After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 87

Li Chanxiu was startled upon hearing this. Just now he had been thinking about how to leave as early as possible, yet the next moment he learned that the other old subordinates had found their way here.

He couldn’t help but feel relieved, but thinking that he would soon be leaving, he grew slightly absent-minded again.

Only when Yi Xun spoke again to ask did he finally come back to his senses. Gathering the quilt more tightly around himself, he stepped closer to the window lattice and asked, “Where are they now?”

Because he was wrapped in the quilt, with his hair loose and still looking as if he had just woken, it wasn’t convenient to see people, so he didn’t open the window.

Yi Xun quickly replied, “They arrived in Yongzhou the day before yesterday. Yesterday in Qing County they saw the signal Your Highness left. When they sent someone to inquire at a nearby garrison, they happened to be discovered by this subordinate. I conveyed Your Highness’s words and had them stay in Qing County first, awaiting Your Highness’s orders.”

After speaking, she paused, then asked again, “Your Highness, when shall we leave?”

Li Chanxiu still seemed a bit distracted. Hearing this, he thought for a moment and said, “Tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow. Tell them we leave the day after tomorrow.”

His cold poison had just flared up; he would still be weak today and tomorrow. To avoid triggering another episode due to cold or exhaustion after departure, leaving the day after tomorrow was the safest.

And also… before leaving, he needed to settle some matters, especially regarding Pei Er.

Thinking of this, his pale, slender fingers unconsciously tightened on the edge of the quilt.

Yi Xun only obeyed his words and quickly said “Yes,” but after a pause, she hesitated and added, “Your Highness, there is one more matter. That Young Master Gu…”

“Mm?” Li Chanxiu still seemed absent-minded, his voice light and unfocused with the question.

Yi Xun continued, “That Young Master Gu seems to have offended others as well. Yesterday, when this subordinate found an opportunity to deal with him, his right leg had just been broken by someone else. I had no choice but to break his left leg.”

As she spoke, there was even a trace of regret in her tone. Originally she had wanted to break the right leg, no other reason, just that it was more convenient, but unexpectedly, someone else had beaten her to it.

Li Chanxiu: “……” Isn’t this too straightforward?

One leg was already broken; there was no need to… forget it, he wasn’t an important person anyway.

“And now? Is he still in Yongfeng?” Li Chanxiu asked.

Yi Xun: “He’s already left. Originally his fiancée wanted to take him to the military camp to ask you to help treat his leg, but Young Master Gu was unwilling, so he went to a nearby county.”

Li Chanxiu gave an “Mm” and said, “Then there’s no need to mind him. Just pass my words to the others.”

“Yes, this subordinate takes her leave.” Yi Xun responded, and soon the sound of her climbing over the courtyard fence and leaving could be heard.

Li Chanxiu also walked back to the edge of the heated kang. Although he had just drunk half a bowl of porridge and had recovered quite a bit of strength, after standing for a while, he still felt somewhat weak.

Wrapped in the quilt, he sat down by the kang and continued to think absent-mindedly, what excuse should he find to leave, one that would neither make Pei Er worry nor cause him to look for him again?

He shouldn’t be so hesitant and overly concerned, this wasn’t like the him who later led troops in the dream. But he… truly couldn’t help but consider Pei Er.

***

After leaving the small courtyard, Pei Zhen also pondered all the way.

His wife had always been frail. In his memory, before they were married, the other had also fallen ill like this once, though that time wasn’t as serious.

Last night, his heart had been hanging in his throat. It wasn’t that he had never seen people with a cold, but he had never seen anyone with a cold like his wife’s symptoms, his whole body icy cold as if carved from ice and snow, as though not a trace of human warmth remained.

Pei Zhen felt something was wrong and grew even more worried. Upon arriving at the military camp, he went to see Physician Hu and asked him about it.

But Physician Hu’s medical skills were limited. After hearing his description, he couldn’t figure out the cause either and could only say, “Perhaps it’s because your wife is too weak. Think about it, she was exiled all the way here and must have suffered a lot. Her body may have been worn down. On the surface, it may not look like much, but in reality she’s far weaker than an ordinary person, unable to withstand cold or exhaustion. On top of that, with the recent attacks from the Hu people, she’s been overworked. When illness comes, it falls like a mountain, so it appears especially severe…”

After rambling on for a long time, Pei Zhen felt it was as good as saying nothing and interrupted with a frown, asking, “Then how can she be nursed back to health?”

