Chapter 307: Sima Hui (1)
Chu Lian was so frightened by the weirdness of He Changdi that she subconsciously picked up the teacup by her side and threw it at him. He Changdi fell to the floor with a grunt and Chu Lian anxiously ran over- when she checked his nose, she realised he had stopped breathing…
Chu Lian screamed and sat up in fright.
When Wenqing heard the noises from within the room, she quickly pushed open the doors and entered.
The sight that met her eyes was Chu Lian sitting up in bed, eyes dazed as she panted for breath. Her hands were tightly clenched in the blankets. Wenqing was shocked.
She walked up to the bed and asked with concern, “Third Young Madam, what happened?”
Chu Lian hadn’t thought that her movements would wake Wenqing, who had been sleeping in the outer room. When she recalled the scene in her dreams, she waved her hand in embarrassment. “It’s nothing, it was just a bad dream.”
Wenqing saw that Third Young Madam seemed to have suffered a fright. She touched Chu Lian’s forehead and found it was full of sweat, so she brought another pillow over and placed it at the head of the bed before helping Chu Lian to lie against it. Wenqing tried to comfort her. “Third Young Madam, you must have been disturbed by what happened these past two days. Please rest for a while, this servant will bring you a bowl of sweet soup.”
Chu Lian nodded. When she thought back to that dream just now, there was still some lingering fear in her heart, so she quickly shifted her thoughts to other things.
In the cold of the winter night, He Changdi led his subordinates as they rushed back to the army camp, situated at the outskirts of Liangzhou City.
Even in the early morning on a cold, blustery winter day, the commander’s tent was already lit up with lanterns from within.
The highest commander of the northern border troops, Great General Qian, was seated at the head of the table. Below him were the high-ranking leaders of the border troops, and Captain Guo was amongst them.
The sound of hoofbeats resounded from outside the tent, followed by a chaotic rush of footsteps. The tent flap was lifted by the soldier outside and in the next moment, a bound bearded man was marched in- who else could it be but He Changdi?
Once He Sanlang was inside the tent, Great General Qian started scolding him furiously. “He Sanlang, you’ve got some guts! Before you’ve even managed to finish learning the military tactics I’ve taught you, you’ve already managed to copy my stubborn temper! Take him out and give him thirty smacks with the rod before you bring him in again for interrogation!”
Xiao Hongyu, who had followed them in, turned pale. He sent a pleading look towards Captain Guo.
Captain Guo subtly shook his head, indicating for him to keep quiet.
How could Xiao Hongyu remain silent in a situation like this? The poison in Brother He’s system hadn’t been cleared yet. These thirty smacks of the rod were going to push him halfway to death’s door! They still had to fight a war ahead, how would Brother He be able to fight in such terrible condition?
“General, please wait. This subordinate has something to report.”
Great General Qian sneered and swept He Changdi up and down with a look. His gaze finally ended up on Xiao Hongyu. “Oho, He Sanlang. You’re pretty skillful, aren’t you? It hasn’t been that long since you’ve joined this camp and you’ve already made a sworn brother. Which camp are you from? Report your name first! If your report is nonsense, you can share the same punishment as He Sanlang!”
Xiao Hongyu began to sweat. Since he had already decided to speak out, all he could do was grit his teeth and forge on.
He obediently reported his camp, which caused General Qian to cast a meaningful look at Captain Guo. “Little Guo, very well done. These brats are all from your camp!”
Captain Guo could feel his head going numb upon hearing those words. He had the urge to kill those two brats on the spot.
Following that, Xiao Hongyu reported the events of the past few days truthfully: the barbarians and Tuhuns’ ambush, as well as how He Sanlang had gotten poisoned. After he finished speaking, he knelt down with his head lowered, obediently waiting for his punishment.
General Qian’s expression abruptly changed upon hearing all this. “What did you say? The Tuhun soldiers have invaded the lands of our Great Wu?!”
The Tuhuns couldn’t have appeared in that forest for no reason. There must be something driving them to go there.
General Qian’s thick brows furrowed together. After thinking for a bit, he waved his hand and ordered He Changdi to be brought in for further questioning.
In the end, with Captain Guo helping them plead for mercy, He Changdi was subjected to only twenty five smacks of the rod, while Xiao Hongyu received ten.
This was also the reward that General Qian was giving He Changdi for his good deed in the face of his crimes. At the same time, the border troops were in desperate need for every able man right now. Otherwise, the strict General Qian wouldn’t have let the two of them off so easily. He had even broken his own nephew’s leg before, let alone some unrelated brats like He Changdi and the rest.
In the last two days, the Tuhuns had stopped their ambushes and attacks on the city, giving the northern border troops a breather. The injured He Sanlang and Xiao Hongyu were carried into their tent to settle down.
Right as the two of them had just laid down, Captain Guo and Zhang Mai entered the tent.
Captain Guo walked over and stood by the simple wooden bed, looking down at He Changdi from above. “So how was it? Has your wife come to the border?”
He Sanlang was stunned. He hadn’t expected Captain Guo to ask a question like this out of the blue. He looked up at his former commanding officer and made a sound of agreement.
Captain Guo burst out into laughter and patted his shoulder forcefully. “You brat. Those twenty plus smacks were well-deserved.”
Lying in the bed next to He Sanlang’s, Xiao Hongyu couldn’t resist interrupting. “Captain, Brother Zhang, I managed to meet Sister-in-Law this time! I didn’t expect Sister-in-Law to be such a looker considering our He Sanlang’s bearded face! She’s like a fresh flower wasted on a piece of cow dung like this. Why couldn’t I be that lucky?”
He Changdi’s expression completely darkened after hearing so. Who could have thought that the famed pretty boy He Sanlang would one day be compared to cow dung…
