Chapter 139 -
"General! We shall execute the preparations at once!"
The officers saluted in unison, their heavy chest plates clanking together in a disciplined rhythm. One by one, they began rolling up their strategic scrolls and stepping toward the exit.
As each hardened general passed the corner where Yueqing sat, their fierce, intimidating demeanor completely melted away. They stopped, bowed respectfully, and offered warm, cheerful smiles to the bundled-up young lady sitting on the wooden chest.
"Good day to you, Young Madam! Stay warm!"
"Thank you for grace of your presence, Madam!"
"Take care in this freezing weather, Young Madam!"
Yueqing’s face burned even redder under her fuzzy hood. She nodded hastily, giving them awkward little waves with her giant mitten-covered hands. "Ah... yes! Thank you, generals! Good luck tomorrow! Bye-bye!"
[Oh my god, why are they all being so nice to me?!] her inner voice whimpered in total embarrassment. [I just came in here to scream at their boss! I look like a giant fluffy potato!]
Finally, Dong Li bowed low, giving her a sly, knowing wink before pulling the heavy tent flap shut behind him.
The heavy, suffocating silence returned to the massive room.
Yueqing let out a massive, long-overdue sigh of relief, her shoulders dropping completely. [Phew! They’re finally gone! My throat was about to close up from sheer mortification!]
She uncrossed her legs, preparing to slide off the wooden chest and sneak out while the coast was clear. But before her boots could even touch the rug, a chair creaked across the tent.
Wenzhe sat down at the head of the heavy wooden table, leaning back into his high seat. He poured himself a cup of lukewarm tea, his dark, piercing eyes tracking her every movement.
"Yueqing," Wenzhe called out softly, his deep voice echoing in the quiet space. "Come here."
Yueqing froze mid-motion, one foot hovering an inch above the floor. She slowly looked up, pulling her fuzzy hood back just enough so her sharp, suspicious eyes were visible.
[Oh no...] her mind alarm sounded loudly, her internal persona taking three big steps backward. [The generals are gone, which means... THE INTERROGATION BEGINS! He’s going to yell at me for the teahouse, the gold tael, the Third Prince, AND for crashing his war meeting!]
[System 009: Alert: Target Wenzhe’s current expression is unreadable. Heart rate: Calm. Eye focus: 100% on Host. Recommendation: Proceed with extreme caution... or pretend you lost your hearing.]
Yueqing puffed out her cheeks, stubbornly staying glued to her wooden chest with her mittens folded over her stomach.
"Why should I?" Yueqing huffed, raising her chin defiantly. "So you can hoist me over your shoulder like a sack of rice again?! I am still mad at you, General Wenzhe!"
"Come here," Wenzhe repeated, his voice dropping into a low, even rumble that offered zero room for argument.
Yueqing crossed her arms tighter over her fluffy fur coat and turned her head away with a sharp, stubborn huff. "I said no! I am not a dog you can just whistle for! You left me on a giant monster horse, you dragged me away from my teahouse, and—"
Before she could finish her list of grievances, Wenzhe reached down underneath his heavy wooden desk.
With a slow, deliberate movement, he pulled out a small, steaming bamboo basket wrapped in clean linen cloth. The moment he unwrapped the ties, a warm, heavenly aroma wafted straight across the quiet tent. It was the rich, buttery scent of fresh toasted walnut pastries, dripping with warm honey and sweet cinnamon.
Yueqing’s nose twitched instantly.
Her rant caught dead in her throat. Her wide eyes slowly drifted away from the tent wall, locking directly onto the golden, steaming pastries resting right on his desk.
[OH MY GOD...] her inner voice gasped, her internal persona dropping its anger entirely and floating mid-air toward the smell. [IS THAT THE FAMOUS BORDER WALNUT PASTRY?! THE ONE THAT’S ALWAYS SOLD OUT BY NOON?! HOW DOES HE HAVE THAT?!]
[System 009: Scanning object... Item: High-grade Northern Honey-Walnut Cakes. Status: Extremely delicious. Host’s anger level: Dropping at 90% per second. Dignity status: Critical.]
[SHUT UP, NINE! Food transcends human conflict!]
Yueqing swallowed hard, her mouth watering as she tried desperately to maintain her fierce, angry scowl.
"I... I knew I was smelling something sweet!" Yueqing blurted out, her voice betraying her excitement as she sniffed the air again. "I—I honestly thought it was just my hands from those candied hawthorns!"
Wenzhe’s dark eyes flashed with quiet amusement, though his face remained perfectly composed. He leaned back in his chair, picking up one of the warm, golden pastries with his long fingers and setting it gently on a small porcelain plate.
"It seems my hands smell sweet today, too," Wenzhe murmured softly, resting his chin on his palm as he looked at her. "Are you still staying on that wooden chest... or are you going to come eat?"
Yueqing looked at Wenzhe, then down at the steaming pastry, her little boots tapping against the wooden chest in utter inner turmoil.
She wanted that snack not knowing she was gonna be his ’snack’
Yueqing stared at the golden, glistening pastry on the porcelain plate. Her mouth watered, her stomach let out a tiny, betrayal of a rumble, and all her hard-earned dignity vanished into thin air.
[Forgive me, my pride!] her inner voice wept dramatically, her internal persona bowing down to a giant, floating pastry. [The food is innocent! It didn’t drag me onto a monster horse! It deserves to be eaten!]
[System 009: Dignity status: Completely lost. Remaining anger level: 2%. Food motivation level: Maximum.]
[NINE! I am still mad! I’m just eating his food as a form of financial revenge!]
Yueqing slid off the wooden chest, her fluffy fur coat swishing around her boots as she marched over to his heavy wooden desk. She stopped right across from Wenzhe, puffed out her cheeks, and tried her absolute best to maintain a fierce, menacing glare.
Without saying a word, her fuzzy mitten-covered hand shot out, snatched the small porcelain plate, and pulled it close to her chest. She wriggled her fingers out of one glove, grabbed the warm walnut cake, and took a huge, angry bite.
The moment the crispy, buttery crust and sweet, warm honey touched her tongue, Yueqing’s eyes widened in pure, unadulterated bliss.
[OH MY GOODNESS!] her mind shrieked, her internal persona weeping tears of joy and dancing in a circle. [IT’S SO CRISPY! THE HONEY IS SO WARM! SYSTEM NINE, I MIGHT FORGIVE HIM 5% FOR THIS!]
Wenzhe sat quietly, resting his jaw in his hand as he watched her. The fierce, terrifying commander who had terrified an entire teahouse an hour ago was nowhere to be found. Instead, his dark, sharp eyes softened completely as he watched her chew with puffed-out, rosy cheeks, looking like a little squirrel hoarding nuts for the winter.
Yueqing swallowed her bite, quickly catching a drop of sweet honey on her thumb before it could spill on her white fur coat. She remembered she was supposed to be furious and immediately forced her eyebrows back into a sharp scowl.
"Don’t think... chew... that this means we are okay!" Yueqing huffed, pointing a half-eaten pastry at his nose. "I am only eating this because I am starving! And because... because you owe me three more baskets for kidnapping me!"
Wenzhe’s lips twitched, a quiet, almost invisible smile threatening to break through his stern face. He reached out and picked up a second warm cake from the bamboo basket, placing it gently onto her plate.
"Then you had better keep eating, wife," Wenzhe murmured softly, his deep voice carrying a rare, gentle warmth that made her heart skip a beat. "I bought two whole baskets."