another.

Therefore, Wu and Tian's health not only did not deteriorate, but actually improved compared to when they were in Zhuozhou.

Liu Bei was naturally very happy, but Liu Feng was no less delighted.

After paying his respects to the Wu and Tian families, Liu Feng presented them with carefully selected gifts, the most precious of which were cotton clothes, linen, pearls, and other valuable items from Jiaozhou.

Lady Wu and Lady Tian were naturally delighted, and Liu Shan and his brothers also received their own gifts. Even Liu Bei received a jade seal carefully prepared by Liu Feng. The officials in the hall, including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Tian Yu, Qian Zhao, Zang Ba, Xun You, Lu Su, and Liu Ye, also presented gifts.

For a time, everyone in Tancheng was overjoyed and filled with happiness.

That evening, Liu Bei hosted a banquet at his residence to welcome his eldest son. Even Zhang Fei, who was far away in Langya, and Guan Yu, who was in Pei State, came back to join in the celebration. Liu Feng, in particular, became the most important guest at the banquet.

Even though Liu Feng had a good tolerance for alcohol, he still got completely drunk.

When he woke up the next day, he found himself sharing a bed with his father. He chuckled to himself, thinking to himself that he had finally earned the privilege of sleeping in the same bed as his father.

After Liu Feng woke up, Liu Bei also woke up soon after.

Looking at Liu Feng, Liu Bei's eyes were somewhat complicated. Unbeknownst to him, his son had already accomplished such great things, and his foundation was no less than his own.

If we take into account what Liu Feng has done, and include the contributions of Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and even Yanzhou, his achievements are probably even greater than ours.

Liu Bei naturally wouldn't have any thoughts about this, much less doubt his son. But looking at his incredibly capable son, he felt a strange sense of nostalgia for his son, even though he was in his prime.

"Your return is timely. There is something I would like to ask your opinion on."

As if trying to shake off his own thoughts, Liu Bei changed his clothes while speaking to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Father, if you ask, I will answer without reservation."

Liu Bei laughed and waved his hand, "There's no need to be so formal. We are father and son, not foreign subjects. Why be so polite?"

Liu Feng instinctively wanted to reply with a "Yes," but remembering Liu Bei's words, he quickly stopped himself and couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing Liu Feng laugh, Liu Bei also laughed, and Liu Feng laughed even louder.

A burst of laughter suddenly erupted from the bedroom, puzzling the servants and guards outside. Little did they know that this laughter had almost completely dissolved the estrangement between father and son, making the atmosphere much more harmonious and warm.

“Your elder brother Guan Ping is now eighteen years old.”

After the laughter subsided, Liu Bei, still smiling, slowly began to speak about what had just been mentioned: "Your second uncle wants to ask for your sister in marriage for him. As the eldest brother, you are like a father to him. You have also met Tanzhi. Tell your father what you think."

After hearing what Liu Bei said, Liu Feng's smile remained unchanged, but his heart skipped a beat.

Then, while pretending to think, he carefully observed Liu Bei's expression. Only when he found that the other party was calm and did not even notice him did he breathe a small sigh of relief.

It's no wonder Liu Feng was so cautious; the very fact that Liu Bei brought up this matter was quite strange.

Liu Bei was the father. With Liu Bei around, how could Liu Feng have any say in the marriages of his brothers and sisters? The saying "the eldest brother is like a father" only applies when the father is gone or not around and cannot be contacted.

The important thing is to substitute, not to actually own the right.

With Liu Bei present in the hall, the marriage of his younger brother and sister was naturally a matter for him to decide, at most requiring consultation with his grandmother, Lady Wu, and his mother, Lady Tian.

The fact that Liu Bei actually asked him this question seemed very strange, so Liu Feng naturally had to be cautious.

In reality, Liu Bei did not want to test Liu Feng, but genuinely wanted to hear Liu Feng's opinion.

Liu Bei himself was like brothers with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and because they lacked the support of their clansmen, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's status was undoubtedly equivalent to that of the clan.

Liu Feng's position as heir is now unshakeable, and he has even become an independent entity.

Although Liu Bei was not wary of Liu Feng because of this, he began to pay attention to the relationship between Liu Feng and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei after being reminded by Xun You, Guo Jia and others.

