BLHO Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Get Lost, Quickly

Chapter 2: Get Lost, Quickly

This question doesn’t need an answer. Heaven knows, Earth knows, he knows, and Lin Shuangxu knows.

On the night of his seventeenth birthday, who was it that got drunk and lost all restraint, pulling the young general onto the heart of the lake pleasure boat? In that quiet, deserted place, who was it that disregarded everything and kissed him?

Who was it that grabbed his collar, forcing him to answer if he was the best person in the world to him?

At that time, He Yuncheng was still green and untamed. Facing the person he had respected since childhood, he really didn’t know how to respond.

And the wine that night was too strong, turning the usually aloof person unreasonable. Not getting a response from He Yuncheng, Lin Shuangxu became furious, relentless, making such a ruckus that the boat almost capsized in the lake.

It wasn’t until later, when He Yuncheng swore under the starry sky that for this life and all lives to come, Lin Shuangxu was the only person he treasured in his heart, that he finally quieted down.

He Yuncheng truly wanted to fulfill that promise.

But a short night passed, and upon waking up the next day, the events of the previous night were completely disregarded.

Lin Shuangxu’s attitude was cold, as if everything had been an illusion, as if nothing had happened at all.

Seeing him like this, He Yuncheng was in a daze.

Was he misremembering something? Who exactly was drunk?

Lin Shuangxu, you are playing tricks on people like this.

His wandering thoughts returned to the present. The fireplace in the room was burning, the crackling sounds bringing a sense of peace.

Who provoked whom first? Faced with He Yuncheng’s questioning, Lin Shuangxu couldn’t answer, only remain silent.

There really wasn’t a need to be so serious. They had been living peacefully for so many years. He Yuncheng didn’t plan to demand any explanation from him.

Walking to the warm stove, He Yuncheng stretched out his stiff hands, leisurely warming them, and said to Lin Shuangxu, “Alright, it’s my fault. I have a loose tongue, I shouldn’t have said it. If *shaozhu* isn’t satisfied with the punishment, I’ll continue kneeling outside for you. Don’t be angry.”

Lin Shuangxu remained silent for a long time, then spoke again, not letting himself be led astray from the main point, and said to him, “Your marriage, the teacher repeatedly instructed before his death. If I can’t fulfill his request, I won’t have the face to continue staying in the General’s Manor.”

That kind of threat was a bit too much, wasn’t it?

He Yuncheng wore an attitude of listening attentively, but in reality, he didn’t care about any paternal commands or imperial decrees.

“Are you going to go through with this marriage or not?” Lin Shuangxu pressed.

He Yuncheng sighed softly. He was tired, not wanting to repeat the same words over and over again.

He wasn’t a good-tempered person. All his patience was used up on Lin Shuangxu. Usually, however he pulled and tormented him was fine, but constantly forcing him to marry someone else would really make him angry.

“Marriage is possible,” He Yuncheng said, “but I haven’t gotten the person I’ve been thinking about for so many years even once. How can I be willing?”

“What do you mean?”

“Lin Shuangxu, don’t play dumb. You know me best. I don’t respond to force. The more you punish me, the less I want to listen.”

“What exactly do you want?”

He Yuncheng walked up to him, leaned down slightly, bringing his face close, his direct gaze not concealing anything.

He said to Lin Shuangxu, “I’m not greedy. Give me a taste of sweetness once, and after that, I’ll listen to whatever you want me to do.”

Over the years, the two of them had pretended that nothing had happened, deceiving themselves. This kind of behavior really wasn’t anything to Lin Shuangxu, after all, he was the most skilled at pretending.

But He Yuncheng was tired and annoyed. Since the words were already out in the open, he might as well be straightforward to the end.

He put his hands behind his back, cocking an arrogant eyebrow, and asked Lin Shuangxu, “Are you willing to accept?”

Lin Shuangxu pursed his lips, his cheeks flushed white and then red with shame and indignation, “How can you be so willful…”

No matter how he said it, these words lacked confidence. He was the one who was in the wrong first, so what right did he have to scold He Yuncheng?

He Yuncheng tilted his head, not arguing with him about any rules or principles, and said, “If you can’t agree, then don’t talk to me about the marriage anymore… I can’t agree either.”

He put away his frivolous expression, and added, “Today, *shaozhu* has punished me enough. I still have matters in the military camp, so I’ll go back first.”

