The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 70: It’s A Matter Of Prestige.

That day, a treacherous and tense situation unfolded in the Yuan Residence.

But in the end, Huo Xin, the Head of the Jail Department, had to take his men and leave.

Yuan Baode, unable to cope with the way things had developed, shouted, “Uncle, help me!” But before Yuan Baode could shout any further, the Capital Prefectural Guards knocked him out and locked him in the detention carriage.

Wen Heyin, who was still holding Pei Hantang, placed his hand on Pei Hantang’s numb shoulder and asked: “How is your injury? Let me carry you to a Physician.”

“You’ll carry me?!” As if having heard something strange, Pei Hantang was unsure whether he should cry or laugh.

“Yes. Even if you’re taller than me, I can still carry you.” Wen Heyin replied and was even ready to put an arm under Pei Hantang’s knees to raise him up.

“No!” Pei Hantang rushed to stop him. “Don’t.”

“Why?” Wen Heyin straightened up.

Pei Hantang looked at him with a serious face, and said: “It’s a matter of saving face. These things can’t be indiscriminately done.”

“What face?” Wen Heyin asked.

Pei Hantang mischievously smiled and said: “It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand now, but a time will come in the future when you’ll understand.”

Wen Heyin: “???”

Pei Yu walked towards the two of them, and called out to Pei Hantang: “Wenqiong.”

“Father.” Pei Hantang staggered and attempted to beckon a greeting bow. But Pei Yu quickly stopped him from doing so.

Pei Hantang said, somewhat guiltily: “Father, I didn’t inform you of today’s events in advance…..”

Pei Yu waved his hand and said: “When I heard that the female corpse was stolen from the Capital Prefecture that day, I knew something was wrong. Then, my suspicions were confirmed when someone from the Jail Department fetched me to come to the Yuan Residence. Qiong’er, you did the right thing! Rather, I was the one who stood in your way…..”

“Father, I know you were playing the martyr1.” Pei Hantang hastened to say.

Father and son looked at each other then smiled, understanding one another.

“By the way, Qiong’er, your injury.” Pei Yu worried.

“I’m fine. Half of my body has already regained mobility.” Pei Hantang replied.

“That’s really good.” Pei Yu breathed a sigh of relief. “Then hurry back home to rest so you can recover quickly. Leave the rest to your father. I’ll write the case report tonight and submit it to the Emperor tomorrow morning to convict the culprit!”

“Good.” Pei Hantang nodded, watching Pei Yu walk away towards the group of Capital Prefectural Guards, watched him get into the carriage, and then watched him leave. Pei Hantang could finally feel relieved, as if the stone in his heart had fallen to the ground.

Wen Heyin said: “Now that you’ve regained mobility in half of your body, you don’t need to keep leaning on me, do you? Let go of me.”

Wen Heyin then tried to remove his arm from Pei Hantang’s shoulder.

Pei Hantang hastened to say: “I haven’t recovered! I was just trying to reassure my Father!”

Wen Heyin stopped and held Pei Hantang again. However, this time, Wen Heyin held him even tighter.

On the other hand, Mu Zhiming had recovered the water bag and handed it back to Gu Heyan.

When the water bag was in Gu Heyan’s hands, and he noticed its weight, he frowned softly.

The water bag was still as heavy as before, which meant that it hadn’t been touched at all.

“You….” Gu Heyan looked at Mu Zhiming, hesitated, and finally quietly asked: “You didn’t drink the water?”

“Of course not!” Mu Zhiming swore.

Gu Heyan: “……”

Mu Zhiming, puzzled, asked himself: Why did Gu Heyan’s face sink? Have I disturbed him?

“Heyan.” Mu Zhiming spoke cautiously. “Let’s go check on Lord Pei’s wounds, shall we?”

Gu Heyan: “….Mm-hmm.”

When the two men walked towards Pei Hantang, and Pei Hantang saw them coming, he struggled to raise his still sore arm to greet them both.

Wen Heyin grimaced: “Hey! Stop playing around when you’re hurt, will you?”

Pei Hantang laughed: “Little one, it would be rude not to greet them both politely. Of course, I must show my sincerity. How could I be someone so shallow?” Pei Hantang looked at Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan, then remarked: “Thank you for your help tonight, Gu-xiong, Lord Mu.”

Mu Zhiming bowed back and said: “Lord Pei himself is righteous and understands justice quite well, so he has no fear of dishonest practices. We were merely enforcing a fair judgment.”

