Qin Zheng thought that his sudden change of behavior was because of the armor she made for him, thinking he was too easily fooled.
Feeling his breath against her neck, she kindly patted his back, a little uncomfortable, “My embroidery skills aren’t very good. You’ll have to make do with this armor for now. Anyway, we’ll have to switch to real armor in the future.”
They were currently using cloth armor due to limited conditions on the mountain.
Once they took down Qingzhou City, who would still wear cloth armor?
Chu Chengji, feeling her concern about the armor, lowered his eyelids and lightly bit her shoulder through the clothes.
Qin Zheng winced in pain and pushed him away, but didn’t move him.
She muttered softly, “Why are you biting people like that?”
She spoke with a hint of a voice she didn’t even notice herself, her long and thick eyelashes slightly curled up, forming a beautiful arc.
Her eyes, like those washed by water, stared at him accusingly, unknowingly more enticing in her unconsciousness.
Chu Chengji backed away slightly to look at her.
His breath, which had just calmed down, became a bit chaotic again.
He had figured out her temperament.
She was always shrewd in other matters, but in emotions, she was a bit naive.
And sometimes she deliberately pretended to be calm and self-assured.
It was like she clearly had no experience, but she was afraid of being exposed and wanted to appear as if she had seen the world.
He knew how heavy the pressure from his bite was.
Hearing her mutter, he massaged her shoulder through the clothes.
When he spoke again, his voice was a bit hoarse, “If you’re wronged by someone fabricating rumors, why can’t you tell me?”
After asking Wang Damma about what happened at the Wang’s house today and thinking about why she came back feeling depressed, he could only think that she was hurt by Wang Xiu’s words and annoyed by the rumors Wang Xiu had fabricated.
The latter had already been dealt with by him through Wang Dannie.
As for the former, it was indeed his fault. After bringing her back to the stronghold, he had never actively asked her about what happened in the bandits’ den and with Shen Yanzhi.
He thought this was a sign of respect for her, but from her perspective, it might be that he had already decided something and didn’t want to know more details.
Wang Xiu’s words sounded malicious and harsh.
When Qin Zheng heard his words, she raised her eyebrows in surprise, “You went to ask Wang Dama?”
Chu Chengji didn’t respond, tacitly agreeing, and sat with her on the bamboo chair by the window. “You were kidnapped by bandits, and I never asked you what happened in Panlong Gou. It’s not that I didn’t want to ask, but I went to look for you that night and knew you and Lin Zhao had knocked out the bandit guarding you and escaped.”
Qin Zheng was surprised, “You were also in Panlong Gou that night?”
They had always avoided the topic of Shen Yanzhi before, but now Qin Zheng hesitated for a moment and decided to take this opportunity to explain everything.
She said, “Zhao was seriously injured, and we were afraid of being caught by bandits again after escaping from the dungeon.
We happened to meet the officials as soon as we left the dungeon.
Shen Yanzhi said the officials were hunting bandits, and I didn’t know you were there. Zhao urgently needed a doctor, so I took her with them.”
Chu Chengji remained silent for a moment before speaking, “I was late.”
Qin Zheng shook her head, “That’s not what I meant. I just...”
She sighed as she looked at him, “I just thought I should tell you these things. As for what happened at Shen Yanzhi’s mansion, I’ve already told you before, there’s no need to mention it again. Actually, even if you didn’t come to rescue me, I would have found a way to escape myself.”
There were three reasons.
First, she was posing as the Crown Prince’s Consort and didn’t know how to deal with Shen Yanzhi’s affectionate demeanor.
Second, both the Qin and Shen families had reached this point, and it was inappropriate for her to stay by Shen Yanzhi’s side no matter what.
Third, if she could deceive Shen Yanzhi with the excuse of amnesia for a while, could she deceive him for a lifetime? When Shen Yanzhi found out she wasn’t the Crown Prince’s Consort, with his madness, it would be strange if she didn’t end up in a state of panic.
She told Chu Chengji these things as a way of indirectly indicating that she had no feelings for Shen Yanzhi.
The last rays of the setting sun sank into the western mountains, shrouding the earth in darkness.
The light inside the house also dimmed.
Chu Chengji looked at her fixedly for a long time, saying meaningfully, “By acting like this, you will make me more and more greedy.”
Qin Zheng didn’t quite understand his words and was a bit confused.
Chu Chengji raised his hand to her neck, pulled her into his arms, his eyes dark and cool, but he didn’t continue the previous topic. “Being kidnapped by bandits, I have never misunderstood you. You don’t need to be angry about what those irrelevant people said.”
Qin Zheng finally reacted.
He thought she had been upset about this, but it turned out that this was the reason for his abnormal behavior after he returned.
Wang Xiu’s sarcastic remarks didn’t really bother her for so long, but the fact that Chu Chengji went to ask Wang Dama and explained all this to her just to make her not worry anymore made Qin Zheng’s heart swell slightly.
