After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 71

Li Chanxiu also set down his chopsticks and stood up. Hearing this, he nodded lightly, though the worry in his eyes was hard to conceal.

He had originally wanted to remind him: try to hold back your temper and don’t clash with Lu Gonggong.

But thinking that Lu Gonggong had first tried to kill Pei Er and now directly summoned him to hold him accountable, even if he endured it, it wouldn’t be of much use.

Besides, Pei Er had always been honest and taciturn, not someone prone to losing his temper. Back then, when Centurion Jiang insulted him so harshly and even kicked over his food bowl, he had only struck back a few times when he could no longer endure it.

Thinking this way, Li Chanxiu felt there was no need to remind him, though his worry remained.

After seeing Pei Zhen off, he paced back and forth in the dispensary, frowning in thought.

Given Lu Gonggong’s status, almost no one in the army could restrain him. It wasn’t like before, when dealing with Centurion Jiang, where they could use General Chen to balance things out…

“Zhang Hu,” he suddenly walked quickly outside the dispensary, calling back Zhang Hu, who hadn’t gone far, and asked, “Please go guard outside the central command tent. Bring more men. If Lu Gonggong really tries to charge Pei Er, immediately lead your men in, say there’s urgent military news from the city wall, and pull Pei Er out directly. Don’t give Lu Gonggong any chance.”

Zhang Hu understood immediately upon hearing this and cupped his hands. “Miss Shen, rest assured. I’ll take men there right away.”

Only after watching him stride away did Li Chanxiu feel slightly relieved.

Although this method could only resolve the danger temporarily, Lu Gonggong currently didn’t have many subordinates, he only had the title of supervising official. As long as Zhang Hu brought enough men to get Pei Er out first, and he didn’t return to the camp afterward, Lu Gonggong wouldn’t have the ability to capture him even if he wanted to punish him.

Actually, General Chen’s suggestion relayed through Zhang Hu had been very good, Pei Er shouldn’t have gone just now. But… sigh, Pei Er was simply too straightforward, too honest.

Li Chanxiu sighed helplessly.

***

Inside the central command tent, the very straightforward and honest Pei Zhen sat at the table to the lower right of General Chen, his posture wide and imposing, casually spinning a teacup in one hand, expressionless as he looked at Lu Gonggong sitting opposite him.

When General Chen saw that he had actually come, he almost choked on his tea, desperately signaling to him with his eyes.

But Pei Zhen seemed not to see it at all, only staring at Lu Gonggong as he said casually, “I heard you want to hold me accountable, Gonggong. May I ask what offense I’ve committed?”

Seeing him stride in and sit down across from him with such an arrogant attitude, Lu Gonggong was already furious. Thinking of the hundred dead elite guards, his heart ached, not for the lives lost, but for the money spent training them.

He immediately shouted, “What kind of attitude is this? Men, seize him and force him to kneel!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the few remaining guards behind him stepped forward at once, gripping their blades as they approached Pei Zhen.

General Chen’s expression changed instantly upon hearing this, and he hurried to intervene. But suddenly, the entrance to the central tent was thrown open, 

Yang Yuanyi rushed in with the Black Iron troops, drawing their blades right in front of General Chen and Lu Gonggong.

With a sharp clash of steel, blades flashed and weapons collided in the tent.

In the blink of an eye, the fight was over. All of Lu Gonggong’s guards had been subdued and forced to kneel on the ground.

General Chen, who hadn’t even processed what had happened, stared in shock. Lu Gonggong was so startled he collapsed back into his seat. After a long moment, he tremblingly raised a hand, pointing at Yang Yuanyi and the others, then at Pei Zhen, his voice shaking as he shouted, “Rebellion! Rebellion! You’re rebelling against the heavens!”

Throughout it all, Pei Zhen remained calm, sipping his tea as if he hadn’t seen the flashes of blades and killing intent.

Now that everything had ended, he finally lifted his gaze to look at Lu Gonggong and said lightly, “Take him as well.”

Yang Yuanyi, standing beside him, directly raised his hand and waved. The Black Iron soldiers strode forward, roughly dragging Lu Gonggong from his seat and forcing him to kneel on the ground.

