Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 218 Bad News

Yang Huai, who came to deliver the news of the death, was dressed in white mourning clothes. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was deathly pale, almost bloodless.

General Yang had only one daughter and no sons. Among his many nephews and nieces, General Yang favored Yang Huai the most. Yang Huai's martial arts skills were all personally taught by General Yang.

General Yang died tragically on the battlefield, his body never recovered. Such a gruesome end plunged the entire Guangning army into deep sorrow. Yang Huai was especially heartbroken.

Pei Qinghe felt a heavy weight in her heart and whispered words of comfort: "Although General Yang died in battle, he dealt a heavy blow to the rebel army. Tao Wudi was also stabbed and seriously injured."

"The rebel army may soon be forced to retreat."

Tao Wudi was slashed by General Yang before his death, and his injury was serious. The rebel army relied entirely on Tao Wudi's cruel and bloody methods to suppress them, and once Tao Wudi fell, the morale of the army would quickly collapse.

Although these words were heavy and harsh, from a holistic perspective, the Guangning Army had made a great contribution, and General Yang's death was well-deserved.

Yang Huai wiped his eyes heavily with his sleeve and said in a low voice, "General, rest assured, our Guangning Army will not be defeated. A thousand men escaped from the battlefield, and with the soldiers who stayed behind, the Guangning Army still has five thousand men. My uncle is dead, but there are still many members of the Yang family. The morale of the army has not collapsed, and the banner of the Guangning Army has not fallen."

"My uncle instructed me before he passed away that if he died in battle, I would not need to observe mourning and should marry into the Pei family as soon as possible. Please grant my request, General!"

Pei Yan was startled, her eyebrows standing on end.

Pei Qinghe glanced over, and Pei Yan had to swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

“There’s no rush to get married,” Pei Qinghe said gently. “General Yang wrote me a letter, and I understand his intentions. Since the Pei family army has allied with the Guangning army, if the Guangning army is in danger, the Pei family army will never stand idly by.”

"You should focus on observing mourning for General Yang. We can discuss the marriage in a year."

A nephew who is a direct descendant of his father should observe a one-year mourning period for his uncle.

Immersed in grief, Yang Huai truly had no intention of getting married. He only came because of his uncle's instructions. After Pei Qinghe said this, the huge weight on Yang Huai's chest lifted, and he bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, General."

Pei Yan also breathed a long sigh of relief.

That's right, what's the rush to get married? Let's wait another year!

Pei Qinghe winked at Pei Yan. Pei Yan, unusually gentle, said to Yang Huai, "You rarely come here, stay a few days before you go back!"

Yang Huai sighed, "No need, I have to go back immediately. My cousin Yang Hu is still too young, I'm afraid he can't control the whole army by himself."

In terms of bloodline, Yang Huai and Yang Hu were both General Yang's direct nephews, and had served in the army for ten years, holding the highest rank. Now that General Yang is dead, someone needs to take over command of the Guangning Army.

Yang Huai will be marrying into the Pei family army, so he is not suitable to be the commander-in-chief. Yang Hu is the most suitable candidate for the position.

However, there were two senior military officers in the army who were not convinced by Yang Hu.

Pei Qinghe understood and said to Yang Huai, "In that case, you should go back as soon as possible. Pei Yan, go to Guangning Army on my behalf and stay in the military camp for a month."

Pei Qinghe expressed his support for the Yang Huai and Yang Hu brothers, which helped to calm the panicked morale of the Guangning army more quickly.

Pei Yan knew the gravity of the situation and accepted the order with clasped hands.

Pei Qinghe then called Shi Yan to inquire how much grain was still stored in Pei Family Village.

Shi Yan immediately understood, and after checking the accounts on the abacus, he managed to squeeze out 1,000 shi of military rations.

