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

Chapter 77: I Believe Lizhu Will Live Up To Expectations.

As soon as the carriage returned to the Duke of Yan’s Residence, Mu Zhiming got off, feeling dazed and disoriented. Mu Zhiming was so deep in thought that he didn’t even hear the servant call out to him a few times.

“Young Master!” The servant was so anxious that he couldn’t help but raise his voice a little.

Only then did Mu Zhiming hear him: “What’s wrong?”

“Young Master, there’s a carriage parked outside the Residence. It came to pick you up.” The servant replied with his head bowed in a respectful gesture.

“Pick me up?” Mu Zhiming was confused. “Where did the carriage come from?”

The servant replied: “King Su’s Residence.”

Mu Zhiming: “……”

Mu Zhiming softly frowned, and remained silent for a while.

The servant reminded him: “Young Master, the carriage has been waiting in front of the Residence for a long time. Will the Young Master go? If not, should I inform the coachman?”

“I….” At that instant, Mu Zhiming’s eyes filled with confidence, and his mind steadied: “I’ll go. Where’s the carriage?”

The servant replied: “Come with me, Young Master.”

The servant then escorted Mu Zhiming to the carriage sent by King Su. After watching the carriage depart, the servant turned around and returned to the Residence, getting ready to attend to the tasks that still needed to be done for the day. However, at that very moment, an unknown figure dressed in white robes came running up, bypassing the servant, and heading straight for the Mu Residence.

“Hey, you! Wait! Who are you? This is the Duke of Yan’s Residence. You can’t enter without announcing yourself first.” The servant ran to stop the man. The Residence Guards, standing on both sides of the gate, approached them as well upon hearing the commotion.

The young man dressed in white robes seemed to be in a hurry, exposed by the sweat present on his temples and the slight pants escaping from his mouth. In his hand, he tightly held a phoenix nirvana agate jade pendant. As he raised his gaze to the servant, he said in an anxious tone: “I’m looking for Mu Zhiming.”

“Are you looking for our Young Master?” The servant replied: “He’s not in the Residence right now. Please come back another day.”

“He’s not?” There was a surprised look on the young man’s face. “Where did he go?”

The servant replied: “He went to King Su’s Residence.”

The young man dressed in white robes: “…..”

A deep love was destroyed by keeping silent. The tea was spilled, the delicate porcelain was broken, the east wind had already gone by, and the beauty of the flowers had wilted1.

Knowing that he had made a mistake, that he had said something he shouldn’t have, he summoned all the courage he possessed in this life, running as fast as he could to try to explain everything and hold him back. Even then, he was one step too late.

What’s the use of regretting it now?

“I understand….” The voice of the young man dressed in white robes trembled uncontrollably. He said nothing more, and turned to leave. His steps were as hurried as when he first arrived.

“Hey! Gongzi! Gongzi, wait. Who are you?” The servant scratched his head in confusion. But in the end, he shrugged his shoulders and put the matter aside.

—

King Su’s Residence, with its imposing stone steps and a black plaque with golden characters displayed at the top, gave out a sense of hidden elegance. Giving a heavy contrast against the imposing, ostentatious and extravagant King Xian’s Residence. 

In his previous life, Mu Zhiming used to visit this place quite often. But in this life, this was actually his first time visiting.

As he approached the front of the Residence, a mixture of familiarity and strangeness gripped Mu Zhiming’s heart. But this feeling faded so quickly that it failed to form any ripples within his heart.

“Mu-gongzi, you’ve arrived.” A servant came to greet him, bowed down, and guided Mu Zhiming into the Residence.

Mu Zhiming followed him into the Residence, passing through winding corridors until they reached a two-story Pavilion looking over the water. At that moment, the servant stopped, bowed, and said: “Mu-gongzi, His Highness is waiting for you on the second floor.”

