Chapter 50: A Single Remark That Astounds

  After the two men went away, Mao Yi put down the wine bowl in his hand and worriedly said, "Young Master, are you so sure about Shen Guang? Although he used to be by the Crown Prince's side, after all these years have passed, who knows what he is thinking now?"

  "What do you want to do? Really kill him?" Chen Kefu poured himself another bowl of wine, took a sip and said, "Mao Yi, although you are usually the most cautious person, sometimes it's not necessary to be too careful. I think Shen Guang is quite a real man, my background is nothing special, besides he is also a descendant of Southern Chen, in the past my Chen family has already wronged those people from Southern Chen, now should I still kill him because of this small matter? If others find out in the future, how will they look at me?"

  "Let's just leave it at that. You guys should get closer to him from now on. From what you said earlier, this Li Jie is not simple. Judging from his actions today in the camp, he's not a simple guy either. The Broken Army Camp is something we built with our blood and sweat, it's our foundation, and no matter what, we can't let others take it away. As long as we firmly grasp the Broken Army Camp in our hands, that's all that matters. You guys said it too, now that the world has fallen into chaos again, only the military is reliable. Shen Guang was brought by Li Jie, whether or not he's his trusted aide, we should try to win him over as much as possible, best if he can become our man."

  For this sudden emergence of Li Jie, Chen Kefu also raised his vigilance. After listening to Mao Yi's account of Li Jie's words and actions in the afternoon, Chen Kefu understood that this person was completely different from the likes of Yu Wenhua. If it were someone like Yu Wenhua, he wouldn't have much to worry about, as people like that are easy to deal with. However, this Li Jie, being an elite member of the Li faction, could chat and laugh with the rough men from humble backgrounds in the Broken Army Camp, treating them with kindness and courtesy. This guy not only had a background but also seemed to have skills.

  Maoyi nodded, "Don't worry, young master. This time Li Jie brought seven people over, three of them are Zhengwu fifth rank and four are Congwu fifth rank. Our Broken Army Camp originally had fifteen Yueji Junwei who were all promoted to Congwu fifth rank last time, this time they will definitely be promoted again, at least to Zhengwu fifth rank. They only have three Zhengwu fifth rank, but we will have fifteen Zhengwu fifth rank."

  "Don't be too confident, among the first fifteen captains, only you nine from Chenjiazhuang are our own people. As for the other six, no one can guarantee which side they will stand on at that time. They are Li's faction, while we are just ordinary civilians, and this Li Jie is quite capable of winning people over, who knows where the other captains will stand at that time. For now, we are evenly matched with them, so everything requires extra caution."

  Chen Kefu didn't take the Southern Chen imperial clan identity seriously, those things were illusory and useless to him. However, this broken military camp was what he valued, he absolutely wouldn't allow the broken military camp to become someone else's spoils of war.

  Maoyi nodded in agreement, "I will let Chen Qing and the others strengthen their relationships with everyone later. As for Li Benlei, Hu Hai, and Zhang He, I think they are good people and won't betray you to join Li Jie's side. If it weren't for you, they would still be ordinary sixth-grade Yuqi lieutenants, how could they have risen so quickly in such a short period of time?"

  "It's always good to be cautious, the world is in chaos now, with rebellious peasants and bandits everywhere, who knows what will become of this great Sui dynasty. Having an army is our only protection." Chen Kefu deeply knew that the great Sui which had created the prosperous Kaihuang era was coming to an end, the decades-long chaotic world at the end of the Sui dynasty had arrived, but he couldn't make all these clear to them now, and could only hasten his preparations. No matter what the future held, tightly grasping the broken military camp in his hand was currently the best course of action.

  Xiaoli sat beside them, pouring wine for the two men. Chen Kefu didn't ask her to leave, so she stayed and continued to serve him. She had been following Chen Kefu on his journey, and her Mandarin was getting better and better. After sitting there listening for half a day, she also learned many things, but she didn't say a word, just doing her job faithfully.

  The sky was getting late, and the scorching temperature finally dropped a lot. Chen Kefu smiled and said, "Alright, you've been worried for so long tonight, it's time for you to rest. Tomorrow is the school field inspection, His Majesty will announce the rewards for defeating Abi Wende this time. This is a great opportunity for our Broken Army to show its face. We must bring out the military might of our Broken Army tomorrow, and we can't let other friendly armies be inferior."

  Ma Yifeng stood up and bid farewell, took two steps and then remembered something, turned back and asked, "By the way, young master, I almost forgot to congratulate you. This time, the young master's marriage with the Li family is a great joyous event! Other people's sons are already seven or eight years old at your age, look at Old Lu, he's already the father of four kids. This matter has worried the uncles in the village for so long, but you've always been dragging it out. Now it's good, young master finally understands."

  "It's true, with your status as a young master, how could you possibly look down on those village girls near Chenjiazhuang? Although we haven't met the third miss of the Li family, at least she is from a respectable family in Guanzhong and must be knowledgeable and well-mannered. I asked your two younger brothers-in-law and they said that the third miss is indeed a beauty. You have good taste this time. I'll write to Chenjiazhuang as soon as I return to the camp to tell them the good news. Young master, do you have anything to say to your uncles?"