Gu Heyan nodded his head in agreement and asked: “Then, is your injury…..?”

Pei Hantang demonstrated that it wasn’t a big deal: “It’s nothing, just a minor injury.”

Mu Zhiming smiled: “Since Lord Pei was wounded, we shall stop discussing and bid our farewells. Lord Pei should quickly return home to recuperate.” While saying this, Mu Zhiming suddenly remembered something and said: “By the way, Lord Pei…..”

However, as soon as Mu Zhiming spoke, he hesitated a little and his face turned pale. It seemed that he was reconsidering what to say.

Pei Hantang: “Lord Mu, if there’s anything you have to say, just say it.”

“Alright.” Mu Zhiming nodded. “Please forgive my rudeness, but I think we should avoid arousing suspicion these days.”

Gu Heyan frowned slightly: “…..Avoid arousing suspicion?”

Mu Zhiming: “That’s right. We should probably just not meet for a while.”

Gu Heyan: “…..”

“Heyan.” Mu Zhiming, suddenly aware that Gu Heyan’s mood had deteriorated, hurried to explain: “You’ve been living on the border for a long time, so you must know very little about the Capital’s current schemes and politics….”

“I understand.” Gu Heyan interrupted Mu Zhiming and indifferently said: “There’s no need for you to explain.”

After taking a brief pause, Mu Zhiming didn’t speak again. Instead, Mu Zhiming lowered his eyes to curtsy and bid his farewell. Then, he called Wen Heyin to his side and headed for his family’s carriage.

Wen Heyin helped Pei Hantang sit on the steps on the side, and said: “I must return to the Residence with my Young Master.”

“I know, I know. Now go and be careful on the way.” Pei Hantang smiled, when all of a sudden, something came to his mind. Pei Hantang then hurried to grab the hand of Wen Heyin, who had already turned around to leave, in order to stop him and pulled him one step back: “Hey, wait. These days, if you have some free time, come to the Capital Prefecture to look for me. I’ll take you for a boat ride on the lake, how about it? It’ll be fun, really, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to you.”

“You had better recover from your injuries first. The way you are now, you’re practically a wandering ghost, yet you still want to go for a ride on the lake?” Wen Heyin grimaced and pulled his hand away from Pei Hantang.

Pei Hantang: “I’m nowhere near as seriously injured as you’re saying. This little injury will be healed by tomorrow.”

Wen Heyin whined for a while, refusing to give a reply.

“If you don’t give me an answer, then I’ll take it as your acceptance. Remember to come for me!” Pei Hantang laughed. “A gentleman lives up for his word. Little one, you must come to me.”

Wen Heyin: “Understood.” After saying this, Wen Heyin turned around and hurriedly walked towards the Mu Family’s carriage.

At the sight of the Mu Residence carriage departing, Pei Hantang stood up and staggered towards Gu Heyan, who stood there staring at the carriage disappearing into the distance.

“Yuyi.” Pei Hantang rested his hand on Gu Heyan’s shoulder, patted him gently, and said: “Don’t sulk. I think your little Gongzi is right. He’s the son of the Duke of Yan, and not only is he related to King Xian, but he’s also one of his men. Now we had a conflict with the Jail Department, which has connections with the Crown Prince. If we don’t avoid being suspected, you and I may be the next target. Especially you. Haven’t you refused to accept gifts and guests because you wanted to stay out of the political conflict? Your little Gongzi is thinking about both of us. Yes, I admit that I misjudged him before, and I take back the words I said about him. If he had the slightest ill will, he could have easily obtained General Yulin’s support, and yet he did not. On the contrary, he took the initiative himself to avoid any suspicion of cooperation. Sigh, that little Gongzi of yours is really sincere towards you!”

Gu Heyan was puzzled: “I’m not angry.”

“Then why did you say ‘no need to explain’ just now?” Pei Hantang was even more puzzled. “Weren’t you so angry that you didn’t even want to listen to what he had to explain?”

Gu Heyan: “…..I simply trust him, so there’s no need for him to explain anything.”

“Good Heavens.” Pei Hantang slapped his thigh and said: “Gu Yuyi, would it kill you to just say something? Your little Gongzi must have misunderstood! Didn’t you see the look on his face just now? Because you didn’t let him explain himself properly, his face turned as white as snow! Wow, how sad he must be now! He must think that you’re angry! He must think you don’t care whether you see him or not, so you don’t care to listen to his explanation!”

