Chapter 58: A Bond of Life and Death Rooted in Mutual Reliance

Just at that moment, the fine wine ordered by Luo Yunyao for the cold and composed young gentleman and Qin Jinghao had arrived.

"The gentleman over there asks me to pass along a message for you: 'Sir, as a man of Tiansheng, your refined and exquisite insights regarding our Western Qin's political affairs just now have truly opened our eyes and won our utmost admiration. Since you are a guest from afar, how could we possibly let you propose the toast? Please accept this humble token of our respect, and we hope you will not decline it.'" As the waiter spoke, he could not help but wink and continue to praise the tavern's own wine, "My lord, this is the finest wine in our establishment. You certainly have a refined palate!"

The aloof young gentleman did not even bother to look at the waiter; he merely waved his hand to dismiss him. He did not ask the waiter to pass any message back to Qin Jinghao and his companion, not even a simple "thank you."

He was truly a young man with a proud backbone—or rather, a proud spirit.

His gaze, which had originally rested on Qin Jinghao, slowly shifted to Luo Yunyao.

Meeting the gentleman's gaze, Luo Yunyao raised her wine cup—though it actually contained only tea—as a gesture, smiled at him, and drained the cup in one breath.

Luo Yunyao could also see that this aloof gentleman was a perceptive person. He knew Qin Jinghao's character, and he knew that this gentle, breeze-like, jade-like noble and detached young gentleman could never have uttered such remarks. In fact, given the Grand General Qin's personality, being able to offer that aloof gentleman a faint, almost imperceptible smile and drink a cup of wine with him was already a rare feat that showed immense respect.

However, he was a guest from Tiansheng.

The corners of the aloof gentleman's lips curled upward into a slight arc, and he did not lower his head to check himself for any flaws or omissions. Instead, he gave Luo Yunyao and Qin Jinghao a look of admiration.

Naturally, he knew that his Western Qin attire had not the slightest flaw. It would not be like Luo Yunyao when she had first arrived, giving herself away because of some minor hanging ornaments.

That aloof gentleman even knew that his accent and deportment completely matched the refined style of a Western Qin nobleman.

Meeting the gentleman's somewhat sharp gaze, Luo Yunyao maintained the smile on her face, but upon closer inspection, one could tell that her unhurried composure was clearly forced.

Secretly, Luo Yunyao pulled Qin Jinghao's warm hand over. Her slender, fair, and evenly proportioned fingers were as delicate as scallions as she wrote in Qin Jinghao's palm: *Are you really certain that fellow is from Tiansheng? Don't get it wrong, or how terribly awkward that would be.*

Yet, knowing that Qin Jinghao was not as careless as she was, Luo Yunyao knew he naturally wouldn't make a mistake. Driven by sudden curiosity, her fingers twitched and lingered teasingly in Qin Jinghao's palm, hesitating.

Using the neat, regular script of standard clerical calligraphy, Luo Yunyao wrote: *That aside, why are your eyes so sharp? Back then you could tell I was from Biluo, and now you can spot someone else from Tiansheng. Does the Grand General have nothing better to do than make a living by sizing people up?*

Luo Yunyao's heart was itching with curiosity, to the point that even her prized clerical script—honed under the Grand General's strict supervision—began to take on the casual, scribbled look of running script.

Feeling the characters being traced by those soft, delicate, and gentle fingers against his palm, the Grand General knitted his brows. Although it was only a slight furrow, everyone knew he was a jade-like, detached nobleman who rarely showed any expression. For him to make such a gesture was enough to demonstrate how seriously he regarded Luo Yunyao's failure to write properly.

The Grand General thought to himself that it had indeed been quite some days since he last supervised the young lady of his heart—this Ministry of War official, Lord Luo—in practicing her calligraphy. If she wrote like this now, even without Yue Liuxi putting in a good word before the emperor, the emperor would gradually grow to dislike Luo Yunyao as the Minister of War. The emperor was an absolute calligraphy fanatic; without a fine hand, one could hardly hope to get ahead in the imperial court. Of course, the pinnacle of calligraphy right here was none other than Grand General Qin Jinghao, a fact praised by the emperor himself in person. However, no matter how exquisite Qin Jinghao's calligraphy was, it could not dispel the emperor's wariness toward him. After all, as a sovereign, a ruler's greatest desire would always remain above tens of thousands, holding the entire realm in solitary supremacy.

Using the pretext and angle of picking up a dish of food, the Grand General mouthed a single sentence to Luo Yunyao: *Cangshu is the intelligence network for the entire realm.*

Luo Yunyao could not suppress her astonishment, her mouth forming the round shape of an "O."

Luo Yunyao had always thought Cangshu was comparable to Du Runsheng—though putting it that way didn't seem quite right either. After all, the Minister of Revenue's son only lacked focus when lingering in the flower districts and willow lanes, acting as a frivolous and dissipated young master who loved to deceive innocent and kind-hearted maidens while embracing beauties on both arms. At all other times, he was quite serious about his duties, especially when championing justice for others—something evident from how he and Luo Yunyao had first met, where the Minister of Revenue's son had actually helped his own competitor, none other than Luo Yunyao, who was destined to become the top scholar in the imperial examinations.

Luo Yunyao had always felt that Cangshu was even more frivolous, lingering among flowers, completely unreliable, and a typical good-for-nothing young lord who specialized in deceiving pitiful courtesans or girls in the flush of youth.

