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Wei Yan rushed into the tent, panting, "General, Miss Song and the others have returned."
Where?
"I just encountered him, and he has probably already reached the camp." Wei Yan had just raised his hand to point outside when he felt a gust of wind blow by, and their general had already disappeared into the camp.
Wu Sheng stood at the entrance of Song Ling's tent, holding the little girl in his arms. Qi Man held a rattle drum and teased her, which only made the little girl giggle.
"Greetings, General." Although it was inconvenient for Wu Sheng to be holding the child, he still bowed slightly in greeting. Qi Man, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes and ignored him completely.
Not wanting to make a fool of himself, Yu Baizhou asked Wu Sheng directly, "Is your young lady inside?"
"Yes, yes... but the young lady is still changing her clothes."
Yu Baizhou, who had been about to step out, quietly withdrew his foot, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Then I'll come back in a few quarters of an hour."
Just as Wu Sheng was about to nod, the curtain behind him was suddenly lifted a corner, and Song Ling glanced at the group indifferently and said, "General, please come in. Qi Man, please come in too."
***
Qi Man closed his eyes again and hid in a corner to pretend to be a quail, leaving Yu Baizhou sitting uneasily to the side.
Watching Song Ling quietly brew tea, he hesitated several times, wanting to say something but holding back. After all, they had parted on bad terms two days ago, or rather, he had unilaterally parted on bad terms with her, and his attitude that day was certainly not good.
"you……"
Her newly mustered courage was abruptly thwarted when she suddenly asked, "Would the General like a piece of pastry?"
"What?"
Before General Yu could react, Song Ling had already opened the food box beside her, inside which were several plates of pastries of different colors and exquisite designs.
Song Ling brought out a plate of osmanthus chestnut cake and handed it to him.
The words that were about to be refused changed at the last minute: "Then, let's try it."
I pinched a piece and put it in my mouth. The rich aroma of chestnuts mixed with the subtle sweetness of osmanthus blossoms exploded in my mouth.
Yu Baizhou had never been a big fan of sweets, finding them too sweet and cloying. But now he suddenly realized that these pastries were actually quite sweet, fragrant, soft, and chewy, and not bad at all.
Song Ling handed over a cup of tea at the right moment, saying, "General, please take the food box back with you later. These are all for you."
Yu Baizhou paused for a moment, "Why?"
“For no reason,” Song Ling sat down on the stool opposite him, lowering her eyes slightly to conceal the little calculation in them as she drank her tea. “It’s just that I feel the general spends too much time training troops in the barracks and rarely goes to the counties. Yesterday, I tasted this pastry and thought it was alright, so I thought I’d bring it to the general to try as well.”
A strange, warm feeling welled up in Yu Baizhou's heart, something he couldn't quite understand, and it was hard to ignore.
"I apologize for my bad attitude that night."
Unexpectedly, Song Ling shook her head, "The general is not wrong, there is no need for this."
Before he could explain further, she added, "Ling is a strategist, and in this chaotic world, she naturally wants to support a lord to restore order; while General, as the commander, naturally hopes to protect the people of the southern border."
"The two of us simply have different goals and differing ideas; it's not a matter of who is right or wrong."
That seemed to make sense, but General Yu detected a strange sadness in her words. He suddenly realized something, "You're leaving?"
"Since the general has no intention of staying here, I naturally have no face to remain in the military camp any longer," Song Ling said with a slight smile.
Yu Baizhou's lips parted slightly, but he didn't know what to say. This girl had given up on her own ideas, and he no longer needed to worry about her following in the footsteps of the old strategist of the Southwest Army. Shouldn't he be happy?
But it seems... it wasn't that enjoyable.
"So, are you going home?"
Song Ling paused for a moment without replying, while Qi Man, who was in the distance, lowered his eyes as he caught the word "returning home," seemingly lost in thought.
“No,” Song Ling shook her head and smiled bitterly, “I have been an orphan since I was a child.”
Yu Baizhou's hand, which was at his side, twitched. He seemed to have said something wrong. He could probably understand how the girl felt, after all, he had also been alone since his teens.
"Feel sorry."
“It’s alright,” Song Ling said, concealing the dejection in her eyes. “That’s all in the distant future, nothing to worry about.”
Yu Baizhou saw through the sadness beneath her strength, "Why don't you stay here first? I have a house in Kuli County, which is nearby."
"I don't go there often, you can stay here for now..."
"Wouldn't this be too much trouble for the General?" Song Ling frowned slightly, somewhat embarrassed. "Although I am now nominally the General's strategist, it's still not quite appropriate..."
"It's alright, young lady, you just helped our soldiers a lot, it's only right." Yu Baizhou touched his nose. "You can rest assured and stay here. We'll talk about it another day... another day."
"Then I thank you in advance, General." Song Ling smiled slightly. "I would like to take that child with me and teach her to read and write. What do you think, General?"
Yu Baizhou thought it was a good idea, since no one in the military camp had time to take care of a baby. "Then let's do as you say."
"Does the general have anything else to say?"
"Me? I'm fine now." General Yu was still puzzled as to why things had developed to this point.
"Then, General, please sit down and have a cup of tea."
It turned out that when he heard Song Ling was about to leave, he had unconsciously stood up.
When she finally realized what had happened, she felt a little embarrassed, but her darker skin tone made it hard to tell.
