Chapter 19: The General's Elegance—Does He Prefer to Act Outdoors?

Another round of thunder roared through the sky.

Xiao Ming was burning with anxiety inside, yet she still restrained herself. She would sit for a while in the bedchamber, then stand and pace about.

“What’s wrong, Miss?” Qingzhu came from the small kitchen, carrying a bowl of red date and white fungus soup. She placed it on the table and said, “I added plenty of rock sugar and mixed in some milk. Please try it while it’s warm.”

The spoon, bowl, and dishware were all set, but no one had come.

Qingzhu turned and glanced toward the window, seeing Xiao Ming staring blankly at the sky. Her heart tightened with worry, yet knowing it was useless to urge, she still couldn’t help but say, “Miss, don’t worry. The rain is pouring heavily today; Master Mo would never wait in vain.”

“I know…”

He was not like Wei Sheng.

Xiao Ming sat by the table, fingers pinching the spoon’s handle, idly stirring the sweet soup. She scooped a spoonful to her lips, blew on it to cool, but ultimately did not take a bite.

He had promised that even if the heavens fell or the seas dried, he would wait for her.

Though he was not Wei Sheng, perhaps he would leave after waiting a while. But if he caught a cold from the rain, she would be the cause.

Her heart was truly restless.

From time to time, Xiao Ming glanced at the paulownia paper umbrella standing in the corner of the room. Raindrops slid down from its tip, pooling on the floor. She tried to deliberately ignore it, but could not.

Suddenly she stood up, her steps hesitant. After a long while, biting her lip, she resolved herself.

“Qingzhu, Chun’er, put out the candles. If anyone asks, say I caught a chill in the rain and have already gone to bed.” With that, she took the umbrella and hurried out of the bedchamber.

“Miss! Come back! Don’t do anything reckless!” The two maids were frantic, but there was no stopping her.

Just like when she secretly met Mo Shichang in the mansion, despite everyone’s warnings, she still went.

Moreover, Xiao Ming felt as if under a spell, her mind devoid of clarity. There was only one thought: she must go. She wanted to gamble on whether the man was truly as she imagined, whether he could pull her out of the mire.

But as she passed through the flowering gate and turned toward the corridor in front of the mansion, she saw a figure standing there and immediately froze.

Backlit by the moonlight, the man stood with his hands behind his back, motionless, like a towering mountain pressing down before her.

She stood rigid, her face pale. “You… where are you going?”

Ling Zhao stepped forward slowly, his deep eyes locking onto hers. “Shouldn’t you be the one to tell me where you’re going?”

“I…” She bit her lip, shook her head, unable and unwilling to speak.

She had promised him to behave, not to harbor feelings for other men. She had even said she would warm his bed.

Outwardly she was grateful to the Ling family, but privately she blamed them for their coldness and cruelty.

Outwardly she obeyed Ling Zhao in every way, but secretly she colluded with another man, pledging her future to him.

And what of him?

He kept every promise he made.

But she had deceived him.

Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed, suffocating.

He closed the distance step by step, forcing her to retreat repeatedly until her back hit a pillar, halting her movement.

Xiao Ming had not expected Ling Huaishu to reveal this matter to Ling Zhao. She had never imagined she would use him to punish her!

Today, she was much clearer-headed.

The obstacles between her and Mo Shichang were enormous—background, birth, education—each a gulf they could not cross.

Yet he was so gentle with her, indifferent to her humble status, compliant in all matters. He even sent someone to deliver an invitation to her, created a secret passage through the Western Garden, and foolishly gave her silver to help.

Such a warmhearted person—she truly, truly could not bear to let go.

“Let me go see… I beg you, isn’t that enough?”

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

He stepped forward, grabbing her wrist with all his strength and pulling her towards Lan Yue Pavilion. She stumbled, her knee striking the bluestone pavement with a thud.

Ignoring the pain, she struggled to rise, only to be caught by her skirt’s hem. “Master Ling, please, let me go. I promise I’ll only take a quick look! I’ll come straight back!”

Her hair was drenched by the storm, utterly disheveled.

She begged over and over, but he remained unmoved.

“Ling Zhao! I just want to go!”

He stopped, his gaze instantly turning ice-cold.

This kind of coldness was unprecedented. Xiao Ming felt as if he looked at her like a corpse.

Suddenly, he swept her up horizontally and headed toward Qingyun Pavilion.

“What are you doing?”

“If you want the man so badly, I’ll grant you that.” His voice seemed to come from the depths of hell.

Xiao Ming stared at him in stunned silence, then kicked and struggled fiercely. “Ling Zhao! How dare you! You bastard! You filthy scoundrel! He is a gentleman! He never forced me!”

Ling Zhao froze abruptly, his fury nearly exploding but held tightly within his chest.

He released her hand, and she nearly fell to the ground.

“Don’t I dare?”

He suddenly laughed, a faint madness flickering in his gaze. “He is a gentleman? And I am a scoundrel?”

She did not know if he would kill her next, but even so, she was no longer afraid.

Was there anything more terrifying than losing one’s parents and living alone?

No place to come from, and no place to return to.

She was driven mad by this life.

She only wanted to find a refuge, and Mo Shichang was that refuge.

“Still want to go?”

His voice, somber and chilling in the icy wind and rain, grew colder.

Xiao Ming forced down her fear, lifted her chin, and met his gaze.

Ling Zhao suddenly calmed, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips. “So you still want to go.”

“A year ago, you begged me. I arranged for you to stay in the Ling Mansion through my grandmother. You wanted to investigate your parents’ case, so I did it for you. You thought their deaths suspicious, so I petitioned the Dali Court to reopen the case. You said once the truth was found, you would fulfill our agreement. I agreed. You secretly met Mo Shichang in the General’s mansion, and I never blamed you. Xiao Ming, am I too kind to you, making you think I am easy to deal with?”

He pressed closer with every step. She retreated repeatedly until there was a cold wall behind her, and she had nowhere left to run.

“What must I do for you to let me go?”

“What do you think?”

His eyes grew colder in the rain.

Though he uttered the words, he would never let her go.

The world was harsh enough for women; she was young and inexperienced, but he could not indulge her.

After a long pause, Xiao Ming laughed softly—the true Ling Zhao.

He had been immersed in the brutal warfare of the army since youth, leading troops at fourteen or fifteen, spending half his life steeped in intrigue and scheming. How could she expect him to be gentle with her?

The night rain roared, lanterns swayed in the corridor.

She closed her eyes, her hands trembling as she untied the sash around her waist. The loose outer robe slipped off accordingly.

This move made him pause, completely unprepared.

One garment after another she shed.

Until her pale, fragrant shoulders were revealed, wearing only a thin silk undergarment that clung perfectly to her graceful figure, outlining her slender waist and the curves beneath.

Such a sheer undergarment concealed nothing.

For the first time, she spoke to him in a cold, fearless tone: “It’s a pity General Ling took a liking to me. A year has passed, but Xiao Ming has been ungrateful. Tonight is just right. Let’s sleep together once, then you can let me go. How about that?”

She knew she would lie on his bed sooner or later. She was clear in her heart, though she hadn’t expected this day to come so suddenly.

He remained motionless, only his ears turning so red they seemed ready to bleed.

Xiao Ming glanced around nervously, then leaned on Ling Zhao’s shoulder with a teasing smile.

“The general has refined tastes. Do you like doing this here?”