Chapter 45: Pursuing His Wife Across a Thousand Miles

"Who do you think I am?"

Master Lin did not answer with a question of his own, raising his eyes to look at her. Even in such a posture, not a shred of annoyance could be seen on his face; instead, a faint smile surfaced in his eyes.

Shen Ruojin had no time to play guessing games with him. Her hand slid along his jawline, attempting to find any traces of disguise.

Master Lin grasped her wrist, pulling her into the draped bed and pinning her against the bedpost on the inner side. "Men and women should not touch hands when giving or receiving. Is it really proper for you to start feeling me up the moment you arrive?"

Miraculously, she could find no trace of disguise on his face.

Yet these star-bright eyes were utterly mismatched with his rather mediocre appearance.

The opponent's action of grasping her wrist and subsequently drawing her onto the couch was far too fluid and practiced.

The sensation was not merely déjà vu; it was entirely, intimately familiar.

Shen Ruojin fixed her gaze on the person before her and addressed him syllable by syllable: "Qin. Lang."

Master Lin paused visibly, then chuckled with a smile, "What lover? Do you want me to be your lover?"

This fellow acted so convincingly that it was hard to tell fact from fiction.

Shen Ruojin flipped over, reaching out to grab Qin Lang's left hand, which had been injured just a few days prior.

The latter reacted with extreme swiftness, immediately hiding his left hand behind his back and puffing out his chest to block her.

Master Lin said, "Alright, I'll stop teasing you. I do indeed look somewhat similar to him. The lights in the room are too dim, so it's no wonder you mistook me for him for a moment."

Shen Ruojin simply looked at him with an expression that clearly said, "Let's see what other nonsense you can concoct."

And then.

She heard the person inside the bed curtains say, "Actually, I am Qin Lang's... cousin."

The Princess Consort hailed from the Lin family of Jiangnan, so Qin Lang indeed had a cousin surnamed Lin.

However...

Which cousin brought his cousin-in-law onto a bed upon their very first meeting?

Shen Ruojin raised a hand and flipped Master Lin over entirely. Taking advantage of his counterattack, she seized his left hand.

A remarkably long scar ran across his palm. It had already scabbed over, though some substance had been applied to mask it, making the mark barely visible to the naked eye. But through a direct touch like Shen Ruojin's, it was instantly palpable.

What kind of cousin could share a scar identical to the one on his cousin's body?

"Cousin Lin?"

Shen Ruojin intentionally called out thus.

"My wife has sharp eyes." Having his identity exposed, Qin Lang dropped the act entirely. His voice lowered as he said, "It is indeed your husband."

Shen Ruojin slowly released his hand, sitting up from the couch, momentarily struck speechless.

Qin Lang was currently wearing a completely different face from his original appearance, and his attire was that of a wealthy merchant's young master—somewhat mature for his years, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to his usual demeanor as the capital's reigning troublemaker.

Yet it was strange.

The very moment she had sneaked into the Protectorate-General and spotted this person while crouching on the rooftop, she had felt deep down that she knew him.

Only back then, Shen Ruojin had dared not believe that Qin Lang—that idle Prince of Qin who cared for nothing and lived only for amusement—would actually appear in the war-torn Western Frontier.

Not until this moment, when Qin Lang acknowledged his identity, did she finally accept it.

Shen Ruojin still found it hard to believe. "Why have you come to Xizhou City? And why are you disguised like this?"

"Didn't I say? Traveling two thousand miles in pursuit of my wife."

Qin Lang smiled, repeating to her the exact fabrication he had told Yang Wanxiong and the others.

Shen Ruojin was choked up for a moment by his retort.

Wasn't that just a deceptive excuse?

Why was he still saying it as if it were the absolute truth?

"Everything I told them was the truth."

As if able to read the thoughts running through Shen Ruojin's mind, Qin Lang reached out and flicked the golden bell on her armlet.

The night was deep, and the wind stirred the bed curtains.

The chiming of the bell echoed in their ears, miraculously breeding a hint of tender allure amidst this fatal, snow-swept crisis.

