BLHO Chapter 65

The day of departure remained unchanged. Five days later, 20,000 soldiers from the Han family army and 50,000 from the He family army gathered and set off from Fengdu, heading north in a mighty force towards the border.

Han Mao, under orders to supervise the army, rode ahead, radiating arrogance from head to toe, convinced of his status as commander.

He Yuncheng and Lin Shuangxu followed behind him, not vying for the limelight, appearing to be his subordinates.

The He family army found him increasingly displeasing, grumbling behind his back all the way.

“Treating a chicken feather as an arrow of command, a supervisor in charge of provisions acting more imposing than our general!”

“Exactly! The general was too lenient on him the other day! What an insufferable fellow.”

Han Mao vaguely heard his name mentioned behind him and turned back displeased, seeing He Yuncheng’s deputy general glaring at him with disgust.

“You, what did you say?” He pointed at him with his riding whip. “What kind of big man gossips behind someone’s back? Speak up if you have something to say.”

Speak up then, why fear him? The deputy general stiffened his neck, wanting to curse him out for a long time.

But just as he was about to speak, Lin Shuangxu stopped him.

“Deputy General Qin.”

His voice was gentle as he winked at the deputy general, signaling him to remain silent.

Han Mao, after all, was appointed by imperial decree to supervise the army. A falling out would indeed be difficult to manage. The deputy general pondered for a moment, swallowed a mouthful of air, and suppressed the words he wanted to say.

After reminding him, Lin Shuangxu turned to look at Han Mao, with a vague smile. “General Han must have misheard. I was close to Deputy General Qin just now and didn’t hear him say anything. The war is pressing, the journey is long, let’s hurry on our way.”

This was Han Mao’s first real interaction with Lin Shuangxu. He looked at him with his chin raised. What young master of the General’s Manor? Just a student of He Chong. In the end, only a commoner.

However, his appearance was indeed several times more handsome than he had heard.

No wonder he could bewitch He Yuncheng so thoroughly.

His undisguised gaze scrutinized Lin Shuangxu from top to bottom, showing no courtesy for a first meeting.

Lin Shuangxu showed no displeasure at this offense, calmly watching his gaze shift from contempt to frivolousness.

Then, Han Mao ignored his words, only sneering mockingly, and ordered everyone: “Continue forward!”

The Team continued to move forward. Lin Shuangxu didn’t pay attention to this small episode, but He Yuncheng stared at Han Mao’s back the whole way, his eyes frighteningly cold.

Being so close, Lin Shuangxu naturally sensed his emotions. He glanced at him, said nothing, and continued on the road.

In the evening, far from Fengdu, the army set up camp in a clearing in the forest to rest.

The spring chill was biting, and the night wind was still hard to bear. This was Lin Shuangxu’s first time on a military expedition. He Yuncheng, afraid that his body wouldn’t be able to withstand it, ordered his men to spread an extra pair of quilts in his tent.

Soldiers took turns on night watch, and the rest had dinner and returned to their tents to rest.

Lin Shuangxu waited until later before coming out of his tent to find He Yuncheng.

He Yuncheng was lying with his eyes closed, covered with a thin cotton quilt. Hearing the movement, he immediately sat up vigilantly, relaxing the moment he saw who it was.

“Did I wake you?” Lin Shuangxu asked softly.

“I wasn’t asleep.” He Yuncheng shifted his body, making room for half of the quilt. “What’s wrong? Not used to the camp tent?”

Lin Shuangxu walked closer and knelt on his quilt, saying, “No, I just came to see you.”

He Yuncheng raised an eyebrow, smiling happily. “If I remember correctly, someone earnestly instructed me before departure to be careful of my words and actions on the march, and not to engage in ambiguous or excessive behavior, so as not to affect the soldiers in the army.”

