Chapter 109: (End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 109 =====

The old soldier patted the young man's thick shoulder, glancing at his broad figure, and chuckled: "You don't understand this. That woman might be a two-hundred-catty fat woman! Besides, her food isn't something I made up alone. Go to the kitchen and ask around; everyone knows!"

The young soldier actually believed it, muttering: "So that's how it is! No wonder the General threw her into the backyard."

As soon as the young soldier finished speaking, a group of people burst into laughter. The old soldier continued to tease: "I think it's eight out of ten that the Emperor saw the General not getting married, so he simply bestowed a fat woman to stimulate the General." The old soldier was talking happily, but found that few people around him were laughing, and their expressions were terrified as they stared behind him. After a while, they all lowered their heads.

The old soldier's heart went cold. Disaster. The person standing behind him wouldn't be...

"All stand up." A roar sounded, and the dozen people cooling off under the trees stood up quickly, standing straight and not daring to move.

Su Yu's cold eyes swept across the nervous faces of the few people one by one, finally stopping in front of the old soldier, and hummed coldly word by word: "Go stand in the sun and squat in a horse stance for half an hour!"

"Yes." They ran to the scorching sun in unison and squatted in a horse stance, wailing in their hearts, but not daring to show it on their faces. Other soldiers who didn't know what was going on looked strangely at the few people squatting in the horse stance under the big sun, while the Deputy General walked toward the backyard with a dark face.

Damn woman, is she trying to attract their attention through this method?! Very well, he wanted to see how much she could eat. If she couldn't eat it, he would let her know how stupid she was!

In the most remote corner of the backyard, a sturdy branch had been cut down and tied to the high tree trunk with two white cloth strips. A pair of slender hands were firmly grasping the branch, and the veins on the back of the hands relaxed and tightened rhythmically with the heavy panting. A petite white shadow was suspended in mid-air, exercising up and down with the strength of her arms.

"Eighteen, nineteen... twenty!" Gu Yun panted heavily, sweat flowing down along her hair and cheeks, soaking almost all the plain white undergarment on her body.

Twenty! She could finally do twenty. She didn't expect that she would also be happy to be able to do twenty pull-ups. This number was not even half of what she used to do. Gu Yun mocked herself, suddenly hearing extremely light footsteps outside the door.

Gu Yun let go and jumped down. Just as her feet landed, a tall figure full of anger appeared in the courtyard.

Su Yu entered the courtyard angrily, originally wanting to teach that woman named Qing Mo a good lesson and tell her not to play so many tricks. As a result, as soon as he entered the courtyard, he was stunned. In the small courtyard, the low shrubs and overgrown weeds had been pulled out clean, leaving only a patch of green grass. By the side of the grass, there were bags of various sizes, not knowing what was inside. On the tall tree trunk, a branch was hung in mid-air, drifting back and forth. This woman didn't need to hang it so high just to make a swing!

Directly below the "swing," the petite white shadow was half-kneeling on the ground with her hands supporting the ground. The woman stood up slowly, her gentle and beautiful face, her slender figure, no different from ordinary young ladies, except for a pair of cold eyes, which were staring straight at him at this moment. Su Yu was stunned there for a while, almost forgetting what he had come for.

It wasn't until the woman stood up completely and he saw her attire clearly that Su Yu finally came back to his senses and roared: "What are you doing? Put your clothes on!"

What on earth did this woman want to do? In broad daylight, she was standing in the courtyard wearing only an undergarment. Who was she trying to seduce? And her hair wasn't tied up, just tied behind her head with a white cloth strip. She looked neither like a man nor a woman.

Gu Yun raised her brows lightly and sneered: "It's quite obvious that the clothes provided by your mansion are not enough." They only gave her two sets of clothes, and she kept the long shirt and trousers inside, tearing all the complicated long skirts outside to make cloth bags to hold sand. After half a month of exercise, she could flexibly use this body. Next was weight-bearing practice to increase her strength. She needed more sandbags, and the man in front of her came at the right time.

