The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 3: I’m Lucky To Be Reborn And Recover Everything I Lost.

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Mu Boren, the Duke of Yan, was having breakfast with his wife, Madam Gong, in their wing room.
They were talking about the ‘Spring Hunting Sacrifice’.

“Noble Consort Niangniang1 has recalled our sibling bond, summoning me and Lizhu to the Palace to meet His Majesty the Emperor in a few days.
We’ll go to the Jiuqu Mountain together to participate in the Spring Hunting Sacrifice.” Mu Boren said.

“This is indeed a major event and Imperial favor2.
You must not neglect the kindness of the Noble Consort.” Madam Gong said.

“Mm.” Mu Boren nodded.
“Lizhu has been loved by the Noble Consort since young.
The Noble Consort must be summoning us because I haven’t brought him to the Palace to pay respects in a while, she must miss him a lot.
So, this year-….”

Before the Duke of Yan could finish speaking, the door of the wing room was pushed open and a person barged in, startling everyone in the room.

Mu Zhiming’s black long hair was scattered and untied, his clothes were a mess.
The cloth shoes3 on his feet were forced on him by Caiwei, who had stopped him midway.

“Father, Mother….” As soon as Mu Zhiming saw them, the tears that were just wiped away suddenly re-emerged.
The feeling of recovering something that was lost could no longer be suppressed.
It was as if a dam had broken all of a sudden, pouring out everything in full force.

“Lizhu? What’s wrong?” Mu Boren stood up abruptly.
Unable to believe that the unruly and unkempt teenager in front of him was actually his own son.

Madam Gong, with her clever mind, immediately dismissed the servants serving in the room and said: “Lizhu, my dear son, what’s the matter? Don’t be afraid to talk with your mother.”

Mu Zhiming then knelt down in front of Madam Gong and burst into tears: “Mother, I will definitely strive for success.
I will study diligently to make up for my mistakes.
I will keep a low profile, protect you, and take good care of the Mu family.
I won’t let down those who have given me kindness.
I’m determined to eliminate the slander and destroy the corruption.
I will change the course of events.
I will no longer be blinded by a leaf and end up at the mercy of others.”

“Oh my!” Madam Gong felt so heartbroken seeing her son cry like this, that she brought Mu Zhiming into her arms, comforting him softly: “What happened? Are you like this because your father has scolded you about your homework?”

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“I haven’t scolded him these days.” Mu Boren defended himself.
“I’m being wronged4.”

“Father!” Mu Zhiming then cried again at Mu Boren.
“The struggle between the Imperial Family’s parties is a difficult road, filled with bloodshed.
A reign of terror! If you’re careless, you will die without a burial place! Ah, be careful with your words and deeds, Father! Is it not good enough for you to just play chess and drink tea with your old friends? Do you really have to get into the muddy waters to protect us?”

“This child! What nonsense are you talking about?!” Mu Boren’s face turned pale with fear, as he slapped the table repeatedly.
“What ‘dying without a burial place’? What ‘party dispute’? The Imperial Court is well ordered at the present.
Where is the conflict between parties? How can you say such words? That’s an evil thing to say!”

“Alright, alright.
There are no outsiders in the room, it doesn’t matter what he says.
Besides, he’s still young.
What can he understand about political parties? He probably read some idle books5 and had nightmares.
Lizhu, don’t cry, stop talking nonsense.
Look, you’re scaring your father.” Madam Gong stroked Mu Zhiming’s back again and again, with the intention of soothing him.

Mu Boren blew his beard and glared.
Then he put his hands behind his back to lecture Mu Zhiming: “You don’t want to read the Four Books and Five Classics6, instead, you read those miscellaneous stories7 that consume your mind! Look at your unkempt appearance right now, such shame! Where’s Caiwei? Caiwei?! Quickly, take my son back to his wing room to dress properly!”

—

The morning fuss that startled the chickens to fly and made the dogs jump around8 was finally over.
Even though everything felt like a huge dream, in the end, it was an enlightening experience.

Inside the wing room, Mu Zhiming was looking at his own tender and young face in the bronze mirror, slowly recovering from the shock of being reborn.

As he thought about the past events, the most confusing thing was seeing Gu Heyan after his death.

‘Could it be….?’

