Sentimental General Chapter 17

Although He Mu Li tried his best to stay beside his kitten to avoid the possibility of those people who habored ill-intentions, taking her away, but it is always God's plan that supersedes man's wishes. 

Recently it is the season when sandstorms in the Mohan Sea of Sand reaches its peak.  Every autumn and winter, the sandstorms in this desert have always been extremely violent and he could not ignore this matter.  After all, the situation in the desert is closely related to the safety of the state of Haizhou.  As the General who is responsible for guarding the place and the Hou-ye of this land, he could not neglect it.

Moreover, he had to be careful to prevent the army from Xia Country disguising as horse thieves entering his territory during the sandstorms to sneak attacks on the people and rob them of their properties.

In order not to trigger an actual confrontation or a war between the two countries, the cunning Head of Xia Country always instructed his soldiers to disguise as horse thieves to create chaos at the borders of the country.  Every time they were confronted, the Head of Xia Country would always shove the blame on the horse thieves for creating trouble.  Xia Country insisted they could not do anything and challenged Lan Country to settle the issue of the horse thieves if they have the ability.  Every year during this time of the season, it is also the time when Xia Country's horse thieves are the most active.

And as a result, He Mu Li was unable to return to the city for a while, let alone return to Hou Mansion to see his kitten.  Missing her very much, his temper certainly was not any much better.

The General was in a bad mood and the soldiers guarding the borders of Haizhou could feel it deeply.  Recently, the training under their General had become stricter.  They were thinking, this was because of the violent sandstorms and the Xia Country's horse thieves that had made their General angry.  But sandstorms are natural occurrences that man could not counter, therefore the horse thieves became their main punching bags.  Those who dared to venture into Haizhou territory would have to pay a heavy price.

Hence, once Lan Country's soldiers encountered the horse thieves from Xia Country, they were all badly beaten up because everyone also wanted an outlet to vent out their anger!

While in the midst of this turmoil, He Mu Li received a piece of important news.  De Xue's father had set off from the mountains and was personally coming to Haizhou.

After receiving this news, his face turned a bit gloomy.

The people he sent to see De Ruo Qing to propose marriage did not get to meet De Ruo Qing at all.  Instead, they were stopped at the foot of the mountains for several days and at the same time, De Ruo Qing leading several of his disciples had left the mountains by a different route heading towards Haizhou in a rush.  He Mu Li also heard that he had also contacted several important Imperial Ministers of the Imperial Court.

Due to the fact that He Mu Family has been guarding the borders from generation to generation and was bestowed Lan Country's territory seal it was inevitable for the Imperial Court and the Emperor to be wary of this high-powered Head of State.  So they always had their own secret agents who dwelled in Lan Country collecting all kinds of information from all four corners of Lan country and also gather news about the He Mu Family in order to be prepared for any problems in advance.

Ever since He Mu Li discovered the details of De Xue's past, he had placed a few of his secret agents near De Ruo Qing to monitor his movements.

All this time, De Ruo Qing has always been borrowing the strength of the Imperial Ministers to pressure He Mu Li for the return of De Xue.  However, from the current situation, it could be seen that De Ruo Qing was planning to come in person.  It was inevitable for him and De Ruo Qing to meet face to face.

He Mu Li was not worried about the obstacles that would be heaped upon him since he had decided to counter each and every obstacle one by one thrown at him.  He was prepared to dawdle with De Ruo Qing but he could not help but feel worried about De Xue.  He knew she missed her Father dearly.  This time, De Ruo Qing had come personally to Haizhou and if he insists that De Xue follows him home, then the situation may become very troublesome.

He was not afraid to confront De Ruo Qing but he could not bear to see his kitten feel sad and painful.  He had promised her that he would give in to her wishes.

When he thought of the man living in his courtyard whom the De Ruo Qing likes and favors and he was also the man that the Elderly had chosen as his son-in-law, He Mu Li's mood became even worse.

This is really the case of having a wolf facing him in front and a tiger at the rear!

After a long hard journey, De Ruo Qing and his party arrived in Haizhou in winter.

As soon as they arrived in Haizhou, they were treated as guests.  He Mu Li sent his men to respectfully invite the group to his Hou Mansion.

