"This Wei..."
Yang Ge, amused, put away Wei Heng’s handwritten letter: "Why do you always like to flock around smart people?"
Fang Ke stood erect in front of him, not daring to laugh or even to respond.
Yang Ge: "Alright, now that I’m aware of this matter, you go back and tell him to be more careful on his own, and not to capsize in a gutter."
Fang Ke’s heart relaxed, and he nodded hastily in response: "I’ll send him the message right away..."
Yang Ge: "Mhm, how is your marriage preparation coming along?"
Fang Ke’s face changed: "Sir, you’ve asked me that five times this month..."
Yang Ge: "If I don’t keep asking, I’m afraid you won’t take it seriously, will you? Though Miss Liu from the Liu family isn’t from a powerful or noble family, she’s still a decent and upright girl. You can’t neglect her just because her family has no power or influence..."
Fang Ke felt a huge pressure and quickly waved his hands: "Yes, yes, I will certainly pay attention and not neglect her."
Yang Ge prattled on: "Don’t think, just because you’re a ’colonel,’ that you can look down on her..."
Fang Ke: "Deputy, deputy... Sir, you needn’t worry about me so much, better concern yourself with your own matters!"
Yang Ge pursed his lips: "Your parents passed away early, and you have no elder brother to care for you. If I don’t worry about you, who will... Is your money still sufficient? If not, you can just move some from our household. In short, we shouldn’t be extravagant or waste, but we mustn’t wrong the girl either."
Fang Ke felt intensely grateful, yet he still managed a teasing smile: "I wouldn’t dare go; if I went to your house empty-handed for silver, wouldn’t Huang bite me every time he saw me?"
Yang Ge’s expression turned stern: "Itching for a beating, are you? I’m trying to speak seriously, and you’re talking such nonsense?"
Fang Ke spread his hands with a smile: "In this world, you’re probably the only one who thinks that I, as a deputy colonel of the Imperial Guards, don’t have the money to take a wife!"
Yang Ge: "Get out, get out, off with you to attend to your duties!"
Fang Ke, with a sound of acknowledgment, turned and left.
After taking a few steps, he turned back, opened his mouth several times as if to speak, but couldn’t say one full sentence.
Yang Ge looked up at him, puzzled: "Something else?"
Fang Ke hesitated and nodded: "Yes, there’s another matter I wanted to discuss with you..."
Yang Ge: "Speak up, out with it!"
"It’s just, it’s just..."
Fang Ke muttered almost inaudibly: "The military is selecting a batch of colonels to be stationed at the border... I want to volunteer!"
Yang Ge slowly furrowed his brows: "What, you find that ’deputy’ title bothersome?"
"Not at all, not at all..."
Fang Ke quickly waved his hand: "With my abilities, even becoming a hundred men’s commander is difficult. That I could take up the position of ’deputy colonel’ is already thanks to your great fortune. How would I dare to have lofty aspirations and be dissatisfied?"
Yang Ge: "Then why on earth would you suddenly want to go to the border?"
Fang Ke hemmed and hawed for a while, then clenched his teeth and said firmly: "Sir, I can’t spend my life lying about your coattails. If I have descendants in the future and they ask me, their father: ’Dad, during your many years as deputy colonel of the Imperial Guards, what great deeds did you achieve?’ I can’t just tell them that their father caught thieves and bandits at Lu Ting for many years, can I?"
At this, Yang Ge’s brow furrowed even tighter: "All this just for that?"
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
"It’s more than that, more than that..."
Fang Ke shook his head like a rattle, and after swallowing hard, he continued slowly: "I know you don’t want me to go, and you’re thinking of my well-being. Everyone knows the danger there, but someone has to go, right? If everyone only cared about their own small lives, wouldn’t the Tartars just ride in unabated, all the way to our doorstep? Even Shen, born into a family of military prestige, with all the comforts of wealth, has disregarded his own well-being to go to the border and into the steppes multiple times. With my worthless life, how could I not go?"
Yang Ge’s frown finally eased a bit, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked: "What about your marriage? What about Miss Liu?"
"Gulp."
Fang Ke swallowed again, forcing a smile: "Isn’t it true that the marriage has not even been arranged yet? Besides, it’s just to volunteer. Whether Shen deems me suitable or not is still uncertain..."
"Well look at you, Fang Ke, becoming quite capable!"
Yang Ge laughed, looking at him critically: "Playing mind games even with me now!"
Fang Ke’s body trembled, and he stood up straight as he replied: "I wouldn’t dare!"
Yang Ge wanted to scold him, but after opening his mouth, he closed it again. After a long silence, he sighed softly: "You... you wish to achieve great things, you wish to do something for the country and the people, I won’t hold you back. But you must first get married and leave a progeny behind, then you may go. Otherwise, no matter what tricks you try, I say you can’t leave the Imperial Guards, and you won’t be able to!"
Fang Ke’s expression turned bitter, and he spoke without thinking: "Sir, if I go and don’t come back, wouldn’t that just harm Miss Liu?"
Yang Ge glanced at him and said decisively: "If you don’t come back, I won’t stop Miss Liu if she wants to remarry. As for your descendants, as long as I live another day, I’ll ensure they don’t want for anything and have a safe and prosperous life... There’s no room for discussion on this. Unless you want to sever our ties here and now, never to interact again, you’d better think of a solution, because no matter what, without my word, you can’t leave the Imperial Guards!"
Fang Ke’s lips quivered, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally bowed: "Your kindness is as deep as the sea; I’m afraid I’ll never be able to repay it in this lifetime!"
Yang Ge gestured dismissively: "Between us, there’s no need to speak of kindness and repayment; it would be too distant... Go now, focus on preparing for the wedding first. I know a bit about the situation at the border; there won’t be opportunities to make your mark for a while."