Outside, Call Me General Qin

He kissed me?

He actually kissed me?

How dare he?

Bai Yuji truly couldn't understand. What gave him the nerve to act so recklessly?

Fine, then. I'll let my bugs bite you...

As if sensing what she was thinking,

Qin Muye mumbled, "Once they take me back to the Capital, the emperor will definitely send people to examine my body."

Bai Yuji put away the bottle of bugs, pressed a hand beneath his chin, and shoved him away. "You're asking for death."

"You've got it exactly backward. I'm trying to keep us both alive!"

"Still trying to wriggle out of—"

"Look at you, all grim and brooding. You might as well be shouting to the world that you're holding back. You don't look like a lovestruck young woman at all! Do you really think all those experts are fools?"

"So I should just let you do whatever you want?"

"Feel your face. Is it hot? Is your heart beating faster?"

"..."

Bai Yuji checked. Her cheeks did feel a little warm.

The affront had also made her heart race and her breathing quicken.

It wasn't that she couldn't act, but the decision to go to the Capital had come so suddenly that she herself wasn't prepared.

Did she really have to rely on this to get into character fast?

While she hesitated, footsteps had already reached the cave entrance.

She steeled herself, lifted her chin slightly, and closed her eyes.

"Come on! Mm..."

From the sound of the footsteps, many people had gathered outside, but they seemed to have stopped at the cave entrance instead of coming straight in.

A man's voice sounded anxious. "Yanying, don't rush! This could very well be a trap. Stay calm!"

The woman was on the verge of breaking down. "Stay calm? My nephew is missing! How am I supposed to stay calm? Let me in!"

The man grew frantic. "Listen to those smacking sounds in there. They're kissing so hard their lips are probably swollen. How could that possibly be Muye?"

The woman snapped, "Why couldn't it be Muye?"

"You know what Muye's like. He barely dares to get close to women. How could that be him in there? And even if you stretch the point, the kidnapper would have to be a woman who could make Muye fall for her. How could a powerful woman like that possibly like Muye, let alone kiss him?"

"Chen Sui! Are you looking down on my nephew?"

"Yanying, that's not what I meant!"

"Don't call me that like we're close. We have no relationship. Call me General Qin!"

"Yanying... You really can't go in. What if some villain has set up a formation in there?"

"To hell with the formation!"

Qin Yanying couldn't hold back any longer. She kicked Chen Sui in the stomach, and while he was doubled over in pain and unable to move, she strode straight into the cave.

She knew it was suspicious that their whereabouts had been exposed, and that the villains might be luring them in to kill them. But she couldn't wait any longer.

Even if there really was something wrong with the cave, she had to make sure, so they could save time in the search that followed.

The instant she rushed inside, she instinctively shut her eyes and drew on all her true essence, ready to face a fatal strike from a formation.

But after waiting a moment, nothing happened.

The only change was that the kissing sounds had stopped.

Huh?

She opened her eyes.

Turned her head.

A young man and woman were staring at her in alarm, their faces flushed and their breathing ragged, looking both bashful and panicked.

Huh?

The moment Qin Yanying saw Qin Muye, her eyes welled up. Relief that her precious nephew had survived and joy that he'd finally gotten himself a girl tangled together, leaving her speechless for a moment.

"Yanying!"

Chen Sui followed her inside with his subordinates. When he saw the scene in the cave, he couldn't help freezing for a moment too.

Qin Yanying's emotions were all over the place. The moment Chen Sui came in, she found an outlet for them. Pointing at Bai Yuji, whose lips had been kissed swollen, she snapped, "Say that again! Say my nephew isn't popular with girls! Go on!"

Chen Sui: "..."

What in the world was going on?

Wasn't this kid so afraid people would discover his condition that he wouldn't even go near women?

Had he really managed to land himself a girl?

And from the way they were standing, he seemed to be the one who'd made the first move.

Was this really the same self-conscious, sensitive Qin Muye?

