Proof is necessary
Silence. There was dead silence after Long Cheng declared Lu Meili as his mate. He could see the rapid changes going on the soldiers' faces. Some were surprised but there were also those who were looking at them with hurt and confusion which was totally understandable.
'Yeah. Right, all that hassle that you did earlier for me was, for chasing my mate.' Long Cheng thought to himself sarcastically. As if he had another choice. He also could not blame Lu Meili for running away since she was being chased by Long Jun's soldiers and she probably did it out of her survival instincts which were a normal reaction.
To make matters worse, his other cousin Long Xu, had decided to 'help' by flashing Lu Meili's face in the news, letting all the citizens in the country know about the current mad chase that was taking place. They were bound to make assumptions that Lu Meili had made a very disturbing crime to the point of involving the royal soldiers.