After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 49

The finely dressed young master’s face was full of disbelief. He turned his head to look at the “wife” beside him, and then suddenly froze in a daze.

Earlier, from a distance, he hadn’t seen clearly. Only upon approaching did he realize that the little lady beside him was actually so beautiful. Although her clothes were worn, it did not diminish in the slightest her delicate features, skin white as ice and snow, and a bearing like distant mountains, detached from the mundane.

The finely dressed young master was stunned silly for a moment, unable to hide the amazement in his eyes. In this corner at the foot of the mountains, filled with wind and sand, there was actually such a beauty?

His fingers itched! He wanted to take out a brush and paint immediately.

All his life, he loved beauty most, and next loved painting. Beautiful people, beautiful scenery, good paintings, whenever he saw them, he couldn’t move his feet. Sometimes, when appreciating them, he would become so absorbed that he forgot himself; but in others’ eyes, he simply looked like he was staring stupidly.

Seeing him stare at Li Chanxiu in such an offensive manner, Pei Er’s expression grew colder. He grabbed him and dragged him to the side.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing?” The finely dressed young master finally came back to his senses. Seeing Pei Er’s darkened face and clenched fist, he was immediately so frightened that his legs went weak, though on the surface he still acted tough: “Y-you dare hit me? Do you know who my father is?”

At this moment, his attendant also rushed over, with two guards behind him.

The attendant hurried forward to pull the two apart, nervously saying, “Sir, let’s talk this out. Please release my young master first.”

The two guards also immediately drew their blades, intending to step forward.

Seeing this, the surrounding onlookers couldn’t help but point and comment:

“Who knows where this playboy came from, daring to molest someone’s wife in the street!”

“He was just staring lecherously at that soldier’s wife the whole time.”

“Acting like this in public, who knows what he’s like in private.”

“And he even had his subordinates draw blades, bullying others with power!”

“I remember that soldier is a hero who suppressed bandits, this is too much!”

The two guards who had drawn their blades: “……”

The crowd grew more and more indignant. Two tall, sturdy men even couldn’t hold back from rolling up their sleeves, ready to step forward and help.

Seeing this, the attendant hurriedly apologized and spoke kindly.

The two guards also looked embarrassed and, for the moment, felt too awkward to step forward.

Li Chanxiu had indeed felt somewhat uncomfortable from the finely dressed young master’s gaze earlier. But at a glance, he could tell the other party’s clothing was extraordinary. Even the attire of the attendant and guards beside him was better than that of ordinary commoners like them. And with the young master opening his mouth with “Do you know who my father is,” he was likely a playboy from an official family with a background.

Especially since these people clearly had a Chang’an accent, and today Pei Er had escorted bandits to the county. Previously, the prefect had ordered a bandit suppression because several nobles from Chang’an had been robbed while passing through Wuding Mountain. Li Chanxiu could almost guess this finely dressed young master’s background.

He couldn’t help but tug at Pei Er and frowned, saying in a low voice, “Forget it, let’s go.”

In a small place like Qing County, people from Chang’an rarely came, especially those dressed so nobly. If the other party really was one of the nobles who had been robbed earlier at Wuding Mountain and had come specifically to watch the escort of bandits, then this young master’s identity might not be ordinary.

Right now, he and Pei Er had ordinary identities. It was better to avoid trouble than to invite it. Especially since he needed to conceal his identity, it was best to act low-key and not get entangled with such people.

Thinking this, he unconsciously tightened his grip on Pei Er’s hand, his knuckles slightly whitening.

Pei Er thought he was afraid. He had originally wanted to teach that finely dressed young master a lesson, but seeing this, he quickly tightened his hold on Li Chanxiu’s hand.

Taking advantage of this, Li Chanxiu gripped him tightly. After thanking the two righteous men who had been about to help, he pulled Pei Er away quickly.

His face remained slightly tense the whole time. Only after walking far away did he let out a breath.

