During the race for the target, Chu Yue's equestrian skills also greatly impressed Wei Tingyu. Of course, he was not just an ordinary transmigrator, so he ultimately held back! It was quite nice to tease the girl and, at least in the one skill she was proud of, he wouldn't crush her confidence just yet.
"I know the Marquis held back at the end!" However, as Wei Tingyu rode closer, Chu Yue threw the red ribbon to him and said, "But on the battlefield, even if someone yields, a good general would never be merciful!"
Alright! This girl could at least tell that he had held back, and she also appreciated his gesture! Wei Tingyu nodded in satisfaction and said, "You talk as if you've been on a battlefield before!"
"I haven't before, but I might in the future!" Chu Yue, naturally unwilling to admit defeat, quickly retorted, "And I might not be any worse than you!"
"Then I wish the County Princess a swift victory and success in all her endeavors!" Wei Tingyu smiled upon hearing this and replied. It seemed that in addition to the war-obsessed Zhao Zhangru, his household would now have another female general! Of course, this would be a great help to him when he built his own power in the future!
"Thank you, Marquis, for your kind words!" It was clear that Wei Tingyu's words meant he wouldn't confine her to the back courtyard in the future and might even be willing to take her to the battlefield! Thinking of this, Chu Yue was overjoyed and quickly responded.
Chu Yue herself had no political ambitions. The reason she always competed with her brother was not because she truly wanted to replace him and seize the position or inheritance of the Duke Chu's manor. All she wanted was to be recognized by her father and the people around her! And it was clear that Wei Tingyu would not destroy this one dream of hers!
"Marquis!" Thinking of this, Chu Yue became more and more pleased with Wei Tingyu, her future husband. She showed the shy expression of a young girl and said, "I wish we could always get along like this!"
"That's not difficult at all," Wei Tingyu replied with a smile, understanding that her mind was once again filled with a young girl's sentimental thoughts.
Chu Yue was deeply moved by Wei Tingyu's words and quickly turned to look at him. A gentle breeze blew, scattering her stray hairs across her forehead. This scene made Wei Tingyu's heart flutter.
"Then, does the Marquis mean…" Chu Yue saw the look of fondness in Wei Tingyu's eyes. She smiled, pursed her lips, and continued, "Our matter… is… settled?"
"Of course!" Wei Tingyu looked at Chu Yue and nodded with a smile, "Please go back and tell Duke Chu that this Marquis will never disappoint his expectations!"
"Good!" Upon hearing Wei Tingyu's words, the knot in County Princess Chu Yue's heart finally completely untied. Now, the two of them had a verbal agreement. In the future, the entire Xisha tribe would be aligning with Wei Tingyu, and she would become his fiancée!
As for her place in the household, as a young girl with a strong nomadic background, Chu Yue didn't care much about formal titles. What she really cared about was whether she could follow Wei Tingyu into battle after she married him! As long as that was resolved, she didn't really care about anything else! As for the future of the Xisha tribe, Chu Yue prayed that her father hadn't made a mistake! Of course, she was also very satisfied with Wei Tingyu as a husband. At the very least, she believed that she couldn't be wrong about him!
…
The sky was gradually beginning to darken. Wei Tingyu led Chu Yue on horseback back to the entrance of the ranch.
"With the Vermilion-Robed Guards patrolling the An capital, the County Princess having been out of the city all day might arouse suspicion," Wei Tingyu said before they parted. He took a few wild animals from his saddle and handed them to Chu Yue, saying, "Just say you were out hunting. No one will suspect anything!"
Chu Yue was stunned, then she finally understood. No wonder, after their race, Wei Tingyu had shot and killed every wild rabbit and pheasant he saw on the way back. At the time, she hadn't understood, thinking he was just tired of the food at the post house and wanted to try some wild game. She never expected there to be such a reason!
And most importantly, her view of Wei Tingyu's archery skills had changed. It turned out that the Marquis was not only exceptionally skilled in martial arts but also his archery was on par with her own! For the first time, this little wild colt of the grasslands felt completely convinced by a man!
Thinking this, Chu Yue nodded, smiled, and said, "The Marquis is so considerate! Thank you! Goodbye!" She then cupped her fists and bowed to Wei Tingyu, looking exactly like a boy. The combination of her actions and the Han dress she was wearing felt a little out of place.
It was only after she bowed that Chu Yue realized her mistake, but her long-standing habit was not something she could change in an instant. So, she could only blush, furrow her brows, and pretend as if nothing had happened, quickly turning to leave. After all, having an embarrassing moment right before they parted made her want to just disappear into a hole.
