Upon hearing Qiao Zhao’s words, Shao Mingyuan’s ears suddenly turned red.

Qiao Zhao was quite speechless.

He was the one acting inappropriately, yet he still had the nerve to blush.

“General Shao can manage this much, can’t you?”

Shao Mingyuan didn’t make a sound, and his face also reddened.

He didn’t want to lie and deceive her—he couldn’t do it.

The moment he saw her, he wanted to hold her and never let go.

Seeing his reaction, Qiao Zhao took it as his tacit agreement and couldn’t help but relax, curving her lips in a smile. “General Shao, you needn’t feel uncomfortable either, thinking you have some responsibility toward me. We can just get along as we did before.”

Shao Mingyuan’s gaze deepened, and he asked with apparent calm, “Zhaozhao means you won’t acknowledge the relationship between us?”

Miss Qiao looked surprised. “What relationship do we have?”

So after all she had said, it was all for nothing?

Shao Mingyuan felt a dull ache in his chest and looked deeply at Qiao Zhao.

Qiao Zhao almost couldn’t resist rolling her eyes.

He was actually acting aggrieved, as if she were the one who had started something and then abandoned him.

“General Shao, I’ve already said—I am Li Zhao now!”

“But you are Qiao Zhao. Otherwise, why would you be on this passenger ship?” Shao Mingyuan looked earnestly at Qiao Zhao. “Zhaozhao, everything you’ve done is what only Qiao Zhao would do. No matter how much you deny it, you can’t change the fact that you are Qiao Zhao.”

The light in the man’s eyes across from her was too fervent, making Qiao Zhao instinctively avoid his gaze. She sighed and said, “Yes, although I occupy Li Zhao’s identity, I can never escape the mark of being Qiao Zhao. But hasn’t that arrow already severed the relationship between us? Shao Mingyuan, you must understand—from the moment you shot that arrow, Qiao Zhao might still be alive, but your wife Lady Qiao died.”

Shao Mingyuan’s entire body trembled, and his face gradually paled.

“Zhaozhao, do you hate me?”

He looked like an abandoned cub, making one inexplicably unable to bear seeing him this way.

Qiao Zhao looked away and said indifferently, “I don’t hate you.”

“Really?” Shao Mingyuan’s eyes brightened.

“If I hated you, why would I still perform acupuncture to expel poison for you?” Qiao Zhao asked in return, unable to resist adding, “I thought General Shao understood this.”

Shao Mingyuan nodded. “I understand.”

But no matter how much he understood, he would still feel anxious and uneasy. Only hearing her answer could put him at ease.

“But not hating you doesn’t mean I still want to be your wife. Do you understand?”

Shao Mingyuan’s thin lips pressed tightly together.

He didn’t understand, and even if he did, he planned to pretend he didn’t.

Before he knew that Miss Li was Qiao Zhao, they had already become too intimate.

She performed acupuncture for him daily, having to look at his bare upper body every day. When the landslide occurred at Sunset Mountain, he had held her countless times. And there was the way she fed him medicine when he was unconscious in the cave, which had always made him vaguely suspect but not dare to think further.

It wasn’t that he was too stupid to guess—he simply didn’t dare to guess.

He had sworn to remain faithful to his deceased wife, so he could only play deaf and dumb toward the girl he liked, pushing away the responsibility he should shoulder.

Now that he knew they were the same person, he would never let go in this lifetime or the next.

“Zhaozhao, there’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask you.”

“Please speak, General Shao.” Qiao Zhao’s tone was very polite.

At this crucial moment of being recognized, she couldn’t give him any wrong ideas or let this fellow push his luck. She had to make him understand that there was no relationship between them!

Shao Mingyuan lowered his eyelids as if he didn’t dare look at her. “Uh, it’s about that time I was unconscious in the cave—how did you feed me medicine?”

“Cough, cough, cough—” The question was too sudden. Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but start coughing, her face red as sunset clouds.

