Pei Ze kept in touch with his family every 5 days. This way, Pei Dingxi and Qiao Huai could basically keep track of what was happening on his side and where his troops were.
After another 5 days, a scout came back to report to Pei Dingxi.
As usual, Pei Dingxi said, "Tell Father everything is fine at home. Tell him not to worry."
"Oh right," he added. "Sister really misses Father and hopes he can come back soon."
Truthfully, he missed Father a lot too.
It was already July. Father had been away leading troops for two months. He had never been separated from Father for so long before. The longest in the past was only twenty some days.
But he was a man, how could he act like a child and whine?
He had to stay calm and collected.
The scout acknowledged and reached into his lapel, taking out a small cloth bag. "This is from Young Master Shi of the Ye family. He asked me to bring it to Young Master."
"Huh?" Pei Dingxi was surprised. "Young Master Shi sent this for me? Let me see what it is."
He opened the cloth bag and looked inside. He recognized the item.
"It's an arrow cluster," Pei Dingxi said, puzzled. "What did he give this to me for?"
The scout explained, "Young Master Shi asked me to relay a message to Young Master."
The scout cleared his throat and said in an exaggerated tone, "This arrow shot over and I flexed my arm muscles to clamp it down. This is what it takes to be a man."
Pei Dingxi: "..."
The scout lowered his head, his back shaking slightly, trying very hard to hold it in.
Pei Dingxi said, "How could he... How could you..."
The scout quickly explained, "The young masters of the Ye family take turns joining our troops. He happened to see me when I was setting out and slipped this to me."
Pei Dingxi: "Did he really clamp it down?"
The scout lowered his head again, as if taking a deep breath, before saying, "Yes, really."
Pei Dingxi strongly resisted an urge to exclaim "Wow!" and just nodded calmly, "I see. Go rest up before heading back."
After the scout left, Pei Dingxi shooed people out of the room. Making sure no one was around, he rolled up his sleeve, exposing his little arm, and pretended to clamp the arrow cluster between his elbow.
Wow!
While the scout went to rest, eat and even take a bath before setting out again, Pei Dingxi continued "training" his nonexistent muscles.
Halfway through his meal, someone came calling for him, "Mistress wants to see you."
He quickly wiped his mouth, drank some water, and followed the servant.
Pei Ze's daughter and son-in-law saw him together and asked many detailed questions.
The scout answered them one by one.
After he withdrew, Pei Lian was displeased again.
Zhao Jingwen held her hand and asked, "What's wrong?"
Pei Lian said, "Are you really going?"
Zhao Jingwen said, "If I stay cooped up at home accomplishing nothing, others would laugh at you."
Pei Lian bit her lip. "Ye Shi is there too. If you run into her..."
Zhao Jingwen said, "Lian, you have to understand one thing. I was the one at fault first. I married you behind her back. If anyone is to blame, it's only me."
Pei Lian said, "I know you're an honorable man, but there's no need to take all the blame yourself. It's not your fault you met her first before meeting me. It was just an ill-fated relationship. I'm just worried about you and her..."
Zhao Jingwen smiled wryly. "What are you worried about?"
Pei Lian bit her lip again.
Ye Shi's beauty had exceeded her expectations. She had asked the maids later, and though they hemmed and hawed, she could grasp their implication—Ye Shi's bewitching looks attracted men.
Zhao Jingwen said, "Don't be silly. You're thinking too much. Now, I only have eyes for you."
When he spoke, his voice was gentle and tender, his gaze intent and focused.
It made Pei Lian sink deeply into happiness.
Zhao Jingwen's troops were separated into their own camp, even though their supplies still came from the Pei army. This clear distinction made it convenient to differentiate Zhao Jingwen's men from Pei Ze's troops.
But it also meant that Pei Dingxi only found out the next day that Zhao Jingwen had departed with his men.
"Sister," Pei Dingxi went to find Pei Lian, "do you know where Brother-in-Law went?"
It had already been a day, probably too late to call them back now. She told him, "He went to find Father."
Pei Dingxi was shocked.
Pei Lian said, "As family, surely he's better to deal with than an outsider. Your brother-in-law said that since his men eat and drink from our family, they can't just freeload. He's not that kind of person so he went to help Father."
Pei Dingxi repeated her words to Qiao Huai.
The old general rubbed his knees. "Hmm."
This line of reasoning was hard to refute.
By now, Pei Ze was very fond of Third Son Ye.
The young masters of the Ye Family had all done a rotation under Pei Ze's command, and after a round, Third Son was his favorite.
That kind of favor, where everything about the person pleased you.
His composure, calmness, humility, decisiveness were all pleasing to the eye.
His exceptional martial arts, clear mind, loyalty to his family lord, authoritative yet caring guidance of his younger brothers were even more pleasing.
There was not one thing Pei Ze found displeasing about Third Son Ye.
Of course, Third Son still had many inadequacies, but he was indeed the kind of son and heir most men of a certain age wished they could groom.
Of course, at Pei Ze's age, he couldn't have a son this old yet.
But that didn't stop Pei Ze from looking at Third Son with fondness and pride.
As a man who seldom expressed emotions openly, even he couldn't help but tell Yan Xiao, "I only hope Er Lang could grow up to be like Third Son."
See, when speaking of Third Son Ye, even the surname "Ye" could be omitted.
After taking Fengli, they sailed down the Wushui River straight towards Zhushan.
Ye Suijin reminded him, "After securing Fang Prefecture, this river will need dredging to avoid impeding shipments."
