Perfect Match – CH 107

Chapter 107 [Extra WHAT IF Chapter] The Young Man (7)

Teng Yue had his men keep an eye on the bandits, and seeing that it was getting late, he went home first.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived home, he found his mother waiting at the gatehouse, waiting for him to return.

Madam Lin had seen him sleep for a while, but then he suddenly ran out of the house without eating. She had a servant follow him to check on him. Unexpectedly, he headed south of the city and arrived at the courtyard of a family named Deng, who made medicine.

He did not go in but stood outside the Deng family’s courtyard, listening intently to the conversation inside. He listened for a long time before leaving, but then, seeing something, he followed them. The Teng family servants did not notice and lost him.

Madam Lin had already questioned the servants in detail, and they said that the Second Young Master had invited the Deng family’s young lady to ride horses at the Teng family’s horse ranch outside the city.

Madam Lin could not help but look at her son.

“That young lady from the Deng family, is she the girl you’ve taken a liking to? How did you meet her? Does the Deng family know? Do you know yourself? You have not even established yourself in the army yet…”

His mother’s barrage of questions made Teng Yue’s heart tighten instinctively, but then he seemed to remember something, and his thoughts returned to normal.

His mother, because of the deaths of her father and brothers at the hands of Shi Zeyou, suffered from sleepless nights of fear and placed all her hopes on him.

In that dream, her mother’s fears accumulated, eventually forming an intractable knot. With him, she cultivated relationships with high-ranking officials, hoping he would marry a noblewoman and gain their support against the villains. As for her younger sister, she relentlessly forbade her from following in the footsteps of his friend’s aunt, Shen Run, forbidding her from studying mechanics and machinery, forcing her only to study and attend school, even sending her to other families’ schools and cultivating closer friendships…

Right now, her mother’s worries were clearly not yet at that level.

Teng Yue saw the waves of sorrow in her eyes, and she looked at him, asking what was wrong.

Teng Yue took a deep breath, slowly calming himself.

“Mother is right. Deng Yunniang is the girl I’ve chosen, but she’s not yet of marriageable age, and I still need to earn more merit in the army. There’s no rush for us to get married.”

He had never mentioned marriage to anyone before, and before meeting Yunniang, he had never even considered it. Bringing it up now made him feel somewhat awkward.

But if he wanted to change the fate in his dream, he could not just remain this naive young man.

He thought of the self in his dream—a great general who fought his way from Jinzhou to Ningxia, commanding the border camp against foreign enemies, feigning surrender when Ningxia rebelled, then turning the tables and fighting his way out—a man capable of protecting millions, a one-man army.

How he wished he were that man now, confidently turning the tide at this crucial crossroads in his destiny.

But he was not yet that man, and he could not remain just this young captain.

He had to see himself as the general he would become.

“General!”

Just like Yunniang had called him.

The young man’s gaze settled, the moonlight and the lamplight under the porch reflecting in his eyes.

“Mother, you need not worry about our marriage anymore, but there is an important matter that will likely require me to leave the pass. It will take at least a month or two, and possibly three to five months, to return.”

After he finished speaking, he saw his mother gasp.

“Leaving the border? You’ve never even been to the border garrison; why are you suddenly going? I heard the eldest son of the Deng family went to gather herbs; are you going to find him?”

Teng Yue had anticipated his mother’s question, and he composed himself.

“Yes, I am going to find him, but it’s not just that. This matter involves the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion under the Prince Qin’s vassal, who is secretly colluding with the Tartars beyond the border. I’ve already identified a suspicious person, the very same bandit leader I captured a few days ago.”

His words shocked his mother even more.

What he said stunned her for a moment, and she grabbed his hand.

“This is an extremely dangerous matter! How old are you? How dare you take such a risk? I only have you and your sister left. If anything happens to you…”

His mother could not finish her sentence; tears streamed down her face.

Teng Yue knew his mother was alarmed, but this was his most pressing matter, and only he could accomplish it. However, he was not the Teng Yue with a large personal guard troop behind him; he was still just a lowly captain with few troops.

“Mother, I understand everything you are saying. This time, I cannot resolve this matter alone. Prince Qin’s Mansion has eyes and ears everywhere in Shaanxi. If we want to capture the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion with the evidence, we will need assistance. I will set off for Xi’an tomorrow to find Uncle Shen.”

Some of the mechanical armor and firearms that the Shen family had lost had appeared in the hands of those bandits. Now that he was leaving the pass, he could borrow the Shen family’s strength.

Not to mention, in that dream, the Shen family uncles were almost wiped out because of suppression in Ningxia, leaving only Aunt Shen, Shen Yanxing, and Shen Xiu. If the Shen family could capture the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion this time, they would surely make a great contribution, and it would not be so easy for the villains in the army to suppress the Shen family again.

Teng Yue had already considered all of this in his mind, but he could not mention his long dream to his mother.

His words were resolute, his thoughts clear, each syllable sounding as if he were no longer the boy he once was.

Madam Lin looked at her son, seeing him standing there, his tall figure already surpassing his elder brother’s, possessing the stature of his father.

She paused.

Teng Yue let his mother scrutinize him, his hands clenched, his gaze unwavering.

