Chapter 82 Year After Year the Geese (Part Four) Tomorrow we leave the city to welcome the princess's entourage. ...
The border troops are strictly disciplined, and soldiers are not allowed to leave their posts without permission. By the time Wei Yuanzhan's leave request was approved, it was already mid-March.
He couldn't stay a moment longer, so he summoned Lan Ye and Chang Huai, and they traveled day and night, barely dismounting, finally arriving in the capital ten days later.
It was said that riding horses was forbidden in the capital, yet the sound of hooves approached quietly like the beat of drums, growing louder and louder. A servant under the Marquis's gate turned his head and looked into the distance, and saw several figures galloping towards them on fine horses.
Upon reaching the gate of the mansion, Wei Yuanzhan reined in his horse, dismounted, and strode up the steps.
The servant was stunned for a moment before he remembered to stop him. Changhuai caught up from behind and shouted, "Aren't you going to open the door? It's the young master!"
"Young Master..." Wei Yuanzhan returned home dusty and weary, without even a letter. No one in the manor had received any orders, so how could they have imagined that the dusty-covered man in front of them was their young master?
Upon closer inspection, although the figure had changed somewhat, the face still had deep features, and the fierce air between the brows was still there. Who else could it be but Wei Yuanzhan?
He hurriedly shouted, "The prince is back! The prince is back!"
As soon as the inner door bolt was opened, the vermilion gate swung open, and reports came in succession, filling the entire mansion with an indescribable joy.
Wei Yuanzhan went straight to Xu Yueqing's room to pay his respects. When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, lifted his robe, knelt on the porch, and kowtowed respectfully towards the inside. He straightened up and said, "Father, Mother, your son has returned."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Yueqing, who was embroidering in her room, dropped the embroidery hoop in her hand, tears streaming down her face as if they were flowing on their own, obscuring her vision.
After a long separation, Xu Yueqing could hardly believe that he had really returned, as there had been no word of it at all.
The thought of her precious child going to such a place as the Northwest to suffer was unbearable. She rushed over and put her arm around Wei Yuanzhan's shoulder: "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Get up quickly and let your mother... take a good look at you."
Xu Yueqing choked with sobs. The servant who had come to report had just arrived, but seeing that the lady had already met the prince, he stepped back.
Wei Jingfan stepped out of the room, took advantage of the sunlight in the courtyard to examine the person carefully for a while, and said nothing, but felt a little relieved.
"Mother," Wei Yuanzhan said, rising to his feet, "How is my sister? Is she safe?"
“Mingying…” Xu Yueqing slowly frowned, wiped her eyes with her hand, her mind still unsettled.
Wei Jingfan glanced at them, then turned and went inside: "Come in and let's talk."
Since Wei Mingying entered the palace, the Crown Prince has indeed taken good care of her and has never mistreated her because of the marriage alliance.
Last December, Wei Mingying gave birth to a daughter. The due date was not yet set, and it was an emergency delivery. The mother was born with a weak condition, and Wei Mingying was also physically weak and somewhat depressed.
To please her, the Crown Prince ordered many new items to be purchased outside the palace during his leisure time, and often accompanied her. In early spring of this year, Wei Mingying was willing to stroll in the garden, and her appetite gradually improved. The Crown Prince was overjoyed and bestowed gifts upon all the people in her palace.
Unexpectedly, because of that imperial merchant surnamed Jiang, the two quarreled again, and to this day, the Crown Prince has not visited Wei Mingying for more than half a month.
The emperor's dissatisfaction with the Wei family eased somewhat because Wei Mingying gave birth to a daughter, and Wei Jingfan was less constrained in the court, but he was still not as powerful as he was three years ago.
Sunlight streamed through the west window, casting a soft shadow that danced in Wei Yuanzhan's eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that his sister and daughter were unharmed. His mind, however, remained heavy with worry as he thought of the Crown Prince, his brow furrowing again. Despite knowing the difference between ruler and subject, he found it difficult to suppress the urge to punish him.
