Chapter 197 - Chapter 197: 197. Strange and cute at the same time

Chapter 197: 197. Strange and cute at the same time

Translator: 549690339

After closing the door, Su Liang entered the adjoining study room and saw Ning Jing sitting at the desk, holding a piece of stone she had picked up from the mountain today, carefully carving it.

“Meeting like this today will make people suspect that I’m a spy, leaving the city to meet with you,” Su Liang sat down opposite her.

Without lifting her head, Ning Jing said, “You asked me to come.”

Choking slightly, Su Liang hummed, “I’m not blaming you. I just wanted to tell you why Uncle Xing is looking for me. I told him that you’re the secret guard I hired to protect me.”

Ning Jing’s hand paused for a moment, and she glanced at Su Liang, “I can be the secret guard you hired to protect you.”

Su Liang laughed, “Great God, are you just playing word games? It’s all the same.”

Seeing that Ning Jing was focused on the stone in her hand, showing no interest in chatting with her, Su Liang got up and left, “I’ll go check out the military camp to see if there are any improvements in the meals. If someone finds out about you, just say you’re the secret guard I hired for my protection,” she repeated Ning Jing’s words.

“What’s the name?” Ning Jing asked.

Su Liang was stunned for a moment, then looked back at her and thought for a moment, “Just call him Shi Er.”

An idiot who likes playing with stones… she wouldn’t tell him that.

“Who’s Shi Da?” Ning Jing asked back.

“It’s your brother, me.” Su Liang laughed at her own joke.

Ning Jing looked at Su Liang, “You’re so cheerful?”

Su Liang’s lips curved slightly, “Great God, even if it’s fake, if you call me brother, I’d be thrilled.”

Ning Jing closed her eyes, the sharp carving knife continued to carve the stone,

“For your safety, it’s not possible.”

Su Liang laughed and walked out the door, “Just call him Shi Er.”

It was just in case. If Ning Jing were found out and Su Liang were questioned, at least she wouldn’t get his name wrong.

But Su Liang thought she wouldn’t need it.

She went out, rode her horse to the military camp, and the soldiers she met all looked at her with admiration.

Even though this was a world where men were superior to women, in the military camp, strength determined everything.

By now, the sun was almost setting, and the magnificent sunset had painted half of the sky red.

Xing Ji was discussing the takeover of Nan Feng city with the generals of Xuanbei City.

No one from Liang Country had come to negotiate yet, but if nothing went wrong, someone would come tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow at the latest.

Wei Yao’s promise made in front of the two armies last night—if he broke his word, Qian Country would definitely not act as if nothing had happened. This concerned the dignity of the country.

Su Liang arrived outside the meeting hall and ran into Qi Jiang.

“Uncle Qi,” Su Liang bowed in greeting.

Oi Tiang was a man of few words and seldom smiled. Seeing Su Liang. his eves

softened a few degrees and his mouth twitched. “General Su is here, please come in.”

Whether it was Su Liang saving Xing Yusheng, taking care of the Qi Yan and Qi Jun brothers, treating Qi Jiang’s old wounds, helping the Xing Family repeatedly, or simply because Su Liang treated Qi Jiang as an elder and sincerely respected him, Qi Jiang remembered it all.

“General Xing, this is Su Liang, may I come in?” Su Liang stood outside and asked.

“Enter.”

Hearing Xing Ji’s voice, Su Liang entered and apologized, “I’m late.”

Veteran General Zhou immediately waved his hand, ‘General Su is a great contributor. You were tired last night, so it’s okay to rest today.”

There was an empty seat next to Che Yun, so Su Liang went and sat down.

Xing Ji was not discussing the matter of Nan Feng City just now, but rather new training regulations for the army.

Most of them were proposed by Su Liang, and Xing Ji had already discussed with the two generals responsible for training the soldiers in detail, and they all thought it was feasible.

Although Qian Country has a better climate and more abundant resources than Liang Country, and its army is well-equipped, the average physical fitness of its soldiers is not as good as that of Liang Country.

