Chapter 192

If looks could kill, Zhuo Qing guessed she would have already been sliced into pieces by the eye-daggers behind her. With a slight curl of her lips, she nodded at Su Ling and smiled: "General Su, you've come at just the right time. Her body has no major issues anymore; you can take her away." After saying this, Zhuo Qing waved her hand nonchalantly, walked out the door, and even unusually kindly helped them close the door.

Gu Yun took a deep breath, then another. This woman, whose intelligence had been plundered by love, thought that because she was married, everyone else should be "married" (confused) too. She wouldn't lower herself to her level!

Su Ling entered the inner room and saw Gu Yun sitting by the bed, her face turning pale and then flushed, but fortunately, her spirit seemed quite good. Su Ling sighed inwardly; he had never thought that he would miss someone so much. For the first time, he felt that three days were so long. It seemed that whenever he had a moment of leisure, the image of this person would appear in his mind, wondering if she was okay and what she was doing. This completely unfamiliar feeling made him feel somewhat at a loss, yet he was unable to resist it.

"You..."

"I..."

Both spoke at the same time. Realizing they had interrupted each other, they both shut their mouths. Gu Yun didn't know what Su Ling was thinking, but in any case, she felt the atmosphere was extremely awkward! After they both remained silent for a while, Gu Yun broke the stalemate first: "Let me speak first."

Su Ling's sword-like brows raised slightly. Seeing her look so serious and exceptionally earnest, he was curious about what she wanted to say. Clearing her throat, Gu Yun raised her head, stared straight into his eyes, and asked: "Do you like me?"

Su Ling was stunned, and then a feeling of both anticipation and unease rose in his heart. Did she finally have a feeling? Meeting Gu Yun's calm eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through a person's heart, Su Ling replied in a low voice: "What do you think?"

Gu Yun frowned, thought for a moment, and replied: "I suppose so." After waking up this time, she could feel that Su Ling was a bit different toward her. That fiery and profound gaze made her increasingly uncomfortable. She could basically confirm that Su Ling liked her.

Suppose? So? Su Ling suddenly felt a sense of being unable to laugh or cry. He rarely interacted with women, and in his limited understanding, shouldn't a woman be shy and timid when facing such a question? Or at least be anxious? Yet she asked him so generously if he liked her, and even when drawing a conclusion, she was so calm and rational.

Was his understanding of women too little? Or was she special to this extent? Or did he really have no attraction to her at all? The expression on Su Ling's face was too complex; he seemed very helpless and also very troubled. Gu Yun hesitated for a while and asked: "Or did I misunderstand, and you haven't fallen for me?"

Su Ling's heart went cold. Was his expression not obvious enough? In Gu Yun's clear eyes, he saw doubt and uncertainty. Su Ling sighed inwardly; what kind of woman had he fallen for? Wanting her to figure it out on her own was basically impossible. Su Ling resigned himself and said: "You didn't misunderstand; I do like you."

It was originally a very beautiful confession, but Su Ling had been tortured by Gu Yun to the point of exhaustion, so he said it weakly.

A certain spot in her heart that was not easily touched trembled slightly. Knowing it was one thing, but hearing him say it was another. Gu Yun lowered her head slightly, and after a long time, she said softly: "I don't know if I like you; I need time." Actually, she wasn't completely heartless regarding emotions, but usually, her energy was focused on cases or other matters, and she hadn't thought in that direction. If that person was Su Ling? Gu Yun raised her head slightly and immediately fell into a pair of black eyes that were calm on the surface but had surging undercurrents. For no reason, she felt a bit nervous: would he angrily flick his sleeves and leave, or would he be coldly speechless?

"Don't make me wait too long." His deep voice was full of profound helplessness and a faint doting tone. Gu Yun breathed a secret sigh of relief. Perhaps she could leave the decision to time. There were still several months until the Su family's sacrificial ceremony; she could take this opportunity to think carefully about whether she liked him or not.

Gu Yun was thinking secretly when her body felt light, and she was scooped up by a pair of powerful hands.

Gu Yun exclaimed: "What are you doing?!" The wound on her chest made her afraid to move around, but being held like this was really strange.

Su Ling feigned calmness and replied: "Returning to the mansion." He finally understood: the little woman in his arms could be sharp-minded and decisive in everything, but when it came to love, she was so muddled it made one anxious. But that was fine; she was so dull that she basically couldn't feel the pursuit of those wild bees and butterflies, such as Ao Tian, and Yu!

"My feet aren't crippled!" Gu Yun was depressed; she wished she could slap that handsome face, which was smiling even in his eyes, with one palm.

Standing in front of the outer door, Su Ling stopped, looked at the annoyed beauty in his arms, and laughed in a low voice: "You can't get out of bed and walk now, or do you like being carried out?"

Carried—out—?! Her teeth almost broke from clenching them. Gu Yun spat out two words through her teeth: "Hurry up—"

Gu Yun lowered her head in annoyance and ignored him, but Su Ling's mood was exceptionally good. Fortunately, there weren't many servants in the villa, and Zhuo Qing kindly didn't come out to tease her again, so Gu Yun's expression finally softened a little.

