After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 63

The instant Yang Yuanyi clearly saw Li Chanxiu’s appearance, he was slightly stunned, and a trace of amazement couldn’t help flashing through his eyes.

The “woman” before him wore a dull, old padded jacket, with even patches sewn onto the elbows, yet standing beside the dilapidated brick wall, her figure was straight, slender like a green bamboo standing in the snow. Her face was fair and delicate, her features refined and elegant, like someone detached from the mundane world of snowy mountains.

That kid Wei Zizhou hadn’t been lying after all, Pei Zhen really did have extraordinary luck with women. In this poor, remote place, this mountain backwater, he could still marry such a beautiful wife.

Of course, he wasn’t saying that remote places didn’t have beauties, but someone this beautiful was indeed rare. Nor was he saying Pei Zhen couldn’t marry such a beautiful wife, but, if Pei Zhen had still been General Pei or the heir of the Pei family, then marrying such a good-looking wife wouldn’t be surprising.

But he had heard that when Pei Zhen had just lost his memory, he had been extremely poor and destitute, no status, no money, and… severely injured, unconscious, covered in blood, perhaps not even guaranteed to survive. In that situation, he could still marry a fairy-like wife, one truly didn’t know whether to say his luck was good, or just very good!

Previously, Yang Yuanyi had found it unbelievable that Pei Zhen could be so captivated by a young woman, like a foolish youth just awakening to love. Now that he had seen the young woman herself, he suddenly found it somewhat understandable, such a beautiful woman, no wonder that cold-faced god Pei Zhen would be moved.

He just didn’t know how this picture-perfect woman before him had come to fancy Pei Zhen in the first place.

Yang Yuanyi stroked his chin and thought about it, figuring that at the time, Pei Zhen’s only advantage had probably been that handsome, cold face of his, one that elders had liked since he was young, and that made young ladies blush and young men jealous as he grew older. Could it be that he had relied on his looks to marry a wife?

Of course, thinking rationally, the woman before him had a suspicious identity and an unclear background. Her choosing to marry Pei Er might have been for some other purpose or consideration… but Yang Yuanyi had just been beaten by Pei Er earlier, so he didn’t dare make any more presumptuous guesses now.

That said, beauty alone wouldn’t have made him stare blankly, he wasn’t like Wei Zizhou, that “fool” who couldn’t move when he saw a beauty.

It was just that, besides being beautiful, the woman before him seemed to have a trace of… familiarity? But it was only a fleeting feeling. When he looked more carefully again, he couldn’t say exactly what felt familiar, as if that moment earlier had just been an illusion.

Moreover, Yang Yuanyi was certain he had never seen her before.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help turning back to take another look.

Li Chanxiu seemed to sense it and just happened to turn his head at that moment, his calm gaze meeting his.

Yang Yuanyi stiffened, quickly turning his head back awkwardly, giving a light cough as he silently recited: One must not covet a friend’s wife.

It was only an impolite extra glance, Pei Zhen probably wouldn’t beat him again for that, right?

After silently reciting this, he hurried up the steps toward the city wall. But there was one thing he could be even more certain of.

This “Shen Xiu” before him was most likely not the real Shen Xiu.

In a prosperous place like Luoyang, where the powerful and noble gathered, if such a beauty had been born into an official family, her name would likely have spread far and wide before she even came of age. Yet when he had been young in Luojing, he had never heard of her.

Moreover, a beauty like this, even if implicated by her family and convicted, would most likely not truly be exiled. More often, she would be taken into the palace as a maid, or even be bought away by powerful nobles…

Yang Yuanyi shook his head inwardly, sighing softly as he stepped onto the city wall.

Li Chanxiu frowned slightly and soon withdrew his gaze from him.

He hadn’t seen that soldier before, his face was unfamiliar. He seemed to have come together with General Chen. Was he from another garrison? Or someone brought by Lu Gonggong?

Forget it, since he didn’t know him, he would just avoid him in the future.

The tightness in his brows eased slightly. After pulling back his thoughts, the chaotic and unsettled feelings from before once again rushed back into his mind.

Thinking of Pei Er’s embrace when he left and the words he had whispered by his ear, Li Chanxiu unconsciously clenched his fingertips, his heart once again falling into emptiness and confusion.

