After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 13

Li Chanxiu also picked up the first booklet and began analyzing Centurion Jiang’s moves with Pei Er, drawing upon his later experiences in the dream to offer some insights and methods to counter them.

The tent was crowded and noisy; his voice was not loud and was sometimes drowned out.

After several times, he simply dragged his stool closer, sitting nearer to Pei Er and leaning slightly toward him, almost touching.

Pei Er instantly stiffened. Li Chanxiu’s sudden closeness made his heart tighten, immediately throwing its rhythm into chaos.

He stiffened and did not dare move, afraid that the slightest motion would brush against the other and become an offense. Yet his gaze could not help glancing lightly to the side, and he seemed to catch the faint medicinal fragrance from the other’s body.

Li Chanxiu continued lowering his head to explain, his clean and beautiful index finger pointing at the little figures in the booklet. The line of his side profile was delicate, his eyelashes thick, long, and slightly curled, occasionally trembling as he spoke. The skin of his ear was thin, and on the white jade-like earlobe was a small mole…

Suddenly, Li Chanxiu stopped explaining and turned his head to look over.

Pei Er was caught off guard, his gaze seized red-handed. He froze for a moment. Then the back of his ears grew hot in waves. So nervous that he did not know where to place his hands and feet, he could not help feeling chagrined.

Miss Shen would surely think him frivolous.

He thought in vexation, not daring to look at her again, his eyes instinctively drifting elsewhere.

Li Chanxiu had only looked up because after speaking for so long, he had not heard any response. Now seeing him apparently in a daze, his mind wandering, he was somewhat speechless.

“Were you listening just now?” he leaned closer to ask, the distance narrowing a bit more.

Pei Er’s breath stalled slightly. His body unconsciously leaned back a little, his limbs stiff and not daring to move, his voice dry. “I, I was listening.”

Li Chanxiu: “……” It didn’t seem like he had been listening.

He could not help sighing. Although at first he had wanted to find someone a bit dull, not too clever, to marry, Pei Er’s recent frequency of spacing out was perhaps… a bit too much.

He shifted his body back to its original position, shook his head, picked up the booklet, and decided to explain it again.

Seeing him pull away, Pei Er finally let out a breath of relief, though he felt a slight loss. Only when Li Chanxiu began explaining again did he finally gather his thoughts.

This time he truly listened attentively, occasionally voicing some of his own ideas.

Unknowingly, nearly an hour and a half passed.

Hearing a wounded soldier nearby say it was time for the evening meal, Li Chanxiu realized it was already dusk. He quickly set down the booklet and stood to take his leave.

Pei Er immediately stood as well to see him off. Passing by Chen Qing’s bed, he conveniently took the wooden crutch again.

Chen Qing was already accustomed to this behavior and did not wish to comment, though he could not resist teasingly glancing at him and Li Chanxiu a few more times.

The other wounded soldiers lay on their beds, each pretending to be proper, though quite a few could not help sneaking sidelong glances.

Who would have thought that the poor fellow in the wounded soldiers’ camp who had been unconscious for days and even pronounced as good as dead by the military physician would actually be marrying their most beautiful Miss Shen?

Several young wounded soldiers were sour with envy and could not help casting teasing looks at Pei Er.

Sensing their gazes, Pei Er suddenly turned his head and swept an expressionless glance over them.

Tch, boring.

Everyone hurriedly withdrew their gazes and resumed their pretended propriety. Probably because they had lived together for some time, they all knew that he was merely cold in temperament and disliked interacting, but was not a bad person.

Pei Er and Li Chanxiu walked together outside the tent. The setting sun drooped at the horizon, the cold wind gradually rose, and even the afterglow seemed to have turned cold.

Li Chanxiu raised a hand to shade his eyes and looked toward that patch of cold orange at the horizon.

Pei Er followed his gaze, but seeing nothing special, hesitated before asking, “Miss Shen, you… what time will you come tomorrow?”

After speaking, he waited somewhat nervously for the answer. He wanted to come early tomorrow to wait outside the tent.

But upon hearing this, Li Chanxiu fell silent.

In two more days, it would be the time when the cold poison flared up. Aside from the unbearable chill on the very day of the attack, he would also fear the cold in the two days before and after.

He had already decided to feign illness for a few days, pretending that his cold had worsened. Originally, he had planned to wait until after he began pretending to be sick before having someone tell Pei Er that he would not be able to come for the next few days.

But at this moment, facing Pei Er’s eyes, he hesitated for a moment and did not conceal it. “I have some matters to attend to in the next few days and may not be able to come. When the time comes, I’ll have Hu Yuan’er deliver your medicine.”

Hearing this, Pei Er’s gaze dimmed with disappointment, but he quickly caught the key words, the next few days?

How many days were “a few days”?

The military competition would be held in just three days.

“On the day of the military competition, will you come to watch?” Pei Er could not help asking again, his tone carrying a trace of urgency he himself did not notice.

Li Chanxiu fell silent once more. The competition happened to be the second day after the cold poison flared up. At that time, he would likely still be weak and sensitive to the cold.

But meeting Pei Er’s expectant gaze, he suddenly smiled and said, “For something this important, of course I’ll go.”

