Sensing the tense atmosphere, Zheng Gaoyi quickly made an excuse and slipped away.

Song Ning and Xie Linzhou remained silent, looking at each other.

Xie Linzhou stepped forward, about to speak: "You..."

"General Xie, I was wrong."

Xie Linzhou: ? He hasn't said anything yet.

Song Ning lowered his head and sincerely admitted his mistake: "It was wrong of me to use the general's name without permission, but... I really just wanted to scare them, I really didn't do anything else, general, don't worry, I won't do it again. If the general is still angry, in the future... in the future..."

Song Ning had never felt so uneasy as she did now.

How could she forget? In this era, how could someone of Xie Linzhou's status use his name so casually?

But Xie Linzhou doesn't seem to be an unreasonable person. It was indeed her fault. If she apologizes properly, it should be... it should be fine, right?

Xie Linzhou looked at her with great interest: "In the future? Why didn't you say?"

Song Ning glanced up discreetly and saw that the man didn't seem angry, so she became bolder and asked, "General Xie, you're not angry?"

Xie Linzhou composed himself upon hearing this: "Who says I'm not angry? I'm furious right now. Tell me, what are we going to do next?"

Xie Linzhou hadn't originally planned to punish her, but since she had said so, he became interested.

"In the future..." Song Ning thought for a long time but couldn't figure out what to do. She couldn't just give Xie Linzhou a handle to use against her, could she?

If this person uses this incident to further torment or torment her, she won't even have a chance to refuse.

Xie Linzhou chuckled lightly: "It seems your attitude in admitting your mistake isn't very good either. Since that's the case..."

"No, no, I am very sincere, and I admit my mistake from the bottom of my heart."

Xie Linzhou didn't make things difficult for her and said with a smile, "How about this, I'll make a condition. If you agree, I will let bygones be bygones."

Song Ning had a bad feeling.

"What are the conditions?"

"From today onwards, you are not allowed to hide from me."

Ever since her last visit to the Xie residence where she broke Xie Linzhou's things, Song Ning has tried her best to avoid appearing in front of him.

Xie Linzhou naturally noticed this as well, and this matter angered him even more than Song Ning using his name to intimidate people.

After a long silence, Song Ning asked uncertainly, "That's it?"

"It's gone."

Although this matter was a bit difficult for her, Xie Linzhou was letting her off so easily?

Seeing that Song Ning didn't immediately agree, Xie Linzhou's face darkened: "Unwilling? Then forget it..."

"Of course I'm willing, how could I not be? Hehehe." Song Ning quickly agreed with a forced smile.

Xie Linzhou's expression visibly improved.

Zhang Ping stood not far away, unable to suppress a smile. Was his young master too easy to coax?

He still won't admit he likes her, but it's practically written all over his face.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. The two stood together, speechless for a moment, so Song Ning tentatively asked, "General Xie, um... I have something to attend to, so... I'll be leaving now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Linzhou's eyes, which had just been filled with joy, suddenly changed.

She dared not speak again.

Alright, alright, she's the one who did something wrong, she's in the wrong, she should admit defeat, okay?

She knew Xie Linzhou disliked her and was now using this method to manipulate her.

Then, changing the subject: "General Xie, did you do what happened to Xu Feng?"

Xie Linzhou gave a faint "hmm".

"Actually... you don't need to worry so much, I have a way to solve it."

Xie Linzhou glanced at her: "The solution is to use my name to scare people?"

Song Ning pursed her lips and remained silent.

"If anyone bullies you again in the future, you can use my name." After a moment of silence, Xie Linzhou said this.

Song Ning shook her head inwardly, no, no, she dared not use it again.

Seeing that it was getting late, Xie Linzhou, being quite perceptive, offered to take her home.

In the car, seeing Song Ning staring out the window, he became unhappy again: "What's so attractive about the outside?"

Song Ning seemed oblivious to the displeasure in his words and laughed, "I'm looking at what we can do with the places we pass along the way. Or, we can build houses for everyone here, since it's not far from the dock."

Xie Linzhou gave the girl beside him a deep look, his expression becoming increasingly serious, and then a hint of pride flashed in his eyes.

He has a really good eye.

He was very interested in the underground passage that Song Ning mentioned.

If it really works, it can be widely used not only in the North but also in the South.

This can also reduce many casualties each year.

Xie Linzhou still finds it hard to believe that the things currently happening in Tianxiang County were all conceived by this young girl in front of him.

He had always known she was intelligent, but this was clearly beyond his expectations.

Thinking of this, Xie Linzhou asked another question that Song Ning had long forgotten: "You still haven't told me how you made those gunpowders in Yanzhou City?"

Before Song Ning could speak, Xie Linzhou continued, "Don't tell me it's some kind of magic trick, I don't believe it."

Song Ning paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Since the general doesn't believe it's magic, then I'll say I can see immortals, and that the events of that day were all thanks to the immortals. Would you believe me?"

Xie Linzhou naturally didn't believe it.

"There are some things that even if you explain them, the general might not believe them." He then pointed to the spot beside him: "Right now, there's a deity sitting next to me. Can the general see him?"

Xie Linzhou frowned and remained silent.

"You see, you don't believe me even if I tell you. Because you don't believe me, you think I'm not telling the truth. What the general wants to hear is the answer he wants to hear in his heart, not the answer I'm telling you."

Xie Linzhou was taken aback, then laughed.

This little girl always makes sense, and now she's even lecturing him.

Well, since she doesn't want to talk about it, he won't ask anymore. He'll just assume she really has divine help.

The carriage traveled back, and before it even reached the gate, Song Ning got out.

"Thank you for bringing me back, General. Please take care on your journey."

Zhang Ping glanced into the distance and said, "It's still a bit far from your home, let me take you there."

"No need. I'll walk the rest of the way back. If someone sees me getting off the general's carriage, it will be hard to explain."

It's said that men and women shouldn't touch each other, so it's best to be careful.

Xie Linzhou, inside the car, pursed his lips and remained silent, but his dissatisfaction was evident.

Only after Song Ning disappeared from sight did the carriage turn around and leave.

"General, where are we going back to?"

"Return to the Xie residence."

The carriage traveled all the way to Jiangning County. As soon as it left Tianxiang County, Xie Linzhou couldn't help but click his tongue.

That heartless girl! It's almost lunchtime, and she didn't say a single polite word.