  Under the bright light of the cow oil lamp, Mao Yi said with a smile on his face. Thinking of Li's family background, Mao Yi couldn't help but feel happy for Chen Kefu. This Li Yuan was from a prominent Guanlong clan, and although the Chen family was from the Southern Chen imperial family, they were ultimately a fallen royal family. If they could now connect with a Guanlong aristocratic family like the Lis, the revival of the Chen family would be just around the corner.

  For Chen Kefu, tonight was full of shocking events. First, there was a revelation about his origins, and he was told that he was originally the legitimate son of the Southern Chen Emperor's prince, making him a member of the Southern Chen royal family, which left him stunned for a while. After barely accepting this new identity, Shen Guang suddenly appeared, causing another commotion, but this finally temporarily resolved Shen Guang's crisis. Just as things were settling down, Mao Yi unexpectedly spoke up again.

  Then they are coming tonight to test his heart's load capacity? Does he really want to be sensational or die trying?

  "Maoyi, what are you talking about? What's this about the Li family? The three small families of the Li family? And who did I get engaged to? Why don't I know myself? Was it arranged by my father back then? A prenatal engagement?" Chen Kefu asked with a puzzled expression.

  Mao Yi said with an even stranger tone, "Young Master, what do you mean by 'pointing to the belly as marriage'? Did the Crown Prince himself arrange a marriage for you back then? How come I didn't know about this? What are we going to do now? You just got engaged to Miss Li today."

  Chen Kefu looked at the wine bowl in his hand and asked Xiao Yeshan beside him, "How many bowls of wine have I had tonight?"

  Ono Risa was also stunned by Mao Yi's words, although she had long known that she was now just Chen Kefu's servant. However, since learning that Chen Kefu had not yet married, her heart couldn't help but add a few more expectations, hoping to develop a better relationship with Chen Kefu before he got married. But now Mao Yi suddenly said that Chen Kefu was engaged, which made her unprepared and stunned.

  When Chen Kefu asked her for the second time, she finally reacted and hastily bowed her head, saying in a soft voice, "Sir, this is your second bowl of wine."

  "Another bowl of wine? Are you sure? Why do I feel drunk after only drinking less than two bowls, or is it that Mao Yu, you're really drunk tonight. What's this about engagement and marriage, how come I don't understand at all, what exactly are you talking about? Start from the beginning again, my head is all muddled."

  "Master, could it be that you really are as General Hu and the others said, only agreeing to the Li family's conditions in order to obtain military equipment from the Wei Temple? Are you now regretting your decision after getting what you wanted? Master, although Tang Guogong Li Yuan is not the most powerful among the Li clan, he should not be underestimated. If we provoke him, it would be unwise. What if we anger the Li family?"

  Chen Kefu was really dizzy, staring at Mao Yifan and said, "What are you talking about? How did it involve military equipment and Tang Guogong Li Yuan again? Speak clearly, one by one, let's see what you're saying, it's all mixed up and unclear."

  Ma Ying looked at Chen Ke Fu and didn't seem to be drunk, so he sat down and cleared his thoughts. "Young Master, the situation is like this: This afternoon you took a few people to get horses and military equipment. First, you got over 10,000 horses from Yu Wen Hua's place, then you had the people following you return together. Later, I heard that you went with Yu Wen Hua to the Wei Wu Temple, and finally brought back a large batch of fine armor and equipment from the temple. Then at noon, Tang Guo Gong Li Yuan invited guests, and you attended a banquet at his house. As a result, you expressed your admiration for the third young lady of the Tang family during the banquet. As a result, Yu Wen Gong acted as a matchmaker and proposed to the third young lady of the Tang family on your behalf."

  Upon hearing this, Chen Kefu's face was filled with confusion. "This is impossible, how could I not have any impression of it at all? I remember being at the Tang family's banquet, and then they took turns pouring me wine. Before long, I was drunk and didn't know what was happening. When I woke up, I was in this tent. Not long after that, you all arrived."

  Mao Hui also looked bewildered, "But I heard that after you proposed to her, the Duke of Tang went to ask for the opinion of the third young lady of the Tang family, and she agreed. The Duke made the final decision and settled the marriage at noon. You even exchanged tokens of affection, didn't you? You gave your jade pendant, which you've worn since childhood, to the third young lady of the Li family, and she gave you a golden hairpin in return. On the way back, you also promised to let the second and third sons of the Li family join the Broken Army Camp. Oh, it was them who sent you back, and now I have arranged for them to be stationed in the camp. What should they do next is still waiting for your orders."

  He patted his head, but Chen Kefu couldn't recall anything about an engagement. However, looking at Mao Yi's serious expression, it didn't seem like he was being deceived either. Chen Kefu suddenly remembered the token of betrothal that Mao Yi had mentioned and hastily searched his body, finally producing a gold hairpin after a long while, but the jade pendant he had been wearing close to his skin was nowhere to be found.

  Holding that golden hairpin, Chen Kefu stood there for a long time without saying a word. It seemed that all of this was true after all, but why didn't he have even half a memory in his mind?

  The first volume is about to end in a dozen or so chapters, and the second volume's painting scroll will slowly unfold. Looking forward to everyone's recommendation votes...