‘Was it because I committed suicide with Gu Heyan’s gift in my previous life? Is that why I saw him in the chaos of death?’

The blade Mu Zhiming used to slit his wrist in his previous life, was a blade he removed from a Yuanyang portable dagger9.

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That gift was given to Mu Zhuming by Gu Heyan on his birthday when they were still young.

In his previous life, when the Residence was being confiscated, Mu Zhiming took advantage of the chaos to hide a dagger to protect himself.
Only later did he find out that it was that Yuanyang dagger.

‘Is that why….?’

“Young Master.”

A soft call pulled Mu Zhiming’s thoughts back to the present.
As he raised his head, he found that Caiwei had tied his hair for him.
When he looked at himself through the bronze mirror, he saw the face of a man whose appearance was still that of a young teenager.
However, that young appearance was already that of a distinct and peerless handsome spirited young man.

“Young Master, did you have a nightmare last night? I’ll send a maid to get some soothing incense to light in the incense burner before you’ll go to sleep tonight.” Caiwei took a handkerchief, soaking it in hot water, then she gently helped Mu Zhiming wipe his hands and wrists.

Mu Zhiming looked at her gentle and virtuous appearance.
He couldn’t stop himself from remembering her previous life.
Caiwei, in order to protect Mu Zhiming during the confiscation, fell down the stone steps in front of the Residence.
At that time, Caiwei was six months pregnant.
Due to the fall, after leaving behind a trace of blood staining the steps, both Caiwei and her son died a horrible death.

“Sister Caiwei,” Mu Zhiming suddenly said, “You will certainly marry a good husband.
You’ll have a good family, with many children and grandchildren surrounding you.”

Caiwei, who hadn’t left the wing room yet, was amused when hearing this.
With a blushing face, she said: “Young Master, don’t joke with me.”

“Right, where’s A-Yin? Where is he?” Mu Zhiming asked as he stroked his sleeve and stood up slowly.

As soon as Mu Zhiming said that, a young man burst into the room like a strong wind.
This young lad was approximately 14 years old, he was dressed in an indigo, wrist-binding bodyguard uniform.
His hair was tied high with a gray-blue ribbon.
He didn’t have any accessories on his body, but in one hand, Wen Heyin was holding the egg of a bird.
As he hurried over to the bed, he said: “What’s wrong? Young Master called for me? I was just removing the bird eggs from the nest in the willow tree in the courtyard!”

Wen Heyin was Mu Zhuming’s personal bodyguard.
They were similar in age and grew up together since childhood.
Although they were Master and servant, they were like brothers.

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As soon as Wen Heyin stood in front of Mu Zhiming, Mu Zhiming immediately reached out to hug him, scaring Wen Heyin to the point of standing completely stiff, without daring to move a single muscle.

When the warm feeling of reality touched his arms, Mu Zhiming’s eyes felt like crying, and the tip of his nose began to feel sore.

Mu Zhiming was aware that he shouldn’t reveal his emotions like this, but he couldn’t really help it.

In his last life, the Mu family was in trouble due to a felony.
At the time, Wen Heyin said that he would go to ask someone for help, but in the end, Wen Heyin disappeared for two days and two nights.
On the third day, Wen Heyin was found dead in the street, with his clothes disheveled, his body covered with bruises and bloody whip wounds.
From then on, Mu Zhiming and Wen Heyin were separated by Yin and Yang10.

At this moment, when old friends meet again after such a long time, how can Mu Zhiming not cry with joy?

While Mu Zhiming was filled with emotion, Wen Heyin spoke somewhat embarrassed: “Young Master….”

Mu Zhiming: “Hmm?”

Wen Heyin: “I don’t like you like ‘that’.”

Mu Zhiming: “….”

Wen Heyin then said righteously: “You can’t forcibly take a virtuous man, like me, as a wife.
Ah, even though I seem to belong to your family, you can’t rely on authority to overpower and tarnish my innocence ah.”

Mu Zhiming: “….”

Wen Heyin: “Aiya, having an outstanding personality is so frustrating.
But I can understand if the Young Master likes me.
However, in this case, you should pay attention to whether the feelings correspond.
Young Master, don’t force me, I would rather die than obey.”

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Mu Zhiming: “….”

At that moment, the sadness of Wen Heyin’s death in his previous life dissipated as those jokes were said, replaced by the true sense of reunion surging inside Mu Zhiming’s heart.

