"Then he woke up Hu Zi and the others and said that from now on he would personally teach them martial arts."

"Only by mastering martial arts can I better protect you."

"The general was worried that the children's martial arts practice would disturb your rest, so he took them out to practice."

As Xiao Tao was speaking, Lu Ziqian returned, panting, with a group of teenagers.

As soon as Hu Zi, Shi Tou, and the others entered the courtyard, they began to wail, declaring that they would never practice martial arts again, and would rather die than learn it.

Even the Wei sisters, who practiced martial arts year-round, were bent over, panting heavily, their legs trembling with exhaustion.

Su Yujiao frowned: "Go back once you're better. Why bother them?"

Lu Ziqian smiled slightly, looking refreshed and speaking without batting an eye: "No martial arts training is ever without its fatigue."

"Today is the first day, you'll get used to it."

Today he was dressed in thin clothes, with a white bandage wrapped around his head. He stood in front of her clean and refreshed, as if he didn't sweat at all.

He smiled at her, his gaze incredibly tender, the color in his eyes gradually deepening from calm to profound, revealing strange yet intense emotions.

Su Yujiao stared at his perfect and dazzling features and couldn't help but marvel at the Creator's favor towards him, truly giving him a handsome appearance that could bewitch all living beings.

Tiger's complaint interrupted their eye contact: "Madam, the general is lying. He didn't teach us martial arts. He just made us run and run until our lungs were about to explode."

The Wei sisters nodded in agreement; they had never traveled such a long distance in their lives.

Lu Ziqian reached out and touched his nose, explaining to her, "Running is the same as practicing horse stance. Only with a solid foundation can you master martial arts."

"Master, it has indeed been delivered."

At this moment, Mo Shu limped into the courtyard pushing a cart full of meat, vegetables, and eggs.

"Wow, so much meat! I've never seen so much meat in my life."

"There are still a lot of eggs."

The children cheered together.

Although they usually eat well, the group of teenagers cheered excitedly when they saw the mountain of meat and eggs for the first time.

"Only with meat and eggs can the body become strong."

"Eat like this from now on, and then train hard after you finish eating."

The children cheered happily, "General is mighty! General is mighty!"

Su Yujiao watched him trying to win people over and gave him a fierce glare.

"Mo Shu, what happened to your leg?"

Is it serious?

At this moment, Mo Hua pushed in a cart of rice and said, "He failed in protecting the young mistress and should have died to atone for his sins, but the master has been merciful and spared his life."

Su Yujiao frowned; she disliked making decisions about other people's fates so casually.

Seeing that Su Yujiao was about to take her anger out on her master, Mo Shu immediately knelt down and explained, "It has nothing to do with you, master. You have been looking for you these past few days and have no time to punish your subordinates."

"It was my subordinate who punished himself."

"Get up! Honestly, you've crippled yourself. How are you going to serve your master in the future?"

Mo Shu honestly replied, "I'm not lame. I have a back injury, and walking aggravates the wound, which is why I appear to be limping."

"It will be fine in a few days."

Su Yujiao looked at the blood seeping through his back. He was so badly injured; it would be strange if he didn't recover in a few days.

"Wait here, I'll go get you some medicine."

Su Yujiao entered the room, her own modern room, which served as her place of rest.

I got some medicine, both oral and topical, and using both at the same time will help me recover faster.

"Thank you, young mistress."

Su Yujiao corrected, "Don't call me that, it's bad for my reputation. From now on, just call me County Princess."

Mo Shu glanced at Lu Ziqian, and seeing him nod slightly, he then addressed him as "County Princess."

While the cook was preparing the meal, Su Yujiao asked Lu Ziqian, "When do you plan to leave?"

"You don't need to do all this useless work. I finally managed to get a divorce from you, and I won't remarry you easily."

"I'm not leaving, and I'm not doing this to remarry you. I just want to stay and protect you."

"I will not let what happened before happen again."

Su Yujiao remained calm and composed: "I don't need your protection; I have plenty of people to protect me."

“I already confronted Nan Sheng yesterday. He already knows that I am the real Holy Maiden of the Southern Frontier Kingdom and has placed Chen Yunniang under house arrest.”

"He will naturally protect me."

"Besides, you should know that I don't need anyone's protection."

Lu Ziqian stared at her confident appearance, recalling how omnipotent she was when they were children, and felt a pang of disappointment. She was incredibly powerful and had so many magical treasures protecting her; she really didn't need his protection.

A fleeting look of deep sorrow crossed the man's eyes; he was no longer of any use.

"The Wei sisters are not very skilled in martial arts, and they can't teach those children well."

"It doesn't matter, as long as they can protect themselves, not everyone needs to become an expert."

Seeing her aloof attitude, a faint bitterness appeared on the man's handsome face: "I can help with housework."

"unnecessary."

“Then I can earn money to support the children in the orphanage.”

"I can support them; you don't need to."

She rejected all of Lu Ziqian's suggestions.

She thought he would back down and leave gracefully, but unexpectedly he suddenly leaned back in his chair, looking her up and down with a malicious gaze.

"Is there really no need for me anywhere else?"

His voice was muffled, with a slightly lazy and teasing tone.

The man's naked, burning gaze made her extremely uncomfortable: "No."

She got up to leave, but he grabbed her and pulled her down onto his lap.

Su Yujiao struggled to get up, but he held her tightly.

"Jiaojiao, everyone has needs, regardless of gender."

"You'll need me for that kind of thing."

“I know you don’t want to talk about feelings with me, but I can be there for you whenever you need me.”

"When you willingly make love to me, it always feels very good, doesn't it?"

The man discussed this matter in a serious manner, speaking casually and earnestly, without being frivolous or dissolute, yet every word he uttered made her blush with embarrassment and ambiguity.

Su Yujiao thought he was shameless, able to say anything without batting an eye.

Did they switch from self-inflicted injury to seduction when that failed?

He rested his chin in the crook of her neck, and she could smell the faint scent of soap on him, refreshing and pleasant.

"Jiaojiao, don't push me away. Let me make it up to you, okay?"

"You said it yourself: adult men and women can sometimes talk about needs, not feelings."

As Lu Ziqian spoke, he lightly pecked the woman's fair and lustrous earlobe. When she dodged, he stopped and did not force her.

But she could still smell the man's strong masculine scent, and her cheeks involuntarily flushed.

Seeing that she was momentarily lost in thought, Lu Ziqian gently embraced her, and simply holding her quietly was enough.

By the time Su Yujiao realized what was happening, hot breath was spraying onto her sensitive neck, her breathing steady and long.