Su Wuke sheathed his sword with a cold face and said sternly, “General Chu, this is not Liang territory. You’d best show some respect in your actions!”
Though it was a misunderstanding, Chu Mingyi’s dismissive attitude was still a fact.
What’s more, this man already had a notorious reputation, relying on his position as the commander of the Liang Army to repeatedly humiliate Wu Ciyun.
Chu Mingyi was suddenly rebuked for no reason.
He gave a cold laugh and was about to retort, but when he glanced sideways and saw Wu Ciyun’s appearance, the words he was about to say were forcibly swallowed back.
Wu Ciyun was already frail, and after the incident with Chu Mingyi just now, her blood surged and she coughed uncontrollably, her face as pale as paper.
Only after swallowing two pills handed over by A Ming did she feel a little better, but she was still shaken.
She was indeed frightened today, but not because of the flying rat—she was truly startled by Chu Mingyi’s actions.
Now that Wu Ciyun had calmed down and thought carefully for a moment, even her gaze toward Chu Mingyi carried a hint of scrutiny and suspicion.
She was wondering if that Doctor of Liang Dynasty had said something to Chu Mingyi, which led him to deliberately come up with such a scheme to test her.
If that was really the case, then she would have to find a way to make both Chu Mingyi and that doctor completely keep their mouths shut…
Chu Mingyi knew he had acted too rashly today.
At this moment, seeing Wu Ciyun’s watery gaze, like a moonlit epiphyllum with dew on its broken stem, she said nothing, just sat quietly in her chair, looking at him with a faint melancholy.
Chu Mingyi stiffened, almost embarrassed, and quickly averted his gaze.
After all, civil officials were different from the rough-skinned, thick-fleshed soldiers.
Moreover, the one before him was a well-known invalid—let alone being tossed about like this, even a bit of wind might be enough to knock her over.
Chu Mingyi did not try to shirk responsibility.
He cupped his fists and said, “Lord Wu, it was I, Chu, who offended you this time. I offer my apology and hope you can forgive me.”
“Big Brother, the hand beads Housekeeper Rong gave you are broken…”
Mingzhu carefully picked up the jade beads scattered on the ground, gently stroking the cracks with a heart full of regret.
“Don’t pick them up, be careful not to hurt your hand.”
Wu Ciyun frowned slightly at the sight. She looked at Su Wuke and said softly, “Uncle, I still have matters to discuss with General Chu. Could you please take Mingzhu and Liangyu out to play for a while?”
Su Wuke was clearly hesitant upon hearing this.
His gaze lingered on Chu Mingyi for a moment, as if still suspicious of his intentions.
But since Wu Ciyun had spoken, he could only agree for now and led the two siblings out first.
The servants waiting outside saw that things had calmed down inside.
They quickly came in to clean up the mess and served two fresh cups of tea before silently leaving the study.
Chu Mingyi toyed with the tea cup in his hand.
Thinking of Wu Ciyun’s earlier words, he said with a half-smile, “Lord Wu, you really are a master strategist—just threw away Prince Rui and immediately clung to the Su Family.”
These days, he had investigated Wu Ciyun’s past thoroughly.
Although she bore the surname Wu, she actually had nothing to do with the Wu Family, and even her name was changed after she became a disciple of Wu Nanshan.
A few days ago, Su Wuke didn’t pay much attention to Wu Ciyun, but today, the two suddenly appeared as close as blood relatives.
It was likely that Mingzhu and Liangyu were the Wu Family’s biological children.
Wu Ciyun remained calm and replied indifferently, “Did the General come all this way today just to deliver a flying squirrel and mock me a few more times?”
“How could that be mockery? Lord Wu, your foresight is truly admirable. I, Chu, am full of respect.”
Chu Mingyi chuckled, then spoke directly: “Prince Rui is mediocre and unfit for great responsibility. I much prefer working with clever people like you, Lord Wu.”
He placed a sealed letter in front of Wu Ciyun.
Wu Ciyun opened it and glanced quickly, discovering it was from Prince Rui, asking the Liang Army to delay reinforcements to Lingzhou by three days, so he could use the opportunity to weaken the Su Family’s forces. In return, Prince Rui promised to grant five border cities as a token of gratitude.
Chu Mingyi was contemptuous of Prince Rui’s actions and scoffed, “Your former master is truly short-sighted.”
Prince Rui hadn’t even ascended to that position and was already plotting against his own people.
No wonder Wu Ciyun was always wary of him.
Wu Ciyun gave a cold laugh, not refuting Chu Mingyi’s words.
She had always thought Prince Rui was a fool, but now she saw he wasn’t just simple-minded—even his little cleverness was used for petty schemes, making him even more of a fool.
