Chapter 31: Hu Che'er

Therefore, Liu Xie was very clear that the matters to come might be extremely troublesome.

But it didn’t matter; he had already anticipated these things, or rather, everything was within his calculations.

That very night.

The General’s Residence in Wan City.

“Argh!”

“Who on earth is so brazen, so audacious as to dare kill my men?”

“Arrogant! Far too arrogant!”

A burly man hurled a wine cup with a heavy crash to the ground.

None of the people standing on either side dared utter a word.

All were cowed by the man’s powerful presence.

“General, in my humble opinion, this matter should be reported to General Zhang as soon as possible,” one subordinate ventured.

“Hmph, what’s the point of reporting? Do you mean to say I, Hu Che’er, cannot handle this myself?”

“This is our own turf! What is there to fear?”

Indeed, this man was none other than Hu Che’er, the foremost general under Zhang Xiu.

His strength was formidable.

Just moments ago, he had received news that over a hundred of his soldiers had been killed in broad daylight.

Moreover, their corpses had been thrown into a nearby foul ditch.

To him, this was nothing less than a direct challenge to his authority.

The news had nearly driven him to fury.

He was pondering what kind of person would have the gall to show him such blatant disrespect.

“Go. Investigate this for me. I want to know exactly what happened,” Hu Che’er barked irritably.

“General, I have already looked into the matter,” a subordinate reported. “It was an unknown fellow, no one knows when he arrived in Wan City. He’s currently staying in a house here. Some time ago, he had a dispute with the Liu family of Wan City. The Liu family sought help from the local magistrate’s office, but the officials sent were beaten back. Later, the Liu family turned to our garrison for assistance. Because of that, we suffered the loss of over a hundred men.”

With a simple account, the subordinate finished his report.

“The Liu family?” At the mention of this name, Hu Che’er’s brows furrowed slightly.

It was clear that when it came to the Liu family, his feelings were complicated—though only he himself knew just how complicated.

Gradually, Hu Che’er’s mood calmed, though his expression still betrayed indignation.

“Hmph, I don’t care about all that,” he said. “I want to see for myself the man who dares murder my men.”

“Find out exactly where he’s staying. Tomorrow, I’ll pay him a visit.”

Hu Che’er gave his orders at once.

His subordinates did not dare neglect his command and hurried to make preparations.

Thus, the night passed.

The next morning, Liu Xie was busy at home with Fu Shou, helping Jiayu with chores.

During this time, Liu Xie had not regarded himself as an emperor.

Likewise, Fu Shou no longer thought of herself as an empress.

They had become utterly ordinary people, personally attending to every matter of daily life.

As the days passed, they gradually adapted to this new way of living.

Fu Shou, in particular, had even come to enjoy it.

With less than half a month until the New Year, they had been preoccupied with preparing for the festivities.

For Fu Shou, this would be her first Spring Festival spent outside the palace walls—but she felt it was perhaps the happiest and most meaningful year of her life.

No more overwhelming pressure, no more suffocating constraints.

She was free, no longer burdened by palace intrigue.

In short, she felt far more at ease than ever before.

Just then, a knock came at the front gate.

At the sound, Jiayu tensed immediately.

For recently, every knock at their door had brought nothing but trouble.

“Could it be... they’ve come for revenge again?” Jiayu thought nervously.

Liu Xie and Fu Shou exchanged a look, both seeming to come to the same realization.

“You two keep working—I’ll go see who it is,” Liu Xie said. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

With that, Liu Xie left the room, giving Fu Shou a glance before departing.

Fu Shou understood: he wanted her to watch over Jiayu and her daughter.

When Liu Xie stepped out, a member of the Wolf Shadow Squad had already opened the gate.

Immediately, four or five armored soldiers burst inside.

Yet they made no move to confront Liu Xie or his household—instead, they seemed to be clearing the way.

Behind them strode a burly man.

It was Hu Che’er.

This time, however, Hu Che’er was clad in plain clothes, not his armor.

He entered with a stern expression, hands clasped behind his back.

By now, Liu Xie had come forward to greet him.

“Are you the one in charge here?” Hu Che’er asked, sizing up Lin Xiao from head to toe.

Liu Xie nodded lightly. “Yes, I am.”

He answered crisply.

Hu Che’er looked at him with an air of superiority.

“Do you know who I am?” he demanded.

At this, Liu Xie smiled calmly. “No, but I can hazard a guess.”

“Very well, I’ll give you a chance. If you guess correctly, I might consider speaking with you peacefully. But if you’re wrong, I’ll cut you down where you stand. What do you think of that?”

Hu Che’er maintained his hands-behind-back stance, exuding the composure of a seasoned veteran.

Liu Xie thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright, I’ll take a guess.”

“If I’m not mistaken, you must hold a significant post here in Wan City. Moreover, you’re a military officer. Given that, there are only two people who fit the bill.”

“One is the current overseer of Wan City, Zhang Xiu.”

“As for the other, well, it must be Zhang Xiu’s chief general—Hu Che’er.”

With these words, Liu Xie turned his back, hands clasped behind him.

“How did you know?” Hu Che’er was clearly surprised.

He hadn’t expected Liu Xie to identify him at a glance.

“It’s simple—your entrance made it obvious.”

“To be accompanied by five or six soldiers even when out and about, such treatment is reserved only for Zhang Xiu or for you in all of Wan City.”

Indeed, the moment Hu Che’er arrived, Liu Xie had recognized him.

He had another reason for his deduction as well.

After all, it was only yesterday that Liu Xie had slain over a hundred of Hu Che’er’s soldiers.

That news would surely have reached Hu Che’er’s ears.

Given what history recorded of Hu Che’er’s temperament, it wasn’t hard to deduce that he would come to seek retribution.

What Liu Xie hadn’t anticipated was that Hu Che’er would appear in such a low-key manner, bringing only four or five subordinates.