"What do you mean by 'how to look?' Liking men is normal," Xue Xingyue said. In her heart, she didn't believe Xie Yunliu liked men, or perhaps she simply wanted to believe it.
Xie Yunliu became agitated upon hearing this, "I do not like men."
Xue Xingyue was amused, "If it's consensual, what's the big deal?"
Xie Yunliu pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing into slender slits. Xue Xingyue suddenly felt a chill all over her body. She looked up and saw the icy depths of his ink-dark pupils, a place she could not touch.
Xie Yunliu suddenly pulled Xue Xingyue over. Xue Xingyue was stunned by this sudden movement. She saw his deep eyes seeming to suck her in, and she wanted to struggle, but she couldn't at all. His voice carried a trace of magnetism, "I like..."
Suddenly, a person entered the tent. He saw the situation, "Young..."
Xue Xingyue quickly pushed Xie Yunliu away, tugged at her collar, and moved towards a corner of the tent. Xie Yunliu looked at the unexpected arrival, his expression growing colder, like the frozen world outside.
"What is it?"
"Xie Yu had someone roll a large snowball down the city wall. The Qi people have already retreated." Xie Wei secretly glanced at the fair-faced, delicate-looking youth in the corner of the tent, his heart skipping a beat. It seemed rumors couldn't be entirely dismissed.
"I know," Xie Yunliu said coldly.
"Your subordinate, I take my leave!" After Xie Wei spoke, he fled the tent as if escaping.
"I..."
Xue Xingyue stood up and walked to Xie Yunliu's side, saying, "This is great, General Xie. Your liking for men is now confirmed."
"What do you mean?" Xie Yunliu stood up and said coldly.
Xue Xingyue snorted, "General Xie, if you wanted to prove you don't like men, you didn't need to use me as an experiment. Now, I've also been labeled as liking men because of you."
"You are a woman," Xie Yunliu said coldly.
Xue Xingyue's eyes narrowed, "Am I dressed as a woman now?"
Xie Yunliu stiffened. He suddenly remembered Gu Wei fleeing the tent and understood what Xue Xingyue meant.
Xue Xingyue was very helpless. Xie Yunliu, who commanded the Xie family army, was rumored to be exceptionally intelligent, but she felt he was incredibly foolish.
"I... I'll leave now." Xie Yunliu quickly walked out of the tent.
Upon exiting, he saw the soldiers in the camp quickly move away upon seeing him.
Xie Yunliu sighed. How did he seem to be making things worse for himself? He had intended to prove he didn't like men, but the opposite had happened.
Xie Yunliu returned to his own tent. Xie Yu was sitting there. Seeing him return, he smiled, "I say, Young General, what exactly did you do? Why are things getting more and more bizarre? They say you like men, and this afternoon you had a young soldier pinned beneath you."
"Nonsense, I... I didn't," Xie Yunliu's face suddenly turned red as he recalled that soft body pinned beneath him.
Xie Yu looked at Xie Yunliu with confusion, "Why is your face red? Could it be that you actually like men?"
"Nonsense, I like women," Xie Yunliu roared.
Xie Yu picked at his ear, "I know, but what is going on? It seems even Xie Wei believes you like men now."
Xie Yunliu's expression turned cold, and he said, "Go find Xie Wei for me."
Xie Yu looked at Xie Yunliu and smiled, "I'm afraid Xie Wei would rather not see you right now."
Xie Yunliu sat back down on the mat and looked at Xie Yu, who was gloating, "As my deputy, shouldn't you help me suppress this matter?"
Xie Yu shrugged, "I can manage other things, but this is your private matter, Young General. How can I manage it?"
"You..."
"Young General, I am powerless to help with this."
"Xie Yu," Xie Yunliu gritted out, saying Xie Yu's name word by word.
"Young General, I cannot help." With that, Xie Yu left the tent.
The next day, the Qi people were waiting precisely at the foot of Zhen Wuguan's city walls, continuing to shout the same words as yesterday.
Meng Jiangming sat in the upper seat of the tent, looking at Xie Yunliu's cold expression with great satisfaction. He hadn't expected the Qi people to be able to fluster Xie Yunliu; he truly hadn't imagined it.
"It is not suitable to go into battle now. I hope General Xie can endure a few more days of torment." Meng Jiangming looked down at Xie Yunliu.
Xie Yunliu knew very well that the Qi country was doing this deliberately, probably having already set a trap, waiting for him and his Xie family army to fall into it. But the suppressed anger was truly difficult to quell.
Seeing Xie Yunliu's expression darken, Meng Jiangming continued, "The pure will remain pure, and the impure will remain impure. General Xie should not pay it any mind."
"Yes,驸马," Xie Yunliu said.
"驸马, the army's grain and fodder are insufficient to last ten days. Do you have a solution that would benefit both sides?" Xie Yunliu suddenly spoke slowly, a hint of cold mockery flashing in his starry eyes. If they wanted to make him, Xie Yunliu, look bad, they had to consider who they were dealing with.
Meng Jiangming's reaction was exactly as Xie Yunliu had predicted. Although his face showed no particular expression, a fleeting light quickly flashed in his phoenix eyes, so fast that it was impossible to catch.
"As soon as the snow melts, I, this驸马, will definitely return to the city to gather grain and fodder. General Xie can rest assured." Meng Jiangming said.
"In that case, your subordinate is relieved," Xie Yunliu said with a cold smile.
"However, I, this驸马, still have a request that I hope General Xie can agree to." Meng Jiangming suddenly spoke.
"I wonder what request 驸马 has. If your subordinate can fulfill it, I will certainly do it for 驸马," Xie Yunliu said.
Xie Yunliu noticed a trace of strangeness in Meng Jiangming's phoenix eyes and a mocking cold smile on his lips. Xie Yunliu suddenly felt a sense of unease.
"General Xie will surely be able to do it, but I wonder if General Xie can bear to part with it?" Meng Jiangming said, looking at Xie Yunliu.
Xie Yunliu forced a smile and said, "Your Highness jokes. What is there for your subordinate to part with?" Could it be?
"I hear General Xie has a capable assistant. Am I correct, 驸马?"
Xie Yunliu was slightly startled, then smiled, "驸马, your subordinate's capable assistants are all here. Your Highness may assign tasks freely."
Meng Jiangming smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes, "General Xie, do not misunderstand my meaning. If I wanted someone present here, I would not need to ask you."
Although his words were not cold, they sounded extremely icy.
Xie Yunliu said, "Your subordinate still does not understand the meaning of 驸马's words. I hope 驸马 will clarify."
Meng Jiangming's lips curved into a cold smile, his handsome face bearing a chilling expression. "Since General Xie does not understand, then will you agree to my request?"
"驸马, your subordinate does not know what 驸马 means, so please forgive me for not being able to agree," Xie Yunliu said.
"Presumptuous..."
"Meng Lie." Meng Jiangming shook his head slightly, and Meng Lie behind him returned to his original position.