After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 40

Was it that Lu Zhi didn’t give Chief Song any face?

In fact, when he arrived at the scene last night in his wheelchair, if not for his inconvenient legs, and the many brothers of the stronghold present, he might have lost his temper and directly kicked Chief Song.

When Chief Song saw him at the time, his face ashen and filled with anger, he hadn’t even dared to step forward.

It wasn’t that he was cowardly or suppressed by Lu Zhi’s presence, it was simply that this stronghold had been established in the first place because of Lu Zhi.

Although Lu Zhi and his group had been brought into the mountains by the Third Boss in a state of extreme distress, the stronghold’s situation at that time hadn’t been much better. The brothers in the stronghold had already been scattered after repeated suppression campaigns; those who could flee had fled, and those who remained were barely clinging to life, living day by day in uncertainty.

At that time, Chief Song had only been a minor leader. Because several chiefs had died and no one was in charge, he had been temporarily pushed up by everyone.

If not for Lu Zhi and his people arriving, this stronghold would have collapsed long ago.

Chief Song didn’t want to be overshadowed by Lu Zhi, so he desperately recruited people to join and strengthened the West Stronghold’s forces. But as the number of people grew, they needed food. Without food, they had to seize it. And when they seized from the common people, Lu Zhi would get angry.

Yet when facing suppression campaigns, he still had to rely on Lu Zhi.

Chief Song felt bitter inside as well. He picked up a wine jar, poured a bowl, lifted it, and drank it down in one gulp. “What else can be done? You government troops keep coming to suppress bandits, this stronghold still has to rely on him.”

Hearing this, Centurion Jiang smiled. “That was before. In the future, it may not necessarily be so.”

Chief Song had just been about to pour more wine when he paused at those words and suddenly looked up at him.

Centurion Jiang gestured with his eyes toward the surroundings.

Chief Song understood, quickly raised his hand to wave everyone out, leaving only the scholar by his side.

Only then did Centurion Jiang lower his voice and say, “Previously, the chiefs in your stronghold had no connections above, which is why they were constantly suppressed. Officials need achievements, and the common people fear bandits. If they can’t defeat the Hu people, they’ll just come fight you instead, it’s easy to win and earns them a good reputation. Of course those officials all like doing that.”

“Isn’t that so!” Chief Song agreed strongly, setting down his wine bowl and lowering his voice angrily. “You tell me, there are so many bad people in this world, but why do you soldiers always fixate on attacking us?”

Centurion Jiang coughed lightly and continued, “But now it’s different. Didn’t I help connect things so that batch of salt from above was ‘robbed’ by you? You handle this matter well, hand over the money you earn to those above, and when they see you’ve done a good job, they’ll have you do it again. Won’t you then have connections above? That way, those officials will rely on you to make money, why would they come suppress you again? If no one comes to suppress you, why would you still need to rely on that Lu fellow?”

Hearing this, Chief Song couldn’t help exchanging a glance with the scholar beside him.

After a moment, the scholar spoke: “Centurion Jiang, it’s not that our chief doesn’t trust you, it’s just… selling this salt to the northern regions won’t be easy.”

Centurion Jiang smiled again. “What are you afraid of? I guard the border, would I not be able to find a chance to let you out? It’s just that things are tense recently. Keep the salt with you for now, and once things settle down, I’ll make arrangements for you.”

Though he said this, he was thinking: it’s all because that kid surnamed Pei caused trouble, investigating with General Chen about the deducted salt, alarming the Wang family. Now this batch of salt can’t be sold, nor can it be kept, it can only be handed to these bandits to do the dirty work.

Anyway, in name, the salt was robbed by bandits. If it’s discovered later, they can simply silence these bandits, completely justified.

In the past, it was always he and his elder brother doing dirty work for those above. This time, it was finally someone else doing it for them.

But on the surface, he smiled and said, “That way, you’ll be different from the previous chiefs. You have backing above, what is there to fear?”

Chief Song was clearly tempted and was just about to say something when the scholar beside him quickly pressed him down.

The scholar considered for a moment, still uneasy, and asked, “May I ask, Centurion, this ‘above’ you speak of, just how powerful are they?”

Hearing this, Centurion Jiang suddenly withdrew his smile. After glancing around, he lowered his voice and said, “It’s not that I deliberately want to hide it from you two, it’s just that…”

After a pause, he suddenly cupped his hands toward the empty air above and said mysteriously, “I can only say this, those who know about this matter have connections even with the prefect’s office. Do you know the Wang family in the prefectural city? They work for Liang Wang…”

Who was Liang Wang? Very likely the future crown prince.