At this moment, Lu Gonggong’s whole body was nearly limp, yet he still couldn’t understand where this mere Thousand-man Commander had gotten such courage. His voice trembled as he blustered, “B-bold! You Pei Er, how dare you treat the supervising official with such disrespect, defying the law! I, I will certainly report you…”

Halfway through, he realized that a mere Thousand-man Commander didn’t even require him to report to the emperor, so he turned to General Chen and shouted sharply, “Chen Gaojun, what are you standing there for? Why don’t you have this surnamed Pei dragged out and executed? Or is your army planning a mutiny?”

General Chen finally came back to his senses. Hearing the word “mutiny,” his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “No, no, Gonggong, you misunderstand. Pei Er is just acting on impulse.”

As he spoke, he quickly stepped down from his seat, grabbed Pei Zhen’s arm, and said urgently in a low voice, “What are you doing? Are you tired of living? He’s a supervising official sent from the palace, release him at once!”

“Release him?” A cold smile appeared at the corner of Pei Zhen’s lips. He pulled his arm back, lowered his gaze, and looked at Lu Gonggong. His tone was unhurried, yet carried an invisible pressure and authority. “Lu Quan, confess one by one how you colluded with the Jiang brothers to embezzle official salt and military pay, and how you instructed them to collude with mountain bandits to dispose of the stolen goods. Also, who is the master behind you? For whom is the Wang family working? Where did the bulk of the stolen silver flow? Is Prefect Yan involved? Does Liang Wang know about this?”

General Chen froze upon hearing this, staring at Lu Gonggong in disbelief.

Lu Gonggong felt as if thunder had exploded beside his ears. His body went limp, his face deathly pale, yet he still forced himself to shout, trembling, “Y-you… nonsense! Slander, you are clearly slandering me! And you dare to implicate His Highness Liang Wang and Lord Yan? A mere Thousand-man Commander, you are truly bold beyond measure, courting death! General Chen, why aren’t you…”

“Won’t talk? Then throw him in prison and interrogate him slowly,” Pei Zhen cut him off directly. He lifted his eyes and signaled to Yang Yuanyi. “Lock him up next to Jiang He. If he refuses to confess, use torture.”

Yang Yuanyi grinned. “Got it.”

He immediately waved his hand, and his men escorted Lu Gonggong and the others away.

Lu Gonggong tried to turn and curse, but one of the Black Iron soldiers holding him slapped him twice, instantly shutting him up.

Yang Yuanyi clicked his tongue but didn’t stop them. As border troops, they hated parasites who embezzled military pay the most. Even if it wasn’t Bingzhou’s military pay being stolen, it didn’t stop them from sharing the same hatred.

Moreover, this Lü fellow had insulted Pei Zhen. The Black Iron soldiers he brought all held great admiration and loyalty toward Pei Zhen, it was likely they had long wanted to beat him.

Not far outside the tent, Zhang Hu and his men saw Lu Gonggong being dragged out in such a miserable state and were momentarily stunned: Th-this… isn’t what Miss Shen described at all.

Inside the central command tent.

After Yang Yuanyi and the others left, General Chen quickly came back to his senses and muttered, “Lu Gonggong was also…”

Suddenly, he thought of something and looked at Pei Zhen in shock. “Y-you… what were you trying to prove just now?”

Then, with deep frustration, he said, “Even if Lu Gonggong is involved, you still shouldn’t have taken the lead! Do you think that Lu fellow has a simple background? Who knows how deep the waters behind him run! You, a mere Thousand-man Commander, how many lives do you have? Huh? You’re not that officer surnamed Yang, he’s someone formidable from Bingzhou…”

“…Sigh, I was originally planning to promote you to Commandant, but now this… Just wait. It won’t be more than a few days before people from above come to retrieve him. No, I don’t even think we’ll have to wait until tomorrow, tonight, it’ll be tonight, they’ll definitely come.”

Pei Zhen sat by the table, calm as ever, continuing to drink his tea. “Good. Whoever comes to rescue him will also be suspicious.”

General Chen choked on his words, glaring at him. “You still want to interrogate those behind him? Don’t tell me you think that with just yourself, you can drag out all those big figures behind this? Do you think you are…”

Halfway through, he suddenly stopped, then reached out to pull Pei Zhen, saying with a headache, “Come, come, please, please, Thousand-man Commander Pei, you take the seat of honor. You be the general! Ah, I’m incompetent, I have no ability, later I’ll sit in your position, I’ll be the Thousand-man Commander!”

