Wu Shi Yu didn’t quite know where to begin at first. He had been stationed at the border for a long time so he didn’t know many people that he could ask for help. The worst was that most people likely wouldn’t want to put in the effort if they knew that this was about General Yang who had been dead for many years. If there was no direct beneficiary that was worth getting a favor out of, then most would prefer staying out of things.
After thinking for half a day, he could finally only come up with a single person. That person was General Zhao who had been working together with General Yang once upon a time. He hadn’t been in the border region anymore by the time General Yang died but Wu Shi Yu knew that they had been close before. If somebody would be willing to help, then it was him.
Wu Shi Yu didn’t hesitate after having found his answer. He immediately sent word over and then went to visit the old General. The two of them sat together for several hours, talking about how things were at the border region and what this or that young General had done in recent years before they finally got to the topic that had been bothering Wu Shi Yu all this time. The one to bring it up was actually the old general.
General Zhao had taken a close look at the young man before him and noticed that he was a little absent-minded and slightly tense whenever there was a lull in the conversation as if there was something he wanted to bring up but didn’t dare to. Watching on for a while, he finally couldn’t help but voice his curiosity. "Young Wu, you seem to be on tenterhooks. Just get it out with: What is causing you problems?"
Wu Shi Yu felt embarrassed at being found out so easily but at least now he didn’t need to try and figure out a way to bring it up any longer. "Well, to be honest, it is about General Yang’s family."
General Zhao nodded. He also knew that Wu Shi Yu and General Yang had been close. For Wu Shi Yu to be worried about the Yang family wasn’t strange. Although … "They should be doing better now with one daughter married." He himself had also been invited and looking at the ceremony, he was sure that Yang Ling Ling would have a good life with that man. Her husband also hadn’t seemed like the person who would turn his back on the Yang family after the wedding was done so things should turn around for them.
Wu Shi Yu nodded. "Yes, I think so too. I am just worried about the General’s wife. If both her daughters are out of the house, what will become of her? And what will become of the Yang family? I heard that originally, General Yang intended to adopt but he died before that …" He wasn’t quite sure how to continue. Did General Zhao know something more? Could he point him in some direction at least?
General Zhao sighed in return. "Did she tell you? Well, I guess it is my fault that things turned out like this." He got up and walked out of the room, leaving Wu Shi Yu behind in confusion.
What was the General’s fault? He didn’t understand at all! But he could hardly run after him and demand answers, could he? Thus, he could only continue to sit there, waiting in silence.
A couple of minutes went by until General Zhao returned. In his hands was a letter. He didn’t say anything and just handed it to Wu Shi Yu before he sat down again.
Wu Shi Yu looked at the letter and saw some familiar handwriting on top. This had clearly been written by General Yang before his death. Was this … a letter detailing his plans? Could he find out this way just who that person had been? It was just … this letter wasn’t addressed to him but to the king of Nong. Clearly, this should not be opened by him. He raised his head and looked at General Zhao with some doubt.
The old general sighed deeply and poured himself a cup of tea, taking a sip while his white brows furrowed tightly. "Back then, he had such plans. And he had prepared everything that needed to be done. The only thing left was asking the king’s permission. It wasn’t a simple matter since we were at the border so he finally wrote this letter and handed it to me when I was summoned back to the capital city. I was supposed to give it to the king. But soon after I left and arrived back here, the news of his death already arrived."
He paused at that point, a hint of sadness mixing into his gaze. He and General Yang could have been considered friends. Now, that person had long passed away. It really was something he had not liked to see. "Well, back then, I held that letter for a long time and I wondered what I should do. Still hand it over? But the circumstances had already changed. In the end, you see that I did not do so.
"Maybe I was wrong back then. But Madam Yang had just lost her husband and there were two children to take care of. Also, you were too young back then. You might have had your salary from the army but it wouldn’t have been enough to provide for these three women. Making this official would have put a strain on you and would have put a strain on them for needing to sent things to you. I figured it was better to let the others in the army take better care of you. Madam Yang would be able to figure things out on her own. She has always been a resourceful woman."