"Stop playing."

Hearing the bell's chime made Shen Ruojin's heart flutter in disarray. She promptly unclasped the armlet and tossed it aside.

She asked Qin Lang, "Do the Prince of Northern Suppression and the Princess Consort know you came to the Western Frontier? I only arrived at Luoyue Pass at noon today, yet you appeared in Xizhou City by nightfall..."

In order to see her grandfather as soon as possible, she had traveled day and night without stopping.

What had driven Qin Lang?

"What? Now that you've left the capital, you've stopped calling them Father and Mother?"

Qin Lang raised his foot and nudged her anklet.

The heart-fluttering sound of the bell rang out once more.

Shen Ruojin struck a light blow against his leg. "Talk about business!"

Qin Lang replied, "I am talking about business."

Shen Ruojin glanced sideways at him.

Qin Lang slowly explained, "Rest assured, they are the ones who sent me. Mother said that if her daughter-in-law ran away, she wouldn't want me as a son anymore either. Otherwise... how could you possibly see me at a time like this, in a place like this?"

The young Prince of Qin wore an unfamiliar face, but his expression remained entirely unchanged from usual.

Shen Ruojin thought to herself: So it was the Princess Consort who had sent him.

That meant in order to avoid being cast out by his mother, he had chased relentlessly after her all the way to the Western Frontier, covering two thousand miles—an explanation that just barely held water.

Feeling increasingly apologetic toward the Princess Consort, she composed her thoughts and began to ponder the current situation.

The young prince of the Prince of Northern Suppression's estate had stayed in the capital for too long, practically serving as a hostage, and was not permitted to leave without authorization. Disguising himself like this to come to the Western Frontier and deal with the Protectorate-General's people allowed him to avoid the troubles his true identity would bring.

Since Yang Wanxiong currently regarded him as "Brother Lin," having this illusion in place would indeed make things easier to handle.

All other matters could wait for another day.

The most crucial task right now was to secure the military tally.

Shen Ruojin told Qin Lang, "Earlier at the banquet, someone took the military tally from Yang Wanxiong a step ahead of me."

Qin Lang said, "I know."

"You know?"

Shen Ruojin was somewhat surprised.

Qin Lang leaned in close to Shen Ruojin. "A single mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, yet the Western Frontier houses both General Shen, who has guarded the borders for over thirty years, and Yang Wanxiong, a protectorate general newly appointed in recent years. With internal rebellion still simmering and foreign invaders striking, someone is bound to pull strings behind the scenes. Now that war has broken out and the entire city is in turmoil, I couldn't possibly search the entire Western Frontier for you. I had no choice but to come to the Protectorate-General first to borrow their military tally. Since you were bound to come here sooner or later, I simply arrived first and waited for the rabbit by the tree."

Shen Ruojin was speechless. "...Is that what you call 'borrowing'?"

And was the phrase "waiting for the rabbit by the tree" even meant to be used that way?

Though Qin Lang usually appeared cynical and dissolute, his mind was remarkably sharp, calculating every single step accurately.

He had even foreseen that she would definitely come to the Protectorate-General to retrieve the tiger tally.

"I don't intend to usurp the Western Frontier's military tally; I'm merely using it temporarily. If that isn't borrowing, what is?"

Qin Lang spoke with absolute, natural conviction.

For a moment, Shen Ruojin was left completely at a loss for words.

As the two were speaking, a figure flashed past the window and suddenly tossed an object inside.

Qin Lang reached out and caught it, immediately handing it over to Shen Ruojin the next second. "The military tally is here, presented to my wife."

This young Prince of Qin—one truly wondered if he had listened to too many theatrical plays.

His words and actions always carried a natural flair of romantic grace.

Shen Ruojin reached out to take it, offering her sincere thanks: "Many thanks to the young prince for 'borrowing' the military tally for me."

Qin Lang raised an eyebrow slightly. "What did you call me?"

Shen Ruojin met his gaze, attempting to change her form of address: "Husband?"