After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 72

After putting away the money, Pei Zhen was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and turned back to instruct, “The Hu people’s provisions have been burned, so they may make other moves next, especially around Wuding Pass. Send people to keep a close watch. If there are any signs of them being unable to hold, report immediately.”

Yang Yuanyi’s expression immediately turned serious upon hearing this, and he said at once, “Alright.”

Pei Zhen nodded and left again. Yang Yuanyi hurried to follow.

After taking just a couple of steps, Pei Zhen suddenly turned his head. “Why are you following me? Shouldn’t you be going to handle it?”

Yang Yuanyi: “…Oh, then you’re going to…?”

His tone was hesitant, he was still a bit curious about why he needed money.

Pei Zhen: “……”

“I naturally have important matters,” he coughed lightly and said seriously.

Then he quickened his pace and left.

Yang Yuanyi stood in place, somewhat puzzled.

***

Zhang Hu stood guard outside the central command tent for a while. After confirming that Pei Zhen was fine, he hurried to report the situation to Li Chanxiu.

Li Chanxiu was busy in the wounded soldiers’ tent. After hearing, he frowned slightly. “Lu Gonggong was taken down by that officer surnamed Yang?”

“Yes. I don’t know who he is, but he’s not afraid of a supervising official sent from above,” Zhang Hu nodded.

Li Chanxiu was also suspicious. This “Yang Yuan” dared to imprison Lu Gonggong, he was likely no ordinary border officer.

Just as he was thinking, the tent suddenly fell quiet.

Li Chanxiu instinctively turned his head and saw that at some unknown moment, a figure was standing at the entrance of the tent, backlit, tall and cold.

His expression paused slightly. The man quickly strode in, his armor making rhythmic clashing sounds with each step, carrying in a chill from outside.

As if aware that he brought cold air with him, his steps suddenly paused when he got close to Li Chanxiu.

Now that he was near, Li Chanxiu could finally see him clearly, the familiar cold and handsome face, deep features, it was Pei Er.

He seemed to be in a good mood. When those dark eyes looked at him, they seemed to carry a hint of a smile, though not too obvious.

Li Chanxiu couldn’t help but smile. It reminded him of when Pei Er had stayed in the wounded soldiers’ camp before, he had also looked cold like this, yet would occasionally be inexplicably in a good mood.

“Why did you suddenly come here?” he asked, breaking the other’s fixed gaze.

Pei Zhen seemed to come back to his senses and coughed lightly. “I didn’t see you in the pharmacy, so I guessed you’d be here.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint, good-natured chuckle arose from around them.

Only then did Pei Zhen notice the wounded soldiers nearby, some of whom were his own men. He straightened his expression slightly and said, “Mainly, I came to check on the wounded.”

Since he was already here, it was only natural to visit the wounded, not that he was making excuses for himself.

Li Chanxiu understood. After all, Pei Er was now a Thousand-man Commander and might become a Commandant or general in the future. To be a good commander, one needed not only to know how to command troops but also to care for them.

He nodded. “Then go ahead. I’ll finish treating these wounded first.”

Pei Zhen: “……”

After saying this, Li Chanxiu lowered his head and continued cleaning a soldier’s wound, applying medicine, and bandaging… When he finished and straightened up, just as he was about to wipe the sweat from his forehead, he suddenly realized the tall figure was still standing beside him.

By the time Pei Zhen reacted, he had already raised his hand to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead. Only after lifting his hand did he remember he was wearing armor, and his wrist was covered in hard leather, so he had to withdraw his hand. He patted around himself, trying to find a clean cloth.

Seeing him still standing there, Li Chanxiu was startled and asked strangely, “Weren’t you going to check on the wounded? Why are you still here?”

Pei Zhen: “……”

After searching for a while, he still couldn’t find a decent cloth, and Li Chanxiu had already wiped his sweat.

He lowered his hand slightly, feeling an inexplicable sense of regret. Glancing at the soldier whose wound Li Chanxiu had just treated, he said, “Just in time, I was going to check on him.”

Then, in a flat tone, he began to console the wounded soldier: “Is your injury better? How is the food here? Rest well and recover. If you have any difficulties, speak up…”

The soldier being addressed looked confused, he wasn’t even one of Thousand-man Commander Pei’s men.

Li Chanxiu shook his head inwardly, then walked further in to treat another wounded soldier.

Before long, the tall figure came over again.

Li Chanxiu turned around helplessly, still half-squatting, slightly tilting his face up against the light as he asked, “Do you have something you need?”

Following the light, Pei Zhen’s gaze fell on his plain, fair face. He clearly paused for a moment, and only after a while did he cough lightly and say, “No, it’s just… didn’t I tell you to rest in the pharmacy? Why are you back in the wounded soldiers’ camp?”

Li Chanxiu shook his head and turned back. “The wounded need their injuries treated promptly.”

