After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 69

Li Chanxiu had previously asked Pei Zhen and also knew that Xuanping had gone again to burn the grain.

After returning to the main room, he likewise wanted to wait a while for news, only after confirming that Xuanping and the others had returned safely would he rest.

So he lit an oil lamp and sat by the table making mulberry-bark thread, while thinking about various matters.

These past few days had seen constant battles, and the number of wounded soldiers had surged. The mulberry-bark thread he had prepared earlier was nearly used up. Also, he had heard that the two capitals, Luoyang and Chang’an, were besieged by refugees, he didn’t know whether his father, who was in Luoyang, was safe.

In his dreams, his father had left the place where he had been confined for nearly twenty years when Luoyang fell to the rebel army. But when Luoyang fell, it was also a catastrophe for the people, blood flowing like rivers…

Li Chanxiu pressed his brow. He didn’t know whether it was because the lamplight was too dim or because he had been too busy during the day and overly fatigued, but his eyes suddenly felt dry and sore.

After pressing the acupoints around his eyes, he blew out the lamp and decided to lie on the heated kang for a while and rest with his eyes closed.

But perhaps he had truly been too tired during the day, though he hadn’t intended to sleep, after lying on the warm kang and closing his eyes for only a moment, he fell into a deep sleep.

…

After seeing Yang Yuanyi off, Pei Zhen stood alone in the courtyard for a while before turning toward the main room.

Perhaps influenced by Yang Yuanyi’s earlier words, when he stepped forward, his raised foot hesitated for a moment before firmly coming down.

That was his wife, at night, he should naturally rest with her. If he didn’t go back, wouldn’t she notice something amiss?

Besides, he hadn’t been drinking, he had only chatted a bit longer while eating with a friend… alright, not just a bit longer, but until nearly midnight.

But he was General Pei, who had charged across battlefields and fought through bloodshed, never fearing even hundreds of thousands of Hu troops, so why should he feel guilty, afraid of the gentle wife at home?

He was no longer the dull-witted Pei Er from his amnesia days, who had been led around by his wife.

Thinking this, he coughed lightly, steadied himself, and finally lifted the heavy curtain of the bedroom.

But when he reached the bedside, he suddenly froze, 

The hazy moonlight from outside filtered through the window paper, faintly illuminating the heated kang, two newly embroidered quilts with mandarin ducks were rolled into separate tubes and placed side by side, clearly divided down the middle.

And his little wife was sleeping in the inner quilt, with only half of his delicate face visible at the edge of the covers, eyes closed, sleeping peacefully, black hair spread softly beside the pillow.

Pei Zhen stiffened slightly. How… were they sleeping in separate quilts?

Although in his memory they had been married for less than a month and had not spent many nights together at home, in the scenes he could recall, he had always held his wife while sleeping, for example, waking up the second day after their wedding, or this very morning, when he opened his eyes to find his wife tightly in his arms.

Especially this morning, before leaving for battle, because of his reluctance to part, he had even lightly kissed the corner of his wife’s lips.

So ordinarily, whenever they came home to rest together, they would certainly sleep under one quilt, so why were they suddenly sleeping under separate quilts today? Could it be… really because he had dinner with Yang Yuanyi and chatted so late that he didn’t come back?

Pei Zhen felt embarrassed, and a little guilty and annoyed. This young lady was a bit too temperamental, he had only returned late, hadn’t even been drinking, and it was his own home to begin with.

Besides, he was no longer the Pei Er who had nothing but romance on his mind; he certainly wouldn’t indulge her.

Thinking this, he deliberately put on a cold expression, as if the person on the bed could see it, then turned around, yet stepped out lightly and quietly. After a simple wash, he came back just as quietly, and then carefully lifted the outer quilt.

Fine, if they’re sleeping under separate quilts, then so be it.

He had already recovered his memories; he wouldn’t be like when he had amnesia, letting himself be controlled by the other.

Pei Zhen lay flat on the kang, his body straight as if standing in a stance, eyes firmly shut.

But after a while, his heart grew restless again.

If it were the him with amnesia, he would definitely have already leaned over by now. If he didn’t lean over now, wouldn’t that arouse suspicion?

Thinking this, Pei Zhen opened his eyes again in the darkness. After hesitating, he lifted his own quilt and gently went to pull Li Chanxiu’s quilt, yet it didn’t budge.

It seemed he really was angry.

Pei Zhen thought for a moment, then raised his hand and gently stroked Li Chanxiu’s thin back through the quilt, too thin. He frowned, thinking it must be because the other had been overworking himself recently.

