Chang Lili said guiltily, "I'll go make you a cup of tea." As she stood up, she muttered discontentedly, "Can't you just talk things out? This is so strange and scary..."

She hadn't taken more than a few steps when her wrist was grabbed as if it were clamped by iron pincers.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Chang Lili couldn't help but retreat, crying out, her face contorted in pain.

As soon as she shouted, the force in her hand immediately lessened. She suddenly looked up at Meng Yuxiu, who was originally angry and wanted to say a few words.

But Meng Yuxiu, who was always proud and self-assured, was now bowing his head slightly, too ashamed to look Chang Lili in the eye, and said with an extremely unnatural expression, "I'm sorry."

Chang Lili felt a jolt in her heart, and an indescribable warmth and tenderness welled up inside her.

Meng Yuxiu, who was always sharp-featured and spirited, had a faint sadness on his face at this moment.

His handsome features became somewhat hazy, and Chang Lili couldn't help but sigh inwardly that when this tough man became tender, women had nothing to do with him. Meng Yuxiu's appearance at this moment was truly "pitiful to behold".

"It's alright, it's alright," she said, pulling her hand away and affectionately linking her arm with Meng Yuxiu's. She leaned closer to him and said, "Why are you so angry? As the saying goes, harmony brings wealth. Just tell me what's wrong. Is there anything we can't talk about?"

To everyone's surprise, Meng Yuxiu turned and looked at Chang Lili with a soft gaze, asking in confusion, "Can I say anything?"

Chang Lili was overjoyed and nodded vigorously, saying, "Of course!"

"Then why did you hide the fact that Xiao Lingshou gave you the wine from me?" Meng Yuxiu still had that puzzled look on his face, and he seemed a little hurt.

Chang Lili was speechless; this time, it was her turn to feel guilty.

She quickly looked away, not daring to look at Meng Yuxiu, her deep black eyes darting around rapidly.

A sigh came from above, followed by Meng Yuxiu's aggrieved voice: "Forget it, that's your business. I shouldn't have interfered in the first place."

After saying that, she tried to pull her arm away from Chang Lili's hand, as if she was about to leave.

For some reason, Chang Lili felt a little sad. She subconsciously grabbed Meng Yuxiu's arm and looked at him.

"No, no, I... Of course you have the right to inquire about what happened in your residence..." she said ingratiatingly, looking at Meng Yuxiu's profile.

But his profile still showed sadness, and Meng Yuxiu was still trying to figure out how to pull his arm away.

"I didn't mean to hide it from you. I was just afraid you'd be angry. It's wine, and you usually don't let me drink it. If you found out, this good wine would be wasted." Chang Lili couldn't help but tell you everything.

A strange thing happened. The sadness on Meng Yuxiu's face vanished. He raised his eyebrows slightly, scrutinized Chang Lili, and said in a slightly deep voice, "So, you really did keep the wine that Xiao Lingshou sent?"

"Huh?" Chang Lili was caught off guard and stunned for a moment before she suddenly realized what had happened. Meng Yuxiu had tricked her into revealing information.

She flung Meng Yuxiu's arm away, her eyebrows furrowed, and said, "You great general, how dare you deceive the feelings of a young lady like me!"

Meng Yuxiu calmly sat down on the stone bench: "I just want to know if what you just said is true or false, and also, did you write a thank-you letter to them? That's quite a reciprocal gesture, very courteous."

He was often upset about this kind of thing, but at this moment Chang Lili suddenly remembered Lu Ming's words: "A girl can't let a man feel that he's the only one in her heart. She has to make him feel that you might get together with someone else, and then he'll... get jealous! You know what jealousy is, right?"

When Chang Lili first heard Lu Ming say such a thing, she was amazed. Now that she thought about it, she became very calm and composed, and asked with pure doubt on her face, "Meng Yuxiu, are you jealous?"

The latter sat upright on the stone bench, his body stiffening almost imperceptibly for a moment.

“Jealous? I, Meng Yuxiu, don’t need to be jealous of others, but…” He seemed a little unsure of himself as he spoke, and even he himself probably didn’t believe what he was saying, “but you are my future general’s wife, and you are so entangled with other people. Regardless of what others say, I am naturally unhappy.”

At this point, he became more composed.

Hearing his words, Chang Lili knew she was in the wrong. Whether Xiao Lingshou accepted the wine or not, hiding it would always attract criticism, which inevitably made Meng Yuxiu uncomfortable.

But Lu Ming’s other words rang in her ears: “Don’t listen to what others say about men being broad-minded and only women being petty. That’s not true. The more a man cares about you, the more petty and jealous he becomes.”

For some reason, Chang Lili felt an inexplicable...happiness at this moment?

She was happy, her eyebrows curved into a smile, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud at Meng Yuxiu's stern face.

Meng Yuxiu frowned, looking at her with a puzzled expression, his displeasure evident.

"It's nothing, I just think you're overthinking it. It's not as complicated as you think. I just want to collect wine, but I can't go out to buy it. The wine outside is naturally not as good as the wine in the palace. It's not my style to refuse something that's delivered to my door." Chang Lili said with a smile, sitting down comfortably on the stone bench.

Meng Yuxiu frowned and said with displeasure, "If you want wine, you can tell me."

Chang Lili looked at him in surprise, then turned her head and puffed out her cheeks, saying, "Tell me, would you give it to me?"

"What do you want that I have never given you?" Meng Yuxiu blurted out.

As soon as he spoke, the courtyard fell silent.

While this statement wasn't untrue, it was also too blunt. Meng Yuxiu cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Putting that aside, you accepted his wine and even replied to his letter. Were you two really that close before?"

Chang Lili was still caught up in his words and hadn't come to her senses.

A gentle breeze blew, and a warmth lingered in her heart.

In that brief moment of silence, she seemed to hear the voice of time.

Since meeting Meng Yuxiu, she has encountered many things, but upon reflection, Meng Yuxiu has always been there for her whenever she asked for something.

She looked at Meng Yuxiu's stern face, which seemed genuinely angry, and couldn't help but steal glances at her out of the corner of her eye, waiting for her response.

She smiled brightly and pounced on Meng Yuxiu: "Alright, so that's what you're angry about. I replied to him only out of a little bit of concern from a master for his disciple. Nothing else. He and I are just master and disciple, we have no other relationship."

The moment Meng Yuxiu was embraced, his eyelids trembled slightly, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

"Really?" He turned his head slightly to look at Chang Lili. His eyes, which were usually majestic and domineering, were now full of tenderness, affection, and a sweet smile.

Chang Lili nodded obediently: "Really!"