Physician Hu said, “This… if conditions allow, naturally you should use high-quality mountain ginseng to nourish her. If you truly don’t have that, you can stew soup with red dates, goji berries, and a young hen…”

Pei Zhen carefully noted it down, thanked him, and left.

As soon as he stepped out of the tent, his brows furrowed again. He had been so anxious that he had grasped at straws, actually expecting Physician Hu to have any real skill. Forget it, when they returned to Bingzhou, he would send someone to find Physician Sun to examine his wife. He had heard that Old Sun had gone traveling again; who knew where he was now.

As for what Physician Hu had said, he would try it for now, it wouldn’t do any harm anyway. It was just a pity that Physician Hu only had small ginseng roots, not high-quality mountain ginseng. He would need to go to a nearby county, preferably the prefectural city, to buy some.

As for money… when he was previously Pei Er, he truly had none and could only go up the mountains to catch some wild chickens to nourish his wife. But now it was different, now that he had regained his memory, he… could go borrow from Yang Yuanyi again.

Thinking of this, he paused in his steps, turned around, and headed toward the town again.

Coincidentally, Yang Yuanyi happened to be looking for him. As soon as they met, without another word, he dragged him back to the commandant’s tent.

Pei Zhen frowned slightly. After entering the tent, he pulled his arm back, brushed it off, and asked, “What is it?”

Yang Yuanyi quickly said, “Based on what Lu Gonggong and Jiang He confessed last time, the matter of the official salt has basically been investigated. The mastermind behind it is indeed the Wang family. Prefect Yan had previously served as a commandant in Yongzhou and secretly provided them protection. We also found that they weren’t just reselling official salt, they were also dealing with military provisions. The Jiang family, father, sons, and brothers, were the underlings doing these dirty jobs for them.”

“But the more they followed their masters, the bigger their appetite and boldness grew. The identity you’re using now as Pei Er, didn’t he previously escort military supplies, only for all one thousand men to be wiped out? That was done by Jiang He and his father. This father and son had helped the Wang family with many such things before and thought they could, like Lu Gonggong and the Wang family, make a fortune this time. They didn’t expect how important this batch of supplies was, which led to a great disaster.”

At this point, Yang Yuanyi slammed his fist heavily onto the table, his tone filled with resentment.

Back then, when they had joined forces with Yongzhou to attack the Hu people in the north, if Yongzhou hadn’t suddenly lacked supplies and held back Prefect Zhang, they wouldn’t have fallen short of success. It even indirectly led to Pei Zhen being surrounded, later severely injured, losing his memory, and accidentally drifting to Yongfeng.

If not for that incident, and if Pei Zhen’s plan at the time had succeeded in dealing a heavy blow to the Hu people, how would there have been the siege of Wuding Pass some time ago?

Never would they have imagined that such a major failure was caused by the greed of a mere minor commandant below.

After listening, Pei Zhen’s gaze also turned cold and heavy. He said nothing about Jiang He, who was destined to have his entire family executed, and only asked, “Have you obtained evidence against the Wang family and Prefect Yan?”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got it all,” Yang Yuanyi immediately said. Then, after a slight hesitation, he continued, “It’s just that most of the illicit silver they embezzled was sent to Luojing and Chang’an. Most of it was converted into rare treasures or shops and land, and through the Wang family’s hands, given to certain officials at court or great aristocratic families. Among them, the Song family and…”

At this point, he glanced at Pei Zhen again and hesitated once more.

Pei Zhen’s eyes were like frozen ice as he said in a deep voice, “What is there that can’t be said?”

Yang Yuanyi immediately replied, “Among them, the Song family and Liang Wang’s residence also received quite a lot.”

After speaking, he looked at Pei Zhen somewhat cautiously.

Pei Zhen’s expression revealed neither joy nor anger, only a coldness in his gaze.

Yang Yuanyi couldn’t help but weigh his words. “This matter… should we continue to interfere?”

Pei Zhen suddenly turned to look at him, his gaze calm. “Why shouldn’t we interfere?”

Then he gave a cold order: “Take the evidence now and go to the prefectural city to arrest them.”

