Chapter 103

Zhang Lin was scared half to death by Qi Yue's words. He stumbled and fell down in the mud, unable to speak properly: "Qi, General Qi?"

Qi Yue's dark gaze looked at Zhang Lin. With a wave of his hand, the soldiers behind him immediately moved to tie up the group of people who had threatened to rebel within a few moments.

He ignored the howling Zhang Lin and instead took the lead in walking towards the youth standing in the rain. He lifted his hand and spread his cloak, shielding the man he had longed for from the rain.

A day without seeing you is like being apart for three years.

Qi Yue finally really felt the meaning of these words. He greedily traced the young man's clear and elegant eyebrows, and only after a long time did he say in a warm voice: "I came late."

Seeing this person standing so recklessly beside the Grand Prince, the guard behind Qing Yun wanted to block him. He wanted to give a stern word but thought of the words that Court Elder Wei Lin instructed them when they left the capital: "Do not expose the identity of His Highness outside and remember to be careful of General Qi Yue.

Now that he has seen General Qi, who they needed to be "more careful" of, look so close to His Highness, the guard's face reddened. He could only manage to stifle a line to Qing Yun: "Gongzi...this person..."

Qing Yun waved his hand to stop the guard's movement to go forward. He tilted his head smilingly, looking at the man whose eyes were full of longing: "Oh? Where is General Qi late? Is it because you are late to see your unmarried wife? Miss Zhang just ran away not long ago. The General should have met her on the way."

This implied sour words involuntarily came out of his mouth. Qing Yun frowned with some regret, so his face turned cold again.

Qi Yue looked at him and felt that this person's knitted brows and smiles were beautiful. Whether it was the light mocking smile earlier or the slightly cold and solemn frown now, he was swayed by it.

He lowered his head filled with hunger and thirst but was unaware of it as he approached the young man's face and whispered: "Miss Zhang? What does it have to do with me? I never agreed to that marriage."

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When Zhang Lin heard Qi Yue's words, he knelt down and howled, "General Qi, your marriage with my daughter was granted by the Emperor!"

He took off his cloak and draped it over the youth and approached Zhang Lin in stride. He pulled the man by the neck and said, "I, Qi Yue, would rather resist the decree and suffer beheading than marry a woman I don't like, let alone the daughter of a brute like you!

Watching these two confront each other, the guard came to Qing Yun's ear and said hesitantly, "Sir, this man is extremely dangerous. How should we act?"

"No hindrance." Qing Yun shook his head indifferently.

But the surrounding refugees who heard the guard's words made up their minds. Knowing that General Qi, the newcomer, might be detrimental to the Grand Prince, they gathered around and looked at Qi Yue defensively. At the same time, they were careful with their words, learning from the guard and not daring to reveal the identity of the Grand Prince.

After collecting Zhang Lin, Qi Yue arranged for his soldiers to take over these people to deal with the flooding problem and then returned to Qing Yun.

Seeing the defensive people around the youth, Qi Yue cried and laughed with a sense of pride. Everyone could see the good nature of the young man, who only came to Xiangzhou for a few days and was already so loved by the people of Xiangzhou.

Only the Grand Prince ...

Qi Yue's eyes flashed a trace of displeasure. He came closer, took the youth's hand, and said: "How come you only brought so few people here? The Grand Prince does not know the danger of Xiangzhou?"

Seeing that the man simply settled the marriage issue, the depression in Qing Yun's heart these days finally dissipated. Even the man's verbal disrespect did not lead to his anger. Instead, he also leisurely raised his eyes to look at the complex expression on the man's face. This look really let Qing Yun discover something interesting.

When this fool mentioned the Grand Prince, how come there was a bright shining sourness in his eyes?

A trace of playfulness flashed in Qing Yun's eyes. His interest was piqued, so he deliberately said in a defensive tone: "The Grand Prince is naturally well prepared for everything."

When these words came out, Qing Yun obviously felt the man's hand holding his palm tighten for a moment, while at the same time, the jealousy in those dark eyes almost boiled over.

