Yuan Zheng enjoys provoking Cen Yelan over and over again, and Fang Jing worries again and again that one day they will really be thrown out of Hanzhou City by Cen Yelan to feed the scimitars of the Hu people.
“Don’t worry, he won’t.” Yuan Zheng took a carving knife and carved the wood. He was always exceptionally skilled at things that others believed were outside his area of expertise. The young man had slender fingers, and the delicate carving knife seemed to come alive in his hands. He lowered his head and blew away the debris and dust and said leisurely, “The Cen family has loyalty engraved in their bones, and Cen Yelan—” He smiled, “Is no exception.”
Fang Jing muttered, “But his original surname was not Cen.”
Yuan Zheng said, “My uncle said that the people raised by General Cen Xi are trustworthy.”
“The Cen family has been loyal to Dayan for generations. The hundreds of heroes in the ancestral hall have shed their blood for Dayan. They are Dayan’s most solid iron walls. Cen Yelan was originally picked up by General Cen Xi. He will not ruin the reputation of the Cen family.”
Fang Jing looked at Yuan Zheng’s determined expression, was silent for a while, and said hesitantly, “Ah Zheng, then we are like this… is this really fine?”
Yuan Zheng raised his eyebrows and said as a matter of course, “I am the lord, and he is the minister, what’s there not fine?”
He played with the small wooden plaque made of the finest agarwood in his hand. A few days ago, a wealthy family in Hanzhou City got a gyrfalcon. After it had survived and its wildness had been worn out, it was imprisoned in a cage and sent to Yuan Zheng. Yuan Zheng couldn’t let it go, played with it for a few days, and even gave it a name—General Xiao Cen.
“Besides, this border is too boring.” Yuan Zheng held a wooden sign between his fingers and showed it to Fang Jing. On it were the four characters ‘General Xiao Cen’ written in a flamboyant style, and there is even a sculpture of a person reining on the horse. “Only Cen Yelan is a little interesting.”
Fang Jing moved closer and poked the little person1It refers to the person he carved on the wooden plaque btw, “Is this… General Cen?”
Yuan Zheng smiled and said nothing. He strung the wooden signs together with a red rope, caught the gyrfalcon, and tied it around the bird’s neck.
“Let’s go out for a walk.”
Yuan Zheng went to the training ground, which was a large area where soldiers were being trained.
Cen Yelan was still wearing a black uniform today, and Yuan Zheng saw him at a glance. He was fighting with a newly recruited soldier, and there was a lot of cheering from the audience. The newly recruited soldier was quite skilled, and it could be seen that he was a skilled fighter. Cen Yelan was still at ease, with a straight and graceful posture, very pleasing to the eye.
Finally, the new recruit got mad and attacked more and more brutally, and the atmosphere below became more and more heated.
Cen Yelan took his punch head-on, grabbed the man’s wrist, and knocked him down. He tried to get up several times but failed.
It was Cen Yelan who stretched out his hand again. The new recruit was beaten into submission. He grabbed Cen Yelan’s hand, stood up, clasped his fists towards him, and said something.
Yuan Zheng actually saw a faint smile on Cen Yelan’s face, which was very eye-catching. He was stunned for a moment, and somehow, he felt a little unhappy.
Cen Yelan looked over, and the smile on his face disappeared in an instant, making Yuan Zheng laugh out of anger. He walked over slowly, with an eagle perched on his shoulder, looking very noble.
“I also want to learn a few moves from General Cen.”
Cen Yelan said, “Your Highness, the competition is blind.”
Yuan Zheng sighed, “Could it be that General Cen is unwilling to show his favor?”
The two looked at each other, and seeing the annoyance in Cen Yelan’s eyes, he was inexplicably unhappy. “Or are you afraid of losing to me?”
The new recruit next to him shouted, “Our general is invincible, how could he lose!”
Seeing that Yuan Zheng was clearly looking for trouble and would not give up until he achieved his goal, so Cen Yelan calmly said, “I can’t refuse Your Highness’s kindness. Please.”
Yuan Zheng smiled, “Please.”
He moved the wooden sign on the gyrfalcon’s neck and said, “General Xiao Cen, play aside obediently.”
Cen Yelan saw the words on the wooden sign, then looked at the gyrfalcon, his face was indifferent, and he fought without mercy. The two had no weapons in their hands. As soon as they fought, Yuan Zheng used rogue tactics, clinging and was difficult to deal with. In public, he fought fiercely, but he laughed shamelessly and whispered, “Isn’t my new pet so arrogant? It’s called General Xiao Cen.”
The sound was too close, and only the two of them could hear it. Cen Yelan had a blank expression on his face. “It has nothing to do with me.”
They have always been evenly matched in terms of martial arts skills. Suddenly, Yuan Zheng used a sneaky move to press down on Cen Yelan, and their bodies collided. On the autumn day, once they fought, they would be sweating profusely, their heartbeats would be unstable, and their breathing would be slightly rapid.
Yuan Zheng said, “Do you know why it’s called General Xiao Cen?”
The heat brushed against his face, and one leg was still pressed between Cen Yelan’s legs. His expression shifted, and the people below were still shouting, “General” and “Your Highness”, one after another.
“Get lost!” Cen Yelan gnashed his teeth.
However, Yuan Zheng pressed forward, and the two quickly reversed places, trading a few kicks and punches. Yuan Zheng said, “Don’t you think this gyrfalcon is a lot like General Cen?”
Suddenly, he felt a pain in his chest, and he couldn’t avoid it. Before Yuan Zheng could move, Cen Yelan knocked him down and pressed his knees against his chest hard. Cen Yelan looked down at Yuan Zheng from above, frowning, with a bit of triumphant pride.
Cen Yelan said, “You lost.”
Yuan Zheng was thick-skinned and smiled: “General Cen is very skilled.”
The two looked at each other and as they using force. The sun was hanging in the sky. Cen Yelan’s face was red, and his pursed lips were also red. Sweat slid down his temples and dripped onto Yuan Zheng’s lips.
Yuan Zheng looked at his face, his eyes fell on his neck. The black clothes, which locked his neck meticulously, gave him a sense of abstinence and inexplicable charm.
As if possessed by a ghost, Yuan Zheng licked the sweat from his lips. Cen Yelan opened his eyes slightly, turned his face away in disgust, stood up, and walked away.
Fang Jing quickly went over to help Yuan Zheng up, saying, “Ah Zheng, you’re not hurt, right? Why do you want to fight with General Cen? Isn’t this asking for trouble…”
“Ah Jing.” Yuan Zheng said, looking at Cen Yelan’s back, “Have you noticed that Cen Yelan is quite good-looking?”
Fang Jing: “……”
“Have you been beaten silly, or have you not seen beauty for too long?”
Yuan Zheng glanced at him and said nothing.
It should be beaten silly 🤪