Chapter 376: Old Friend of the He Family
Xiao Yan didn't expect that Di Shuangcheng actually had a relationship with the He family.
When he first learned about the military token, before he decided to come to the Northwest, he sent people to investigate all matters related to the Northwest Army, including relatives in the court, distant relatives, and even any information that could be related to the generals of the Zhen'an Army and Longting Guard.
It was at that time that he found He Rongzhang.
Xiao Yan was not familiar with this illegitimate uncle who had long been like a dead man in the eyes of the He family. However, this did not prevent him from remembering all the "deviant" things this man did. He had never thought that he was useful until he realized that Di Shuangcheng was completely different from the reckless military general he had originally thought.
He was sharp-minded and difficult to fool, and even realized that he had captured Mrs. Di and wanted to threaten him.
Xiao Yan had no choice but to go with the flow and pull this cheap uncle out, but he didn't expect to get an unexpected gain.
…
This was the first time Xiao Yan set foot in the Di family's general's mansion. Unlike the prosperous capital, the Di family seemed much more rough and simple. There were no nice furnishings in the mansion, and the tables and chairs were made of ordinary wood. The best thing in the entire Di family was probably the martial arts training platform filled with weapons.
Most of the servants in the Di family were soldiers, and it was not until I entered the backyard that I saw some maids.
Xiao Yan followed Di Shuangcheng into the study. Di Shuangcheng waved his hand to let the servant who brought tea go out. After closing the door, he saw that the young man opposite him showed a just right look of vigilance on his face.
"Are you from the He family?"
Di Shuangcheng looked up at him and said, "Back then, the entire He family was exterminated. Not only were all the members of the family in Beijing killed, but even the branch of the He family in Zhangxing was wiped out. How did you survive? Which branch are you from?"
Xiao Yan pursed her lips tightly and said nothing, just looking at Di Shuangcheng warily.
Di Shuangcheng said: "Since you have come to Fengcheng, you must have something very important to ask."
"He Rongzhang left the He family before he was 10. Four years after he left, the He family was implicated in the Crown Prince Li incident and the entire family was executed. He was unaware of the He family's affairs, and he was a bastard who had been expelled from the clan long ago. That's why he was able to escape."
"If you are from the He family, you must be looking for He Rongzhang because of the He family's past, but He Rongzhang's understanding of the He family is probably not as good as mine."
Xiao Yan looked at him with some suspicion, obviously not believing what he said.
Di Shuangcheng smiled and said, "My surname is not Di, but Ling. I was educated in the He family when I was young."
Something flashed through Xiao Yan's mind, and his eyes suddenly widened. "Are you Ling Si Cao's son?" He paused, "That Ling Yu?"
Di Shuangcheng raised his eyebrows: "Do you know me?"
Xiao Yan was really shocked this time. He was still young back then and nothing had happened to the He family. He was very close to several of the He family's brothers and uncles, so he was naturally no stranger to the He family school.
He remembered that when he was five or six years old, a very unfamiliar and aggressive young man had enrolled in the He family school. He had a very bad temper and loved to fight. He heard from his uncle that he was the son of a grain transport official in the south. He was implicated in the disaster relief work a few years ago, and his parents died, leaving him alone.
The Si Cao had died in vain, and his uncle, feeling sorry for his life, brought his son back to the capital to protect and educate him, intending to send him to the government in the future. Unfortunately, the Ling family's son had a very bad temper and had no talent for studying. Instead, he was a natural military general, and he could understand military strategies and books at a glance. Later, the He family found a way to send him to join the army.
That was seventeen or eighteen years ago, and Xiao Yan's memory of that time had long been fuzzy. He only vaguely remembered the existence of such a person.
When Di Shuangcheng said his last name was Ling, the memory came flooding back.
Xiao Yan's guard dropped a little, revealing a hint of sincerity. "I once saw you at home in the middle school when I was young. You got into a fight with Luo Linhou's son. You knocked over the teacher's desk and pushed him into a water tank, nearly causing an accident. Afterwards, your uncle locked you up in the ancestral hall and whipped you."
Di Shuangcheng laughed suddenly upon hearing this, and his guard dropped. "You even know this. It seems you're really from the He family. Which branch are you from?"
Xiao Yan: "I am the youngest son of the third wife."
Di Shuangcheng's mind flashed back to the group of children in the He family back then. They were all young gentlemen who were raised in luxury, with fair skin, tender flesh and young age.
Although he had stayed in the He family for a while, he was mostly familiar with a few young men of the same age as him and the people in charge of the He family mansion. He couldn't remember what the child of the third room looked like.
But Xiao Yan could clearly tell what happened in the He family school, and even knew that he was whipped by He's uncle, so his identity could definitely not be fake.
Di Shuangcheng immediately became friendly, his tiger eyes tinged with excitement. "When the bloodbath took place in the capital, I secretly returned to the capital after hearing the news. No one in the He family was left alive. The entire capital was in a state of panic, and no one associated with the He family met a good end."
"I stayed in the capital for several months without finding any survivors. Later, I had no choice but to take He Rongzhang back to the northwest, hoping to leave a trace of blood for the He family. Unexpectedly, I didn't expect that there were still people alive in the He family."
“That’s great… That’s great…”
He looked excited, and his eyes were even a little red.
Xiao Yan could feel his excitement, and a hint of intimacy appeared on his face.
"It happened suddenly that year. I was in the palace when the He family was in trouble. The Eastern Palace was in chaos, and my cousin and the crown prince were both killed in the fire. However, I happened to be returning home from the Eastern Palace and was protected by someone and escaped."
When he talked about the past, his eyes became misty.
"I hid here and there and managed to save my life, but the He family collapsed overnight. Later, I returned to Zhangxing and gathered the He family members who were hiding. I came to the northwest because I wanted to find He Rongzhang to ask some questions."
"General, how did you come to the Northwest and change your name? If you hadn't mentioned it yourself, I wouldn't have recognized you at all."
Di Shuangcheng had previously been wary of the man in front of him being a Beiling spy, and later worried that he had ill intentions towards the Zhen'an Army. Now that he knew he was a member of the He family, he said in a familiar manner:
"When the He family sent me into the army, they wanted me to gain some experience as a garrison officer in the capital so they could give me an official position. But I was too proud and arrogant to accept the He family's support. Coincidentally, a war broke out in the northwest, so I secretly came here."
Being young and full of vigor, he wanted to make a name for himself. He was afraid that his relationship with the He family would be known, and that the He family would secretly protect him, so he hid his name and stayed in the northern border under the name of Di Shuangcheng. Later, after a series of wars, he gradually came to the fore and was appreciated by his superiors.
"I was awarded the rank of Sixth-Rank Xiaowei for my military exploits, and I wanted to return to the capital to meet Uncle He and his men. But who knew something had happened in the capital. I secretly returned to the capital and discovered something was amiss. I also saw that the late emperor and the current emperor were ruthlessly targeting the He family and the former relatives of the Crown Prince. Furthermore, among the crimes the Crown Prince was accused of was the case involving disaster relief that had implicated my father."
Ling Yu was someone who had appeared in the He family, and many people knew his identity. If he used it again, it would be too dangerous, so he simply used the name Di Shuangcheng until now.
Almost all the people who came with him from the capital at the beginning died on the battlefield. He quietly erased his past, and no one knew about it.
After hearing this, Xiao Yan finally understood why he couldn't find out about Di Shuangcheng's past.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com