Great Zhou had originally set its capital at Chang’an, but after the current emperor ascended the throne, the capital was moved to Luoyang, with Chang’an designated as a secondary capital, also called the Western Capital.

When the capital was moved, although the aristocratic families in court all followed to Luoyang, many of their ancestral homes and foundations still remained in Chang’an.

That finely dressed young master came from Chang’an, and if even the prefect had to treat him politely, then his family background was likely extraordinary, with connections to Luoyang. He might even have visited the imperial palace in Luoyang.

In any case, it was best to have less contact with such people.

Just as he paused to steady his breathing, Pei Er, without saying a word, raised his hand and gently patted his back.

Li Chanxiu noticed and suddenly turned his head, meeting a pair of eyes filled with concern.

He couldn’t help but smile and explained his reasoning to Pei Er.

Naturally, he only said that he guessed the young master’s identity was not ordinary and that he might be a guest of the prefect’s residence and not someone easy to offend; he did not say anything else.

After listening, Pei Er’s gaze clearly darkened, and he secretly clenched his hand.

It was all because he wasn’t working hard enough. Faced with what happened today, he could only let Miss Shen suffer grievance. If he worked hard enough and his status were high enough…

He couldn’t help but tighten his grip on Li Chanxiu’s hand and swore in a low voice, “Don’t worry, I will work hard in the future.”

At the very least, he would achieve merit like that so-called Pei Shizi, at least allowing Miss Shen to become a general’s wife.

Li Chanxiu: “……?”

How did this turn into working hard or not?

***

On the street, seeing the crowd finally disperse, the attendant Little An finally let out a breath of relief, then said with a bitter face, “Young master, why did you stare at someone else’s little wife in the street again? Have you forgotten back in Luoyang, when you stared at a little lady like that and were mistaken for a lecher, and nearly got taught a lesson by Pei Shizi?”

Calling it “taught a lesson” was putting it nicely, it was actually that he had nearly been picked up by Pei Zhen and beaten on the street.

The finely dressed young master said awkwardly, “Wasn’t I… just entranced?”

Then he defended himself: “I didn’t have any other intentions, I was just appreciating her purely, wanting to paint her portrait.” Then he said in annoyance, “Right, when they left just now, why didn’t you stop them? I haven’t even asked whether that guy is Pei Zhen.”

Little An felt miserable and said with a mournful face, “Young master, at that time the people on the street were about to surround us and beat us as a group, how would we dare to stop them?”

But he quickly added, “However, young master, don’t worry. That soldier is definitely not Pei Shizi. Young General Yang sent a letter, he said Pei Shizi was injured not long ago and is now recuperating in Wucheng. It’s impossible for him to come to Yongzhou, let alone appear in Qing County.”

And even married a pretty little lady.

Hearing this, the finely dressed young master’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, “Cousin wrote a letter? Quick, let me see it. How did he know I wanted to ask about Pei Zhen?”

Little An quickly had the guard beside him hand over the letter that had just been delivered, and explained, “Young master, of course the young master didn’t know you wanted to ask about Pei Shizi. Sending letters back and forth takes time. After he received the letter you sent a few days ago, he asked the guard who brought the reply to tell you that he is going to Wucheng to take care of the injured Pei Shizi. During this period he won’t be in the Bingzhou prefectural city, so he told you to go straight back to Chang’an and not to go to Bingzhou.”

After speaking, Little An added with a pleading expression, “Young master, let’s just listen to the young master and hurry back to Chang’an. You ran out secretly in the first place, and then encountered bandits on the road. If anything were to happen, wouldn’t the master and madam skin me alive?”

But the finely dressed young master ignored him, waved his hand to tell him to be quiet, and after opening the letter and carefully reading it, his eyes turned as if thinking of something. Suddenly he laughed slyly and said, “Come, let’s go to Bingzhou, to Wucheng, to find cousin.”

Little An: “Ah?”

