Mountains and rivers are waiting for you to return

Chapter 102 Brother Han

The two chatted and soon arrived at the residence that Han Ruize had arranged for Pei Nai in Huayun Village.

When she opened the gate, she saw someone she didn't expect sitting on the stone bench in the yard.

Pei Nai was surprised and happy, "Why are you here?"

Ju Liancheng's face was obviously not happy, it was still dull, and seemed to have a more worried look because Yixi was about to become the queen.

"The villagers said you live here. I feel uncomfortable staying in other places, so I come to hide here."

Pei Nai shook his head. "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking why you didn't stay in Chaoyang City and came to Huayun Village with the army?"

"My father asked me to come here. He said that a man who wants to achieve great things cannot stay in his house all day." Ju Liancheng explained.

Pei Nai laughed when he heard this, "It turns out there is still someone who can cure you."

Ju Liancheng curled his lips and looked at Han Ruize next to Pei Nai. He should have recognized Han Ruize's identity. After all, the Hunxi Whip on Han Ruize's waist was known to everyone in the world.

"Who is this?" Han Ruize asked.

Pei Nai introduced him, "He is Ju Yan's son - Ju Liancheng. Have you two met before?"

Han Ruize shook his head and denied, "No."

He was already thirty, while Ju Liancheng was just in his prime, just reaching the age for marriage. Han Ruize had been staying in Huayun Village for the past ten years, so it was normal that the two did not know each other.

Han Ruize turned his head to Pei Nai and raised his eyebrows. Pei Nai understood what he meant. He wanted to ask her why she played with Ju Yan's son.

"My body comes from a girl who died of a serious illness. Her name is Tang Mingzhi. She is the daughter of Madam Ju's younger sister and also the cousin of Ju Liancheng. When I first came back, I temporarily lived in the Ju Mansion." Pei Nai added.

Han Ruize understood. When he heard the first sentence, he knew that Ju Liancheng already knew Pei Nai's true identity.

He smiled politely at Ju Liancheng and invited him, "I'm sorry for not welcoming you. I prepared lunch for Pei Nai and someone will bring it over soon. Come and eat with us."

Ju Liancheng did not refuse and followed them into the house. However, after sitting down, his eyes still fell on Han Ruize's face and he suddenly said, "You look a lot like your brother."

Han Ruize opened his eyes slightly when he heard this, seeming a little surprised.

Pei Nai hurriedly explained: "Lian Cheng has an extraordinary gift of photographic memory. All sounds, sights, smells, and touches, as long as he has personally experienced them, he will never forget them. Every scene will appear before his eyes exactly when he recalls it."

Han Ruize was stunned for a few breaths after hearing this, and murmured to him: "Then what is my brother like in your memory? What did he do?"

Ju Liancheng recalled the past effortlessly, "He was a good man, cheerful, tall and upright."

He continued, "He mentioned you at a banquet in the capital. A few days before the banquet, you saw injustice and couldn't bear to see a decent woman being bullied in the street, so you beat the bully until his bones were broken. The bully was the third son of the Crown Prince's Guard. The Crown Prince's Guard and his family came to your house and the matter became a big deal."

Han Ruize nodded, indicating that this was indeed the case.

Ju Liancheng added, "At the banquet, someone asked him, 'Why didn't your brother come?' He raised his glass and said with a smile, 'I chased him back to the barracks. My brother loves to get into trouble. He is really troublesome. I am sorry to make you laugh.'"

Han Ruize and Pei Nai could both imagine the tone and expression Han Ruiqi had when he said this.

"Someone else said, 'General Han still favors your brother. The love between brothers is so deep and enviable.' Your brother waved his hands at the time, looking helpless, 'I can't ignore him. I only have this one brother. His father passed away when he was very young. If I don't take care of him, who will?'"

Han Ruiqi's smiles and frowns seemed to appear in front of them. Then Ju Liancheng's words made Han Ruize's eyes red, "He acted helpless, but when he mentioned you, his face was full of pride."

There was silence in the room and no one could speak.

Until Han Ruize calmed down, he said jokingly, "When my father died for his country, I was only one or two years old. My brother taught me how to use the whip. To me, he is both an elder brother and a father. I am actually a burden to him, but he never feels it."

Pei Nai wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, as if to change the subject, and asked curiously: "You beat up the son of the crown prince's guard. Did your brother punish you?"

Han Ruize shook his head. "He knew why I attacked him, and he just blamed me, saying, 'If you want compensation, why not just kick him in the lower body and break two bones?'"

Pei Nai smiled, and tears continued to fall.

She finally clenched her fist. Such a powerful man died in the Battle of Chishan because of a traitor from the Pei family army. "We haven't avenged ourselves yet."

Han Ruize took the handkerchief first, handed it to Pei Nai, and asked her to wipe the tears from her cheeks, and asked her: "You have killed Tuoba Huo for me, are you talking about the traitor in the Battle of Chishan?"

Pei Nai nodded, feeling deeply saddened.

"In addition to Xiao Bin's betrayal, there are also traitors within the Pei Army. The number of people who knew Uncle Guo's deployment in advance cannot exceed 20. We must find him out. Uncle Guo, Brother Han, and tens of thousands of Pei Army soldiers, this blood feud must be avenged!"

Han Ruize looked at Ju Liancheng and had something to say, and silently asked her if he could discuss this matter in front of outsiders.

"Lian Cheng is not an outsider. He is with Ju Yan. We have the same stance on this matter. Just tell us. It's okay." Pei Nai explained.

Han Ruize's expression had turned serious, his eyes like deep wells, "I have some guesses about the traitors of the Pei family army back then."

"Who do you think it is?" Pei Nai looked at him intently.

"Zhou Weiguo and Lin Hua."

Pei Nai also felt something, but he didn't expect him to say both names at the same time, "Do you think both of them are possible?"

"Yes, but there are some contradictions. If Lin Hua was a traitor, then you ordered him to go around the high ground during the Battle of Cliff Valley. He could have led his troops to find excuses to delay or break the agreement, and the Pei army would have been defeated. Why did he provide support as scheduled?" Han Ruize said in a faint voice.

The martial arts foundation of their generation was originally taught by General Lin Hua, and no one wanted him to be the one who ended up like that.

Pei Nai continued, "We just asked General Zhou Weiguo, and he said that it was General Lin Hua who didn't want to return to Beijing to take up his military post. He had a dispute with him because of their different ideas, and he forcibly took away the Mingyuan Xuanyue Blade."

"More than ten lieutenants and captains who were present at the time have all testified to this. Therefore, Lin Hua is suspected of losing the knife, and there is no doubt about Zhou Weiguo." His words sent chills down one's spine.

Pei Nai further analyzed, "General Lin Hua left the team and lived in seclusion ever since. His whereabouts are unknown, and the clues are gone. The emperor and Gu Jinheng knew that there were traitors in the early years of the Pei family army. General Zhou Weiguo would be the focus of investigation. If he had any actions of collaborating with the enemy in the past ten years, he would have been exposed long ago."

"You said that when you were in Chaoyang, people approached you many times, but because the emperor and Gu Jinheng sent secret guards to protect you, they failed?" Han Ruize asked.

Pei Nai nodded, "He also forged the emperor's order and tried to take me away with the same carriage regulations. I almost got on that carriage. I had no weapons at the time, and if I had gone there, it would have been disastrous."

She also told Han Ruize about the frequent murders of officials in Chaoyang City, the tragic death of the Minister of War at home, and the matter of Prince Xiangluo and her handwriting.

The situation was incredible, but they still had no clue and their train of thought was interrupted.

(End of this chapter)