Hearing this, Yang Yuanyi visibly let out a sigh of relief, though he still felt a trace of worry.

After all, when Pei Zhen was young in Luojing, he had often visited Liang Wang’s residence and had a close relationship with the shizi. Liang Wang and Liang Wangfei had also taken good care of him. Back when Pei Zhen nearly died in the northern lands, it was Liang Wang Shizi who personally led troops to pull him out from among the dead, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a life-saving grace. Moreover, Liang Wang was now the most likely candidate to ascend the throne as crown prince. With such power, who would dare offend him?

Just now, he had feared that Pei Zhen would let it go, but also feared that he would insist on pursuing it and offend Liang Wang’s residence. But upon reconsideration, if he truly let it go, then he wouldn’t be Pei Zhen.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but pat Pei Zhen’s shoulder and say, “Jianzhi, I knew I didn’t misjudge you. Don’t worry, since you’re not afraid, I’ll stand with you. I’ll go arrange the men right away.”

Although he said this, he still felt uneasy inside. Offending Liang Wang like this, Jianzhi’s days ahead would likely not be easy, and his friendship with the shizi might also…

Just as he was worrying, Pei Zhen spoke, “I’ll go with you.”

Yang Yuanyi was stunned and said, “That’s not necessary. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it personally. I definitely won’t let them escape…”

“Besides this matter, I have other business in the prefectural city,” Pei Zhen interrupted calmly.

Yang Yuanyi: “…Oh.”

The two walked out of the tent one after the other. Pei Zhen kept frowning in thought the entire way. Seeing this, Yang Yuanyi couldn’t help but feel even more worried for him.

Suddenly, Pei Zhen turned around with his hands behind his back, as if wanting to speak but stopping himself.

Seeing this, Yang Yuanyi immediately said with understanding, “I get it. This matter is still too difficult for you, the risk is too great. Although I’m glad you decided to act against them, your safety is more important. None of us can afford to offend Liang Wang’s residence. Why don’t we take it slowly…”

Pei Zhen glanced at him and interrupted, “It’s not about that.”

Yang Yuanyi: “Huh?”

Pei Zhen hesitated. “Do you… still have money on you?”

Yang Yuanyi: “???”

Pei Zhen gave a light cough and said seriously, “If you do, lend me some more.”

Yang Yuanyi: “…” Wait, did you already spend what you borrowed last time?

Pei Zhen said solemnly, “You saw yesterday as well, Shen Xiu is very seriously ill. I want to go to the prefectural city to buy some better wild mountain ginseng for her.”

Yang Yuanyi: “…That’s true, you really should.”

So the other business you’re going to the prefectural city for is this?

As he thought this, he patted his clothes and pockets. After a moment, he said awkwardly, “How about I go back to our Bingzhou army camp and borrow some from the brothers?”

Pei Zhen: “……”

After a long pause, he said lightly, “Go ahead.”

“Alright, then wait here first.”

As Yang Yuanyi spoke, he mounted his horse, rode quickly for a while, then suddenly came back to his senses, puzzled: Wait, why am I the one going to borrow?

After he left, Pei Zhen also turned and walked out of the military camp, planning to first go to the town to buy a few hens.

Considering that this matter here would soon be settled and they would return to Bingzhou, he felt there was no need to buy too many.

In addition, once things here were concluded, before returning to Bingzhou, he should also tell his wife his identity. Previously, because his wife’s identity was somewhat suspicious, and he needed to conceal his own identity, he had delayed saying it. Now… he had already thought it through, he didn’t care what his wife’s identity was, and since they would soon return to Bingzhou, there was naturally no need to keep hiding it.

Speaking of which, in his memory, his wife greatly admired Pei Zhen of Bingzhou and had even praised him as a hero. When she learned that he was Pei Zhen, would she be very surprised and very happy?

Thinking this, Pei Zhen felt that revealing his identity to Li Chanxiu wasn’t so difficult to bring up after all. He even felt a faint sense of anticipation, the corners of his lips unconsciously curving slightly.

Just as he reached the street and was about to look for villagers selling chickens, suddenly, two guards dressed in fitted attire, clearly skilled at a glance, walked up to him.

Pei Zhen stood with his hands behind his back, looking at them expressionlessly.

After blocking his path, the two quickly bowed respectfully and said, “General Pei, the Shizi invites you.”