“That guy Pei Zhen rarely suffers a loss and gets injured. Don’t I have to go mock him properly? And what happened today, I also have to tell him and have a good laugh at him.” As he spoke, the finely dressed young master folded the letter, looking pleased with himself.

“Ah??” Little An looked completely confused.

It was just a centurion who looked very much like Pei Shizi, obedient to his little wife and following her around, not Pei Shizi himself being obedient to that little wife.

If you take this matter to mock Pei Shizi, won’t he think you’re inexplicable, and even think you… have something wrong with your head?

The finely dressed young master felt nothing of the sort. After folding the letter and tucking it into his chest, he couldn’t help but sigh again: “In this world, there are actually two people who look so alike. Truly ‘the world is vast, and nothing is too strange.’ Just imagining Pei Zhen bowing and scraping to a little wife using that face makes me feel satisfied.”

After speaking, he suddenly thought of something, slapped his forehead, and said, “Say, could that person be Pei Zhen’s twin brother who was left outside?”

Little An: “Ah???” He had never heard that Pei Shizi had a twin brother.

The finely dressed young master: “Let’s go, let’s go. Now I even more have to go to Bingzhou to ask.”

***

After Li Chanxiu and Pei Er returned to the military camp, they quickly became busy with their own tasks.

Pei Er had just been promoted to Thousand-man Commander. Every day he had to command troops and train soldiers, and at night he still had to go to the city wall for night duty and patrol.

In addition, General Chen valued him, and from time to time would test him on military strategy.

Moreover, Pei Er himself was diligent. Ever since returning from the county town that day, he seemed to have been stimulated. Every day he woke early to practice martial arts and study military texts, often even holding a military book while eating.

Once, when General Chen was inspecting the camp and saw this, he couldn’t help but praise, “Good, not bad! It is said that when Pei Shizi of Bingzhou was young, he was just like you, diligent and eager to learn, studying military strategy even while eating and sleeping. Sometimes he would fall asleep using a military book as a pillow.”

Pei Er’s hand holding the military book stiffened, feeling that this praise was not so pleasing.

Li Chanxiu happened to be there at the time. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but glance at Pei Er and press his lips together in a light smile.

Since the time he discovered the soldiers lacked strength due to insufficient salt, when General Chen inspected the camp, he would from time to time bring him along to check the soldiers’ physical condition.

Seeing him also smile toward him, Pei Er’s mood finally improved a lot.

Aside from occasionally accompanying General Chen on camp inspections, most of Li Chanxiu’s time was still spent with Physician Hu, hurrying to turn the medicinal materials they had bought earlier into prepared medicine.

In addition, General Zhao from Yongding Town had come previously. After learning about Li Chanxiu, he also requested General Chen to lend him for two days to the Yongding garrison to help suture the wounds of the injured soldiers there.

Only after asking Li Chanxiu’s opinion did General Chen allow Pei Er to escort him to the Yongding garrison.

When they returned, a physician from the Yongding garrison also came along carrying a medicine box, saying he wanted to study under Li Chanxiu for a period of time.

As soon as Physician Hu saw the physician from Yongding, he immediately blew his beard and glared. It turned out the two old men had known each other in their youth and didn’t get along; upon meeting, they immediately started bickering.

It wasn’t that they had any real grudge, they just often had differing views on medical skills and would frequently argue over it.

However, after Physician Li from Yongding arrived, he did help quite a bit. At least there was one more person to help process those medicinal materials, allowing Li Chanxiu to rest for a while and relax.

Two days later, Lu Zhi’s side also sent someone with a letter, informing that the first batch of salt had already been boiled and some had been sold to nearby commoners.

Lu Zhi told him that after boiling another batch of salt, he would take people to Western Qiang. If Li Chanxiu needed to contact them, he could find Xuanping.

Xuanping also sent a letter. Unlike Lu Zhi’s steady tone, his letter was full of exaggerated amazement, asking where Li Chanxiu got the salt-making method. The salt produced was even better than official salt, white as snow and fine as sand.

