Chapter 308: Sima Hui (2) (1/2)
As He Changdi’s face turned more and more stiff, in order to stop these people in the tent from blurting out any more earth-shattering revelations, he reached out to his side, picking up a package and tossing it to them.
Zhang Mai caught it smoothly and opened it. When he saw the beef jerky he had been longing for day and night within, his eyeballs almost fell out with how wide he opened his eyes.
“You lucky brat! It’s not safe out here in the northern border, make sure your family’s soldiers protect Sister-in-Law properly.” Zhang Mai immediately tore open the oil paper packaging wrapped around the beef jerky.
He Changdi kept a serious expression on his face as he said, “Brother Zhang, you’re older than me by a whole generation. It’s not really appropriate for you to call her Older Sister-in-Law like Hongyu does!”
After so many years spent in the army, Zhang Mai was already as thick-skinned as he could possibly get. How would He Changdi’s mild provocation bother him? He chuckled and said, “He Sanlang, you have a higher ranking position than me now, so it’s proper for me to call your wife Older Sister-in-Law.”
Captain Guo and Zhang Mai sat down by He Changdi’s bedside, munching happily on the goods they had been given.
Xiao Hongyu was rather sharp-eyed. His brows drew together as he suddenly recalled what he had seen while getting carried in on a stretcher.
“Brother Guo, did my eyes deceive me? I seemed to have seen a woman while I was being carried in just now…”
After Xiao Hongyu mentioned that, Captain Guo and Zhang Mai abruptly stopped wolfing down their food and let out similar constipated expressions, as if they had been forced to swallow a few kilograms of flies…
“Oh, her…” Captain Guo scratched his head. He didn’t know how to explain this. That female general had just arrived in the camp two days ago. Furthermore, she seemed to be trusted by General Qian.
When Zhang Mai saw that Captain Guo didn’t know how to explain, he cut in. “Zixiang, Hongyu, you guys should have heard of the Sima family, right?”
He Changdi, who lived in the capital and socialised in noble society, knew a little more than Xiao Hongyu did.
“The Simas should be… that rich and influential family in Shandong?”
Zhang Mai nodded and continued speaking. “The Simas of Shandong have been around for thousands of years and can be traced back to the Great Xia Dynasty. In the last dynasty, there were plenty of Simas working as court officials. Later on, when this new dynasty was founded, the Simas of Shandong started moving away from politics. Some people say that it’s because the Simas lost too many talents during the changing of the dynasties. Others say that it’s because the Simas don’t want to stand out too much during the early stages of this dynasty, so they’re hiding their abilities.”
Zhang Mai paused before continuing again. “That female general you saw today, she’s called Sima Hui. She’s from one of the Sima’s branch families. Although you might not recognise her name, you should have heard of Sima Feng at least, right?”
Xiao Hongyu replied first. “Of course I know about Sima Feng! He was one of the border generals of the previous dynasty. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by his most trusted adjutant in the end and died at the feet of the Russians. He passed away filled with hatred.”