Bai Yuji finally recovered from her shock. She let out a shriek and hid behind Qin Muye. "Q-Qin Lang, who are they?"

Qin Muye also snapped out of it, his voice trembling with excitement. "Aunt!"

Qin Yanying couldn't hold back either. She hurried over and, wiping away tears, checked Qin Muye over. "Muye! You're not hurt, are you? Let Aunt have a good look. Your head's fine, your legs are fine..."

Seeing this, Chen Sui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The entire Qin Family was made up of military commanders. Almost everyone guarded the border in Annan. It wasn't until the heir returned to the Capital for treatment after donating his marrow that anyone lived at the Marquis of Zhennan Mansion. Qin Yanying had only returned to the Capital later, after retiring due to a serious injury, to look after him.

He remembered how Qin Kaijiang had clashed fiercely with the emperor in court that year, and had never returned to the Capital afterward. In recent years, the Yi-Expelling Army had grown stronger by the day. If not for the aunt and nephew living in the Capital and being close to the emperor, the rumors circulating in court would probably have been impossible to suppress.

Then, at this crucial juncture, Qin Muye had gone missing—and on the Prime Minister's youngest son's Flower Boat, no less.

If they couldn't find him, the sky itself might come crashing down!

Thank goodness!

Thank goodness!

But...

Chen Sui's gaze fell on Bai Yuji, and his sword-like brows drew together. He stepped forward and scrutinized her from above. "And this young lady is...?"

Bai Yuji still looked a little frightened, and was about to use the excuse she'd prepared earlier.

But Qin Yanying immediately cursed him out. "She's obviously my nephew's future wife. Are you blind? With judgment like that, how did you become Commander of the Brocade Guard? Did you buy your post?"

Chen Sui's face darkened. "I climbed my way up one major case at a time!"

"Sure! Just now, some dog was swearing there was a formation in the cave. With observational skills like that, quit blowing your own horn!"

Chen Sui: "..."

Qin Yanying shot Qin Muye a reproachful look. "Muye! You, too. Why didn't you introduce her? Were you waiting for the girl to introduce herself?"

Bai Yuji lowered her head demurely and blushed as she gently punched Qin Muye.

Qin Muye: "..."

Hey!

You're quite the actress, aren't you, little vixen!

He put on an embarrassed expression too. "Aunt! This young lady's name is Yuji. She's... a friend of mine! Luckily, she rescued me this time. Otherwise, your nephew really would've met with disaster. Yuji, say hello to Aunt."

Bai Yuji's gaze darted away. Her voice was soft as a mosquito's buzz. "A-Aunt!"

"Good!"

Qin Yanying looked at their clasped hands, her face instantly blooming into a smile.

She thought her nephew was just shy. After all this, he was still calling her a "friend."

Chen Sui's brows remained furrowed as he stared coldly at Bai Yuji.

Qin Muye's heart tightened. Chen Sui might act like a lovesick puppy in front of his aunt, but he was actually the spymaster who kept the whole Great Gan on edge. Countless officials and spies had fallen into his hands. Calling him infamous was no exaggeration.

If Qin Muye's aunt hadn't left him pining after her, Qin Muye reckoned he wouldn't even dare breathe too loudly in front of him.

Was he suspicious of Bai Yuji?

That wouldn't do!

Now that his life was bound to Bai Yuji's, things would get very ugly if Chen Sui backed her into a corner.

Besides, Chen Sui was the emperor's staunchest loyalist. Qin Muye didn't think the emperor was someone he could trust with his back. Rumors that his own father intended to rebel were everywhere. Who knew whether the emperor had taken them to heart?

He composed himself.

Holding Bai Yuji's hand, he pointed at Chen Sui. "Yuji, call him Uncle."

Bai Yuji obediently said, "Uncle."

At that title,

Chen Sui's stern expression crumbled in an instant. His somewhat aged face spread into a chrysanthemum-like grin, and he drew out his reply in a long, wavering note. "Yeeees~~~~"