Chapter 14: Chang Kuo

   

 **Chapter 14: Chang Kuo**  

Recently, in the tea houses of Hezhou, the name of General Cui, who just led Xuanzhe army to victory, has frequently reached Chang Suining’s ears. Among the rumors, there were descriptions of his appearance, but the word “rumor” has always been extreme—  

In the mouths of different people, General Cui was sometimes described as handsome as a celestial being, and other times as ridiculously ugly.

      

At this moment, a particularly tall figure had half of his face shrouded in the dim twilight, making it difficult to clearly see his features. One could only vaguely discern his sharp outline, with a high nose and stubble on his face, exuding a fierce and intimidating aura from years of battle.

Looking at the stubble on that face… Chang Suining felt inexplicably satisfied.

When she thought of the young disciples of the Cui family from Qinghe, the image that came to her mind was that of elegant scholars in wide sleeves and long robes, with delicate ink-capped hairpins. However, she had heard that Cui Jing was merely a twenty-two-year-old young man. The idea of someone like him commanding the Xuanzhe army felt rather unreliable to her.

Fortunately, this person seemed to inspire some confidence.

Yet the Cui family's inherent lofty demeanor still made him keep his distance. He showed no intention of dismounting, merely glancing at the chaotic prisoner cart and saying, “Vice Minister Wei has been negligent.”

His voice was indifferent, revealing no sign of anger or joy.

“It’s just a false alarm.” Wei Shuyi smiled and said, “Knowing this journey wouldn’t be peaceful, and upon learning that General Cui would pass through this area, I felt at ease. So, I decided to take a break here, looking for an opportunity to leverage General Cui’s strength for a lasting solution—”

Chang Suining silently regarded the speaker.

To speak so openly and calmly about his calculations, he was indeed honest.

The man on the horse was even more straightforward—

“If I had known this, I would have taken another route,” Cui Jing replied coldly.

Chang Suining: “?”

Is this the old friend Wei Shuyi spoke of?  

Wei Shuyi, accustomed to this, was unbothered and smiled, “In any case, I still must thank General Cui.”

Over there, several members of the Xuanzhe army were escorting a few surviving captives. At Cui Jing’s signal, they tossed them to Wei Shuyi’s men.

The word “toss” was very realistic—primarily reflected in the unsightly expressions of the leaders on both sides.

Wei Shuyi’s side consisted of Chang Ji.

On the Xuanzhe army’s side was a young man who looked about the same age as Chang Ji.

As the young man tossed the captives to Chang Ji, his demeanor was quite arrogant.

Chang Ji glared, puffing out his chest, as if he were about to charge at the other party.

If chests could talk, they would have exchanged insults for at least a hundred rounds.

“The general has handled everything,” the young officer said as he approached Cui Jing’s horse, speaking formally.

Cui Jing responded with a grunt, grasping the reins and preparing to leave.

Wei Shuyi raised his hand in salute, “Upon reaching the capital, I shall host a banquet to express my gratitude.”

“No time,” Cui Jing said, turning his horse away.

The young officer followed suit and, before leaving, even raised his chin condescendingly at Chang Ji.

Watching them ride away, Chang Ji gritted his teeth, “...My lord, did you see how that Cui Yuanzhang acted like a bully? He thinks he’s so impressive just because he won a battle!”

Wei Shuyi corrected him, “Winning a battle indeed deserves recognition.”

“But he—”

Looking toward Chang Suining, who was heading toward the official road where the Xuanzhe army was moving, Wei Shuyi casually followed, “When we enter the city and reach the relay station later, we will inevitably meet again. You can secretly seek him out for a fight, and I’ll pretend not to know.”

As the army returned to the journey, Cui Jing, as the main general, led the way ahead. The troops assisting Wei Shuyi in eliminating those assassins were precisely the vanguard forces following Cui Jing.

Hearing that Old Chang was the deputy commander, he should have been among the vanguard as well, so why didn’t she see him?  

