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Her hands were slightly cool, and like her, they carried a very faint herbal scent.

But he froze completely.

Song Ling seemed to have discovered something magical, and somewhat obsessively, she gently touched his lips with the tip of her index finger. Unlike the rest of his lips, they were soft.

With his Adam's apple bobbing slightly from nervousness, Yu Baizhou stared intently at her movements, not daring to interrupt her.

She's acting very strangely tonight.

"Young lady, you..."

"Hmm?" Song Ling realized something and reluctantly withdrew her hand.

"I'm sorry for the offense."

"N-nothing." The touch on her lips still seemed to linger... Yu Baizhou secretly observed her expression, but she seemed to be lost in thought.

Forcing himself not to recall what had just happened, he asked tentatively, his ears red, "Are you feeling better?"

Song Ling sorted out her thoughts one by one, and when she looked up at the man in front of her again, she saw worry in his dark eyes...

"General, wouldn't you say that you're taking advantage of me?"

Is this a case of turning the tables? General Yu's mind went completely blank, but the smile on her lips clearly told him no.

"Then... what kind of compensation does the young lady want?"

"I..."

Looking into her smiling eyes, I was speechless for some reason. Even a fool would know she was teasing me. Yet, I felt no annoyance; instead, I cherished this moment, wondering if it was all just a mirage, a dream...

But if I don't ask now, she might revert to her usual cold demeanor tomorrow.

"I want to ask, is what you said that day true?" When he finally mustered up the courage to ask, he felt no relief at all. Instead, he kept his eyes glued to her, afraid of missing the slightest change in her expression.

"Make it real."

Song Ling's lips curled up slightly, and she had never felt so happy as she did at this moment. "I never joke."

A gentleman keeps his promise.

It felt like fireworks exploded in my mind, and my scalp tingled.

Thump thump thump... He could clearly hear his own heartbeat, and his hands hanging at his sides were trembling slightly.

"Then, then we..."

"Hmm?" Song Ling's lips curled into a smile, her brows furrowing slightly. "We what? Did I say 'we'?"

General Yu's expression froze. "But you're not..."

Song Ling leaned closer, causing the man in front of her to instinctively lean back a few feet, his breath catching in his throat when he felt her movement.

With a light touch of her fingertip, she landed precisely on his chest, right where his heart was. Feeling the vibration beneath her finger growing stronger, the woman couldn't suppress the smile on her lips as their eyes met.

"Three months, can the general wait that long?"

If he leaned back even half a step further, he would probably fall to the ground. With a light hook of her slender hand, she forcefully pulled him back by his belt. She didn't forget to ask him flirtatiously, "Does the General still find this inappropriate? Should I let go?"

Yu Baizhou was no match for her; he was completely being led around. At this moment, the heat spread from his ears to his neck, and he pursed his lips, unable to utter a single word.

Is this really the Song Ling we know? How could she be like this...?

They had hoped to turn the tide, but found that they had no chance to fight back at all.

"Okay..." His voice was a little hoarse when he blurted out. Before the woman next to him could react, he was startled by his own words. Then he realized something and his face turned even redder.

He had never experienced anything like this before, and at this moment he couldn't help but feel a little lost.

As a doctor, Song Ling knew exactly how he was reacting, but she never expected him to be so easily amused. She could only reach out and hand him a cup of cold tea, saying, "Have some water."

After drinking a few glasses of cold water, the fever in my heart subsided a bit, but my face was still very red, as if I had a high fever from a serious illness and it just wouldn't go down.

Song Ling reached out to wipe his forehead, but was suddenly stopped and her wrist was grabbed. His voice was different from usual, tinged with a hint of pleading, "Miss, please don't touch me..."

Touching him again might be impolite.

Tonight had been absurd enough, completely beyond his tolerance. This plea to her was his last act of defiance, his face flushed, and as for the reason… he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Whether Song Ling understood his unspoken meaning or not, she instead grasped the man's hand that was holding hers, and then used her other hand to check his temperature.

If it were a head-on confrontation, after so many years of military campaigns, his strength couldn't possibly be less than that of the woman before him. But before he could even make a move, he looked into her threatening eyes and immediately backed down.

He might still be too afraid.

When Song Ling withdrew her hand, she took his pulse again, glancing at him with a strange expression, but said nothing.

"I will give you three months to confront the King of Qi. You will give me three months to think things through before giving me an answer, okay?"

How could this not be good? Does that mean that if he takes over Qi sooner, she can... cough cough.

With a smile that he could hardly contain, General Yu hurriedly poured himself several more cups of tea.

"Miss?" He glanced at her cautiously. "Then, may I call you by a different name in the future?"

Song Ling was somewhat surprised, "What?"

My intention was to ask him why he wanted to change, but he took it as a request for a specific way of calling him.

"Ah Ling, is it alright?" He asked hesitantly, still harboring resentment towards Shi Yu for the first time calling her that.

In the Later Jin Dynasty, women's names were often kept secret from outsiders; only elders in the family and their husbands after marriage could call them that. Although Song Ling grew up in a family and was not subject to these social constraints on women, very few people ever called her that.

