Chapter 41: The Past (I)

Chapter 41: The Past (I)

The scene was really awkward.

He Lianche was the one who, seeing Le Wuya's pained expression, said coldly, "Have him sit up straight when he talks."

Pei Mingqi paused. When he saw Le Wuya glaring fiercely at him from his arms, his heart softened. He supported his waist and helped him sit upright.

Going by the name of Wen Ren Yue and serving as a magistrate of Dayu, Le Wuya had to make sure his stance was right when it counted.

Le Wuya didn't argue with Pei Mingqi in front of the Jing people. Instead, he faced He Lianche calmly and said solemnly, "Thank you, Special Envoy Meng and Brother Da, for escorting us this far. Though a thousand miles must end with a parting, we shall meet again."

Turning to Meng Zha, he added, "The matter of the stone materials concerns the century-long plan of building bridges and roads in Nanting. I entreat you, Special Envoy Meng, to take extra care and avoid further misunderstandings."

...He couldn't forget about official business either.

Meng Zha nodded. He and the Jing guards behind him kept blank faces, trying not to think about what this scene really meant.

After explaining as fast as he could why he was here and clearing up the unnecessary misunderstanding, Le Wuya seized the moment to glare fiercely at Pei Mingqi:

"Get it? Put me down!"

"Does this hug look proper?"

Pei Mingqi, now understanding why he'd crossed the border, reluctantly scooted back.

Le Wuya grabbed the reins from his hand and dismounted with difficulty.

Standing on Dayu ground, he bowed to the Jing people on the other side of the boundary marker: "General Pei was mistaken. Sorry for the rudeness, Special Envoy Meng and Brother Da. Please do not take offense."

When he said the words "Brother Da," he deliberately enunciated them clearly.

If Little Phoenix had blown He Lianche's cover here, things would've gotten impossible to fix.

Pei Mingqi was bold and reckless, but at key moments he had a weird intuition and sharpness.

Annoyed, he tapped his boot with his whip. His gaze shifted away, and indeed he said nothing further.

Yet, though he relented, someone else refused to let it go.

He Lianche said, with his hands tucked in his sleeves, "He's always been like this. We're used to it by now."

Le Wuya closed his eyes.

Oh no.

Sure enough, Pei Mingqi copied his pose, folded his arms, and forced a tight smile with one eyebrow raised.

Le Wuya knew him well.

This meant he was about to go from a phoenix to a fighting rooster.

"'Brother Da,' don't act like we're close. I've only met you once or twice. Saying that makes it sound like we're old friends," Pei Mingqi shook his head. "Too bad—the ones I'm close with are other people. Brother Da will have to step aside."

He Lianche: "Such a close friend, yet you were not by his side when he died. Some friendship—never heard of one like that through history."

Pei Mingqi retorted: "At least I was with him, alive and dead."

He Lianche let out a short laugh, but it was anything but normal—more like a twisted, furious sneer.

"Then what is he?"

He Lianche pointed at Le Wuya: "What do you take him for? When you look at him, do you think of the other him? Can you tell them apart?"

Pei Mingqi whipped out, hitting He Lianche's arm guard so he'd stop pointing at Le Wuya.

Chin up, he said, "Is it I who cannot tell them apart, or are you projecting and cannot tell them apart yourself?"

"Just a county magistrate—worth your big scheme of using the stone to trick him here. Was it only to steal a hidden look at him?"

Pei Mingqi turned back, tapping his shoulder lightly with his whip: "Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. Too bad, Magistrate Wenren and I are only a few dozen li apart. If I wish to see him, one flick of my whip brings me to his side. How many more shipments of stone can you keep holding up?"

With that, Pei Mingqi asked Le Wuya, "How many left?"

Le Wuya sighed and counted on his fingers: "Not counting this time, four left."

"Listen to me," Pei Mingqi said firmly. "If he uses any other excuse to lure you here, forget the stone! Don't see him even once. I'll get you better materials myself."

Let's see who goes crazy then!

Seeing Le Wuya hesitate, Pei Mingqi lightly tapped the right brim of his official hat with his whip tip, motioning for him to hurry up and speak.

One side was Jing, the other was Dayu.

...Again, he had to choose.

