The Abnormal Qing Li

After finishing lunch in silence, Mo Yunxuan brought Qing Li to the study.

Mo Yunxuan hadn't intended to, but after the meal, Qing Li showed no signs of speaking.

He had thought perhaps Ji Ruxue had some secret orders to convey!

Making a decisive move, he invited Qing Li to his study for a chat.

Qing Li was a bit dazed at the time. It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but Mo Yunxuan had kept giving her small bites of food throughout the meal.

The entire meal felt like she was being force-fed, making her too embarrassed to speak.

When Mo Yunxuan suddenly invited her to the study to talk, she didn't think much of it and agreed.

After Wang Yuan finished pouring the tea and left the study, Qing Li finally relaxed completely.

Mo Yunxuan looked at the unpretentious girl and chuckled softly.

"Lord Qing Li, may I ask the purpose of your visit this time?"

Hearing the chuckle, Qing Li felt a bit distressed and stiffened her expression as she said:

"His Majesty sent me to deliver the Xuan Niao Guard Qianhu token to the Duke of Wei. Please accept it."

As she spoke, Qing Li flipped her hand, produced a token, and handed it over.

Mo Yunxuan took the token and examined it carefully. Apart from being very hard, it seemed to have no other special properties.

He casually put it away and looked up at Qing Li again, waiting for her to deliver the secret orders.

This secretive feeling was indeed quite thrilling, but the person in front of him wasn't cooperating. Why wasn't she speaking?

After handing over the token, Qing Li placed her hands on the rim of the teacup, trying to calm her inner turmoil.

But the scoundrel in front of her, after taking the token, kept staring at her.

This made her recall what Ji Ruxue and Hong Yu had said in the Imperial Study earlier.

To others, those words would sound like a joke, but Qing Li wouldn't think so. She felt that since His Majesty had said it, it might be true.

So, was she...

Oh dear!

It's all this scoundrel's fault!

He keeps staring at me, doesn't he know I get shy!

Mo Yunxuan watched Qing Li, her shoulders wriggling, her head almost buried in the teacup.

He quickly prompted, "Lord Qing Li, is there anything else?"

Hearing his voice, Qing Li was jolted from her fantasy. Looking at the man before her, she had only one thought:

It's over, my image is ruined! I can't live! Let me die! Wuwuwu~

Seeing the girl fall silent again, her eyes even starting to look dazed, Mo Yunxuan's mouth twitched.

He thought to himself, What's going on? This isn't what I imagined. Or is this some kind of code? I feel so unprofessional!

Completely baffled, Mo Yunxuan had no choice but to hint again, "Lord Qing Li, is there anything else? Or does His Majesty have any other instructions?"

Qing Li, disheartened, glanced at him and said dejectedly, "Duke of Wei, the matter is concluded. His Majesty has no further requests."

Mo Yunxuan was slightly disappointed. He was quite curious about what kind of person this Empress was.

However, seeing the girl's inexplicable lost look, he felt it wasn't appropriate to continue the topic.

He changed the subject, "Lord Qing Li, are you free recently?"

A flicker of intelligence flashed in Qing Li's eyes, but her expression remained unchanged.

As the Empress's close attendant, she was actually quite free. She usually had nothing to do besides cultivate, so she stayed by the Empress's side.

But thinking of her embarrassing moment just now, she instinctively wanted to avoid him.

"I might not have time recently..."

Her voice was soft, but Mo Yunxuan, sitting opposite her, heard it clearly.

Pretending not to hear, Mo Yunxuan interrupted directly, "Within a month, I'll be visiting Taihua Academy. I'd like to invite Lord Qing Li to witness a good show then, how about it?"

Qing Li felt Mo Yunxuan's gaze, and the joy within her couldn't be suppressed.

A genuine smile appeared on her face. She suddenly looked up at Mo Yunxuan and then nodded gently.

Seeing that she was finally no longer listless, Mo Yunxuan was overjoyed.

"Alright, then Lord Qing Li, don't miss my news."

"Call... call me Qing Li, is fine."

"Then, should Qing Li call me Yunxuan, or Gege?"

"Yunxuan... Gege?"

"En~"

Left Wei Guard Barracks.

"Zilong, how is the soldier selection going?"

Jun Tianxiao had just arrived at the Left Wei Guard Barracks from the Anle Marquis Manor. With Zhao Yun's status as Commander, the officers of the Left Wei Guard did not make things difficult for him over such a minor detail.

Upon seeing Zhao Yun, he immediately asked about the matter he was most concerned about.

After cupping his hands in greeting, Zhao Yun replied seriously:

"Reporting to my Lord, the 3000 soldiers have been selected. During this process, the other generals of the Left Wei Guard remained calm and showed no signs of obstruction."

Hearing that the soldier selection process went smoothly, Jun Tianxiao frowned, subconsciously suspecting a trick.

He confirmed with doubt, "Did they really not make any small moves?"

Zhao Yun thought carefully for a moment and nodded again.

"Yes, when I went, no matter who was being selected, those generals would just glance at them and sign off immediately, without any hesitation."

Unable to figure out why the generals reacted that way, Jun Tianxiao didn't dwell on the issue.

"Since things went smoothly, let's not worry about it. The soldiers will be under our control once they are trained anyway."

"With this White Horse Volunteers, we won't fear any schemes they might have."

"I understand, my Lord."

As evening approached, Qing Li returned to the Imperial Study, feeling a bit dazed, to report.

After finishing her report, Ji Ruxue asked as usual, "Did the Duke of Wei say how many people he would arrange to join the Xuan Niao Guard?"

Qing Li, without looking up, instinctively replied:

"Yun... The Duke of Wei said that the Wei State Duke Mansion is currently short-handed and can only arrange for 100 people to join the Xuan Niao Guard at most, and they will only be used to protect his personal safety."

She felt fortunate that she hadn't said "Yunxuan Gege." It was all that bad person's fault. If he hadn't made her call him that all afternoon, she wouldn't have almost blurted it out!

However, she didn't realize that her sudden pause in speech had already been noticed by Ji Ruxue and Hong Yu.

But since the main business wasn't finished yet, the gossip would have to wait.

Ji Ruxue frowned slightly, sat up straighter, and said with dissatisfaction:

"I recall the Duke of Wei's personal guard alone numbers more than a thousand people. How can he only produce 100? Is he trying to fool me?"

The Empress's sudden change in tone made Qing Li feel a flicker of panic.

She didn't know why she was flustered, but she instinctively wanted to explain.

"No, Your Majesty, perhaps the Duke of Wei truly has some difficulties?"