Chapter 59: Unspoiled

Luo Yunyao was deeply worried that Qin Jinghao was a blindly loyal and obedient youth. If that were the case, her desire to restore her country would only place a heavy burden on him, which would make her truly guilty. She did not want Qin Jinghao to help her while harboring internal guilt.

However, since the Great General Qin was capable of selling certain information regarding Western Qin to Cangshu, it showed that Qin Jinghao was not actually all that devoted to Western Qin.

Understandably so, given the existence of such an emperor and the way he had been treated. That emperor had reduced Qin Jinghao from the vibrant, high-spirited prime of his youth into this moderate and cautious persona. Just thinking about this reality made Luo Yunyao feel an immense pang of heartache, let alone the fact that Qin Jinghao had simply accepted it.

With these thoughts in mind, Luo Yunyao relaxed her hand and slipped it directly into Qin Jinghao's palm.

Her slender hand and his large, lightly calloused palm intertwined tightly.

Luo Yunyao whispered softly to Qin Jinghao, "When can we return to Biluo and live together as an ordinary, humble young couple in Biluo? To lead the idyllic life, just like the utopian sanctuary you adore so much."

Qin Jinghao did not ask Luo Yunyao why she was so certain that he longed for an idyllic, utopian life.

Instead, with a gentle, faint, and teasing smile, he replied to her, "Is Your Ladyship not educating your own citizens?" He spoke slowly and deliberately, continuing to press her further, "Are you not going to govern a nation where no one picks up lost property on the roads?" The Great General Qin leaned in toward Luo Yunyao with a trace of subtle pressure, continuing his inquiry, "Are you not going to become the Empress of Biluo?"

Qin Jinghao paused for a moment, slowly, slightly, revealing a smile: "My Elder Princess?"

His voice as he spoke was serene, carrying a gentle and tender warmth.

Caught entirely off guard, Luo Yunyao met Qin Jinghao's smile, thinking to herself that it truly could not possibly be any more breathtaking.

No one picking up lost property on the road? A world shared by all.

The sunlight was shattered into pieces by the swaying leaves, casting a brilliant, shimmering golden glow. It sounded faintly as if it were the sound of scattered sunlight, or perhaps the melody of fluttering leaves.

The well-fed Minister of War, Lord Luo, holding hands with the Great General Qin, leisurely continued strolling down the broad avenue.

By the time Luo Yunyao and Qin Jinghao snapped back to their senses and turned to look for that cold, aloof young nobleman, only a table and a table's worth of leftover dishes remained.

The person had long since vanished without a trace. Luo Yunyao thought to herself that since they were supposed to be acquaintances, leaving just like that without a single word was simply lacking in any manners whatsoever—trially typical of someone from Tiansheng.

In the end, the Elder Princess of Biluo failed to give any conclusive answer under the Great General Qin's pressing inquiries.

As for Luo Yunyao's tactic of pretending not to hear his question and thus leaving it unanswered, Qin Jinghao chose to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to it as well.

Luo Yunyao was indeed actively avoiding an answer to that question. As the rightful surviving member of Biluo's royal family, restoring the nation was her unshirkable responsibility. But what would come after the restoration? Governing the country, ruling the people. She would have to dedicate every ounce of her energy to the administration of Biluo. By reason and by logic, this ought to be Luo Yunyao's duty, but this duty was simply too heavy—it would require her to mortgage her entire life. Luo Yunyao did not want to shoulder this responsibility; it was far too heavy.

In fact, for Luo Yunyao, merely restoring the country was already a monumental task; she did not even want to deal with that, let alone govern a nation.

She only wanted to stay with Qin Jinghao, to watch over him, and for the two of them to live out their lives in peace and safety—that would be more than enough.

The more she thought along these lines, the less inclined Luo Yunyao felt to investigate the case. Besides, she was currently out on a stroll with the Great General Qin! This was a once-in-a-lifetime, hard-earned opportunity; how could she possibly fail to seize the moment?

Luo Yunyao turned her head to gaze intently at Qin Jinghao's profile, while simultaneously attempting to stick out the tip of her tongue to taste something. Yet, the moment the tip of her tongue emerged, she knew she had gained nothing. The Great General Qin had demanded that the Minister of War, Lord Luo—who had overeaten at the tavern—must take a proper walk, and the most crucial part was that he refused to grant her any post-meal snacks!

Recalling earlier, Luo Yunyao had even argued with him logically and retorted: "Who is to blame for me eating too much?! It was clearly because you kept piling food onto my bowl, wasn't it, Great General Qin?!"

The Great General Qin in question had maintained a completely expressionless face, answering her with total calm and detachment: "Eating too much is eating too much."

Luo Yunyao was suddenly left entirely speechless, dumbfounded for a few moments.

Naturally, the Great General Qin reached out to ruffle Luo Yunyao's hair, his expression turning gentle: "I will keep you company. Neither of us will eat anything."

Luo Yunyao had been trying her hardest to hold back her tears just a moment ago, hoping to use them to melt the Great General Qin's iron heart and turn his steely resolve into gentleness. But the very second she heard Qin Jinghao's words, her actions halted instantly, and with a complete lack of backbone, she surrendered to his gentle offensive.

Failure was the final outcome.

Luo Yunyao was gazing resentfully at Qin Jinghao's profile with these thoughts swirling in her mind.

However, the Great General Qin turned his head and, unable to bear it any longer, met the gaze of the Minister of War who had been staring at him for quite some time.

Luo Yunyao remained completely oblivious to this development.