Mu Zhiming nodded his head and said: “I understand,” under his breath. Mu Zhiming then walked to the Pavilion, went up to the second floor, and met Fu Yi, who was dressed in a black brocade robe with golden patterns, leaning against the railing of the Pavilion. In front of him was a low table made of pear wood. A purple clay teapot was placed on a miniature stove made of red clay, which was burning red-hot, and tea leaves of the highest quality were arranged on the table. Upon hearing someone’s footsteps approaching, Fu Yi turned his head to greet Mu Zhiming. With a smile on his face, Fu Yi said: “Lizhu, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Come, sit down in front of me.”

As Fu Yi spoke, he gently lifted the teapot from the clay stove and began to brew a cup of refreshing sweet tea.

Without moving, Mu Zhiming calmly said: “If King Su intends to dissuade me from marrying the daughter of the Commander of the Imperial Army, there’s no need for you to waste your words.”

Fu Yi’s hand trembled, spilling some of the water inside the teapot.

Mu Zhiming looked at him and remembered that in his past life, he had also been here, drinking that very same tea. The only difference was that Fu Yi was no longer the King Su that he admired.

In his previous life, the two of them had just recently held the crowning celebration that marked them as adults, so the two of them were being pressured by their parents to get married.

At that time, Mu Zhiming hadn’t even developed romantic feelings for anyone, so he obediently followed his father’s orders and exchanged engagement letters with the daughter of the Commander of the Imperial Army.

Little did he know that the very next day, Fu Yi would call him to King Su’s Residence, with the intention of dissuading Mu Zhiming from marrying her.

Confused, Mu Zhiming asked for the reason, only to witness Fu Yi looking at him with a sad look in his eyes. In a whisper, Fu Yi said to him, “Lizhu, have you never realized my feelings for you?”

Mu Zhiming, who has always attached great importance to loyalty and affection, didn’t want to commit himself to someone for a lifetime while still having an unresolved entanglement with Fu Yi. Therefore, upon returning home, Mu Zhiming earnestly pleaded with his parents to respectfully decline the proposal of marriage to the daughter of the Commander of the Imperial Army.

However, in return for his sincere intentions, the only thing Mu Zhiming received was a memorial written by Fu Yi himself, in which he accused Mu Boren and Fu Ji’an, King Xian, of secretly plotting a rebellion and attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince in order to usurp the throne.

It was pitiful, unfortunate and laughable at the same time.

—

Upon hearing Mu Zhiming’s words, Fu Yi placed the purple clay teapot back on the red clay stove and turned his head to look at Mu Zhiming.

Mu Zhiming maintained a serene attitude, appearing neither humble nor arrogant, when faced with Fu Yi’s gaze: “If there’s nothing more to discuss with King Su, I’ll take my leave.”

With that said, Mu Zhiming was ready to turn and depart. However, right at that moment, Fu Yi called out to him.

“Lizhu, in our past life, I went to look for you in the bitter frozen lands of Ningguta2. But…. I couldn’t find you there.”

Footnotes

茶泼，瓷碎，东风过花已落 chá pō, cí suì, dōng fēng guò huā yǐ luò; This phrase serves as a metaphor for the irreparable damage done to a relationship/situation caused by a sudden emotional outburst, highlighting the importance of restraint and caution in times of intense emotions. By saying that the ‘porcelain has been broken, and the beauty of the flowers has been lost’, it reflects the end of a peaceful and harmonious situation. The passing of the east wind further emphasizes the transitory nature of this moment, suggesting that once something is broken or lost, it cannot be restored to its former state.宁古塔 níng gǔ tǎ; Name of an ancient place in the Qing Dynasty [1644-1911], placed in the Eastern part of present-day Heilongjiang Province and the Southern part of the Russian far Eastern Republic. It was known as a harsh and dreaded place where many criminals would rather die or commit suicide in prison than be sent there. The name “宁古塔” is derived from the Manchu word ᠨᡳᠩᡤᡠᡨᠠ (ningguta), which means “every six”.