She even worried about dredging the river.
Pei Ze increasingly felt she was a mystery.
The people of Zhushan were furious when they saw Pei Ze's troops arrive.
It could be said they were the locals whose turf had been snatched by this outsider Pei Ze.
This grudge had been brewing for years. There had been many small skirmishes and provocations from both sides all this time.
Who knew Pei Ze would actually dispatch a huge army to lay siege this time.
With new hatred atop old, their eyes were bloodshot red.
This fighting spirit was much fiercer than the people of Jun Prefecture. It was an irreconcilable life-or-death feud.
This was the Young Masters' first time realizing not all armies and enemies were the same.
This was their first time encountering such ruthless foes.
Ye Suijin asked, "How did Lord Pei teach you all?"
Third Son said, "All fights are death matches."
Ye Suijin said, "That's not just empty talk. It encapsulates Lord Pei's life experience."
"He has no way out. His son is still young and he can't die," she said. "Jiannan Circuit is still not recovered and his clan's mortal enemies remain unavenged."
"He has to treat every battle as a do-or-die fight in order to snatch life from death's jaws."
The young masters carefully contemplated this, feeling a chill down their spines and even more respect for Pei Ze.
Ye Suijin said, "This is what I want you to learn from him."
In their past life, the Ye army also fought tooth and nail.
But in this life, coddled by Ye Suijin, they had progressed too smoothly.
Luckily Pei Ze was here to thoroughly temper them.
Like Diancheng, Zhushan was also built along the water but the terrain was much more complex.
Not only was it next to the river, it was also nestled within encircling mountains.
Basically, cavalry would be hard pressed to demonstrate their full potential here. Camels could still manage, but galloping charges like on open plains were impossible.
This was also why Ye Suijin took the initiative to offer helping Pei Ze subdue Fang Prefecture—
Getting used to such environments alongside Pei Ze's troops was better than these plains soldiers trying to figure it out themselves in the future.
The joint Ye-Pei forces had been sieging Zhushan for six days when a contingent quietly joined the fray from the southeast without any warning.
Pei Ze received the report and asked, "Whose troops are those?"
Everyone's positions were pre-assigned. Who dared disobey orders?
The scout said, "They wear our colors and the banners have the character 'Zhao.'"
The scout was also puzzled since there were no generals surnamed Zhao among them this time.
But as soon as Pei Ze and Ye Suijin heard this, they exchanged a look.
Pei Ze frowned. "Could it be him?"
Ye Suijin said, "It must be him."
Pei Ze asked, "You're that certain?"
"Although I didn't ask, I've been wondering these past two months—how did you manage to keep him home, docile and obedient without following along to make trouble?" Ye Suijin said. "Now that he's here, just tell me. Don't leave me wondering."
Pei Ze said, "Nothing much. Just separated his troops into an independent camp."
Ye Suijin smiled and nodded. "Effective, but won't always be effective. He will find a way to break out. That's just how he is."
Pei Ze didn't say anything more.
The battle still raged fiercely.
When the gong sounded for the troops to withdraw, the additional forces were indeed Zhao Jingwen's.
He dismounted and knelt on one knee: "Father-in-law."
Pei Ze asked: "Why are you here?"
Zhao Jingwen said: "Father has been away from home for too long. Lotus Girl has gradually become unable to sleep well, often having nightmares. She cannot be away from her father for too long."
Ye Suijin could feel that Pei Ze fell silent all at once.
In their past life, Pei Lian was Pei Ze's soft spot. And still is in this life.
Zhao Jingwen's peripheral vision had already seen Ye Suijin right next to him, he forced his gaze to focus on Pei Ze.
He said: "It was Lotus Girl who definitely asked me to come."
There is no place for such sentimentality on the battlefield.
Now that he had come, Pei Ze would not send him back either.
Pei Ze said: "I see, return to your unit."
Zhao Jingwen finally got up, and only glanced at Ye Suijin.
In the evening sun, Ye Suijin smiled ambiguously.
Her gaze made him have nowhere to hide. Zhao Jingwen lowered his eyes to avoid it.
He walked to Pei's side of the generals, Yan Xiao and the others did not move, so he very consciously stood in the last place.
And across from him, many fierce gazes shot over, it was the Ye men glaring at him angrily.
Zhao Jingwen ignored them.
On the contrary, Yan Xiao and the others felt strangely embarrassed.
Damn, because Zhao Jingwen was now one of Pei's people. The mess he made, Pei's people would have to shoulder together.
Making them suddenly lose face in front of the Ye family.
The battle situation did not undergo any major changes due to Zhao Jingwen's arrival, things continued as they were.
When discussing business, everyone tried their best to act as if this person did not exist, so as not to affect the mood.
But at night, the area around Zhao Jingwen's tent was empty. At night there should have been patrolling soldiers, but they seemed to have taken a detour and were nowhere to be seen.
In the dark night, several figures snuck into Zhao Jingwen's military tent.
The military had its own military law, and brawling privately was also a violation.
So the ones beating did not make a sound, just hit fiercely.
The one being beaten also did not make a sound, just gritted his teeth and endured.
Only muffled groans sounded.
Fists struck flesh.
The patrolling soldiers who hid away twitched their ears, pretending not to have heard anything.
Pei's young men gathered secretly in Yan Xiao's tent, opened betting, gambling on how many from Ye Family went, who went and who didn't go.
This night was quiet yet lively.
