Chapter Thirty-Five: Sun Meixiang

  Chu Hao went to the General's Mansion at this time, and naturally would not be visiting General Sun Xue as a junior, but rather was looking for Sun Xue's son, his own sworn brother Sun Haoran.

  After entering the mansion, Sun Haoran, who had received the news, hurried over and looked at Chu Hao, who was looking around the hall, and said with a hint of blame: "I say, Brother Hao, what wind blew you here? I'm in the middle of reciting the Art of War."

  "Don't give Xiaowang a book bag." Chu Hao pulled Sun Haoran over with a fierce expression, and amidst the stunned gazes of the servants and attendants, patted Sun Haoran's back and said: "Reading military books doesn't suit your status, what you should be reading is something like 'Fox Charm Jade Mirror' or 'Imperial Girl's Heart Classic'! You little scamp, I bet you're hiding some good stuff at home again, aren't you?"

  Sun Haoran's face turned pale upon hearing this, and he glanced around at the maids and house servants before speaking tensely: "Young Master Wang, you can't just go around saying things like that! I'm a future star of the military, and if you slander me like this and rumors get back to my old man, even with a thousand mouths I won't be able to escape a severe beating. You can't ruin me..."

  "Nonsense, we're as close as brothers, one pants four eggs, how could Xiao Wang bear to harm you!" Chu Hao coughed and then sternly swept his gaze around the room, his eyebrows furrowed: "Earlier, Xiao Wang was discussing the 'Ghost Valley Military Strategy' with your young master. This is a military secret. If any of you dare to leak this information, even if your young master won't do anything to you out of consideration for our master-servant relationship, Xiao Wang isn't so easy to talk to..."

  Those maids and servants were originally sneaking a peek at the joke of their own young master, but upon hearing this, they were shocked, and immediately in unison, flustered and said: "The servants didn't hear anything, after serving tea, the young master felt that we weren't taking good care of him, so he let us leave early."

  When everyone talks, their backs feel cool. If they are stared at by this little overlord of the world, they will be beaten to death or played to death if not killed.

  "In that case, get out." As soon as Chu Hao said this, those people immediately scattered and hastily retreated.

  As soon as these people left, Sun Haoran's face, which had been cautious all along, finally revealed a smile. He then retaliated by punching Chu Hao's chest and said with a chuckle: "Hao Ge, is there something good again? You don't know, after seeing Chen Ruofan and Nan Gongjie's gloomy faces last time, I was thrilled. In the past, we were defeated by them several times in Cuiyue House, but this time we were able to win so magnificently. The day before yesterday, when Nan Gongjie saw me on the street, he slinked away with his tail between his legs."

  "Of course, you don't even look at who I am." Chu Hao also smiled triumphantly. Sun Haoran was very afraid of his father at home, so he never dared to show any signs of unrest, but as soon as the servants left, he returned to his usual self. To be honest, although Sun Haoran was proper at home, he was also a restless master. In the past, even though his father and grandfather were from the Chu Yunfei faction, due to being the crown prince, he only focused on cultivation and didn't have any particularly close relationships. But three years ago, after the crown prince's personality changed greatly, the two of them became fast friends, hitting it off immediately. Sun Haoran also revealed his true nature, and together with the crown prince, they bullied and oppressed the people of the capital, determined to raise the banner of the wealthy and powerful.

  Of course, the credit for bringing the Crown Prince and Sun Haoran close together in an instant also goes to Sun Haoran's sister, Sun Meixiang. General Sun Xue has a son and a daughter. His eldest daughter, Sun Meixiang, is only two years older than Sun Haoran, but from a young age, she was renowned for her beauty throughout the capital, and many people thought it was unbelievable that such a rough and unrefined man like Sun Xue could have given birth to such a beautiful girl.

  Sun Meixiang was not only beautiful but also talented, and many times Sun Pei, a person who said one thing and did another, would humbly ask for her eldest daughter's advice.

  Originally, when the young master was in the empire, his reputation was like a bright sun, and he and Sun Meixiang were simply a match made in heaven. Although they had never met, they had already been connected for a long time. However, although Sun Lüe also had plans to marry his daughter to Chu Hao's camp, Weiyuan Wang had always remained silent, and no one knew what he was thinking.

  It turned out that three years ago, the change in Shizi's life, from being a proud son of heaven to becoming a nobody, was ridiculed by countless people in the capital. Those who didn't know the truth all praised Sun Yi for having a unique insight and not making a rash decision about his daughter's fate.

  After all, the prince will die one day, and if it's a son with exceptional talent and martial arts skills, the Sun family will naturally be even more valued. But if they follow a useless and incompetent crown prince, there will be no future for them.

  It was beyond everyone's expectation that after the great change of the prince, countless officials who were preparing to pull their relationship with Sun Yue and prepare to propose a marriage for their children received another shocking news.

  The eldest young lady of the Sun family unexpectedly made a high-profile declaration in the capital that she would not marry anyone but Chu Hao in this life!

