“General, since Yan Le has run out of food and supplies, why don’t we just charge out of the city?”
Inside the mansion in Beicang Pass, two red plum trees in the pavilion were in full bloom, with strong branches and a few red stamens blooming in the cold, with gorgeous colors. Cen Yi looked at the flower with his hands behind his back and said, “Ah Lan has his own ideas, you and I can just follow his orders.”
Guo Rong looked indignant. “You are the commander of this Beicang Pass.”
Cen Yi glanced at him. He was a gentleman, but this glance contained a warning that was intimidating without anger. Guo Rong fell silent and stopped talking immediately.
Cen Yi said, “Don’t say such things again.”
“Since my little uncle has handed over the Jingbei Commandery to Ah Lan, Ah Lan is the commander of the sixteen cities in the northern border, and the same is true for Beicang Pass.”
Guo Rong said, “Yes, the lower general made a mistake.”
Guo Rong is a veteran who has fought with Cen Yi’s father, Cen Dan, for many years and is loyal to the Cen family. Cen Yi grew up under his care, and although he respects Cen Xi, he is dissatisfied with him handing over the Jingbei Commandery to Cen Yelan.
In his opinion, Cen Yelan is an outsider after all.
After a while, Guo Rong said again, “The Hu people are rampant this time, and many brothers are holding a grudge in their hearts, waiting for a good fight to avenge their previous humiliation. Now the General is hiding and not moving, only defending and not attacking. If Yan Le survives these two days, won’t we have missed the chance to fight?”
“If we delay any further, I’m afraid the morale of the soldiers will be broken.”
Cen Yi was unmoved and said, “Yan Le is our Dayan’s sworn enemy. Ah Lan has his reasons for being cautious. You should calm the soldiers down and avoid any chaos.”
Cen Yi had said so, Guo Rong had no choice but to obey. He cupped his hands and said, “Yes, General.”
Cen Yi raised his hand to support him. He smiled slightly and said softly, “Uncle Guo, thank you for your hard work.”
Guo Rong felt warm in his heart, looked at Cen Yi, sighed, and said, “What’s my hard work? This is what I should do.”
“Ah Yi, you are too uncompetitive. You are obviously a member of the Cen family.”
Cen Yi said nothing.
Guo Rong said, “Your father died in battle early, and you were raised by us old men. In our hearts, only you are worthy of being in charge of Jingbei Commandery.”
Cen Yi said, “Uncle Guo, Ah Lan is also a member of the Cen family. He was personally taught by my little uncle. I feel relieved to have him as the commander. Besides, we are all guarding the north, so it doesn’t matter who holds the Jingbei Commandery.”
Guo Rong glared at him and shook his head, saying, “You ah—if you don’t think about yourself, at least think about Mo’er.”
Cen Yi’s expression shifted slightly, and he just called “Uncle Guo”.
Guo Rong sighed, “It’s been three years since Mo’er’s mother passed away. A few days ago we were talking about finding you another one. Don’t be so quick to say no—after the battle, we will ask the matchmaker to find one for you no matter what.”
Cen Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and said, “…This is good.”
Guo Rong was satisfied and said, “If this were in the capital, with your status, you would also be worthy of marrying a royal lady. However, we have been staying on the northern border for many years. The girls in the capital are all delicate and can’t endure hardships. We don’t care, we also can’t be as reckless as we were the last time and allow an orphan girl of unknown origin to join the Cen family. She doesn’t even like to see people and wears a veil every day, as if she can’t face people.”
“I heard that the Si family has a girl who is skilled in archery and horse riding and is also very beautiful. She is the pearl of Hedong.” Guo Rong said, “You can take a look at her and see if you like her or not. If you do, I, an old man, will go and talk about it for you in person.”
Cen Yi rubbed his brows and sighed, “Uncle Guo, she is only fifteen.”
Guo Rong didn’t care, “What’s wrong with fifteen? It’s the right age to get married. It’s just right for you.”
“What married?” A voice interrupted, it was Cen Yelan: “Brother, Guo Lao1Lao means old, in modern it could be translated as Mr. Guo..”
Cen Yi coughed lightly and said, “It’s nothing.”