He moved closer to Lin Shuangxu, staring into his eyes, looking troubled. “This is only the first night. The rules that the young master set himself, he wants to break himself? Then alright, let’s hurry. I’ll try to make it quick, so no one will notice…”

As he spoke, he reached out, but Lin Shuangxu dodged away helplessly. “Don’t be glib.”

He Yuncheng should know why Lin Shuangxu came.

During the day, there were too many people, and it wasn’t convenient to talk. Now that it was just the two of them, Lin Shuangxu needed to remind him again.

“Don’t be too obvious in front of Han Mao.” He said to He Yuncheng, “Keep your emotions in check, don’t wear them on your face. You are a general. If you openly oppose him, your subordinates will definitely share your animosity. Since you’ve decided to go on the expedition, you must be united against outsiders and not start internal strife first.”

“I know.”

He Yuncheng pouted sullenly, agreeing in words, but his face was full of reluctance.

“I won’t mind whatever he says or provokes, as long as he doesn’t cross my bottom line,” he said to Lin Shuangxu.

“What’s your bottom line?” Lin Shuangxu asked.

He Yuncheng glanced at him and didn’t answer.

Lin Shuangxu pleaded earnestly, “There are still thousands of miles to travel ahead. No matter how rude he is, conflicts like the one a few days ago must not happen again.”

“I’ll try my best.”

He Yuncheng’s answer was perfunctory.

“Not try your best, be serious. I’m not joking with you.”

Was the young master too nervous?

He was worried before departure, and now that they were already on the road and the imperial court had given its support, he was still concerned.

He Yuncheng couldn’t bear to tease him anymore and restrained his frivolity, saying, “Alright, I understand. Don’t worry.”

Lin Shuangxu wanted to say something more, but he knew that these words had been repeated many times, and nagging would only annoy people.

He sighed softly. “Then you rest. I won’t say anymore. We have to hurry tomorrow. I’m going back.”

“Hey…”

Just as he was about to get up, He Yuncheng grabbed his arm and pulled him into his arms.

Lin Shuangxu subconsciously glanced at the door. The tent was tightly closed, and no one could see inside.

“What are you doing?” he asked He Yuncheng in a flustered voice.

He Yuncheng smiled, “You’ve already come, and you’re just going to leave like this?”

“Otherwise, what do you want?” Lin Shuangxu scolded softly, “Before departure, I told you to do… do enough, but you didn’t want to. Now that we’re on the road, with so many soldiers outside, how can I allow you to be so presumptuous?”

As soon as he said “presumptuous,” He Yuncheng smiled even more recklessly. “You’re scolding me like this as if I’ve wronged you. I didn’t do it because I was worried about you. That night you were drunk, it kept you in bed for two days. If I really went all out, you wouldn’t have recovered and would have to start traveling, and you would be miserable. How could I bear that?”

Hearing him say this, Lin Shuangxu naturally couldn’t bring himself to scold him anymore. He pushed him haphazardly. “You didn’t want it yourself, and now there’s nothing left. Let go, I’m going back.”

“Just one kiss.”

“No kiss.”

“What, afraid that if you kiss me, you won’t be able to stop yourself from attacking me?”

“Don’t say such crude things anymore, this tent can’t block out any sound.”

He Yuncheng was amused by his frightened appearance, and the more he spoke, the tighter he hugged him.

Lin Shuangxu refused on one hand, but couldn’t help but cater to him on the other. His soft rebukes were maddening to hear.

If He Yuncheng was determined to pester him, he wouldn’t need to exert much effort, and he would muddle-headedly agree.

But He Yuncheng wasn’t so confused as to do that. He only kissed him until his cheeks were flushed before letting him go.

The chill around him was dispelled by the heated kiss. Lin Shuangxu breathed deeply and pushed He Yuncheng away.

“Hurry up and rest, I’m leaving.”

Afraid that He Yuncheng wouldn’t stop, he got up after speaking and left without looking back.

Once out of the tent, the night wind blew, and the desire that had been stirred up gradually subsided.

