Qin Moyuan obediently extended his hand, revealing a bloody palm that made Li Yue Shu's temples throb.
She gritted her teeth and asked, "How many times has this happened?"
Qin Moyuan was a little scared.
He hadn't intended for Ah Shu to see it, but the blood on the white gauze was too obvious and was spotted at a glance.
"I..." Qin Moyuan hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said directly, "I saw you holding Wei Zimo's hand, and I got so agitated that my wound reopened."
Li Yue Shu, who had been angry, paused when she heard this.
She opened her mouth and looked at Qin Moyuan with a strange expression, "I held Wei Zimo's hand, why were you agitated?"
Hearing this, Qin Moyuan suddenly leaned forward, "Because... I care about you."
Wei Zimo's reappearance made him suddenly realize that Ah Shu was so outstanding, and if she went to a place like Chongzhou, she would attract the attention of many people.
If he couldn't hold onto her in time, he was afraid he would lose such a good Ah Shu.
Therefore, he had to let Ah Shu know his feelings as soon as possible.
However, his words surprised Li Yue Shu, "Care about me? Don't you care about Wei Zimo?"
Now it was Qin Moyuan's turn to be confused, "Why would I care about him?"
Li Yue Shu: "..."
How could she explain?
Seeing her awkwardness, Qin Moyuan narrowed his eyes, "Ah Shu... have you heard any rumors?"
Li Yue Shu didn't answer, just looked at him with an odd expression.
The meaning was self-evident.
Qin Moyuan's face twitched.
Not many people knew his identity, and only two people would tell Ah Shu something like this.
Wei Zimo had no reason to jeopardize his reputation, so it had to be...
Hong Dai!!
Qin Moyuan gritted his teeth and looked at Li Yue Shu, "Did Hong Dai tell you?"
Li Yue Shu rubbed her nose, her eyes wandering, "She just told me some rumors. Actually, I respect everyone's right to love, and Chai Yang Xinghe has been inseparable from you all these years, by your side..."
As she spoke, Li Yue Shu felt her words becoming incoherent and finally shut up.
Qin Moyuan saw the flicker in her eyes and seemed to understand something, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Any rumor can be true or false. If Ah Shu wants to know about me, you can ask me directly." He leaned slightly to the side, allowing Li Yue Shu to see him, "Since I took charge of the Protectorate Army at seventeen, countless eyes have been on me."
"Regardless of their intentions, there were countless people who wanted to offer me gold, silver, and women, but I accepted none of them. So, to deal with me, they could only attack my reputation."
His tone was sincere, his expression serious, and every word was spoken with care.
Perhaps it was the sincerity in his eyes, but Li Yue Shu suddenly felt unable to meet his gaze.
She quickly averted her eyes, "You... lift your hand, let me treat your wound."
Saying this, she hurriedly took out the medical kit and re-bandaged his hand, seemingly forgetting what she had said earlier about letting the wound rot if it reopened.
Noticing the blush on her earlobes, Qin Moyuan couldn't help but smile more.
It seemed Ah Shu was not indifferent to him. He had deceived her before, so he still needed to let her vent her anger before she could slowly accept him.
With this thought, Qin Moyuan's mood improved significantly, and his smile became brighter.
However, on the journey that followed, he became more reserved with Chai Yang Xinghe.
Although it had been explained that it was fake, Ah Shu, being so clever, had believed it. It must be because these two were too close to him, so he had to be careful!
Chai Yang, being intelligent, noticed his master deliberately distancing himself and being exceptionally attentive to Li Yue Shu, and he guessed something.
Therefore, as they neared Chongzhou, he voluntarily approached Qin Moyuan to request, "Master, we are about to enter Chongzhou territory. Your subordinate wishes to scout ahead to prevent any ambushes."
Qin Moyuan had originally planned to assign Xinghe, who had better martial arts skills, to do this task, but since Chai Yang volunteered, he didn't refuse.
Chai Yang made a wise choice, but Xinghe was reckless.
He sensed Qin Moyuan's distance and thought he had offended his master again. Recalling the previous unexplained punishment, he immediately became even more attentive to Qin Moyuan.
Especially when Qin Moyuan was talking to Li Yue Shu, he would always pop up, hoping that Li Yue Shu would also see his diligence.
This way, if his master punished him, the lady could put in a good word for him!
Xinghe's plan was well-intentioned, but he didn't realize that with each passing moment, Qin Moyuan's gaze towards him grew colder.
This foolish fellow, who grew up with Chai Yang, how could he not have learned half of his intelligence!
Xinghe was indeed foolish. Although he felt his master's gaze and sensed his coldness, he couldn't figure out the reason.
Was it that he wasn't performing well enough?
Uh... it seemed he needed to be even more diligent!
Thus, when Qin Moyuan picked up the basket, ready to go to the river with Li Yue Shu to wash vegetables, he quickly jumped out eagerly, "Master, put it down quickly, your subordinate will wash them!"
Qin Moyuan: "..."
Under Qin Moyuan's gaze, which seemed to wish to "slay" Xinghe for the umpteenth time, the group finally entered Chongzhou territory.
Chongzhou was the capital of the Chennan Kingdom, vast and prosperous, a place of wealth in the hearts of many.
Upon reaching Chongzhou, the group slowed down their pace, waiting for Chai Yang to return with scouting information.
Chai Yang was efficient and returned quickly.
However, he cast a grave look at Li Yue Shu and then approached Qin Moyuan, saying in a low voice, "Master, your subordinate saw Miss Hong Dai in Chongzhou."
Qin Moyuan's sword-like eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at Chai Yang in confusion.
Hong Dai's whereabouts had nothing to do with them, and Chai Yang had no reason to mention it to him specifically, unless her presence in Chongzhou was related to them.
As expected, Chai Yang said cautiously, "Your subordinate investigated secretly. She bought a house at No. 78 Chunyang Street, and the name on the deed... is Madam's."
At this, Qin Moyuan understood everything.
No wonder Hong Dai had left suddenly, and no wonder Ah Shu had so easily agreed to come to Chongzhou with him. She had already made arrangements.
Qin Moyuan's expression tensed. He turned to look at Li Yue Shu, who was conversing with Mother Mo in the distance, a myriad of thoughts flashing in his eyes.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, "What about the assassins arranged by those people?"
Chai Yang didn't understand why his topic changed so quickly, but he still replied, "Those assassins have been tracking the false trail we left. They won't discover our whereabouts until we reach Chongzhou."
Qin Moyuan's thin lips pressed together, and he slowly said, "When has this king ever acted timidly?"
Chai Yang looked up in surprise and suddenly understood his meaning, "Your subordinate will attend to it immediately."
Given the Master's status, why should he fear those people? Moreover, the Master was returning to his own residence, so there was no reason to sneak around!
Chai Yang immediately went to handle it, so quickly that Xinghe didn't even have time to call out to him.
Hey, why is he running so fast!
He had originally wanted to ask Chai Yang to analyze for him why his master had been looking at him so coldly these past few days.