After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 79

Gu Heng’s expression stiffened. He had always maintained a refined and elegant image. Even though he had indeed looked down on his cousin’s husband earlier, speaking ill of someone behind their back and then being overheard by the person in question still made him feel a wave of embarrassment.

Fortunately, he quickly recovered, cupped his hands, and said without changing expression, “So you are my brother-in-law. A pleasure. My surname is Gu, given name Heng, courtesy name Junzhi. I am of the Gu clan of Wu Commandery, and Ah Xiu’s cousin.”

He first stated his name, then his background to show he was from a prestigious clan, and only at the end mentioned that he was Shen Xiu’s cousin.

Pei Zhen, however, seemed to have only heard the words “Ah Xiu,” and couldn’t help grinding his back teeth slightly. Fortunately, his wife might not truly be called Shen Xiu, this fake cousin calling her that was meaningless anyway.

Thinking this, his expression remained unchanged as he nodded and said, “So Cousin comes from the Gu clan of Wu Commandery. A pleasure, a pleasure.”

Gu Heng felt somewhat uncomfortable inside. He was not from the main branch of the Gu clan of Wu Commandery, but a collateral line. Moreover, due to the decline of his family, he had long since ceased to be recognized by the main branch and was now no different from a commoner of humble origin.

What he had said earlier was merely to save face and intimidate his cousin’s husband a little. Unexpectedly, this man didn’t take it seriously at all. Well, he must be a crude fellow who didn’t understand such things.

Feigning nonchalance, he was about to say more when Pei Zhen interrupted him.

“By the way, when did Cousin arrive? I was out fighting earlier and couldn’t receive you, truly discourteous of me,” Pei Zhen said with a smile.

As he spoke, he turned to glance at Li Chanxiu, tightening his grip on his hand again before turning back and continuing, “How about this, my wife is busy and likely has no time to entertain you. Why don’t I invite Cousin to a nearby town to find a restaurant and give you a proper welcome?”

Gu Heng stiffened slightly, thinking: What is there for me to talk about with you?

Besides, things were just so awkward.

He quickly smiled calmly and said, “Thank you for your kindness, brother-in-law, but I have other matters today, so I won’t trouble you further.”

Pei Zhen immediately nodded. “Then I won’t see you off.”

Gu Heng: “…”

His expression stiffened slightly, but having once been from a gentry family, even though he could tell the other party wished him gone as soon as possible, he still maintained a polite smile on the surface and cupped his hands, saying courteously, “Then I shall take my leave.”

After speaking, he turned to Li Chanxiu, who had not said a word since Pei Zhen arrived. His smile softened a little as he said, “When I have time another day, I’ll come visit Cousin and brother-in-law again.”

One does not strike a smiling face, Li Chanxiu nodded slightly. Once he turned away, the trace of a smile in his eyes vanished instantly.

Gu Junzhi? That name…

Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a pain in his hand from being gripped. He couldn’t help letting out a “hiss,” immediately snapping back to his senses and turning to look at Pei Zhen in confusion.

Only then did Pei Zhen realize he had used too much force and hurriedly loosened his grip a little. But thinking of the expression Li Chanxiu had just worn while gazing at Gu Heng’s departing figure, he tightened his hold again slightly instead of fully letting go.

“You…” He stared at Li Chanxiu’s fair and delicate face, hesitating to speak, yet unable to say what he wanted to ask.

“What is it?” Confusion appeared in Li Chanxiu’s eyes.

Meeting his clear, water-like gaze, Pei Zhen was momentarily stunned again.

At that moment, Zhang Hu suddenly came to report that General Chen knew he had returned and asked him to come over.

Pei Zhen immediately snapped back to himself, frowned, and said, “Tell him I’m not available.”

Zhang Hu was startled. Subconsciously, he thought: Has the commandant gained too many merits recently and started to look down on his superior? He’s actually telling me to reply like that to the general?

After hesitating, he still reminded him, “Commandant, General Chen said it’s an important matter, about the progress of interrogating Lu Gonggong.”

Pei Zhen frowned again. Li Chanxiu had tried several times to pull his hand back from his grasp without success. At this moment, he pushed him lightly and said, “Since it’s important business, you should go take a look first.”

Pei Zhen sighed, raised his hand to tidy the slightly disheveled strands of hair by his temple, and said in a low voice, “Then I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

Li Chanxiu instinctively tried to avoid him, but Pei Zhen withdrew his hand quickly, not giving him the chance.

