MLIAM Chapter 36
by VolareWei Yan packed his luggage, not to return to The Capital City, but to go to the battlefield with Yu Shuli.
“Are you sick, Wei Yan? What’s the use of a civil official like you going to the battlefield with me?” Yu Shuli said with a gloomy face. He pressed his palm on Wei Yan’s shoulder, pushing him away with force, as if doing so could make him change his mind and return to The Capital City immediately.
Wei Yan didn’t resist his force, nor did he refute Yu Shuli’s implication that he was useless. He simply tilted his head slightly, looking at Yu Shuli and saying, “On the battlefield, one doesn’t need to wield knives or spears to make contributions.”
“You’re the dignified Prime Minister, do you still lack achievements?” Yu Shuli glared at him. “Are you abandoning your duties in The Capital City? What will the Emperor think?”
“I have my own arrangements for the affairs in The Capital City.”
“My own arrangements,” indeed.
Yu Shuli trembled with anger. His gaze fell on Wei Yan’s calm face, and he suddenly calmed down.
He felt that Wei Yan wasn’t one to make trouble without reason.
“Wei Yan, be honest, is going to the borderlands the Emperor’s mission for you, or is it your own idea?”
Wei Yan pursed his lips, not looking at him. “… Imperial will/intent.”
“Since it’s Imperial will/intent, then take care of yourself,” Yu Shuli stood up, abruptly opened the door, and said, turning his head, “I won’t bother with you anymore.”
He couldn’t control him anyway.
On the battlefield, even battle-hardened generals couldn’t guarantee a safe return, let alone Wei Yan, who had no battlefield experience.
Yu Shuli’s heart pounded like a drum. He was too lazy to care whether Wei Yan was deliberately lying or truly had a responsibility.
His steps were hurried, even he didn’t notice, and he rushed forward.
“Ji’an,” Wei Yan called out behind him, but Yu Shuli pretended not to hear and strode into the boisterous crowd.
Seeing Yu Shuli storm over, pick up a cup of wine from the table, and drink it down, Zhong Nian quickly glanced at Wei Yan, who was not far away.
He couldn’t stop Yu Shuli, so he had to let him toast with the soldiers.
Turning around, Zhong Nian stealthily walked to Wei Yan’s side as he slowly approached. “Sir, is the Little General angry with you again?”
“Not really, he’s just worried about me.”
Wei Yan stepped on the blue brick floor and walked to Yu Shuli, then sat down beside him as if nothing had happened.
The soldiers around them, drunk, were wildly toasting Yu Shuli.
Yu Shuli didn’t refuse anyone.
The wine pot was thrown on the table, and the tablecloth was slightly soaked with wine.
Wei Yan frowned, his fingers resting on the edge of the tablecloth, and his knuckles slightly exerted force to pull it outward.
Yu Shuli’s fingers twitched, and with a “snap,” a small stone hit Wei Yan’s wrist and bounced onto a young, burly man.
Wei Yan remained calm, pretending that nothing had happened. The burly man looked around, unable to find the source of the small stone.
He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled, and turned back to face Wei Yan’s face that could topple cities and nations.
“Oh, such a handsome young man, who might you be?”
The soldiers around them, hearing this, also curiously sized him up.
“Hey? Old Four, haven’t you seen him before?”
The burly man had a loud voice. “How could I? I’m a Major, I’m in charge of setting up camp, not personnel changes. Ask Zhang School Commandant, he knows everything.”
On the other side, a young man with a stubbly beard followed Old Four’s words, turning his head to look at Wei Yan. He frowned. “I don’t recognize him either, he shouldn’t be from our military camp.”
“That’s right, there’s never been such a person in the army, right? If I looked like this, I’d wake up laughing in the middle of the night. Why would I fight? I’d just hang around the gates of noble ladies’ houses all day, waiting to be taken as a son-in-law.”
Zhang School Commandant said, “Commander Mu, you don’t look bad either, you’re resolute, brave, and more manly!”
Commander Mu waved his hand. “Hahahaha… I can’t even find a wife with this face, they say I look fierce.”
“What’s the use of looking more delicate than a woman? Fair-skinned and weak, when you get to the battlefield, before the enemy even moves, you’d be blown away by the wind.” These words were somewhat disparaging towards Wei Yan.
Yu Shuli raised his eyes from the peanuts and looked at the person who spoke.
This was another deputy general under him, Ding Sheng.