"Yuanzhan." A soft call came from above. Wei Yuanzhan turned his gaze and heard Xu Yueqing say, "Now that you're back, you won't be leaving again, will you?"
Nearly three years have passed since they last met. Xu Yueqing noticed that his appearance hadn't changed, but his features seemed a bit more rugged, and perhaps he had also lost weight. She couldn't help but wonder if he was doing well. Besides the injuries on his body, was anyone in the military camp making things difficult for him?
In her view, nowhere is worse than the capital, the capital city. Finding a stable job and getting married and having children when she reaches a certain age is what she should do.
Wei Yuanzhan made no attempt to conceal anything and said directly, "It wasn't my turn to take a break before. I came back on leave this time, and the army granted me a month's leave."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yueqing raised her eyebrows, slammed her palm on the armrest of the chair, and asked anxiously, "Are you going back to that place to stay?"
Although they were not by Wei Yuanzhan's side over the years, news of him always came back from the border through various channels.
Whenever there was a war with the north, whether it was raiding by nomadic tribes or fighting against the Northern Li, Wei Yuanzhan was always involved. The messengers said that they wondered if the Crown Prince had any enemies in the north, as he seemed determined to conquer the north every time he went on a campaign.
Gao Hongyu trusted him and therefore relied on him even more. As he led troops more often, the chances of him getting injured increased like wildfire. Last autumn, news came that he was unconscious. Upon hearing this, Xu Yueqing's heart pounded, and he lost his appetite for more than ten days, falling seriously ill.
Therefore, no matter what she says, she will absolutely not allow Wei Yuanzhan to go back again.
Xu Yueqing remained steadfast in her stance. Wei Yuanzhan, having just arrived home, was unwilling to argue with his mother. He secretly shifted his gaze to the Marquis before lowering his eyes again.
The father and son completed the handover tacitly, with Wei Jingfan intervening and Wei Yuanzhan taking his leave first.
Compared to the frontier, the wind in the capital was relatively gentle. As soon as Wei Yuanzhan entered the room, the bathtub was already prepared.
He soaked in the hot water for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, then lay down on the bed. He kept thinking about Zhi Rou, but fortunately, he was tired and fell asleep soon after closing his eyes.
The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Changhuai and the others saw no movement inside the house and decided not to disturb them.
When it was time to set out lunch, Wei Yuanzhan had already dressed himself neatly and stepped out of the room, wearing Wu silk and satin, looking completely different from how he had been in the Northwest.
Upon seeing this, Lan Ye's resolve to stay in the capital strengthened even further. As she spoke, she glanced at his expression and said, "Master, do we really have to go back? What Madam said makes sense. In another two or three months, you'll be nineteen. It's time to settle down. You can't stay on the border forever..."
Before she could finish speaking, she met Wei Yuanzhan's gaze, and her voice weakened, becoming as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"You can keep it." Wei Yuanzhan stepped outside, exchanged a glance with Chang Huai, and immediately stepped forward to block Lan Ye. Despite the people shouting from behind, Wei Yuanzhan simply waved his hand leisurely, indicating that they didn't need to follow.
Upon returning to Beijing, Wei Yuanzhan first visited his master at Qiyun Garden, where they chatted for a while before heading to the Song family home.
Song Hanjin was still unmarried. When she heard that Wei Yuanzhan had come, she was initially reluctant to see him. However, she thought that since he lived close to her brother, she might be able to hear about her brother's current situation from him. So, she reluctantly went to the main hall.
She and Wei Yuanzhan each had their own agenda. Visiting the Song family was one thing, but there was another reason: Wei Yuanzhan wanted to see Zhirou's mother on her behalf.
Upon careful consideration, he realized he had never met Madam Lin before. For some reason, he felt he should pay her a visit, but lacking a proper reason, he dared not be presumptuous.
Therefore, she exchanged information with Song Hanjin, and they each inquired about the matter. The two spent a long time together, and the servants in the mansion kept reporting to Xu Yueyuan, fearing that the Third Miss had been taken to the Northwest by him to find the Eldest Young Master.
