Deep in the night, Zhuge Yue was still unconscious while Chu Qiao changed his bandages. The wound showed no signs of infection and was cleaned properly, revealing her skillful bandaging technique.

Outside, darkness had fallen completely. After an unknown amount of time, Zhuge Yue opened his eyes groggily. He was starving and his body ached all over. He wore a clean black silk robe, the kind worn indoors, made of soft material with a smooth texture, embroidered with several dark gold orchid patterns.

Chu Qiao glanced at him, seeing him sitting there with drowsy eyes, still bearing traces of sleepiness. Without looking at her, he slowly frowned and impatiently muttered: “Tea.”

Chu Qiao took a cup of water and handed it to him.

Perhaps truly thirsty, he drank it down without looking. Then, licking his dry lips, he seemed to realize something was off. With a loud bang, he threw the teacup away and turned his head angrily saying: “Ginseng tea!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Zhuge Yue froze, staring at Chu Qiao for a long while before suddenly coming to his senses, his eyes wide open, speechless.

“Confused from sleep, huh?” Chu Qiao said nonchalantly, jumping off the bed to pick up the broken cup. She casually pointed to the food box on the table and said: “There’s food in there, help yourself.”

Zhuge Yue rarely lost composure like this. He forced himself to remain calm, took a deep breath, and felt the stinging pain from his shoulder wound. With his brows still tightly knit, he asked: “Why didn’t you escape when you had the chance?”

“I wanted to,” Chu Qiao pursed her lips and turned back. “But your men have surrounded this room from all sides, watching with wide eyes day and night. How could I possibly escape?”

Zhuge Yue snorted coldly: “You’re quite frank.”

Chu Qiao shrugged slightly: “With you, there’s no need to beat around the bush.”

After cleaning up the mess on the floor, Chu Qiao walked to the bed, sat cross-legged, and looked directly at Zhuge Yue with a calm expression: “Tell me, what do you want?”

Zhuge Yue gave her a sidelong glance, then got off the bed without a word. He picked up the food box from the table but struggled to take out the dishes due to his injured shoulder. He turned back and casually ordered: “Come here and serve me dinner.”

Chu Qiao’s brows immediately furrowed tightly, and she didn’t move.

The man sat down by the table shamelessly: “When I’m hungry, my mood isn’t good, and I don’t like talking to others. If you want to ask anything, better wait until I’m full.”

With a swoosh, Chu Qiao jumped down from the bed and seemingly calmly opened the food box. But her fingers had turned white. She took out a bowl of soup with force and slammed it on the table. With a crash, the thick porcelain bowl shattered, spilling the entire contents. Zhuge Yue cried out in alarm and jumped up. Soup splashed all over him, with the white fungus and longan decorating his chest like an exhibition, still steaming hot.

Zhuge Yue’s face darkened as he looked at the mess on his body, his eyes seeming to shoot flames. Finally, he turned and walked toward the bathroom, saying in a deep voice as he went: “Come here and wipe me down!”

Bathroom? Again the bathroom!

Zhuge Yue wore black silk pants with his upper body bare, standing quite casually in the middle of the room. He opened his eyes and glanced sideways at Chu Qiao standing in the doorway, lightly snorting: “What are you standing there for? Come here!”

Chu Qiao’s chest rose and fell rapidly. She breathed deeply, clenching and unclenching her fists repeatedly. After several times, the woman finally stepped forward, grabbing a huge wooden bucket as she walked, casually filling it with hot water from the bath, then walked in with an intimidating manner.

Chu Qiao’s gaze was vicious, her face cold. At this moment, no matter how brave Zhuge Yue was, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat fearful. He quickly stepped back, unconsciously adopting a defensive posture, cautiously asking: “What are you going to do?”

Chu Qiao held the bucket full of water with one hand and supported the bottom with the other, saying casually: “Didn’t you ask me to wipe you down? How can I do that without getting you wet first?”

“I’m injured!” the young man frowned, pointing at his chest and emphasizing loudly.

“Yes,” Chu Qiao nodded. “I can see that. The wound was made by me.”

“And you still want to pour this on me?”

“How else can I wipe you down if you’re not wet?”

The dialogue repeated: “But I’m injured.”

“Yes, I can see that. The wound was made by me.”

……

……

“Enough,” Zhuge Yue’s expression soured as he said: “You may leave.”

Chu Qiao gestured with the wooden bucket: “Are you sure you don’t need this?”

The man immediately exploded: “I told you to get out!”

Then, Chu Qiao turned around, whistling as she walked out of the bathroom, quite leisurely.

His body was filthy, covered in blood and sweat, and now sweet soup as well. Zhuge Yue stood gloomily by the water basin, then slowly and reluctantly removed his pants.

He had to get in, just be careful not to get the wound wet, or it would get infected. Infection would cause inflammation, inflammation would leave a scar, and scars look ugly.