Pei Yan, leading a large contingent of 1,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of military rations, escorted Yang Huai back to Guangning Army. Yang Hu was overjoyed and personally welcomed them with a group of generals. Pei Yan, as the fourth-ranking figure in the Pei family army and Yang Huai's fiancée, had come to support Yang Hu with a large amount of military rations. The dissenting voices that Yang Hu was too young to be a commander quickly subsided.

Yang Huai was filled with gratitude and said to Pei Yan privately, "Thank you for coming this time."

Pei Yan spoke frankly: "Why are you thanking me? I only came because my cousin Qinghe asked me to. If you want to thank someone, you should thank her."

He still had that same carefree demeanor, dark skin, tall, strong, and fierce appearance, and his words were blunt and piercing.

Yang Huai was both amused and exasperated, yet a touch of tenderness welled up within him. He reached out and grasped Pei Yan's hand, which was anything but soft: "General Pei only offered our help because of you. Of course, I must thank you."

Pei Yan, completely oblivious to romance, pulled her hand back and glared at her, warning, "We're not married yet, so you're not allowed to touch me."

Yang Huai: "..."

People grow at an astonishing rate when they are in adversity.

During this period, Yang Hu quickly became more composed. When Pei Zhi came to the Guangning military camp with Pei Yan, Yang Hu actually restrained his previous infatuated behavior, stopped pestering her, and maintained a distant distance.

Pei Zhisong, though slightly curious, muttered a few words to Pei Yan in private.

Pei Yan grinned: "What's so hard to understand? When General Yang was still alive, Yang Hu never thought about the long term. Now that General Yang is dead and Yang Hu has become the commander-in-chief, he can't possibly abandon the Guangning Army to marry into the Pei family. Since there's no possibility of them being husband and wife, they shouldn't keep bothering each other."

Pei Zhi exclaimed in surprise, "You always seem so tough and strong, but it turns out you're not a fool at all."

Pei Yan laughed and spat, "You're the blockhead. You used to dislike Yang Hu so much that you beat him up until he was black and blue. Now that he's keeping his distance, you're not happy about it."

Among the young women of the Pei family, many were exceptionally beautiful. Pei Qinghe was handsome and spirited, Pei Yun was beautiful, and Pei Xuan was sweet and delicate. Pei Zhi had almond-shaped eyes and peach-blossom cheeks, and was charming and lively, making her particularly eye-catching. There were quite a few men in the Pei family army who admired Pei Zhi.

Pei Zhi was used to being fawned over by everyone, and she felt a little uncomfortable when Yang Hu suddenly distanced himself from her.

Pei Zhi, her thoughts exposed, was somewhat embarrassed and glared at Pei Yan. Pei Yan then dragged her to the training ground for a "sparring session."

Pei Yan possessed immense strength, and her punches and kicks were fierce and ruthless. Pei Zhi was overwhelmed and quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

Yang Hu watched from afar and sent someone to fetch Yang Huai to come to the rescue.

When Yang Huai arrived, he said irritably, "If you want to be a hero and save the damsel in distress, go do it yourself. Why did you call me here?"

Yang Hu's eyes darkened: "Pei Zhi is a good girl. I can't be a live-in son-in-law, and I shouldn't keep bothering her."

Before Yang Huai could say anything, Yang Hu turned and left.

His silhouette looked somewhat lonely and rather pitiful.

Yang Huai couldn't help but sigh. He turned around and saw Pei Zhi being beaten and staggering backward. Pei Yan was like a tiger, showing no mercy whatsoever!
Yang Huai reluctantly told the two to stop.

Pei Yan, having been repeatedly instructed by Pei Qinghe, finally remembered to save face for her fiancé in front of others and quickly stopped: "Since your future brother-in-law has spoken, this is the end of today."

Pei Zhi wiped the sweat from her forehead in a flustered manner and said mischievously, "Thank you, brother-in-law."

Pei Yan, thick-skinned and unconcerned, was completely embarrassed, but Yang Huai blushed deeply.

(End of this chapter)