Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 402 Pei Yan (Part 1)

Fu Zheng ordered his men to tie Yan Ciwan's hands and feet and thoughtfully covered her with a blanket.

"It's still a while before dawn, you can sleep a little longer."

Yan Ciwan lay stiffly on the bed, looking at him expressionlessly, and asked in return, "Do you think I can sleep like this?"

Fu Zheng smiled and said, "Then just lie there like that. I'll call you when the time comes."

After saying that, he walked to the chair by the table, sat down, placed the knife on the ground, put his hands on the hilt, and closed his eyes to rest.

Yan Ciwan said to him, "Can we talk for a while?"

Fu Zheng opened his eyes, turned to look at her, and asked with interest, "What do you want to talk about?"

“I heard from Xiao Liu that your real name is not Fu Zheng.”

“I originally thought this was a secret, but I didn’t expect even you to know now. It seems my identity will be exposed soon.” Fu Zheng couldn’t help but chuckle self-deprecatingly as he said this. “That’s right, I’m not Fu Zheng. My real name is Pei Yan.”

Yan Ciwan pressed further, "Why did you impersonate Fu Zheng?"

Since I'm free anyway, it won't hurt to talk to her about the past; it'll just help pass the time.

So Fu Zheng… no, now it should be Pei Yan, he slowly began to speak.

"This is a long story. Originally, our Pei family was a prominent family in Luzhou. My great-grandfather was a prime minister, but later the family's talents declined, and each generation was worse than the last. By the time of my father's generation, he failed the imperial examinations every year. In the end, he gritted his teeth and sold all the family property, spending all the family's money to bribe local officials and gentry, asking them to jointly recommend him for officialdom."

Yan Ciwan thought for a moment before saying, "Your father's bribery has been discovered?"

Pei Yan couldn't help but glance at her again.

"You are indeed clever, young lady. For ordinary people to enter officialdom, there are only two paths: either through the imperial examinations or through recommendation. My father has tried the former many times, all ending in failure. Therefore, he could only gamble everything on the latter. He successfully obtained a letter of recommendation and arrived in Chang'an full of hope, waiting for the Ministry of Personnel to assign him an official position. However, instead of an official position, he received a letter of conviction. At that time, Emperor Wen was rectifying the officialdom, and Ren..." The Crown Prince accepted the task and investigated all the officials who had entered officialdom through recommendation that year. Unfortunately, my father's bribery was discovered. Not only were the bribed officials and gentry dismissed and punished, but my father was also exiled to the border. Feeling ashamed to face his wife and children, my father committed suicide by banging his head against the wall in prison. My mother, unable to bear the blow, fell ill. I borrowed a lot of money to treat her, but she still passed away. With our family in ruins, I was left alone and destitute, and had no choice but to travel a long distance to seek refuge with my uncle.

In the Daye Dynasty, one's background was investigated before entering officialdom. Pei Yan had a father who was guilty of bribery, which meant that he would never have the opportunity to enter officialdom again, and he could only be an ordinary commoner for the rest of his life.

Yan Ciwan asked, "Is your uncle not good to you?"

"Well, if we don't compare him to Fu Zheng, my uncle is actually quite good to me. He provides for my food and drink, lets me go to school with Fu Zheng, and even said he'd help me find a job to earn money." Yan Ciwan said, "Isn't that great?"

"Yes, although I feel a little resentful, I can understand. After all, Fu Zheng is my uncle's only son, and I'm just his nephew. How can a nephew be compared to a biological son?"

He said he didn't care, but Yan Ciwan could hear the resentment in his words.

"My uncle originally wanted Fu Zheng to take the imperial examination route, but Fu Zheng wasn't cut out for studying. He couldn't concentrate on his studies at all, and he barely passed the exams thanks to my help in cheating. Seeing that this couldn't go on, my uncle used his connections to get Fu Zheng a position in the army, and Fu Zheng joined as a squad leader. But the next day, the Turkic army attacked, and Emperor Wen ordered 100,000 soldiers to be sent to Youzhou to resist the enemy. Fu Zheng's army was among those 100,000. My uncle and aunt were extremely worried. They wanted Fu Zheng to come back, but his name was already on the military register. Unless he died, Fu Zheng couldn't possibly return from the battlefield early. So they came to me, wanting me to accompany Fu Zheng to the battlefield. They said I could help take care of Fu Zheng, and if he encountered any danger in the future, I could protect him."

Pei Yan couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh as he said this.

"They just want me to take the blame for Fu Zheng. In their eyes, Fu Zheng's life is precious, but isn't mine too?"

Yan Ciwan said, "You can refuse them."

“I did refuse, but my uncle and aunt went behind my back to find someone and secretly added my name to the military register. They have connections and are quite wealthy. How could an orphan like me compete with them?”

The swallow departed late, speechless.

“At first I was very angry, but when I got extremely angry I calmed down. Anyway, I could never enter officialdom through the imperial examination or recommendation in my life. Rather than living a mediocre life as an ordinary person, I might as well go to the battlefield and try my luck! When I achieve success in the future, my uncle and aunt will no longer dare to look down on me, and I can marry my sweetheart in a grand manner.”

Yan Ciwan caught the key phrase: "the one I love?"

"Her name is Jiang Yan. Her father and my father were classmates and friends. They made a promise when they were studying together that their children would become in-laws. In other words, Jiang Yan and I were betrothed since childhood. However, because my family fell into poverty, the Jiang family elders were reluctant to let their daughter suffer with me. But instead of breaking off the engagement directly, they paid off my family's debts and gave me five years. If I could make something of myself within five years, they would fulfill the engagement and let Jiang Yan marry me."

Yan Ciwan gave an objective assessment: "They have done everything they could to be kind and righteous."

“I can understand them. Jiang Yan is so good, gentle and kind. Even when I had nothing left, she still stayed by my side. How could I bear to let her suffer with me? I want to give Jiang Yan a better life, so I have to take action. That’s why I decided to join the army. I asked Jiang Yan to wait for me for five years. I will definitely marry her with a grand wedding procession in five years.”

Thinking of his beloved, Pei Yan's eyes softened considerably, and the fierce aura around him was greatly diminished.

"War is tough and exhausting, and there's danger at every turn. Fu Zheng couldn't take it anymore and wanted to desert and go home. We were not only cousins ​​but also from the same squad. If he deserted, our whole squad would be held responsible. To dissuade him from deserting, I tried everything to coax him. When problems arose, I had to help him come up with solutions. With my help, he made a few small contributions and was promoted to centurion. As his rank rose, he became arrogant and started ignoring my advice. He became stubborn and autocratic. I had repeatedly warned him that there might be an ambush on that road, but he didn't believe me and insisted on taking that road. As a result, we were ambushed, and more than a hundred of us were wiped out. Only he and I survived."

It's almost finished; it should be completed this month.