Naturally, even if he told these bandits all that, they wouldn’t understand. Just mentioning the prefectural city was enough to intimidate them.

Chief Song indeed didn’t understand, but the scholar beside him knew of Liang Wang. He visibly sucked in a breath of cold air and quickly leaned close to whisper a few words to the chief.

After hearing this, Chief Song’s face immediately flushed red with excitement. Rubbing his hands, he said, “Ah, Brother Jiang, look at you, such an important matter and you didn’t say it earlier. I almost didn’t go rob that batch of salt before, afraid there might be a trick.”

Being afraid of a trick was one thing; on the other hand, Lu Zhi had just fallen ill at the time, and he worried that making too big a move would be impossible to hide from him.

Centurion Jiang smiled. “It’s not too late to know now. You don’t need to worry about that Lu fellow anymore, right?”

“Exactly!” Chief Song rubbed his hands excitedly.

Thinking that in the future he could rely on the Wang family, rely on Liang Wang, and rise rapidly, that Lu fellow really counted for nothing.

For a moment, he was so excited he felt light on his feet.

“But speaking of which, Chief Song, this matter of the salt must absolutely not be known by that Lu fellow,” Centurion Jiang reminded again.

“Of course I know that, but…” Chief Song suddenly grew thoughtful. “You’ve reminded me, this Second Boss is very shrewd. If the salt stays with me all the time, sooner or later he’ll find out. And as for him… how should I put it, he’s a bit rigid. Even after becoming a bandit, he still carries that scholar’s air, always talking about morality and righteousness, acting like some county magistrate.”

He said this deliberately, wanting to urge Centurion Jiang to quickly find an opportunity so he could send the salt north and convert it into silver as soon as possible.

But when Centurion Jiang heard this, he seized the opportunity and said, “Now that you mention it, I’m even more worried. Although we’re doing things for those above, what we’re doing isn’t something that can be openly talked about. Smuggling salt is a capital crime, especially transporting it to the north.”

“You just said the Second Boss is too upright. Now that he’s fallen into banditry, he must feel unwilling in his heart. If he finds out about this matter, it’s not impossible that he might report you to the authorities, take you in to earn merit, and exchange it for a clean identity, no longer needing to be a bandit.”

“When that happens, not only will you fail to handle the matter properly, you’ll also get yourself dragged in. Even if those above want to protect you, they wouldn’t be able to say so openly.”

Hearing this, Chief Song’s heart immediately skipped a beat. Especially when he recalled the look Lu Zhi gave him when he left the East Stronghold today, it seemed to carry killing intent.

Right now, even without knowing about the salt robbery, the other already seemed unable to tolerate him. If he did find out…

Seeing that he was clearly shaken, Centurion Jiang added fuel to the fire: “Also, during the meal earlier, you accidentally mentioned the matter of the salt in front of the Third Boss. Chief Song, it’s not that I’m trying to sow discord between brothers, but this Third Brother of yours… he tends to lean toward the East Stronghold. You should pay more attention.”

Hearing this, Chief Song couldn’t help but snort coldly. “That Third Brother has always been muddle-headed!”

It seemed he had long been dissatisfied with him.

Seeing this, Centurion Jiang pressed on, “Then you should watch him even more closely. If the Third Boss guessed something at the table… maybe he wouldn’t tell the East Stronghold, but what if he lets something slip to his subordinates, and they pass it on…”

After hearing this, Chief Song’s expression indeed grew serious.

***

In a side room of the East Stronghold, Li Chanxiu, having guessed that Chief Song might turn against them and cause Lu Zhi to end up as he had in the dream, was just about to suggest to Pei Er the idea of “recruiting” Lu Zhi.

But before he could speak, the door was suddenly knocked a few times, and a servant came to deliver the morning meal.

The breakfast was unexpectedly lavish. Early in the morning, there were dishes like chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Li Chanxiu couldn’t finish it alone, so after the servant left, he had Pei Er and Physician Hu sit down to eat together.

Both Li Chanxiu and Physician Hu had barely eaten since being captured yesterday, and were truly hungry now. For a while, they focused only on eating, with no attention left for conversation.

Pei Er, however, had the leisure to sit beside them picking bones out of the fish. After removing them, he didn’t eat it himself, but instead placed it all into Li Chanxiu’s bowl.

After finishing breakfast and clearing the dishes, Li Chanxiu returned to the earlier topic and asked Pei Er, “What do you think of Lu Zhi as a person?”

Pei Er was still thinking about how Miss Shen had eaten the fish he’d just deboned, and replied absentmindedly, “He’s alright.”

After speaking, he saw Li Chanxiu looking at him seriously and quickly coughed lightly, giving a proper evaluation: “Upright in character.”

