At first, it was just holding hands, but now he would embrace her at every opportunity, and surprisingly, she didn't reject this intimate contact.
However, if he continued to hold her like this, she feared she wouldn't need to sleep tonight.
Yet, she was also worried that pushing him away might aggravate his wound.
"Yu, let go of me. It's very late, and I need to sleep. You should go back now," she said.
Qin Yuchuan's magnetic voice resonated near Feng Qingyi's ear, "Tonight, I want to stay over."
"...You, you should hurry back!" Feng Qingyi's tone was tinged with panic.
Qin Yuchuan said with a smile, "Qingqing, are you afraid I might do something to you?"
"You... you should leave quickly." Feng Qingyi started urging him to go.
Qin Yuchuan remained unmoved, "Qingqing, in my current state, what do you think I could do?"
"After daybreak, I'll be leaving for battle. After that, I might not have much time to see you. Tonight, I just want to be with you. Is that okay?"
Hearing his words, Feng Qingyi wavered.
He was right. From now on, they would be in a long-distance relationship, and opportunities to meet would be uncertain.
"Alright, but we have an agreement. You sleep on this side, I sleep on this side, and neither of us crosses the line!"
Qin Yuchuan agreed, "Okay."
"Then let's sleep!" Feng Qingyi carefully lay down on the left side, pulling a bit of the blanket to cover herself.
"Qingqing, you don't need to leave so much space for me."
Her curled-up posture at the edge of the bed was rather adorable.
Feng Qingyi didn't move upon hearing this, "You should sleep quickly. I'm turning off the lights."
Qin Yuchuan lifted the blanket and lay down on the bed.
Her bed was soft and had a faint fragrance, similar to the scent emanating from her body.
After covering himself with the blanket, Qin Yuchuan moved a bit closer to Feng Qingyi's position.
"I'm turning off the lights. Good night!"
Feng Qingyi reached out to turn off the bedroom lights, and instantly the entire space was plunged into darkness.
Sharing a bed with a man for the first time, Feng Qingyi was very nervous. She couldn't sleep at all but didn't dare to move.
After a long while of restless thoughts, Feng Qingyi forced herself to close her eyes and tried to sleep quickly.
At this moment, she felt an arm pulling her closer.
"What are you doing?"
Qin Yuchuan directly embraced Feng Qingyi, "Sleep well, don't overthink."
"...You've crossed the line. Let go of me!"
However, there was no response. The person beside her seemed to have fallen asleep.
Feng Qingyi had no choice but to find a comfortable position in his arms and sleep.
Feeling the light breathing of the person in his arms, Qin Yuchuan slowly opened his eyes.
Even though it was night, he could still clearly see her silhouette.
His hand gently caressed her face, and he leaned down to place a light kiss on her forehead.
Then he took her hand from his shoulder and placed it under the blanket.
After he got out of bed, he carefully tucked her in.
Although he wanted to stay with her longer, time didn't allow it. He hoped there would be opportunities in the future.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to take the gift she had given him.
The General's mansion was extremely lively at this moment. Na Muqi and the other commanders who were to set out on the expedition were waiting for news of Qin Yuchuan in the main hall.
"Yan Chi, have you found Yan Yang?" Na Muqi asked anxiously.
Yan Chi lowered his head, "Not yet."
"Continue searching. We must find the General before the hour of Chen (7-9 am)."
If they couldn't find him by then, it would be difficult.
"My lords, the General has returned. He's in the study now," a guard hurriedly reported.
Na Muqi hastily headed towards the Falling Flower Courtyard, with others following.
Arriving in the courtyard and seeing Qin Yuchuan safe and sound, Na Muqi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"General, are you injured?"
Qin Yuchuan glanced at his left arm, "It's nothing. What's all this about?"
Na Muqi explained, "Yan Chi and Yan Yang said you were being pursued and assassinated, your fate unknown. We were all worried."
"It's all settled now. Everyone can withdraw. Yan Chi and Yan Yang, stay behind," Qin Yuchuan waved his hand, dismissing the others.
"Yes, we'll take our leave then."
After everyone had left, Yan Chi spoke up, "General, I'll call for a doctor right away."
"No need. It's fine now. What about that group of people?"
This time, the attackers were clearly stronger and not so easy to deal with.
The previous batch had already been taken care of by Qin Yi. Could there be another hidden force they hadn't discovered?
Yan Yang replied, "General, their target was you. After you left, they didn't want to engage with us and went after you instead."
"You two go and rest as well." It seemed he had underestimated that woman.
...
In Changle Palace, the lights were burning bright. Murong Yan sat anxiously in the hall, waiting for news.
When Yan Lan returned to the palace, her face was pale, as if she had been seriously injured.
Murong Yan hurriedly asked, "Yan Lan, what's the situation?"
"I have failed you!"
Yan Lan found it very strange. Qin Yuchuan seemed to have vanished into thin air.
He was right in front of them one moment, and the next, he had disappeared.
Murong Yan angrily smashed the teacup in her hand onto the ground.
"He was already drugged, and you still couldn't handle him. What use are you!"
"Your Highness, I could have finished him off, but he suddenly vanished. We searched everywhere but couldn't find a trace of him," Yan Lan knelt on the ground, explaining.
Murong Yan felt like she had heard a joke.
"Vanished into thin air? You've really outdone yourselves. Now you're telling me he vanished into thin air!"
"There's no need to make excuses for your failure. Go back and accept your punishment."
He wasn't a god; how could he vanish into thin air? Even lies should have limits.
"I accept my punishment." Yan Lan couldn't say much more and withdrew.
In the now-empty hall, Murong Yan's face was gloomy.
This was the best opportunity, and now that they had missed it, everything would be more difficult in the future.
The military camp was full of Qin Yuchuan's people; her own couldn't infiltrate.
It seemed she couldn't continue to focus on him and would have to think of another way.
She also needed to start deploying to the Southern Frontier, otherwise it would benefit her dear imperial brothers.
In the early morning, Feng Qingyi woke up groggily. She rolled over in bed and sat up.
Looking at the half-eaten cake still on the table, she remembered what had happened during the night.
She recalled falling asleep in Qin Yuchuan's arms.
By now, he should have already left, as he was set to depart for battle today.
She hoped he would achieve a great victory and return triumphant soon.
However, without his daily wake-up call, she felt a bit unaccustomed and didn't want to get up.
However, now that he had gone off to attend to important matters, she also needed to pull herself together.
Although she had been studying consistently during this period, her efficiency hadn't been particularly high. Now she needed to make the most of her time, and perhaps even add another course to her schedule.
It was only during holidays that time felt more abundant, when each day didn't need to be packed to the brim with activities.
Having mentally prepared herself, Feng Qingyi quickly got up.