“Hey, Vice General Ding, you can’t say that.” Commander Mu scratched his head and looked at Wei Yan. “Sorry, brothers, they’re just being rude, no malice intended.”
Zhang School Commandant also said, “To look like this young master, what’s the big deal about being a little weak? I wish I looked like this too.”
“Zhang School Commandant knows how to talk…” The crowd echoed Zhang School Commandant’s words. “Look at his hands, so fair and tender, he’s not from the same world as us.”
Commander Mu: “What do you know? Those are the hands of someone who’s been pampered. We’re just born to work hard!”
In the end, everyone concluded: “He must be a precious young master from some family, right?”
Yu Shuli hadn’t said a word.
Wei Yan openly listened to them commenting on him, without any displeasure. He looked at Yu Shuli, seemingly waiting for him to introduce himself to the soldiers.
But Yu Shuli looked away, pretending not to know him.
Wei Yan didn’t plan to introduce himself, so he opened his mouth: “Zhong Nian.”
Zhong Nian hurriedly came over. Knowing that someone as noble as the Prime Minister wouldn’t eat such a messy meal, he quickly asked in a low voice, “What would you like to eat? Shall I get something for you separately?”
Wei Yan glanced at the table.
The martial generals never paid attention to etiquette when eating and drinking, a table of good dishes was turned upside down, and each dish was mixed with some leaves from other dishes, which looked disgusting.
“No need, just add a bowl and chopsticks for me.” It seemed that he wanted to integrate into the group.
Zhang School Commandant immediately handed over a bowl from the side. Wei Yan took it and said thank you.
“You’re welcome.” Zhang School Commandant smiled, looked at Zhong Nian beside Wei Yan, and pondered. He asked, “Where did you come from?”
Wei Yan shook his head, not speaking, but concentrating on wiping the water stains from the bowl.
“What? Is it inconvenient to say?”
Wei Yan didn’t say yes, nor did he say no.
The atmosphere seemed to freeze. Immediately, a soldier stood up. “Hey, Zhang School Commandant, come, I’ll toast you, I’ll toast you.”
Zhang School Commandant smiled and returned a cup. Feeling that Wei Yan was a bit boring, he withdrew his gaze from him.
Thirteen, who had been with Wei Yan for a while, noticed Wei Yan’s disdainful gaze and quickly lowered his head to explain to Wei Yan. “The Little General usually doesn’t have any taboos, everyone is used to eating, drinking, and being unrestrained together. If you can’t get used to it, I’ll have the kitchen make other side dishes.”
Wei Yan glanced at Yu Shuli, seeing him holding a handful of peanuts in his palm, chewing them with wine. Knowing that Wei Yan was uncomfortable, he finally sneered and opened his mouth. “If you’re not used to it, go back as soon as possible.”
He spoke, but the words weren’t very pleasant.
Wei Yan didn’t speak, but also picked up his chopsticks, also picked up a peanut, and chewed it slowly as a response.
Yu Shuli’s face darkened.
The soldiers who followed him weren’t fools. Seeing this, they didn’t dare to make noise, after all, they clearly felt the strange atmosphere between the two.
Yu Shuli glanced at Thirteen, who was sitting on the other side of Wei Yan.
Thirteen received the order and had to brace himself and stand up, his greasy hand reaching out towards Wei Yan and grabbing a large braised pork knuckle.
He took a bite, and oily gravy flowed down his clothes. He swallowed it in large mouthfuls, while shouting, “Delicious! Delicious!” He ate messily and noisily.
He went to take the wine pot in front of Wei Yan and poured the entire pot of wine into his own cup, spilling some crystal clear liquid.
Wei Yan pulled up his sleeves. Seeing Thirteen approaching, he unobtrusively avoided his oily hands.
Zhong Nian chuckled honestly, comforting Wei Yan: “Everyone isn’t always like this… Isn’t it because we’re going to the battlefield, so we’re indulging a little. The alcohol content is very low, it doesn’t matter.”
Ding Sheng glanced at Zhong Nian, who was being overly attentive, and asked, “Zhong Nian, is this your relative?”
“No…” Zhong Nian quickly shook his head, but suddenly met Wei Yan’s cold gaze.
Only Yu Shuli and Zhong Nian knew that Wei Yan was coming. And no one present except Yu Shuli had a chance to see Wei Yan, so no one recognized him.
Zhong Nian looked at his own general, who was minding his own business, and thought of the fake account book. He knew that this wasn’t a good time to reveal the Prime Minister’s identity, so he could only grit his teeth and admit it. “No… Didn’t expect it?”