Hearing the youth defend the Grand Prince once again, Qi Yue's heart seemed to be stirred by a sharp sword inserted into it, causing his eyes to redden with pain.

How could he mention others so tenderly? Between them...should only be each other...

The jealousy in Qi Yue's heart stirred up, causing certain thoughts sealed in his heart to break out. But the previous scene of denigrating the Grand Prince and making the youth angry was still fresh in his mind, so Qi Yue could only suppress his anger towards the Grand Prince.

Seeing the suppressed jealousy in the man's eyes, Qing Yun simply wanted to laugh out loud.

This fool!

He didn't expect that this man was so stupid and unique in every life. Not only did he not recognize him, but he was also jealous of him?

The depression in Qing Yun's heart caused by Zhang Luoyan finally disappeared. He looked at the struggle in the man's eyes, and a kind of pleasure even rose up in him.

Oh, treat him as a confidant? Then let him live with this jealousy for the rest of his life! Qing Yun's mind was even calculating how to make the illusion that he and the Grand Prince were actually two people.

Seeing that it was about to rain again, they had to go back to the city first.

When they heard that the Grand Prince had returned, the people of Xiangzhou immediately came out to greet him. When they saw the figure of the Grand Prince from afar, the people of the city knelt down and said sincerely, "Greetings to the Grand Prince!"

"Welcome back to the city, Grand Prince."

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"The Grand Prince has worked hard!"

Although these calls are not neat, the prevailing sentiment is sincere. Anyone who hears it can see that the people must be incredibly convinced of this Grand Prince.

Seeing this welcome from the people, Qi Yue subconsciously froze and looked suspiciously at the youth beside him. When he saw the jade pendant around the youth's waist, he suddenly realized: "I didn't expect Yan Sa to give you the jade pendant that symbolizes his identity. To see the jade pendant as the Grand Prince himself, this is something he has done well."

Seeing that the Grand Prince's personal jade pendant was hanging on the youth's waist, Qi Yue's tone was more sour. The sourness was only slightly relieved when he reached out and gathered the cloak on the young man.

Qing Yun smiled and glanced at Qi Yue.

When he saw the people of Xiangzhou welcoming him, he secretly thought it was bad. He only thought that letting this man know the truth so soon was really a bargain for this man, but he didn't expect that he had overestimated this man's intelligence.

Qi Yue was able to sit in the position of General and is certainly not a stupid person. However, the first time he saw this young man, it was like piling every good word in the world onto this person, so how could he associate him with the Grand Prince who had a bad reputation? This is especially so after noticing the "close" relationship between the youth and the Grand Prince.

Qi Yue followed Qing Yun all the way. He walked around for half of Xiangzhou and already understood the situation of the people of Xiangzhou very well before.

By the time he returned to his residence, Qi Yue was already full of guilt. He looked at the youth, who was wearing a sarcastic smile and covered his face and laughed bitterly, "Xiangfeng, don't look at me like this. the people of Xiangzhou have fallen into such a situation, I, Qi Yue, really...have committed an unforgivable sin!"

"Hmph, so you know that." Seeing that this person revealed a disheveled appearance, Qing Yun had the mercy to lift his foot and kick this man's calf.

He was incomparably guilty of the people of Xiangzhou. He hated Zhang Lin to the bone, but what ultimately made him reveal such a messy state was the fear in his heart.

He was afraid that the youth might have a bad impression of him in his heart because of this. But the rubbing of the youth's toes seemed to reach the bottom of his heart, making Qi Yue settle down in an instant.

He couldn't help but reveal a smile and put up a face: "Yes, I deserve to die. My sin is unforgivable, Xiangfeng, punish me!"

"How can I have the ability to punish General Qi, who was sent by the Third Prince to control the flood?" Qing Yun hummed and laughed. His upturned phoenix eyes gently scraping a glance at the man who had started showing off his foolishness again.

Hearing the youth mention the Third Prince, Qi Yue did not argue with him about the matter of the crown prince. He thought about it and took the youth's hand again, with a smile in his eyes, and said, "I know that Xiangfeng supports the Grand Prince, but I do not. Why don't you and I have a competition to see if you can put the Grand prince on the throne, or I can support someone else to the throne?"