Pei Zhen frowned. As far as he knew, his wife had been busy taking care of the wounded these past days, with hardly any rest aside from eating and sleeping. No wonder when he held him last night, he felt he had grown thinner again.

“I’ll do it,” he suddenly said, taking over the task from Li Chanxiu.

Li Chanxiu was taken aback. Seeing him about to handle the wound, he hesitated. “You… can manage?”

Pei Zhen: “I can.”

It was only cleaning wounds, changing medicine, and bandaging, no stitching required. After years of fighting in the army, how could he not manage something this simple?

Li Chanxiu nodded. “Then I’ll go help stitch up the others.”

Pei Zhen: “Mm.” The sooner they finished, the sooner they could go home.

Half a quarter of an hour later…

“Ahh! Thousand-man Commander, that’s strong liquor, pour it more gently on the wound!”

“Hiss! It hurts, Thousand-man Commander, I’ll just bandage it myself!”

Pei Zhen: “Quiet!”

Crying out over this bit of pain, pathetic!

Turning to the next one…

The man shrank back into the bed as soon as he saw him coming, forcing a laugh. “Well… Brother Pei Er, my injury isn’t serious. No need to change the dressing.”

Pei Zhen frowned and quickly recognized him. “Chen Qing? Your leg injury still isn’t healed?” How long had he been staying in the wounded camp?

Chen Qing immediately made a bitter face. “How could it be? Just as it was getting better, the Hu people attacked. Yesterday on the city wall I got slashed across the chest again.”

Pei Zhen’s brows knit tighter. Injured in the chest, and he still let his wife change his dressing? Stitching was one thing, but dressing changes could be done by someone else.

“Lie down. Don’t move,” he said expressionlessly, stepping forward.

Chen Qing panicked. “No, no, I won’t change it today, wait until tomorrow when Physician Hu comes back, or let Hu Yuan’er do it, ahh! It hurts, it hurts!”

Hearing a pig-slaughtering-like scream, Li Chanxiu’s hand nearly trembled while stitching.

However, with Pei Zhen helping, the wounded were indeed treated much more quickly that day.

When they left, the soldiers were deeply moved, all praising Pei Er as worthy of someone who had once lived in the wounded camp with them, rising from the ranks to become a Thousand-man Commander, yet even after promotion, he hadn’t forgotten his brothers, remained humble, cared for his subordinates, treated them like family. Not only did he personally visit them, he even asked after their well-being and helped change their dressings… it was just that… if he could not come again tomorrow, that would be even better!

Li Chanxiu and Pei Zhen left together. Pei Zhen carried the medicine box, while Li Chanxiu breathed warm air onto his slightly chilled hands. Turning his head, his eyes curved slightly as he smiled. “Thank you today. You worked hard.”

Meeting his gentle smile, Pei Zhen’s gaze turned slightly unnatural. “It’s nothing. Caring for the wounded is also my responsibility.”

Besides, they were husband and wife, helping his wife with some things was nothing.

After speaking, he noticed Li Chanxiu’s hands, slightly red from the cold as they were clasped together. He suddenly reached out and covered them, his dry, warm palms enclosing those slender, beautiful fingers completely. Clearing his throat, he said, “This will keep them warmer.”

It wasn’t that he wanted to hold his wife’s hand, rather, the him with amnesia would certainly have done this.

Li Chanxiu had just frozen when he heard this, then wondered if he was being overly sensitive.

He looked at him in confusion, but seeing that Pei Zhen’s expression was normal, as if nothing was unusual, he finally relaxed.

Still, after thinking about it, he quietly withdrew his hand and tucked it into his sleeve, changing the subject. “By the way, I heard from Zhang Hu that Yang Yuan tied up Lu Gonggong and locked him in prison?”

Pei Zhen’s hand, which had just lost its grip, fell empty. He placed it behind his back and responded with a soft “Mm.”

Li Chanxiu frowned slightly and asked, “Is he… not an ordinary officer?”

Otherwise, how would he dare to bind Lu Gonggong?

Pei Zhen paused, quickly understanding, but kept his expression neutral, pretending not to understand.

Seeing this, Li Chanxiu had no choice but to make it more explicit.

Only then did Pei Zhen seem to “realize” and say, “It seems he’s a son of some noble family, sent to the army for experience.”

Li Chanxiu immediately understood. No wonder he wasn’t afraid of the supervising official, he clearly had powerful backing.

For Pei Er to befriend such a person was a good thing for him. As for himself, he would need to avoid this Yang Yuan in the future. Who knew which great family he came from, if it were one from Luoyang and he had seen him or his father before, it would be troublesome if he recognized him.

In the afternoon, the two of them also ate in the military camp.

Before nightfall, Pei Zhen went to patrol the city wall again, then returned and went back to the small courtyard with Li Chanxiu.

Once home, he finally took out the money he had kept warm in his chest all day and placed it in Li Chanxiu’s hand. “Take this. If it’s not enough, tell me.”

Li Chanxiu was stunned after receiving it and instinctively asked, “Where did this money come from?”