After taking two steps away, he suddenly turned back again, his dark eyes gazing deeply at him, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he said nothing.

Li Chanxiu watched his figure disappear completely, letting out a faint sigh of relief, then thought of that Cousin Gu again and frowned.

Earlier, when the other party said his name was Gu Heng, he had no impression. But when he mentioned his courtesy name Junzhi, something suddenly stirred in his memory.

In his dream, when the Hu people had conquered most of the Central Plains and advanced to Yingchuan, the prefect of Yingchuan at the time was named Gu Junzhi. This official, before the Hu army had even reached the city, just upon hearing they were coming, had hurriedly fled with his wife and daughter.

Of course, that alone wouldn’t have left an impression on Li Chanxiu. When the Central Plains fell, there were countless officials who retreated without a fight like him.

What truly made Gu Junzhi notorious was that during his escape, upon learning the Hu forces were about to catch up, he claimed it was to prevent his family from being captured, so he personally killed his wife and infant daughter, who was not yet a year old. Afterward, when he raised his sword to kill himself, he faltered out of fear of death and ultimately surrendered to the Hu.

At the time, however, the small Great Zhou court that had already fled to Jinling did not know this. After Gu Junzhi fled, the defending general of Yingchuan had held the city for two days. The court, unaware of the truth, believed it was Gu Junzhi who had defended it to death. Hearing that his wife and daughter had died, they assumed he too had died heroically, and for a time the entire court praised his integrity.

Who would have thought that not long after, news of his surrender reached Jinling, striking the officials of the court like a slap in the face. The small Great Zhou court was left utterly embarrassed, while the Hu people were greatly pleased. To further humiliate the court, they even ordered Gu Junzhi to marry a Hu woman and settle in the northern lands.

And Gu Junzhi really did marry her. Later, he even had several children. Until the end of Li Chanxiu’s dream, this man was still living well, only the wife and daughter he had personally killed were to be pitied.

Previously, Li Chanxiu had not known this person and had no particular feelings toward him. Now that he realized he might be that very Gu Junzhi from the dream, and thinking that he had just looked down on Pei Er, who bravely resisted the Hu people, he could not help but frown.

Moreover, if he truly was that Gu Junzhi from the dream, then judging by his character, Li Chanxiu did not believe he would have any genuine affection for a cousin who was already an exiled criminal woman. The way he had just tried so hard to persuade him and take him away likely meant he had other motives…

While he was pondering this, Chen Qing’s subordinate Erzi suddenly ran over, panting, and said, “Miss Shen, a clerk from the clothing shop in town is looking for you, he’s at the camp gate.”

Li Chanxiu was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood, it was Xuanping sending a message.

For convenience of contact, the other party had arranged a hidden contact in Yongfeng town, which was precisely the newly arrived clerk at the clothing shop.

But he had only met with Xuanping not long ago, why contact him again so suddenly?

He nodded in thanks to Erzi, then, with questions in mind, quickly walked toward the camp gate.

When he reached the entrance, the clerk saw him come out and immediately stepped forward with a smile. “Miss Shen, the clothes you ordered earlier at our shop are missing one measurement. The delivery deadline is approaching, and time is tight, so I had to come here to ask you.”

As he spoke, he secretly handed over a small wad of paper.

Li Chanxiu accepted it without changing expression, then pretended to be surprised and exchanged a few words with the clerk, giving him a clothing measurement.

After returning to the pharmacy, he quickly went into the inner room, opened the paper, and after reading only a couple of lines, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The paper contained a letter from Xuanping. He wrote that today they had discovered someone investigating the salt pool they were mining. After secretly following them, they found that after the two investigators left, they went to meet Pei Er and a military officer surnamed Yang who was with him.

Xuanping believed it must be that Yang who was investigating them. After all, last time by the city wall, that person had repeatedly probed him, and he seemed to be a fairly high-ranking officer.

As for Pei Er, in Xuanping’s eyes, ever since he had let them go after the mountain stronghold incident, he already counted as half one of their own. If he had wanted to investigate them, he would not have released them back then. Moreover, he was Miss Shen’s husband, only because Miss Shen had told him not to reveal the salt pool matter to Pei Er had he kept it hidden.