The plain white undergarment was almost soaked through by sweat. Under the scorching sun in

Gu Yun was slightly stunned. What was he doing? Coming here just to roar a few times and then leave? She laughed, shook her head, and leaped lightly, grabbing the tree branch above her head. She took a deep breath, intending to do another set of twenty pull-ups. Who knew that after doing only ten, she would hear those blustering footsteps coming again? Gu Yun frowned with some impatience. What on earth did this man want?

Gu Yun leaped down lightly and saw a scene that almost made her laugh out loud. It was the same tall, young, and sturdy man from before, but the difference was that he was holding a pile of various dresses in his arms. The vibrant strips of fabric against his dark skin and gloomy face were truly hilarious.

Su Yu rushed in front of Gu Yun, threw the dresses in his arms at her feet, and snorted coldly, "Is this enough?!"

So he had gone to find clothes for her; this person was somewhat interesting. Gu Yun looked at the man's face again. His young face was handsome and sunny, looking to be around twenty years old, faintly revealing an air of dominance. His appearance was somewhat similar to the "Ice Cube" man she had seen last time, but unfortunately, this man was still too young, and all his expressions were written on his face. And identifying micro-expressions was precisely one of her investigative skills.

These clothes were enough for her to make quite a few fitness tools. In a good mood, Gu Yun deliberately teased, "I personally prefer plain colors. Remember to improve next time."

"Where do you think this is? How can you be so presumptuous in the General's Mansion!" Gu Yun's arrogance annoyed the naturally hot-tempered Su Yu. He took a vigorous step forward, his large hand reaching toward Gu Yun's right shoulder. Gu Yun's cold eyes flickered; she immediately turned around and half-squatted, grabbed a dark purple outer garment, and said deliberately, "This one is not bad."

Su Yu was stunned—she had actually managed to dodge him! Looking at the slender woman who was picking out clothes with her back to him, Su Yu curled his lips and withdrew his extended hand. Forget it, what kind of hero would fight a weak, frail woman! What he didn't know was that this so-called weak woman was currently twisting the clothes in her hands into a long rope; if he made another move, she would strike back.

Sensing the man behind her take a step back, Gu Yun slowly released the long rope in her hands, turned around, and smiled as if nothing had happened, "Who are you?"

"Su Yu." After saying this, Su Yu stood there proudly, as if everyone should know who Su Yu was.

Gu Yun nodded and replied, "I know the name. Continue."

She actually didn't know him?! Su Yu was both embarrassed and somewhat annoyed, and replied, "I am the master of the General's Mansion."

Raising her delicate eyebrows, Gu Yun smiled and said, "You are the master of the General's Mansion, then what was that 'Ice Cube' man from last time?" He must be the Ice Cube's brother.

Ice Cube man? Su Yu was startled at first, then burst into loud laughter. This nickname was truly perfect for his eldest brother, but no one dared to say it to his face, right? Feeling a bit more cheerful, Su Yu smiled, "He is my eldest brother, Su Ling."

Sure enough, the man before her really wore his heart on his sleeve; compared to his eldest brother, he was far behind. She stretched her back and looked up at the sky; it was almost noon, and she had no mood to chat with him further. Gu Yun asked directly, "May I ask what business you have coming to my courtyard?"

Su Yu finally remembered that he had come to hold her accountable. Just at this moment, an old servant from the kitchen, over fifty years old, appeared at the courtyard gate carrying a large tray. Seeing Su Yu, the old servant immediately called out respectfully, "Deputy General."

Su Yu glanced at the three large bowls on the tray: one bowl filled with rice that was almost overflowing, one bowl full of eggs, and another bowl piled high with beef, with five fresh, tender cucumbers placed on the side. This amount of food would likely take two young soldiers to finish, and as for her—a woman who only reached his chest and was so thin she could be blown over by a gust of wind—that bowl of eggs alone could choke her to death!