After reading it, Li Chanxiu burned the letter and shook his head with a light smile.

The salt-making method he gave was something he had improved in a dream when he was in the southwest, based on the method his father taught the local people. Naturally, it was better than existing methods.

Besides explaining these matters in the letter, Lu Zhi also had the messenger bring some silver, saying it was their share from the salt that had been sold.

Probably seeing that Li Chanxiu and Pei Er were not well-off usually, he had specially sent some as soon as they made money.

Li Chanxiu usually ate and lived in the camp, so he didn’t really need money. But there was a money-devouring creature at home; since they had money, buying more meat to feed the golden eagle would be good, and at the same time improve meals for himself and Pei Er.

Seeing that their meals at home had improved recently, even the golden eagle’s feathers had become smooth and glossy, Pei Er thought Li Chanxiu had finally been willing to spend the money he earned, and felt happy as well.

It was the end of the year, and the New Year was approaching. The weather was getting colder and colder.

Previously, when going to the city wall for night duty, Pei Er had heard the soldiers on guard complain about the cold and mention kang heated beds.

“A kang is still warmer, burn it once, and it stays warm all night.”

“Isn’t that so? My home built one last year. At night I no longer need to cover myself with several quilts, they were too heavy.”

“Heh heh, when doing that kind of thing, you don’t have to worry about the cold air coming in.”

“Go, go! Always bringing up this kind of thing when talking about home. Be careful that Thousand-man Commander Pei hears you.”

“What are you afraid of? A Thousand-man Commander also has a wife, when he goes home, he still has to crawl under the quilt with his wife. But seriously, a kang is better, big and warm. Two people lying on it don’t feel cramped, you can roll around however you want. It’s better than a bed, bett, … Thousand-man Commander Pei, hello!”

The man speaking turned around and suddenly saw Pei Er standing behind him expressionlessly, and was so startled that he shivered.

Pei Er: “……”

He gave the other a faint glance, turned, and left, but immediately began pondering about a kang in his mind.

He didn’t know what a kang looked like, but Physician Hu lived in Yongfeng, his house must have one, so he should know.

After going to ask Physician Hu, and with these two days just happening to be rest days, Pei Er decided to build one in the bedroom he shared with Li Chanxiu.

Now that the weather was getting colder and colder, although Li Chanxiu burned charcoal, they had to leave some gaps in the window or door at night to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. But leaving gaps let in cold drafts.

Moreover, the charcoal at home was made by themselves dragging wood back from the mountains to burn. The quality wasn’t good and always produced smoke. Burning it occasionally was fine, but doing so often wasn’t good for the body.

Pei Er usually stayed in the military camp, so it was fine for him. Li Chanxiu lived at home and was afraid of the cold, so he inevitably had to burn charcoal often and smell the smoke.

Pei Er had clearly noticed that in the past few days, Li Chanxiu’s voice had even become somewhat hoarse.

When Li Chanxiu heard he was going to build a kang, he was extremely pleasantly surprised and hurried to help at the side.

Halfway through the work, Zhang Hu suddenly came to the house and said General Chen wanted Pei Er to go over.

Pei Er didn’t know what the matter was, so he had no choice but to put down his work and go to the military camp with Zhang Hu.

However, he didn’t stay long and quickly returned, immediately taking over the task of mixing mud from Li Chanxiu and continuing the work.

Perhaps because the midday sun was good and there was no wind in the courtyard, after working for a while, Pei Er actually took off his outer robe and continued mixing mud with a shovel.

Once the cotton robe was removed, the clothes on his body became much thinner. Li Chanxiu could clearly see the smooth lines bulging on his arms when he gripped the shovel with force, and when he bent over, the strong, lean waistline outlined by the fabric.

Although he had seen some of this before when Pei Er was unconscious lying in the injured soldiers’ camp, but… when not exerting force and when exerting force, there was ultimately a difference.