“Thank you for informing me, General. I am deeply grateful.”
Wu Ciyun casually folded the letter and said blandly, “But I cannot accept a reward without merit. Since the General has given me such a generous gift, what is it that you want me to do?”
“You—”
“Big Brother!”
Chu Mingyi had just begun to speak when a clear child’s voice suddenly interrupted him.
He frowned almost imperceptibly and saw Mingzhu rush in energetically.
Mingzhu’s bright eyes darted between them, and after confirming that Wu Ciyun was unharmed, she clearly relaxed.
Wu Ciyun, seeing Mingzhu like this, knew at once that Su Wuke had sent her in to check on the situation. She helplessly stroked her hair and said gently, “Why did you come in?”
Mingzhu glared at Chu Mingyi, pouting, “The hand beads Housekeeper Rong gave Big Brother broke. I just had Li Mammy help string them together again.”
Although it was restrung, the string of prayer beads originally had one hundred and eight jade beads, but many were cracked after falling to the ground.
Now, only sixty-eight remained intact.
Chu Mingyi hadn’t expected these to be Rong Tan’s things.
He raised his eyebrows and said with a half-smile, “I wonder how much this string of beads is worth. I’ll compensate Lord Wu.”
Wu Ciyun frowned slightly at his words and said gently, “It’s not worth much, General. You needn’t mind.”
The string of jade beads was indeed valuable, but compared to the generous gift Chu Mingyi had just given, it was nothing.
For that, she was willing to owe Chu Mingyi a favor.
“Mingzhu, Big Brother has things to do. I’ll spend time with you later.”
Wu Ciyun casually wound the Frost Jade Prayer Beads back around her wrist and coaxed Mingzhu to leave for the time being.
She wanted to confirm a few things with Chu Mingyi, but saw his gaze fixed unwaveringly on her.
She frowned slightly and reminded him, “General Chu, you—”
“You want to thank me, don’t you?”
Chu Mingyi interrupted her. He recalled the report from the Liang State Physician: that male favorite housekeeper, Rong Tan, had been ordered by Wu Ciyun to kneel in the snow as punishment. He had thought she was disgusted with the man, but somehow, the two had reconciled, and Wu Ciyun even personally tended to him, never leaving his side.
As expected, these vixens from humble backgrounds were always full of tricks, with endless ways to feign weakness.
It was infuriating that Wu Ciyun was so blind—she looked steady and mature on the outside, but in truth, she was inexperienced and easily bewitched by a bit of charm.
Chu Mingyi slowly stood and approached Wu Ciyun, asking coldly, “Would you give me anything I wanted?”
Wu Ciyun was startled, and after what had just happened, she became alert and answered calmly, “That would depend on what General Chu wants.”
Chu Mingyi’s gaze brushed lightly over Wu Ciyun’s face, and images of the portraits found in Xiao Boming’s room floated through his mind.
Though the artist’s skill was extraordinary, paintings could only capture skin and bone, not spirit.
No amount of Danqing Brushwork could reproduce even a fraction of the presence of the person before him. At this moment, he suddenly felt he understood his brother a little.
Chu Mingyi lowered his eyes slightly.
The green, translucent string of beads wound around her snow-white wrist looked just like a willow branch budding with new leaves, wrapped in a handful of fresh snow.
“Then give me this hand bead.”
Chu Mingyi reached out and grasped her wrist.
Wu Ciyun instinctively tried to pull away, but he pressed down on her shoulder, and she could only watch as Chu Mingyi’s fingers slipped between the beads and her skin, slowly removing the Frost Jade Prayer Beads.
His fingertips lightly traced the warmth still lingering on the beads as he asked in return, “Lord Wu, can you bear to part with it?”
Wu Ciyun was displeased, but her face revealed nothing.
She replied gently, “It’s just a string of beads. What’s there to be reluctant about? If the General likes it, please take it.”
Chu Mingyi was not surprised by this answer.
He toyed with the beads in his hand and asked again, “Wu Ciyun, what is your name?”
Wu Ciyun was taken aback and hesitated, “Is the General asking about my courtesy name? My teacher first gave me the name Jiyi, but my teacher’s wife thought it was unsuitable, so she changed it to Wen’ai.”
“I’m asking about your original name.”
Chu Mingyi stared at her for a while and said blandly, “Before you changed your name to Wu Ciyun, what were you called?”
Wu Ciyun was silent for a moment.
She raised her eyes and met Chu Mingyi’s gaze, and spoke the name written on the travel permit she had gone to great lengths to obtain.
“He Yu.”
“I used to be called He Yu.”
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