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

Chapter 73: It Looks Like He’s Getting Married.

On the outskirts of the Capital, there lies Riyue Lake, with its crystal clear waters rippling peacefully from the breeze, and the willow trees gently swaying along the sandy shores of the lake. All of a sudden, a young man dressed in blue robes soared through the skies, barely touching the willow branches with his feet, which inevitably caused the willow leaves to lightly brush the surface of the water, creating ripples.

The young man’s figure appeared as light and graceful as a swallow, as he leapt towards the Pavilion in the middle of the lake, ultimately firmly and gracefully landing on it.

A clay-sealed jug of fine wine was resting on top of the stone table in the Pavilion. The young man dressed in blue placed his hand on the jug and triumphantly smiled.

Before long, another young man, dressed in a crimson martial robe, arrived soaring through the air. Similarly to the blue-clad young man, the crimson-clad youth landed in the Pavilion, heavily breathing, appearing almost out of breath.

“You’ve lost again.” Wen Heyin said as he took the wine jug in his hands, only to throw it up in the air and skillfully catch it again. Beaming with joy, Wen Heyin sat on the railing of the Pavilion, placed a hand on his knee, and said: “This jug of fine wine belongs to me!”

Pei Hantang laughed out loud and said: “I admit defeat.”

Wen Heyin held the jug of wine, pursed his mouth and lightly licked his lips in a playful manner, looking pretty eager to taste the wine.

Pei Hantang sat down beside him and said with a smile: “If you want to drink it, just open the clay seal. I won’t try to snatch it from your hands.”

“It’s not like you stand a chance against me anyway.” Wen Heyin pouted and said: “Besides, we don’t have any cups to share. It would be indecent for both of us to drink straight out of the same jug.”

At that moment, Pei Hantang’s eyes flashed with certain mischief. He leaned close to Wen Heyin, and grinningly said: “Little one, if it’s a cup what you want, I can give you one.”

Wen Heyin looked around, only to find that there was no one else around. Not even a store. Wen Heyin turned his gaze to Pei Hantang and looked him up and down. But no matter what, there was no sign that Pei Hantang had a cup with him. Curiosity got the better of Wen Heyin, so he couldn’t help, but ask: “Where will you get a cup from?”

Pei Hantang’s smile widened: “What if I can take out two cups right now? Would you be willing to share half of the wine with me?”

Wen Heyin suspiciously looked at Pei Hantang. But after giving it some thought, Wen Heyin nodded: “Alright, where are the cups?”

“Don’t be impatient.” Pei Hantang stood up, still smiling, and leaped into the air. He flew all the way to the shore of the lake, plucked two fresh green lotus leaves, and returned to the Pavilion. Pei Hantang then folded the lotus leaves several times, until a cup made of lotus leaf appeared in his palm.

“Here, take it.” Pei Hantang smiled and handed the cup made out of the lotus leaf to Wen Heyin.

Wen Heyin looked pleased with the lotus leaf cup, so he picked it up and said: “How can you even fold it like that? Who taught you to do it?”

Pei Hantang smiled wickedly, shook his head, and replied: “A woman, who’s as beautiful as a Fairy, taught me.”

Wen Heyin: “…..”

Wen Heyin handed the lotus leaf cup back to Pei Hantang, handed him the jug of wine, and said: “I won’t drink anymore. I’m leaving.”

“Hey, hey, hey.” Pei Hantang held the jug of wine with one hand and took Wen Heyin’s hand with the other: “Don’t leave. Why don’t you want to drink the wine so suddenly? It’s no fun to drink alone.”

“I’m not in the mood. Go drink with that fairy-like, beautiful woman.” Wen Heyin stood up straight and jerked his hand, in order to make Pei Hantang let him go. But Pei Hantang didn’t release him.

Pei Hantang pulled Wen Heyin and laughed heartily: “But my Mother can’t drink.”

Wen Heyin: “…..”

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“Come.” Pei Hantang stood up and pressed down Wen Heyin’s shoulder, asking him to sit on the railing again. Then Pei Hantang removed the clay seal from the wine jug, poured some wine into a lotus leaf cup, and handed it to Wen Heyin. With his eyes curved into a smile, Pei Hantang said: “Wouldn’t it be a pity to waste this fine wine? If we have this wine on hand, let’s enjoy it and drink it.”

Wen Heyin picked up the lotus leaf cup, took a sip, and felt as if he were drinking a nectar with an endless aftertaste.

The two raised their cups and drank together. Leaning against the railing, their gazes wandered off into the distance, where the water and the sky seemed to blend together. A gentle breeze blew around them, while cranes sang by the lake. At that moment, Pei Hantang asked: “Little one, what is your zodiac animal1?”

Wen Heyin, not understanding, asked: “Why are you asking me that?”

Pei Hantang mischievously smiled: “Would you believe me if I said that, in the same way that I can fold lotus leaves into cups, I can fold them into the shape of the zodiac animals?”