Guan Yu arranged for Guan Ping to marry Liu Feng's younger sister, the eldest daughter of Lady Tian, ​​who was born of the same mother as Liu Feng.

In the past, Liu Bei would have made a decision immediately, but with the advice of Xun You and others, Liu Bei couldn't help but worry that Liu Feng might have his own ideas.

This may sound unbelievable, but it is actually quite understandable. The root cause is that the Liu family group has now become a de facto dual system.

While Liu Bei certainly needed his daughter for marriage alliances, did Liu Feng, another man, not need one as well?
Let alone the fact that Liu Feng is not yet married, even if he were married and had a daughter immediately, it would take at least ten years for them to form a marriage alliance. And according to Liu Feng's understanding of the future, it would take at least twenty years.

Therefore, the only person most suitable for Liu Feng to marry into the family is his younger sister, and among them, his eldest daughter, Liu Wan, who is now fourteen years old, is the most appropriate.

Liu Bei wasn't really afraid that Liu Feng would object; what he feared was that Liu Feng would have opinions but not express them, and later blame Guan Yu and Guan Ping—that would be the worst possible outcome.

After consulting with Xun You and Guo Jia, both advised Liu Bei to openly and directly question Liu Feng.

That's why we have this question today.

Although Liu Feng breathed a sigh of relief, he replied respectfully, "My elder sister's marriage should be decided by our parents. If our grandmother and mother have no objections, then our father can make the decision on his own."

Liu Bei had anticipated Liu Feng's response and calmly explained, "I will naturally inquire about your grandmother and mother's situation, but I would like to hear your opinion now."

Liu Bei had put it this way, so Liu Feng naturally wouldn't be ungrateful. If he continued to refuse, he would only arouse Liu Bei's suspicion.

“Father, if you’re talking about ideas, I do have some thoughts.”

Liu Feng did not refuse and directly expressed his opinion: "I have mentioned Kongming to Father before. I value him very much, but I have the idea of ​​suggesting that Father betroth my younger sister to him."

This wasn't Liu Feng making excuses; he had actually communicated with Liu Bei before, but nothing was settled, let alone a specific marriage partner was chosen. Liu Feng had been careless; he didn't recall Guan Ping ever marrying a woman from the Liu family. Guan Ping's wife's surname wasn't recorded in official history, but Liu Feng had read in unofficial histories that Guan Ping's wife was a woman from the Huang family, making her related to Zhuge Liang by marriage.

Later, Huang's daughter died of illness, and Guan Ping remarried Zhao Yun's daughter.

When Jingzhou fell, it was Zhao Yun's daughter, Lady Zhao, who escaped with her only son, Guan Yue, and went into hiding. This branch of the family became the only bloodline that Guan Yu had left behind.

However, this explanation has significant problems. Given that Liu Bei, Zhao Yun, and Guan Xing were all in Yi Province, it's highly implausible that Zhao Yun's daughter wouldn't return to Yi Province to join him, but instead instead hide her identity in Jing Province. The only explanation is that this might be a simple folk wish—not wanting Guan Yu's lineage to end—that led to the creation of this story.

It was precisely because Liu Feng was very familiar with this story that he became complacent and never expected that Guan Yu would ask for his sister's hand in marriage on behalf of Guan Ping.

Liu Feng was certain that Liu Bei was very interested in Guan Yu's request. If he hadn't suddenly considered his own opinion, he probably would have been able to attend Guan Ping and his sister's wedding banquet upon his return.

"Hiss...this..."

At this moment, Liu Bei suddenly remembered the marriage alliance that Liu Feng had mentioned earlier. Liu Bei was well aware of how much Liu Feng valued Zhuge Liang, probably no less than Guan Yu or Zhang Fei did for him.

At this moment, Liu Bei couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate that Xun You, Guo Jia and others had offered their advice. Perhaps they had thought of this very thing, which was why they had subtly asked him to ask Liu Feng for his opinion.

Liu Bei stood up and paced slowly in the bedroom, clearly stumped by the matter.

Liu Feng stood there, his mind racing, also pondering this question.

When I recall discussing this issue with like-minded people in my past life, there was one idea that many people agreed with: the reason why Liu Bei did not form a bond with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei was not only because his adult daughter had passed away, but also because of their royal lineage.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were already members of the imperial family; using their daughters to arrange marriages would clearly be a waste of political resources.

