Chapter 396 Let’s Stop Here
Under the blood-red morning sun, the gate of Guangyuan City was filled with the imperial procession returning to the capital.
All the officials of Guangyuan City lined up to kowtow, and generals such as Huo Gannian also kowtowed on one knee. The onlookers knelt down and bowed their heads at the end, waiting for the emperor to set off.
Su Zhengyang and Buyan stood closest to the imperial carriage.
Bu Yan, dressed in a brand new and neat uniform of a guard commander, lifted the curtain of the carriage. Nan Lijun leaned slightly sideways, glanced at the whole place, and asked:
"Why isn't General Yun here?"
On such an important occasion, Yun Chen, one of the two generals, was absent.
Everyone present began to talk among themselves in low voices.
Some people think that Yun Chen is becoming too arrogant because of his achievements. More people are familiar with Yun Chen's character and know that she is not that kind of person. They look around worriedly, hoping that Yun Chen will show up soon.
"Wait a moment for General Yun." Nan Lijun said generously.
The curtains were lowered again and everyone continued to kneel.
After an unknown amount of time, everyone's legs were numb from kneeling, but Yun Chen still didn't show up.
Low murmurs of complaints began to be heard all around.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Huo Gannian cleared his throat and said to Nan Lijun in a voice that was not loud but ensured that everyone could hear:
"Your Majesty, I dare to ask you, Your Majesty, for your promise to grant me and Yun Chen a marriage after the war is over. Do you remember?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience fell silent.
Regardless of whether they had heard about the love story of Huo Gannian and Yun Chen, the two brave warriors, before, they all pricked up their ears, their legs were no longer numb, and they stopped complaining in their hearts. They secretly looked at the imperial carriage with curiosity.
The carriage curtain did not move. There was silence behind the curtain for a moment, and Nan Lijun chuckled softly:
"I remember. After the war is settled and the east is recovered, I will definitely grant you and Yun Chen a marriage. I will never break my promise."
The punctuation was a bit strange, but no one cared.
Behind Huo Gannian, Rong Yi, Luo Dongdong and others couldn't help but smile and cheered softly with joy.
Only Huo Gannian keenly heard the contempt of Nan Lijun who was in control of the situation in that chuckle, and could not help but sneer.
Duan Jie and Fu Lin, who were closest to Huo Gannian, heard the sneer but acted as if they didn't hear it and didn't react at all.
"Young Master, Achen is here." Ye Yan called out in a low voice, causing the people around him to look towards the distance. The others also looked over and immediately made sounds of surprise.
Yun Chen was not wearing any armor or sword, but was wearing a casual uniform stained with dirt. He walked towards him in a daze.
As a first-class general, she should have lined up side by side with Huo Gannian, but she chose to kneel down at the place farthest away from him.
Everyone was wearing official uniform or full military uniform. Even the common people came out in their best clothes to kneel and see the emperor off. Only Yun Chen was standing out in his casual clothes. His eyes were red and swollen, and he looked like he had lost his soul.
Huo Gannian looked at her, his heart aching as if it were twisted together.
In the imperial procession, Su Zhengyang's eyes swept back and forth between Huo Gannian and Yun Chen. He wanted to say something, but he knew that he had no weight or position, so he could only laugh at himself and no longer look at Yun Chen.
Without saying anything, he jumped on his horse and shouted "Get up!" and the team started heading towards Kyoto.
After walking a long distance, he looked back without saying a word.
In front of the city gate, everyone left one after another, and in the end only Yun Chen and Huo Gannian were left standing facing each other.
Bu Yan glanced at Yun Chen for the last time and silently said in his heart:
"Achen, take care of yourself. Don't trust anyone but yourself."
…
…
After everyone left, the city gate became empty again.
The sky was bright and sunny in the morning, but now it suddenly became cloudy and a cold wind blew, as if it was going to rain.
Huo Gannian looked at Yun Chen steadily. Just as he took a step closer, Yun Chen immediately took a step back, looking at him with an extremely strange and resistant look.
Huo Gannian's face turned pale, and his heart ached. He forced a smile as usual, pretending nothing had happened, and asked her gently:
"Are you hungry?"
Seeing that she didn't answer, he took out a small oil-paper package from his arms and opened it, revealing two golden chestnut cakes.
As if afraid of startling her, he did not take another step forward, but stretched out his arm, opened his palm, and handed the oil-paper bag to her.
Although he tried his best to pretend that nothing was wrong, the slight trembling of his slender fingers against the oil-paper bag still betrayed his inner feelings.
"I bought two on the way out of town. Chen'er, you haven't had a good meal in two days, try it."
His eyes were filled with anxious anticipation, and his smile was even a little ingratiating.
But she didn't have any intention of taking the chestnut cake or answering. She just looked at him with extremely disappointed and cold eyes and said coldly:
"Ah Nian, let's stop here."
His face suddenly turned pale, his body trembled, and the chestnut cake fell from his hand.
He bent down to pick it up, but before he stood up, he heard her turn and leave.
He hurriedly chased after her, grabbed her clothes, and tried to stop her, but she pulled out a dagger, turned around and stabbed him fiercely.
Cut off the corner of the clothes he was holding.
Her expression was so resolute and cold, as if she was looking at her mortal enemy, that he stood there in a daze, forgetting to chase after her.
Looking at Yun Chen's back without turning back, he slowly squatted down, knelt on the ground, and groped for the fallen chestnut cake in the grass.
As early as the day he decided to hide it from her, he had thought of this most likely outcome.
In order to repay her gratitude, she left home and wandered around, working as a guard and fighting.
Her life after the age of twelve seemed to be spent searching for a benefactor.
This belief makes her brave and loyal. The words loyalty and righteousness are engraved in her bones and blood, becoming the most solid part of "Yun Chen".
But as fate would have it, that person happened to be Huo Luyu.
When Huo Gannian heard Xun Jian say the words "Plum Blossoms Breaking the Moon" and saw him draw the pattern of the jade pendant with his own eyes, he knew that he had no choice but to keep it secret regardless of the consequences.
After a muffled thunder, cold rain finally fell.
The rain gradually wet Huo Gannian's hair and clothes. He clearly had two broken chestnut cakes in his arms, but he was still lying on the ground searching for something. No one knew what he was looking for.
"Chen'er..."
He uttered these two words tremblingly, and instantly his heart felt like it was being torn apart by pain, forcing him to curl up his body and unable to even stand up.
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