Chapter 50: The Youth's Chaos
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Chu Mo turned his eyes to look at him, puzzled.
Tuoba Xun half-closed his eyes, his long eyelashes hiding the emotions in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he smiled softly: "I remember that Jing Junze wanted to bring you and the Seventh Princess together, is that right?"
Chu Mo retracted his gaze and said in a light tone: "It happened many years ago."
"It was a long time ago. You were eighteen or nineteen?"
"Eighteen." Chu Mo said, "We had just finished the Battle of Yuyang."
The Battle of Yuyang was the first large-scale battle that Chu Mo led his army to successfully win. After the great victory, Jing Ce and Tuoba Xun came to the garrison to meet their good friends.
At that time, they deeply realized that Chu Mo had really changed.
The boy's eyes and eyebrows are still unruly, but he acts calmly and firmly, already having the demeanor of an iron-blooded general.
When Chu Mo was invited into the tent by the soldiers, he was holding a corner of a bandage in his mouth and bandaging himself with a stern face. His body was covered in blood and his hair was messy.
Hearing the voice, he raised his eyes and looked at the two people. His eyes were bloodshot and looked quite horrifying.
Jing Ce and Tuoba Xun's hearts trembled, and then they heard him open his lips and said in a hoarse and mocking voice: "Here you are?"
The two men strode closer, and Jing Ce frowned: "Why don't you ask a doctor to come?"
"No need, it's just a minor injury." As he said this, he wrapped the bandage around it.
This simple sentence startled Jingtuo and the other man who hadn't seen him for half a year.
"Sit down." Chu Mo raised his chin slightly, motioning them to sit down.
As soon as the two sat down, Chu Mo went straight to the point. He listed the number of Nanzhao prisoners and the number of casualties under his command, and finally said, "This time it's very good."
Jing Ce: “Yes, it’s amazing.”
Chu Mo went to the battlefield when he was just seventeen. After a year of training and launching several small-scale battles, he successfully led hundreds of thousands of troops to capture the Nanzhao border - Yuyang.
A few years ago, Jing Ce would never have imagined that the always erratic young man would do something like this.
But... the price is too high.
Inadvertently glancing at Tuoba Xun who was unexpectedly quiet, he saw that he had been staring at Chu Mo's injury for a long time without moving his eyes away.
Jing Ce's eyes fell on the black clothes covered with blood, and he was slightly distracted.
Chu Mo likes to wear white clothes, thinking that it can make him look like a jade-like gentleman who is unparalleled in the world.
But at some point, he changed into a black robe, which made him look more stable and tough than the white robe, and concealed his remaining youthfulness.
Chu Mo raised his hand to pour tea for them, his face solemn: "I plan to rest for a few days and then take advantage of the situation to pursue."
Jingce agreed.
He and Tuoba Xun knew that Chu Mo was tired, so they didn't say much. They chatted for a few words and then left.
After the two left, Chu Mo quickly washed himself, changed his clothes, and fell into the bed.
In the past few days, Jing Ce and Tuoba Xun have been staying in the military camp. Because of them, Chu Mo's personality seems to have returned to its previous state. When he gets angry, he will fight with Tuoba Xun several times.
Tuoba Xun was not polite either, and the fight was so lively that the soldiers around him almost started a bet.
Jing Ce's mouth corners raised, but his eyes were full of complexity.
He knew that the eighteen-year-old boy in front of him would never be as carefree as he was at seventeen.
This is... growth brought about by blood and pain.
As night fell, the three of them sat on the grass and drank.
Maybe it was because he was drunk, or maybe it was the atmosphere, Jing Ce lowered his eyes to look at the sachet on his waist, and suddenly an idea came to his mind: "Chu Mo, you have seen my sister, right?"
The imperial sister he mentioned was only Her Royal Highness the Seventh Princess. Chu Mo had met the ten-year-old Jing Yun a year ago, so he nodded.
"You don't know, she is particularly good at her studies. No one of her age can compare to her. My sister is always praised by the Grand Tutor." He spoke drunkenly, and Chu Mo had no idea what he was talking about.
"You are also very good at needlework." Jing Ce pointed to the sachet on his waist: "My sister gave it to me just before I came here."
Because his mother often made sachets, Chu Mo could tell at a glance that this thing was indeed well made. However, when he raised his eyes, his emotion was cold: "So?"
"What do you think?" Jing Ce smiled, and his amber eyes narrowed into two slits. If he was not handsome, he would have looked cunning and wretched.
Chu Mo knew him and understood immediately: "..."
Indifferent and ignored.
Tuoba Xun beside him was dissatisfied, but Jing Ce suppressed him with a few words and turned to Chu Mo.