Su Yu was convinced that Gu Yun was just using this method to attract attention. Su Yu had always hated women who played mind games, and his tone became increasingly cold, "I heard you need to eat a lot of food in one sitting. I specifically came to see. The General's Mansion can support people who can eat, but it will never tolerate the waste of military rations. If you cannot finish all this food, from today on, you will be cut off from food and water for three days!" Starve her for three days and three nights, and see if she still dares to play tricks.

So he came for this. His dismissive attitude toward women made her somewhat angry. Gu Yun replied coldly, "What if I can finish it?"

"Impossible." Even now she still wanted to quibble!

A sharp glint flashed in her eyes. Gu Yun raised her head slightly and challenged, "Any interest in making a bet?"

Su Yu snorted coldly, "Bet on what?"

"If I lose, I will do whatever you tell me to do. If you say one, I won't dare to say two; I will be absolutely obedient." Gu Yun said it lightly because it was absolutely impossible; she didn't even know what "obedient" looked like, and she couldn't possibly lose. Looking at Su Yu, she smiled slyly, "If you lose, I want to move freely within the General's Mansion."

"Don't even think about it." Su Yu refused directly without even thinking. A woman moving freely in the General's Mansion—this was absolutely impossible!

He wouldn't take the bait?! Looking at the arrogance brimming in his eyes, Gu Yun's eyes turned, and she deliberately frowned and sighed, "You don't dare? That's right, you can't make this decision. I won't make things difficult for you."

Sure enough, as soon as Su Yu heard this, he immediately roared, "I can't make the decision! What kind of joke is that!"

The old soldier sighed to himself that it was bad; the Third Young Master's stubborn temper had flared up again. He must not fall for her trap.

"Bring the food over to her!" Unfortunately, Su Yu did not hear the old soldier's inner thoughts. Pointing at Gu Yun's arrogant smile, Su Yu said angrily, "Bet! Eat it right now!"

The fish had taken the bait. Gu Yun was in a very good mood. She took the tray, picked up a cucumber, and crunched it happily. After finishing one, Gu Yun was in no rush to eat the meal; she picked up another and began to gnaw on it slowly and leisurely. The more relaxed she was, the gloomier Su Yu's face became. Just as she was eating the third one, Su Yu finally couldn't help but snort, "Eat faster."

Gu Yun remained unmoved. While gnawing on the cucumber, she smiled and said, "You didn't set a time limit."

Su Yu replied impatiently, "Half an hour. If you can't finish it, you lose." At the rate she was eating, she could eat until midnight!

He thought she would argue with him, but to his surprise, Gu Yun put down the cucumber in her hand, raised a brilliant smile of certain victory, and her voice turned chillingly cold, "You had better be a good sport and honor the bet." After saying this, she picked up the large bowl filled with eggs, took all the eggs out, and calmly cracked them one by one into the large bowl.

Su Yu frowned; the eggs were actually raw!

Picking up the bowl filled with beef, Gu Yun mixed the rice into it little by little. Only then did Su Yu realize that the beef had all been minced into a paste and mixed with the rice, making it very easy to swallow. But even so, after mixing, there were still two large bowls of beef-mixed rice waiting for her to eat. Su Yu crossed his arms over his chest, waiting with composure to see her look of miserable surrender. Unfortunately, as time ticked by, Gu Yun calmly enjoyed the food, while Su Yu's expression grew worse and worse. Is she, she, she—is she even a woman!

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Gu Yun put down her bowl and chopsticks with satisfaction, finished the last mouthful of egg liquid, picked up the half-eaten cucumber from earlier, and while gnawing on it, smiled, "I think our bet should be effective now, right?"

Not knowing if it was because he was too angry or shocked by Gu Yun's appetite, Su Yu loosened and tightened his hands repeatedly. Finally, he replied in annoyance, "A bet is a bet. You can move freely within the General's Mansion, but you cannot take a single step out of the mansion!"

After saying this, Su Yu flicked his sleeves and left. Gu Yun waved at his furious back and laughed unscrupulously, "Feel free to come by and sit often."

For now, she just wanted to figure out the layout of the General's Mansion to make it easier to leave later. Once her body became stronger, if she wanted to leave, did she still have to apply for his permission? What a joke!

(End of chapter)