Yes, he’s back home.
He’s a spirited young man that shouldn’t mourn the Spring and hurt the Autumn11.
Let alone should he have any worries in life.

Mu Zhiming hid all of his thoughts deep inside him, bent his bright eyes, smiled and said: “Really? If I can’t get you anyway, then I’ll just strangle you to death.”

Wen Heyin screamed: “Sister Caiwei! Help! Since Young Master can not get my heart, he will kill me, ah!”

Caiwei covered her lips and held back a laugh.
Watching the two young men laughing and joking as usual.

All of a sudden, a young maid knocked on the door and hurried to say: “Young Master, the Duke and Madam have summoned you to the side hall.
They have something important to tell you!”

 

Footnotes

贵妃娘娘 guì fēi niáng niang; Niangniang is an honorific title given to the Empress or Noble Consort.
While Noble Consort (Gufei) is a title given to an Imperial Concubine, holding a status second only to the Empress.
After the Song Dynasty [960-1279], Niangniang can be used to address: The Empress, Noble Consort and Imperial Concubine (妃子 fēi zi).
If the Niangniang title belongs to the Empress, then she holds the highest status.
If the one holding the title is a Noble Consort (Gufei), then she holds the same status as the Empress.
If the one holding the title is a regular Imperial Concubine (Feizi) then she has higher status than the other regular Imperial Concubines, but has smaller status than the Noble Consort (Gufei). 恩宠 ēn chǒng; Refers to a favorable treatment and privilege given by the Emperor to his subordinates, but it also refers to the favoring of subordinates in general. 布履 bù lǚ; Cloth shoes is the general name for shoes after the Han Dynasty [206 BC-220 AD].
In ancient China, there were many kinds of shoes, including those made with cloth, silk, grass, bamboo, and leather.
Something like THIS. 六月飞雪 liù yuè fēi xuě; ‘The white snow fell on the sixth lunar month’.
This phrase comes from《窦娥冤》by (關漢卿 guān hàn qīng) Guan Hanqing [1235-1300 approx.] from the Yuan Dynasty [1279-1368].
The story is about Dou’e, who was falsely accused by a scoundrel and wrongly sentenced to death by the governor of Chuzhou.
Before dying, Dou’e vowed to Heaven and asked for three things, one of which was that snow covered her corpse.
Heaven listened and made snowfall in June.
So, this sentence is commonly used when someone is being wronged/falsely accused. 闲书 xián shū; Refers to books that are for entertainment; opposite to the proper literature about history, politics, etc. 四书五经 sì shū wǔ jīng; They are the authorized books of Confucianism in China written before 300 B.C.
The Four Books are: the ‘Great Learning’, the ‘Doctrine of the Mean’, the ‘Analects of Confucius’ and ‘Mencius’.
The Five Classics are: the ‘Book of Songs’, the ‘Book of History’, the ‘Classic of Rites’, the ‘Book of Changes’, and the ‘Spring and Autumn Annals’. 江湖 jiāng hú; This term has many meanings, but in this case, it’s used to refer to the martial arts novels, in which the protagonist travels all over the world. 鸡飞狗跳 jī fēi gǒu tiào; Chinese idiom.
It describes the chaos and confusion resulting from panic.
From《锻炼》by (茅盾 máo dùn) Mao Dun [1896-1981]. 鸳鸯携匕首 yuān yang xié bǐ shǒu; I couldn’t find an exact dagger with this name, but from the information we’ve been told (that the blade must be small enough to be hidden inside MZM’s shoe), I think it will look somewhat similar to this small Dagger. 阴阳相隔 yīn yáng xiāng gé; Chinese idiom.
It means that people are separated after death.
The living are on Earth, also known as the Yang world (阳间 yáng jiān), while the dead go to the Underworld, also known as the Yin world (阴间 yīn jiān), which is a different space from the Yang world that separates the dead from the living. 伤春悲秋 shāng chūn bēi qiū; Chinese idiom.
It refers to the sadness caused by the change of seasons and circumstances, but it also mostly describes someone being overly sentimental.
From《李义山诗笺注》by (钱谦益 qián qiān yì) Qian Qianyi [1582-1664] from the Qing Dynasty [1644-1911].