“General, you must be joking.” Zhuge Qingtian said with great confidence.
Leng Changxi smiled and glanced at Zhuge Qingtian, “Yeah, so you don’t need to panic.”
Although Zhuge Qingtian had tried to be indifferent, his slightly trembling fingertips betrayed his fear. While Leng Changxi did not ignore any details, he glanced at Zhuge Qingtian quickly and then waved him away. Then he turned his head and asked Qin Yunuan, “What’s the background of Zhuge Qingtian? How long has he been with Her Highness?”
Qin Yunuan smiled sweetly, “Why you asked that? You’re interested in him?”
At this time, only Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi were left in the tent. Therefore, Leng Changxi did not hesitate to put his arms around Qin Yunuan’s slender waist and pinch it lightly. There was no proud flesh on her waist. Leng Changxi shook his head and said, “You’ve lost weight. You’ve lost a lot of weight.”
Qin Yunuan was shy and buried her red face into Leng Changxi’s arms, saying in a gentle and sweet voice, “I’m not afraid of hardship as long as I can be with you. I just hope that you can be always well.”
Leng Changxi felt so warm. How could he let down such a woman? His heart was filled with unspeakable gratitude. Leng Changxi just held Qin Yunuan tighter, “I have no regrets since I have you in my life.”
“Of course you do.” Qin Yunuan raised her head with a grin. She touched her flat belly and said to Leng Changxi with a smile, “Don’t you feel sorry that we haven’t had a child yet?”
Leng Changxi smiled slyly, but he held Qin Yunuan tighter and tighter as if holding his treasure. His warm palms descended along Qin Yunuan’s neck with endless tenderness and love. He had been leading troops all the time, and he hadn’t been close with her for such a long time. At this moment, the war seemed to have come to an end, and the sunset outside was just the best.
The orange sunlight was just like a soft blanket, shedding light quietly on the left side of the bridge of Qin Yunuan’s nose. The left side was in shadow, while the right side was in the warm orange sunlight. Leng Changxi couldn’t help kissing the tip of her nose. There was great tenderness between them, while suddenly someone outside hurriedly reported, “General Leng, there is something wrong with Infanta Mu.”
Leng Changxi straightened up and looked at Qin Yunuan hesitantly, while Qin Yunuan didn’t mind. She was still in his arms, turning her head, “What’s the matter?”
The person who came to report was a very young soldier, and he said so bluntly, “Lieutenant Zhuge offended Infanta Mu. He broke into her tent when she was bathing.”
It was not something which deserved a whoop and a holler. His speaking so loudly would make the two of them so embarrassed. Qin Yunuan frowned, and Yuanyang who was staying outside slapped the young soldier then.
“How dare you speak like this? You are talking about the Infanta of West Xia and the Lieutenant in the camp!”
The young soldier covered his face, feeling aggrieved. At this moment, Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi lifted the curtain and walked out.
“You can leave now. Watch the way you speak in the future.” Leng Changxi glanced at the young soldier, waved him away, and whispered to Qin Yunuan, “I think there is something strange.”
Qin Yunuan nodded, “I think so. Not to mention that Zhuge Qingtian and Her Highness are both self-disciplined, even if Zhuge Qingtian really had a thing for Her Highness, he would not take actions only after he rounded up the defeated army of Sima Ray. He is in the limelight now. And even if he really couldn’t wait, how could he be found by others so easily?”
“I think so.” Leng Changxi nodded.
Before they arrived outside the tent of Mu Qingyu, Tuoba Wuyu had already sent people to guard the tent to prevent those gossip mongers from harassing Infanta Mu inside. However, Qin Yunuan still heard bad rumors along the way. Although Mu Qingyu had a good reputation in West Xia before and had a high reputation in the army, there were still many people saying that Mu Qingyu had two faces and she was a slut although she looked lofty.
Even before entering her tent, Qin Yunuan seemed to be able to feel how despairing Mu Qingyu was.
“I’ll go in alone.” Qin Yunuan stopped Leng Changxi, “After all, it’s girls’ matter. Go to ask Zhuge Qingtian what happened on earth, and there might still be a solution.”
Then Qin Yunuan opened the curtain and went in. It seemed that Mu Qingyu had asked all the maids to leave. Except for herself, there was nobody else in the tent. It was dark with no light in it. Knowing that Qin Yunuan was here, Mu Qingyu still sat alone at the foot of the bed, holding her knees with hands, and her head was buried between her knees. People would definitely think that the Infanta of West Xia must be so sad and despairing because she was violated.