Chu Mo was extremely helpless and agreed: "Yes, yes, Her Royal Highness the Princess is fine."
Jing Ce was not angry at the attitude of retreating in order to advance, but he also knew that this matter could not be accomplished overnight, so he simply stopped talking and continued drinking.
I thought Jing Ce just mentioned it casually on a whim, but I didn't expect that for a whole year since then, Jing Ce would always tell Chu Mo about Jing Xuan.
Including but not limited to——
Jing Xuan is afraid of cold, Jing Xuan loves delicious food and likes fish the most, Jing Xuan likes the color blue...
There are many more.
Because of Jing Ce's identity, Chu Mo couldn't refuse, but he listened absent-mindedly and didn't seem to take the words to heart.
but……
Tuoba Xun knocked on the table, pulling Chu Mo's thoughts back from a few years ago. The latter looked at him sideways and opened his thin lips slightly: "What?"
"Chu Wenxi, are you really not interested in what Jing Junze said back then?" Tuoba Xun smiled charmingly, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, as if he had discovered a secret, and he was excited and curious.
Chu Mo lowered his eyes: "Not interested."
"That's right. Jing Junze only said those words for a year and never mentioned them again. You wouldn't be interested in them." Tuoba Xun smiled and said, "Am I right?"
Chu Mo responded softly.
"Chu heard everything." Tuoba Xun said with a sigh, "The infatuated person I mentioned before is not just Jing Junze."
"As the war stabilized, we all anticipated the current situation." Tuoba Xun gently put down the wine jug, and the sudden sound echoed in the room, making the atmosphere even more tense.
He just pulled the corner of his mouth, as if smiling: "The six tribes of the grassland are still there, and the people with evil intentions are still there. For all considerations, you can only guard Yunan Pass."
"So, Jing Junze became alert. He no longer dared to match you with the Seventh Princess, because..."
Tuoba Xun narrowed his eyes and stared deeply at Chu Mo who was bowing his head: "There are only two possible outcomes for you and the Seventh Princess. Either she comes to the border to be with you, or you stay in the capital and no longer guard the border."
"But, Her Royal Highness the Princess is delicate and the royal family is reluctant to let her suffer at the border, and you... can't not guard the border, so..." He exhaled slowly, with a complex emotion in his eyes, as if he was distressed and helpless: "Jing Junze gave up, and you gave up too."
"Jing Junze feels lucky that his best friend did not fall in love with his sister because of his influence, so he does not have to face such a dilemma." At this point, he sneered: "Jing Junze is too innocent, he doesn't know at all..."
"Because of his words, you have already been moved. The eighteen-year-old boy's heart is moved, and the love is gentle and passionate, but you have to pour a plate of cold water over your head, chilling your body and mind."
"Chu Wenxi, you said you had someone you loved for many years, and everyone thought it was a lie." Tuoba Xun's Adam's apple rolled, and he said softly: "But you... have never lied to anyone."
Chu Mo has never been a cowardly and compromising person. On the contrary, he is outspoken and unrestrained, and his love is open and frank. When he anticipated all this, he had thought about finding another way.
At that time, he was in the capital, and met Jing Xuan, who was wearing an elegant silk dress, in a teahouse.
There was a storyteller in the teahouse, telling a love story. The little princess and her friends were listening with great interest.
Chu Mo hesitated for a while and sat down near her.
Coincidentally, the storyteller was telling the story of a girl who traveled thousands of miles for her lover.
It was such a coincidence, so coincidental that Chu Mo felt it was rude, but he secretly pricked up his ears.
He didn't listen to the whole story, but the ending was that the girl lived a miserable and unhappy life.
At this time, the little princess's friend asked her: "Xiaoxiao, if the person you like is thousands of miles away in the future, will you go to find him?"
Jing Xuan shook her head, unable to understand why someone would make such a choice. Her voice was soft but firm: "No, it's so good to be in the capital. I won't let myself be wronged."
Chu Mo lowered his eyes, hiding the expression in his eyes, and after a moment, he smiled softly.
He stood up and left, his back tall and straight, as if he could carry all burdens and block all waves.
But no one knew what this great general, who was famous all over the world at a young age, was thinking.
He thought: The little princess is so pampered, how could he let her suffer any injustice?
After that, Chu Mo guarded the border and stayed there for many years.
His love is silent, and no one knows that there is a little girl in his heart, whom he comforts carefully.
He actually always knew that—
From the very beginning, he kept Jing Ce's words in mind. At that time, it was not love, but he just felt that the little princess, whom he had met once, was very cute, and he couldn't help but want to know more about her.
But later, Chu Mo had a calm expression on his face, but he would quietly prick up his ears to listen to Jing Ce's words, thinking and waiting day by day.
What will the prince say today? What interesting things has the little princess experienced recently?
