Dear Brother, Your Chest Wrap Has Fallen Off - Chapter 4

In front was a magnificent courtyard, with high walls surrounding several houses that looked like those in Chang’an. As they went deeper, it was unknown how much land it occupied. There were four riveted gates that opened one after another, and a row of soldiers with swords stood in front of the gates like stone statues, looking mighty without anger.

This was the Anxi Protectorate.

Zhao Yong took her, bypassing the main entrance and to a side door.

There was a painting on the side door, which looked like a person leading an animal. There was not enough paste on the back of the painting, and half of it was blown away by the wind, so the details could not be seen clearly.

Zhao Yong stepped forward first and whispered a few words to the man guarding the gate, then called Jiarou forward.

On the way, Zhao Yong repeatedly reminded her not to divulge her real name and identity, in case those Turkic spies who had been enemies with General Cui targeted her. He asked her to first think of a name to fool them.

As expected, the gatekeeper looked her over and asked, “What’s your name?”

Zhao Yong hurriedly winked at her.

She opened her paper fan with a swish and acted like a dashing person. “Surname Pan, given name An, together read as Pan An.”

Zhao Yong, “…..”

After entering the Protectorate, the two followed the gatekeeper’s instructions and waited under a tree for a man named “Wang Huaian”. This man was allegedly Xue Lang’s personal guard. Because Xue Lang attached great importance to raising livestock, he entrusted the task of finding a herdsman to his trusted aide.

On the way to the Protectorate, Zhao Yong had briefly recounted the glorious story of Xue Lang, the newly appointed Grand Protector of Anxi Protectorate.

It was said that he was only 23 years old, but as early as 16 years old, he led 3,000 elite soldiers to raid the enemy camp in a rebellion and became famous. In the following years, he repeatedly made great achievements in defending the southwest and was called the “King of the Southwest”. In the past two years, the southwest had been stable, and Xue Lang departed to the Western Regions.

Jiarou had heard of this “King of the Southwest” very well, but had never seen him.

Two years ago, the war on the southwestern border ended. Xue Lang returned to Chang’an to present the prisoners of war. The entire Zhuque Street was surrounded by an impenetrable layer of people and she could not get in. Finally, she took the opportunity to climb up a tall tree and gain a slight advantage.

She joined in the fun not to admire any hero, after all, she had one in her family, so it was nothing special. She just heard that the King of the Southwest was so handsome that he had attracted two princes from small countries in the southwest who were keen on homosexuality to boast. The words were, if they could get into Xue Lang’s tent, they would reward him with their kingdoms.

No one knew the complicated process of the twisted love affairs of these three people, but now on the prison carts stretching along the long street, it was said that the two princes were among them, fulfilling their original promise of “rewarding with their kingdom” in another way.

Because of this unexpected result, Cui Jiarou became even more curious about Xue Lang.

Beautiful yet vicious, and still a man, how would his appearance be!

She was squatting on the treetop at the time, which was an absolutely great place to see handsome men. But if she hadn’t waited until she was hungry and ordered her loyal servant to hand over a bucket of walnuts, peaches and cold dessert, if Xue Lang hadn’t happened to ride his horse under the tall tree, and if there hadn’t been a sudden gust of ghost wind…..

She didn’t actually see clearly whether the bucket with food that fell from the sky covered Xue Lang’s head, she only remembered suddenly hearing a loud voice saying “there is an assassin” and then she fell from the tree. Although she was extremely lucky to land on a group of servants and avoid being injured, the wind blew the heavy cold dessert bowl down from the tree, hitting her eye with a “bang”, making her a one-eyed dragon for several days.

Later on, that farce led to some further troubles.

Such as, on the second day, for the first time, a eunuch suddenly came to the Cui Mansion, which had been deserted for several years, and brought a roll of imperial edict, saying that the current emperor could not bear to see General Cui’s daughter parading like a dandy, and ordered her to be confined for two months to control her nature.

A small house arrest order actually made use of the emperor, this big Buddha, which caused a lot of heated discussion in the streets. Thanks to this imperial decree, when her two-month house arrest was over and she could finally step on the main street of Chang’an, she had been given the title of “Chang’an’s No. 1 Female Dandy” and she couldn’t get rid of it.

