Sentimental General

Ever since that day, the feelings between the two people grew by leaps and bounds. Hu Ma, the Housekeeper and everyone in the house closed one eye and opened one eye* to their conduct. The both of them would be in He Mu Li's room during the day and the next day, he would wake up in De Xue's room.

(Close one eye and open one eye means knowing something is happening and choosing to ignore it.)

Although they were sleeping in the same room but they were not intimate every night. Of course, someone wanted it but De Xue refused. However, to them it was a happy and warm consolation for them just to sleep together with each other.

Knowing that He Mu Li had sent people to De Xue's house to propose marriage, Hu Ma and the Housekeeper were also secretly preparing for the marriage. As soon as De Ruo Qing agrees and the auspicious date is picked, they would then immediately proceed with their plan to unite the pair of lovers in marriage.

All this while, He Mu Li had been living as a lonely man and now there is a beautiful woman to accompany him, he felt that recently his is leading a very happy life and he is very satisfied with this kind of life.

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During this period of comfortable and peaceful days, an uninvited guest arrived in Hou Mansion.

When De Xue heard that someone had come with De Ruo Qing's visiting note, she was shocked and happy. When she hurried to the reception hall instead she saw a young man dressed totally in white.

(Visiting note is a written note handed over to the Housekeeper of a household to declare the visitor's status. In the note, the contents consist of the name of the visitor, his t.i.tle, his position and the purpose of the visit. The Master of the household will then consider whether he will receive the visitor or meet the visitor. This practice is usually done only in n.o.ble or wealthy households. The picture shows how a visiting note looks like.)

"Su s.h.i.+xiong, why are you here?" She asked blinking her eyes in confusion. Didn't the Housekeeper say that her Father had come with a visiting note? How did it turn out to be Su s.h.i.+xiong?

When Su Yi saw her, he smiled at her gently and asked in a soft voice. "s.h.i.+mei, how are you? The Sifu is very worried about you."

(SY refers DX as s.h.i.+mei which means a younger sister in the same school or sect.)

From the time he handed Sifu's visiting note into Hou Mansion, he has been kept waiting in the reception hall by the petty Great General for three sichen*. In the end, he had to take out his Sifu's letter which the elderly had personally written and hand it over to He Mu Li.

(Sichen is an ancient Chinese measurement of time. 1 sichen = 2 hours.)

In the letter, De Ruo Qing had condemned He Mu Li for kidnapping women and warned that he was going to report this matter to the Fu Ya*. When He Mu Li read the letter containing the strong warning, he had to send for De Xue to the reception hall. He did this to prove that De Xue was willing to stay in Hou Mansion and also to put the ex-love rival in his place. Therefore, He Mu Li sent a servant to invite De Xue to the reception hall.

(Fu Ya is the government town hall which houses the court, guards and the magistrate's office. Another name for this place is Yamen.)

Su Yi was actually worried about the safety of his s.h.i.+mei even though they had received news that De Xue was residing in Hou Mansion as a guest. However, for several months she had stayed in Hou Mansion without leaving the place. The Sifu and all the Brothers felt that she was under house arrest.

Ever since De Xue fell into the hands of He Mu Li, all this time they had failed to rescue her. In Haizhou, He Mu Li's power is really great and he practically covers the sky with one hand*. Under his deliberate obstruction, Sifu had gone through a lot of difficulties to enable them to come to Haizhou and enter Hou Mansion to visit s.h.i.+mei.

(Covers the sky with one hand describes the powerful ability of a person who can hide things from the people or have control over something without fear of reprisal from anyone.)

Su Yi felt extremely dissatisfied with He Mu Li's overbearing tyranny. He settled everything with brute force, kidnapped women and bullied the weak which only showed him as a crude man.

"s.h.i.+mei, don't be afraid. It is Sifu who told me to come and take you home. Let's go back. During the past few years, Sifu has been very concerned about you. As soon as he heard something had happened to you, he was extremely anxious. He immediately sent me to come to Haizhou to take you back. If it wasn't for the strict rules at the defense border of Haizhou putting obstacles in our way, we would have arrived long ago. We would never have kept you worried and fearful for so long." When he said these words, Su Yi's eyes were trained on the General who had tried all possible ways to hinder their journey.