“Hey, here are clean clothes. I just had someone bring them.”

The bathroom door was kicked open, and Zhuge Yue jumped into the pool with a splash, roaring in anger: “Get out!”

Zhuge Yue seemed to forget that the bathroom was full of steam. Chu Qiao, standing far away, could only see a shadow splash into the water—it was obvious what had happened. The woman laughed gleefully and kindly reminded him: “Be careful not to drown.”

Then she turned and left the bathroom.

The water had completely soaked his wound. Zhuge Yue angrily tore off the white silk from his shoulder and furiously slammed his fist onto the water’s surface!

Having gone day and night without food, Chu Qiao’s stomach was empty. After cleaning the table, she began taking out the dishes from the food box one by one. Master Tian had truly been attentive to Zhuge Yue; the dishes were exquisitely prepared and tasted excellent. The food box had three layers—one for charcoal, one for water, and one for food—so despite sitting out for most of the night, the food was still hot.

Chu Qiao sighed deeply, relaxed, sat down, and began eating heartily.

When Zhuge Yue walked out of the bathroom, this was the scene that greeted him. His eye twitched, but he suppressed his anger. He walked straight to Chu Qiao’s side and sat down with a dark face, coldly snorting: “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Chu Qiao turned her head and smiled sweetly: “Not as much as you.”

Zhuge Yue looked at her askance: “So arrogant even with death approaching.”

Chu Qiao’s smile remained unchanged: “Don’t you know? Prisoners always get a hearty meal before execution.”

Zhuge Yue leaned forward, his gaze gloomy, enunciating each word slowly: “Are you so certain I won’t do anything to you?”

“I’m not certain,” Chu Qiao smiled. “But since you’re pretending to be confused, why should I rush?”

“Well, little Xing’er,” Zhuge Yue leaned back in his chair, smiling coldly. “It seems you’ve learned quite a bit by Yan Xun’s side these past few years.”

“Thanks to you, while I may have nothing else, I have patience in abundance.”

The lamplight flickered, the night was desolate. The two sat facing each other, staring coldly, neither showing the slightest weakness.

The smile gradually disappeared from Chu Qiao’s face, her relaxed expression fading bit by bit. She coldly stared at the charming face of the man before her and said coldly: “Zhuge Yue, tell me what you really want, draw the line!”

The young fourth master of the Zhuge family smiled faintly, mischievously blinking his eyes: “What do you think?”

With a sudden dull thud, the two who had been sitting quietly simultaneously made their move. In a flash, their arms crossed rapidly. Sharp cold glints traced bright white streaks in mid-air. Instead of retreating, they advanced, with cold light flashing as their bodies quickly rose, collided, and pressed against each other in hard, close-quarters combat!

The weapons in their hands deftly spun between their wrists. An inch short, an inch dangerous, each move lethal, every position throat-sealing!

Their wrists spun, grappling with lightning speed, colliding harshly and swiftly, quick as lightning, fierce as thunder. At the moment when their wrists were both controlled by the other, they quickly switched hands. The weapons flashed brilliantly in that instant, sweeping toward each other’s throats in mutual destruction!

Time suddenly froze. One second, two seconds, many seconds…

No one struck the fatal blow. In an instant, they had exchanged their original positions, still maintaining their previous expressions and demeanors, quietly staring at each other.

Look, they were both full of deep wariness and profound hostility toward each other. He had found a small decorative knife in the bathroom, while she had grabbed the fruit-cutting dagger in the room.

Then, they had hidden them on their bodies for use in case of emergency.

“Zhuge Yue, let me go, or else…” Chu Qiao narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice: “Just kill me.”

Zhuge Yue tugged at the corner of his mouth wickedly, saying softly: “Xing’er, this world isn’t just black and white. Some places are gray. And choices aren’t limited to just two.”

“Between us, there are only two paths.”

Looking into Zhuge Yue’s eyes, Chu Qiao said with a grave expression: “I appreciate your repeated mercy and assistance, but that doesn’t mean we can sit down and get along harmoniously. Zhuge Yue, you too are from a powerful family, a dominant figure in your realm. How can your thinking be so naive, your trust so easily given? Aren’t you afraid I might turn against you?”

Zhuge Yue laughed heartily, saying: “Xing’er, do you think I’m too soft-hearted to act?”

The man’s expression suddenly turned ruthless. He coldly looked at Chu Qiao and said softly: “I’ve seen through your character. Back then, Yan Xun showed you just a little kindness, and you accompanied him for eight years regardless of life or death. So now, how could you fatally strike someone who has repeatedly spared your life? Xing’er, I’m not careless or rash—I just know you too well!”

The gloomy wind circulated in the air, their gazes meeting in the wind, almost sparking fine flames.

“Aren’t you afraid you’ve misjudged me?”

“Wine meets Du Kang, chess meets its match. Xing’er, I trust you, and I trust myself even more.”