Later on, she found some ways to inquire, but still couldn’t find out who moved the emperor to issue such an imperial decree. If she knew, she must let him face the consequences, and even throwing him into the cesspool would not satisfy her!

Another follow-up to this matter was that although she became more and more beautiful, no matchmaker came to her house after she reached the marriageable age. Which family would be willing to marry an unruly bride?

It continued to drag on until the beginning of this year when someone finally proposed marriage. The Cui and An families treated it as a treasure, fearing that the man would change his mind. In just three days, they completed the first three steps of the six rituals of “accepting the bride price, asking for the name and birth date, and accepting the marriage”. She was kept completely in the dark until the betrothal gifts piled up all over the yard, and then she finally reacted.

Now, sorting out the cause and effect relationship, it seemed the reason why she wanted to escape from the marriage was related to Xue Lang.

Zhao Yong reminded her at this time, “Don’t look at the young age of Protector General Xue. I heard he is very strict in managing the army. Even if the Protectorate recruits a person doing odd jobs, the character and morality must first be tested.”

After being blown by air for a while, his mind became clear. He knew that Cui Jiarou’s previous words about dreaming of General Cui dream was just a psychological tactic to get what she wanted. But he knew this girl’s character very well. If she didn’t hit a wall once, she would not turn back.

Thinking of this, he added, “In the war that year, the Protectorate was burned down. Even if you want to, you can no longer see General Cui’s barracks back then. Don’t look around randomly, later just do as I say.”

Jiarou couldn’t help but look around, thinking that it was impossible not to look around randomly.

Even if she didn’t visit the Protectorate, she would definitely want to see Xue Lang’s stunningly beautiful face clearly. Preferably without missing even a single eyelash, so that her years of being labeled a dandy would not be in vain.

After waiting for a while, a soldier came over and asked, “Which one is Pan An?”

Thinking that she would soon meet the handsome Xue, Jiarou was excited. She walked out, raised her chest and stood in front of the soldier. She slapped the paper fan and said, “Isn’t it obvious?”

The soldier chuckled and said, “Follow me.”

Jiarou lifted the hem of her robe and followed the soldier to a barracks not far away.

The door of the barracks was wide open, and the bitter smell of herbs was heavy; suggesting it was a military doctor’s barracks.

A loud and noisy voice came from inside, “Ouch, be gentle, I still want this face!”

Someone else inside sneered, “This is the first time I’ve heard of someone getting burned like this by a fart.”

The first voice said fiercely, “If I catch that brat, I will skin him alive.”

Jiarou listened to the noise inside and felt an unknown peculiar feeling in her heart.

There was the sound of footsteps in the military doctor’s barracks. A tall man lifted the curtain and came out. His square face was covered with a thick layer of brown cream, making it hard to see his appearance.

But it definitely couldn’t be the handsome man Xue Lang.

Although she did not see Xue Lang’s face clearly when she was squatting on the tree, his agile and upright figure on the horse still left a deep impression on her.

The man stopped under the eaves, grimacing due to the injury on his face, and casually looked at Jiarou twice. Seeing that she was very handsome with red lips and white teeth, he couldn’t help but look at her twice more, “Are you Pan An?” She really lived up to her name.

Jiarou realized that this must be Xue Lang’s personal guard Wang Huaian. She suppressed her suspicion and said, “Indeed, it’s me.”

“I heard that you can treat diseases in livestock?”

“Some common minor illnesses.”

Jiarou believed in her craftsmanship, but she was also somewhat self-aware of her own character.

She was best suited to eating, drinking and having fun, and it was enough for her to help others with veterinary work. If she was asked to examine livestock during the day and stay up late at night to deliver babies like her grandfather and uncle, she couldn’t do it.

It’s better to be a small thug and live a life of idleness.

“What diseases can you treat?” Wang Huaian asked again.

A voice came from the military doctor’s room: “Okay, it’s time.”

Wang Huaian nodded to Cui Jiarou, “You talk, I listen.”