Le Wuya sighed softly and cupped his hands: "Yes, this humble magistrate will follow General Pei's orders."

Behind him, He Lianche said coldly, "How obedient. Why weren't you so meek yesterday?"

Le Wuya turned around and said frankly, "Brother Da, I'm just a little magistrate. I can't afford to piss off big officials."

He Lianche: "Indeed, a little magistrate of Dayu."

He raised his hand and beckoned Le Wuya with just two fingers: "You, come here."

Le Wuya did not move.

"He's a man of Dayu—draws Dayu's salary, uses Dayu's resources. He might be able to buy stone for you somewhere else, but I can have Meng Zha send you every single batch left."

Having briefly laid out the pros and cons, He Lianche repeated, "Come here."

Hearing this, Le Wuya changed sides on the spot and strode across the boundary marker.

Pei Mingqi was too late to stop him, so he just rested his hand on his sword at his waist and stared hard at He Lianche.

He watched He Lianche circle Le Wuya on horseback, once, then twice.

The warm breath from the horse's nostrils brushed Le Wuya's cheeks and ears, tickling him.

Standing in the middle, Le Wuya let He Lianche size him up, waiting to see what he'd do.

Who would've guessed? He Lianche did nothing.

After three circles, he leaned down, pulled out his whip, and flicked Le Wuya's right official hat.

Le Wuya: ?

As the brim of Le Wuya's cap fluttered like butterfly wings in the breeze, He Lianche waved a hand: "Go back."

Le Wuya stared at him with pleading eyes: "Brother Da, what about the stone materials..."

Helian Che no longer looked at him, only glancing at Meng Zha out of the corner of his eye.

Meng Zha gave a violent shudder and said loudly, "I'll handle the negotiations at Ranqiu Mountain!"

Le Wuya bowed to everyone in a circle, beaming with delight: "Thanks, Brother Da! And thanks, Special Envoy Meng!"

Helian Che grunted in acknowledgment, lightly pressed his legs against the horse's belly, and turned his horse to leave.

Meng Zha and the others hurriedly followed.

The spring breeze carried the delicate scent of No-butterfly Flowers all along the way.

After riding slowly for a while, Helian Che took out a piece of white cotton paper from his bosom.

It was the very picture he had drawn the previous night.

In the painting, Le Wuya stood with a bow drawn, one eye shut and the other fixed intently on him.

That eye blazed with a brilliant light, and once you saw it, you couldn't bear to look away.

After Helian Ya was kidnapped, his mother was gentle, his uncle comforted him, and the military doctor took care of him—no one blamed Helian Che, who had nearly lost his own life.

He suspected that he was the only one in this world who secretly hated himself.

Over the years, Helian Che had assiduously practiced painting and drawn countless pictures, imagining what Yaya would have looked like if he had grown up by his side.

He drew one after another, but the person in those paintings was like the moon reflected in water, a flower in a mirror—always fell short of what Helian Che wanted.

This painting before him pleased him the most.

If Yaya had grown up by his side, he would have looked this proud.

Another spring breeze passed, rustling the thin painting paper with a rustle.

After a night, the sour, astringent smell of citrus fruit still lingered on Helian Che's fingertips.

He carefully folded the paper and placed it back against his chest, cherishing it.

……

Le Wuya fixed his gaze on Helian Che's retreating figure until a man rode up and blocked his path.

Pei Mingqi scowled, looking down at him: "Still looking?"

Le Wuya withdrew his distant gaze and, with his hands behind his back, retorted, "General Pei, what brings you here?"

"You ask me?" Pei Mingqi said. "You passed through Qingyuan with ten yamen runners—quite a spectacle. If I hadn't known, I'd be blind and deaf!"

As he spoke, Pei Mingqi added bitterly, "If I hadn't gone out that day to check on the soldiers' land reclamation and only learned last night that you had fled Nanting County, I would have caught you long ago!"

Le Wuya found his words rather unpleasant: "What do you mean, 'I ran away'?"

Pei Mingqi murmured, "...You abandoned me."

Le Wuya didn't catch it: "What?"

"Go back!" Pei Mingqi reverted to his fierce soldier demeanor. "As a county magistrate, you're running around recklessly, disregarding your safety—watch out for someone lodging an impeachment against you!"