After leaving the villa, Gu Yun saw a wide, dark blue carriage parked outside. She suddenly thought of something, looked up at Su Ling, and said: "By the way, when we get back, have Su Ren prepare. Ten days from now, I want to select personnel for the special forces."

Su Ling glared at her and snorted coldly: "You are not allowed to do anything in your current state!" She only had half a life left, and she still wanted to train troops!

Gu Yun was helpless: "I'm just selecting personnel, not fighting them. The celebration is over, and training matters should be put on the agenda immediately."

"There's no rush for this moment." This matter was originally suggested just because he was afraid she would be too bored and think about running outside all day. Although he was also looking forward to her so-called special forces, nothing was more important than her health at the moment.

"You're not in a rush, but I am!"

A servant lifted the curtain, and Su Ling placed her gently into the carriage, asking suspiciously: "What are you in a rush for?"

"I still owe you ninety taels of silver; I remember." Gu Yun answered as a matter of course, but Su Ling's expression stiffened instantly. His large hand, clenched into a fist, wished he could drag her out and beat her: "Qing—Mo—"

Gu Yun crawled into the carriage on her own, ignoring the thunderous roar outside. It was only right and proper to pay back debts.

General's Mansion, Yitian Courtyard.

After the last fight, the entire courtyard had been left in a mess by Su Ling and Ao Tian. After some repairs, it was much more human-friendly than before. In the large courtyard, there were finally decent tables and chairs, so they didn't need to sit on the ground every time. Many of the trees in the courtyard had been burned, so Su Ren had moved over a few old trees from the back mountain. The dense shade almost covered the entire courtyard, making it very comfortable to enjoy the cool, though everywhere one looked was lush, big trees, which wasn't very aesthetically pleasing. She only knew now that Su Ren's aesthetic sense was a bit peculiar!

On the brand-new jade square table sat a bowl of medicinal soup that had already cooled down. A man and a woman sat facing each other.

"Very free lately?" Gu Yun snorted coldly.

"Indeed, not very busy."

Gu Yun sighed: "You have nothing else to do?"

"If you can obediently finish the medicine, I will have more time to do other things." He didn't know that getting three bowls of medicine into her mouth every day was so difficult; his patience was getting better and better.

"I'm already better."

There was no room for negotiation. Su Ling insisted: "The Imperial Physician said you must take medicine for another half a month."

"If I finish it, will you let me go?"

Sighing softly, Su Ling compromised: "Only to watch from the high platform."

"Deal!" After saying this, Gu Yun grabbed the medicine bowl and, without even wrinkling her brow, drank the medicine in one gulp. Putting down the empty bowl, Gu Yun looked at Su Ren, who was resting his chin on his hand and watching them with boredom for a long time, and asked: "Is the stuff I asked to be prepared ready?"

Slowly sitting up straight and stretching, Su Ren smiled: "It's been ready for a long time." For more than ten days, these two could often stalemate for an hour or two over a bowl of medicine. Although the medicine always ended up in Qing Mo's mouth in the end, it was always on the premise that Big Brother agreed to certain conditions. He was a bit curious: to what extent could Big Brother dote on her?

Gu Yun nodded with satisfaction, but still didn't get up. She sat steadily on the stone stool, tapping her index finger lightly, not knowing what she was thinking.

Su Yu entered from outside the courtyard and saw Gu Yun looking leisurely and carefree. He couldn't help but burn with anger: "It's almost the Shen hour (3-5 PM), and the soldiers have been standing in the scorching sun for two hours. Are you going to select them or not?" Although it was autumn, the scorching sun hadn't restrained itself at all. He and the generals had waited on the drill ground for an entire afternoon, and she was actually enjoying the cool and chatting under the shade of the trees!

Gu Yun looked up at the sky. Through the dense branches and leaves, she could still see the blinding sunlight. Gu Yun replied in a low voice: "It's not time yet."

"If you wait any longer, the sun will set!"

Smiling slightly, Gu Yun replied righteously: "What I'm waiting for is the sun to set."

"Then why did you ask the soldiers to line up at noon!" Su Yu was furious. Her body hadn't recovered, and he didn't approve of her selecting soldiers under the hot sun, but if she wanted to select people at night, what was the meaning of asking them to line up at noon? By the time they were exposed to the sun until night, how could they still show their best state!

With the corners of her mouth raised thoughtfully, Gu Yun replied as a matter of course: "The test has been going on the whole time. If they can't even stand this bit of sun, they are simply not the people I want."

Su Yu was slightly stunned. He glanced at his Big Brother and Second Brother, who looked as usual. Could it be that they had known this was one of Qing Mo's tests all along? Su Yu was annoyed at his own impulsiveness and turned to walk out of Yitian Courtyard in a muffled mood.

Su Ren shook his head lightly. Yu was a few years older than Qing Mo, but compared to her, why did he seem so rash? He had seen two of the Qing sisters; what kind of people were their parents? To be able to raise such daughters!

(End of Chapter)