Cui Jiarou picked out a few of the simplest and most common animal diseases, and Wang Huaian went into the military doctor’s room. There was a sound of splashing water. Soon, he came out again, holding a towel in his hand and wiping the water drops on his face. All the ointment on his face had been washed away.

Jiarou raised her eyes and glanced over, and was immediately alarmed.

This, this, this standard square face like the corner of a city wall, isn’t he the man at the market this morning?

It turned out that he was not an ordinary civilian, but a member of the Protectorate.

Compared with this morning, Wang Huaian’s originally dark face had turned red, and there were two pigeon egg-sized blisters on his forehead and chin, which were obviously caused by sparks. He cut quite a sorry figure.

Seeing his eyes sweeping over her, she lowered her head quickly, thinking to herself, isn’t this me taking the initiative to run into him? !

As she could act as a playboy, she would naturally get into trouble frequently and develop an unyielding character. However, there is an old saying that says ‘a wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him’.  Now that she was not in her domain, she would not act recklessly.

She quickly figured out in her mind that Wang Huaian fiercely threatened to skin her alive earlier, but he still spoke to her kindly, which meant he didn’t recognize her. Now she was dressed up as a handsome and elegant young man, and no one would easily associate her with the poor boy who looked like a beggar in the morning.

With this consideration, she boldly set her mind at ease.

As for what happened in the morning, as long as she didn’t let anything slip, no one in the world would know it was her doing.

There was still hope of making an idle living in the Protectorate.

She had a good idea in her mind, serving animals was better than serving people. Instead of being asked to serve tea and wine in a restaurant or tavern , working as a server, she might as well go back and get married.

Hold on! This Wang Huaian is one of the people who was burned by the cow’s fart, then who is that donkey-eating villain who was praised by her but returned the favor with hatred?

As she was thinking, she heard the sound of intermittent footsteps from behind. Zhao Yong seemed afraid that she would get into trouble, so he followed her with his lame leg.

Zhao Yong was once General Cui’s personal bodyguard and one of the few survivors from the previous Anxi Army. Most of the current Anxi Army knew him.

Just like many people in Qiuci respected Zhao Yong out of gratitude, Wang Huaian also admired this man who had shed blood in the Western Regions.

He did not ask Jiarou any more questions, but only clasped his fists and greeted Zhao Yong, “The people recommended by Lord Zhao are trustworthy. It’s just that the post of a shepherd is related to the important matter of military farming, and the Grand Protector General attaches great importance to it. From pastoral supervisor to shepherd, all need to be personally reviewed by the Grand Protector General, and this junior’s words alone have no weight.”

To put it simply, the military farming system meant when officers and soldiers were stationed in a certain place, they cultivated the land for daily living while defending against the enemy. They were soldiers in wartime and civilians in peacetime.

When General Cui was in power, he implemented the military farming system, which was quite effective. If it weren’t for the sudden arrival of 50,000 Turkic troops…..

“This is how it should be.” Zhao Yong clasped his fists and didn’t insist. He brought Jiarou here to hit the wall, of course he didn’t really want her to be selected. Otherwise, how could he have the face to burn paper offerings for General Cui.

–This general took great care of you in the past. Now my most precious daughter went to your place, but what did you ask her to do?

–General, this humble officer is incompetent and could only helplessly watch the girl serve the animals and earn money.

Well, there was no need for Jiarou to defraud him. Afraid General Cui would really give him a beating with a military stick in his dream.

Cui Jiarou heard that a small shepherd was unexpectedly going to be scrutinized by the mighty Grand Protector, and her heart moved. She no longer cared who the donkey-eating thief she had provoked at the market early in the morning was. She just thought, wow, I’m finally going to see the legendary handsome man!

She was excited that her curiosity, which had lasted for two years, was about to be fulfilled. A soldier came over and whispered something in Wang Huaian’s ear. Then Wang Huaian clasped his fists towards Zhao Yong and said, “The Grand Protector wants to see Lord Zhao. Please!”

The author has something to say:

Cui Jiarou: If I knew who bewitched the old emperor to issue an imperial decree to me, I would never forgive him!

Xue Lang: It’s not me, I didn’t, don’t guess.