Rebirth of a Star General 123.2
“How much did Second Young Master Xiao promise you? My Song Family will offer three times the amount as long as you leave the Liangzhou Guard,” the young girl had said with disdain. “The Liangzhou Guard is cold and bitter—one wrong move could cost you your life. I heard Cheng Lisu say you want to make accomplishments, but why would you choose to walk down this path? You could stake your whole life here, yet receive not even half a promotion—it’s far too pitiful!”
He Yan thought, You’re right, it’s too pitiful.
“The Song Family is different,” Song Taotao continued earnestly. “Although my father can’t summon wind or call for rain in the capital, he can still assist you financially. You’ll have much better prospects staying with us than at the Liangzhou Guard. You don’t have to worry about the military register either—as long as I tell my father about it, he’ll definitely find a way to set you free.”
“. . . There’s no need,” He Yan said. “I’m living quite well at the Liangzhou Guard, too.”
Song Taotao’s eyes were like blades. “Could it be you’re unwilling to let go of that maid called Ying Xiang?”
Although young, the girl was still quite sharp. He Yan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “No, it’s just, my status here is quite unique. If Miss Song wants me, you can ask Chief Commander Xiao. If he’s willing to let me go, I’ll definitely follow Miss Song back to the capital.”
Would Xiao Jue let her go this easily? Of course not. The Liangzhou Guard wasn’t a troop of spare sons-in-law. If she was let go, what would the other new recruits think? Rather than doing their utmost to struggle through hardships and fight, they might as well find a rich young lady. The enemy wouldn’t even need to break through—with such low morale, the Liangzhou Guard would bring itself to ruins within two years.
Xiao Jue definitely wouldn’t let something like that happen.
Bringing up Xiao Jue was quite a shock to the young girl. Song Taotao instantly gave in and, since then, no longer insisted on bringing He Yan back to the capital.
When He Yan walked into the room, Chu Zhao was feeding a bird.
He Yan found Chu Zilan to be quite an interesting person. If he wasn’t potting flowers, then he was practicing calligraphy; if he wasn’t practicing calligraphy, then he was feeding a bird. His lifestyle was similar to that of a sixty- or seventy-year-old senior living in the capital. However, it’d been two months since he arrived—if he was this idle, wouldn’t it be better to spend his free time back in the capital? Why would he choose to suffer here, where there wasn’t even enough charcoal?
Nevertheless, He Yan was still willing to come over. Why? Because Chu Zhao was an extremely patient person. He Yan couldn’t participate in daily training down at the field anyway, so listening to Chu Zhao talk about the ‘interesting things’ that had occurred in the capital was quite nice, too. In her past life, she was constantly away in battle; once she returned to Shuojing, He Rufei replaced her. Thus, she actually didn’t know much about the affairs of Shuojing’s officialdom, much less recognise her fellow officials. It was fine before, but after accompanying Xiao Jue for so long, He Yan understood that if she truly wanted to restart, she needed a better understanding of the officialdom’s power structure.
At least, she had to have a general idea of the Crown Prince’s faction, Prime Minister Xu’s party, and Xiao Jue’s division.
He Yan learned a lot from Chu Zhao. In return, she found it too embarrassing to treat him with too much animosity—besides, he was never opposing her in the first place.
Today, it was Chu Zhao who ordered Ying Xiang to invite He Yan over so they could discuss something.
“Brother Chu,” she said.
Chu Zhao slid the last crumbs of feed into the food cup. The bird fluttered its wings and emitted a melodious cry. Such cold weather wasn’t suitable for birds, so what little charcoal Chu Zhao had was heated near the birdcage.
He was gentle and considerate even to birds.
“You’re here.” With a smile, Chu Zhao walked towards the water basin to wash his hands.
“Today, Brother Chu had Ying Xiang come to find me. Is something the matter?” He Yan asked tentatively. Typically, it was He Yan who’d come to chat with Chu Zhao. It was rare for Chu Zhao to take the initiative instead, so she feared it was for something serious.
“It’s nothing big.” Chu Zhao smilingly invited He Yan to sit. “I might be returning to the capital soon. I wanted to bid Brother He farewell before leaving.”
He Yan was taken aback. “You’re leaving?”
“That’s right,” Chu Zhao chuckled. “It’s been two months since I first arrived in Liangzhou. The journey will be long—by the time I’m back, it’ll be spring.” He continued, “I’m indebted to Brother He’s care for the past two months. It was very enjoyable. Thank you for your consideration.”
“No, no,” He Yan hastily responded. “Rather than me taking care of you, it’s more like you were taking care of me.”
“The people accompanying me back should be here in a few days,” Chu Zhao said with a smile. “I was thinking that, since it hasn’t been snowing recently, should we arrange a feast atop Baiyue Mountain so I can have a farewell drink with Brother He?”
“The Chief Commander doesn’t permit us to climb the mountain without authorization.” He Yan continued with embarrassment, “And Brother Chu also knows this, but my alcohol tolerance isn’t very high. If I drink, I’ll definitely cause trouble.”
Hearing this, Chu Zhao smiled and shook his head. “No matter—then we won’t climb the mountain. There is a pavilion at the foot of Baiyue Mountain that overlooks the Wulu River; the moon looks beautiful from there. As for liquor, even if Brother He wanted to drink, I don’t have any more. We can substitute it with tea instead—it should be fine as long as the intentions are felt.”
Since he already said this much, He Yan could no longer decline, hence she readily answered, “Of course it’ll be fine. I naturally should accompany Brother Chu before you leave. Where is this pavilion you speak of? I must prepare well.”
“We can go there tonight,” Chu Zhao smiled. “Otherwise, if it snows tonight, the moon won’t be visible tomorrow.”
