The night was as dark as ink, and it was the third watch of the night. Among the tents, glimrs of firelight flickered like stars.
Chen Yi took a deep breath and gazed into the distance. The Capital City was hidden behind the pitch-black horizon. He had left Qin Qingluo and Zhu E quite coolly, but where to go afterward seed uncertain. He couldn’t just return to the camp and say he wanted to stay the night.
Chen Yi exhaled, thought for a mont, and then thought of soone. He walked briskly in that direction.
After practicing martial arts, his senses were sharper than ordinary people, especially since he had reached the Fourth Rank. He could hear everything happening in the camp clearly, naturally hearing when Min Ning lifted the curtain.
To be honest, his thod of humiliating Qin Qingluo then was a spur-of-the-mont idea, a sudden inspiration, as he never could have predicted that Min Ning would be brought to the camp by Qin Qingluo.
As for the impact of that scene on the inexperienced Min, Chen Yi couldn’t say.
The main commander’s tents were surrounded by empty ones—one reason was to host guests for the night, another to confuse and guard against assassins. Chen Yi searched a few places before finding Min Ning’s tent.
Inside the tent, Chen Yi listened for a while; it was completely quiet.
He lifted the curtain and walked in.
Almost in the next instant, a sword light slashed over.
The sharp blade was close to his throat. In the heavy darkness, those phoenix eyes were brimming with heroism.
"What are you doing? Still drunk?" Chen Yi was about to reach out to embrace her when Min Ning’s sword pressed closer.
Chen Yi stopped and looked slightly down at Min Ning.
"I should be asking you, what are you doing?"
Min Ning barked, even though there was still the sll of alcohol on her, her face had lost its flushed redness, and her expression was clear.
"Borrowing a bed for the night." Chen Yi said casually.
In fact, he could have just found any tent, but he was a little worried about this young swordsman, so he ca over.
Min Ning seed amused, saying with a bit of sourness, "Why not sleep on the Princess’s bed?"
Catching the hint of jealousy, Chen Yi imdiately understood and said with a grin, "You also know she’s the Prince’s Princess."
Min Ning gritted her teeth hard, the sword glinting, "You sly Chen Zunming. At first, I thought your previous misconduct was just a montary lapse, waiting to overturn the Lin Party. Later, you even told about your affection for boys, and I believed it. Seeing you act chivalrous and help out multiple tis, I thought perhaps I misjudged you, believing your conscience wasn’t completely gone. And now? After just a few days apart, you’ve beco a close friend of a prince with a different surna. A good Thousand Household of the West Factory has beco a traitor!"
"Hold on, I’m no traitor."
"Another twist, isn’t it?"
Min Ning asked fiercely.
"It really is a twist..."
"I don’t want to hear!"
Chen Yi was taken aback and retorted, "Then there’s no twist."
"That’s also a twist!"
Min Ning stared straight at the man in front of her. Under the dim night light, her hair was slightly ssy, and she was panting heavily, seemingly fuming. And at such tis, won are usually the hardest to deal with, except for Zhou Yitang.
The man in front of him, Chen Yi, remained silent for a long ti, and after Min Ning’s anger slightly abated, she collected her voice and said coldly:
"Are you a traitor or not?"
"No."
Upon hearing this, Min Ning was about to nod slightly, but then thought of sothing and asked again, "Really not?"
"Really, probably not."
Min Ning bit her lip, and given the situation, he was still not being serious. She took a deep breath, cald her nerves, and asked seriously:
"Why did you... dishonor the Princess?"
"Didn’t you hear her say it? She asked .
She is barren, and after many years of marriage, has no children. So, she asked for seeds," Chen Yi said righteously.
Min Ning felt unsettled, her brows furrowed with worry, and she said with a fierce tone:
"How co you bed any woman?"
Chen Yi shook his head, "Not really."
Min Ning frowned and asked, "What not?"
"I’ll bed you too."
Min Ning gripped the hilt of her sword hard, her knuckles turning white. Furious, she laughed:
"Alright, alright... how about now?"