The blushing Zhaozhao looked so beautiful, Shao Mingyuan thought.

He quickly raised his hand to gently pat her back, saying softly, “Don’t rush, I was just asking.”

Qiao Zhao coughed until her eyes filled with tears and glared at him fiercely.

What did he mean by “just asking”? He was doing it on purpose!

“Alright, alright, I won’t ask anymore. I know now.” Shao Mingyuan poured a cup of water and handed it to Qiao Zhao.

Qiao Zhao coughed even harder. After drinking several sips of water, she widened her watery eyes and glared at him.

“What do you know—”

Shao Mingyuan lowered his head and chuckled softly. “I know how you fed me the medicine.”

“Shao Mingyuan!”

“Yes.” Shao Mingyuan responded.

Qiao Zhao’s face was completely red as she pointed toward the door. “Get out!”

“Alright.” Shao Mingyuan obediently stood up and left.

Mm, he couldn’t push Zhaozhao too hard. Besides, she still had to perform acupuncture for him today, so it wouldn’t be long before he could see her again.

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Qiao Zhao picked up her teacup and drank deeply, then set it down and began to stare blankly.

How had she never noticed that the scoundrel wasn’t honest at all!

When had he figured it out?

What was even more infuriating was that if he hadn’t known she was Qiao Zhao, was he planning to keep playing deaf and dumb? Was he not planning to take things further with the young lady Li Zhao?

Irresponsible beast in a gentleman’s clothing!

Qiao Zhao cursed in her heart, but her mood inexplicably improved somewhat.

“Miss, General Shao didn’t do anything bad, did he?” Seeing her mistress lost in thought, Binglu couldn’t help but ask.

Qiao Zhao came back to her senses and noticed the little maid’s gaze had been fixed on her lips. Greatly embarrassed, she tried her best to appear nonchalant. “Don’t say such things casually in the future. If someone hears, they’ll misunderstand.”

Binglu looked very serious. “Don’t worry, Miss. This servant absolutely won’t speak carelessly. But your face is so red—General Shao must have done something, right?”

“No, you may withdraw. I want to rest.” Unable to withstand the little maid’s gossiping heart, Qiao Zhao quickly dismissed her.

Left alone, she collapsed onto the bed, hugging a soft pillow and sighing.

Big Brother revealing her identity—wasn’t this just adding to the chaos?

She had thought that clarifying things would be enough, but that fellow actually wouldn’t cooperate and even brought up the cave incident to turn the tables on her.

Where was his former gentle courtesy and measured behavior?

Miss Qiao felt deeply frustrated, while the young general who had left her room was in high spirits.

Regardless of whether Zhaozhao could accept him for now, the fact that she was still alive was the greatest surprise.

However, he still needed to work harder to win her back and marry her as soon as possible.

Thinking this way, Shao Mingyuan suddenly felt the weight of his responsibility. When he walked back to his room, he nodded slightly to Chen Guang, who was standing at the door. “Come in.”

Shao Mingyuan entered and sat down, pointing to the chair across from him. “Sit.”

Chen Guang quickly sat down, thinking to himself: It looks like the General has another question to discuss.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Shao Mingyuan spoke. “Chen Guang, there’s a question I’d like to ask you.”

“Please speak, General. Oh, is this about ordinary friends?”

Shao Mingyuan looked deeply at Chen Guang.

This kid was doing it on purpose, wasn’t he? It seemed like it had been too long since he’d gotten a beating—he needed discipline.

“Not ordinary friends. She’s your future General’s wife.”

With a thud, Chen Guang slid directly from his chair to the floor.

General, sir, saying such shocking words so casually—did you consider other people’s feelings?

Seeing Chen Guang’s dramatic reaction, Shao Mingyuan furrowed his sword-like brows. “Hmm?”

Chen Guang quickly scrambled up, his heart pounding like a drum. He felt more nervous than if he were getting married himself, and asked cautiously, “Who is our General’s wife?”