For a very long time at the beginning, Luo Yunyao had wondered why Qin Jinghao could be good friends with someone like Cangshu—one being a jade-like, detached noble far above the worldly dust, and the other a dissolute young master wading through countless blossoms, tainted with the scent of the mortal and even red-light districts. How could two people separated by such a gulf of clouds and mud possibly be close friends?

Luo Yunyao could only comfort herself by thinking that perhaps their personalities complemented one another, which was why they could converse, learn from each other, and naturally share their innermost thoughts.

Well! Anyway, as long as the Grand General wasn't led astray by someone as unreliable and dissolute as Cangshu, that was all that mattered; she couldn't possibly manage everything else. Truly, her own taste was beyond reproach—the man of her heart was indeed an untainted, peerlessly wonderful and auspicious husband material emerging untainted from the mud. That was what Luo Yunyao had thought when she and Qin Jinghao committed to loving and guarding one another for life.

Now, hearing Qin Jinghao's brief, understated introduction regarding Cangshu's identity, Luo Yunyao finally gained a proper understanding of their relationship.

Those who seemed on the surface to be separated by a gulf of clouds and mud were not necessarily so at their core.

One was a Grand General who appeared infinitely glorious, respected and revered by tens of thousands; the other was the head of an intelligence network woven like a spiderweb behind the scenes. To be able to extend a web of connections to every corner—whether in Western Qin, Biluo, or Tiansheng—spanning the intelligence organizations of the entire continent...

Just thinking about it made Luo Yunyao feel immensely grateful and fortunate for Cangshu's existence. It was precisely because of Cangshu that Qin Jinghao was an undefeated, ever-victorious Grand General.

Admittedly, the man of her heart, Grand General Qin, was an exceptional military commander skilled in divine tactics and peerless in martial arts. Yet an outstanding military leader could not emerge victorious every single time, let alone achieve victories so brilliantly. At least half of the God of War Qin Jinghao's success was brought to him by luck and timing. Luo Yunyao had previously naively thought this was bestowed by the heavens. Now it seemed, following her naive train of thought, Cangshu was that very heaven. With Cangshu's existence and intelligence, Qin Jinghao was an undefeated Grand General and a legendary commander of an era. Even more bluntly, because of Cangshu's existence, Qin Jinghao remained that jade-like noble gentleman of the streets.

Luo Yunyao simply dared not imagine how heartbroken she would be if Qin Jinghao were missing limbs, nor could she imagine what would happen if Qin Jinghao were to die—whether before or after she had met him, she would simply be unable to survive. A life without having met Qin Jinghao was so utterly insipid; she understood that Qin Jinghao was the very meaning of her life. Putting aside grand notions of country, duty, and great ambitions, simply because of Qin Jinghao, Luo Yunyao was a joyful, fulfilled, and happy person. She was a human being because of him. To have met Qin Jinghao and then lose him... such days were simply unimaginable, akin to having one's entire bone marrow forcibly extracted from the body. The extraction itself would be a living hell, and the days that followed would make one hate the very fact of being alive.

The more Luo Yunyao thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed. Finally, with trembling fingers, she wrote in the Grand General's warm palm: *Thank him.*

Departing completely from her usual chatterbox loquaciousness, her reply was unexpectedly concise.

Meanwhile, the Grand General, who had been contemplating how to continue urging Ministry Official Luo to practice her calligraphy, had things to say to Luo Yunyao and therefore did not pay too much attention to her abnormality.

Still pondering how to phrase his reprimand and urge Luo Yunyao to practice her calligraphy properly, the Grand General's handsome brows, which had already been slightly furrowed, deepened by another fold when he felt the awkward characters written by Ministry Official Luo. Without thinking, he replied to Luo Yunyao: "Thank him for what? You'd better hurry up and thank yourself for somehow managing to write words at all when you haven't been practicing properly."

Although harsh, these words were spoken in the Grand General's customary deep and unhurried tone, possessing little destructive power over the absent-minded Ministry Official Luo.

Luo Yunyao even softly and matter-of-factly replied to Qin Jinghao: "I'm thanking Cangshu for providing you with intelligence and information, otherwise how could I have ever met someone as wonderful as you, or possessed someone so good." Ministry Official Luo completely ignored the core of what the Grand General had been saying—his original purpose of urging her to practice her calligraphy—and instead continued with a satisfied, hands-cupped-over-her-heart expression: "Thank you, Cangshu, for letting me meet the destined, greatest husband material in the entire world."

Qin Jinghao rarely heard Luo Yunyao utter such deeply affectionate confessions rather than her usual flippant remarks—*husband material*, *the greatest love of this life*.

Even someone as aloof and jade-like as him could not help but be momentarily stunned. The deep furrow between his brows relaxed entirely, and he replied with a tone of nonchalance: "It's merely a mutual exchange of what each other needs. Otherwise, why would you think Cangshu's intelligence network just happens to be the largest in Western Qin?" A rare hint of pride tinged his words. "Besides, without him, did you think I wouldn't be worthy of the title of the continent's number one God of War?"

Having said that, Qin Jinghao glanced sideways at Luo Yunyao. The Grand General was not someone easily fooled; he still remembered his main point: "As for you, what are you going to do about your calligraphy without me?"

Luo Yunyao thought to herself that her husband material was indeed not some blindly loyal fool who followed principles to the death. He knew how to protect his own interests and how to secure the greatest rights and benefits for the common people.