Not only did he not need to marry off his daughters, but even the daughters of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei could be married off as members of the imperial clan. This was Liu Bei's most correct choice.

Later, Zhang Fei's daughter married Liu Shan, entirely because of a story from the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei was six or seven years older than Zhang Fei, and Zhang Fei was also Liu Bei's most trusted confidant.

Once Liu Bei died, according to the unspoken rules of the Han Dynasty, a powerful general from the imperial family would be needed to assist in governing.

It was clearly impossible for Zhuge Liang to be chosen. Zhuge Liang was groomed as a successor to the government and was a candidate for the future Three Dukes.

The Grand General could only be Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, but Guan Yu was not only arrogant and disrespectful to scholars, but also one or two years older than Liu Bei.

Therefore, the only candidate for Grand General was Zhang Fei, and Zhang Fei's wife was the daughter of Xiahou Yuan, of noble blood. This is why Zhang Fei married his daughter to Liu Shan.

Liu Feng suddenly had a flash of inspiration: perhaps this could be used as a reason.

"Father, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's mature enough."

Liu Feng respectfully asked, "I don't know if I should say it."

Liu Bei was both pleased and worried about Liu Feng's humble attitude.

The joy he felt goes without saying, which shows that Liu Feng's respect for him remained unchanged.

The father was worried because he felt that Liu Feng was not close enough to him. He had told Liu Feng so many times not to be reserved, but Liu Feng was still very respectful. As a father, he was naturally a little disappointed.

Liu Bei sometimes couldn't help but doubt himself. Was it because he usually put too much pressure on Feng'er?

But I didn't do anything myself.

"I was just asking for your opinion. You're still young, so even if you have some immature views, would I blame you?"

Liu Bei was slightly displeased, and his words naturally carried a hint of emotion.

Liu Feng was somewhat bewildered by the reprimand, but fortunately it seemed to be minor, so he didn't explain: "Father, I believe that my second and third uncles are one with my family, and there is no need for them to be related by marriage. Father doesn't have many daughters, and even fewer who are of age. Even if we were to arrange a marriage, it should be used for more important purposes."

Liu Bei suddenly realized that Liu Feng's words made some sense.

Putting aside other matters, there are countless potential marriage partners now, including the offspring of Chen Deng, Chen Qun, Tian Yu, Qian Zhao, and even Xun You and Lu Su, who would be excellent candidates at that time.

“My son is right.”

Liu Bei nodded slowly, somewhat swayed by Liu Feng's words.

Liu Bei was thinking, and Liu Feng was also continuing to think.

After persuading Liu Bei, Liu Feng's next thought was not how to persuade him further, but rather a replacement plan.

Simply talking about it without offering effective alternatives won't work.

Liu Feng's first thought was Zhao Yun's daughter, but the problem was that Zhao Yun wasn't married yet, let alone having a daughter, he didn't even know where his wife was.

Historically, Zhao Yun married quite late. The story of Zhao Fan's widowed sister-in-law is not just some unofficial history. Although it is recorded in the Biography of Zhao Yun, it was included in the Records of the Three Kingdoms by Pei Songzhi, which, in a sense, makes it part of the official history.

If we calculate it this way, it's possible that Zhao Yun didn't have a wife by 208 at the latest. Whether he hadn't married her yet or his wife had died early is hard to say, but it doesn't change the fact that Zhao Yun was still unmarried at the time.

Suddenly, a candidate flashed through Liu Feng's mind, and he said, "Father, I do have someone in mind who is a suitable match for Brother Tanzhi."

"Oh!? Who is that?"

Liu Bei immediately became interested and urged, "Tell me quickly!"

“Father, my general Sun Ben has a daughter who is beautiful and virtuous. She is sixteen years old and is quite a good match for my brother Tanzhi. I wonder what you think?”

The person Liu Feng mentioned was naturally Cao Cao's daughter-in-law from the original timeline, and Sun, the wife of Cao Zhang, one of the three candidates vying for the title of heir to the King of Wei.

This woman is the daughter of Sun Ben, and the niece of Sun Ce and Sun Fu. Given the prestige of the main branch of the Sun family, she is actually quite a good match for the current Guan family.

After all, the Sun family also had the title of general and noble rank, and Guan Yu was at odds with the sons of the gentry. He couldn't very well marry a merchant's daughter, could he?
(End of this chapter)