I knew Meng Yuxiu disliked Xiao Lingshou, but I never expected him to hate him so much that he would speak of him like that behind his back.
However, Chang Lili had no time to care about these things. At this moment, Meng Yuxiu was looking over there. What she was worried about was whether Lu Ming's identity as a woman would be discovered. If it was discovered, would she really be kicked out of the military camp, and would her father also be in trouble?
She immediately picked up the short knife that Meng Yuxiu had brought a few days ago, which had been repaired and looked brand new.
"Look at this knife...this knife..."
"Is there anything that needs to be changed about this knife?" Meng Yuxiu's face showed a hint of anticipation.
After pondering for a while, Chang Lili exclaimed, "This is truly a fine knife!"
"Don't we need to change it?" Meng Yuxiu looked somewhat disappointed.
Chang Lili nodded solemnly and said seriously, "This knife is truly a fine weapon. Of all the weapons I've seen, only this knife is flawless."
"Oh?" Meng Yuxiu raised an eyebrow, took the short sword, and examined it with great interest.
Chang Lili took the opportunity to peek at Xiao Lingshou and found that the two were still at an impasse. Lu Ming kept moving closer to Xiao Lingshou and stuffing paper-wrapped snacks into his hands, but Xiao Lingshou just wouldn't accept it.
She rubbed her forehead, thinking that Lu Ming should slip away quickly, but she was stubborn, and Xiao Lingshou was determined to ignore her.
Lu Ming finally lost his temper. As if he had figured things out, he put the paper package on Xiao Lingshou's blacksmithing platform and turned to leave.
Before Chang Lili could even breathe a sigh of relief, she saw her walking towards her with her head down, bumping straight into Meng Yuxiu's back.
She covered her face and heard Lu Ming cry out in pain, cursing, "Who is this who is so blind as to stand here blocking the way!"
There was a moment of silence. Chang Lili peeked through her fingers and saw that Lu Ming's rosy face had turned a little pale. She stammered, "I'm sorry... I... I bumped into the wrong person..."
After she finished speaking, she turned to leave, but Meng Yuxiu said in a deep and unhurried voice, "Stop."
“Meng Yuxiu…” Chang Lili chuckled and grabbed Meng Yuxiu’s arm.
Meng Yuxiu responded with a lukewarm smile and coldly asked Lu Ming's trembling back, "Which military camp are you from? Whose banner are you under?"
“I…I…I am…I am…” Lu Ming’s voice trembled, and she couldn’t utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Just as Chang Lili was about to say something, Lu Ming suddenly turned around and knelt down on the ground, saying as if she were going to throw caution to the wind, "General, I... the blame is entirely mine. If you want to punish someone, punish me alone. It has nothing to do with anyone else!"
The commotion drew the attention of everyone, including Xiao Lingshou, who looked over expressionlessly.
Chang Lili slapped her forehead in despair.
Meng Yuxiu stood with his hands behind his back, a half-smile on his face, looking at Lu Ming who was lying on the ground: "So, you really are..."
A bright, cheerful voice rang out: "Lu...Lu Ming! What are you still doing here? Fu Wei is looking for you!"
A flushed-faced Chu Huan rushed over and, before anyone could react, grabbed Lu Ming and ran.
Meng Yuxiu's eyes sharpened, and he was about to chase after her when his arm was grabbed. He looked down unhappily, only to meet Chang Lili's curved eyebrows and eyes.
"There's a misunderstanding here, and I have something to say," she said pleadingly.
Meng Yuxiu watched the two figures disappear into the distance, abandoning the idea of chasing after them. He then gave a deep look to the crowd of onlookers, scaring them into lowering their heads to do their own thing before turning to Chang Lili.
"I had no idea that there were female soldiers in my army. It seems you did know?" He looked at Chang Lili.
“Don’t underestimate Lu Ming just because she’s a female soldier. She’s very disciplined. I don’t think you should make things difficult for her. Besides… besides, it was because she helped me that I had the opportunity to forge those three hundred spears,” Chang Lili pleaded.
Meng Yuxiu's gaze softened, but upon hearing her words, he frowned in slight confusion.
However, upon closer reflection, Chang Lili is indeed quite lonely in this military camp, being a woman all alone. Having a woman by her side is not necessarily a bad thing.
When it comes to following the rules, Meng Yuxiu has never been one to follow them.
"You don't need to worry, she's not a bad person, so I naturally won't make things difficult for her," Meng Yuxiu reassured her.
Chang Lili nodded in relief.
A cold voice came from the side. Xiao Lingshou, who never left his blacksmithing platform, was standing next to them with a mocking smile on his face.
"I never expected that General Meng, a veteran of many battles, could be so tender-hearted and kind. I wonder if His Majesty will be pleased." He held the scabbard of an unfinished dagger in his hand.
Meng Yuxiu curled his lips and sneered, "I don't know how His Majesty views this matter, but if His Majesty knew that Yun Kingdom has a pillar of society like Young Master Su Ling, who is well-versed in poetry and literature and eager to learn, he would surely be overjoyed."
Chang Lili couldn't glean anything from their conversation, but she noticed that Xiao Lingshou's face had turned cold, while Meng Yuxiu seemed rather smug. It appeared that Meng Yuxiu had the upper hand.
She immediately stepped forward to smooth things over: "Su Ling, I think the scabbard of your dagger is very well made. With a little more polishing, it would be impeccable!"
As he spoke, he pulled Su Ling toward his blacksmithing platform.
And so, Meng Yuxiu and Xiao Lingshou met almost every day and inevitably engaged in a barrage of insults and sarcastic remarks.
Chang Lili could sometimes understand what they were saying, and she was deeply amazed that men could also fight each other in such a secret way.
Such days did not last long, not because Xiao Lingshou's dagger was finished, but seemingly because Xiao Lingshou was urged to go home.
He could no longer find excuses to delay the progress, and the dagger was soon completed.
Meng Yuxiu seemed to know that Xiao Lingshou was being urged to return, and he seemed to be in a good mood those few days, and did not have any further arguments with Xiao Lingshou.
On the day Xiao Lingshou left, a group of people appeared out of nowhere and removed all the tools from his blacksmithing platform.
Meng Yuxiu arrived very early that day, saying that he came to see Xiao Lingshou off.
But Chang Lili felt that he was clearly just there to watch the show. As Xiao Lingshou's blacksmithing platform was moved down, he seemed relieved, as if a stone that had been hanging in his heart for a long time had been lifted.
When Xiao Lingshou came to say goodbye to Chang Lili, Meng Yuxiu said happily, "Young Master Su Ling, then take care and don't see me off."
Chang Lili clearly saw Xiao Lingshou give Meng Yuxiu a disdainful look, and she couldn't help but burst out laughing, then immediately covered her mouth.
"Lili, I'm leaving." Xiao Lingshou looked at Chang Lili, his face shrouded in frost, and he looked somewhat sad.
Chang Lili felt a pang of pity. Although he refused to become her disciple, she had already regarded him as her student. Now that her student was leaving, she was still somewhat sad.
"Take good care of yourself from now on, and don't forget what I taught you," she said with emotion.
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