Then, recalling what the other had said earlier while reprimanding Chief Song about guarding the borders, he added, “Much better than Chief Song.”

Li Chanxiu nodded and said instinctively, “That’s only natural.”

What merit did Chief Song have to be compared with Lu Zhi, who in the future could stand shoulder to shoulder with Pei Zhen?

Hearing him praise Lu Zhi, Pei Er pressed his lips together and added faintly, “But not that much better, right? I might even be more capable than him.”

If he couldn’t surpass Pei Shizi, could he not surpass a bandit?

Li Chanxiu: “…?” You really don’t lack confidence. That man will be able to stand alongside Pei Shizi in the future.

But one must have dreams.

Besides, Li Chanxiu didn’t think that with Pei Er’s abilities, he would fail to achieve something in the future. The reason he hadn’t heard of this person in the dream might be that the other hadn’t survived the period lying in the wounded soldiers’ camp, and had died young…

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Pei Er, encouraging him with a few words before continuing, “What do you think about ‘recruiting’ Lu Zhi?”

Hearing this, Pei Er suddenly looked at him.

Li Chanxiu explained, “From my observation, Lu Zhi’s nature isn’t bad. There must be other reasons why he became a bandit. And even after doing so, he hasn’t committed any heinous acts. On the contrary, under his restraint, these bandits rarely harm the common people. He’s not the same kind of person as Chief Song of the West Stronghold. If we can get him to side with us and completely break with the West Stronghold, it would greatly help in attacking the stronghold next and also reduce casualties.”

After speaking, he looked at Pei Er seriously again and asked, “What do you think?”

Pei Er looked into his eyes, usually clear and refined, now filled with a faint glimmer of expectation, and quickly nodded. “Mm, I’ll listen to you.”

Li Chanxiu couldn’t help but smile, his voice seeming very gentle: “How can you just listen to me? You’re the deputy leader of the bandit suppression, you should weigh things carefully.”

Pei Er coughed lightly, the tips of his ears faintly red, and explained, “No, I originally planned to wait until they split before attacking. If we can win one side over and fight the other, that would naturally be even better.”

After all, they had only brought five hundred men, while there were a thousand in the stronghold. Originally there had been another thousand under Commandant Qian, but now, it was best not to count on him.

Five hundred against a thousand, even if the bandits were a disorganized rabble, casualties would still be significant. Not to mention that Lu Zhi’s group was not a rabble, and Pei Er also had to look after Li Chanxiu and Physician Hu, who were still inside the stronghold.

Since they were going to win someone over, Pei Er also told the two of them his plan.

Earlier, when the West Stronghold used fire attacks against Commandant Qian, he had taken the opportunity to scout the situation inside the stronghold, learned where the defenses were weak, and passed the information to Zhang Hu and the others hiding outside. They had already agreed on the time to attack the stronghold and link up.

“Whether or not we can persuade Lu Zhi, we must attack the stronghold tonight. The West Stronghold’s defenses are weak, once the fighting starts, that side will definitely fall into chaos. You and Physician Hu should stay close to me; I’ll take you to meet up with Zhang Hu,” Pei Er instructed carefully.

However, there was still one problem to solve, the East Stronghold was heavily guarded. If they couldn’t persuade Lu Zhi, it would likely be difficult to leave from the East Stronghold.

But then again, if they could persuade Lu Zhi, they could just leave directly from the East Stronghold and wouldn’t need to pass through the West Stronghold at all.

The three were discussing in low voices when suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

The discussion stopped abruptly.

At the same time, Lu Zhi’s somewhat gentle voice came from outside: “Miss Shen, pardon the intrusion. May I trouble you for a moment to meet?”

Pei Er and Li Chanxiu exchanged a glance, and Physician Hu’s heart also tightened.

Very quickly, Li Chanxiu stood up, cleared his voice, and said toward the door, “Yes, please wait a moment.”

Pei Er immediately understood that he intended to use this opportunity to persuade Lu Zhi, and quickly said, “I’ll stay.”

In case something unexpected happened during the persuasion, he could act in time.

Li Chanxiu also felt that keeping a “stronghold servant” in the room for too long might arouse suspicion when Lu Zhi saw him, so upon hearing this, he simply pushed Pei Er to another table, had him pretend to grind medicine, and had Physician Hu sit beside him studying prescriptions.

After arranging all this, he adjusted his expression, put on a smile, and went to open the door.

Pei Er picked up the pestle and couldn’t help glancing sideways, but was reminded by Physician Hu’s low cough. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and pretend to grind medicine as if nothing was wrong.

Lu Zhi had come together with Xuanping, with a steward pushing his wheelchair behind them.