Curiosity was making him feel sick.
But in the end, Chu Mo discovered that the prince hadn't mentioned the little princess for a month, and then... he never mentioned her again.
Chu Mo realized everything. The prince didn't mention it anymore, and he couldn't listen anymore.
But... during this period of time, he always pays attention to the little princess.
At banquets in the palace, banquets outside the palace, and when they met unexpectedly in the capital, the little princess always smiled and talked to others, but never looked at him.
He spent so little time in the capital that the people around him didn't think of introducing him to the little princess.
He thought about introducing himself, but the little princess was always in a hurry and never stopped to look at him.
Later, he learned about the prince's concerns, the dilemma, and the princess's choice, so he never thought of expressing his love to her again.
The young man was full of vigor and ambition. Once he fell in love, it was hard to stop and his passion was surging.
But this young man, who has always been unbridled and willful, wants to be gentle to his sweetheart.
If the little princess is not attracted to him, he will be the only one in the chaos. After all, he is born to be a general and is not afraid of swords and wars.
So, Chu Mo left, left the capital, and headed for the border thousands of miles away.
If Jingxuan had not turned into a cat and had not come to the border, they would have no connection in this life.
Wen Zhixun once asked: The general doesn’t like cats, so why did he pick up Xiaobai?
Chu Mo smiled softly: "She has beautiful eyes."
——Just like...a little princess.
At first, everyone knew that kittens understood human nature and were smart enough to make people wary, fearing that her intentions were not pure.
Chen Fu and Wen Zhixun were like this, Chu Mo also had doubts.
However, the kitten's personality and temper made Chu Mo feel soft-hearted. He felt so soft-hearted that he looked towards the capital city, unable to take his eyes off it for a long time.
The first time he heard the little princess's voice, he felt it was extremely familiar.
No one knew that on the night when Chu Mo learned the kitten's true identity, he did not sleep all night. He was like a young boy, excited, uneasy, hesitant, and worried about gains and losses.
As Tuoba Xun said, he had liked someone for many years and kept her at the top of his heart - this was never a lie, he had never deceived anyone.
But... no one knows.
Now, someone seemed to have seen his love.
Chu Mo raised his eyes and looked directly at Tuoba Xun: "How did you know?"
"When Jing Junze talked about the Seventh Princess, your eyes were bright, and only the surname Jing was blind."
Chu Mo raised his lips and smiled.
"Chu Wenxi, many years have passed, and now, are you still prepared to remain silent?" Tuoba Xun asked seriously.
Suddenly remembering the decision he made in the afternoon, Chu Mo took a sip of wine, his Adam's apple rolled, and his voice was hoarse: "No more."
"Never again, I won't be stupid again." Chu Mo said hoarsely: "Between my country and her, I will definitely choose a middle path."
Tuoba Xun snorted and laughed, "This is my good brother!"
Chu Mo looked at him steadily and smiled with relief.
"I remember you said many years ago that one day, if you find someone you like, you will tell her your feelings without hesitation." Tuoba Xun sneered: "In the end, that day came, and you wasted a few years."
Chu Mo also laughed at himself.
"Go and tell it earlier, so there will be one less person suffering."
Chu Mo responded.
Speaking of what he said when he was young, Tuoba Xun raised his eyebrows at him: "Do you remember what I said?"
Chu Mo rolled his eyes at him: "What? There are beauties in the world, and there are 30,000 buckets of water, and I want to take them all?"
Tuoba Xun grinned: "You really remember it."
"Then do you remember what else I said?" He said with a smile in his eyes, as if he was just saying it casually.
Chu Mo was silent, as if he was thinking back, and after a moment: "I forgot."
Tuoba Xun's smile froze: "Really?"
Chu Mo's expression was indifferent and he nodded in response.
Immediately, a sword pierced his heart. Tuoba Xun held his heart like Xi Shi, feeling grief-stricken: "Why did you forget that sentence?"
"Yeah." Quite cold and heartless.
"Go to hell you heartless bastard."
"Oh." Chu Mo remained indifferent.
Tuoba Xun cursed a few times and didn't bother about it anymore.
The two chatted for a while, and when it was late at night, Tuoba Xun got up and went back to the courtyard.
"Tuoba Xun." Chu Mo raised his eyes and spoke in a low voice, as if warning: "I told you, you'd better keep a clear head and don't do anything stupid."
The young man in red was standing in the light, so his expression could not be seen clearly, but he might be smiling, a helpless smile: "What stupid thing could I do?"
"If anything happens to you, Tuoba Xiao and Nan You will not have a good ending. When that happens, don't blame me for being cruel."
"Okay, okay, got it."
Tuoba Xun turned around, waved at him, stepped into the night, and strode away.
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