After experiencing He Mu Li's attentive and courteous reception, De Ruo Qing still responded coldly and as soon as he entered Hou Mansion, he was vocal and directly demanded He Mu Li to surrender his daughter to him. 

Of course, He Mu Li turned a deaf ear to his request and only informed them that he was hosting a banquet for them.  He also said that they had traveled thousands of miles before arriving in Haizhou and therefore they were invited to stay in Hou Mansion for a while.  He Mu Li also requested that he should be given the opportunity to act as a host and entertain them well.

De Ruo Qing realized that someone was using the trick of the soft approach and dragging the situation and he thought about it.  Anyway, it was impossible to take away his daughter immediately.  In this case, it was good to understand the enemy deeper and knowing your enemy and knowing yourself* is a very good method.

(Knowing your enemy, knowing yourself is a war strategy written in Sunzi's 'The Art of War'.)

However, De Ruo Qing refused to live in main courtyards of Hou Mansion and said that since General He Mu had arranged for his disciple Su Yi to stay in a side courtyard, he would also stay there.

(In the old days, a wealthy residence or the residence of a nobleman is a sprawling mansion separated from the main house by a number of courtyards especially if the residence houses a lot of children. The Master of the household usually will stay in the main courtyards while his children, relatives and guests will occupy the various side courtyards.)

So the Sifu and his disciple share such deep love!  He Mu Li thought to himself and he knew that it would not be easy to change the Elderly's opinion of him.  He could only follow De Ruo Qing's request to place him in the same courtyard as Su Yi and ordered his people to serve them well.

The moment De Ruo Qing entered Hou Mansion, De Xue had kept herself hidden and peeked at him.  That year she had run away from home after a big quarrel with her Father and now she does not know how to break this deadlock.  She is afraid that her Father is still angry with her and so she does not dare to face her Father.

But after learning that De Ruo Qing was living in the side courtyard, she could not control herself and ran over there.

De Xue saw her father in the house where Su Yi was staying and he was talking to Su Yi with his back facing her.

Seeing that she was standing outside, a gentle smile appeared on Su Yi's face.  It was not known what he had said to De Ruo Qing and then he waved at her, gesturing for her to enter.

De Xue timidly walked up to her Father, stood behind him and called softly. "Father......."

"So, you still remember I am your Father?"  De Ruo Qing did not turn around and just asked.

De Xue's eye rims turned red and she heard Su Yi warmly pleading for mercy on her behalf.

"Sifu, Xiao Shimei misses you very much.  These past few years, she had suffered a lot while she was outside.  She was afraid you would be angry with her so, she did not dare to go home.  Don't be angry with her anymore."

With a grievous expression, De Xue sniffed and her red eyes looked at Su Yi while she nodded her head slightly at him to express her gratitude.

Su Yi shook his head at her, his face showing his usual gentle expression with a trace of doting.

Under his gaze, De Xue felt a little guilty and quickly lowered her head.

After knowing that Su Shixiong has affections for her, she really did not know how to face him. So during this period of time, she has been avoiding him but he was still so good to her and it made her feel more apologetic.

"Xue-Er*"  After listening to Su Yi's persuasion, De Ruo Qing turned around and called his daughter.

(Xue-Er means Snow [Xue name of De Xue] and Child [Er]. This affectionate expression is usually used by parents to call their children.)

"Father!"  De Xue rushed into his arms and burst into tears.

She and her Father had mutually depended on each other in this life.  He is the person she worshipped and admired the most but he had ignored her for the past few years.

(Mutually depended on each other [interdepent] in this life describes a scenario whereby only two members of a family are still alive and they depend on each other for support to carry on living.)

Hearing her grievous cries, De Ruo Qing felt both sad and distressed.

It was not that he did not miss his daughter but it was only he had pampered his daughter too much and she had turned into an arrogant, fearless lady.  Thus, for her own good, he had allowed her to wander outside as a way to mold her character.  However, now he feels grief and is regretful since she is only his daughter and not his son!  His delicate daughter had suffered so much during these past few years!

Although he had taken care of her in secret all these years, it would have been better to keep her beside him and love her.  Now he feels regretful in his heart.