Ding Sheng tapped his finger on the wine glass. “Indeed, I didn’t expect it, you two look nothing alike.”
“Vice General Ding, those words are stabbing my heart… Hahahaha… Zhong Vice General doesn’t look too bad, right?” Old Four laughed loudly.
Zhong Nian scratched his head awkwardly. What was his status, what was his position? How dare he claim kinship with the current Prime Minister? “He’s a distant cousin.”
Commander Mu was a natural, hearing Zhong Nian say that this was his relative, he came over to strike up a conversation with Wei Yan. He handed over the wine glass in his hand. “Did Zhong Nian drag you here to join the army? I’ve never seen you before.”
Wei Yan took the wine glass and shook it lightly. “It was a whim, I wanted to come myself.”
“This military camp is not a place for whims.” Commander Mu said. “Knives and spears have no eyes, your skin is so fair and tender, you can’t even run on horseback properly, right? You don’t look like you’ve practiced martial arts either. When the time comes, hide behind your cousin, and go back when you’ve had enough.”
Old Four also advised him: “Indeed, you still have to stick close to your cousin. Young master, you look like you’re someone who will attract attention in the military camp. Some of the men below don’t know any better. They don’t get any action in the military camp, and when they’re horny, they’ll mess with men too.”
Wei Yan’s originally calm face moved slightly. He frowned. “What do you mean, mess with men too?”
“It’s a military camp, the people below are of uneven quality, there are all kinds of people. It’s common for them to tease a pretty young master.” Commander Mu said, “If someone approaches you with ill intentions, be careful.”
Wei Yan’s face became even uglier. “I didn’t expect the military camp to be such a lawless place.” His gaze fell on Yu Shuli, carefully sizing him up, seemingly trying to discern whether he had been wronged in the military camp in the past.
Old Four saw his gaze and quickly glared. “Hey! Don’t wrong a good person, our General isn’t that kind of person!”
Wei Yan knew that Yu Shuli must not have been wronged.
He looked at the expressionless Yu Shuli, suddenly wanting to tear off his nonchalant mask, so he simply smiled. “But I am.”
“Ah?”
Everyone, hearing this, looked Wei Yan up and down with an unbelievable gaze.
It seemed they were thinking, could this handsome young master also be a lecherous ghost?
Yu Shuli slammed the wine cup on the table, making a loud noise. His round almond eyes glared over.
Wei Yan chuckled.
He had finally been unable to ignore him and was openly angry.
Wei Yan, who had clearly come to make peace, suddenly felt that provoking the Little General was also a kind of fun.
Let him pretend to not know him, let him try every possible way to drive him away. Wei Yan insisted on provoking him.
“You have a lot of nerve.” Yu Shuli’s voice was cold. If Wei Yan revealed his identity in the military camp, wouldn’t that be the same as courting death?
He didn’t have any martial arts skills to protect himself, and the mole hadn’t appeared yet. Was he going to reveal that he was the Prime Minister and wait for someone to assassinate him?
Dying ten thousand times wouldn’t be enough.
Commander Mu laughed loudly, not understanding Yu Shuli’s implied meaning. He patted Zhong Nian’s shoulder. “Zhong Vice General, your cousin is not simple… He dares to have designs on the General.”
Zhong Nian scratched his head and smiled bitterly.
Could he be simple? This man could easily plot your death.
If the Little General had really been wronged in the military camp, Zhong Nian could even imagine Wei Yan coldly opening the gates of The Censorate and rectifying the soldiers in the military camp.
This person was capable of anything.
“Ignorance is no excuse. Little brother, you’re new here, you may not understand.” Old Four pointed to Yu Shuli and said. “This is the current Prince An, Flying Dragon General, Little General Yu, not someone you can covet.”
Ding Sheng sneered. “Anyone who dares to be infatuated with the General, or touch him, the grass on their grave would be half a meter tall.”
Wei Yan shook his head. “That’s not necessarily true. What if I want to try?”
Everyone widened their eyes.
Ding Sheng, who was usually sharp-tongued, rarely didn’t continue to stab, but instead had a strange expression, hesitant to speak.
Wei Yan followed his strange expression and turned to look at Yu Shuli’s reaction.
But he only had time to hear a “whoosh” sound.
A cup of wine was splashed on Wei Yan’s face on the spot.
Zhong Nian covered his face, thinking: It’s over.
When gods fight, mortals suffer.