"Oh?" Not being able to read this man's mind, Qing Yun raised his chin and suddenly smiled, "In comparison, do you think I will be afraid of you?"

Anyway, the last person to win will always be him. He can guarantee that no matter who this man wants to support the throne, he will eventually bow down when he knows that the Grand prince is him.

Looking at the young man's rare proud and cunning look, Qi Yue greedily stared at him. Still, his heart has decided. Even if he carries the reputation of a traitor, and even if he leaves a stain of ungratefulness in the history books, he will support Xiangfeng to the throne.

There are thousands of dangers in this world. Although that supreme position is also not peaceful, it can always deter most schemes and tricks. He will keep the youth safe for a lifetime even if he has to go through a lot of trouble.

Since his heart is for the world, he will give him a position where he can greatly display his strength rather than resign himself to the Grand Prince.

The Northern General Qi Yue came to Xiangzhou?

Knowing this news, the people of Xiangzhou panicked. After all, Zhang Lin used Qi Yue's reputation to harm Xiangzhou in all directions. The people of Xiangzhou really do not have any good feelings towards Qi Yue. Instead, they are as apprehensive as facing Zhang Lin.

Some people said comfortingly, "Don't panic. There is the Grand Prince. This Northern General won't dare to cause trouble!"

But the people who saw the reaction of Qing Yun's guard were full of seriousness: "I heard that General Qi is under the command of the Third Prince, I'm afraid it will be harmful to the Grand Prince. We saw that the guard behind the Grand Prince did not dare to expose the identity of the Grand Prince in front of that Qi Yue. This Northern General is not doing anything out of the ordinary. We must not drag the Grand Prince down."

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"Yes, yes, yes, we must not let that Qi Yue be adverse to the Grand Prince!" The people of Xiangzhou are now very convinced of Qing Yun. Who cares who sent this General? They are benefited by the Grand Prince. As long as it is not good for the Grand Prince, it is an enemy to them.

Such words spread quickly, and all Xiangzhou people were on the matter. As long as Qi Yue was around, none of them dared to point out the identity of the Grand Prince.

The other person who knew that Qi Yue had come to Xiangzhou was Zhang Luoyan, the daughter of Zhang Lin.

Zhang Luoyan is not a foolish person and is not a lady who never goes out of the door. She began to intervene in the family business early. It was her own idea and personally helped Zhang Lin deter the imperial envoys from the court. Even the previous appearance of pleading for mercy when she ran to the land where the flood was being treated was just a false show. The purpose of Zhang Luoyan's visit was to tell Zhang Lin about the situation of the people around the Grand Prince in the city to help him plot against him.

But Zhang Luoyan never expected that after the Grand Prince, Qi Yue himself also came to Xiangzhou. Without saying a word, he suppressed her father's rebellion that had been planned for days.

Now, Zhang Luoyan would not be so stupid as to think that Qi Yue really has any feelings for her, but the rumors in the city still make Zhang Luyan have a plan in mind.

Currently, General Qi Yue is under the command of the Third Prince, so he is naturally at odds with the Grand Prince. Now, Qi Yue does not know that the imperial envoy is the Grand Prince himself, so the calm is maintained between the two.

However, Zhang Luoyan does not intend to let the calm between the two continue. She took advantage of the lack of people around to run to the courtyard and picked up a few extremely delicate flowers on the stagnant water in the yard.

Looking at these few flowers, though fallen, their fragrance is highly tempting. A touch of shrewdness seeped out of Zhang Luoyan's eyes. She did not know how far the grudge between this Qi Yue and the Grand Prince was. Still, she expected that as long as a man knew that his fiancée was forced to be defiled by others, he would hate that person to the bone, even if she was not to his liking.

Hiding that flower in her arms, Zhang Luoyan hurriedly left, and the shrewdness in those eyes had turned to clear smugness.

The conflict between the two men would erupt, and she, the weak woman who was the victim, happened to be able to survive in the crevice. And with her observation of that Grand Prince in the past few days, she might even be able to take advantage of this man's guilt to save her father in one go.