After a long while, he heard his mother speak softly.

“Have you thought it all through?”

“Yes, I have. If this mission succeeds, when I return, I will no longer be just a lowly captain, and Mother will not have to worry about me and our family day and night.”

As he finished speaking, he looked at his mother. Her eyes trembled, but in her eyes, he seemed to faintly see in him the shadow of the future great general.

He secretly clenched his hands.

*

At the Deng family courtyard.

Deng Ruyun had not slept well all night, tossing and turning, having many dreams, but forgetting them all when she woke up.

Her eyes were dark and swollen. Xiuniang asked her, “Young Lady, why not skip the mountain today and get some more sleep? Otherwise, it looks like someone punched you in the eyes during the night.”

She joked with her, but Little Yunniang had no interest. She still dressed and prepared to go up the mountain, but stopped involuntarily as she passed her sister-in-law’s room.

Her sister-in-law was up but not in the room. Only little Linglang was still asleep, her big eyes closed, sleeping sweetly in her cradle.

She looked down at her little niece. She still smelled of baby milk on her. Deng Ruyun inexplicably wanted to hold her, to hold her tightly in her arms, but afraid of waking her, she did not reach out, only standing beside her little cradle watching.

When Zhu Yushuang entered, she saw Yunniang standing motionless in front of Linglang’s cradle.

She could not help but recall her words to Yunniang the previous night. Had she frightened Yunniang?

Zhu Yushuang sighed softly.

But last night, she dreamt again of her husband getting lost in the blood-red sandstorm. She feared she would not be able to wait for her father-in-law to find out anything and would have to go beyond the Great Wall to look for him…

Perhaps sensing the unease in the room’s silence, little Linglang suddenly burst into tears, waking from her sweet sleep.

Zhu Yushuang rushed over, and Deng Ruyun then noticed her sister-in-law had returned to the room.

She saw her sister-in-law patting Linglang to continue sleeping, and upon closer inspection, she noticed that her sister-in-law’s eyes were also faintly dark and bloodshot.

“Sister-in-law, did you have another dream last night?”

She asked, but her sister-in-law did not answer, only smiled gently at her, patting Linglang as she spoke.

“Since Linglang came along, I have not been so sleepy… Yunniang, you are up so early again? Are you going to the mountains outside the city again?”

The whole family knew, and while no one mentioned it, her sister-in-law’s question made her awkwardly scratch her head.

“Uh… just going for a stroll; I will be back in a bit…”

Her sister-in-law chuckled softly.

“It’s getting colder; wear more clothes. Stay close to that little general; do not get lost on the mountain.”

Her sister-in-law spoke casually, but Deng Ruyun’s face flushed. She answered and hurried off.

However, just as she reached the door, she suddenly heard someone calling her from the alleyway beside her.

“Yunniang.”

Deng Ruyun turned around, blinking in surprise.

“How…did you get here?!”

It was Teng Yue.

Teng Yue was initially startled, but upon closer inspection, he noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the somberness in her gaze.

Her brother’s situation must have made her anxious and fearful, right?

Teng Yue said directly to her, “There’s business in the army; I have to go out of the pass, and I have to leave now. But this journey westward will allow me to help you find your brother, so do not worry.”

Upon hearing his words, her previously downcast eyes instantly brightened.

Teng Yue’s heart brightened along with hers.

If he could, he hoped that the long dream would not befall them and that she would never know such hardships, remaining the carefree little Yunniang.

“You are going out of the pass? How long will you be back? Are you going alone? Or with a group?”

Teng Yue answered her questions one by one.

He only answered the positive ones, but she still did not seem as excited as before; instead, a hint of worry appeared in her eyes.

“You’ve never been out of the pass before, have you? Are you not afraid?”

Her question sent a chill down the young man’s spine.

He quickly said it was nothing. “It’s not like I am the only one leaving the pass, and there has to be a first time, right?”

But she was still somewhat uneasy. She saw him off to the city gate, not speaking as usual, her face tense, eyes lowered, and lips slightly pursed.

Teng Yue turned his head to look at her, seeing her unusual silence, and for a moment, he felt reluctant to leave.

But then, a scene from his long dream inexplicably flashed through his mind.

In the dream, Yunniang, for a long time, especially after she married him, was only silent.

On their wedding day, when he lifted her veil, she kept her eyes downcast, never looking at him more than a few times.

In the dream, he thought that his identity as a general who fought and killed on the battlefield frightened her.

But thinking about it again, it was not fear at all; it was that she was already too familiar with him, so familiar that she did not need to look at him, and because of her status as his contract wife, it was inappropriate for her to look at him too much.

Where in the Yunniang of that time was the one who was happy today?

As the thought crossed his mind, they arrived at the city gate.

She was still somewhat worried and hesitated before asking, “Are you really going?”

The young man immediately mounted his horse.

“Yes.”

He turned to look at her from his horse, the wind blowing her skirt beneath the city gate seeming to linger in his heart.

“Yunniang, wait for me to come back.”

With those words spoken, he dared not linger for another glance. In the wind that swept from her skirt to his sleeve, he spurred his horse and galloped away, to a place the young man had never been before, to await a triumphant return that would change everyone’s fate.