Xi Chenzhou's Adam's apple bobbed, and without hesitation, he took her hand and held it in his palm: "I was wrong."
“What did you do wrong?” Tong Su chuckled, glancing at Lin Siman, whose face was ashen. “After all, you still have to blame me for neglecting you and making things difficult for you—”
“There’s no difficulty,” he said in a deep voice. “How could there be difficulty? All I’ve done is to ensure your peaceful life. Even if I were to die for you, I would do so willingly. What difficulty is there?”
She slapped his hand with a smile and hummed, seemingly unhappy, but the gesture was unmistakably affectionate.
The soldiers around him couldn't help but laugh, chuckling and accusing Xi Chenzhou: "General, aren't you going back to be with your wife? Be careful, if you're late, you'll have to kneel on a washboard..."
"I'm donating a washboard as a friendly gesture; the wooden edges are absolutely sharp!"
"Washboards aren't fashionable anymore. When my brother went south to trade, he brought back a strange, thorny fruit. When it's dried, it looks like a hedgehog. Kneeling on this is good; it hurts even more! Madam, I'll send it to you later."
Amidst the laughter, a rare bitter smile of helplessness appeared in Xi Chenzhou's eyes. The girl in black chuckled, "Never mind, I can't bear to part with it."
"Wow! I can't bear to part with you, General! Your wife really dotes on you..."
"Where's that sour smell coming from? Hey, it's really unfair to single people like us!"
Lin Siman stood awkwardly in the distance, feeling that every laugh and joke they made was a mockery of her unrealistic ideas.
She was so ashamed and angry that she felt like she was burning herself to death. She wished she could dig a hole and escape from underneath, but she was also filled with resentment. Her venomous eyes were fixed on Tongsu, as if she wanted to bite her to death.
When Lin Siman saw Xi Chenzhou holding the black-clad girl's hand tenderly, his eyes filled with deep affection, she felt as if she heard a bang, and the string in her heart was snapped!
She could no longer maintain her innocent and gentle facade, and screamed almost ferociously, "What right do you have to yell here? Do you even deserve it?!"
Her teeth clenched so tightly they rattled: "I am the daughter of the Lin family, married to Xi Chenzhou, and able to provide him with military support. What do you have? No matchmaker, no betrothal, and you're here entangled with him, have you no dignity as a woman?! Shameless—"
The soldiers' faces turned cold, and they all turned to glare fiercely at her. Before Tong Su could speak, they couldn't help but shout, "Whether she's worthy or not is not for you to decide!!"
"They are a perfect couple, what right do you, a monster, have to object?"
"If we're talking about real skills, all you do is cry and whine. You think you can compare to Madam? How do you think we got into the city? We found a path through the cliff, climbed down, and took a roundabout way in. That was Madam's idea, the path she found!"
Xi Chenzhou's icy gaze swept over Lin Siman, his murderous intent palpable and undisguised, causing Lin Siman to turn pale and tremble.
General Lin felt a chill run down his spine. He pulled his impulsive granddaughter back, regretting that he hadn't stopped her, but he had no choice but to plead, "My granddaughter is spoiled. She didn't mean any harm. Please don't hold it against her, considering she's still young and a child..."
Furthermore, the one who found a way through the mountains to bypass Qin City and directly determined the outcome of this battle was—it was actually that girl in black?!
"Miss Lin is seventeen now, isn't she? She's young, so we can overlook that?" Xi Chenzhou's voice was as sharp as a knife, filled with mockery and sneer. "Then my young lady is only sixteen, even younger. How do you expect us to account for the grievances she has suffered?!"
General Lin's face turned so red with embarrassment that it almost bled.
Lin Siman reluctantly hid behind him, but still couldn't help glaring fiercely at Tong Su: "To engage in illicit relations without a matchmaker or betrothal! It's utterly shameful, how could you have the nerve—"
"Ah, no matchmaker, no betrothal, you've reminded me."
Tong Su clapped her hands suddenly, turned her head, and looked at Xi Chenzhou with a smile.
"I have neither proposed marriage nor offered betrothal gifts, yet you have followed me without any official status. I have wronged you. Once we return to the capital, I will surely make it up to you. I will bring you a grand wedding procession with a magnificent procession. General... would you be willing?"
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