The main purpose of Su Liang’s proposal is to improve the physical fitness of soldiers.

Before she came, Xing Ji had already talked about most of it.

After finishing, Xing Ji put down the thick stack of papers in his hand, looked around, “Is there anything unclear? If you all understand, let’s hear your opinions. Let’s start with General Zhou. Whether it is an opinion or a suggestion, just speak up.”

For a moment, Su Liang felt like she had returned to the past, the scenes of taking turns to speak at meetings, which was really headache-inducing.

However, whether in terms of seating arrangement or in terms of rank, Su Liang was last.

She was a little regretful about coming, and it would have been better to go directly to the kitchen to see the cooking. But since she had come, it would not be appropriate to leave halfway through.

Su Liang listened to the opinions of the generals who were called upon, and overall, they were supportive of the reform that Xing Ji wanted to carry out.

When it was Lin Bojun’s turn, he naturally supported it unconditionally.

Next was Che Yun, who suggested that half of the soldiers in the camp should be trained according to the new rules while the others remain the same.

“In half a month, the better and the worse will reveal themselves.” Che Yun said seriously, “It’s just a humble opinion of mine.”

Xing Ji appreciated Che Yun’s opinion, “That’s even better. What do you think, General Su?”

Su Liang nodded, “I agree.”

The meeting ended smoothly.

As soon as Su Liang left the Meeting Hall, Lin Bojun caught up with her,

“Xiaoliang, are you going back to the General Mansion?”

Su Liang shook her head, “I want to go to the kitchen to have a look.”

“Today’s food is better than yesterday’s.” Lin Bojun laughed and then asked about Su Liang’s visit to Ping’an Temple today, “I heard that you were with the secret guard hired by Ajing to protect you

Su Liang nodded.

“The master who likes picking mushrooms?” Lin Bojun lowered his voice, “Could it be Ajing?”

Su Liang blinked and whispered, “He likes picking mushrooms?”

Lin Bojun shook his head, “Not really, I just feel that your meeting with that person outside the city is not an ordinary secret guard. Your actions with him made me suspect that he is Ajing.”

Su Liang laughed lightly, “Why is that?”

Lin Bojun said seriously, “Only when you two are together, you do some weird and cute things.”

Su Liang coughed lightly, “Why does Second Brother Lin think that picking mushrooms is cute?”

Lin Bojun shook his head, “It’s the fact that you go outside the city to meet a man picking mushrooms that is strange and cute. You didn’t deny it, so it seems I guessed correctly?”

Having said so much, Su Liang admitted, “Yes.”

Lin Bojun paused, “Is it really him? You two… why didn’t you just get married earlier? He always pretended not to like you, but as soon as you left the capital, he chased after you. What did I say? He likes you, but he’s so stubbornly refusing to admit it!”

Su Liang looked around to make sure no one was nearby, and then tugged at

Lin Bojun’s sleeve to stop him from continuing to complain, “Second Brother

Lin, you misunderstood. He didn’t come here chasing after me.”

“Could it be that he came chasing after me instead? Why didn’t he rendezvous with me outside the city to pick mushrooms?” Lin Bojun couldn’t help but ridicule when he found out that the man who had met Su Liang outside the city today was indeed Ning Jing.

Su Liang couldn’t help but laugh, “Second Brother Lin, have you ever thought about how he could leave the capital?”

Lin Bojun hesitated for a moment, “He’s in the Ministry of Revenue, and at this time, the emperor should not allow him to leave the capital. Moreover, his martial arts skills are not known by others except for you and our family.”

“Second Brother Lin, want to guess again?” Su Liang was keeping up the suspense.

Lin Bojun thought hard, feeling that something was wrong, and after a long time, he suddenly slapped his forehead, ‘Qi Jun?!”

He had previously heard from Lin Xueqing that Su Liang had learned the Disguise Technique and was very good at it.

