Chapter 199
"You\'re really amazing!" she exclaimed.
Qin Yuchuan looked up and saw Feng Qingyi close by. "Is there anything else I need to learn?" he asked.
"Let\'s just stick with these for now. I\'ll teach you more later!" she replied.
Qin Yuchuan reached out and pulled Feng Qingyi into his arms. "Alright," he said.
Feng Qingyi didn\'t mind such intimate contact; in fact, she rather enjoyed it. Feeling his warmth, she took the initiative to kiss his lips lightly.
"That\'s not enough," he murmured.
"What more do you want?" Feng Qingyi looked at him mischievously.
Qin Yuchuan answered her question with action. He stood up, lifted Feng Qingyi, and placed her on the desk. One hand gripped her slender waist, while the other tilted her chin up. He leaned in and kissed her deeply.
This kiss was forceful and dominating. Feng Qingyi felt her heart racing and her face burning. Qin Yuchuan seemed to have no intention of letting her go easily, continuously kissing her passionately.
His hot breath enveloped her, and she felt surrounded by his presence. She wrapped her arms tightly around him.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally released her. Seeing her slightly swollen red lips from the kiss, Qin Yuchuan gently touched them with his fingers.
They gazed at each other, and Feng Qingyi was the first to surrender, burying her face in his chest.
Qin Yuchuan held her tightly in his arms. "Qingyi, I love you!" he declared.
Hearing these words, Feng Qingyi was stunned. If she remembered correctly, this was the first time he had said he loved her. Even when he confessed his feelings before, he had only said he admired her.
"...I love you too!" she responded.
Feng Qingyi wasn\'t stingy with expressing her emotions. Perhaps before it was just fondness, but now she knew she had fallen in love with him.
Qin Yuchuan was pleased with Feng Qingyi\'s directness. Although she was still shy, she always gave him the response he most desired.
"So, will you marry me and be my one and only wife for life?" he asked.
Feng Qingyi sat up straight. "...Are you serious?"
Qin Yuchuan replied, "Does Qingyi think I\'m joking?"
"But there\'s no proper ceremony, no diamond ring, no flowers, and I haven\'t even graduated yet..." she protested, thinking this proposal was a bit too casual.
"If all these conditions were met, would you be willing to marry me?" Qin Yuchuan persisted.
Feng Qingyi thought for a moment. "That would depend on how you treat me. If you\'re not good to me in the future, I certainly wouldn\'t be willing."
"Alright, I understand what you mean. Qingyi, I\'m very happy," he said.
Feng Qingyi felt a bit confused. She didn\'t think she had agreed to anything, so what was there to be happy about?
Qin Yuchuan embraced her again and kissed her forehead. "You\'ll have everything you want."
"...Let go of me now. I need to go paint. You should leave!" Feng Qingyi gently pushed Qin Yuchuan, but instead of moving him, she ended up pushing herself further into his arms.
"Is Qingyi always so contradictory? Saying you want to send me away, but then throwing yourself into my arms!" he teased.
"I did not! You pulled me in. How annoying!" she protested.
Qin Yuchuan pinched her cheek lightly. "Alright, it was me."
"It really was you. I really need to go paint now."
With that, Feng Qingyi got down from the desk and hurriedly left the room.
Qin Yuchuan watched her flee in embarrassment, a smile playing on his lips.
...
At the Tianqi military camp, Qin Yuchuan\'s good mood was visibly apparent in recent days.
Yan Chi and Yan Yang, being the only two who knew about his ability to meet with Feng Qingyi, could only privately speculate about what had happened.
Yan Chi said, "Since the General returned the night before last, he seems to be in a great mood. I guess it must have something to do with Miss Qingyi."
Yan Yang replied, "Isn\'t that obvious? The General can only see Miss Qingyi, no one else. So, what do you think happened?"
Yan Chi pondered, "The General left in the evening and didn\'t return until the next night. What do you think that means?"
"Are you suggesting that the General and Miss Qingyi shared a bed and... you know?" Yan Yang whispered.
Given the General\'s character, he probably wouldn\'t do such a thing. After all, he hasn\'t married Miss Qingyi yet, and doing so would ruin her reputation.
Yan Chi cautioned, "Keep your voice down."
Yan Yang continued, "I don\'t think the General would do that. Miss Qingyi\'s house has many bedrooms, so it\'s not like the General had nowhere else to sleep."
"Sharing a room with Miss Qingyi before marriage would damage her reputation. The General isn\'t the kind of person who would do that."
Yan Chi argued, "Miss Qingyi\'s world is different from ours. Who knows, by the time we finish this war and return, the General might even have a child."
Na Muqi, overhearing their whispered conversation, approached them but only caught the word "child."
"What are you two whispering about? What child?" he asked.
Yan Chi quickly responded, "What child? Na Muqi, you must have misheard."
Na Muqi looked at the two of them suspiciously. "If I misheard, then what were you talking about?"
Yan Yang improvised, "We were saying that the General has been in such a good mood lately, it\'s as if he\'s had a child!"
Na Muqi replied, "The General is in a good mood because we\'ve won battles. The commander of the Southern Border forces isn\'t very capable. If things continue to go this smoothly, we might be able to return to the capital soon!"
"We initially thought their commander was formidable, but it turns out he\'s not much. With three consecutive victories, our morale is high, and the situation is very favorable for us."
Yan Yang added, "I hope everything continues to go smoothly. I\'m starting to miss the roast chicken from Shengjing."
"We can\'t even hunt for game in these Southern Border lands. I\'m getting tired of the camp food."
Na Muqi responded, "We should be grateful to have food at all. I\'m going to the main tent for a meeting. You\'ve all worked hard these past few days, go rest up."
After Na Muqi left, Yan Chi and Yan Yang returned to their tents.
...
In the Southern Border military camp, the atmosphere was gloomy.
Murong Yi sat in the main seat, silent. The others also sat quietly.
After a long while, Murong Yi finally spoke, "Does anyone know where Rong Sheng is now?"
"It\'s said that Rong Sheng went to Tianqi, but the specific reason is unknown."
"Send a message immediately, tell him to return at once!"
The losses had been too severe. If Rong Sheng couldn\'t return quickly, Murong Yi didn\'t know what to do.
"Your Highness, this defeat was due to your strategic error, which led to our heavy losses. You should bear the consequences," someone spoke up.
Murong Yi suddenly stood up. "When I proposed an active offensive, none of you objected. Now you want to push all the blame onto me? That\'s absurd! With such a problem, none of you can escape responsibility!"
"We said that day that we should follow Military Advisor Rong Sheng\'s strategy. It was Your Highness who insisted on attacking. You are the commander-in-chief, Your Highness. You can\'t avoid responsibility for such a problem."