Chapter 66 (bonus chapter) - Happy Qixi Festival everyone!

The autumn night was slightly cool, and a dim yellow lantern was placed at the entrance of the alley, swaying gently in the wind.

Under the lamp, the firewood burned bright red in the stove, and the mutton soup simmering in the large pot bubbled and steamed, the rich heat mixed with the aroma of meat, dispelling the surrounding chill.

Cui Ying held a large, rough earthenware bowl, blew on it, carefully took a sip of the hot soup, then picked up a piece of flatbread soaked in the soup and stuffed it into her mouth. Her eyes immediately narrowed with satisfaction, and she exclaimed indistinctly, "So delicious! Xiao Qiyu, how did you find this place with mutton stew and flatbread?"

Xiao Qiyu sat on a small stool opposite her, his back straight, wiping chopsticks with a cloth he carried with him. His neat and meticulous appearance was out of place in this rough environment.

He was too lazy to mention Wang Shaolin, and without even raising his eyelashes, he casually said, "I heard it from the old soldier on duty at the yamen gate."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze complex as he looked at the girl across from him who was eating heartily. He asked casually, "By the way, what brings you to the entrance of the military department?"

Cui Ying picked up a piece of mutton, chewed it thoroughly and swallowed it. Then she took a bite of the flatbread, her cheeks puffed out like two round grapes. Her eyes shone as she said, "This morning I went to pay my respects to my grandmother and saw you and my third uncle talking in the pavilion. I could tell from the way you left that you were holding back your anger and were definitely not satisfied."

Cui Ying blew on the soup noodles, took a sip of hot soup and said, "Jin Feng said you were missing last night. I knew even with my toes that you must have come to the Ministry of War."

After finishing her soup, she looked up and gave Xiao Qiyu a sharp look: "You left without a word during the day and didn't come back until late at night. Jin Feng and Yu Lu were almost scared to death and almost went to bother Grandmother."

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Xiao Qiyu took the chopsticks from Cui Ying’s hand, put his own clean chopsticks back into her hand, his face calm and expressionless, his high nose bridge softened by the lamplight. “I’m a grown man, I won’t get lost.”

Cui Ying has always believed in the saying "a little dirt won't hurt you," and in the past she would have thought Xiao Qiyu was being unreasonable. But at this moment, she didn't care about that. She gripped the new chopsticks tightly, widened her almond-shaped eyes, and said, "Enough nonsense. Anyway, this is the last time you'll do it, do you hear me!"

Xiao Qiyu gave a nasal "hmm," seemingly unconcerned, but her eyebrows twitched slightly at Cui Ying's threatening tone, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up, secretly pleased.

“And this,” Cui Ying’s eyes fell on the map roll that she had placed under the chopstick holder, “Why did you throw this thing away just now? Since you spent so much effort collecting it, how could you just throw it away like that?”

Xiao Qiyu's relaxed expression quickly returned, and he casually replied, "It's boring," before lowering his head to drink the bowl of mutton soup in front of him that didn't suit his taste.

Cui Ying put down her chopsticks, took out the blueprint, unfolded it gently, and retorted to Xiao Qiyu, "I want to see just how boring it is."

Under the dim light of the lanterns, amidst the rising steam from the mutton soup pot, Cui Ying carefully examined the scroll that compiled the topography of the mountains and rivers of southern Jiangxi.

At first, Cui Ying's expression was somewhat casual, and she even seemed to be in the mood to take a couple of sips of soup.

But as her gaze swept over the detailed mountain and river markings, troop arrows, and the dense annotations beside them, her expression gradually changed.

"This is anything but boring!" Cui Ying exclaimed. "It's absolutely hilarious!"

Xiao Qiyu frowned as he swallowed the greasy muttony smell in his throat. Upon hearing Cui Ying's words, his brows suddenly relaxed, as if all his discomfort had vanished. He turned to face Cui Ying and asked in a daze, "You can understand it?"

Cui Ying pointed to the neat small characters on it: "You've marked it so clearly, only a fool wouldn't understand it."

She watched intently, her brows furrowing slightly, her fingers unconsciously tracing the hidden path in Xiao Qiyu's plan, intended for a surprise attack.

Upon realizing that Cui Ying had discovered his foreshadowing, Xiao Qiyu trembled all over, as if a mountain spring was flowing through his veins, washing away all the pent-up frustration and restlessness accumulated throughout the day, leaving him feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

Cui Ying understood him.

Of all the people in the capital, only Cui Ying truly understood him.

Under the lamplight, the girl looked unusually focused, her long, curled eyelashes casting delicate shadows on her face.