  But at that time, the crown prince was disheartened and had no intention of bringing up the matter again, directly rejecting Sun Meixiang's infatuation. This made countless people in the capital drop their jaws. At that time, Sun Lüe also lost face, after all, his own daughter didn't care about her identity, and Chu Hao still dared to show off as a proud son of heaven, which really made him furious. Later, it was mediated by Prince Weiyuan that they did not completely break up.

  It turned out that Sun Meixiang's decision was wrong. After Shizi Xiu's violent fall for three months, his temperament also began to change greatly, becoming dissolute and debauched, earning a notorious reputation. The entire capital heard about it and changed color, and there wasn't a single woman who was willing to marry him.

  After receiving the news, Sun Meixiang was disheartened and went to the Incense Temple in Beijing, where she spent her days burning incense, worshipping Buddha, reciting scriptures, and accumulating virtues. She often sat for several months at a time. Later, it was even rumored that she planned to become a nun, which caused Sun Xuan and Sun Gu to panic. It was said that Sun Xuan was even beaten by General Sun Gu, who insisted that they must persuade Sun Meixiang to return no matter what.

  Sun Yue was a hot-tempered man, and his daughter Sun Meixiang was well-read and understood reason. He couldn't persuade her no matter what, and it almost came to the point where he would have sent someone to fetch her from the mountain. Later, it was only after Prince Weiyuan issued a stern order that Sun Meixiang was finally brought back.

  Later, in the second year of the Maya Empire's large-scale invasion, Sun Meixiang resolutely asked to join the army, and with her daughter's body, she wore iron armor and joined the Longxiang Army to go to the northern border, and this trip lasted for two years.

  As for Sun Meixiang's story, most people in the capital knew about it and were all sighing with regret, feeling that such a good woman had wasted her devotion.

  Sun Meixiang, after the great fall of the Crown Prince, was the only one who did not kick him when he was down and did not show any disdain or contempt towards Chu Hao. It can be said that she was the only person, apart from Chu Yunfei, who could bring warmth to the Crown Prince in the face of the harsh winter. And it was precisely because of this that the Crown Prince had chosen to directly reject her at first.

  And half a year after Sun Meixiang went to war, she had someone send Chu Hao a letter from Xiang Juan. Chu Hao still remembers every word on it and has kept it with him all along:

  "Dreamy misty old capital spring, mandarin duck affectionate ties, phoenix and dragon urge the Hegemon King."

  The longing road is cut off by the sorrowful cry of the magpie, and it's especially heartbreaking towards evening. Endless longing awaits a sympathetic ear, the lotus flower's color is faint, the small water lily and dragonfly are frozen in place.

  "A thousand miles apart, yet our words share a common spirit; tears fall like rain, wetting the clouds' garments."

  That poem, although the prince only understood a little, also knew its profound meaning, but was even more sympathetic to this woman who had never been seen before. Therefore, after that, Chu Hao made up his mind, became more and more arrogant and domineering, and became unscrupulous.

  For three years, every time Chu Hao went out with Sun Haoran, whenever something happened, Chu Hao would take the blame alone, and all the troubles were borne by him, just to take care of Sun Meixiang's only younger brother. So, even Sun Haoran's father didn't know that his son wasn't a good person, and he still hoped to cultivate him as his successor.

  But to be honest, Sun Haoran was indeed taken care of by the Crown Prince because of Sun Meixiang's existence. However, over the years, his position in the Crown Prince's heart had slowly become important.

  Sun Haoran, although also unrestrained and impulsive, never considered the consequences of his actions. However, he was extremely loyal to those he cared about. Both the eldest prince and the sixth prince had tried to win him over, as he would eventually inherit a noble title and become a powerful military officer. As for these attempts at winning him over, although his father was a king, a king was not as powerful as an emperor, and with the king's power being slowly stripped away, Sun Haoran's loyalty was genuine but also calculated, so he didn't say anything.

  But for some reason, Sun Haoran refused all these temptations and spent his days hanging out with Chu Hao, a useless second-generation rich kid who couldn't even hold up a wall. He was always the first to fight, but it's not true that there was no emotional connection involved.

  Compared to "fox friends and dog friends", the word "brothers" is more suitable to describe their relationship.

  "Hao Ge, speak up, what's going on." Sun Haoran knew it wasn't good news, usually the young master wouldn't come looking for him. He hastily rolled up his sleeves excitedly and said: "Is it time to take down those guys again? What's the plan this time? I absolutely won't decline, brother. Last time your General Shakes-the-World stole the show, this time it should be my turn."

  Chu Hao waved his hand, looked around, and sat down directly on the chair to the left of the hall. He picked up a cup of well-brewed high-quality green tea, took a sip, and smacked his lips. Sun Ye and his father Sun Gu were loyal military officials with fiery tempers, but they only liked drinking green tea. As guests in someone else's home, they naturally had to follow the host's lead.

  Sit.

  Chu Hao said.

  Seeing Chu Hao like this, Sun Haoran was a bit bewildered, but still sat down beside him, pretending to be calm and collected as he took a sip of tea. Before he could swallow it, he mumbled: "You'd better speak up, or I'll die from anxiety!"

  Chu Hao shook his head, leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, and after a moment of contemplation, spoke softly: "Hao Ran, tell me something from the bottom of your heart. What are your plans for the future?"