When she heard that her Father was worried about her, De Xue's eyes brimmed with

She turned her head anxiously and looked at He Mu Li. She did not know how to explain everything to Su s.h.i.+xiong.

Seeing the anxiety in her eyes, He Mu Li waved gently at her indicating that she should calm down and leave everything to him.

"Sifu's health is good but in the past few years, he was very concerned about you. s.h.i.+mei, follow me home. Don't fight with Sifu anymore. You should be very clear how much Sifu loves you." Su Yi softly persuaded her.

When De Xue heard those words, her nose felt sour and her tears fell uncontrollably. Of course, she knew how much her Father loves her and she also misses her Father!

Seeing her tears, He Mu Li's eyebrows knotted. There was a hint of worry on his cold face.

Su Yi was able to observe all the changes to He Mu Li's facial expressions and he had just witnessed the looks exchanged between He Mu Li and De Xue. Now that he had seen He Mu Li's reaction, he could not help but felt a little apprehensive.

Although the expression on Su Yi's handsome face was pleasant, his eyebrows were slightly wrinkled. It seems like the relations.h.i.+p between his s.h.i.+mei and the General was different from normal. It was more complicated than they had thought. If that was so, then it would not be an easy task to take her away from here based on her stubbornness.

Su Yi was thinking of this when he heard He Mu Li's deep voice.

"Su Gongzi*, I had sent people to see Sifu De to propose marriage earlier. I believe this is just a misunderstanding. Sifu De should have heard rumors that were untrue and therefore had mistakenly believed that Xiao Xue was kidnapped by me. Now that you have seen with your own eyes, Xiao Xue is regarded as a guest in my residence and is fine, you should rest a.s.sured to return home." He Mu Li immediately gave his orders.

(Gongzi is a t.i.tle used to address a young male from a n.o.ble family, rich family or to address someone's son. It is used in the same way as Mr.)

Hearing this, Su Yi's eyes sank and said faintly. "General He Mu must have misunderstood. s.h.i.+mei and I are already engaged. This time, it is in accordance with Sifu's instruction that I bring s.h.i.+mei back with me to carry out our marriage ceremony."

When De Xue heard his words, she almost choked and coughed out. She had not thought Su s.h.i.+xiong who was always gentle and elegant would be able to say such tough words. After listening to him, Su s.h.i.+xiong really seems to have plans to marry her.

Her astonished and puzzled gaze met the dark eyes of Su Yi who had always been gentle and warm.

Seeing her astonished expression, Su Yi sighed in his heart.

He and Sifu had been silently thinking that if they quietly took care of s.h.i.+mei by her side, guarded her and let her live happily day to day, was the best way to show their love for her. He had wanted her to appreciate his feelings for her. But now, why does he have the feeling as if he had missed something?

"s.h.i.+mei, we grew up together. I had accompanied you when you were studying, accompanied you when you were smelting weapons and I had accompanied you in whatever you wished to do. When you had provoked Sifu's anger, I had begged for mercy on your behalf. Whatever you wanted to eat or there is anything you wanted, I would get it for you. After all these years, don't you really know about my feelings for you?" Su Yi asked her seriously.

In the past, he had never told her this because he liked her and so he had done all those things for her. He really thought that she would understand him sooner or later. When his s.h.i.+mei had grown up a bit more and had grown a bit more mature, she would be able to understand his heart.

De Xue felt an emptiness in her mind. She knew her Su s.h.i.+xiong is very fond of her and takes care of her. Therefore, she had always regarded him as her best brother and had never thought Su Yi would have affections for her......

*Pa!* Suddenly, the silence in the hall was disrupted by a loud sound.

Everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to the big tall man who was dusting off the wood chips from his hands.