After Li Chanxiu opened the door, Lu Zhi first smiled and said “pardon the disturbance.” Once he entered, he noticed that there were two other people in the room.

Li Chanxiu was about to explain, but Xuanping spoke before him: “Big Brother, this servant is here to help grind medicine.”

As if to match his words, Physician Hu just then placed the measured herbs into the mortar, and Pei Er immediately began grinding them.

Only then did Lu Zhi withdraw his gaze. Seeing that he hadn’t grown suspicious, Li Chanxiu quietly let out a breath of relief.

At the table, Xuanping quickly poured tea for the two of them.

Holding the teacup, Lu Zhi first expressed thanks to Li Chanxiu for treating him yesterday, then apologized for the fire at the West Stronghold last night possibly disturbing him.

These were all things others had already said before; after saying them, it seemed there was nothing left to say.

But he didn’t take his leave immediately. His fingers rubbed along the rim of the teacup, as if thinking about something.

Li Chanxiu was also considering how to bring up persuading him to part ways with the West Stronghold.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, and the room fell into a strange silence. Only the sound of grinding medicine went “thud, thud, thud,” ringing out rhythmically.

Just as Li Chanxiu was about to speak, Lu Zhi suddenly spoke first, instructing Xuanping: “Have the servant step out first.”

Li Chanxiu froze slightly, then quickly interrupted, “Does Young Master Lu have something important to say?”

Lu Zhi hesitated. It wasn’t exactly something important, but…

“It concerns Miss Shen somewhat, it’s not appropriate for those below to hear,” Lu Zhi said after some thought.

Li Chanxiu smiled. “I don’t mind, Young Master Lu can just say it.”

Lu Zhi was clearly still hesitant. After a long pause, he finally sighed and asked, “Miss Shen, have you made any plans for the future?”

Li Chanxiu was momentarily stunned. “The future?”

Lu Zhi nodded. “After this, do you intend to leave the stronghold and return to the military camp, or…”

At this point, he paused again, recalling a previous conversation with Xuanping.

At that time, Xuanping had just managed to buy medicine from the mountain below, saying he would give it to Miss Shen to help prepare an antidote for him.

At the same time, they discussed how to arrange matters for Miss Shen afterward.

Xuanping sighed, “Miss Shen has a healer’s benevolent heart. Though she is a woman, she doesn’t care about worldly etiquette, saving people regardless of status. It would be great if she could stay in the stronghold.”

At this, Lu Zhi couldn’t help but reproach him: “Yesterday you asked her to treat my leg, that was fine. The injury on my shoulder isn’t serious, why trouble her as well? She is, after all, a young lady, what happened last night was truly improper.”

Although he was born in the northern lands under Hu rule, he had been raised under his parents’ teachings, well-versed in the poetry, rites, and moral codes of the Great Zhou, and deeply felt that taking off his upper garments and letting a young lady examine his injuries like that was too disrespectful.

Xuanping knew his rigid temperament and simply said, “Big Brother, when I was asking around about Physician Hu earlier, I also learned something, this Miss Shen is from a criminal family sent into exile, and has been living in the military camp. Think about what kind of place a military camp is, how could Miss Shen live well there? If you feel you’ve offended her, why not just take responsibility and marry her?”

Lu Zhi became angry on the spot upon hearing this and rebuked him for “talking nonsense.”

Xuanping quickly apologized with a grin, but after apologizing, he grew serious again and said, “But seriously, Big Brother, you and I both know what kind of place a military camp is. Especially for women sent there in exile… If Miss Shen truly isn’t living well, it would be better to let her stay in our stronghold.”

At first, Lu Zhi thought Xuanping was speaking nonsense without any seriousness, but hearing the latter part, he couldn’t help but think seriously about it.

The place where he had previously served in the army had extremely poor discipline. Not to mention women sent into exile in the camps, even daughters from respectable nearby families had been subjected to abuse.

If Miss Shen truly isn’t living well in the military camp, then it would indeed be better for her to stay in the stronghold. And since he had offended her, he really ought to take responsibility…

Thinking this, Lu Zhi deliberated several times, but in the end still spoke: “If Miss Shen has no better place to go, it would be better to stay in the stronghold…”

“Thud, thud, thud!” The sound of grinding medicine not far away suddenly seemed much heavier.

Lu Zhi subconsciously glanced at the servant, paused, then turned back and continued: “And when Miss Shen treated my injuries last night, I truly behaved improperly, I should take responsibility for the young lady…”

“Thud, thud, thud, thud!”

The pounding grew louder, as if carrying immense force. Suddenly, with a “clang,” the sound stopped abruptly.

