Chapter 199

However, after a moment's thought, this cannot change the fact that she and the Wild Man had an affair back then!

Meng Qian, even a child knows this principle; as the daughter of a general and a young commander in the army, you surely wouldn't be unaware of it, would you?

Meng Qian recalled Fu Qianchen's saying, "No investigation, no right to speak," and felt a bit uneasy. But then she thought, she and Ye Huanhuan have been close friends for years, intimate as could be—how could she deceive herself?

"I believe she won't deceive me!" Meng Qian declared loudly, her tone firm.

"If that's the case, further talk is pointless. Meng Qian, please step aside; I still need to take the children to lunch."

"Wait! I can ignore everything else, but regarding Zhou Meng's matter, shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

Ye Qingran tugged at the corner of her mouth, her tone lightly mocking, "Miss Meng, your words are a bit strange. I am the young master of the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, Zhou Meng is my subordinate; why should I explain his affairs to you?"

Meng Qian furrowed her beautiful willow-leaf brows, staring at the exceedingly beautiful woman before her.

Her demeanor was cold and clear, like the bright moon; that unassuming yet imposing aura, so powerful it seemed almost unreal, made her involuntarily recall the General Dingyuan she had met a few times in childhood!

Meng Qian secretly felt startled.

She couldn't fathom how Ye Qingran's transformation could be so great.

"What you say is correct, but I can't interfere. However, Commander Zhou is the leader of the Old Dingyuan Units, and as a fellow soldier, I just want to ask: for you to arbitrarily cripple someone's arm is rather excessive, isn't it?"

"I still say the same thing: Meng Qian, you should investigate clearly before speaking."

"What do you mean?"

"Literally!"

Meng Qian startled, and in a daze, Ye Qingran had already brushed past her shoulder, taking the two children away.

"Ye Qingran, just wait; once I verify this, I'll make you regret it!"

Meng Qian shouted after Ye Qingran's retreating back.

But she got no response.

Dingyuan Marquis Mansion

"Commander Zhou, Meng Qian has come to you to verify the matter of you having your arm crippled by Ye Qingran; you know what to say, right?"

Ye Huanhuan stood by the window, Zhou Meng sat at the table, his right hand in a cast hanging from his neck, his complexion pale, thinner than before.

Upon hearing Ye Huanhuan's words, a flicker of ruthlessness crossed his eyes.

"I know! I will definitely make that vile woman Ye Qingran pay the price!"

Ye Huanhuan nodded, "To avoid complications, I'll leave first."

Ye Huanhuan left Zhou Meng's room, and just as she reached the gate of the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, she encountered Meng Qian, who had come to verify the truth.

"Huanhuan, what are you doing here?"

Ye Huanhuan startled, not expecting to meet Meng Qian here. She knew Meng Qian would come, but didn't expect her to arrive so soon.

"I came to see Commander Zhou. Qianqian, how about you?"

Meng Qian had no doubts, "Me too. I had some acquaintance with Commander Zhou earlier; now that he's injured, I came to check on him."

Ye Huanhuan affectionately linked arms with Meng Qian, "Had I known you were also coming, I would have come with you. But now that I'm out, I won't accompany you back in."

Meng Qian nodded, "Go back first; I'll come find you tomorrow."

After Ye Huanhuan left, Meng Qian stood there thoughtfully for a moment before entering the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.

The next day

Without waiting for Ye Qingran to fulfill her promise and proactively invite Wuhen, she instead received an invitation from Wuhen.

"Miss, Young Master Wuhen has arrived and asks if you'd like to go boating on Qingshan Lake."

"Boating on Qingshan Lake?"

Ye Qingran emerged from the Shen Nong Space, her peerless visage slightly surprised.

"Where is he?"

"He's in the outer courtyard."

Ye Qingran tidied her appearance a bit and walked toward the outer courtyard.

At that moment, Wuhen was in the courtyard, explaining something to the two children with great focus; the children listened especially attentively, making one reluctant to disturb them.

At that time, sunlight slanted down from the east, casting dappled shadows under the locust trees, bathing the trio of one adult and two children in a warm glow.

"Uncle Wuhen, you know so much, just like my dad!" Fu Qianchen said, tilting her head slightly, eyes shining with admiration.

Mo Xiaohu was the same. This uncle before them, though not as handsome as him, possessed far greater erudition.

Wuhen kept a straight face, but inwardly he was thinking, "Damn brat, I'm your father!" However, he couldn't say it, and remained constantly tense, for the person before him was his son of five years, and a slip might expose him.

"Uncle Wuhen, it's strange; sometimes I almost think you're my Father Lord."

Fu Qianchen scratched her head, feeling quite perplexed. Why does she always see the shadow of her Father Lord in Uncle Wuhen?

Wuhen's heart tightened, but his face remained unchanged as he casually said, "People can resemble each other; there's nothing strange about that."

Fu Qianchen furrowed her brows, "Really?"

"Hmm."

"Well..."

Wuhen let out a breath, lifted his head, and met Ye Qingran's smiling gaze.

The morning sunlight bathed her lithe figure, enhancing her already peerless beauty to an unparalleled degree, like a celestial fairy.

In Wuhen's dark, ink-stained eyes, her peerless visage was reflected, causing his breath to catch.

He considered himself to have seen countless beauties, and this wasn't even the first time he'd seen Ye Qingran, yet for some reason she always managed to shock him.

"Cough..." Realizing that staring at her seemed impolite, Wuhen lightly coughed into his fist to shift his gaze.

"You've come." He said as he stood up, his tall stature exuding a sense of security.

Ye Qingran lightly inclined her head and walked slowly toward Wuhen.

"I heard you're going to take me boating on Qingshan Lake?"

Ye Qingran stared directly into Wuhen's eyes.

"Hmm, I heard the National Master will go boating on Qingshan Lake today; I thought if we went together it might be a good opportunity..."

Ye Qingran raised her eyebrows, suddenly understanding. She had been saying, how could Wuhen possibly invite her out for a boat ride for no reason? It turned out to be because the National Master was there.

Upon thinking it over, it really was a good opportunity. If she could play a flute and xiao duet with Wuhen on the boat, performing a piece of deep marital affection, it would surely make the National Master back off.

Thinking that, Ye Qingran asked, "Wuhen, can you play the xiao?"

"... Yes, why do you ask?"

Having gotten the answer she wanted, Ye Qingran curled the corner of her mouth and drawled, "Since we're going to put on a show for the National Master, we naturally have to go all out. Isn't the National Master out boating? We'll go boating too, pretend we don't know, sail the boat close to him, and then we'll play a flute and xiao duet on the deck—surely that will startle the National Master..."

The more Ye Qingran thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, completely failing to notice Wuhen's face instantly blackening like a pot bottom.

Wuhen clenched his back teeth, feeling a tightness in his chest; he truly admired this woman to death! His mind was full of one scheme after another to deal with him! If he weren't incarnated as Wuhen, this woman would have had him spinning in circles long ago.

"Woman, since you're so good at playing games, don't blame me for being impolite!"

A flash of sharp light quickly crossed Wuhen's eyes; when Ye Qingran looked over, he had already returned to normal.

"Is the news that the National Master will go boating reliable?"

"Hmm."

"How did you find out?"

"I had people keep an eye on his movements, and they report to me whenever there's any development."

Upon hearing that, Ye Qingran felt a soft spot in her heart. Was Wuhen doing this for her sake?

"What a thoughtful, good man!"