Tomorrow he should go speak to General Chen, tell him to assign his wife less work, wasn’t there also that Physician Hu?

Pei Zhen’s movements unconsciously became even gentler, like he was stroking a kitten.

Earlier, when Li Chanxiu woke up and found himself in Pei Er’s quilt, he had always thought he must have rolled into it after falling asleep. Worried that tonight he might unknowingly roll into the other’s quilt again, after falling asleep he had been unconsciously gripping the corner of his quilt tightly.

But in his dream, he seemed to see his father again, as if returning to childhood, being gently soothed to sleep by that broad, warm palm stroking his back.

The fingers clutching the quilt corner gradually loosened their strength.

Pei Zhen heard him seem to murmur something, and hurriedly bent down to listen, but heard nothing more.

But there was an unexpected delight: the quilt corner could finally be pulled.

Carefully, Pei Zhen lifted a corner of the quilt and, with practiced ease, slipped inside.

Almost the moment he lay down, Li Chanxiu followed the warmth and burrowed into his arms, even nuzzling like a kitten, actively seeking a comfortable position.

Pei Zhen stiffened slightly, then let out a soft breath, holding him tighter and continuing to pat his back gently to soothe him.

Sure enough, this was the right thing to do.

In his dream, Li Chanxiu had returned to childhood, dozing lightly in his father’s broad, warm embrace.

In winter, there would be a charcoal brazier in the northern courtyard rooms of the Crown Prince’s residence, though the quality of the charcoal wasn’t very good. Whenever his cold poison flared up in childhood, he most liked to curl up in his father’s arms, breathing in the sandalwood scent from him, being held while they warmed themselves by the fire.

Occasionally, the Empress Dowager in the palace would send over some winter chestnuts. His father would hold him in one arm, gently patting him, while roasting chestnuts over the charcoal fire with the other.

A little white cat that had jumped in from outside the courtyard would lazily lie by their feet, sometimes warming itself with them, sometimes playfully jumping onto him, brushing its fluffy tail across his cheeks, ears, and nose. It tickled.

Li Chanxiu closed his eyes and caught the cat’s tail, putting it into his mouth as if to scold it, giving it a light bite.

The cat’s tail instantly stiffened, as if frightened. He ground his teeth, intending to discipline the little creature, and gave another gentle bite.

In the darkness, Pei Zhen held Li Chanxiu in one arm, while the fingers of his other hand were lightly bitten in the other’s mouth, his expression somewhat awkward.

Just now, after he had pulled the person in his arms closer, his mind couldn’t help recalling some of their past intimate moments. By the time he came back to his senses, his fingers had already unconsciously extended, gently touching the other’s beautiful brows and eyes, ears, and the tip of his nose.

When he touched his lips, his finger was suddenly caught and brought into the mouth for a light bite. Neat, fine teeth lightly ground against his fingertip, it didn’t hurt; instead, there was a tingling itch that traveled from his fingertip to his heart, making it feel numb, his heartbeat suddenly quickening.

Unconsciously, many images surfaced again in Pei Zhen’s mind, the light kiss in the morning, that night of drinking deer blood wine, and that night in the mountain stronghold…

Suddenly, something moist and soft touched his fingertip. Pei Zhen’s body tensed abruptly; his throat bobbed unconsciously, and his gaze, like a beast hidden in the dark, turned dangerous and deep.

…The heated kang seemed a bit too warm.

He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying not to recall that night in the stronghold again, and also trying to ignore the strange sensation coming from his fingers. But for some reason, he didn’t withdraw his hand, instead, his fingertip moved slightly, uncontrollably.

Perhaps the movement was a bit too much; Li Chanxiu let out a soft sound, his tongue avoiding it as he frowned and retreated, like a nimble little fish.

Pei Zhen’s scalp tingled; he took a deep breath and finally couldn’t continue lying there. Suddenly, he lifted the quilt and sat up.

Li Chanxiu was finally stirred awake by the movement, but when he opened his eyes, Pei Zhen was just about to get off the kang, and the quilt had already been tucked back in place.

Not noticing anything unusual, he frowned and sat up, asking in confusion, “Where are you going?”

After asking, he paused, only then realizing, when had Pei Er come back to sleep? But then he thought again, the other had lost his memory and didn’t remember recent events, so coming back to sleep didn’t seem strange.