Li Chanxiu unconsciously turned his gaze away. For some reason, his throat felt a little dry.

And it was unclear whether Pei Er was naturally not afraid of the cold, after working like this for a while, a thin layer of sweat actually appeared on his forehead.

Probably thirsty, but his hands were not clean, he set down the shovel and asked, “Miss Shen, can you pass me some water?”

Li Chanxiu suddenly came back to his senses, quickly responded with an “oh,” his expression actually a bit flustered.

He hurried to the kitchen to pour a bowl of water. Perhaps the midday sun really was a bit warm, after pouring the water, he realized his ears felt hot, and quickly pinched them with his slightly cool fingers, covering them.

After feeling the heat subside a little, he took a deep breath, regained his composure, and carried the water out.

A burst of cold winter wind blew by, and the sunlight no longer seemed as warm as he had thought.

He walked over with the water to the pile of wet mud, intending to hand the bowl to Pei Er.

But Pei Er glanced at the mud on his hands, his gaze flickering slightly. He gave a light cough and said, “Miss Shen, my hands aren’t very clean.”

Li Chanxiu was momentarily stunned. After a while, he said “oh,” and held the water out a bit closer.

Pei Er then lowered his head and drank from the bowl he was holding, mouthful by mouthful.

Li Chanxiu’s fingers resting on the edge of the bowl tightened slightly. His gaze accidentally caught sight again of Pei Er’s slightly open collar as he lowered his head. Without the bandages that had wrapped his wounds, the lines were even clearer and smoother…

Li Chanxiu abruptly turned his head away. His fingers curled slightly, and the bowl in his hands shook.

Pei Er was immediately choked, coughing for a moment. Startled, Li Chanxiu quickly set down the bowl and reached out to pat his back, asking, “Are you alright?”

After asking, he felt a burst of guilt.

Pei Er quickly finished coughing and shook his head, saying, “I’m fine.”

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he looked at the hand patting his back.

Li Chanxiu paused slightly. Only then did he realize his hand was still resting on the other’s back, his palm pressed against the slightly protruding spine.

His fingertips tightened slightly. He didn’t know whether it was because his own hand was cold or because Pei Er’s body was very warm, but he only felt his palm seemed to burn. He hurriedly withdrew it and turned his head away.

But Pei Er’s gaze fell directly on the side of his face, hotter than the sunlight shining from above, impossible to ignore.

He pressed his lips together. After a long moment, he finally gave a dry cough and said, “It’s cold. Hurry and put your clothes on, be careful not to catch a chill.”

After speaking, he continued looking elsewhere, pretending to look at the branches on the fence, pretending to look at the golden eagle pacing in the courtyard, pretending…

“Right.” He finally thought of a way to ease the awkwardness and spoke again, “General Chen called you just now, did he say what it was about?”

Pei Er had been feeling regretful that he was no longer looking at him. Hearing this, he came back to his senses and said without much interest, “He wanted me to go to Bingzhou to deliver a letter. I refused.”

“Bingzhou?” Li Chanxiu was surprised.

“Mm.” Pei Er nodded. “It seems that before, he wrote to Lord Zhang, but Lord Zhang hasn’t replied. He’s a bit worried, so he wants to send a letter directly to Bingzhou, to see if that Pei Shizi there can intervene and investigate… the Wang family, the prefect’s residence, and the official salt matter.”

Li Chanxiu immediately understood. After he and Pei Er returned from the county town, they had privately told General Chen about the situation Lu Zhi had informed them of.

It seemed General Chen had indeed written to Lord Zhang, the former prefect of Yongzhou, as they had expected. After all, if this matter really involved the Wang family, the prefect’s residence, and Liang Wang, then with General Chen’s ability, he wouldn’t be able to investigate it.

But since Lord Zhang had not replied, General Chen worried that if this matter were true, the trouble these people were causing in Yongzhou might not be limited to official salt. So he simply wrote to Bingzhou as well, hoping that Pei Zhen there could step in.

