Xiao Yan didn't expect that Di Shuangcheng and the He family actually had friendship.
When he first learned about the military talisman, before he wanted to come to the northwest, he sent people to check out all the things related to the northwest army, including in-laws in the court, blood relations with distant relatives, and even those who could communicate with the Zhen'an Army and Longting Guards. Several generals had connections and no information was passed on.
It was at that time that He Rongzhang was found by him.
Xiao Yan was not familiar with this concubine uncle who had long been regarded as dead in the eyes of the He family, but it did not prevent him from remembering the "deviant" things about this man in his heart. He had never thought that he would be useful. Until he realized that Di Shuangcheng was completely different from the reckless general he originally thought.
His mind was sharp and difficult to coax, and he even realized that he had grabbed hold of Mrs. Di and wanted to blackmail him.
Xiao Yan could only follow the trend and drag out this cheap uncle, but he didn't expect to get an unexpected reward.
…
It was the first time that Xiao Yan set foot in the General's Mansion of the Di family. It was no more prosperous than anywhere else in the capital. The Di family seemed much rougher and simpler. There were not many nice furnishings in the house, and the tables and chairs were all made of ordinary wood. The best thing about the entire Di family was probably that. A training platform filled with weapons.
Most of the servants of the Di family were from the military, and it was not until they entered the backyard that they saw some maids.
Xiao Yan followed Di Shuangcheng into the study. Di Shuangcheng waved the servant who brought tea out. After closing the door, he saw a look of caution on the face of the young man opposite.
"Are you from the He family?"
Di Shuangcheng raised his eyes and looked at him: "Back then, the whole He family was executed. Not only all members of the Jingzhong clan were killed, but even the branches of the He family in Zhangxing were all killed. How did you survive? And you? Which branch are you from?"
Xiao Yan pursed his lips tightly and said nothing, only looking at Di Shuangcheng defensively.
Di Shuangcheng said: "Since you have come to Fengcheng, you must have something important to ask."
"He Rongzhang left the He family when he was less than ten years old. Four years after he left home, the He family was implicated in the brutal prince's affairs and was executed. He didn't know much about the He family's affairs, and he was a concubine who had been expelled from the clan long ago. That’s why he was able to escape.”
"If you are from the He family, you must be looking for He Rongzhang because of the He family's past, but He Rongzhang probably doesn't know the He family as well as I do."
Xiao Yan looked at him suspiciously, obviously not believing what he said.
Di Shuangcheng smiled: "My surname is not Di, but Ling. I was taught by the He family when I was young."
Something flashed through Xiao Yan's mind, and his eyes suddenly widened: "Are you Ling Sicao's son?" He paused, "That Ling Yu?"
Di Shuangcheng raised his eyebrows: "Do you know me?"
Xiao Yan was really shocked this time. He was still young back then and nothing happened to the He family. He was very close to several brothers and uncles in the He family, so he was no stranger to the He family school.
He remembered that when he was five or six years old, there was a very unfamiliar and aggressive young man who entered the He Family Academy. His son was implicated in the disaster relief work a few years ago. Both his parents died and he was the only one left.
That Si Cao died in vain, and because his uncle took pity on his life experience, he took his son back to the capital for shelter and education, planning to send him to serve as an official in the future. Unfortunately, the Ling family son had a very bad temper and had no talent for going to school. On the contrary, Miao Zi was a natural-born military general, but he understood the art of war and military books at a glance. Later, the He family found a way to send him to join the army.
That was already seventeen or eight years ago. Xiao Yan's memory of that year has long been blurred, and he only vaguely remembers such a person.
Di Shuangcheng said his surname was Ling, and the memory came flooding back.
Xiao Yan's face became more guarded and he showed a bit of sincerity: "I saw you in my home school when I was a child. You had a fight with Luo Linhou's son. You knocked him down because you broke his desk. He almost had an accident when he got into the water tank, and was later locked up in the ancestral hall and whipped by his uncle."
When Di Shuangcheng heard this, he suddenly laughed and took off his guard: "You even know this. It seems that you are really from the He family. Which house are you from?"
Xiao Yan: "I am the youngest son of the third family."
Di Shuangcheng's mind flashed back to the string of children from the He family back then. They were all young men raised by noble men. They were fair-skinned, tender and young.
Although he had stayed in the He family for a while, he was familiar with most of the gentlemen who were similar to him in age, as well as the people in charge of the He family, but he didn't remember what the child in the third room looked like.
But Xiao Yan could clearly tell what happened when he was in the He family school, and even knew that he was whipped by the He family's uncle, so his identity definitely couldn't be faked.
Di Shuangcheng immediately got close to him, and his eyes were filled with excitement: "Back then, there was a bloodbath in the capital. When I learned the news and secretly returned to the capital, no one in the He family was alive. The whole capital was in turmoil, and everyone related to the He family was in panic. None of them end well."
"I stayed in the capital for several months without finding any survivors. Then I had no choice but to take He Rongzhang back to the northwest, thinking that I could leave a trace of blood for the He family. Unexpectedly, I didn't expect that anyone from the He family was still alive."
"That's great...that's great..."
He looked excited, and his eyes were even a little red.
Xiao Yan could feel his excitement, and he couldn't help but bring out a hint of intimacy on his face.
"I was in the palace when things happened suddenly and the He family was in trouble. There was a chaos in the East Palace. Both my cousin and the prince were killed in the fire. However, I happened to leave the East Palace and return home and was protected and escaped."
When he mentioned old things, his eyes were filled with mist.
"I managed to save my life by hiding here and there, but the He family collapsed overnight. Later, I returned to Zhangxing and gathered the hidden old members of the He family. I came to Northwest because I wanted to find He Rongzhang to ask some questions."
"General, why did you come to the northwest and change your name? If you hadn't mentioned it yourself, I wouldn't have recognized you at all."
Di Shuangcheng was previously wary of the person in front of him being a Beiling spy, and later worried that he had ill intentions towards the Zhen'an Army. Now that he knew he was from the He family, he said with a friendly expression:
"When the He family sent me to join the army, they originally wanted me to gain some qualifications in the garrison in Beijing so that I could be given an official position. But at that time, I was arrogant and refused to be taken care of by the He family. It happened that the northwest When the war broke out, I secretly came to the northwest."
He was young and energetic, and wanted to stand out on his own. He was afraid that others would find out about his relationship with the He family, and was afraid that the He family would secretly take care of him, so he hid his name and stayed in the north under the name of Di Shuangcheng. Later, during the successive wars, he He also gradually came forward and gained recognition from the top.
"I was awarded the title of Sixth Grade Captain for my military exploits, so I wanted to go back to the capital to see Uncle He and the others, but unexpectedly something happened in the capital. After I secretly returned to the capital, I found that something was wrong. I saw the late emperor and the current emperor confronting the He family. In addition, all the old members of Prince Ru were killed, and among the crimes that Prince Ru was charged at that time was the case in which my father was implicated in the disaster relief case."
Ling Yu was someone who had appeared in the He family, and many people knew his identity. It was too dangerous for him to use it again, so he simply kept using Di Shuangcheng's name until now.
Almost all the people who came with him from Beijing at first died in the battle. He quietly erased his past and no one knew about it.
After hearing this, Xiao Yan understood why he couldn't find out Di Shuangcheng's past.
