She Came to Heal, Stayed to Conquer

As Han Lei stood up and curtsied, a piece of white jade pendant "fell" from her outer robe and dropped onto the muddy ground with a thud.

"Hey? This jade pendant..."

Su Qi saw the patterns on the jade pendant clearly, his gaze sharpened as his eyebrows slightly arched, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He looked up at Han Lei, his eyes now filled with a probing expression: "Isn’t this the jade pendant of the Wei Family? Miss, you are..."

Humph!

Han Lei snorted internally. You belong to the Su Family, then I’ll show you something from the Wei Family.

Han Lei calmly picked up the jade pendant, her fingertips gently caressing the intricately carved patterns on the jade surface.

The corners of her lips slightly lifted, showing a perfectly measured shallow smile.

"Mr. Su has a keen eye. This is indeed the jade pendant from our Wei Family, Prime Minister Wei is my uncle."

As her words lightly fell, Han Lei hooked the hanging string of the jade pendant with her finger, retracting her exposed arm into her robe. Su Qi could see the gleam of the jade pendant swaying amidst the folds of the dark green garment.

"So that’s it!"

Upon learning Han Lei belonged to the Wei Family, Su Qi instantly felt that his relationship with this beauty, as striking as a fairy, had drawn a little closer.

He smiled joyfully, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes wrinkling.

Just moments ago, he was contemplating how to bring this gorgeous lady back to be his concubine.

Since she is from the Wei Family, it seems he must abandon that thought.

After all, the Wei Family is the leading noble family, and a woman from the Wei Family could never lower herself to such a position.

Nonetheless, they can always find opportunities to converse more.

With these thoughts, Su Qi subtly stepped back half a step, adding some caution to his previously flirtatious gaze.

"It seems I have been away from the Capital City for too long, and I was unaware that the Wei Family has brought forth such a breathtaking beauty," Su Qi praised discreetly.

"Mr. Su, you flatter me."

Han Lei chuckled lightly, speaking courteously, though her heart was full of mockery—

Humph! As if I can’t see your ill-intentioned gaze! Since you slipped through the Su Family’s net, I owe this jade pendant a little trick to make it right.

At this moment, a dull thunder rolled across the sky, pressing the lead-gray clouds even lower.

Han Lei looked up at the sky, a raindrop dampening her lashes.

"Oh dear! It’s raining. I planned to reach Jingzhou today to visit my cousin, but it seems it’ll be delayed."

"Miss Wei, don’t worry."

Su Qi’s eyes lit up, quickly pointing towards the bend in the mountain path.

"My military camp is just ahead. With the rain, the mountain roads are difficult, if Miss Wei doesn’t mind, you could shelter at my camp until the weather clears."

He paused for a moment, intentionally adding: "The newly built conference hall in the camp is quite spacious, it certainly won’t inconvenience you."

Han Lei lightly twisted the sleeve’s edge with her fingertips, showing a hesitant expression: "This... the military has strict regulations, I am a woman, I’m afraid..."

"Hahaha!"

Su Qi laughed heartily, boldly patting his chest, "Over half of the troops stationed in Jingzhou are old soldiers of the Su Family. Not to mention a noble avoiding the rain, anything is possible..."

He suddenly stopped, then switched up saying: "Where’s your carriage, miss? I’ll send my trusted aide to assist."

"The attendants are waiting on the main road." Han Lei looked towards the increasingly dense rain, a drop of rainwater just landing on her nose, making her skin glow even more brilliantly.

Seeing this, Su Qi glanced down at his loose robe.

He intended to take off his robe to shield Han Lei from the rain, but he only had his wet inner shorts underneath without any other cover.

He had to say: "This way, I’ll return to the camp to arrange things, then send the Deputy General to meet you at the mountain bend. Your carriage can go directly into the camp without anyone speaking a word."

Han Lei finally nodded slightly: "Then I trouble you, Mr. Su."

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing." Su Qi turned to leave down the path, took a few steps, and then turned back to remind.

"Rainy roads are slippery, please be careful. There’s a red lantern hanging in front of my tent, it’s easiest to recognize."

After speaking, he raised his hand to shield from the rain, and his figure quickly vanished into the increasingly dense rain curtain.

Wasn’t he talking about the conference hall? Why did he deliberately mention his tent? Heh!

Han Lei stood where she was, gently rubbing the jade pendant hidden within her robe, the corners of her lips curling into an almost imperceptible curve.

Han Lei took out a dry skirt from the space, quickly changed clothes, and then walked towards the carriage on the main road.

Xiao Zhengfei and the trusted aides had indeed left ahead, leaving only the four brothers from the large-character team waiting by the carriage.

Gathering the brothers from the large-character team onto the carriage, hiding behind the pattering rain, Han Lei inquired about some details regarding Su Qi.