It shouldn’t be payday yet, and even then, the pay wouldn’t be this much.

Pei Zhen: “…A reward from General Chen.”

After a pause, he added lightly, “Although it’s not as much as the consultation fee Xuanping gave, don’t worry, there will be more in the future.”

Li Chanxiu: “……”

He could see Pei Er’s fixation on money; earlier, he had even thought about trading hides to earn some.

He couldn’t help but smile. Knowing refusal would be useless, he said as before, “Let’s bury it together in the corner by the bed. Whoever needs it can take it.”

Seeing him smile, the tension Pei Zhen had been holding onto finally eased, and a faint smile appeared in his eyes as well. “Alright.”

The two of them dug open the pit by the wall and placed both pouches of silver inside, leaving only a small portion outside for daily expenses.

Looking at their little underground store of silver growing fuller, they inexplicably felt as though their life was becoming more prosperous, like a poor young couple starting from nothing, slowly accumulating bit by bit.

When the soil was filled back in, their eyes met, and both couldn’t help but smile.

Pei Zhen looked at his smile and froze for a moment. Suddenly he looked away, paused, then looked back again, and after some deliberation asked, “You’re not angry anymore, right?”

Li Chanxiu was taken aback. “Angry?” When had he been angry?

Pei Zhen was slightly stunned at this. Had he guessed wrong earlier?

But it didn’t matter. At least just now, when his wife saw him hand over the household money, she was clearly very happy.

Thinking of this, the corners of Pei Zhen’s lips lifted slightly again, and his heart felt light, as if he had won a battle.

That night, the two of them naturally rested together.

After Li Chanxiu had guessed yesterday that Pei Er might like him, he had already thought about sleeping separately from him afterward. But just as it happened, Pei Er returned with amnesia and didn’t remember anymore.

Their relationship suddenly went back to how it was before.

Now that the weather was so cold, and his cold poison episode was about to occur again, he really didn’t want to go sleep on the broken wooden bed in the side room and endure the cold. And the heated kang bed had been built by Pei Er, so he couldn’t very well forbid him from sleeping there either.

After thinking it over, he decided it was best to continue sleeping with separate quilts and make do for a few more days. It probably wouldn’t be long before he would leave anyway.

Thinking this, a trace of loss unexpectedly flashed through Li Chanxiu’s heart. When he realized it, he himself was startled. He should clearly… be eagerly looking forward to leaving here and going to see his father.

On the other side, when it was time to rest, Pei Zhen also suddenly realized a problem. This was the first night since regaining his memory that he was preparing to rest together with his wife, and in his memory, he didn’t have much impression of this kind of situation.

Fortunately, although he had no impression, he wasn’t some ignorant youth. As for the way husband and wife got along, he had at least… at least heard of some things.

For example, before going to bed, the wife would usually help the husband undress… It wasn’t that he expected the wife in front of him to help him undress, nor did he have the habit of letting others help him undress. Whether at home or in the army, he didn’t even use servants, let alone maids.

But what if, when he had amnesia, this was how he interacted with his wife at night? He couldn’t very well expose himself.

Thinking this, he hesitated for a moment and slowly raised both arms.

Li Chanxiu had just removed his hairpin at the table and smoothed his hair. Turning around, he saw Pei Er suddenly facing away from him with both arms spread out for no apparent reason, and couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “What are you doing?”

Pei Zhen stiffened. So this wasn’t how he interacted with his wife? He had thought wrong.

His raised arms froze, then quickly lowered as if to cover it up.

“Nothing. My shoulders and back are a bit sore, just stretching,” Pei Zhen coughed lightly.

He knew it, this was too distant and polite. When he had amnesia, he had been so clingy with his wife, so it couldn’t have been like this. Besides, he really wasn’t used to others helping him undress. It seemed that even with amnesia, that hadn’t changed…

“…Oh.” Li Chanxiu sounded doubtful, both in tone and gaze.

Could it be… Pei Er had just wanted him to help undress? But they were only in a fake marriage, not a real couple.

He must be overthinking it… right?

The more Li Chanxiu thought about it, the stranger it felt.

Under his suspicious gaze, Pei Zhen’s composure was on the verge of breaking. He suddenly blew out the lamp and said stiffly, “Let’s turn in.”

Li Chanxiu: “……” Even his speech suddenly sounded refined.

Each harboring their own thoughts, the two lay flat on the bed.

Li Chanxiu had been suspicious just now, but after getting into bed and seeing that Pei Er simply lay quietly without making any move to get close, he relaxed again.

He must indeed have overthought it. That made sense, after all, Pei Er had amnesia again.

He completely relaxed, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep.

Beside him, after using the darkness to hide his embarrassment, Pei Zhen’s heart finally calmed as well. He let out a light breath, closed his eyes, and was about to rest when he suddenly thought of something, 

Today he hadn’t come home late, nor had he angered his wife. If he hadn’t lost his memory, then at this moment… should they be sharing the bed?