Rebirth of a Star General

CH 17: CLASSMATES

'I had gone to the drill fields empty-handed but came back with a horse in hand.'

He Yun Sheng couldn't shake off this thought from his mind. But, for some unknown reason, he felt rather empty at heart, as if he had tied a white wolf with his bare hands.1 As soon as he realized this, he reprimanded himself. How dare he think that! This was a gift from his most adored hero!

But... it was just that General Feng Yun's appearance was even more striking and sophisticated than it was rumoured to be. Could he grow up to become such a man even in a thousand years?

He Sui cast a sidelong glance at He Yun Sheng. His son had a dazed look on his face. He didn't know where his mind was flying off to yet it was rare to see him in such high spirits. He Sui turned his attention to He Yan again. Although her face was covered with a veil, He Sui could tell that she was lost in thought.

What in the world was wrong with his children?! He Yun Sheng hadn't uttered a word throughout their walk back home. The reason was obvious—He Yun Sheng was not able to keep his mind off the horse and the person who gifted it to him. But why was He Yan silent? Of course, that young man, Xiao Huai Jin, was young and promising and his daughter was one of the most captivating women in the entire kingdom. Wait... Did his daughter happen to have taken a liking to him? He Sui sincerely prayed that wasn't the case. He was already in trouble with a certain Fan gongzi but now a young commander has made his appearance! There were countless Young Masters of noble families but there was only one Xiao Huai Jin in the entire dynasty!

He Sui had a headache thinking about this.

The three of them seemed to be lost in their own worlds. The person who sold tofu next door, Aunt Li, was rather curious about what had caused the entire family to behave so peculiarly. She pulled He Sui aside and asked with a voice filled with concern: "Brother He, has something happened at home? Yan Yan and Yun Sheng seem to be very distracted."

He Sui was at a loss for words.

Qing Mei had already prepared dinner by the time the three of them arrived. As everyone was drinking their own portion of porridge, He Sui suddenly raised a question: "Yan Yan, why did you come to the drill fields today?"

It was understandable in He Yun Sheng's case but He Yan had never visited the drill fields in her life.

He Yan's thoughts were interrupted because of the question. She turned to look at He Sui and spoke: "Well, I only wanted to tell father that it was high time Yun Sheng entered the academy. You know very well, simply learning some fist moves and footwork won't help Yun Sheng's future. He needs to be trained by an experienced tutor. It's not too late as spring is the right time to be admitted into the academy. What is father's opinion on this matter?"

He Sui opened his mouth to answer but had a moment's hesitation. The truth was, he didn't know if he was supposed to be glad because his daughter had finally started caring for her brother, or worried, because He Yan's innocent question had actually rendered him speechless.

"Yan Yan, I have thought about this before... but right now, we are in short of silver," he said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Hang in there. Daddy will get a little more silver with this month's salary."

Otherwise, he would never have tolerated Zhao gongzi's insults.

He Yun Sheng had supper with his head lowered but his ears were sharp enough. He was aware that his father suffered a lot to feed the family. He had felt that it would be unfilial of him to put forward such a request. But the words he could not say were finally spoken by He Yan, making He Yun Sheng sigh in relief.

"Daddy need not worry about the silver." Saying this, He Yan got up from her seat and went to her room. A moment later, she came back with a chest. She opened it, its sparkling contents almost blinded He Sui's and Qing Mei's eyes.