Chapter 32

As night fell, the magistrate Wei Qing's residence was festooned with lanterns and decorations. Tonight was the wedding day of Wei Qing's widowed sister, Wei Su, and the groom was Yang Yuanqing.

Wei Su's former husband was a student at the Imperial Academy, who died in Bianliang, the capital, during the Jingkang Incident in the second year. She had been a widow for four years, and Wei Qing had been determined to find her a suitable match for remarriage.

A month ago, Yang Yuanqing led his soldiers to help Wei Qing move, and Wei Su was immediately smitten with the tall and valiant Yang Yuanqing. Yang Yuanqing also came from a prominent family in Taiyuan, with a good family background. With Wei Qing's matchmaking, Yang Yuanqing readily agreed to marry the gentle and quiet Wei Su.

During the turmoil, it was impossible to hold a grand wedding as in the past, so they kept it simple, preparing just two tables of food and inviting some close relatives and friends to attend and witness the ceremony.

As the commander, Chen Qing naturally had to attend the wedding. He wore civilian clothes today, a silk cap on his head, a thick sheepskin jacket inside, and a deep robe over it, looking more refined and less like a military general.

As soon as it was dusk, Chen Qing arrived at Wei Qing's residence, where Wei Qing stood at the door to welcome the guests.

Wei Qing greeted him with a smile, "Commander, you're here! I was just about to go to the camp to invite you!"

Chen Qing took out a small cloth bag containing five ingots of silver, each weighing ten taels, and a pair of jade bracelets worth twenty taels of silver.

"This is my gift, a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it!"

Wei Qing was taken aback by the generous gift of fifty taels of silver and a pair of jade bracelets, which looked quite valuable. He waved his hands, "That's too much, Commander, you don't need to spend so much!"

"Rest assured! This silver is a reward from the Consolation Envoy Zhang Jun, it's my personal property, not war spoils. The jade bracelets are also a token of my appreciation. Please accept them!"

Unable to refuse, Wei Qing reluctantly accepted the gift and hurriedly invited Chen Qing into the inner hall.

Chen Qing noticed several young women with beautiful faces hiding in the garden, whispering to each other, seemingly discussing him.

The banquet had not yet started, and almost all of the twenty or so guests invited by Wei Qing had arrived. There were six families in total, including Wei Qing's former classmates, some local gentry with whom he had a good relationship, and two clerks from the county office.

Chen Qing walked into the inner hall, which was also decorated with lanterns and a ceremonial altar, with large red "double happiness" characters. The side halls were set up for the guests' banquet, with food and drinks bought from the local tavern.

"Commander has arrived!"

The guests, who were chatting idly, all stood up to greet him.

Chen Qing did not recognize any of them except the two county clerks. Wei Qing introduced him to each one, and one person caught Chen Qing's attention.

This person was named Xiao Rong, a fellow Jinshi (imperial scholar) with Wei Qing, a few years older than him. He had once served as the vice-magistrate of Zheng County in Huazhou. When the Jurchen troops invaded Guanzhong, he abandoned his post and fled to Linyou County with his family.

Chen Qing was interested in him because he found a piece of cloth sewn into his inner garment, which read, "Chen Shangyuan, from Shaohua Village, Zheng County, Huazhou."

This name was likely the identity of Chen Qing's predecessor, the squad leader whose soul had been taken over. His home was in Shaohua Village, Zheng County.

Although all memories of this Chen Shangyuan had vanished from his mind, Chen Qing still wanted to learn more about his predecessor.

Xiao Rong came to the banquet with his wife and daughter, and Chen Qing sat down next to him.

"Magistrate Wei just introduced me to Mr. Xiao, you were once the vice-magistrate of Zheng County?"

Xiao Rong smiled and nodded, "That's right!"

"Indeed, although I grew up in Taiyuan, my ancestral home is in Shaohua Village, Zheng County. I once tried to find out about my relatives in Zheng County, but I found nothing. I wonder what the situation is like there now?"

Xiao Rong stroked his beard and smiled, "So Commander is from Shaohua Village! The Chen family is a prominent clan there, with at least a hundred households, mostly hunters. However, Shaohua Village is located at the foot of Shaohua Mountain in the south of Zheng County, in a very rugged area, so it probably hasn't been affected by the Jurchen troops. I heard last year that the Jurchen troops only passed through the county town and the Wei River area."

Chen Qing was just asking out of curiosity; he didn't dare to go to Shaohua Village to find relatives, fearing that a group of children might call him father, and then a wife might appear.

The thought was terrifying.

Xiao Rong's wife, Lady Wang, was quite interested in Chen Qing. She smiled and asked, "How old is Commander this year? Are you married?"

"I am twenty-four this year, and I am not married."

"Twenty-four and not married, that's quite rare!"

Chen Qing didn't know how to respond, but Xiao Rong came to his rescue, "It's wartime now. Since the Jingkang Incident, it has been five years. Soldiers have to defend the country, and the battlefield is unpredictable. How can General Chen think about getting married?"

Lady Wang asked about Chen Qing's marital status because her eldest daughter was fifteen and not yet betrothed. Seeing Chen Qing's tall and handsome figure, his noble appearance, and his position as a commander of a thousand men, she was somewhat interested.

However, Xiao Rong understood his wife's thoughts and subtly dissuaded her with a few words.

"On the battlefield, life is unpredictable!"

Xiao Rong was hinting that the military life was too risky for their daughter, and Lady Wang immediately understood her husband's meaning.

"When will Commander leave Linyou County?" Lady Wang changed the subject, no longer mentioning marriage.

Chen Qing didn't have such thoughts. He had never even had a girlfriend in his previous life and didn't want to be tied down by marriage too early in this life.