Pei Zhen’s figure clearly stiffened, though it couldn’t be seen in the darkness. He tilted his head slightly; in the dim light, he saw Li Chanxiu sitting up, half wrapped in the quilt, his delicate figure blurred, and his breathing became slightly unsteady again.

Almost hastily, he turned his gaze away and explained stiffly, “I suddenly remembered something, I need to go out for a moment.”

Only when he spoke did he realize his voice was hoarse.

Li Chanxiu frowned. “What is it? You have to go out this late?”

Pei Zhen: “…Just a small matter. I’ll be back in a moment. You continue resting.”

After saying this, he hurriedly got up, threw on his clothes in a rush, and went out before even tying his belt properly.

Li Chanxiu watched his figure disappear, growing even more puzzled. Could it be that Xuanping and the others had returned? But if so, there was no reason not to tell him.

Unable to figure it out, he simply lay back down again. Then, belatedly, he realized… his lips and tongue felt very tired, even somewhat sore, though before falling asleep, he hadn’t felt that at all.

Could it be that he ate something in his dream… but in the dream he had only bitten the cat’s tail and hadn’t eaten anything.

He hadn’t even had time to eat the chestnuts his father roasted before being woken up by Pei Er.

Thinking back to the aroma of roasted chestnuts in the dream, Li Chanxiu felt quite regretful.

***

In the courtyard, Pei Zhen stood under the cold pale moonlight, letting the deep winter wind carry away waves of heat.

After calming down, he suddenly realized that he had a wife, just now, he actually didn’t need to flee in such a hurry… didn’t need to come out in such a rush.

But… forget it. He had already angered his wife by returning late; how could he, at a time like this… better next time.

Moreover, after recovering his memory, he actually didn’t remember what happened on their wedding night, feeling somewhat… unfamiliar.

Pei Zhen would never admit that he lacked confidence, but nervousness was unavoidable. And thinking of these things made him feel a bit hot again.

Grinding his teeth, Pei Zhen simply went to the kitchen to scoop some cold water and drink it. To settle his mind, after coming out, he began practicing boxing in the courtyard.

Just as Li Chanxiu was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard the sound of boxing from the courtyard and couldn’t help lifting his head in confusion: Didn’t he say he had something to do outside? Why was he suddenly practicing martial arts?

However, Pei Er’s practice was steady, his punches forceful. Accompanied by the rhythmic sounds, Li Chanxiu gradually fell asleep again.

The next day, when Li Chanxiu woke up, the other quilt beside him was still neatly laid out; he didn’t know whether Pei Er had come back to sleep last night.

He got up and went to the kitchen to scoop water to wash, and saw Pei Er cooking.

Seeing that he was awake and had come to scoop cold water, the other quickly put down the fire-tending stick and frowned, saying, “There’s hot water in the pot. You’re sensitive to cold, don’t wash with cold water.”

Li Chanxiu was taken aback. Seeing the faint bluish shadows under his eyes, he asked in surprise, “You didn’t sleep last night?”

Pei Zhen stiffened and said somewhat unnaturally, “I did.”

He had only gone back to sleep at dawn, and in less than two hours was woken by the crowing of roosters.

Li Chanxiu frowned, put down the ladle, walked over, and took the task from his hands, saying, “Go rest. I’ll make breakfast.”

After all, he had been running around and fighting all day, how could he not rest?

Pei Zhen had originally planned to coax his wife this morning and had gotten up early on purpose to cook, how could he let him take over? So he snatched the work back again.

“No need, I’ll do it. You rest,” he said with a calm expression.

Li Chanxiu: “……”

If Pei Er hadn’t had dark circles under his eyes and a look of exhaustion when saying this, he might really have let go.

Fortunately, at this moment “Yang Yuan” came over and told them, “Ding Zong and Xuanping have returned.”

Li Chanxiu immediately let out a breath of relief and said to Pei Zhen, “Then how about we go eat at the military camp?”

That way, neither of them would need to cook.

Pei Zhen frowned. Seeing that his plan to coax his “wife” had failed, he felt a bit regretful. But military matters were more important, so he could only think of another way and nodded in agreement.

When leaving, Li Chanxiu lagged a step behind to lock the door.

Yang Yuanyi, who had been secretly observing the two of them, finally found an opportunity. Taking advantage of it, he winked at Pei Zhen and asked in a low voice, “How was it last night? It was your first night after recovering your memory, no matter what, it counts as a bit of a wedding night, right? Look at those dark circles under your eyes…”

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly received a cold glare from Pei Zhen.

Yang Yuanyi: …uh.