After Being Captured by the General - chapter 2
chapter 2:
Three days later, at the Yuan Family Estate.
When the steward inspected the fields, he found no trace of Wang Er and his group.
He summoned the person responsible for settling the new refugees. “Where is Wang Er?”
“Reporting to the steward,” the subordinate replied. “They finished their work in the fields and requested leave. These people haven’t gone out since arriving in Ruyang County, and they complained about lacking bowls, chopsticks, and bedding. So I advanced them some wages to go buy what they need.”
The steward had only asked casually. Detecting nothing unusual, he nodded in acknowledgment.
Under the dim yellow sun.
Yuan Li returned travel-worn and weary, heading toward the County Magistrate’s residence.
As if anticipating his return, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered outside the residence. Local residents occasionally pointed at Yuan Li and whispered: “That’s the County Magistrate’s eldest son.”
“So this is the young master! Such handsome features, and so filial too. The County Magistrate and his wife are truly blessed.”
Yuan Li had grown accustomed to such praise, maintaining composure without changing expression.
Steward Lin hurried over with several servants. Seeing Yuan Li’s exhausted appearance, his eyes reddened and he knelt abruptly at the main entrance, weeping, “Young Master! You’ve returned safely at last!”
Yuan Li quickly stepped forward to help him up. “I found the crucial medicinal herb Mother urgently needs. How is her condition now? Take me to see her immediately!”
Steward Lin wept tears of joy. “Wonderful, truly wonderful… The Mistress can be saved now…”
Master and servant hastily entered the residence, closing the gates behind them, leaving only the admiring townsfolk exchanging praises outside.
Inside the residence.
Listening to the fading voices beyond the gates, Yuan Li wiped sweat from his brow and breathed a slightly embarrassed sigh of relief.
Once through the doors, Steward Lin immediately composed himself, deftly drying his tears. “Young Master, the Master is waiting for you in his study.”
Yuan Li looked puzzled. “Oh?”
Steward Lin lowered his voice. “The Master received a letter from Luoyang yesterday. After reading it, he confined himself to the study. He specifically instructed that you see him immediately upon your return—it must be important business.”
Hearing this, Yuan Li proceeded directly to the study without delay.
After a light knock, his father Yuan Song’s weary voice responded, “Lier? Come in.”
Entering, Yuan Li found his father slumped listlessly at the desk, with sunken eyes and dark circles beneath them.
“I heard you haven’t slept all night?” Yuan Li teased. “What earth-shattering matter could trouble you so?”
Yuan Song sighed deeply. “Sit first. I’ve had tea and refreshments prepared for you. We can talk after you’ve eaten.”
As promised, servants brought the items. Without ceremony, Yuan Li ate his fill, washed up, then relaxed comfortably into his chair. “Alright, Father. You may speak now.”
Yuan Song sighed again. “After three days on Three Peaks Mountain, are you injured anywhere?”
Yuan Li couldn’t help laughing. “You and Mother sent people to check on me every evening. How could you not know if I’m injured?”
Growing genuinely curious, he continued, “What matter makes you so reluctant to speak?”
After a moment’s silence, Yuan Song retrieved a letter from beneath official documents and handed it to Yuan Li. “Yesterday at noon, a letter arrived from the Chu Prince Manor in Luoyang.”
“So it’s the Chu Prince Manor—one of the three-generation, two-grand-chancellor households that fought alongside the founding emperor to establish the dynasty and was enfeoffed as one of the non-imperial princes?” Yuan Li asked.
“Exactly.”
Yuan Li opened the envelope and casually inquired, “What kind of letter is this?”
His father closed his eyes and replied heavily, “A marriage proposal.”
The letter from Chu Prince Manor was written by the Prince of Chu’s wife but bore the Prince of Chu’s seal, indicating that the wedding to ward off bad luck had also received the Prince of Chu’s approval. The wording in the letter was sincere, almost to the point of tearful pleading.
Before Yuan Li could clearly process his father’s softly spoken three words, he had already begun reading. As he absorbed the contents, his expression gradually shifted from confusion to shock, ultimately settling into complete stupefaction.