Chen Yi looked at her in amazent, blinked, and said:
"You said it."
After saying this, Chen Yi stealthily reached over, and just as he touched Min Ning’s waist, she shivered.
Min Ning took a half-step back, her expression complicated, seething with uncontrollable anger. She clearly contemplated giving herself several tis, but now she suddenly stopped.
When he touched her, the image of him holding Yue Chi’s waist flashed through her mind.
But he had just ssed with another woman, and now he wanted to play with her?
Min Ning was indignant, filled with mixed emotions. Her face was frosty as she said:
"Reach over again, and I’ll end you with my sword."
Chen Yi obligingly stopped, and in his eyes, it seed he could see Min Ning’s emotions.
Both remained silent for a while, the night silent with the faint sound of insects around. Min Ning caught a whiff of the fragrance on Chen Yi, left by another woman, and felt a pang of bitterness, silently gritting her teeth.
This scene bore so resemblance to Qin Qingluo.
When it appeared on Qin Qingluo, Chen Yi would be excited, but now, seeing it on Min Ning, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of heartache, possibly a born libertine.
"Yue Chi..."
"Don’t call by my style na."
"Min Ning..."
"And don’t call by my na either."
"Alright, alright, Min Thousand Households, is that okay?" Chen Yi said helplessly.
Min Ning didn’t respond, as if by default.
Chen Yi spoke softly:
"I’m not exactly a good person, but you could say I have a conscience and value loyalty. As for the current situation, it’s a long story, quite complicated. All I can say is... my intentions are more or less good, though even if I explained it, you might not believe it."
"How can I believe if you don’t tell ?"
"Would you believe ?"
Min Ning took a deep breath and reluctantly said, "...I believe."
"Then I won’t say more."
Min Ning widened her eyes, her eyes reddening, unable to contain her anger: "What do you an by that?"
Chen Yi never intended to explain everything at all; whether right or wrong, he feared that doing so would only aggravate Min Ning’s jealousy, making the situation even more unmanageable.
Speaking in a gentle voice, he said: "Since you believe , there’s no need to say more, and besides... I do like you, don’t I? I worry you’ll get angry, which is why I don’t say more."
Min Ning wouldn’t possibly admit to being angry, and this soft-spoken approach made her relax her tone, saying:
"I just don’t want to misjudge soone. Now that you and the Prince of An Nan call each other old friends, companions even, no matter how you say it, he’s ultimately a traitor. So... I urge you to break this relationship. If you’re hesitant, I’ll draw my sword to sever it myself."
Even in relaxation, her words were muffled.
With Qin Qingluo carrying his child, how could Chen Yi simply break off, not to ntion Zhu E, who held significant value. He smiled bitterly, saying:
"It’s not as simple as just breaking it off. I’m telling you so much because you aren’t an outsider."
"I’m not an outsider, so what is the Princess of An Nan to you? An insider?"
Hearing this, Min Ning’s emotions were unsettled. She took an excited half-step forward. If not for the sword in her hand, she might have pressed into Chen Yi’s embrace, and despite her sword moving closer, Chen Yi did not retreat an inch.
"Sothing like that..."
"But she’s soone else’s wife!"
Min Ning gritted her teeth and then realized sothing pressed against her, startling her,
"How are you getting more excited?!"
Chen Yi feigned innocence with a cough before changing the topic:
"I can’t just casually sever this relationship, even for your sake. Actually, the bond between us is far deeper than with Qin Qingluo. We t in dire straits, forming a friendship willing to die for each other..."
"I’ll slit your throat right now."
Min Ning fud, her sword trembling as if to end him with one strike.
Chen Yi instead laughed, pinching the blade with two fingers. The sword humd, yet no matter how hard Min Ning tried, it didn’t get any closer to his neck.
"Let go," Min Ning coldly commanded.
"Have you ever considered that you might actually be unable to beat ?" Chen Yi asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Min Ning’s pupils contracted, and her hand gripping the sword shivered.
Indeed, she couldn’t beat him.
And he could overpower her.
With no one around, a man and a woman alone in a room...
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