Grown men are really not adorable at all.
Ye Suijin sat upright and asked He Lian Xiang Yun sternly, "Lord He Lian, you've seen the capital city before. Do you think Tang Prefecture is too small in comparison?"
He Lian Xiang Yun replied, "As I've been sick, I haven't had the chance to take a close look at Tang Prefecture yet. But from the inn to here just now, though it wasn't a long journey, I could still see Tang Prefecture is prosperous, and you govern it effectively."
Ye Suijin asked, "Does Lord He Lian not want to take a longer look around Tang Prefecture?"
"I will. It's just that my nephew is still young without much experience. I want to take him to see more places. After seeing the capital city and Tang Prefecture, I also want him to experience the South." He Lian Xiang Yun said.
This man is so strange. What exactly does he have against Tang Prefecture? Such a life-saving favor, yet he is so reluctant to lower his head?
Ye Suijin thought for a while, then directly said, "Let's stop beating around the bush. Tang Prefecture was just established, and I'm sincerely seeking talents. Young hero Lord He Lian is a rare find, and I do like him and hope to keep him by my side. I can tell Lord He Lian doesn't dislike Tang Prefecture, could it be because I'm a woman? Or does Lord He Lian already have someone in mind that he must go to?"
Anyone with eyes can see Tang Prefecture's prosperity.
The He uncles and nephew looking for someone to rely on would naturally want to find somewhere stable.
What exactly can't he accept about her? Was it that she's a woman? Or what?
He Lian Feiyu was anxious. He looked at Ye Suijin, then at his uncle.
He badly wanted to give his uncle a punch but didn't dare to.
But He Lian Xiang Yun stood up and bowed, "My lady must not belittle yourself. My lady being able to hold this position and make your domain prosperous is enough to demonstrate my lady's talents. This has nothing to do with my lady being a man or woman."
"It's just that I originally thought..." As he spoke, his face suddenly turned pale. His body swayed and he grabbed the chair armrest to stand firm.
He Lian Feiyu cried out, "Uncle!"
And reached out to support him.
Look, even Heaven can't stand to watch anymore and is rejecting his refusal to stay.
Ye Suijin immediately happily said, "Lord He Lian is unwell. Quickly help Lord He Lian go rest. Someone come! Go invite Master Yang!"
In a moment the hall was in chaos.
Cold sweat kept appearing on He Lian Xiang Yun.
Already not recovered, he had forced himself. Now he really couldn't hold on.
Since he was tall, ordinary people couldn't support him. Duan Jin personally went over, and together with He Lian Feiyu, one on each side, they escorted him to the guest room.
Master Yang came over to take his pulse and administer acupuncture, saying, "Much better than a few days ago, but illness comes like a landslide and leaves like pulling thread. He needs to recuperate."
What a relief.
Ye Suijin said to He Lian Feiyu, "It's like this now, stop making trouble. I'll send people to the inn to bring all of your family's luggage here. Just stay here and recuperate first."
He Lian Feiyu wanted to decline, but Ye Suijin said, "A grown man shouldn't be shy and equivocal. What could be more important than your uncle's health? My side has complete medicinal ingredients and good doctors, much better than staying at an inn."
As a grown man, how could He Lian Feiyu let others think he was shy and not bold and unconstrained?
Moreover, this was said by Ye, who admired him so much.
He Lian Feiyu immediately said, "Then I'll impose on you!"
Ye Suijin smiled and said, "Don't take it to heart."
Remember this favor deeply. You owe me greatly. Don't be like your uncle, insensitive.
She immediately made arrangements, sending her personal troops and He Lian's servants to the inn.
After sending off Ye Suijin, He Lian Feiyu quickly returned to the room.
He Lian Xiang Yun was lying down resting.
He Lian Feiyu sat by the bed without making a sound.
After a while, He Lian Xiang Yun opened his eyes and looked at him, "Why are you angry?"
When they, uncle and nephew, left Fang Prefecture, they wrapped up their faces and traveled north through Jun Prefecture, taking a detour through Hedong Circuit and went to the capital city.
The capital city wasn't as good as imagined, but still, it was the capital city after all.
Learning civil and military skills to sell one's talents to the imperial clan was the proper path.
But with their bare hands, they couldn't possibly get close to the Emperor.
Before getting acquainted with Pei Ze, He Lian Xiang Yun already knew the Princess's son-in-law was someone extraordinary. Now he's become the Princess Consort's husband. He Lian Xiang Yun intended to rely on him.
Who knew the Princess was used to taking money and also had greedy eyes.
He Lian Xiang Yun wore plain clothes and was also travel-worn. So he was looked down upon at the gates and even asked to pay a "notification fee."
He Lian Xiang Yun didn't say anything and directly left.
After inquiring about the other imperial sons, he didn't look favorably on them either.
A first-rate character like Pei Ze was hard to come by.
So He Lian Xiang Yun decided to go south to take a look at the Military Governor of Wuan, who was also an extraordinary person.
But who knew, right after entering Tang Prefecture, he fell ill and nearly died in a strange land.
He Lian Feiyu was angry, "Ye is such a good person, not at all arrogant like the Princess. She gave us such a precious veteran for free. Yet you spoke like that."
Making him, He Lian Feiyu, seem extremely ungrateful and unaware of favors.
He wasn't that sort of ungrateful wretch!
He Lian Xiang Yun asked, "Do you want to stay?"
He Lian Feiyu said, "The South doesn't necessarily have to be better than here. Who knows if we'll encounter the Capital City people's attitude again."
Nothing compared to Ye. With her discerning eyes, she could recognize talents from a thousand miles away.
He Lian Xiang Yun said, "Ye's breadth of mind, bearing, and skill are all top-notch. How could I look down on her?"
He Lian Feiyu said, "Then why are you so unwilling to stay?"