Finally realizing what was wrong. There should have been someone by Su Liang’s side originally, Qi Jun, who was arranged by Xing Yusheng to follow and protect her.

But “Qi Jun” only showed up once behind Su Liang when they left the capital, and then disappeared after arriving in Xuanbei City.

Qi Jiang hadn’t seen his son, who he thought would accompany them, since leaving home.

If Ning Jing and Qi Jun exchanged identities and Qi Jun stayed in the capital pretending to be him, everything would make sense!

Seeing Su Liang’s smile but not speaking, Lin Bojun was simply drunk, “You two are really audacious!”

“I didn’t plan to tell you originally, but Second Brother Lin was too smart and guessed it. Just pretend you don’t know.” Su Liang said, “If something happens, it has nothing to do with us. Let some people bear the consequences on their own.”

Lin Bojun held his forehead, “Didn’t he come with you because you two couldn’t bear to be apart?”

Su Liang said solemnly, “Absolutely not. He just found the capital city boring and wanted to go out and play. That day, Qi Jun came to the door, and he took advantage of it.”

Lin Bojun’s mouth twitched, “Took advantage?” His eyes looked at Su Liang and said, “You think I believe that?”

“In fact, it was largely thanks to him that we resolved the issue with the Wan family father and son so smoothly,” Su Liang said. “If I acted alone, it would have been much more difficult.”

“I see.” Lin Bojun nodded, “I hope Qi Jun won’t be found in the capital, and then everything will be fine.”

“I believe in his ability,” Su Liang said.

“So you two have been together from the beginning? Then why meet outside the city during the day? What kind of unique preference is that?” Lin Bojun continued to gripe after talking about the matter, unable to stop.

Su Liang calmly countered, “Second Brother Lin, don’t you want to pick mushrooms with Yu Jin?”

Lin Bojun immediately turned his head and looked in the direction of the capital city, sighing deeply, “I wish I could grow wings and fly back to see her. But which normal person would meet to pick mushrooms and talk about love?”

Su Liang nodded, “We are normal people. We really picked mushrooms, so we didn’t talk about love. We just like picking mushrooms because they taste good.

It’s that simple.”

Lin Bojun: …reasonable and well-founded, unable to refute…

The kitchen was in full swing preparing dinner.

Seeing Su Liang coming in, a steward who had communicated with her yesterday quickly greeted her, “General Su is here!”

This enthusiasm was mainly due to Su Liang defeating Wei Hao last night and winning a city for Qian Country.

The kitchen steward was a retired wounded soldier with pride. He wasn’t very convinced of Su Liang yesterday, as they didn’t know the departure of the Wan father and son was so quick, and the fact that it didn’t cause any unrest was because Su Liang had done a lot of things secretly.

“You guys are busy. I’m just here to take a look. If there are any questions, you can solve them right away.” Su Liang smiled.

The steward chuckled, “According to General Su’s instructions, we changed a lot of things overnight. Today, it’s faster, better, and saves labor! It’s also cleaner than before! And the recipes General Su gave are great, the dishes are much more delicious!”

Su Liang looked around and, if there were any issues, she asked the steward to write them down.

Then she and Lin Bojun sat near the kitchen and each had a bowl of freshly cooked stew.

“Not bad,” Lin Bojun said.

Su Liang felt that the taste was mediocre, but it could fill the stomach. At least it looked better than yesterday’s, and she knew what she was eating, with sufficient oil and water.

Su Liang wanted to return to the General Mansion, and Lin Bojun offered to accompany her.

Su Liang didn’t refuse, knowing that Lin Bojun must want to see Ning Jing.

The two met Che Yun at the entrance of the military camp, who was about to return home.

“Are you two going for a drink? Let me treat you, and we’ll have a few cups!” Che Yun laughed.

Lin Bojun shook his head, “Xiaoliang doesn’t like to drink. I’m taking her back.”