She still wasn’t used to his embrace. Leaning against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, her hand on his waist involuntarily tightened his clothes.
She felt as if her heartbeat had changed to match his frequency.
Between her and him, he was always the more proactive one.
Qin Zheng glanced at him. Perhaps because of the sudden turmoil in her heart, she reached out and held his shoulder, straightened up, and kissed him on the chin, “I’m not angry because of Miss Wang.”
This sounded a bit like a shy rebuttal after being comforted by him, but Qin Zheng didn’t explain further.
Chu Chengji stared at her, his eyes noticeably darkening.
Qin Zheng was sitting in his arms, feeling his gaze.
Subconsciously wanting to withdraw, but Chu Chengji’s hand on her waist was like it was welded on.
Qin Zheng didn’t retreat but instead twisted slightly in his arms.
Feeling her touch something, she suddenly froze.
Chu Chengji, thinking he had scared her, immediately let go of her, somewhat helpless in his tone, “I’m not a saint.”
Qin Zheng was in a state of shock, staring blankly at him, her face confused and blank, not realizing her desperate question, “You’re not impotent?”
Chu Chengji: “...”
His gaze that turned over was so cold that Qin Zheng realized what she had said and hurriedly tried to explain, “I didn’t say that. It’s... it’s what the people on the boat said when we escaped from the capital.”
Chu Chengji still stared at her, saying nothing.
Qin Zheng felt her scalp tingling, hanging her head in regret for speaking.
Outside came Aunt Lu’s shout, “Military Advisor, Madam, it’s time to eat.”
Qin Zheng felt as if she had grasped another straw for her life and hurriedly responded, “I’m coming.”
Chu Chengji didn’t make any more inappropriate moves, and followed her out to eat.
After dinner, Qin Zheng, feeling guilty to avoid him, took the initiative to do the dishes.
Aunt Lu wanted to make some armor for the people in the stronghold, so she continued to sew under the lamp.
Qin Zheng finished washing the dishes slowly, then heated up the water for bathing.
After she finished washing up, she had no reason to stay in the kitchen and went back to the room to call Chu Chengji to bathe.
At first, they both bathed in their own rooms, but it was troublesome to move the bathtub back and forth, and it was inconvenient to pour water.
Later, they simply bathed in the kitchen.
Chu Chengji still behaved as usual, took the change of clothes and went over.
Qin Zheng sat in the room twisting her hair, her heart in turmoil.
The calmer he appeared, the more she felt like a storm was brewing.
After drying her hair, she decided to go to Aunt Lu’s room, saying she would help Aunt Lu sew armor.
Aunt Lu refused at first, but seeing that Qin Zheng seemed reluctant to return to her room, she persuaded her, “My dear, I have to say something to you. Don’t blame me for being nosy. The military adviser will be going down the mountain with the chief tomorrow. It’s dangerous, and who knows what might happen. Can you and your husband afford to be upset at a time like this?”
Qin Zheng had a lot on her mind but couldn’t speak about it.
She tried to explain that she wasn’t upset, but Aunt Lu seemed to understand something and immediately picked up a sewing basket, grabbed a lantern, and headed out, saying, “We’re going to Wang Dama’s place tonight to do some extra sewing on the armor. We don’t want to waste lamp oil.”
Since Aunt Lu was going to Mrs. Wang’s place, Qin Zheng couldn’t stay in her room any longer.
Feeling dejected, she returned to her room like a quail with its neck tucked in, only to find Chu Chengji still at the table, looking at a map of Qingzhou City.
There’s an old saying, “A beauty under the lamp, a flower under the moon.” Qin Zheng felt that the first half of this saying could be applied to Chu Chengji without any problem.
He was well-built, with features that seemed to encompass the mountains, rivers, and stars.
His naturally pale complexion gave off a sense of distance, but even now, as he lowered his eyes to look at the map, his cold and noble air couldn’t be suppressed.
In some ways, Chu Chengji was similar to Shen Yanzhi; both had a cold disposition.
But Shen Yanzhi’s coldness was sharp and obvious to outsiders, revealing a fragility and vulnerability underneath—a fragility that made his foundations seem precarious.
In the end, this extreme might allow him to wield power in his palm, but he himself would be full of holes.
Chu Chengji, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.
He was always cool and gentle to others, never showing any sharp edges.
His indifference and nobility seemed to emanate from his very being, as if everything in the world was beneath him.
But sometimes, Qin Zheng couldn’t help but feel that he could have anything in the world if he wanted.
Lost in her thoughts as she looked at Chu Chengji, she was brought back to reality when he finished looking at the map and put it away, lifting his eyelids to glance at her. “Decided to come back?”
Qin Zheng: “...” How was she supposed to respond to that?
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