The enthusiasm on Guo Rong’s face faded a little silently, and he bowed and said, “Greetings, General.”
“I’m talking to the General about marriage.”
Cen Yelan raised his eyebrows and said, “Oh? Which lady does Big Brother like?”
Before Cen Yi spoke, Guo Rong said, “We are talking about the fourth daughter of the Si family.”
“Miss Si is a general’s daughter.” Cen Yelan smiled, “If Big Brother likes her, it’s not bad either.”
Cen Yi said with a headache, “Ah Lan, Uncle Guo is talking nonsense, why are you also meddling in it?”
Guo Rong said, “I’m not talking nonsense—”
Cen Yi interrupted him, “Uncle Guo, don’t you have something else to do?”
Guo Rong shut up and said, “Yes, then the lower general will leave first.”
In a blink of an eye, only the two brothers were left in the yard. Cen Yelan said, “It was my negligence. If Big Brother is really interested in Miss Si, I will go and speak for Big Brother.”
Cen Yi said, “What do you mean? I have never met her, so don’t say anything more. Be careful not to ruin her reputation.”
Cen Yelan smiled and said, “Big Brother, I’m not kidding.”
Cen Yi laughed angrily: “Talk about this, Ah Lan, when I was your age, I almost had Mo’er already.”
Cen Yelan was speechless.
Cen also said, “Ah Lan, don’t be so hard on yourself. If you are in harmony, you should seize the opportunity if you meet someone who suits your heart and soul.”
Cen Yelan was stunned for a moment. Somehow, he thought of Yuan Zheng, and his expression suddenly became strange. Yuan Zheng, this assh*le, only made him angry. How could he be in harmony with him? It’s really crazy.
Cen Yi was very perceptive and noticed Cen Yelan’s strangeness. He asked in confusion, “Ah Lan?”
He smiled and said, “Why do you look like that? Could it be that… you have a girl you like already?”
Cen Yelan said without even thinking, “No.”
“Big Brother.” Cen Yelan calmed down and said, “I have no intention of starting a family until the northern barbarians are annihilated and Adoptive Father’s revenge is avenged.”
“Besides, the generals fought countless life-and-death battles, some of them sacrificed their lives, and I don’t know when I will be buried on the battlefield either, so why should I delay others?”
Cen Yelan said firmly and calmly, and Cen Yi sighed and said, “You ah.”
Cen Yelan changed the subject, looked up at the two plum trees in front of him, and said, “Brother, these are the two trees that Adoptive Father planted back then, right? They have grown this big now already.”
Cen Yi’s eyes fell on the plum blossoms on the branches, and he recalled the time when Cen Xi took him and Cen Yelan to plant plum trees. Cen Xi loved plum trees, and that year, he got two red plum seedlings, and in the beginning of spring, he ordered the two youths to dig a hole in the soil.
In early spring, the soil in the north is hard and mostly sandy and needs to be replaced with soft soil that is convenient for seedlings to grow. The two youths rolled up their trouser legs, wearing coarse linen clothes, carrying hoes, and digging the soil, each digging a hole.
Cen Xi sat aside, sipping warm wine and reading documents, glancing at them from time to time, sometimes urging Cen Yi, sometimes complaining that Cen Yelan had dug up so much dirt that it flew into his fruits, making the two youths covered in dust.
Finally, Cen Xi carefully planted the plum trees, looked at the two young trees, hugged one with each hand, and said, “You guys are like these two plum trees. When the plum trees grow up, you guys will grow up too.”
Cen Yi said, “Little Uncle, when we grow up, we can accompany you to the battlefield.”
Cen Xi smiled and said, “That won’t work. You guys can even go to the battlefield now, so Little Uncle will be able to rest.”
He raised his hand to wipe the two’s cheeks clean, looked at the plum tree, and said to himself, “I wonder when these trees will bloom.”
Cen Yi said softly, “Yes, Little Uncle has never seen them bloom.”
In the third year, Cen Xi was seriously injured and died before he could see the flowers bloom.
Cen Yelan was silent for a moment, then said, “After the battle, let’s pick some flowers and show them to Adoptive Father.”
Cen Yi turned his head to look at Cen Yelan, who was looking at him. Cen Yi smiled lightly and said, “Alright.”