Because of this assumption, in the letter Xuanping directly told Li Chanxiu that it was Yang Yuan who was investigating them, and that Pei Er was probably also questioned.

After all, in his view, those two were Yang Yuan’s subordinates, so it was natural to think Yang Yuan was the one investigating. But in doing so, he had misled Li Chanxiu.

The more Li Chanxiu read, the more alarmed he became. After finishing, he quickly threw the paper into the brazier and burned it clean, his expression extremely grave.

He had not expected this matter to be exposed so quickly. If it were in the situation from his dream, where the northwest had already fallen, it would not have been a major issue. But now Yongzhou was still intact, being discovered selling illicit salt was a capital crime. Xuanping had hurriedly sent the letter also to warn him to be careful recently.

Of course, he believed Xuanping could handle the matter properly. Even if he were unfortunately captured, he would not betray him.

As for that Yang Yuan, the other party did not know about his dealings with Xuanping and the others, so for now he likely would not suspect him. But… Pei Er!

Pei Er knew about his association with Xuanping and the others. Although Pei Er had not heard the conversation at the tavern that time, he had been guarding outside the door the whole time.

Li Chanxiu understood that sometimes, if one does not know something, one will not think in that direction. But what about after knowing? Would he begin to notice various suspicious points and start to speculate and connect the dots?

Especially since the letter said that Pei Er had encountered those subordinates together with Yang Yuan on the way back. As for what exactly Yang Yuan’s men had reported, because they feared being discovered, Xuanping’s people had not dared get close and thus did not know.

But one thing was certain, Pei Er now already knew what Xuanping and the others were doing.

Thinking again of how, when Pei Er was called away by General Chen earlier, he had looked at him several times as if wanting to speak but stopping himself, Li Chanxiu’s heart sank further, the other party had likely intended to ask him about this matter.

Or perhaps… he already suspected him?

Sitting on the wooden bed, Li Chanxiu unconsciously clenched the bedding with his fingers, his face slightly pale.

He did not know how long he sat there quietly when suddenly, familiar footsteps sounded outside.

Pei Er?

Li Chanxiu instantly came back to his senses, quickly raising his hand to rub his face, trying to restore some color.

Pei Zhen had already reached the door curtain. After asking once, he lifted the curtain and entered.

Inside the dim tent, Li Chanxiu was sitting by the brazier warming himself. There was a faint, unnatural flush on his cheeks. Seeing him lift the curtain, he looked up and gave him a light smile.

Pei Zhen paused in the act of lifting the curtain, clearly momentarily stunned.

The woman before him wore a faint smile, her face plain yet beautiful, like the first handful of snow on a mountaintop illuminated by morning light.

After recovering, he quickly walked over, sat beside Li Chanxiu, and again noticed the unnatural flush on his cheeks.

“You… went out just now?” he asked with a light cough to cover himself, thinking the flush was from the cold outside.

Li Chanxiu raised his hand and rubbed his face again, nodding with a faint smile. “Earlier, I had some clothes made for you at a shop in town. I missed one measurement when giving the sizes, and the shop clerk was worried about delaying the deadline, so he came to ask me just now.”

Clothes for him? Pei Zhen’s gaze shifted, and he could not help but tentatively take his hand, saying, “I usually wear military clothing in the camp, so I don’t need new clothes often. You should make more for yourself.”

Then he recalled how, when they had gone to the county town before, she had also ordered clothes for him without his knowing, even knowing his measurements without needing to measure.

So attentive and caring, always thinking of him, how could they not be a true married couple?

Moreover, when he had just returned earlier, he had also heard what she said to Gu Heng, they were indeed deeply affectionate.

As for before, perhaps it really was…

Pei Zhen coughed lightly. Thinking of the three books still tucked in his robe at this moment, he felt that next time, it shouldn’t happen again.

“By the way, there’s something else… about Xuanping,” he suddenly added after a moment’s hesitation.

Li Chanxiu’s heart tightened, he knew the thing he had been worrying about had finally come. Especially since his hand was still being held by Pei Zhen at this moment, he could not show the slightest abnormality, nor could he immediately pull away, lest it reveal guilt.

He forced himself to stay composed and asked with a calm smile, “What is it?”

After much deliberation, Pei Zhen finally spoke: “It’s not really me asking, it’s Yang Yuan… He previously felt that Xuanping was not ordinary and had his men follow and investigate him. As a result, they discovered that Xuanping is actually selling illicit salt. This matter… did you know about it?”

