ATNCF: Chapter 136 Memories (Part Two)

 At the gates of Chang'an, Pei Yan dismounted alongside his father, bidding farewell to several uncles and younger cousins who had come to see them off.

"Good lad, when you face those hundred or so Hu enemies on the battlefield, be sure to cut off their heads, to boost the morale of our Pei family! These past two years, with the court not engaging in warfare, they've grown arrogant, thinking our Pei family is finished! These years of preparation haven't been in vain!" One elder patted Pei Yan's shoulder lightly, his tone filled with trust and expectation.

Pei Yan lowered his brows and bowed respectfully, promising, "Uncle, rest assured, your nephew will restore the glory of our Hedong Army!"

"Excellent! Truly worthy of being the eldest brother!" Several younger cousins, still in their youth, exclaimed in admiration, their gazes towards him tinged with admiration and envy.

That day, the incident where he publicly pleaded for war when accompanying his father to meet the emperor was already widely known.

He was still only a sixth-ranked Captain, and although he had achieved considerable success compared to many aristocratic scions who held only nominal positions, if it weren't for his father's position as a military governor, he probably wouldn't even have had the chance to meet the emperor, let alone plead for war face to face.

He still remembered the strange looks from those around him at that time, even from the emperor sitting on the high seat. They clearly didn't believe him or his father's words.

If he hadn't mentioned that there was no need for the court to further recruit soldiers or allocate provisions, that relying on the Hedong garrison and the provisions accumulated from recent years of military farming would suffice, His Majesty probably wouldn't have agreed to send troops at all.

"Alright, it's getting late, you all should go back. No need to see us off." Pei Shao glanced at the sky, waved to his younger brothers, and led his son back onto their horses.

Not far away, hundreds of attendants from the military also mounted their horses, ready to depart at any moment.

The Pei family members stepped back to the side of the road, bidding farewell to the father and son.

Pei Yan glanced back at the tall city gate, then spurred his horse and followed his father away at a trot.

However, before they had gone far, a group of people suddenly rushed out from inside the city gate. The one at the front, guarded by her entourage, was a young girl of sixteen or seventeen, dressed in bright riding attire, sitting tall and steady on her horse—it was Princess Shouchang, Li Hua Zhuang.

"Halt!" She held the reins with one hand and waved the other towards the departing father and son.

Pei Yan instinctively turned around and met her approaching flushed face.

"Captain Pei!" She caught up on her fast horse, slowing down when she was about ten yards away from the father and son.

"Your Highness." Pei Shao stopped and bowed with his son, his expression clearly showing his confusion, wondering why this illustrious princess had come at this time.

" I finally caught up! General Pei, may I have a few words with your son?" She looked straightforward and composed, sitting on her horse with the typical boldness and vigor of a Great Wei woman.

Pei Shao raised an eyebrow, glanced at his son who remained expressionless, then slowly turned his horse's head to leave first, saying, "You catch up later."

On the spacious road, only the young man and woman remained.

"I wonder what the princess wants to say to me?" Pei Yan remained impassive, not looking at her, his tone flat as he kept his eyes on her horse, devoid of any fluctuation.

Hua Zhuang had impulsively come to ask him about the meaning of his words that day before he left, but seeing his calm demeanor now, she suddenly felt discouraged.

Perhaps she had been overthinking.

She tightened the reins, suppressing the words on the tip of her tongue, and turned her gaze away, saying, "It's nothing, just wanted to wish you victory and the ability to sweep through the enemy ranks when the time comes."

Pei Yan, who was only a few steps away from her, had already quietly raised his head, silently appraising the princess who was now so close, but he didn't respond.

Feeling ignored, Hua Zhuang grew somewhat disinterested, her expression gradually turning cold. She pulled on the reins, ready to leave. "Alright, I've said my piece. You—"

"Does Your Highness's words spoken in the Furong Garden hold weight?" Pei Yan suddenly interrupted her.

"What words?" Hua Zhuang was puzzled, not immediately realizing what he was referring to.

"Your Highness said that as long as someone could repel the Turks, regardless of their demands, as long as you could fulfill them, you wouldn't refuse. Does that count?" Pei Yan explained carefully, rare for him, helping her recall the events of that day.

"Of course," Hua Zhuang replied without hesitation, but inside, a feeling of embarrassment slowly crept in, and the earlier conjecture that had been shattered began to resurface. "You—do you have any demands to make?"

A hint of a smile suddenly appeared on Pei Yan's usually expressionless face. "Even before going to war, does Your Highness trust me this much?"