With surprise, De Xue looked at the wrecked tea table that was broken into two parts and the wood chips that were scattered all over the floor. Then she looked up at He Mu Li in amazement.

"Is your strength so great?" She rolled her eyes at him and helplessly asked the man who had always been violent.

"Ha, ha, ha!" He Mu Li's violent manner was instantly diminished by her lovable question.

He came over and pulled her into his arms. Showing full of possessiveness, he embraced her and then lifted his eyebrows at Su Yi.

"Xiao Xu and I have mutually agreed to stay together forever. In my heart, she is already my wife. Su Gongzi, please pay attention to your manners and your words. Be mindful of propriety." His words carried a strong threat.

Isn't this a thief calling another person a thief?

Su Yi's face was slightly cold and his gaze fell on the person in his arms. There was no sign of her putting up a struggle and De Xue did not even look at him. A bitter feeling rose in his heart.

"Little s.h.i.+mei........" He called out softly.

"Su s.h.i.+xiong......I'm sorry!" De Xue mumbled. She lowered her head and did not look at him.

She felt sorry for Su s.h.i.+xiong and felt apologetic towards him. But it still will not change the fact that the person she likes is not him......she really likes Li Dage.

When Su Yi heard, he was stunned. Did she actually say sorry to him? Does this mean she is rejecting him?

Splendid! He had always thought he could protect her for a lifetime. When she was just a little girl, he had always looked after her. Sifu had always given him the responsibility to take care of her. It was not known when the arrogant, lovable girl had quietly occupied his heart.

This time when she had run away from home, Sifu had said to let her play outside for a while since she has a wild temper. If she did not play enough, she will still complain when she returns home. It was also better for her to take this chance to discipline and train herself to see whether she will become more mature. So they had taken care of her and protected her in secret.

He could still remember the words Sifu had spoken at that time.

~ Wait for Xue Er to play for two years and after she had suffered outside, she would be able to understand our painstaking effort when she returns. And another thing is that after the both of you are married, it will be easier for you to control her otherwise she will definitely twist you round her finger.

Yes, he has been indulging her all the while, indulging her so dreadfully that even Sifu also could not stand it and in the end, all he got in return was only a 'sorry' from her!

What was the problem? Should he have brought her back home earlier instead of letting her stay outside for such a long time? After spending a few years outside, his s.h.i.+mei still did not understand his heart and instead, she had flown further away from him.......

Although his heart was in chaos, Su Yi still has a smile on his face.

"I understand but I still have to follow Sifu's orders and I can't go back like this. Since General He Mu said that he had already sent people to see Sifu to propose marriage, then we will wait for Sifu's news. If Sifu agrees to your marriage proposal, I will leave immediately. But if Sifu does not agree......Xiao s.h.i.+mei, I will still have to bring you back with me."

Although his temperament has always been gentle, he can be tough if there is a need and will not lose to anyone. Su Yi's eyes firmly met He Mu Li's gaze. Retreating without a fight is definitely not one of his traits. He had kept watch over her for so many years and there is no way he will let her go so easily!

Feeling she owed Su s.h.i.+xiong a debt, De Xue pulled the sleeves of He Mu Li and hoped he would agree to Su Yi's request.

He Mu Li snorted. Originally, he also did not expect to be able to make this man, Su Yi, who is fighting him for the woman he loves, leave with just a few words and also he did not want to offend his future wife's father too much. It is said that Su Yi is the most favored disciple of De Ruo Qing. If he were to make Su Yi look bad, it was equivalent to disrespecting De Ruo Qing. He Mu Li also clearly understood that this is one of the important points in life concerning the interaction between people.

So He Mu Li immediately made arrangements and Su Yi and the other disciples who came with him were invited to stay in one of the courtyards. As guests in Hou Mansion, they were to be well looked after while waiting for the people who had gone to De Rou Qing with the marriage proposal to return with news.

However, He Mu Li was determined and was prepared to act shamelessly until the end.

Regardless of whether De Ruo Qing agrees or disagrees to this marriage, he will never allow De Xue to go back.