Pei Zhen oversaw the military affairs of Bingzhou. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t be able to manage affairs in Yongzhou.

But as the only prince of Great Zhou with a different surname, the second grandson of the old Yan Wang, he had received considerable favor from the imperial family in Luoyang in his youth. He had once been on good terms with Liang Wang Shizi, even sharing life-and-death friendship.

With Pei Zhen’s relationship to Liang Wang’s residence, he did not fear the so-called Prefect Yan or the Wang family.

Moreover, he himself was a frontier general, wholeheartedly wanting to recover the northern lands, and would certainly also hate matters like embezzling military salt. Especially when Lord Zhang had been serving as prefect of Yongzhou, he often coordinated with Yongzhou to attack the Hu people and paid great attention to its border defenses.

So, regardless of whether the Wang family had any connection with Liang Wang’s residence, if Pei Zhen learned of this matter, even if it was not within the jurisdiction of his own prefecture, he would certainly find a way to help.

As for General Chen specifically calling Pei Er over and wanting him to deliver the letter…

Li Chanxiu smiled and said, “General Chen wants you to show your face in front of Pei Shizi.”

After all, General Chen greatly appreciated Pei Er, but he himself was only a minor border garrison general, with limited ability to promote others. If Pei Er could be noticed and promoted by Pei Zhen, his future would certainly be boundless.

Pei Er continued mixing mud with the shovel. Hearing this, he said in a muffled voice, “That’s exactly why I don’t want to go.”

Li Chanxiu was puzzled: “Hm?”

Pei Er: “Ahem, I mean, the journey to Bingzhou is long, and I don’t know when I would return. If you stayed home alone, I wouldn’t be at ease.”

Li Chanxiu was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, his heart inexplicably skipping a beat. Perhaps the sun above was too uncomfortable, he hurriedly took a sip of water from the bowl.

After drinking, he suddenly stiffened. This water… seemed to be what Pei Er had just drunk from.

He suddenly felt his face grow a bit warm again, not knowing what was wrong with him today, always losing composure.

At this moment, Pei Er raised his head again, his dark eyes looking at him, and suddenly asked, “Miss Shen, you… really have never met Pei Shizi?”

Li Chanxiu was stunned again and asked, “Why do you ask?”

Pei Er pressed his lips together and hesitated before saying, “It always feels like every time he’s mentioned, you… are a bit different.”

Li Chanxiu paused blankly. Different…?

He couldn’t help but lower his gaze, his eyes slightly downcast.

If speaking of reality, he had indeed never met Pei Zhen. As for in dreams… there had been one time when he almost met him.

That was when he had traveled from Western Qiang back to the Central Plains. For some reason, Pei Zhen happened to be at the border between Yong and Bing, which had already been occupied by the Hu people.

At that time, Li Chanxiu, as a suspicious person coming from a fallen area, was captured by the other party’s subordinates for questioning.

By coincidence, an official present at the time recognized him and revealed his identity.

Then he was taken to Pei Zhen.

But he didn’t meet him. Pei Zhen seemed to be gravely ill, sitting inside a carriage the whole time. From behind the heavy curtains, muffled coughing sounds would occasionally come out.

At that time, the Great Zhou court had already fled south in panic. The current emperor and Liang Wang had died one after another, and Liang Wang shizi had ascended the throne.

Li Chanxiu knew that this Pei Shizi was a confidant of the new emperor, and that his own father had once been the Crown Prince. His father’s former subordinates had by then been labeled as rebels by the court.

When he was captured, he had already not expected to leave alive. But for some reason, Pei Zhen ultimately let him go and even sent people and carriages to escort him away.

However, Pei Zhen never got out of the carriage at the time, nor even lifted the curtain. Later, Li Chanxiu learned that his old injuries had not healed and he was already in a state where it was difficult for him to leave the carriage.

The closest they ever came to meeting passed just like that in haste.

And Li Chanxiu indeed had never seen him.