Wu Shi Yu stared blankly. He felt a bit slow wondering about this but … had General Zhao just told him that the child General Yang had wanted to adopt had been him? He couldn’t say anything for a moment even after he figured that out.
To be honest, with the possibility already put in front of him, it wasn’t hard to believe. He had been an orphan thanks to the ongoing war when the general picked him up. And since that day, General Yang had taken care of him. He had taken him with him to the army, taught him everything there was to learn to be a good soldier and maybe even more in the future. They had always gotten along.
He couldn’t remember his biological parents but he remembered many things about General Yang’s time with him. He actually missed him and he felt guilty toward his family. Even if what General Zhao had just said was true and there were also expenses that would have been necessary to ensure that he could live well in the barracks before he finally rose to a rank where he would be able to give them something in return, he still wished that he had known. Maybe there would have been more that he could have done. Maybe he could have put in even more effort to rise faster through the ranks. He firmly believed that there could have been options.
Now, he could only sigh deeply. "General Zhao, if I went to ask the king now, do you think he would allow it?" He might not have expected that child to be him but he had figured that it should be somebody who was close to General Yang or received his favor and he firmly believed that such favor should be repaid. When it came to him, then being adopted into that family, marrying their daughter, and making sure that the name 'Yang' could live on still did not seem to be able to repay General Yang for all his kindness. Why would he refuse?
General Zhao looked at the letter in his hands and nodded. "In any case, it shouldn’t matter much to the king. Whether your name is Wu or Yang, what does it change for him? Also, the Yangs’ youngest daughter just married a man by the surname of An. Why would he not want you to secure a relationship if there is a chance for you to further rise the ranks in the future? Just go and show him the letter and I am sure that he will honor what General Yang asked back then."
Wu Shi Yu nodded and got up, cupping his fists. "Thank you, General Zhao. You have helped me a lot. I will go and arrange everything then."
The general nodded and got up as well, turning to look outside. "Don’t think too much. How things worked out until now was because of the decisions every person involved made. That does not rest on your shoulders only. And so far, hasn’t Madam Yang still managed to hold on? Now, with one daughter out of the house, things will only get easier. If you go through with this, she will also have another burden less. Everything will turn out well."
"Yes, I will keep it in mind."
The two of them bid farewell and Wu Shi Yu went to arrange an audience with the king of Nong. Seeing this person … it usually wasn’t easy. His rank was not high enough to do so easily and he would have needed to call in quite a few favors to make this possible. But when he asked, he mentioned that this matter concerned the household of the late General Yang and maybe it was indeed like General Zhao had said and the king was paying special attention because of the recent wedding in the family and the groom’s name but as soon as Wu Shi Yu’s intentions had been communicated, he was invited to see the king the following day. And even when he finally arrived and presented the letter along with stating his own thoughts, his luck still did not run out.
The king of Nong thought for a while and then, he granted the wish outright, not even consulting Madam Yang on the matter. In fact, not only did he grant him the name of Yang and had an auspicious date be chosen for him to go through a formal adoption, he even went ahead and decreed the marriage between Wu Shi Yu — or rather Yang Shi Yu now — and Yang Jin Jin.
The decree was not only sent to Wu Shi Yu’s hands but also to the estate of the Yang family. When Madam Yang received it, she had to hold back tears. She had believed that with the gracious help of her younger daughter’s husband, they might be able to find a good husband for her older daughter as well. But she never would have dared to dream of achieving anymore. Now, Wu Shi Yu, this child that her husband had raised like his own son for several years and always spoken proudly of, was to officially become a son of their family. He might not have her husband’s blood but she firmly believed that he carried his intentions. With him marrying Jin Jin, she did not have to worry about this first daughter of hers. And the child they had in the future would still be a child of the Yangs’, meaning that she had not failed her husband.
This future, it was more beautiful than she had ever dared to imagine.