Seeing that he was standing there blankly and not saying a word, Song Ling kept drinking from her teacup.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, saying, "General, this is tonic tea; drinking too much can make you feel unwell..."
"Huh?" Yu Baizhou lost his grip and spilled the tea, but luckily he reacted quickly and caught it properly, preventing the delicate teacup from breaking.
He reluctantly put the cup back in its place.
"Then I'll go back first." Yu Baizhou stood up and said haltingly, "You must be tired from your journey, you should rest more."
"I'll send someone to tidy up that house tomorrow, don't worry."
“Alright,” Song Ling said with a smile, “I will go to see the general this afternoon to discuss some important matters.”
Seeing her usually aloof eyes suddenly fixated on him, Yu Baizhou felt a sudden panic. Unable to stay any longer, he could only respond and hurriedly leave the tent.
Anyone could see the hint of them fleeing in panic.
"Tsk tsk tsk..." Qi Man walked over, "This General Yu is really thin-skinned, he can't even handle this."
"Young lady, there are many generals in the world, why would you risk everything and even resort to using your beauty to your advantage?"
Knowing her daughter's shrewdness, she wouldn't believe that her earlier display of weakness and guidance wasn't intentional. But how could such a rough general be a suitable match for her?
“Be careful with your words,” Song Ling said, regaining his usual calm and ruthlessness. “Seven-year-olds are those who plan great things and do not concern themselves with trifles.”
But after a while, she sighed helplessly and said, "I had no choice, and you shouldn't follow my example."
“Where is there no choice?” Qi Man puffed out his cheeks and said indignantly, “Wu Anhou, whom I met in Luoyang before, wasn’t he also a general guarding the border? And he also had the status of a marquis.”
"It's simply a matter of one guarding the north and the other guarding the south." In her opinion, it would be easier to support Marquis Wu'an. If the court is not careful, it could easily march straight in from the north and capture Luoyang.
"Heh," Song Ling chuckled, amused by her words, "Do you think I haven't thought about it?"
"Or do you think that my long detour to the capital was really just to save Lord Su?"
Qi Man looked at her with suspicion. Wasn't that right?
Song Ling shook her head and said nothing more.
She went to Luoyang earlier because she knew from the beginning that if she could assist either the Princess or the Marquis of Wu'an, it would be twice as effective as assisting General Yu.
To her dismay, both of them were exceptionally devoted lovers. Even though they weren't the type to sacrifice the greater good for personal gain, Song Ling dared not gamble.
It wasn't that she lacked the ability, but rather that the manpower and time required were too much for her to wait.
General Yu is at least more honest and simple than those two. She considers the overall situation and is open to advice, which makes her far superior to them. Moreover, the southwest is far from Luoyang, and news travels slowly, giving her more room to maneuver.
But what's giving her a headache right now is that the lord she's chosen is too stubborn, and... sigh.
Song Ling suddenly felt a headache coming on, and for the first time, she felt powerless and regretful, deeply aware that the road ahead was long and arduous.
***
Yu Baizhou, who had just hurriedly left Song Ling's tent, returned to his own tent and quickly came out again. Instead of going to the training ground, he went straight into Wei Yan's tent.
Wei Yan was still smiling as he counted the silver he had brought back that day when he saw his general's furtive appearance and found it quite amusing.
"General, are you... playing hide-and-seek?"
The word popped into my head, and before I knew it, it slipped out.
Yu Baizhou was speechless, but he didn't care about anything else. He took out a stack of silver coins from his pocket and handed them to him. "Jinghe, please help me purchase a house in Kuli County."
Wei Yan subconsciously took it before realizing something was wrong. "When I brought it up before, the general always said it was a waste of money and unnecessary. Why is he suddenly so keen to buy a house today?"
"Never mind all that, just do it quietly." Yu Baizhou scratched the back of his head, as if he had just remembered something. "It would be best to buy and pack it up in the next day or two."
Wei Yan raised an eyebrow. "So soon? Is the General in a hurry to stay?"
"Is someone in a hurry to move in?"
It was rare for the general to ask him for a favor. Based on the general's behavior over the past few days, Wei Yannan had a sudden urge to tease him. "If the general doesn't explain it clearly, I can't do it."
Yu Baizhou gritted his teeth and snatched the money back. "I'll go find the army doctor. You're not the only one who knows about this!"
"Hey—" Wei Yan stopped him and pulled the silver back. "General, why go to such lengths? Why not go find Miss Song? She clearly knows more about these things than I do."
"Could it be that this house is for Miss Song to live in... Waaah..."
Yu Baizhou covered his mouth tightly with his large hand and warned, "Don't you dare go out and talk nonsense!"
After receiving his approving look, Yu Baizhou let go of his hand and explained a few words: "Miss Song has helped us so much these days. In addition, it is inconvenient for women to stay in the military camp. And that child... can be raised better in the county."
As for the conflicts between him and Song Ling, he ignored them and didn't want to talk about them.
"She only agreed to stay because she thought I had a house. Don't let her know."
Seeing his general's embarrassed expression, Wei Yan understood perfectly. "I understand, I understand."
Judging from his general's current appearance, he probably still doesn't realize that something is wrong with him.
He could probably imagine that the monotonous military life in the future would be much more fun.
As a qualified military officer, he had to pull his general out of his embarrassed state at this moment, "General, have you come up with a name for this newly adopted daughter?"
"What?"
Yu Baizhou was taken aback, as if he had forgotten.
But he has no experience either.
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