"Wait!" But Wei Tingyu called out to Chu Yue, who had just turned to leave. In her surprised gaze, he took a red ribbon from his sleeve. It was the same ribbon that had been the target of their "competition."
"And this!" Wei Tingyu smiled and handed the red ribbon to Chu Yue, not saying anything else.
Chu Yue's eyes were fixed on the ribbon. It was no longer a simple piece of ribbon; it was like a token of their relationship! Chu Yue had been the first to snatch it, although she knew Wei Tingyu had held back. So, after the race, she had given the ribbon to Wei Tingyu. She hadn't expected him to keep it in his sleeve for a while and then give it back to her. After this back-and-forth, the ribbon could naturally be considered a token of their love!
Chu Yue felt a little embarrassed at this thought, but she still slowly walked over and took the ribbon.
"Marquis!" But just as Wei Tingyu was about to leave, Chu Yue couldn't help but speak again, "Do you like this horse ranch?"
"It's nice!" Wei Tingyu was stunned, then he nodded and said, "I had a great time today!"
"Then the Marquis is welcome to come anytime!" Chu Yue was overjoyed by Wei Tingyu's words. She lowered her head and whispered, "But when you come… can you call me? I can keep the Marquis company…"
Oh dear! This little wild colt of the grasslands has truly become love-struck! Amitabha! Forgive me! Wei Tingyu saw her girlish behavior, muttered a few words of self-reproach in his heart, and then nodded with a smile. He didn't say anything more, simply turned and strode toward his horse!
Watching Wei Tingyu's retreating figure on horseback, Chu Yue finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"The County Princess's face is as red as this silk!" At this moment, the maid who had been with Chu Yue naturally came over, looked her up and down, and said, "Could it be that… you have feelings for the Marquis…"
"I don't! Don't talk nonsense!" Chu Yue, hearing her maid's teasing, rolled her eyes and retorted stubbornly, "You forgot how he bullied me on the street last time…"
He bullied you on the street last time? The maid was surprised. She thought for a moment, recalling the events of that day, and realized there had been no scene where her County Princess was bullied by Wei Tingyu. On the contrary, it was the Marquis who had helped her, and she had stopped him on the street and wouldn't let him leave! Although she was indeed teased by the Marquis in the end, her expression at the time seemed quite happy, didn't it?
But since the County Princess said so, as a maid, she naturally couldn't contradict her master's words. She simply smiled and said, "My mother said that you can't be a couple without arguing! Fate is something that is nurtured over time!"
"County Princess, look, the Marquis took you for a horse race and even gave you some wild game! How thoughtful is that?"
Originally, Chu Yue felt a sense of pride upon hearing her maid's words, as they had truly hit home. But when she saw the teasing look in her eyes, Chu Yue realized her maid was laughing at her.
"How rude!" Thinking this, Chu Yue quickly said, "I don't like him at all! I just happened to meet him on the street last time, and there were some things we didn't finish talking about, so I specially invited him today!"
The maid naturally didn't know about the conversation between Duke Chu and Chu Yue earlier, and Chu Yue couldn't possibly tell her directly! So, in the maid's eyes, today's meeting between Wei Tingyu and Chu Yue was nothing more than a date between two people who were fond of each other!
Seeing her maid's "say what you want, I won't believe you" expression, Chu Yue became even more flustered.
"It's just that the Marquis likes me and wants to be with me for a long time…" she said, steeling herself. "Naturally, I can't be indifferent, right?"
The maid was even more speechless. From her words, it seemed as if Wei Tingyu was relentlessly pursuing her, and she had reluctantly agreed? She didn't know who had been talking about the Marquis of Jining every day and tossing and turning sleeplessly at night a few days ago. Of course, the maid was tactful and didn't expose Chu Yue's true feelings. After all, a girl needed to save face at a time like this!
…
"Now, there's only one way left: to storm the tower!" In the post house at night, Ren Ruyi, with her brows furrowed, looked at the structural map of the Yong'an Tower and said. She then looked up at Wei Tingyu, who was standing by the window looking at the night sky, and asked, "Marquis, what are your chances of success?"
"At most, thirty percent," Wei Tingyu thought for a moment and said. With his martial arts skills, breaking into the Yong'an Tower was no problem! The problem was how to bring the baggage of the Wu Emperor back to the Wu Kingdom alive. That was the most difficult part. If it weren't for the fear of upsetting Princess Yang Ying, bringing his corpse back would have been much simpler!