Xiao Qiyu watched Cui Ying's reaction with some nervousness. Like a student being checked by a teacher, his palms were slightly sweaty, a stark contrast to his calm and composed demeanor at the Ministry of War just now.

After a long pause, Cui Ying suddenly raised her head, her almond-shaped eyes shining brightly under the lamplight, filled with disbelief and astonishment. She asked incredulously, "These roundabout methods of cutting off supplies and feinting attacks, you came up with them all by yourself?"

She looked at him with eyes that sparkled like stars, an undisguised adoration.

Xiao Qiyu shifted his gaze somewhat uncomfortably and gave a soft "hmm".

After receiving his definite answer, Cui Yingshen exhaled two long breaths, as if trying to calm himself down.

After they finished eating and paid the bill, they did not take a carriage, but walked side by side on the quiet, deserted street. The moonlight cast their shadows long and short, sometimes overlapping and sometimes separating.

Cui Ying couldn't contain his excitement. The more he thought about it, the more thrilled he became. He couldn't help but praise, "I think your methods really work. They're much better than those old-fashioned bandit suppression strategies. Really!"

Under the moonlight, Xiao Qiyu looked into her bright, moist eyes, and his originally chaotic emotions were strangely calmed down by her chattering praises.

When he was a child, he disliked Cui Ying for talking too much, finding her noisy and annoying.

It turns out he just disliked Cui Ying for talking too much to others.

“I think if you lead troops to suppress bandits in southern Jiangxi, you might actually achieve a great victory.” Cui Ying was not only outspoken but also bold in her thinking, even offering advice to Xiao Qiyu. Her almond-shaped eyes blinked excitedly. “Why don’t you find an excuse to travel and secretly go with the army?”

Xiao Qiyu originally only wanted the Ministry of War to consider his ideas, without having any other thoughts.

Hearing Cui Ying's words, he felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his head. A bolder and more resolute idea sprouted in his mind and quickly became clear and firm.

He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Cui Ying. In the darkness, his eyes shone with an astonishing light: "Cui Ying."

"Hmm?" Cui Ying blinked, looked up at his face, and didn't understand why he suddenly called her.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Xiao Qiyu said in a low voice, but each word was firm and resolute. “I’m going to southern Jiangxi, not to travel around.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, "It's about infiltrating the bandit-suppressing army and personally fighting the bandits."

Under the moonlight, the girl stared in disbelief, her eyes unblinking for a long time.

Xiao Qiyu stared intently into Cui Ying's eyes, anticipating her surprise, fear, and how she would think he was crazy and try to stop him, just like everyone else.

Cui Ying was stunned for a moment, then her face lit up with extreme excitement and curiosity. She almost grabbed Xiao Qiyu's arm and jumped up, blurting out a series of questions: "Really? Infiltrate? How? Take me with you! I want to go too!"

Xiao Qiyu was so taken aback by her reaction that he almost choked.

He pressed down on Cui Ying's shoulders, forcing her to calm down, then lowered his voice and said sternly, "Nonsense, where are you going? That's a bandit's den, a battlefield, where swords and spears have no eyes, and danger lurks everywhere. Is that a place you can go?"

Cui Ying immediately shook off his arm, raised his chin, and imitated Xiao Yuanshou's tone perfectly, stroking his non-existent beard as he said, "Qiyu, your intentions are good, but these matters of fighting, killing, and troop deployment are for the court's generals and the government's staff to worry about. You should just be a good young master of the Xiao family, behave yourself, and stay by your grandmother's side. That's the right thing to do. You don't need to interfere in anything else."

After finishing her lesson, she snorted and stopped, her face full of disdain. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Don't try to teach me what your third uncle used to lecture you. You don't even listen to that, but I do?"

Xiao Qiyu was speechless, staring blankly at the girl in front of him who seemed to exude stubbornness from head to toe, even down to the last strand of hair.

A cool breeze swept across their faces. Xiao Qiyu looked at Cui Ying's rather thin cloak, softened his tone, and reached out to pull her wrist: "This matter needs further consideration. Let's go home first."

Cui Ying shook off his hand, turned her head and snorted again, finding it too tiring to even look at him.

She's a master of "taking a long-term view," which means "although this is hopeless, I'll still appease you to keep you calm."

He's dreaming!

Xiao Qiyu: Are you leaving or not?

The autumn night was chilly, and his voice already carried a clear hint of displeasure.

Cui Ying remained stubborn, turning her head to the other side and coldly saying, "I'm tired, I can't walk anymore, not even one step."

Xiao Qiyu took a deep breath, seemingly helpless and resigned to his fate.

The road was long and winding. He walked to Cui Ying's side, bent down, and knelt with his back to her, saying:

"Get on, I'll carry you back."

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Author's Note: Please give me lots of praise! [shy]