He Yan responded, “Then tonight it is! Tonight, we must converse the night away!”
She was thinking that, once Chu Zhao left, who else would explain to her the convoluted relationships between the influential big shots of the capital? She might as well take advantage of tonight to glean as much information as possible, in case such an opportunity didn’t arise again in the future.
Chu Zhao smiled. “Brother He is very direct.”
“That’s right.” He Yan thought of something. “Why is Brother Chu suddenly returning? Before, didn’t you say you’ll be staying until spring warms the air a bit more? If you leave now, I’m afraid the journey will be very chilly.”
“I have no choice.” Chu Zhao smiled a little helplessly. “My colleague, Hanlin Scholar Minister Xu, will be marrying soon, so I must hurry back to Shuojing for the wedding banquet.”
He Yan had her hands around the teacup for warmth. Hearing this, she was taken aback. She felt her palms grow cold and her heart gradually sink—she almost couldn’t control her expression.
She stiffly pulled up the corners of her lips. “Minister Xu? Which Minister Xu?”
“His name is Xu Zhi Heng. He’s the eldest son of the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor,” Chu Zhao responded strangely. “I haven’t told you about him, right? He is erudite and versatile and intensively reads both poems and books. He’s extremely remarkable.”
The steaming hot tea suddenly felt freezing like ice.
He Yan’s hands slightly curled in. “Xu Zhi Heng . . .”
…..
He Yan herself wasn’t clear on how she got back to her room. She couldn’t remember what Chu Zhao said after. She only remembered doing her utmost to not let even a hint of her emotions leak in case he noticed something wrong.
Once she was in her room, her legs almost collapsed under her. She leaned against the bedhead and slowly sat down.
She recalled Chu Zhao’s words.
“Minister Xu previously had a wife. His brother-in-law is General Fei Hong, He Ru Fei. He Ru Fei’s cousin, the He Family’s Young Lady, married Xu Zhi Heng but, after half a year, went blind due to an illness. However, Minister Xu didn’t turn his back on his wife because of this—he sought the most reputable doctors and was extremely considerate.”
He Yan had asked, “Extremely . . . considerate?”
“That’s right. At that time, Madam Xu wished for Minister Xu to take in a concubine or let her find another wife for him, but Minister Xu resolutely rejected it. Alas, Mrs. Xu ran into misfortune this year. During the spring, while she was alone in the residence, the servants neglected to keep a careful eye on her—she accidentally fell into their pond and drowned.
“Around a year after Mrs. Xu died, Minister Xu told his friends and family that he won’t ever marry in the future. But he’s still young; moreover, how could his family ever let him be a widower for the rest of his life? Nevertheless, he was soulful and considerate of his former wife’s maternal family. He chose a young lady from the He Family’s second branch to be betrothed to. She’s three years younger than the former Mrs. Xu and is only seventeen this year.”
Someone from the He Family’s second branch who was only seventeen this year . . . He Yan closed her eyes. That would be her biological sister.
The He Family had planned this all out; perhaps this was the result they discussed with Xu Zhi Heng. He Yan had to die. But if He Yan died, the in-law relationship between the He and Xu families would dissipate—neither family wanted that. Then why not replace one with another? They could exchange the deceased He Yan with a new Mrs. He.
She held her head, feeling as if it would explode.
Suddenly pulled out of her thoughts, she heard someone’s voice say, “Big Brother? What’s wrong?”
He Yan raised her head and saw that it was Cheng Lisu.
She asked, “Why are you here?”
The youth replied, “I’ve been knocking on the door for a while now, but nobody answered, so I thought you weren’t in. I came to bring you some nibbles.” He stepped forward with concern. “Big Brother, your complexion looks really bad. Does your wound hurt? Do you need me to bring Uncle Lin over?”
He Yan waved her hand and forced a smile. “There’s no need. I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m a bit tired.”
Cheng Lisu had a big heart and didn’t doubt her, so he nodded. “Alright.” As if remembering something, his lips twitched. “Big Brother, you seem to be very busy these days. It won’t be long before I have to return to Shuojing; who knows how long it’ll be before we meet again? A few days ago, I learned how to do a wooden rod puppet show from Instructor Ma. How about I perform it for you tonight?”
At this moment, He Yan’s entire mind was filled with the words Chu Zhao had said, so how could she possibly be in the mood to deal with Cheng Lisu’s antics? Moreover, she still remembered the arrangement she and Chu Zhao agreed on previously, so she shook her head. “Not tonight. Fourth Young Master Chu and I agreed to watch the moon at the foot of Baiyue Mountain.”
“What are two men watching the moon together for?!” Cheng Lisu exclaimed with discontent. “Besides, how is watching the moon better than watching a wooden rod puppet show? You can watch the moon every night! What’s so remarkable about it?”
His making such a fuss actually brought He Yan’s senses back a little. She patiently explained, “We’re not just watching the moon. Fourth Young Master Chu will be leaving for Shuojing in a few days, so he wanted to drink with me before he leaves.”
“It’s good you and Fourth Young Master Chu have such a good relationship, but don’t forget about me.” Cheng Lisu didn’t know about the undercurrents between Xiao Jue and Chu Zhao. To him, Chu Zhao was just a good-looking and good-tempered uncle who brought rewards bestowed by the Emperor from Shuojing. He continued, “After all, I’ve known you longer than you’ve known him. It’s only reasonable for you to be more familiar with me. Big Brother, don’t cast me aside!”
As expected of a child—he was jealous over even a matter like this. He Yan had no choice but to coax him. “I understand. Tonight, I’ll accompany him for a drink. Tomorrow, I’ll watch your puppet show. How about that?”
Only then did Cheng Lisu feel satisfied. He grinned. “That’s more like it!”
