Princess Qi Yuan of Northern Qi stared intently at Gu Qian and continued:

"General Gu, as long as it's a woman you like, after we get married, I, the princess, agree to let her take you into my household." Where can you find a woman as virtuous as her?

Whether or not one can make a living under her control at that time will be entirely up to her.

"I, Gu Qian, will only marry one person in my life, and you are not worthy of it!" Gu Qian really didn't want to attend this boring banquet, so his words were cold and he didn't give Qi Yuan any face at all.

The Northern Qi princess was somewhat embarrassed; after all, she was a princess.

"Gu Qian, you're just a general, what gives you the right to look down on this princess?"

Gu Qian did not reply, but instead cupped his hands to He Lin and said, "Your Majesty, this humble general shall take his leave!"

He didn't even bother to make up a reason for leaving the hall; after finishing his explanation, he left the main hall directly.

"Gu Qian, stop right there!" Qi Yuan bowed slightly to He Lin, about to chase after him, but was stopped by the envoy beside her.

He whispered to Qi Yuan, "Princess, this is Dongjin, not Beiqi. Whatever you do, you must consider the reputation of Beiqi."

Unexpectedly, Qi Yuan gave the envoy a disdainful look and followed him out.

She has always been arrogant, and usually doesn't even put her elder brother, the Crown Prince, in her eyes.

Qi Heng felt a pang of embarrassment. Having such a sister had made him lose all face. At this moment, he buried his head in his drink and started drinking the small amount of wine on the table.

"Gu Qian, wait for me!"

Qi Yuan ran quickly, and just as she was about to stand in front of Gu Qian, she was directly blocked by Ling Yun and Ling Zhi.

Ling Yun said coldly, "Princess, please have some self-respect. Our general has important matters to attend to!"

Compared to Ling Qi and Ling Ba, Ling Yun and Ling Zhi looked much more serious.

They are stern and ruthless, and speak little.

Qi Yuan opened her mouth as if to say something, but all she saw was a series of backs turned.

After leaving the main hall, Gu Qian, Ling Yun, and Ling Zhi walked all the way to the palace gate, treading on the white snow, and rode back to the General's Mansion.

Thinking of his beloved and the fact that his master's wife was about to give birth, Gu Qian couldn't stay in Shangjin City for even a moment longer.

He hastily packed his luggage and set off with his entourage.

He had already made it clear to He Lin that he would leave after the banquet ended today.

He has brought the proton; now it's He Lin's turn.

The two seemed to be on the same wavelength; in the small courtyard, Qiu Yan was also thinking about Ye Shi's upcoming childbirth.

Not knowing how long the snow would last, she decided that she would return to the village once the snow stopped.

This is Qiu Yan's first winter in this other world, where winters are much colder than in the real world.

A brazier was burning inside, but it was still cold.

Undeterred by the bitter cold, Gu Xiaoran and Zhu Juan were building a snowman outside, braving the falling snow.

Zhu Juan wrapped herself up in layers, like a rice dumpling.

She rubbed her hands, which were red from the cold, and placed the snowball she had just clenched into a small ball on the snowman.

"Young master, please have pity on me, let's go back to the room."

While clutching Bai Xue, Gu Xiaoran said, "Aunt Zhu, if you get cold, go back to your room by yourself. You don't need to stay with me all the time."

Children are naturally playful. This snow is so beautiful; it would be a shame not to play in it. He doesn't want to go back inside.

Poor Zhu Juan, her nose was red from the cold.

Her duty was to protect the young master. Since the young master didn't go back, she could only hope that someone could take care of Gu Xiaoran for a while.

Just as I was thinking this, the opportunity came.

Ling Qi and Ling Ba were watching Gu Xiaoran's movements intently through the window, chatting idly.

Ling Qi: "Miss Qiu's magnanimity is truly extraordinary; she's even willing to help the general raise his son."

Ling Ba: "How many women in the world can do what she did?"

"Seventh Uncle, Eighth Uncle!" Gu Xiaoran called out to the two people inside the house, "Aunt Zhu doesn't want to play in the snow with me, so you two play with me instead."

Ling Qi and the other person exchanged a glance, then smiled bitterly and reluctantly walked out of the house.

Zhu Juan's expression relaxed immediately. She stomped the snow off her feet, temporarily entrusted Gu Xiaoran to their care, and went back inside to warm up for a while.

Qiu Yan looked out the window. She knew that Gu Xiaoran loved to play, but everything had its limits. It wouldn't be good if she caught a cold.

After Ling Qi and Ling Ba left the house, they continued their previous conversation.

Ling Qi: "Who is our general? He doesn't even look at a woman as beautiful as the princess of Northern Qi. It's not surprising that Miss Qiu is willing to raise our general's young child."

Ling Ba: "What is Qi Yuan? She's just a pawn of Northern Qi. How can she be compared to our General's wife?"

"General...Madam?" Qiu Yan had just stepped out of the room when she heard the two talking.

“Yes, General’s wife,” Ling Ba said seriously.

Suddenly, he realized the voice was wrong and quickly turned around. "Miss Qiu...it's cold outside, please come inside."

He instinctively felt that he might have said something wrong.

Qiu Yan asked, "Who is the General's wife?"

Although she had her doubts, once she trusted someone, she wouldn't easily doubt them.

Just as Ling Ba was about to explain, Ling Qi interrupted, "Miss Qiu, the General's wife, is naturally the General's wife."

Qiu Yan didn't believe it, but she still followed Ling Qi's words and asked, "Gu Qian got married?"

"He's not married, but he has a fiancée." On this bitterly cold winter day, Ling Qi was just wondering what to do when Miss Qiu happened to be there.

Ling Ba glared at Ling Qi, "Miss Qiu, don't believe him."

Neither of them knew that Gu Qian had publicly stated that Qiu Yan was his fiancée.

Qiu Yan stood still, paused for a moment, and then smiled, "I believe you!"

After saying that, she continued, "Ling Qi, is the Northern Qi princess in love with Gu Qian?"

"The general is handsome and dashing; any girl who sees him cannot help but fall in love." Ling Qi, once she started talking, seemed to have opened a floodgate of words. "Like the daughter of the Imperial Tutor, or the young ladies from royal and noble families..."

"Ling Qi!" Ling Ba coughed lightly and gave Ling Qi an unfriendly look. Ling Qi suddenly stopped speaking.

"Uh... Miss Qiu, I suddenly have a stomachache, I have to go now."

He was about to leave when Qiu Yan blocked his way.

It's not surprising that someone would be interested in a man as outstanding as Gu Qian.

She then looked at Ling Ba: "There are plenty of people who admire Gu Qian, what's there to be afraid of saying?"

After hearing Qiu Yan's words, Ling Qi also felt that this matter was not a big deal.

"That's right, Ling Ba, you're just too cautious. You even have to keep Miss Qiu a secret."

Qiu Yan: "I happen to have some free time today, and since everyone else is doing nothing, I just want to hear a story."

Ling Ba: "Miss Qiu, there's nothing to say about this. If you want to hear other stories..."

“No need, I’m not interested in other people’s stories.” Qiu Yan looked at Ling Qi, waiting for him to continue.

Ling Qi ignored Ling Ba's attempts to stop her and explained in detail that His Majesty intended for Gu Qian to marry into a foreign land, and that the Northern Qi princess had long admired Gu Qian.

After Ling Qi finished speaking, Ling Ba thought Qiu Yan would become jealous, but to his surprise, her expression remained unchanged.

Ling Ba was somewhat suspicious that Qiu Yan had no interest in their general.