Upon hearing this, she was surprised and somewhat embarrassed. Her earlobes, hidden in her hair, felt slightly warm, and she made her decision after only a moment's hesitation.

"Can."

Her willingness to make such concessions to him shows that she wasn't entirely indifferent to him. Yu Baizhou felt as sweet as if he had been filled with honey, only thinking that he couldn't disappoint her in the future, and that one day she would accept him.

It was late at night when he realized he had been in the girl's room for so long. "Miss, you should rest early. I have to go back now."

Training should begin before dawn; as the commander-in-chief, he cannot be absent.

When he saw her to the door, he stopped Song Ling from following him out, and said hesitantly, "It's a bit chilly outside, and you might catch a cold."

A girl? A hint of doubt flashed through Song Ling's mind.

"Didn't the general say he wanted to change the way he's addressed?"

This... he had originally thought she only agreed to the future...

After realizing the meaning behind her words, Yu Baizhou was overjoyed, "Ah, Ah Ling."

Song Ling's lips curled slightly, "General, you should go back and rest early. Also..."

His brow furrowed slightly, and he hesitated before saying, "I'll prescribe a few doses of medicine to reduce your internal heat and send them to the General. As a physician, I know it's normal for someone your age to be irritable, but you certainly can't always suffer in silence, you can't always..."

The heat that had just dissipated surged back up, and Yu Baizhou hurriedly covered her mouth, his tone full of grievance and pleading, "I'm fine, Aunt, A-Ling, please don't say anything more."

She pulled her hand away, raising an eyebrow. "Are you avoiding seeking medical help?"

"Who said they were obedient?"

Seeing that he was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say to refute her, Song Ling felt a little guilty and decided not to tease him anymore.

"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Song Ling stepped forward and stretched out her arms. "Do you want me to comfort you? Next time, we'll probably have to wait three months for the results."

"want."

But in the end, he only gave her a light hug and then stepped back, not daring to be more abrupt. He even just patted her lightly, so it's unclear who was comforting whom.

As for why she cried tonight, he hadn't overlooked it, but everyone has their own secrets, and he waited patiently for the day she would be willing to open her heart to him.

Raising an eyebrow, Song Ling watched the person leap over the wall and disappear before preparing to return to her room to rest.

But as he turned around, he met Qi Man's eyes, who had just come out from not far away, and naturally witnessed the other's shock at being able to stuff an egg into his mouth.

"Miss... young lady? He..."

Song Ling pulled her cloak tighter and told her, "It's a bit cold outside, let's come inside."

Qi Man hurriedly followed her inside, then rushed to her in a panic, closing the door behind her. "That person is Yu—"

Song Ling interrupted her, "Yes."

"Then he is the heart—"

"That's right."

"So you two are already—"

"No."

Qi Man breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. "That's good, that's good..."

Unexpectedly, Song Ling casually shattered her fragile heart with another sentence: "Not now."

"What's the meaning?"

Song Ling gestured for her to sit down, raising an eyebrow slightly as she said, "Literally, it might just be a misunderstanding, or it might be something that happens someday later."

Qi Man frowned. "But is this in accordance with the rules? If Huai Lai's disciples find out, will they treat you..."

“No way,” Song Ling sneered, seemingly having thought of something, “they will agree, and they have no choice but to agree.”

“The rules of Huailai are set by people, and since I have made a decision, I can change them.”

Even if it's fate, she'll defy it. Song Ling loosened her clenched fist at her side and breathed a sigh of relief.

He also reminded Qi Man: "You don't need to make a fuss about this, and don't say anything to Wu Sheng either. When the time is right, things will take their course."

Qi Man pouted, "Okay."

From that day on, the military camp intensified its training.

The training ground.

"Get solid!"

"good!"

"Can!"

After walking around with his hands behind his back, he came back. Although he was still somewhat dissatisfied with the training, he didn't hit anyone or yell at them.

Several lieutenants stood aside whispering among themselves after their training.

"Is our general unusually good-tempered today?"

"Was it the same yesterday?"

Deputy General Wang shook his head. "How could that be? I got hit with a stick yesterday."

"Something's fishy, ​​something's strange." Wei Yan stroked his chin. "There's something fishy going on when things are unusual!"

“Where did this demon come from? Come on,” Deputy General Wang patted Wei Yan on the shoulder. “The general is under our noses all day long, so he couldn’t have been a demon in disguise. Jinghe, you’ve probably been reading too many books of supernatural tales again.”

"The general probably has some brilliant plan to deal with the King of Qi that he's secretly pleased with but hasn't had a chance to say yet."

As they were talking, General Yu strode over and casually wiped the sweat from his brow. "You will all come to my tent for a meeting in a quarter of an hour."

Deputy General Wang winked at the people around him, "I'll tell you."

But at that moment, a soldier guarding the camp suddenly reported: "Reporting to the general, the military advisor has just arrived and has gone to your tent."

Although Yu Baizhou's face did not show any joy, his increasingly quick steps betrayed his excitement.

"Why are you in such a hurry? It's not like they're leaving right away."

Several deputy generals hurried to catch up, but Wei Yan noticed something else and said meaningfully, "Deputy General Wang doesn't understand. The general cherishes talent."

The main fear is that I cherish a certain person.