He spoke irritably.

Unexpectedly, Pei Zhen nodded. “That works too.”

General Chen choked: …You really aren’t polite at all.

At that moment, Yang Yuanyi returned. As soon as he lifted the tent flap and entered, he cupped his hands toward Pei Zhen. “Jianzhi, everything’s been taken care of… oh, General Chen is still here?”

General Chen: “……” This is my central command tent!

If he’s not here, where should he be?

But at this moment, he also realized that this officer surnamed Yang from Bingzhou, whose identity was not ordinary, had a close relationship with Pei Er.

Could this be the reason Pei Er dared to act against Lu Gonggong?

General Chen felt suspicious for a moment. He couldn’t figure out Yang Yuanyi’s exact identity, but he had seen the other’s token yesterday and knew that his status in the Bingzhou army was not low.

But what kind of identity could give Pei Er such confidence and boldness?

Just as he was unable to figure it out, Pei Zhen suddenly set down his teacup, seeming to sigh lightly. Then he raised his hand and beckoned with his index and middle fingers together.

Like a superior summoning a subordinate.

General Chen: “……” This kid really has no sense of propriety!

But he still immediately stepped closer.

Pei Zhen tilted his head and said something to him in a low voice. After speaking, his expression returned to normal, and he continued drinking tea.

General Chen, however, was completely stunned, as if he had instantly turned into a stone statue. After a long while, he came back to his senses, stammering in disbelief, “Y-you… I, I…”

Pei Zhen cut him off. “This matter should not be exposed. It’s enough that General Chen alone knows. I ask that you keep it confidential for me.”

“…O-okay, yes, yes.” General Chen nodded stiffly, clearly still unable to fully process the shock.

“Also, please have men guard the prison well. No matter who comes to take away Lu Gonggong and Jiang He, do not agree, even if Prefect Yan personally comes,” Pei Zhen added.

“Yes, yes, alright.” General Chen remained stiff, only able to nod.

***

After leaving the central command tent, Yang Yuanyi glanced back at the tent entrance and said with some concern, “Is it really okay to let him know?”

Pei Zhen frowned. “To deal with Lu Quan, there’s no way to avoid him. And if he knows, he can help me cover things up, making it more convenient for me to act within the army.”

Fortunately, the other party had been promoted by Lord Zhang, the former prefect of Yongzhou. Over this past month, Pei Zhen had come to understand him fairly well and could trust him.

“That makes sense. In any case, there’s no need to hide it for too long. Once the crisis in Yongzhou is resolved, and after we investigate your wife’s ident… cough, in short, it won’t be long before you return to Bingzhou,” Yang Yuanyi continued.

Hearing this, Pei Zhen suddenly frowned.

Yang Yuanyi thought it was because he had mentioned Li Chanxiu’s identity and was just about to explain, when he suddenly heard the other ask, “Do you have money on you?”

Yang Yuanyi: “Huh?”

Pei Zhen frowned. “Lend me some first.”

Just now, Yang Yuanyi mentioning his wife reminded him of the look in her eyes, full of worry, when she heard that Lu Gonggong wanted to hold him accountable, back in front of the central command tent.

Then he thought of how he had angered his wife last night and still hadn’t coaxed her. Comparing the two, he felt quite guilty.

Moreover, he had heard that married men regularly gave their wives money for household expenses.

Yesterday, he had returned late after eating with Yang Yuanyi, it was his fault. If he gave more household money, perhaps it could cheer her up a bit.

It wasn’t that he feared that young lady and had to coax her, but when he had amnesia, he had been very affectionate with her, so he would definitely have done this. If he didn’t do the same after recovering his memory, wouldn’t that expose him?

However, half a quarter of an hour later…

“Just this much?” Pei Zhen weighed the money pouch in his hand and frowned.

It wasn’t even as much as the consultation fee Xuanping had given earlier.

Yang Yuanyi had already searched through all his pockets and said helplessly, “I still need to keep some for daily use, right? Besides, I came to Yongzhou to find you, why would I carry that much money for no reason?”

Then he asked, “What do you need money for? If it’s urgent, should I call over the other Black Iron brothers and have everyone pool together?”

Pei Zhen: “……”

He glanced at him, probably too embarrassed to say, and replied, “No need. This is enough. I’ll return it when we get back.”

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