"I think so too," Ren Ruyi nodded and said. "The security inside and outside the Yong'an Tower is much tighter than I initially imagined, plus there are traps everywhere!"
"It won't be easy to bring an unarmed person out safely!"
"And most importantly, after we get out of the tower, there must be a clear path to the city gate!"
"I don't think it's that difficult!" However, Princess Yang Ying, who had been sitting quietly on the side, suddenly clapped her hands and said, "Isn't Ren Ruyi's disciple, Li Tongguang, the commander of the Imperial Guards in the An capital now? As long as Sister Ruyi asks him…"
"Oh, no!" But before Yang Ying could finish her sentence, she slapped her forehead again and said with a look of regret, "That Li Tongguang seems to have feelings for Sister Ruyi! We can't let Sister Ruyi go to him!"
"Marquis, what do you think?" Yang Ying had a one-sided conversation, then looked up at Wei Tingyu.
Wei Tingyu and Ren Ruyi were both speechless. No one had said they were going to look for Li Tongguang! Hadn't this girl just imagined it all on her own?!
"Marquis, you're not really planning to have Sister Ruyi go to that Li Tongguang, are you?" But seeing that both of them were silent, Yang Ying frowned. She thought Wei Tingyu was actually considering it and immediately became anxious!
"It's not a good thing to let a beauty go to her love rival!" Yang Ying said, her face becoming excited, as if she was desperately trying to stop Wei Tingyu from making this decision. "Marquis, haven't you heard the saying, 'Carelessness costs Jingzhou'?"
Wei Tingyu was even more speechless! According to the original plot, Ren Ruyi was indeed supposed to go to Li Tongguang. After all, the strength of Ning Yuanzhou's team was not enough to rescue the Wu Emperor directly. But now, his martial arts skills were far superior to those few small-time characters, so he naturally didn't need so many external helpers. In fact, the more people who knew about this, the more troublesome it would be, and the greater the risk of a leak!
"You little rascal…" Ren Ruyi was also speechless. She had never intended to ask Li Tongguang for help. As for that crazy disciple, she now avoided him like the plague.
"I haven't heard 'Carelessness costs Jingzhou,' but I have heard another story!" Ren Ruyi shook her head helplessly and looked at Yang Ying, saying, "It's called 'Princess's Carelessness leads to a Spank'!"
"Ah?!" Yang Ying's mouth immediately drooped. The story Ren Ruyi mentioned, "Princess's Carelessness leads to a Spank"… was it going to be performed on her? Her little butt couldn't be spanked swollen!
Ren Ruyi, of course, had no intention of actually spanking the little girl's butt! She simply smiled and glanced at Wei Tingyu, who opened his arms to her. She then obediently leaned her entire body against him. Princess Yang Ying watched as Wei Tingyu gently put his arm around Ren Ruyi's shoulder and let out a heavy sigh of relief. It seemed that the spanking was just a threat from Sister Ruyi and she didn't really intend to do it!
…
"What's wrong?" After Princess Yang Ying fell asleep, Wei Tingyu took Ren Ruyi's hand and walked into the courtyard. He looked at her sorrowful eyes and asked with some heartache, "Did you not sleep well last night?" As he spoke, he gently caressed Ren Ruyi's cheek and brushed aside two strands of hair from her forehead.
Ren Ruyi, of course, did not resist Wei Tingyu's affectionate actions! She just smiled faintly, but the sadness in her eyes never disappeared.
"I keep dreaming about the Vermilion-Robed Guards who were strangled in the South City by the An Emperor's order!" "I've killed many people before, but I've never had nightmares!" "I really don't like how indecisive I've become now!"
As Ren Ruyi said these words, Wei Tingyu also nodded. In fact, his mood wasn't great when he thought of those people either. Logically, the Vermilion-Robed Guards were their opponents, and they had killed no fewer than twenty or thirty Vermilion-Robed assassins! But those Vermilion-Robed assassins died on the battlefield while carrying out their missions; their deaths had a purpose. The dozen or so Vermilion-Robed Guards that the An Emperor ordered to be strangled, however, died for no reason.
With a tyrannical monarch like the An Emperor, even loyal subordinates could lose their lives due to one of his sudden whims! Anyone who experienced such a thing would feel uncomfortable. After all, the person sitting on the An Kingdom's throne was truly not a person!
"Having a compassionate heart doesn't mean you're indecisive!" However, Wei Tingyu could only try to adjust his mindset and said to Ren Ruyi, "Perhaps what you learned in the Vermilion-Robed Guard before taught you that compassion is also a sin!"