Meng Yuxiu gritted his teeth: "How much?"

Chang Lili cautiously looked up, secretly observing his expression. Finding it to be fairly good, she held up a finger and waved it in front of him: "One..."

He remained calm and let her talk for a while without saying a word.

On the contrary, Chang Lili, seeing that he was not playing by the rules, pursed her lips and told the truth: "Ten thousand taels of silver notes, but that assassin took them."

Thinking about it still hurts, it's ten thousand taels!

Meng Yuxiu's face darkened: "You'll stop at nothing for money."

If he wasn't mistaken, her assassination attempt was inextricably linked to Xiao Shu'er.

"Others dare to give it to you, and you actually dare to take it? Aren't you afraid of dying before you can spend this money?" Meng Yuxiu's tone was unusually foul.

Chang Lili was so scolded by him that she could barely lift her head. Feeling aggrieved, she stubbornly retorted, "In the end, isn't it all because of you!"

How could it be because of him?

Meng Yuxiu glared at her: "Don't talk nonsense."

"I'm not lying." Chang Lili glared back defiantly, her words flowing like beans. "Back in the army camp, I told you that if you gave me the money, I would stop bothering you."

"You're such a strange person. You clearly hate me clinging to you, but you'd rather just pay me off than not do it. Besides, you've ruined my reputation..."

Is 500 taels of gold a lot?

Not at all!

Chang Lili felt aggrieved. She meant well and didn't want to hold him back, but he was unwilling to part with the five hundred taels of gold.

"In the end, you're just after money?" Meng Yuxiu frowned slightly.

Chang Lili choked on her words and, no longer wanting to hide it, decided to be frank: "I have said before that I voluntarily sold myself into a brothel because my mother-in-law was sick."

When her mother-in-law was mentioned, she remembered what she was worried about and quickly said, "My mother-in-law doesn't know what I did. She's not in good health, so please keep it a secret and don't tell her."

If her mother-in-law found out, she would definitely be very worried about her.

Meeting her pleading gaze, Meng Yuxiu was speechless.

He originally thought that even if she was innocent, her claims about selling herself into a brothel were just empty words.

In retrospect, it seems he had misunderstood.

Meng Yuxiu slightly set aside his prejudice against Chang Lili, asked a few more questions, and finally confirmed that he had indeed misunderstood Chang Lili.

Chang Lili answered every question, but in the end she looked at him suspiciously, her eyes wide: "You, you don't actually think that what I said before was all a lie, do you?!"

"...No, not at all." Meng Yuxiu was unusually guilty. He just thought she was very scheming and had a lot of cunning. But in the end, he was the one who made a fool of himself.

Looking into Chang Lili's big, watery eyes, and recalling what had happened earlier, Meng Yuxiu felt a strange mix of amusement and exasperation.

Chang Lili felt that he was acting a little strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She didn't think about it any further, and with a quick glance, she fawned over him and began to massage his arm.

"What are you doing?" Her small, porcelain-white hand suddenly climbed onto his arm, and where it touched, it felt as if an electric current had surged through him.

Meng Yuxiu barely managed to regain his composure and pushed her hand aside, saying, "Let's talk this out, don't get physical!"

Chang Lili calmly withdrew her hand, her smile still bright and ingratiating: "It's nothing, I just..."

"If there's nothing to say, then don't say it." Meng Yuxiu interrupted her before she could finish speaking.

That won't do!

Chang Lili's expression changed, and she quickly said, abandoning all pretense of modesty, "Yes, yes, yes, I just wanted to borrow some silver from the general..."

Meng Yuxiu said nothing, but looked down at her.

“My mother-in-law is unwell and needs to see a doctor, but I’m out of money…” Chang Lili was a little dejected, never expecting to end up like this.

Meng Yuxiu refused: "I won't lend it."

"You—" Chang Lili never expected him to refuse so directly. She opened her mouth in surprise, and disappointment overflowed from her eyes.

When she first heard it, she was very angry, but then she thought that he had no obligation to help her, so she had nowhere to vent her anger.

Meng Yuxiu's gaze swept over her small face, his expression slightly hardening, before he quickly said, "I will ask a doctor to come and treat your mother-in-law."

I hadn't seen her contact her mother-in-law before, so she must be renting a place. Since she's leaving today, she must have returned the apartment.

They've already kept her in the mansion, so they don't care about having another mother-in-law.

Chang Lili was taken aback, then raised her small face: "What did you say?"

Meng Yuxiu did not repeat himself, but Chang Lili was still certain from his expression that she had not misheard, and cheered happily.

She went up to him and gave him a bear hug: "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

He clearly intended to keep his mother-in-law in the house as well.

In this way, she and her mother-in-law would no longer have to be separated, and she would no longer have to worry about not being able to raise enough money for her mother-in-law's medical expenses, which could lead to something bad happening to her mother-in-law.

very nice!

Meng Yuxiu was caught off guard and staggered backward. He instinctively reached out to protect her, and his expression changed slightly after the series of actions.

Before he could do anything, he felt a soft body pressed against his chest, slender arms clinging to his waist.

The feeling of soft fragrance and delicate beauty washed over me.

In particular, her big, watery eyes were filled with innocence and gratitude, as if she regarded him as her whole world.

Meng Yuxiu's body stiffened slightly.

He knew he should push her aside, but he never did. Instead, as if bewitched, he drew closer and closer to her.

Chang Lili didn't notice his strange behavior. She quickly looked up and said, "General, may I let my friend stay at the General's Mansion as well?"

The clear and melodious female voice, like pearls falling on a jade plate, startled Meng Yuxiu awake.

Meng Yuxiu quickly composed himself, somewhat annoyed: "Do you think the General's Mansion is a charity?"

He was almost bewitched by this woman.

"Why are you being so fierce!" Chang Lili thought he was really unpredictable, getting angry without even discussing it with her.

Meng Yuxiu ignored him and turned to leave.

Chang Lili had a vague feeling that something was wrong, and just as something was about to break through the ground, a voice came from not far away: "Miss, the old woman you brought back is looking for you."

All my thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

Chang Lili didn't have time to think, and answered as she returned to the West Garden: "Okay!"

West Garden.

As soon as Chang Lili entered the door, her mother-in-law pulled her aside.

The mother-in-law was on high alert: "Ali, tell me honestly, what exactly happened? You and General Meng..."

Even before asking Meng Yuxiu to keep it a secret, Chang Lili had already thought of a way to deal with it, and quickly reassured him: "Mother-in-law, don't worry, I'll tell you now."

She naturally couldn't recount everything that happened between her and Meng Yuxiu in detail. Instead, she followed the principle of taking the essence and discarding the dross, and fabricated a story that was half true and half false.