His father said, “The Chu Prince Manor is truly desperate—they’ve obtained your birth details from somewhere and want you to perform a wedding to ward off bad luck for their eldest son. Doesn’t that sound utterly ridiculous?”
He turned his head to look at his eldest son, who remained dazed across from him.
The young man, not yet crowned, had lips red as cherries and teeth white as jade, eyes like scattered stars and brows shaped like bows. Mischievous strands of hair curled rebelliously at his temples, making him utterly endearing no matter how one looked.
Yuan Song’s heart was filled with complex emotions.
Yuan Li set down the envelope and met Yuan Song’s gaze directly. “I don’t agree.”
Yuan Song smiled bitterly. “I don’t want to agree either, but the conditions offered by the Chu Prince Manor have made me hesitate.”
Yuan Li frowned.
Yuan Song usually valued him most, seeing him as the future of the Yuan family. What kind of conditions could make even Yuan Song hesitate?
The envelope didn’t specify these conditions.
Yuan Li asked, “What have they offered?”
Yuan Song closed his eyes and repeated the words he had already memorized perfectly.
The Chu Prince Manor clarified that although it was a “wedding to ward off bad luck,” Yuan Li and the eldest son Chu Mingfeng would not have a substantive relationship. Yuan Li would merely be residing at the Chu Prince Manor, and regardless of whether the eldest son recovered after the ritual, the manor would reward Yuan Li handsomely.
If Yuan Li agreed, the Chu Prince Manor would immediately leverage its connections at the Imperial Academy to enroll Yuan Li in either the Imperial Academy or the Supreme Academy. Moreover, they would arrange for a renowned scholar to take Yuan Li as a disciple, ensuring he would no longer need to worry about future Filial and Incorrupt nominations—they would guarantee his advancement.
They had even considered Yuan Li’s reputation. By entering the prince’s manor for the wedding to ward off bad luck, Yuan Li would be seen as saving a life and acting out of kindness—a loyal and righteous deed that would earn him widespread praise.
Such conditions were not only difficult for Yuan Song to refuse but likely impossible for any established aristocratic family to turn down.
The Northern Zhou dynasty had liberal customs and lenient laws, where celebrated scholars were common, and marrying a man, while not everyday occurrence, was far from rare. Someone like Yuan Song, already seasoned in official circles, would undoubtedly agree without hesitation upon reading this letter. But Yuan Li was still a young man, full of vigor and pride—to him, this might feel like an insult.
“I won’t force you,” Yuan Song said with difficulty. “If you find it troubling, just refuse.”
Yuan Li lowered his gaze, long eyelashes casting shadows as he pondered quietly.
Chaotic times were approaching.
If he followed the normal pace, it would take him at least several years to become an official and begin acquiring the power to recruit soldiers and purchase horses.
But by then, he would have already lost the advantage.
Yuan Li suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze firm and clear. “Father, accept the Chu Prince Manor’s proposal.”
Yuan Li possessed the open-mindedness of a modern person. Although he didn’t like men, the Chu Prince Manor’s eldest son didn’t actually require him to perform the wedding to ward off bad luck. This arrangement could solve his Imperial Academy admission problem, provide him with a renowned mentor, put the Chu Prince Manor in his debt, and wouldn’t damage his reputation either. With all advantages and no drawbacks, there was truly no reason to refuse.
Yuan Li didn’t believe the wedding to ward off bad luck would work, but if it actually did, perhaps it could save someone.
“You—” Yuan Song gasped, his eyes flying open to stare at his son, gradually moistening, “Li’er, you don’t have to do this for your mother and I…”
“Father, don’t overthink it,” Yuan Li couldn’t help but smile, his eyes curving and lips lifting, “A true man should focus on achieving merits and building career—why bother with such trivial matters?”
These words were spoken with such heroic spirit that Yuan Song felt the gloom in his heart completely dissipate. He let out a long breath, “My son is right.”
Yuan Li chuckled and handed the letter back to his father. “Has the Chu Prince Manor set a date for the wedding to ward off bad luck?”