Gu Heyan: “……”

Pei Hantang hated Gu Heyan’s ineptitude sometimes, so Pei Hantang shook his head and said: “Tsk, you are generally talkative to others. Even though you don’t say many words, you still make it quite clear what you want to express. Why is it that when your little Gongzi is around, you suddenly forget how to speak?”

Gu Heyan: “I….”

Pei Hantang: “‘I’? What ‘I’? If you don’t change this issue, something bad is bound to happen to you in the future.”

Gu Heyan remained silent for a moment, then whispered: “So be it.”

Pei Hantang shouted: “So be it?! Gu Yuyi, you told me not to be a coward, so why don’t you take your own advice and stop being a coward as well?!”

Gu Heyan didn’t reply. Instead, he raised his head to look up at the slightly dark crepuscular sky, which looked all the more vast and boundless. This night sky looked so much similar to the sky he witnessed that one time in that small town in the desert.

‘Even though we have lived in the same land throughout the years, we will bid each other farewell in this life just as we did in the past. For no matter what, I will never be able to compete with his ‘Yi-gege’.’

‘Eventually, one day apart will be as if three Autumns have passed. When that time comes, I hope he will be happy and healthy for the rest of his life, spending a harmonious marital life with his beloved.’

—

Three days later, under the exquisite architecture of the Inner Hall of the East Palace, there was a low table made of red sandalwood with Qiulong2 carvings, while on the table, there was a Jade scent diffuser3. There, Crown Prince Fu Qi and Huo Xin were sitting face to face, completely alone, with no one else in the room.

Huo Xin bowed deeply in a courteous greeting: “Your Highness, about the matter I mentioned to you the other day, I wonder if…..”

“You can rest assured.” Fu Qi waved his hand. “I will say a few words to my Imperial Father in regards to you on the matter of the Yuan Family. Your Official position will not be affected.”

“No, no, no. Your Highness, that’s not what your old Subject is worried about.” Huo Xin hastened to say: “Could I ask the Crown Prince to plead with His Majesty to prevent the death of the Yuan Family’s son….?”

“Huo Xin.” Fu Qi frowned and interrupted him a second time. “Could it be that you are perhaps not properly administering the Jail Department, as you are always dealing with matters that do not concern you?”

“Your Highness.” Huo Xin suddenly stood up, took a few steps back, and kowtowed on the ground. “My parents died at a young age and I, Huo Xin, have had no children. Since childhood, I have always taken care of my sister, so we have a strong sibling bond. My sister has only one son. Now, because of him, she wipes her face with tears every day, and her figure is becoming increasingly thinner….. If something were to happen to her son, it would be very difficult for my sister to continue living in this world. If that were to happen, this old Subject will have no face to face my parents in death.”

Fu Qi let out an impatient ‘tsk’ and lightly stated: “I see. I’ll go beg my Imperial Father for mercy on your behalf.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Highness.” Huo Xin kowtowed again and again.

“By the way, was it really Mu Zhiming, the son of the Duke of Yan, and the Great General of the Rong Yan Army, Gu Heyan, who stopped you that day?” Crown Prince Fu Qi asked.

Huo Xin replied: “That’s correct.”

“Mu Zhiming, that Mu Zhiming again.” Fu Qi said coldly. “Some time ago he tried to gain the favor, and with it the power, of General Yulin. If he really lured General Yulin to his side, wouldn’t that mean Fu Ji’an might easily ascend to the throne? Hmph…..since childhood, my Imperial Father has always favored Fu Ji’an. If Fu Ji’an were to obtain the military power of the Rong Yan Army, then even my title as Crown Prince and this East Palace might switch into his hands….”

Fu Qi gritted his teeth and his eyes acquired a mighty murderous intent. So powerful that it could even bring chills to anyone who looked at him.

“I can’t do anything against General Yulin right now, but the Duke of Yan…. Well…..”

Footnotes

苦肉计 kǔ ròu jì; It means to allow yourself to be tortured to gain the confidence of the enemy / to gain an end by enduring bodily suffering.虬龙 qiú lóng; A species of Dragon that is defined as a ‘young horned dragon’, which is interpreted as a young/immature dragon. In ancient times, Dragon species were divided into four types: Those with scales were called ‘Jiaolong’ (蛟龙 jiāo lóng). Those with wings were called ‘Yinglong’ (应龙 yìng lóng). Those with horns were called ‘Qiulong’ (虬龙 qiú lóng). And those without horns were called ‘Chilong’ (螭龙 chī lóng).Imagine something like THIS.