“I believe you.” Wen Heyin drank the wine from the lotus leaf cup, and said: “But I don’t know what my zodiac animal is. If I were to give an answer, then I want it to be the same as my Young Master’s.”

“What kind of answer is that?” Pei Hantang wasn’t satisfied. “What are your Eight Characters2?”

“I don’t know.” Wen Heyin said.

Pei Hantang, still not believing him, asked: “How can you not know? Didn’t your parents tell you when you were born?”

Wen Heyin looked at Pei Hantang, then fixed his gaze on the bright blue lake, and calmly replied: “I don’t have parents. Madam found me, and picked me up on her way to the Temple when she went to worship Buddha.”

At that instant, Pei Hantang’s tone of voice became nervous: “…..It’s, it’s my fault. I apologize for having stubbornly asked you about this topic.”

“It’s alright.” Wen Heyin didn’t seem to mind at all. “I’m living well now.”

Pei Hantang looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze, and when he noticed from the expression on Wen Heyin’s face that he didn’t seem to be faking the fact that he didn’t care, he let out a sigh of relief. Pei Hantang suddenly leaned closer, and rested his hand on Wen Heyin’s shoulder.

“Why do you like touching people’s shoulders so much?” Wen Heyin shook his shoulders to make Pei Hantang let go. But no matter what, that hand didn’t move away from him. The only thing Wen Heyin could do was to move to the side in order to avoid the touch. However, with this movement, Wen Heyin’s body ended up stuck against the pillar, so he had nowhere to hide.

“Don’t hide.” Pei Hantang, unlike Wen Heyin, seemed to behave with more ease and natural poise. Therefore, he slid his hand from Wen Heyin’s shoulder to the other one, hugging him and pulling him closer to himself: “Little one, let me discuss something with you.”

Wen Heyin: “What is it?”

Pei Hantang said with a smile: “Do you really not care at all to know what your zodiac animal is?”

Wen Heyin: “Well, yeah. What difference would it make to know?”

Pei Hantang: “Then, from now on, whenever anyone asks you about your zodiac animal, you can say that you’re from the Year of the Monkey. Alright?”

Wen Heyin: “Why?”

“Because, well…..” Pei Hantang smiled mischievously and fairly dragged out the next words: “Because I was born in the Year of the Snake.”

Wen Heyin became increasingly puzzled: “So what? What does that have to do with me?”

Pei Hantang: “Look, the Snake is three years older than the Monkey. Since you look three years younger than me, and I was born in the Year of the Snake, then you may be from the Year of the Monkey. Isn’t that great?”

Wen Heyin: “No! You must have bad intentions!”

Pei Hantang leaned closer and said: “Just promise me. It’s a small matter.”

Wen Heyin: “No.”

Pei Hantang shamelessly leaned closer to Wen Heyin again, wrapped a hand around his body, and rested it against the pillar: “Will you really refuse?”

Wen Heyin still hadn’t noticed the inappropriate position the two of them were in, so he simply shook his head firmly, and said: “I won’t agree.”

As the two argued with their bodies practically glued together, an elderly fisherman suddenly passed by in a boat. Upon seeing them, the man angrily reprimanded them: “What are you two doing behaving so inappropriately in public!”

Wen Heyin: “…..”

Pei Hantang: “….”

Pei Hantang: “Did you hear that? He said we make a perfect match.”

Wen Heyin, annoyed and embarrassed, shouted: “….. Let me go!”

“Alright, alright!” Seeing that Wen Heyin’s palms had clenched into fists, Pei Hantang hurriedly let him go. With a broad grin, he backed up a few steps: “I’m joking, don’t get upset.”

Wen Heyin: “Humph.”

“Let’s drink, let’s keep drinking.” Pei Hantang raised the lotus leaf cup and poured the wine. “By the way, has Lord Mu been very busy these days? Avoiding suspicion is one thing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t meet at all, right?”

Wen Heyin: “Do you want to see my Young Master?”

Pei Hantang: “I’m asking on behalf of somebody else.”

Wen Heyin: “Ah….. My Young Master has been…..quite busy recently. It looks like he’s getting married.”

Pei Hantang’s hand trembled upon hearing those words, and the cup full of wine ended up spilling all over the floor: “What?! Married?!”

Footnotes

It refers to the Chinese Horoscope, which consists of 12 zodiac animals in the following order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. In ancient China, around 2937 BC, the first Chinese Lunar Calendar was elaborated, according to which each sign, represented by an animal, consists of 60 years in total (the time of the reign of the Yellow Emperor), which will be distributed in five cycles of twelve years each.八字 bā zì; Also known as the “Eight Characters of Birth”. Is a Chinese astrological system based on a person’s date and time of birth, which occupy an important position in Chinese folk beliefs and are mostly used in fortune-telling.