His words made Hua Zhuang even more embarrassed, and she gritted her teeth to ask what was on her mind: "Pei Yan, I ask you, did you plead for war to the Emperor because of me?"

"Yes."

This time, his answer was firm and decisive.

Hua Zhuang's face suddenly flushed, and she stared at him in silence.

"But it's not all because of the princess." Pei Yan's face became serious as he spoke slowly and earnestly, explaining to her,  "For many years, the northern barbarians have been a great threat to our Great Wei. I am a citizen of Great Wei and a member of the Pei family. Naturally, I cannot allow outsiders to bully our Great Wei. Before coming to the capital, my father and I had already devised a plan to deal with this situation. It was a long-planned decision to go to war. The princess need not worry."

Hua Zhuang listened carefully, and her initial shyness slowly disappeared.

Born into the imperial family, she had been adored by everyone since childhood. Now that she was of marriageable age, there was no shortage of young and handsome suitors around her. If he had said all this was solely for her, she probably wouldn't have believed him beyond a moment of touched emotion. But his sincere explanation made her feel reassured, and she couldn't help but believe him.

"That's good, I hope you can truly bring benefits to the people in the border areas." As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on him, filled with undisguised respect and anticipation.

Pei Yan smiled again, this time with a hint of tenderness and confidence. "Remember what you just said, Your Highness." Pausing for a moment, he added, "Your Highness's horsemanship are excellent."

With that, his horse galloped away. Hua Zhuang stood still for a moment, then called out to him, "I'll be waiting for your victory banquet!"

...

"It seems that Father has long understood Mother's temperament and can subtly influence her with his words." Li Zhi propped her chin with one hand, her eyes filled with sly amusement. "But from what I heard, Sanlang’s temperament is ninety percent similar to Father's."

Empress Dowager Li coughed twice, panting slightly to regain her composure, and drank a few sips of warm water handed to her by Li Zhi, nodding with a smile. "Yes, I've always said that, the father and son have exactly the same temperament."

At this moment, Shu Niang came in with freshly brewed medicinal soup.

Empress Dowager Li took it from her hand and, together with the two palace maids, helped Empress Dowager Li sit up a bit, personally feeding her the medicine.

Empress Dowager Li drank it with difficulty, enduring the bitterness, and then took two sips of lotus seed soup before feeling a little better.

"And then?" Li Zhi guessed, seeing her still eager to talk, wanting to continue the conversation from earlier.

Empress Dowager Li nodded at first, then shook her head. "He did win the battle, but as for proposing—let me tell you, it was I who wanted to marry him."

...

In the eighth year of Zhaocheng, the Hedong Army achieved a great victory over the Turks. Among them, the young Captain Pei Yan led eight hundred cavalry deep into the enemy ranks, killing over a thousand people and even fighting head-on with the Khan, severing his right leg, causing him to fall off his horse in public, narrowly escaping death. Now, with the Khan on his last breath, there would be no disturbances from the Turks for several years to come.

In the heart of Chang'an, the Emperor was greatly pleased. Immediately, in the Daming Palace, he hosted a grand victory banquet for the Pei father and son, and on the spot, he promoted Pei Yan by three ranks, elevating him from sixth to fourth rank.

The young noble, once just one among hundreds and thousands of aristocratic youths, had now become the celebrated hero of the masses.

As the wine flowed, the Emperor's face glowed with delight. He raised his cup to Pei Yan and asked, "Pei Qing, today you are the protagonist of this celebration banquet. Is there anything you desire? Speak, and I shall grant it to you!"

Countless eyes once again fell upon Pei Yan, and even Hua Zhuang, seated nearby, couldn't help but hold her breath as she gazed at him.

She hadn't forgotten his words before he left, and now her heart began to beat inexplicably faster.

But Pei Yan merely raised his head to meet the Emperor's gaze, shook his head firmly, and said, "To be loyal to Your Majesty and to protect the people of the realm, these are the duties I owe. I seek nothing else."

Seek nothing else.

Hua Zhuang suddenly felt a void in her heart. She gazed at his figure for a long time, unable to resist rising to her feet as he left his seat, quietly following behind.

Clearly, she wasn't the only one tonight who was keeping a close eye on this young unmarried lord.

She followed along, watching as he politely declined conversation with four or five young ladies who wanted to speak to him. Feeling increasingly stifled, she inadvertently stopped in her tracks, no longer wanting to get any closer.

But as she stopped, the person in front of her seemed to sense something and also stopped.