Chang Suining searched for Chang Kuo among the vanguard troops for a long time, confirming that he wasn’t there, then shifted her gaze to the central army.

The army marched forward, and suddenly the vanguard stopped. Someone in the central army then asked, “What stopped the way just now?”

The questioner was lying in a carriage and had just woken up, yawning as he raised the curtain of the carriage.

A soldier following the carriage replied, “A high-ranking official was attacked during the journey. General Cui stepped in to help, and everything has been resolved. General Chang can rest assured and focus on recovering from injuries.”

“Oh, which unfortunate high-ranking official is it?” Chang Kuo asked casually. “Any casualties?”

No wonder he was so chatty; it was indeed too dull on this journey. That young man from the Cui family wouldn’t let him ride and only made him rest in the carriage, nearly suffocating him!  

While the soldier was answering, another soldier approached, saluted, and reported, “General Chang, Vice Minister Wei requests to see you, saying there is an urgent matter.”

“Vice Minister Wei… the son of the marquis of Zheng?” Chang Kuo asked, puzzled. “What does he want with me?”

Saying this, he didn’t delay and got off the carriage.

The Xuanzhe army rarely approached or offended anyone, so Chang Suining stood ten steps away, watching the figure stepping down from the carriage. For a moment, she felt dazed.

She knew she hadn’t seen Old Chang in fifteen years.

But now that she actually saw him, she couldn’t help but feel disoriented—how had Old Chang aged so much?

It made sense. Old Chang was already much older than her, a generation above her, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed. By calculation, he was already over fifty this year.

Looking at the figure walking toward her, she noticed that even his hair had turned quite gray. Chang Suining clenched her fists tightly, her nose feeling sore and difficult to bear.

Once, in her eyes, Old Chang was immensely strong, brave, and unmatched; he had never fallen ill in daily life. Not to mention the common cold; even if smallpox accidentally entered his body, he would probably withstand three slaps and be left dizzy, crying for his mother and begging for mercy, fleeing in panic, forever leaving a shadow of fear behind—

But now...

Time spared no one; Chang Kuo had become Old Chang.

Wei Shuyi was somewhat surprised as he looked at the girl beside him, who had reddened her eyes.

This was the first time he had seen Lady Chang display such a vulnerable side—  

After all, they were family.

Only when seeing family would one feel wronged and dare to feel wronged.

But was Lady Chang’s family— 

“Young Master Wei,” Chang Kuo approached, cupping his hands in greeting.

“General Chang—” Wei Shuyi raised his hand in return and glanced at Chang Suining.

Chang Kuo followed his gaze and glanced, showing no particular expression.

Wei Shuyi: “?”

Chang Suining: “?”

Chang Kuo: “?”

What does this mean?  

He was both sensitive and oblivious, sensing the focus of Wei Shuyi’s inquiry but then glanced at Chang Suining again, using an expression that read ‘I have an impression, but not much’ to ask, “Who is this young lad?”

“…” Chang Suining felt numb.

Wei Shuyi: “...Isn’t this the young lady from your esteemed house, Young Miss Chang?”

Chang Kuo’s eyes widened in surprise as he took two steps forward, seriously discerning her features. He exclaimed, “Xiao... Xiao Suining?!”

Chang Suining nodded numbly.

“It’s been two years since we last met... You’ve grown taller! You’ve become a big... big girl!” Chang Kuo was astonished but still lowered his voice, “But... Xiao Suining, why are you here? Dressed like this?”

And how could she be with the unrelated Young Master Wei?  

Seeing that he was still unaware of Chang Suining’s earlier disappearance, Wei Shuyi said, “This is a long story. Since General Chang is also entering the city, how about we discuss it on the way?”

Chang Kuo readily agreed.

Since the horse-drawn carriage that Chang Suining and Wei Shuyi had previously occupied had been damaged in the recent skirmish, the group boarded Chang Kuo’s carriage now.

Looking at the girl sitting across from him, Chang Kuo had countless questions!  

**(End of Chapter)**

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