Che Yun paused for a moment, seeing Lin Bojun and Su Liang already on horseback and leaving. He stared at the back of Su Liang, feeling like he had seen her somewhere before…

Lin Bojun followed Su Liang into the room, and it was already pitch black outside.

Su Liang lit a lamp and pointed to the study room door for Lin Bojun to enter. He went in.

Su Liang was not sure if Ning Jing was in the room or not. Seeing that Lin Bojun didn’t come out after entering, she assumed Ning was there. She went to close the door and went to the kitchen to make a late-night snack for Ning Jing.

Since Lin Bojun was here, she decided to prepare some extra food for him as well.

Not long after, Su Liang was cutting vegetables when Ning Jing entered the kitchen.

“Did Second Brother Lin leave?” Su Liang asked.

Ning Jing shook his head, “No, he’s here.”

“Why don’t you keep him company?” Su Liang continued to cut vegetables.

Ning Jing sat down and added more wood to the fire, “I told him I was coming to light the fire, and he urged me to hurry.”

Although they didn’t catch any wild rabbits during the day, Ning Jing caught one while Su Liang was at the military camp, and it was already processed.

Su Liang cooked a pot of spicy rabbit meat, stir-fried a vegetable dish, and made mushroom soup noodles.

As the late-night snack was served, Lin Bojun looked eager, “I haven’t had anything good to eat since I left home. You two enjoy this every day without inviting me, how could you!”

As he spoke, Lin Bojun took a piece of rabbit meat. It was so spicy that he breathed heavily, and so delicious that he almost bit his tongue.

“Are you guys drinking? I’ll go buy some,” Su Liang said. They didn’t have any alcohol here, as she didn’t drink, and Ning Jing rarely drank voluntarily.

“No need,” Ning Jing replied.

“If I knew earlier, I would’ve asked for the wine that General Zhou gave to Uncle Xing.” Lin Bojun ate the meat, really wanting to have a few drinks.

Ning Jing put down his chopsticks and went out.

Before long, he came back with a jar of wine.

“There’s a wine cellar in the mansion. It’s the wine collection of the Wan father and son,” Ning Jing explained.

Su Liang said she had been living here but had no idea about the wine cellar, praising Ning for his keen eyes.

Lin Bojun was delighted. He opened the seal of the wine and took a deep breath, ‘Great wine! Ajing, let’s have a few drinks together!”

So Ning Jing drank with Lin Bojun.

Lin Bojun’s alcohol tolerance was average. After a few drinks, he became slightly tipsy. He fought with Ning Jing for rabbit meat while talking about his beloved fiancée.

The plate of spicy rabbit meat was almost empty, and the vegetable dish was finished.

Lin Bojun ate a large bowl of mushroom soup noodles and exclaimed in satisfaction.

“Ning Jing picked the mushrooms, aren’t they delicious?” Su Liang asked. Indeed, Ning Jing had picked them and saved some to make a late-night snack.

With rosiness on his cheeks, Lin Bojun chuckled, “Delicious! Once we return to the capital city, I’ll take Yu Jin to pick mushrooms too!”

As he spoke, Lin Bojun looked at Su Liang and then at Ning Jing. He slapped Ning Jing on the shoulder and said, “Ajing, you’re so clingy, running after Xiaoliang all day. Are you saying you don’t like her? Are you even a man? If you are, just admit it!”

Before Ning Jing could react, Lin Bojun had already collapsed onto the table, unable to get up.

Ning Jing stood up to clear the dishes when Lin Bojun suddenly raised his arm high and drunkenly said, “You two…you should consummate your marriage tonight! If not, Ajing, you’re not a man! Xiaoliang…you’re not…a woman!” Su Liang and Ning Jing exchanged glances.

With a light expression, Ning Jing said, “He’s the one who wants to consummate.”

Su Liang rolled up her sleeves, “I’ll go back to the capital and kidnap Yu Jin right now!”

If Lin Bojun were sober at this moment, seeing their strange reactions, he would have definitely said: You two are crazy!