When he had been suddenly embraced, hearing that solemn “wait for me to come back,” and feeling his ear lightly brushed, after his mind had gone blank for an instant, waves had surged in his heart, just like when he had realized that kiss in the morning, just like that night after drinking deer blood wine when Pei Er had almost kissed him, just like before in the mountain stronghold…

Li Chanxiu’s thoughts were in complete disarray, like a tangled mass of threads with no end in sight.

Although it hadn’t been said outright, from all these signs, it seemed already quite obvious, Pei Er actually… liked him?

And just now, he had said that after he returned, there was something important he wanted to tell him. What could it be? Could it be… to confess this?

But he wasn’t truly a woman. Wouldn’t that make things… how had things developed into this? Hadn’t they agreed it was only a fake marriage? Pei Er, he…

No, perhaps it wasn’t what he thought. Perhaps the “important matter” he mentioned was something else, perhaps…

The more Li Chanxiu thought, the more tangled his mind became. The composure he had forced himself to maintain while seeing Pei Er off finally collapsed after the other left, unable to be sustained any longer.

But no matter how much he thought now, it was only his own wild speculation. Since Pei Er said he would speak after returning, then… he would wait until he came back?

Li Chanxiu forced himself to calm down, turned, and walked beneath the watchtower to continue bandaging the wounded soldiers, then went to boil medicine.

He tried to focus his thoughts on proper matters rather than sinking into the tangled confusion of his relationship with Pei Er, for example, thinking: this trip of Pei Er’s would certainly be extremely dangerous, so what exactly could he do to help him?

Halfway through the thought, he suddenly froze again.

It seemed… it was still about Pei Er.

Just at this moment, a young soldier from the camp ran over, it was Erzi, the little follower of Chen Qing.

Li Chanxiu recalled the matter he had asked Chen Qing to help with when he left the camp that morning. He couldn’t help putting down the wooden ladle he was using to stir the medicinal soup and quickly walked over.

“Did Chen Qing ask you to bring a message?” he asked while wiping his hands with the coarse cloth wrapped around his front.

Erzi glanced at his delicate face, looking somewhat awkward. “Miss Shen, this needs to be said quietly.”

Hearing this, Li Chanxiu moved a bit closer.

Erzi’s face reddened slightly as he leaned in and whispered a few sentences in his ear.

Li Chanxiu’s hand paused mid-wipe. He suddenly raised his head, his cool and refined eyes filled with seriousness. “Are you sure?”

Erzi nodded repeatedly and said, “Miss Shen, it can’t be wrong, I saw it with my own eyes.”

***

Half an hour earlier, at the military camp garrison.

Lu Gonggong left the central command tent with a restrained expression, his face clearly displeased.

Jiang He followed closely behind him. After entering the tent and remaining silent for a moment, he finally couldn’t help asking, “Gonggong, why did you let Chen Gaojun and Pei Er off so easily just now?”

Naturally, Lu Gonggong couldn’t say that he had been frightened by Pei Er’s cold, chilling strike. He snorted coldly instead. “You’re asking me? I haven’t even questioned you yet. Didn’t your father say your skills were outstanding, among the best in this camp? Then why, the moment you drew your blade, were you blocked by that so-called Pei Er?”

Jiang He’s expression darkened slightly, but his tone remained respectful as he explained, “The distance was too close just now. I was afraid of injuring you, Gonggong, so I held back.”

“Hmph.” Lu Gonggong gave a noncommittal snort, though his expression eased somewhat.

“There’s no point arguing with them. My purpose in coming this time is mainly to eliminate that Pei Er you mentioned. As for Chen Gaojun, if he doesn’t investigate the official salt, that’s one thing, but if he insists on doing so, he cannot be left alive.”

“I’ve already had people look into it. That Pei Er will lead three hundred men out of the pass today to ambush the Hu troops. This is precisely your opportunity. The hundred guards I brought with me this time are all experts, you take them all and make sure that Pei Er dies out there.”

“Once he dies, this ambush against the Hu troops will certainly fail. I will then use ‘ineffective command’ as the reason to hold Chen Gaojun accountable. At that time, you can turn the situation around, repel the invading Hu troops, and won’t all the credit be yours?”

As he spoke, he cast Jiang He a glance and added in a strange, mocking tone, “Hu troops that can be repelled by a mere two thousand defenders probably aren’t much to begin with. That little soldier named Pei Er could do it, you won’t tell me you can’t, will you?”

Jiang He’s expression turned cold as he clenched his teeth and cupped his hands. “Rest assured, Gonggong. Pei Er only won by luck. The mountain bandits he defeated before were nothing but a mob. In my eyes, he only has a bit of ability in leading troops, nothing worth mentioning.”