It was as if the stone pressing on Pei Er’s heart had fallen away. He could not help letting out a breath of relief. But then, thinking of something, he hesitated and asked, “Will it delay your…?”

“No.” Li Chanxiu shook his head to interrupt him, still smiling. “This concerns whether we can be married smoothly. Nothing is more important than that. If I don’t go, I won’t be at ease. And… you must win.”

The tips of Pei Er’s ears reddened again. In a hoarse voice, he promised, “I will.”

After a pause, his gaze firm, he repeated, “Don’t worry. I will definitely win.”

Li Chanxiu was momentarily startled, then smiled and nodded to him before taking his leave.

Pei Er watched his figure until it turned behind a nearby tent and finally disappeared completely, only then reluctantly withdrawing his gaze.

Leaning on his crutch, he limped back into the tent. The moment he stepped inside, a burst of teasing erupted.

“Oh ho, standing outside for so long, what did you and Miss Shen talk about?”

“What else is there to ask? Surely words of reluctant parting!”

“Pei Er, didn’t you at least take the chance to hold her hand or something?”

Some shameless fellows directly started jeering.

Pei Er: “……”

“Boring.” He said expressionlessly, hobbling inward with his crutch, though the roots of his ears were already thoroughly red.

***

After returning, Li Chanxiu began pretending to cough, acting as though his cold had worsened.

For the next two days, he stayed in the pharmacy warming himself by the fire and did not go out. Each day, Hu Yuan’er would carry the decocted medicine to the wounded soldiers’ camp and deliver it to Pei Er.

On the third day, the cold poison flared up. Early that morning, Li Chanxiu drank the decoction he had prepared in advance to suppress the cold poison. Lying in bed wrapped tightly in blankets, he endured the waves of chill that seemed to seep into his bones.

Physician Hu knew he was gravely ill and specially came to see him, instructing him not to worry about the pharmacy or the wounded soldiers’ camp for the time being and to focus solely on recuperating.

Knowing he could not get up, he even helped fetch some food.

Li Chanxiu had no appetite. He reminded Hu Yuan’er to remember to deliver the medicine to Pei Er. Once Grandfather and grandson Hu left, he could no longer hold back and curled under the blankets, shivering.

Fortunately, he had the suppressing medicine. Otherwise, he truly did not know how he would endure this day.

When he had still lived with his father, every month at this time, his father would hold him tightly in his arms together with the blanket and coax him to sleep.

Now, there was no one left to coax him.

He clenched his teeth and silently practiced the breathing method taught by the wandering physician, hoping to ease it somewhat.

…

Pei Er’s medicine had been decocted the night before. Following Li Chanxiu’s instructions, Hu Yuan’er reheated it once and carried it to the wounded soldiers’ camp.

Seeing that it was him again today, Chen Qing could not help pinching his round, fleshy cheeks and asked, “Little one, why is it you again today? Where’s Miss Shen?”

Hu Yuan’er twisted his head and broke free from his hand. “The pharmacy’s been busy lately. My grandfather asked Sister Shen to stay and help there.”

“What could be so busy for so many days?” Chen Qing muttered, subconsciously glancing at Pei Er not far away and thinking: If Miss Shen doesn’t come soon, someone’s going to turn into a stone gazing at his wife.

Hu Yuan’er shook his head, saying he didn’t know. In truth, he thought: Of course I know. Sister Shen is sick, and so sick she can hardly get out of bed.

But Sister Shen said not to tell, so he wouldn’t.

Thinking this, he took out the medicine from the food box and carefully handed it to Pei Er.

To be honest, he was a little afraid of this man, because he always wore a cold expression and rarely smiled, looking rather fierce.

However, remembering that Sister Shen was already so ill yet still did not forget to decoct medicine for this person, and had even asked him to pass along a message telling him to prepare well for the competition…

Hu Yuan’er gritted his teeth, suddenly straightened his small frame, and gathered his courage. “Um, Brother-in-law Pei, you must work hard and win the competition. Don’t let Sister Shen’s expectations down.”

Pei Er was holding the medicine and had just been about to drink when he suddenly paused. His dark eyes looked at him as he repeated, “Brother-in-law?”

Hu Yuan’er’s imposing manner instantly shrank. Timidly, he said, “…My grandfather treats Sister Shen like a granddaughter. I call her elder sister, so then… shouldn’t I call you brother-in-law?”

Pei Er: “……”

The corner of his lips could not help curving upward. “You’re right.”

After finishing the medicine in a few gulps, he set down the bowl, went to Chen Qing to scrounge up a candied date, and handed it to Hu Yuan’er, then asked, “What else did your Sister Shen say?”

Chen Qing was already accustomed to this and immediately named a sky-high price. “One copper coin.”

Hearing it was so expensive, Hu Yuan’er did not dare take it at first. After it was forcibly stuffed into his mouth, he could not help feeling that this cold-faced brother-in-law was actually rather nice. Mumbling, he said, “Sister Shen also said not to look for her. She’s been very busy lately. Even if you go, she might not be at the pharmacy.”

These words instantly dispelled Pei Er’s impulse to go to the pharmacy.

…He would listen to Miss Shen.

Pei Er slowly lowered his eyes.

Yet his heart still felt suspended, as though he could not quite set it down.