"Need to write something? This... this is a bit of a problem." Steven Thompson fumbled awkwardly. In his previous life, he had at least attended university, but after arriving in the Tang Dynasty, he had become half-illiterate—he couldn't recognize most traditional characters, let alone use a brush pen, which he had never touched since childhood. So the moment he heard he needed to write, he immediately got a headache.

"What? Don't tell me you got beaten so badly you can't even write anymore?" Henry Thompson asked irritably, offhandedly. But to his surprise, his good little brother actually nodded, his face full of grievance.

"You... you really can't write anymore?" Henry Thompson was startled. He jumped up and looked Edward Thompson up and down. Although he already knew that soul-loss syndrome could cause many unpredictable aftereffects, he hadn't expected it to be this severe. If a prince couldn't even write, it would definitely become another laughingstock if word got out.

"Prepare brush and ink. Write a few characters for me right now!" Henry Thompson ordered.

Anna, who was standing by, immediately went out to prepare. Soon, the brush and ink were ready. Mark Thompson, though reluctant, could only pick up the wolf-hair brush, dip it in ink, and, under Henry Thompson's intense gaze, shakily write the simplest characters, '人' (person) and '大' (big), on the paper. These two characters are written the same in both simplified and traditional, so he wasn't worried about getting them wrong.

"Third Brother, after I woke up, I found that I couldn't recognize most characters, let alone write them. These two are the only ones I barely remember." Louis Thompson, face flushed, handed the paper to Henry Thompson. Mainly, the writing was so ugly—the strokes were all crooked and uneven in thickness, probably only at the level of a three-year-old child.

When Henry Thompson saw Simon Thompson's writing, most of his hope vanished, because Louis Thompson's grip on the brush and his posture were all wrong. And when Henry Thompson saw David Thompson's written characters, his disappointment turned to despair. He had originally planned to write it himself for David Thompson and then have him copy it before submitting, but now it was clear that wouldn't work. The emperor valued calligraphy above all; Henry Thompson himself was favored by the emperor for his beautiful handwriting. If he submitted Patrick Thompson's messy writing to the emperor, it would definitely make the emperor's impression of George Thompson even worse.

"Forget it, I'd better think of another way!" Henry Thompson said weakly. After that, he chatted a bit more with Alan Thompson, then left Prince Liang's residence in low spirits.

Chapter Four: The Turning Point to Change Fate

Watching his seventeen-year-old third brother leave, Charles Thompson sighed. Although they had just met, he could feel the care of an elder brother for his younger sibling from Henry Thompson. In his previous life, he was an only child and had never experienced this kind of blood-deep brotherhood. Today, Henry Thompson's display of brotherly affection deeply moved him, making Paul Thompson feel a sense of closeness to this Tang Dynasty brother. However, thinking of this heroic brother's tragic and unjust early death, David Thompson couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.

But then Steven Thompson thought, since he had already become Prince Liang Edward Thompson, the fate of Prince Liang in history had already changed, and the destinies of those around him should change as well. It's just like the famous butterfly effect: a small butterfly like himself flapping its wings could stir up a storm that would throw the original history into chaos. As for his brother Henry Thompson, there was no reason his fate wouldn't change too. Whether it would be for better or worse, who could say?

"Anna, go find Harold Green for me. I have something to ask him!" Eric Thompson immediately ordered. He sat down and took a sip of tea, but immediately frowned and spat it out. The tea people drank in the Tang Dynasty was usually tea cakes. Tea cakes were made by picking tea leaves, steaming them, pounding them into a paste, and then forming them into cakes. When drinking, a piece would be broken off and boiled in a teapot, usually with salt added, and sometimes even scallions, ginger, dates, tangerine peel, and other things. This made it very hard for Louis Thompson, who was used to the clear tea of later generations, to get used to it.

"Looks like I'll have to get someone to fry some tea leaves when I have time," Walter Thompson muttered to himself.

Not long after, a plump, middle-aged eunuch in an attendant's robe entered with Anna. This eunuch was Harold Green, whom Philip Thompson had found. Harold Green was Adam Thompson's personal attendant and had been highly trusted by the previous George Thompson. However, ever since Robert Thompson woke up after transmigrating, as a modern person, he felt very uncomfortable having a eunuch hovering around him all day. After Anna and Emma arrived, Harold Green was appointed by Adam Thompson as the chief steward of the inner residence, put in charge of all internal affairs of Prince Liang's household, while his personal service was handed over to Anna and Emma.

"Your servant... your servant greets Your Highness!" Harold Green said in the sharp, trembling voice unique to eunuchs, with a hint of sobbing, as if he were very emotional.

"Harold Green, what's wrong with you? Has someone been bullying you?" Mark Thompson couldn't help but ask curiously, even though he wasn't very familiar with eunuchs. Still, Harold Green was one of the first people he had met after arriving in the Tang Dynasty, so seeing him like this, he couldn't help but be curious.