Pei Er held the broken pestle and froze.

“Oh my, how did this… the pestle even broke? What kind of stone is this made of? The quality is too poor.” Physician Hu’s face twitched in shock, quickly trying to cover it up.

After seeing this, Xuanping spoke faintly: “That pestle has been used for several years.” It had never broken.

Could it be that this servant really has such great strength?

Physician Hu: “…Well, it must have been used too long, seriously worn out.”

Li Chanxiu stiffened slightly, still not recovered from what Lu Zhi had just said, when he suddenly saw the other’s gaze turn scrutinizingly toward Pei Er.

His heart immediately tightened. Just as he was about to speak to divert his attention, Lu Zhi had already looked at Pei Er and said, “You’re not from the East Stronghold?”

Though phrased as a question, his tone was certain.

Pei Er lowered his head to look at the pestle, concealing his gaze.

Xuanping quickly explained, “Big Brother, he’s from the West Stronghold, he is…”

Before he could finish, Lu Zhi suddenly raised his hand to interrupt, his gaze still fixed on Pei Er, and said, “Lift your head.”

As he spoke, he gestured for the steward pushing his wheelchair to move him forward.

Seeing this, Li Chanxiu quickly stood up as well and hurried over.

Knowing he had already been noticed, Pei Er simply stopped concealing it. He suddenly lifted his head, his dark eyes meeting Lu Zhi’s directly.

The wheelchair suddenly stopped.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze.

Lu Zhi stared at him steadily, his gaze carrying scrutiny, finally catching a fleeting sense of familiarity. It was the same feeling that had briefly appeared before, when they had confronted Chief Song in the council hall.

His eyes narrowed instantly, his tone dangerous as he stated with certainty: “You are not from the stronghold. Earlier, you hid on the roof and eavesdropped on my conversation with Song Wanqian.”

As his words fell, everyone in the room immediately tensed. Xuanping and the steward drew their blades at once, looking warily at Pei Er.

Seeing the situation turn bad, Li Chanxiu quickly stepped in front of Pei Er. But Pei Er pulled him behind in one motion, shielding him completely.

“Miss Shen?” Xuanping was slightly startled, but suddenly recalling how Li Chanxiu had immediately taken this person to grind medicine last night, what was there not to understand?

They already knew each other!

Lu Zhi’s gaze grew even sharper. Earlier in the council hall, he had not been certain, thinking it was just a fleeting illusion. Now, seeing Pei Er, he could almost confirm that there had indeed been someone on the roof at that time.

Pei Er protected Li Chanxiu behind him and looked at them calmly, admitting, “That’s right, it was me.”

Lu Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly and continued, “You are one of the people from below the mountain here to suppress the bandits?”

Before Pei Er could answer this time, Li Chanxiu stepped out from behind him, instead shielding him, and said to Lu Zhi, “Young Master Lu, please don’t misunderstand. Everyone, don’t be nervous, he is…”

He gritted his teeth and simply said, “He is my husband. He heard that I was captured and was worried about me, so he snuck into the stronghold. We have no ill intent.”

As soon as the words fell, the three people opposite were instantly stunned.

Lu Zhi seemed to freeze for a moment; after a brief pause, an obvious trace of awkwardness flashed across his expression.

Xuanping even let out an “Ah” and directly said, “Miss Shen, you’re actually married?”

Pei Er: “……”

He suddenly grasped Li Chanxiu’s hand, his gaze deep, sweeping across Lu Zhi and Xuanping.

Lu Zhi coughed lightly. Thinking of what he had just said, especially having said it in front of someone’s husband, his awkwardness deepened. He quickly raised his hand to signal Xuanping and the steward to put away their blades.

“Since it’s a misunderstanding, then everyone should sit down and talk it out properly.” He raised his hand to cover his lips and coughed for a while, as if his health had suddenly worsened.

Probably because he had never been this embarrassed before.

After coughing, and once the atmosphere had finally eased a little, he looked again at Pei Er and said with scrutiny, “You should be… more than just Miss Shen’s husband. A soldier from below the mountain? Perhaps even, not an ordinary soldier.”

At these words, Xuanping immediately became tense again.

Li Chanxiu had saved Lu Zhi before and knew that some things were more appropriate for him to say.

He couldn’t help but step between both sides, look at Lu Zhi, and say, “My… husband is indeed a soldier from below the mountain. But that is not what’s important right now. Young Master Lu, you are an upright person. Earlier, when Xuanping abducted me and Physician Hu, you reprimanded him. When Chief Song looted villages and used fire attacks against the troops below the mountain, you also did not approve. Since that is the case, why continue to go along with them?”