"I will leave after the spring, to avoid the Jurchen attack on Linyou County."

Xiao Rong chuckled, "We also plan to leave Linyou County after the spring."

"Oh? Where do you plan to go?"

"We want to go to Lin'an. To be honest, my original home is Hangzhou. Linyou County is just a temporary stop, and we will eventually return home."

"How will you get there?"

"I am worried about this! Can Commander give me some advice?"

Chen Qing thought for a moment and said, "After the spring, the Jurchen will focus on attacking Dasha Pass. I suggest you take the Ziwu Road to Hanzhong, then to Bashu, and finally take a boat to Jiangnan."

Xiao Rong pondered for a moment and said, "I've heard that the Ziwu Road and the Luotang Road are infested with bandits, and I am concerned about my family's safety."

"I'm not sure about the Luotang Road, but the bandits on the Ziwu Road have been cleared by the Song army. I took the Ziwu Road before, and it was very safe. Once the war at Dasha Pass breaks out, many people from Guanzhong will flee to Bashu via the Ziwu Road, which you can consider."

"Commander's advice is very timely, it gives me a direction."

At this moment, the time had come for the ceremony to begin. A group of young women entered from the garden and took their seats.

A little girl, about eight or nine years old, sat next to Chen Qing, while a girl of about fifteen or sixteen sat next to Lady Wang. She glanced at Chen Qing and her face suddenly turned red.

What a small world! They had met in the jewelry shop in the afternoon, and it turned out they were Xiao Rong's daughters.

The little girl playfully winked at Chen Qing, but her sister had repeatedly instructed her not to mention the afternoon incident.

Although she couldn't talk about the afternoon, it didn't mean Xiao Rong's younger daughter would stay quiet.

"Big sister, were you all just talking about him?" The little girl blurted out, betraying the secret of the group of young women, who all blushed.

"Aizhu, what are you talking about?" The girl's face turned red, and she scolded her in a low voice.

Chen Qing smiled at the little girl and asked Xiao Rong, "Are these your daughters?"

Xiao Rong nodded and smiled, "Yes, the older one is Xiao Xuan, and the younger one is Xiao Zhuer."

The little girl pouted and said seriously to Chen Qing, "I am Xiao as in Xiao He, and Zhuer as in Mingzhu, not 'Little Pig'!"

Chen Qing laughed, "I understand, I won't get it wrong."

"Good time, the bride and groom enter!"

The master of ceremonies shouted, and the groom, Yang Yuanqing, dressed in wedding attire, held one end of the red silk ball, while the bride, Wei Su, held the other end. They walked into the main hall one after the other. The wedding was relatively simple, consisting of three steps: tying the hair, drinking the wedding wine, and bowing to the ancestors.

At this moment, Chen Qing suddenly saw Zhao Xiaoyi waving at him from outside the hall.

He quickly went out.

"What's the matter?"

"Can Commander return to the camp now?"

"What happened?"

Zhao Xiaoyi whispered, "General Wang sent a messenger with important information."

Chen Qing was surprised. Wang Yan sending a messenger was a big deal.

At this moment, Wei Qing also came out, "Commander, is there something wrong?"

Chen Qing nodded, "I have an urgent matter to return to the camp. I apologize!"

"No problem! I just didn't let Commander eat well, I didn't fulfill my duty as a host!"

"I will come again another day. I'll take my leave now."

"I'll see Commander out!"

Chen Qing waved to Xiao Rong and quickly left.

Watching Chen Qing's retreating figure, Lady Wang smiled and asked her daughter in a low voice, "What do you think of this General Chen?"

"Lianqian and the others think very highly of him, saying he is brave and handsome, and it feels very safe to be around him."

"And you?"

"I... I have no opinion of him!" Xiao Xuan shook her head nervously.

"You're lying!"

Xiao Zhuer whispered, "I don't know who was sighing about General Chen's broad-mindedness and gentlemanly demeanor this afternoon."

Xiao Xuan was both embarrassed and angry, glaring at her sister, "Just eat your food! Don't talk nonsense!"

Xiao Zhuer stuck out her tongue and grabbed a yellow pear, taking a big bite.

"The couple bows to each other, and they are sent to the bridal chamber!"

...

Chen Qing met the messenger in the main tent. He recognized the messenger, who was Liu Xiang, a personal guard of Wang Yan.

"General Wang didn't know where you were and was very worried. The scouts just got the news that you were in Linyou County, so General Wang sent me to deliver the letter to you."

"The road must be blocked by heavy snow. How did you get here?"

Liu Xiang smiled, "The heavy snow did block the road, and the horses couldn't travel, but if we switched to camels, the road wasn't blocked. I and two of my men came on three camels."

Liu Xiang took out a thick letter and handed it to Chen Qing, "The tasks assigned by the two generals are all here. They both hope you will return safely."

Chen Qing nodded silently. He also wanted to return safely as soon as possible.

Liu Xiang smiled again, "Your deeds at Qilin Fort have spread among the Jurchen troops. Generals Wu and Wang both know about it, and the Consolation Envoy praised you highly. With five hundred men, you killed over three thousand Jurchen soldiers and returned safely. The Consolation Envoy wants to recommend you for a commendation!"

"It wasn't a complete return. We lost half of our men."

Chen Qing didn't want to talk more about it and changed the subject, "When do you plan to return?"

"Please give me a reply letter, and I will leave early tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. It would be better to leave after the New Year."

Liu Xiang shook his head, "It's safer during the New Year. We are also worried about being caught by the Jurchen scouts, which would be a big trouble."

He pointed to the eagle cage in the corner, "These are two homing eagles, one for when we capture the pass and one for when we lose it. It's very important to maintain timely communication with the main camp!"

...