It was a long time before the sounds of De Xue's cries quietened a little.  De Ruo Qing patted his daughter's back to comfort her and lifted his eyes to meet the gaze of his first disciple.  He could see the deep pity in Su Yi's eyes for De Xue.

"Okay, okay, it's alright now.  Xue-Er, don't throw a temper anymore.   Look at your Su Shixiong, see how much he loves you.  Do you know that he has been taking care of you silently all these years?"

It turned out that throughout all these years, although De Ruo Qing had secretly taken care of De Xue, all matters concerning looking for the location of the smelting workplace and the appropriate craftsmen, etc., and other ingenious methods of smelting imparted to De Xue, were carefully arranged by Su Yi.

At that crucial time, if Su Yi was not called away by De Ruo Qing to carry out an important and difficult task, De Xue would not have fallen into the hands of He Mu Li.

When she heard that in the past years, her Father and Su Shixiong had secretly taken care of her, De Xue was extremely shocked.  She carefully recalled her extraordinary smooth past.  When she wanted a workplace, there was a suitable workplace available for sale.  When she needed craftsmen, there were qualified and reliable people who came looking for work.  Even the big stack of banknotes* which she had smoothly taken away with her before leaving home were all secretly prepared for her by Su Shixiong.

(At that time, gold, silver, and bronze were normally used as money and later, money was exchanged using pieces of 'printed' paper [printed using carved wooden blocks] called 'banknotes' when 'banks' were set up in the cities.  The amount is handwritten on the banknotes.)

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She looked at Su Yi speechlessly but he only just smiled at her and did not reproach her.

Su Shixiong, don't be so good to me!  I don't deserve this!   De Xue's heart became even more apologetic.

"Look, in this world, who will treat you better than your Su Shixiong?  Xue-Er, you are the apple of Father's eye and you know I will not harm you.  You are only a moment of fresh greed to that He Mu Li and your relationship with him will not last long.  Not to mention, in the beginning, he had also hunted you and kidnapped you.  Who knows what kind of thoughts he is harboring? Besides, Haizhou is near the border where summers are extremely hot and winters are extremely cold.  It is also surrounded by the Desert of Death and this place is not as populous and affluent as Tuzhou."

(Tuzhou is the state where their mountain home is located.)

De Ruo Qing said up to here and he sighed heavily.

"Xue-Er, come home with Father.  You should have played enough."  He persuaded his daughter patiently.

De Xue's heart was in chaos.  She was shocked and grateful to Su Shixiong's care for her. However, other than feeling remorseful she was still unable to respond to the feelings of Su Shixiong!

As long as she imagined herself being embraced by Su Shixiong, or even kissed by him, she could not help but tremble.  No, she will accept it!   If she likes him, it means she really likes him but she doesn't like him, it means she really doesn't like him......there is no way she will go against her feelings!

The person she likes is Li Dage and he had moved her heart.  Just by thinking of him, she would feel happy.  Feelings cannot be determined by who treats her better.  If she likes Su Shixiong, she would have long ago liked him and it would not have to wait until now!

However, her words of rebuttal, words of refusal, words of apology and her explanation to her Father that she and He Mu Li are truly in love, all suddenly died in her throat when she looked up and saw the love in her Father's eyes as well as Su Yi's gentle and indulgent expression.

After they had just reconciled, she did not want her Father to get angry again and also she did not want to see her Su Shixiong feel sad.

Her heart is also made of flesh and blood*.  Although she does not love Su Shixiong, she did not want to hurt his heart over and over again either.  She had always treated him as her closest brother.

(Heart made of flesh and blood means a human heart with feelings.)

As if he could see her awkward situation, Su Yi said. "Sifu, let's not talk about this.  You and Shimei have just reunited, there should be a lot of things you want to talk about.  You should let her think carefully about this.  There is no hurry."

De Ruo Qing noticed the struggle his daughter was experiencing and his eyebrows knotted.  His daughter had always been affectionate but after listening to how much Su Yi had done for her, she did not even soften instead she was struggling with her feelings.  Can it be she had really fallen in love with that man who had kidnapped her?

However, since his foolish disciple cannot bear to force her, then how can he as her Father bear to force her?  He will give her a little more time to think about this.

He believed that under Su Yi's care, his daughter would be able to see clearly the good man who she can entrust her life.

Chapter end