Le Wuya, on the contrary, felt this trip was extremely worthwhile, even worth the back pain.

That's five batches of free stone materials!

Le Wuya walked back, pleased as punch: "I already reported to the Prefect."

Pei Mingqi followed behind him: "There are many petty people in officialdom."

Le Wuya said politely, "Thank you for the reminder, General Pei."

Wenren Yue didn't know what they were talking about.

It seemed to be related to the present, yet inseparable from Brother Gu's past.

That was a topic he couldn't join.

Since he couldn't join, he would not join for now.

His virtue was that he never talked too much. He simply took a piece of clothing and made a temporary cushion on Le Wuya's saddle.

Le Wuya took a few steps, then turned back.

He had eaten well last night and had not had breakfast this morning. Now in a great mood with his appetite awakened, he boldly reached out to rummage through Pei Mingqi's ration bag.

Pei Mingqi, still furious from his encounter with Helian Che, saw him touching his belongings without permission and glared: "What are you doing?"

Le Wuya: "Reporting to General Pei, this humble official is hungry."

Pei Mingqi was speechless with anger: "I rushed all the way here without sleep or food, and you're only thinking about your measly meal!"

After saying this, Pei Mingqi himself froze.

Too familiar.

So familiar that the person before him truly seemed like Little Crow himself.

Could it be... that he really succeeded in possessing him?

But then, wouldn't that be unfair to the original Little Magistrate?

Le Wuya had already pulled out a piece of flatbread. At these words, he blinked and broke off half, offering it to him.

Pei Mingqi took it but had no appetite.

With a mix of secret joy and unease, he looked at the little magistrate before him, just as he had once looked at the red sandalwood incense burner he had carefully tended.

After a moment's pause, he snatched the flatbread back from Le Wuya's hand: "Come on, let's go eat at a restaurant."

"General Pei is treating?"

"...Of course I am. Where to?"

Le Wuya suggested: "Let's go to the Welcoming Tower in Tongma. I hear their roast whole lamb is unbeatable."

Pei Mingqi: "..."

It was indeed unbeatable.

The lamb was unbeatable, the flatbread was unbeatable, and the price was unbeatable.

Pei Mingqi was so exasperated by him that he almost laughed: "What are you, a pig? Only eating the fanciest stuff?"

Le Wuya pretended not to understand: "General Pei, would you treat me?"

"I will," Pei Mingqi said, glancing at him. "But I have to ask, if you were treating me, what would you invite me to?"

Le Wuya said without a hint of shame, "My salary is meager, I could treat you to a bowl of plain noodles from a street stall."

Being so blatantly taken advantage of, Pei Mingqi was oddly delighted. The more he looked at him, the more he liked him, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Several of them got on their horses together. Pei Mingqi's guards followed far behind, while the three of them rode ahead.

After riding for a while, Pei Mingqi frowned. "What's that noise coming from you? Jingling and clanging?"

Le Wuya was feeling pretty good when Pei Mingqi's question suddenly caught him off guard.

He'd thought the faint jingling along the way came from the decorations on Pei Mingqi's horse.

Little Phoenix always cared about looking good, so he hadn't paid it much attention at first.

Le Wuya reached behind his waist and indeed felt a bell on his belt.

He pulled it off and held it up in front of his eyes.

...It was a gold-inlaid-jade bell.

Le Wuya's eyelashes fluttered.

He must have seen how much I wanted it last night.

When did he slip this bell into my belt?

Le Wuya frowned, thinking how Helian Che had called him back to the far side of the boundary stone and circled him on his horse.

He'd followed him all the way just to give him a bell, without saying a word? And to give him the bell, he'd even given up payment for five loads of stone?

Pei Mingqi saw him staring blankly at the bell. Just one look told him that little thing was fancy and probably cost a fortune.

He pretended to be casual and sneered, "I thought it was some treasure you couldn't bear to part with. If you like it, I'll get you one as big as a washbasin, hang it by your bed, and you can bang on it like a gong every morning."

Le Wuya ignored his sour comments, raised the gold-inlaid-jade bell before his eyes, and gently shook it.

Jingling, jingling.