After speaking, his gaze fixed tightly on Li Chanxiu, and there was a trace of barely perceptible tension in the hand holding his.

Meeting his gaze, Li Chanxiu had originally thought he would give himself away, would feel nervous, but when he was actually asked, there was instead a kind of calm as if everything had settled.

“What? Such a thing actually happened?” He widened his eyes in shock, behaving perfectly naturally, as if he truly knew nothing.

Pei Zhen subtly let out a breath of relief, feeling that he indeed did not know. After thinking, he added, “It was discovered by Yang Yuan’s subordinates. They also said…”

He glanced at Li Chanxiu again, paused, then continued, “They said that after Xuanping made money from selling salt, he gave you some twice. Today Yang Yuan asked me about it…”

Upon hearing this, unease instantly appeared in Li Chanxiu’s clear eyes, and his voice carried a trace of tremor and helplessness: “I, I didn’t know… Before, seeing that we lived in poverty, and since we had once helped him and Lu Zhi, he wanted to help us. But he thought that if he gave the money directly to you, you might not accept it, so he gave it to me.”

He paused, his tone carrying unease: “At that time, our household was short of money, and we were also raising a golden eagle, which cost quite a lot. And at first, they would just leave the money and ride off, I couldn’t catch up, so I… I’m sorry. If I had known it was money from illicit salt, I definitely wouldn’t have accepted it.”

At this point, his eyes reddened slightly, his expression full of remorse, genuine remorse. He had never expected that even the matter of the money would be uncovered.

Originally, he had not wanted to accept it at all; it was just that Xuanping and the others did not want him to suffer losses… Fortunately, the amount he had taken on the surface was not much, so it might not be seen as taking a share.

Now the only way was to placate Pei Er, find an excuse to smooth it over, so that Pei Er would not think more deeply about it and would not tell Yang Yuan about his dealings with Xuanping and the others.

As long as Pei Er did not think about it or speak of it, then with Yang Yuan unaware of his relationship with Xuanping’s group, he would not be suspected.

“I really didn’t know any of this… did it cause you trouble?” Li Chanxiu appeared even more flustered and afraid.

He slightly raised his head to look at Pei Zhen. His misty eyes shimmered with moisture; his eyelids, thin and faintly red; his long lashes seemed on the verge of being soaked. His fair, delicate face was full of worry and panic.

Pei Zhen’s breathing faltered. Looking into those clear, gentle eyes tinged with unease and helplessness, something in his heart suddenly softened. Unable to resist, he gently pulled him into his arms and comforted, “Don’t be afraid. Yang Yuan didn’t find anything substantial, it’s just a bit of money. I’ll tell him it was borrowed from Xuanping.”

After a pause, he added, “Besides, I heard that the salt pool hasn’t been officially discovered or registered by the authorities. Yang Yuan isn’t the Yongzhou prefect, and he’s busy investigating Lu Gonggong’s case, he may not actually pursue it. And even if something happens, it would be Xuanping and the others who are in trouble, it has nothing to do with you or me.”

Suddenly being pulled into his embrace, Li Chanxiu’s body stiffened involuntarily. Afraid of being noticed, he slowly relaxed his back.

“Really?” he asked softly, lifting his head slightly, his tone carrying hope, while also subtly trying to free himself.

Pei Zhen lowered his head to meet his damp, uneasy eyes. His heart softened further, and instead tightened his arms slightly, holding him closer. His thin lips lightly brushed his forehead and brows, kissing away the tears that had not yet fallen, as he sighed softly in reassurance: “Really. Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

Li Chanxiu stiffened even more for a moment, inwardly startled, yet unable to show it, nor could he directly break free.

He had wanted to coax Pei Er into believing him, but he hadn’t intended…

“By the way, I also heard what you said to Gu Heng earlier,” Pei Zhen added after thinking for a moment, deciding to say everything at once.

It was rare for him and his wife to be this close and warm again, and for her to rely on him so much. Taking this opportunity to make things clear, he hoped she would not avoid him in the future.

“What I did before was not good. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again,” he said, again lightly kissing Li Chanxiu’s brows.

Li Chanxiu instinctively shut his slightly reddened eyelids tightly, like a startled small animal, his lashes trembling intensely.

Of all times, Pei Er had to bring this up now, what was already hard to explain had now become even more impossible.