Even though he hadn’t done anything, the subconscious act of straightening his clothes made him feel guilty, as if he had really stolen a moment of pleasure.

Walking under the moonlight towards his own tent, which was very close to He Yuncheng’s, he ran into someone just a few steps away.

Han Mao was standing in the shadows, staring at him with a playful gaze. It didn’t seem like a chance encounter, but rather that he was deliberately waiting for him.

Lin Shuangxu wanted to pretend not to see him, but Han Mao took the initiative to speak: “It’s so late, and the young master is still going to the tent to meet with General He. Weren’t you together all day? Do you still have so much to say? Your feelings are truly deep.”

Lin Shuangxu’s heart sank. He looked back at He Yuncheng’s tent, afraid that he would hear the commotion and cause trouble, so he had no choice but to walk over to Han Mao proactively.

With a proper smile, he responded, “General Han, it’s getting late, haven’t you rested yet?”

“I ate too much for dinner and couldn’t sleep, so I came out for some fresh air.”

Indeed, it seemed like he had nothing better to do than to run to someone else’s tent to snoop around.

Lin Shuangxu nodded politely. “Then I won’t disturb the general’s interest. Please, do as you wish.”

As he was about to leave, Han Mao stepped in front of him.

His displeased brows furrowed, then relaxed.

“What’s wrong? Does General Han have something to say to me?” he asked.

“It’s nothing special,” Han Mao said. “I’ve heard some rumors before, and I’ve always been curious. I don’t know if I should ask.”

“If it’s a rumor, it’s probably false. If you don’t know if you should ask, then don’t ask.”

Lin Shuangxu looked gentle on the outside, but his words were sharp and never lost ground. He seemed polite, but in reality, he was just being superficially polite.

Not someone to be trifled with, interesting.

Han Mao laughed with interest. “Do you know what I want to ask?”

“I don’t know.”

“Liar.” Han Mao gave him that malicious look again. “So eager to deny it, it’s hard not to suspect that the young master is trying to hide something…”

As he spoke, he stepped forward and actually raised his hand to touch Lin Shuangxu.

Lin Shuangxu immediately dodged.

The hand hung in the air, without forcing him.

Han Mao smiled and explained, “Your hairpin is crooked.”

He Yuncheng must have done that earlier.

Lin Shuangxu felt a moment of panic, which quickly passed.

Han Mao saw it and thought that if he could bully such a beautiful person into crying once, it would be very satisfying.

He withdrew his hand and said to Lin Shuangxu, “It looks good crooked too, it has a unique charm.”

This was blatant flirting.

Lin Shuangxu’s smile remained unchanged, but his impatience should have been obvious to anyone with a discerning eye.

However, Han Mao deliberately ignored it, putting on the false face of a gentleman. “I actually came to say an apology to the young master.”

What did he mean? Why was he suddenly apologizing to him?

Han Mao said, “I had a dispute with General He before and said some reckless words in the heat of the moment, offending the young master. Please don’t hold a grudge against me.”

Lin Shuangxu was even more confused.

Wasn’t the dispute between Han Mao and He Yuncheng the day they fought?

The offensive things Han Mao said were nothing more than attacking and insulting him with rumors about him and He Yuncheng, just like tonight.

So, did He Yuncheng act impulsively because Han Mao spoke ill of him?

“Young Master Shuangxu?”

Seeing that he wasn’t speaking, Han Mao called out to him.

Lin Shuangxu came back to his senses and said, “Since it’s already passed, there’s no need to mention it again. What’s important now is that the He and Han armies work together to resist foreign enemies.”

“That’s right,” Han Mao praised insincerely. “The young master’s magnanimity is admirable. Compared to He Yuncheng, he seems to have more of General He’s demeanor.”

He approached Lin Shuangxu again, closing the distance between them, and whispered, “Forgive Han for speaking frankly, but He Yuncheng… tsk, is not worthy of you.”