Nephew was still a child. So there were some things He Lian Xiang Yun didn't tell him in detail before.
He told him, "Zhao Jingwen from Taiyuan, passed through Deng Prefecture. He was loyal to the Ye family of Deng Prefecture."
This was the first time He Lian Feiyu knew. He only knew of the name "Zhao Jingwen" before and hadn't even seen the person.
He was astonished.
Because from what he had learned these past few days, Tang Prefecture and Deng Prefecture were Ye Suijin's territory, and she was also surnamed Ye.
So that person surnamed Zhao was previously her subordinate?
"The situation in Fang Prefecture is unknown." He Lian Xiang Yun said.
If Zhao Jingwen could really marry Pei Lian, he might directly jump from Deng Prefecture to Fang Prefecture and solely serve Pei Ze in the future.
But better than this would be not leaving Deng Prefecture, and relying on his own ability to coordinate and connect the two families. If he had the capability to achieve this, the personal benefits he could obtain would be far greater than just serving one family.
Although He Lian Xiang Yun's interactions with Zhao Jingwen were brief, he intuitively felt that was an intelligent person.
He would choose the latter.
He originally thought nephew was still young and there was no need to tell him everything. Never expected he nearly died himself.
He no longer had that feeling anymore.
At this moment, he deeply empathized with Pei Ze. No wonder he raised Pei Dingxi to be so mature.
So he told his nephew everything he hadn't said before.
He Lian Feiyu never expected this to be the case.
He hesitated. Because he was sincerely inclined towards Ye Suijin, feeling that although she was a woman, her insight was outstanding and she was an unparalleled talent scout of the times.
She was also generous and esteemed talents, far from being as greedy as the Capital City's Princess.
She loved him, and he also loved her.
A wise lord and brilliant general, reciprocated feelings, in storybooks that would become a magnificent epic, leaving behind an eternal legend.
He said, "I don't know what that Zhao's situation is in Deng Prefecture. I'll go find out!"
Speaking, he had already scurried out, calling the servants to come tend to his uncle.
He Lian Xiang Yun simply had no time to stop him.
Oh well. Let him go ask.
Duan Jin said to Ye Suijin, "You can't judge a person by their appearance. He looks like a big fellow, very martial, yet so weak like this. He's really a soft-legged shrimp."
Ye Suijin scolded him, "He's sick."
Duan Jin: "Tsk."
He's sick and asking others for help, yet still acting so arrogantly.
Other than Pei Ze, this was the first time he saw Ye Suijin so eagerly want to bring someone into her command.
Although he didn't see what was so attractive about the brat that drew Ye Suijin's attention, his uncle was still too unaware of favors.
Ye Suijin was speaking when Qiu Sheng's face suddenly took on a strange look as he came to report: "That young He Lian has been asking around about Zhao Jingwen."
The study fell silent.
Zhao Jingwen was someone they had all tacitly agreed not to mention.
Of course they didn't completely avoid talking about him. In private, they would certainly have in-depth discussions about the relationship between Zhao Jingwen, the eldest daughter of the Pei family, and our own military governor.
And about how the Ye family and Pei family had somehow transformed into in-laws, and not just in name - they truly relied on and trusted each other, as if they were one family. This was quite a marvel.
But that was all in private. In public, they would only mention the Pei family, Lord Pei, General Yan, and so on.
Zhao Jingwen? Who's Zhao Jingwen? Don't remember him.
Picking their ears.
Duan Jin and Ye Suijin exchanged surprised looks.
Especially Ye Suijin - she couldn't imagine how the He Lian uncle and nephew could be connected to Zhao Jingwen. Her mind raced back to her previous life, when He Lian Feiyu, using the alias He Yu, had ignored Zhao Jingwen's overtures...
She said, "Please ask the young lord to come speak with us."
He Lian Feiyu was puzzled why everyone had such strange reactions when he mentioned Zhao Jingwen.
They were all hesitant to speak, nudging each other with their elbows.
Before he could get to the bottom of it, Ye Suijin had sent someone to summon him.
Meeting face to face, Ye Suijin got right to the point and asked him, "How do you know Zhao Jingwen?"
He Lian Feiyu hesitated for a moment.
Ye Suijin raised her eyebrows.
Having accepted their kindness, it would seem insincere not to say anything. So He Lian Feiyu explained, "We were in Fang Prefecture before. My uncle had met Zhao Jingwen, and heard he was from the Ye family of Deng Prefecture. So we wanted to ask about him."
What?
Ye Suijin and Duan Jin were even more surprised.
Duan Jin asked, "Fang Prefecture? Do you know Lord Pei? Young Lord Dingxi? Yan Lingzhi? Sun Guangtong? Deng Chonghui?"
Hearing him rattle off so many familiar names, He Lian Feiyu was shocked. "You all know them?"
After going around the Capital and Hedong, he really missed everyone from Fang Prefecture, so he asked, "How are things in Fang Prefecture? Is everyone well?"
His concern was evident.
Ye Suijin said, "We know Zhao Jingwen. He is now Lord Pei's son-in-law, Young Lord Dingxi's brother-in-law."
He Lian Feiyu: "Humph."
Ye Suijin and Duan Jin exchanged glances, realizing there was surely more to the story.
Ye Suijin thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "Let me be frank. He was once my husband, but he abandoned me and married the eldest daughter of the Pei family instead. Since you're from Fang Prefecture, why are you unconcerned about others and only asking about him?"
He Lian Feiyu was thunderstruck.
"That Zhao..." He gaped in shock. "He..."
He had never seen Zhao Jingwen, and his uncle didn't allow him to inquire or discuss much, so he didn't know what kind of man he was.
But he was familiar with Pei Lian!
That Zhao...was he out of his mind?!!