Le Wuya thought, Helian Che, like Little Phoenix, regarded this self called "Wen Renyue" as a substitute for Le Wuya.

But in his previous life, had Helian Che ever been this good to him?

He didn't remember.

Only dim, damp, resentful eyes staring at him from the darkness, never knowing what he was thinking.

...

Seeing that Le Wuya didn't respond, Pei Mingqi felt angry and fell silent as well.

He touched his chest, where another matter lay hidden.

Two days ago, he had received a letter from his mother in the capital, asking about his and his father's health, and also inquiring about how his half-brother Pei Shaoji was performing in the military.

The mention of his mother made Pei Mingqi uncontrollably recall the past again.

...

Unlike the explosive temper passed down from father to son in the Pei family, the matriarch Cheng Yilan was a delicate and gentle person.

So much so that no matter how wildly the father and son might curse and rage outside, as soon as they were before Lady Cheng, they would automatically lower their voices by an octave.

When eight-year-old Pei Mingqi had an argument with Le Wuya, he stormed home and publicly declared that he would never play with Le Wuya again.

Lady Cheng put down her needlework and solemnly told him to be kinder to Little Crow.

Pei Mingqi fumed, "Why?"

"Back then, when I had just conceived you, His Majesty, knowing the bitter cold of the borderlands and taking pity on my frail health, graciously ordered me to be brought back to the capital from your father's side to recuperate," Lady Cheng said calmly. "...It was I who brought Wuya back from the border."

"He always cried and cried. I don't know where he got so many sorrowful things."

"I thought, he must be scared, having left his parents."

"I took his hand and placed it on my belly, saying, 'This will be a little sister in the future. I'll promise her to you as your wife. Think about the future, and don't cry, okay?'"

"Unexpectedly, as he felt it, he really stopped crying."

Pei Mingqi was horrified, his ears turning red, and he jumped up, "You haven't told anyone else, have you?"

Lady Cheng smiled and shook her head. Only then did Pei Mingqi heave a sigh of relief and mumble as he sauntered out the door.

In the afternoon, Le Wuya grabbed the ivy on the Pei family wall, climbed over, and pitifully hung on the wall looking at him.

Pei Mingqi had already calmed down during lunch. Seeing him come looking for him, he immediately reconciled with Le Wuya, who had sworn never to see him again.

Many years later, the two grew up.

When it was time to part ways, Le Wuya once again caught up with Pei Mingqi and insisted on going to the military with him.

Back then they had come together from the border to the capital, grown up together, and now they were going back to the border together.

What a wonderful fate.

On the way to the border, Pei Mingqi recalled the story his mother had told him when he was young. Without the inexplicable shyness of childhood, he followed behind Le Wuya and said lazily, "Hey, Little Crow, you know, when we were little, you came back with my mother."

The roadside was full of brilliant red wild roses. Le Wuya liked the look of them, so he jumped off his horse to pick some.

When Pei Mingqi asked, he was bent over, looking for the biggest and reddest flower in the thicket.

He replied, "I know. Mother told me."

"She arranged a baby betrothal for us," Pei Mingqi said, feigning nonchalance. "Did you know that?"

Le Wuya kept busy with what he was doing, ignoring Pei Mingqi.

Pei Mingqi lowered his head, slightly disappointed.

But in a moment, Le Wuya appeared beside his horse, holding a brilliant rose crosswise in his mouth: "Miss Pei, when will you marry me?"

Pei Mingqi was startled: "It's pricking your mouth! Spit it out, quick!"

Seeing how unromantic he was, Le Wuya gave him a scornful look, broke off a small piece of the rose, pinned it to his own lapel, and went to look for even bigger and better ones.

Pei Mingqi thought even his eyeroll was beautiful, and he stared blankly at the retreating figure.

Deputy General An sidled up with a woebegone expression: "Master Pei, mind the time. If you delay, General Pei will worry."

Pei Mingqi looked at Le Wuya: "Before sunset, a few more minutes won't hurt."

In any case, he had to set aside time to pluck a flower for Little Crow.

Back then, their good days seemed as if they would never end.

Their biggest worry was only whether Le Wuya, upon arriving at the frontier camp, would get tied up and thrashed by General Le Qianzhang for running away from home, and that was it.