He slowly sat down on the railing of the corridor, and softly said, "Does Princess have something to say?"

After hesitating for a moment, Hua Zhuang stepped out from the shadows, raised her head proudly, and said, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? You've returned, don't you have anything to say to me?"

She stood before him, her gaze lowered, but she didn't meet his eyes, instead falling on his injured left arm, still wrapped in bandages.

Pei Yan, unusually disregarding the protocol between sovereign and subject, remained seated on the corridor, looking exhausted but with bright, clear eyes.

"Do you think, Princess, that I should have something to say?" he asked, not answering her question but posing another, leaving Hua Zhuang momentarily stunned. "You—you didn't have any requests to make? You clearly said something different before..."

Pei Yan suddenly chuckled, a hint of imperceptible tenderness flashing in his eyes as he looked at her. "My request has already been fulfilled."

"What?" Hua Zhuang stared, "You haven't said yet, what is it?"

Pei Yan lowered his head, his voice low, tinged with a hint of sigh, "My request was to let the princess not be forced by others, to be able to do what she wants. Now, the Khan of the Turks dares not to covet the princess anymore, and the princess's marriage can be decided by herself. My request, naturally, has also been fulfilled."

It was actually this.

For some reason, amidst her astonishment, a trace of sourness welled up in Hua Zhuang's heart.

"Now that this is over, how do you know that something like this won't happen again in the future?"

Pei Yan looked up, gazing into the girl's eyes, and said seriously, "If there's a next time, I'll still do the same as this time, lead the troops and kill, to ensure that the princess doesn't suffer."

Hua Zhuang stared at him blankly, suddenly feeling a flicker of familiarity in the way he looked up at her.

"Have you... seen me before? I mean, before you returned to Chang'an."

Pei Yan fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Who taught the princess’ horsemanship?"

"Naturally, it was taught by my father and brothers." She answered instinctively, then added, "But, the first time I learned to ride a horse was when I was eight years old, following my father to Taiyuan—"

"Y-you... you're the little stable boy who taught me horseback riding at the Taiyuan horse farm?"

Hua Zhuang recalled the old days, her eyes widening with surprise and suspicion as she looked at him.

She remembered that time when her father was still just a prince, occasionally going on official business, taking her and her brothers along. When she was eight years old, she went to Taiyuan with her father.

At that time, she was eager to learn horseback riding, and the attendants took her to the outskirts of the city to the horse farm. She remembered there was a slightly older boy at the horse farm who had a perpetually stoic expression as he taught her to ride.

At that time, her attendants dared not let her ride, but only this boy was willing to personally guide her as she galloped across the grasslands. With numerous attendants by her side and people sent by the locals wherever they went, he never actively revealed his noble status, always mingling with the stable hands and soldiers on the horse farm. She subconsciously regarded him as just another stable boy.

Pei Yan slowly stood up, raised his uninjured arm, gently touched her head, and nodded slowly. "Yes, I was indeed the 'little stable boy' who taught the princess horseback riding."

At that time, he was only being brought along by his father and occasionally practicing with the soldiers in the army. Just because he was still young and hadn't yet shared meals and lodgings with everyone else. Whenever he had free time, he would run to the horse farm to practice his riding and archery skills.

He had always remembered that little girl who had stayed for only a few days.

She was born noble, admired by many, yet she never acted arrogantly. Even though she treated him like an ordinary stable boy, she was always kind and respectful to him. She even made her attendants apologize to him when they bumped into him.

He still remembered what she said.

"At that time, the princess said, 'I am a royal princess and I must care for the people of the world. He is also a subject of my grandfather and needs to be cared for, not bullied.'" Pei Yan's eyes sparkled with determination. "Now that the princess has become a princess, I will be the sword in her hand, cutting through the thorns on her path. The princess need not worry about anything else. As for matters of marriage, just follow your heart."

With that, he took a step back, bowed politely to Hua Zhuang, and turned to leave.

"Pei Yan!" Suddenly, Hua Zhuang called out to him, her cheeks slowly flushing red. Summoning her courage, she asked, "Don't you want to marry me?"

Pei Yan's eyes flickered, nodding at first, then shaking his head. "I am destined to stay in the military, to guard the borders, and the princess should not suffer such hardships."

"You never asked me, how do you know if I'm willing to endure hardships?" Hua Zhuang felt a mix of emotions, unsure if she felt disappointed, happy, or resentful. All she knew was that she had to say what was on her mind. "You told me to follow my heart, and my heart's desire is that I'm not afraid of hardship!"

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