“The messenger hasn’t left yet—he’s waiting for your reply,” Yuan Song said with a bitter smile. “Once you agree, he’ll rush back on horseback tonight. The Chu Prince Manor’s carriage will come for you tomorrow to take you to Luoyang. The day after tomorrow will be your wedding ceremony.”
Yuan Li was astonished. “Why such urgency?!”
Yuan Song lowered his voice. “The Chu Prince Manor’s eldest son… might not have much time left.”
Understanding dawned on Yuan Li, and he stopped hesitating. “Then so be it. I’ll spend tonight keeping mother company.”
“Go ahead,” Yuan Song waved his hand. “I’ll arrange everything for those refugees you placed in the farmstead according to your instructions. Don’t worry about them.”
“Since Father says so, I won’t concern myself with it anymore.”
Yuan Li pressed his lips into a smile, bowed to his father, and turned to leave the study.
But just as he was about to step over the threshold, his father suddenly spoke from behind, “Li’er, your father has failed you.”
The words were filled with guilt and sorrow.
If only his status were higher, how could he let his child suffer such humiliation?
Yuan Li paused momentarily, then simply waved his hand and walked forward with grace.
Having grown up without parents or siblings in his previous life, this second chance at life with such caring family had already filled the void of parental love. A young man should naturally use his own hands and feet to carve out a future and earn his own achievements—only then would he be worthy of this second chance at life.
Outside the city, layered mountain peaks stacked upon one another, towering into the clouds.
On the official road, several corpses stretched from the mountains to the roadside, lying scattered in disarray. Blood seeped through the grass seams, meandering into a thin, winding stream.
Not far away, the sound of numerous hoofbeats rapidly approached. Within moments, a group of mighty, imposing soldiers arrived at the scene of the corpses.
The leader’s face darkened as he dismounted. After examining the victims’ features, he immediately cursed, “Who the hell stole our prey?”
“Master, is this the convoy that corrupt official from Hanzhong sent with gifts to Luoyang?” His deputy stared wide-eyed, quickly dismounting and walking over. “Heavens! Who did this? Where’s the silver! The antiques! The silk! Where’s everything we were supposed to seize?”
“How should I know!” Yang Zhongfa grumbled curses. “How am I supposed to explain this to Chu Hechao! We were counting on this to replenish our military supplies, but instead of silver, we find a field of corpses! If Chu Hechao asks me for the goods, where am I supposed to get them for him!”
The deputy commander wiped the sweat from his brow, his face grim as he said, “What should we do, Master? The general gave us a strict order to intercept this shipment for our own use.”
Yang Zhongfa took a deep breath to suppress his anger and stepped forward to investigate.
The corpses were all lying face down, as if they had been killed one by one while fleeing from the mountains. Yang Zhongfa ventured into the hills and discovered numerous traps. In one pit filled with sharp bamboo spikes, seven or eight bodies were impaled like hedgehogs.
Whoever had intercepted them was not particularly strong, which was why they had resorted to tactics like cutting off escape routes and creating diversions, luring their targets into the mountains before picking them off one by one.
The deputy commander led his men to scout the surrounding area and found several cart tracks imprinted on the fallen leaves.
They followed the tracks deep into the mountains, but halfway there, they came across several wooden carts that had been destroyed and pushed into the river.
These were the carts the corrupt officials had used to transport the silver.
Yang Zhongfa’s face turned ashen. Who had been so thorough as to erase all traces by the river? How were they supposed to investigate now?
But if they didn’t investigate, how could he explain this to that bastard Chu Hechao?
He ordered a few soldiers skilled in swimming to remove their armor and dive into the river to search. After nearly turning the entire river upside down, they finally found a bloodstained coat wedged under a rock downstream.
Yang Zhongfa unfolded the coat, studied it with a dark expression for a moment, and said in a low voice, “Investigate! Chu Hechao returns the day after tomorrow. No matter which bastard took our goods, we must have an answer ready for him when he returns!”
His subordinates responded in unison, “Yes!”