“Hmph, good.” Lu Gonggong snorted. After a pause, he added, “If you truly can’t manage, it doesn’t matter. We’ll see whether we know the Hu troops who come to attack. If we do, and can speak with them, it’ll be easy enough, just a pack of wolves that can be sent away with some money and grain.”

Jiang He’s expression turned unpleasant when he heard this.

After saying that, Lu Gonggong pinched his voice again and continued in a strange tone, “Hmph, that fool courting death, of all things to know, he had to know about the official salt matter. He’s clearly tired of living. This time, by getting rid of him, we can cover up both the official salt and the previous grain provisions incident, eliminating all future trouble so we don’t have to worry about him regaining his memory and learning the truth about the stolen supplies.”

***

On the city wall, Yang Yuanyi was asking General Chen about the situation of the Hu troops’ invasion.

General Chen had also been intending to discuss this matter with him, wanting to ask whether Bingzhou could dispatch reinforcements. But before he could speak, he heard Yang Yuanyi ask what Pei Er had gone out to do.

Not knowing Yang Yuanyi’s exact identity and fearing a leak of information, General Chen immediately gave a vague answer.

Only when Yang Yuanyi took out a token, revealing that his position in the Bingzhou army was not low, did General Chen become startled and hurriedly explain the situation.

When Yang Yuanyi heard that there might be a hundred thousand Hu troops invading, his heart jolted. Then, hearing that Pei Er was taking only nine hundred cavalry into the desert to set up an ambush, he nearly exploded on the spot.

Especially when he heard that those nine hundred cavalry had been hastily pieced together from three garrisons, let alone being compared to elite cavalry, they might not even reach the level of ordinary cavalry.

Taking such a patchwork cavalry force to ambush tens of thousands of Hu troops, was he trying to get himself killed? Could it be that losing his memory had reverted his brain back to when he was seventeen or eighteen? He really was just as bold as back then!

Cold sweat broke out on Yang Yuanyi’s back. He hurriedly walked down the city wall and said to the Black Iron soldiers following him, “Have everyone prepare, follow me into the desert.”

He had only just managed to find Pei Zhen. It wouldn’t do for them not to have properly recognized each other yet, only for the other to be beaten by the Hu troops again, lose his memory once more, and disappear, forcing him to search all over again.

Moreover, Pei Zhen now had a family. If something happened again…

Yang Yuanyi’s steps paused, and he couldn’t help looking toward Li Chanxiu not far away, who was bandaging wounded soldiers.

He was lowering his head, attentively and patiently tending to the wounded. No matter how dirty their clothes were or how bloody and gruesome their wounds looked, “she” showed no change in expression, not the slightest trace of disgust or impatience. His demeanor was calm and beautiful, like a painting.

Yang Yuanyi suddenly began to understand a bit of Pei Er’s earlier praise. The other truly was as pure as ice and snow, intelligent and graceful, gentle and kind… at least on the surface.

No wonder Pei Zhen had been completely captivated.

Yang Yuanyi couldn’t help but sigh in admiration, then quickly led his men away.

As he left, Li Chanxiu glanced up at him. Though he found the man’s origins strange, he didn’t think much of it.

Not long after, he received Erzi’s message.

Upon learning that Jiang He had actually taken a group of people and detoured out of the pass, his expression instantly darkened.

It was obvious, if Jiang He was leading people out of the pass at this time, it couldn’t be for anything good. If his intentions were upright, why would he secretly take a detour out?

Most likely… he was going to take revenge on Pei Er?!

Thinking of this, Li Chanxiu’s expression grew even more unsightly, his demeanor even carrying a sharpness he had never shown before.

Because he needed to maintain his disguise, in order to appear more like a woman, he usually tried to smile whenever possible. Even when he didn’t smile, he would lightly press his lips together, keeping his gaze gentle and composed, doing his best to soften his expression and features.

But at this moment, perhaps unable to conceal the emotions in his heart, a chill appeared at the corners of his eyes and brows, a coldness rose at his lips. His usual gentle exterior was broken, and a sharpness showed in his features.

Jiang He was actually going to secretly harm Pei Er, especially at such a critical moment as ambushing the Hu troops. This made him unable to suppress the anger rising in his heart.

Perhaps because his aura had suddenly become so imposing, Erzi beside him inexplicably felt his calves tremble. He hurriedly lowered his head, not even daring to look at him.