Wei Yuanzhan stayed in the capital for a few days. When he returned, the apricot blossoms in the capital had already bloomed, their pink and white petals delicately dotting the branches, occasionally falling like raindrops, shunning the spring rain.
Like a traveler in a hurry, he met all the important people, but he couldn't find his sister, and Song Zhirou was not in the capital either.
When they arrived, they were filled with anxiety. Now that they were returning to the Northwest, Wei Yuanzhan and his party did not travel overnight and arrived in Lancheng on April 10th.
Life went on as usual. In December, the border climate was already extremely cold. It was rare for the soldiers to cook soup with pepper and serve large bowls of mutton to warm them up.
In Wei Yuanzhan's room, silver charcoal was burning. He sat behind his desk, surrounded by three or four people, and several others squatted by the door with bowls and chopsticks in their hands. They were all asking him to write letters home for them.
Wei Yuanzhan was a clean man, but after spending a long time in the army, he had to put aside the rules of the court and let them eat meat to their hearts' content in their own territory. The smell of soup and bread wafted over and out the window. Wei Yuanzhan's brows relaxed and tightened at different times, showing his patience.
The sun was bright and clear, casting golden light on the desk. A stout man stood beside the desk, and Wei Yuanzhan was writing a letter for him to his wife at home.
He stole a few glances at Wei Yuanzhan during the breaks and asked curiously, "Young General, you're not married yet?"
Before Wei Yuanzhan could answer, the man with the cake in his mouth on the ground blurted out, "How old is the young general? He's not even twenty yet. What are you getting married for?"
There are people of all ages in the military, but people like Wei Yuanzhan are rare. If you take off your rank, you're just a child in their eyes.
Old Wen was taken aback and was not happy. He grumbled, "My wife got together with me when I was eighteen. She said I was so handsome back then. If she had known I was this ugly now, she would never have married me."
"You're comparing yourself to a young general? That's utterly shameless..."
Before he could finish speaking, Old Wen straightened his burly body and said, "Tell me what happened. It's all the truth. If you don't believe me, go ask my wife!"
The two of them kept arguing, one after another.
Wei Yuanzhan was in the middle of a big meal and just wanted to finish this quickly. He tapped the table twice with his knuckles, making a rather loud noise.
"Alright, is there anything else to write? Don't read me anything too sweet or sentimental, I can't write it."
Several people who were close to Wei Yuanzhan secretly suppressed their laughter upon hearing this, while the others, especially Lao Wen, lowered their heads when they saw his urging manner with raised eyebrows.
“Then, the last sentence,” Old Wen touched his high nose bridge, his face flushed slightly from his dark skin, “is… when the persimmon tree blossoms, I will go back to see you.”
As soon as he said this, some people began to mimic him in a low voice, but Wei Yuanzhan stopped writing and his thoughts drifted away.
A persimmon tree... There was also a persimmon tree in my maternal grandmother's house.
Under that tree, he first took the initiative to approach Zhirou. Later, he tricked her into going to Qiyun Garden to pick persimmons, but she was arrogant and wouldn't let him take her home.
Looking back now, these things happened so long ago, and she had been gone from him for so long. Whenever foreign tribes harassed the border, he would go to war, setting aside his responsibilities, his selfish desire being to see if he could meet her again.
Wei Yuanzhan rearranged the letter paper, dipped the tip of his brush in ink on the inkstone, and was about to continue writing when greetings rose and fell outside. Soon someone came and shouted, "The general is here! The general is here!"
Old Wen and the others slipped out in a flash, greeting the general somewhat awkwardly. Gao Hongyu nodded, and they all responded.
Wei Yuanzhan put down his wolf-hair brush, wiped his fingertips with a handkerchief, and then slowly got up and went out, giving Gao Hongyu a military salute: "General."
"Hmm." Gao Hongyu held a roll of silk in his hand and said lightly, "Go and make preparations. We will leave the city tomorrow to welcome Princess Huaixian's entourage."
Author's Note: After returning to Beijing, Zhi Rou and Xiao Wei will have more scenes together~
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