He turned and pushed open the door, the wind and snow outside blowing into the room.

His footsteps paused slightly, and he turned back to look at Lin Shuangxu again.

Usually, every time he left the manor, Lin Shuangxu would tell him to eat on time and take care of his body.

But today he didn’t say anything, just stood there, only preoccupied with being angry.

That appearance was both lovable and heart-wrenching…

What could He Yuncheng do with him?

Sigh.

He resigned himself to fate and opened his mouth, “You…”

He wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere before leaving.

But he heard Lin Shuangxu say to him ruthlessly, “Get lost, quickly.”

“?”

Alright, alright.

He nodded helplessly, and left the General’s Manor, braving the wind and snow.

–

At night, the cold frost fell in a rustling sound. Lin Shuangxu, dressed in pure white robes, knelt for a long time in the He Family Ancestral Hall.

“Teacher above, for fifteen years, your student has wrongly received your kindness, making mistakes and misleading Yuncheng.”

He had punished He Yuncheng to kneel for two hours during the day, but this night, he knelt before the teacher’s spirit tablet until dawn.

–

Military Camp Outside the City.

Having grown up together since childhood, no one understood Lin Shuangxu’s nature better than He Yuncheng.

When they first met, Lin Shuangxu was only twelve or thirteen years old, but he already had a didactic and rigid demeanor.

He did everything according to the rules, with very high standards, not allowing himself to make mistakes. Therefore, He Yuncheng had never dared to provoke him from childhood to adulthood.

This time could be considered an exception, finally angering him for once.

With Lin Shuangxu’s temper, he estimated that he wouldn’t calm down for ten days or half a month.

He Yuncheng didn’t dare to add fuel to the fire, truly afraid of making him sick with anger. Who would feel sorry for him then?

After leaving the manor that day, he hadn’t gone back for several days, staying in the military camp the whole time.

It had been snowing for several days in a row, and today there was a rare good weather. On the parade ground, the sound of wind whistled. He Yuncheng stood on the platform, watching the soldiers drill.

The majestic aura should have been inspiring, but a layer of dark clouds hung faintly on his face.

“General, the deadline is approaching in a few days. Aren’t you going to reply to the palace yet?”

The person speaking beside him was the military advisor Guo Yao, who had been following the He family’s army since his father’s time.

What He Yuncheng was worried about was precisely this matter that he asked about.

A year ago, the barbarians on the border caused trouble. He led troops to quell the rebellion, and after a bitter three-month battle, he quelled the war. After returning triumphantly, he received a heavy reward from the court and was named the General Who Pacifies the Nation.

However, not long after the war was settled, some people in the court became interested in the military power in his hands.

The current Emperor was still young, and a timid person by nature. After ascending the throne, he had virtually become a puppet of the eunuchs. The government was controlled by the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Li Yuliang. The memorial sent to the He family military camp a month ago was undoubtedly Li Yuliang’s intention.

What was written in that memorial was that since the border war had been quelled, the court no longer needed to support so many troops. It asked He Yuncheng to cut the establishment in the military camp by half, leaving only 50,000 to guard the border. The rest would all be sent back to their hometowns, returning to their agricultural registers, to be conscripted again if there was a need for war in the future.

This was simply nonsense. The military system was the foundation of the nation, how could it be abolished with a single word from an eunuch?

Although the Yan and Zhao barbarians had temporarily retreated their troops, they had always been ambitious. After recuperating, they might not come back again. At that time, if the garrison force was insufficient, did they plan to let them attack and plunder the cities of Bei Sheng?

Furthermore, even in times of peace and prosperity, integrating soldiers and farmers was only the last resort when the nation was weak. Farming in peacetime and gathering in wartime sounded easy, but when war really came, how could a group of poorly trained militiamen cope with the enemy’s iron cavalry?

If these eunuchs had read history and used the chaos of the previous dynasty as a warning, they wouldn’t have made such an absurd decision.

But thinking about it, what did the chaos of the world or the peace of the people have to do with them? What they had in their minds was only their own power.

That Li Yuliang had once tried to win him over, but He Yuncheng didn’t bother to pay him any attention. So he used this despicable method to suppress him, cutting his military strength, to see what he could rely on, to see how he could still be arrogant.