Instead, Qin Jinghao slowly let out the arc of what looked suspiciously like a smile, and then, with doting helplessness, said to Luo Yunyao, "You're about to drool."

True to form, Luo Yunyao raised a hand to wipe the corner of her mouth with a start. Showing not an ounce of self-awareness regarding her lack of decorum or how shameful this behavior was, the little schemes in her mind immediately surfaced. She figured this was a prime opportunity to badger the Great General Qin for post-meal snacks. Just as she was about to say, "Are you blaming me for lacking manners and poise now? Who is the one who made my mouth water over those delicious foods in the first place?! You're the one who won't allow a glutton like me to eat! Great General Qin, you should take responsibility!"

Who could have predicted that the Great General Qin would give her no chance to speak at all? Instead, continuing in that pleasant, unhurried voice of his, he said, "Am I really that good-looking? Do you like me that much? Hmm?"

Luo Yunyao noticed that the Great General Qin was smiling remarkably often today. Could this ice-mountain jade beauty actually be melting under the influence of her harsh weather, which was apparently even more potent than global warming?

This bore not a single remaining trademark of the Great General Qin.

However, upholding whatever scraps of dignity she had managed to scrape together with great difficulty, the Minister of War, Lord Luo, gently pushed the Great General Qin away to signal her refusal. Then, widening her apricot-like eyes with a captivating and alluring glare, she demanded, "Since when did I ever know the Great General Qin to be so thick-skinned?"

Luo Yunyao muttered inwardly: This trope—where a woman is bewitched by a man's good looks, stares at him unblinkingly, and ends up being teased by him—isn't this just a utterly cliché, worn-out scene from romance novels?! Good grief, Great General Qin, how did you even learn this?! Did that little minion Ouyang Jingxu teach you this?

The Minister of War, Lord Luo, felt a profound sense of heartbreak over the fact that this pristine lotus of a general seemed to be growing increasingly tarnished by the mortal world.

Qin Jinghao seemed truly determined to prove that this flower upon the high peak had indeed been dragged down into the mortal realm of dust and smoke. "Hmm, probably because I wasn't thick-skinned in the past." Yet, even so, the Great General Qin's posture remained as elegant and noble as ever. Even if he was not the chilling wind, the pristine moon, or a peerless piece of jade, he was still the most noble and elegant young gentleman of the mortal world.

Luo Yunyao was predictably swept away by Qin Jinghao's words. Lifting her adorable little face in curiosity, she blinked her large, wide apricot eyes in puzzlement: "Then when did the Great General Qin's skin become thick? And because of whom?" Let me just beat him to a pulp for daring to corrupt the person of my affections. The Minister of War, Lord Luo, gritted her teeth in secret.

Watching Luo Yunyao's adorable expression, realizing that the person in question had zero self-awareness of having walked right into a trap, the corners of the Great General Qin's thin lips curved upward even deeper unconsciously. Slowly, as if exhaling the fragrance of orchids, he said, "I suppose it was probably after I met this year's top imperial scholar."

It took Luo Yunyao a full half-moment to process just who this year's top imperial scholar was. Once the realization hit her, a wave of exasperation washed over her heart. She felt that she was running out of ways to handle the Great General Qin. The most crucial part was that, no matter from which angle she approached it, she seemed to be completely outmaneuvered and cornered by him, leaving her without even the slimmest chance of a salted fish turning over!

The Minister of War, Lord Luo, gave the Great General Qin a rough yank and resolutely decided to stop chattering with him about these extraneous matters: "The case, we need to investigate the case. We cannot afford to waste any more time! Hurry up and take me to see the families of those maidservants!"

The thatched hut had a half-ripped roof, and light streamed right through its cracked walls. Fortunately, however, it was neat, and there wasn't a single trace of cobwebs under the eaves; otherwise, Luo Yunyao would have directly suspected that the Great General Qin had led her down the wrong path to a place where no one lived.

Yet, no matter how neat or clean it was, it could not alter the reality that this humble abode was truly uninhabited.

Luo Yunyao shivered desolately in the autumn breeze for a moment, failing to receive any explanation from the Great General Qin. Thus, she had no choice but to turn her head and attempt to interrogate him with a piercing, substantive stare.

Unfazed, the Great General Qin met her gaze without a shred of guilt, completely devoid of any self-awareness that he had led the way only to find no one there.

Unable to bear it any longer, Luo Yunyao finally broke the silence first: "Is this the family of that maidservant where the whole story began? The family of the one who dashed her head against the wall and died right before my eyes? The family with an elderly father, an elderly mother, and a pair of three-year-old toddlers? The family that filed an imperial complaint against me?!" Luo Yunyao stared at him with a look full of accusation, breaking down on him unceremoniously: "So, exactly where have these the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled gone then?!"

Before the Great General Qin had a chance to speak—

An auntie from nearby, who had been secretly stealing glances and erecting her ears to listen carefully because she saw these two extraordinarily poised young noblemen dressed in brocade robes, spoke up with utmost cheerfulness and lightning speed: "So these two young noblemen are also here to look for that elderly couple whose daughter passed away."

Seeing that this auntie had originally been washing clothes, but because of their arrival hadn't even managed to finish washing a single garment, and now—using those two wet hands—was frantically wiping them against the fabric at her waist to clear away some of the foam before scuttling two steps into three toward Luo Yunyao and Qin Jinghao...

Luo Yunyao wondered whether she should praise this auntie for her enthusiasm. Indeed, it was the poor who were the most approachable. Steeped in the glorious radiance of socialism, Luo Yunyao felt a profound sense of the greatness of the proletariat and the peasantry. So rustic! Just look at how wonderfully rustic they were.