While Qin Yunuan felt that there must be another reason.
“Your Highness, it’s me.” Qin Yunuan moved closer and sat on the bedside, looking at Mu Qingyu, who just wanted to hide herself. It was the first time she saw Mu Qingyu’s helpless appearance. It seemed that no matter what she faced in the past, Mu Qingyu was always so calm. Even when Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan discussed the plan with her, she did not shrink out of potential danger.
Mu Qingyu slowly raised her head, “How is Qingtian now?”
Zhuge Qingtian had been working for her for three or four years, and Mu Qingyu had always valued him. But what couldn’t be denied was that Mu Qingyu did have a feeling for Zhuge Qingtian which exceeded the relationship between the master and the servant. Even the rude old maids in the prince’s mansion always said in private that if Zhuge Qingtian’s status was a little higher, he and Infanta Mu would make a perfect match. Mu Qingyu had heard about what they said, but she could only endure it since something was really insurmountable.
“He’s okay.” Qin Yunuan shook her head, “Moreover, it’s not about caring about him now. What about you? Are you okay?”
After all, the story of their pure relationship was terrible at this time.
“I’m fine.” Mu Qingyu smiled bitterly, “I just… Nothing. There is nothing to tell. Outsiders won’t understand me. Even my hard-earned reputation is no match for this lame conspiracy. I can only accept it.”
“You can talk with me.” Qin Yunuan couldn’t help touching Mu Qingyu’s back. Every person would have emotions and secrets. “Maybe, I can try to understand you.”
Mu Qingyu raised her head slowly and looked at the dark tent. It was dark outside. The coldness and darkness after the sunset were just like a war without prior notice, stimulating people’s nerves. The night was extremely cold in the mountain, and Qin Yunuan subconsciously tucked Mu Qingyu in tighter who was in a daze.
“Actually, Qingtian and I were only seven years old when we first met.”
Mu Qingyu said slowly, which confirmed Qin Yunuan’s guess that there was definitely a story between Mu Qingyu and Zhuge Qingtian.
“That was at a banquet in East Qin. At that time, the relationship between West Xia and East Qin was obscured. My father was ordered to go to East Qin to congratulate the emperor of East Qin on his birthday. By the way, he brought me there. When I was a kid, I was playful. When I arrived at the imperial garden of the Royal Palace of East Qin, I ran out of sight. At that time, I met him.” Mu Qingyu said, smiling naturally.
That was a sweet but slightly bitter smile.
“Lieutenant Zhuge is from East Qin?” Qin Yunuan was a little surprised. However, East Qin had been destroyed already, so naturally nobody was from East Qin anymore. But Qin Yunuan suddenly thought that when East Qin and Qi were at war before, it was Leng Changxi who arrived with reinforcements, turned the tables and attacked the Royal City of East Qin. It was exactly that day when East Qin was destroyed.
If Zhuge Qingtian were really from East Qin, it would be thankless for Leng Changxi to comfort him.
“Strictly speaking, he is not from East Qin.” Mu Qingyu thought carefully, “Zhuge Qingtian’s mother was a foreign woman abducted by the emperor of East Qin when he fought in other small countries. That foreign woman never obeyed the emperor, and she told Qingtian since childhood that they were not from East Qin. But when I met him, he was still a righteous prince of East Qin. It could be seen that although his mother hated the emperor obviously, the emperor still loved his mother so much. At the time, in the Royal Palace of East Qin, there were only two people who could wear dark purple clothes, the empress and Qingtian’s mother, who was just a concubine.”
“However, the higher a person’s position is, the more dangerous he will be. Qingtian’s mother had an accident at the banquet on that day when we met. The wine his mother drank was poisoned. But he didn’t even shed a tear. He just held his mother’s body, and indifferently analyzed who did that. And his reasoning was perfectly correct. At that time, he was only eleven or twelve years old. I just admired him very much and thought he was very strong and powerful at that time. After that, he took his mother’s body back alone. I followed him all the way out of curiosity, only to find…”
When Mu Qingyu talked about this, there was a lump in her throat. Although it had been so many years, the scene was still so vivid, “I saw him holding his mother’s body and leaning against the wall, crying loudly. I just admired him for his calmness before. But at that moment, I felt that he was also an emotional human being. Then, I fell in love with him. I was only seven years old, and I didn’t know what love was. But looking back now, I must have fallen in love with him that time.”
“What about him?” Qin Yunuan asked softly, “Does Lieutenant Zhuge know your feelings?”
