The Duke of Lu, Great General Qian, harrumphed. “Why? Am I not allowed to be here? Who said there was grape wine here? Bring it out!”

Captain Guo quickly shot a look at He Changdi, who stiffened for a moment before stepping forward. He bowed towards Great General Qian before taking the gourd of wine off his waist and handing it over, though not without some hesitation.

Great General Qian didn’t really have much that he liked, except for wine.

Although the northern border troops were only given rough fare to eat, as the highest ranking commander there, General Qian was different from the common soldiers. At every meal, he could still afford to have a few cups of wine, though it wasn’t the best quality.

This old alcoholic Great General Qian was very sensitive to the smell of alcohol. Just now, he had been attracted to this area by that elusive smell of wine in the air, and he had happened to overhear Captain Guo and He Changdi’s conversation.

It was rare to find grape wine in the Great Wu Dynasty as they mostly produced sorghum wines. The grape wine of this era was pretty much like what He Changdi had seen in his previous life, and most of them were made as medicinal wines.

Even in the capital, there were very few people who had the opportunity to taste grape wine before, never mind the folks of this desolate border city.

The wine-lover General Qian had seen all sorts of wines in his life, but this was his first time seeing grape wine.

He immediately took off the stopper on the gourd and took a sniff right in front of He Changdi and the other soldiers. The sweet, crisp smell of the wine tickled Great General Qian’s senses. He wasn’t in any hurry to taste it, so he closed the gourd again and hung it at his waist.

General Qian then pointed at He Changdi and turned to Captain Guo to ask, “Who is this child, and when did he enter the army?”

Captain Guo hadn’t thought that General Qian would ask for personal details about the provider of the wine. After a slight moment of surprised hesitation, he shot a look at He Changdi, indicating that he should introduce himself.

He Changdi had been trying to find a chance to meet General Qian for days. He obviously hadn’t expected that a small gourd of grape wine would do the trick that easily. When he managed to get over his shock, He Changdi quickly seized his moment and respectfully answered, “Replying to Great General, this subordinate is the third son of House Jing’an, He Changdi. It has been more than a month since this subordinate joined the northern border troops, and this subordinate is currently serving as a lieutenant in the right wing.”

Great General Qian’s eyes bulged as he stared at He Changdi in disbelief. Once upon a time, he had taught a few martial arts skills to Prince Jin and a certain brat called He Sanlang- this very same He Sanlang! However, wasn’t that brat tall and handsome back then? How did he turn into a bearded ruffian like this? Not that many years had passed, had they? If he remembered correctly, He Sanlang shouldn’t be older than twenty this year.

Actually, it wasn’t strange that General Qian thought this way. People of any era liked to admire beauty. There were even men in the capital who would stick flowers in their hair. Most men would keep their face clean of any facial hair, even when they were well into their thirties. The Second Master of House Ying, Chu Qizheng, was a model example of this.

Any bearded man on the street was likely over the age of fifty. There really weren’t many young men like He Changdi with beards.

He Changdi’s full beard was covering more than half of his handsome face. No wonder General Qian hadn’t been able to recognise him at all.

“You brat! Why have you come over here?” General Qian’s first reaction was amazement, but he quickly turned stern and dissatisfied.

He Changdi was about to reply when General Qian’s expression turned serious. He suppressed his anger and said, “Come with me right now!”

Captain Guo watched as He Changdi’s tall and slender silhouette followed behind General Qian as he walked to the main tent of the camp. A long moment passed before the captain finally shifted his gaze away.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The corners of Captain Guo’s lips curled up. He sighed and said, “That brat’s pretty lucky.”

Zhang Mai gently smiled as he stood beside Captain Guo. “If there’s a chance in the future, we really have to meet our brother’s wife.”

He Changdi had been able to get close to Captain Guo as well as meet Great General Qian thanks to two small things that his wife had sent over to him. Those two small things had helped him a lot. That newlywed wife of his was really his lucky star.