Chu Qiao lightly licked her dry lips and slowly said: “What do you want now?”

Zhuge Yue said matter-of-factly: “Capture you and take you away.”

“You can’t control me.”

“Xing’er, I like challenges,” Zhuge Yue smiled lightly and said: “If I can’t control you, I can tame you. If I can’t tame you, I can imprison you. And if even imprisonment doesn’t work, I still have one last option. But for now, we haven’t reached that final step.”

Chu Qiao raised her head, staring into Zhuge Yue’s eyes, saying gravely: “Zhuge Yue, don’t you understand what mistake you’ve made?”

Hearing this, Zhuge Yue raised an eyebrow and smiled coldly: “Mistake? They were just a few slaves. I, Zhuge Yue, killed them—what mistake is there in that?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Chu Qiao’s brow furrowed slightly. She looked at Zhuge Yue and finally sighed heavily, saying: “Fine, I admit, I don’t want to kill you, nor do I want to be your enemy. I did hate you at first, but that hatred has gradually faded with time. The era is such, that our positions differ—rationally speaking, your actions are not unreasonable. Moreover, you have indeed shown me kindness. After the Zhuge family’s old master died and the whole city was hunting me down, you knew where I was but didn’t expose me. For this, I cannot but acknowledge your favor.”

“But you should know clearly that now, you are a golden aristocrat of the Zhuge clan in Great Xia, while I am a remnant rebel from Yan Bei. The war between Great Xia and Yan Bei is inevitable, our positions are different, and our identities are opposed—sooner or later, we will clash on the battlefield. Therefore, it’s better if we have as little involvement as possible. Now that I’ve fallen into your hands, whether you kill me or not, I have nothing to say. But you should understand that as long as that door remains unopened, I have the opportunity to perish together with you before your men rush in! I will never surrender meekly and submit to execution. I prefer everything to be clear and straightforward, not ambiguous or murky. The conflict between Yan Bei and Great Xia is not entirely disadvantageous to your Zhuge lineage. I hope you consider clearly from the family and interest standpoint—whether to release or kill me, give me a straight answer!”

Hearing this, Zhuge Yue slightly raised his eyebrows, his smile cold, saying softly: “Xing’er, you really make me more and more interested.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Chu Qiao’s expression immediately turned cold. She said in a deep voice: “Zhuge Yue, just because I didn’t kill you before doesn’t mean I’ll continue to hold back when pushed to the edge! Before, it was only because you didn’t threaten my life, but if now you forcibly interfere with me, I won’t hesitate to kill a man who has no connection to me!”

Zhuge Yue laughed coldly: “Feel free to try!”

With a loud bang, both stood up abruptly, eyes coldly locked on each other. The conversation had broken down at this point. They both understood that many things couldn’t be reconciled, so there was only one outcome!

However, at that moment, footsteps suddenly came from outside. Chu Qiao started, her brows immediately furrowing. Her feet shifted slightly, adopting a posture ready to explode into action, prepared for a final stand.

“Young Master!” Yue Qi’s voice sounded low from outside: “Master Tian requests your presence in the hall for a discussion.”

Zhuge Yue frowned slightly and asked deeply: “Now?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not going!”

Chu Qiao’s dagger was still at Zhuge Yue’s neck as the girl cautiously commanded in a low voice.

No joke—while in this room, she still had some bargaining power, but once he left, she would be immediately surrounded. How could she be so careless?

“If I don’t go, it will arouse suspicion, and Tian Ruchen will certainly come to check.”

Chu Qiao remained unmoved: “Find an excuse to refuse him!”

Zhuge Yue laughed coldly, glancing at the large wardrobe where the female slave was kept, and said: “You’ve already used the excuse of me fooling around with women to delay for an entire day. What other excuse can you come up with now?”

“I don’t care!” Chu Qiao said coldly. “I don’t know if your absence will bring someone to check, but I do know that as soon as you leave this room, I lose all advantage. Zhuge Yue, I’m not a fool!”

Zhuge Yue impatiently raised his eyebrows: “Then come with me.”

Chu Qiao was stunned. She heard Zhuge Yue continue: “You and that woman are about the same height. Women from Bian Tang wear veils when going out, so no one will see their faces. Besides…” Zhuge Yue’s eyes swept over Chu Qiao’s small chest: “The women’s coats here have wide sleeves, and no one can tell how many levels your figure differs from hers.”

Chu Qiao’s face immediately changed, her expression quite annoyed.

Zhuge Yue ignored her, pushing her hand away, stretching lazily, and saying carelessly: “With your martial skills, what are you afraid of by my side? Hurry up and get dressed, change into proper clothes.”

……

This was the first time in many years that Chu Qiao had dressed up so carefully.

You can’t blame her for failing as a woman; she really couldn’t understand these ancient makeup tools. She spent half the day on her hair, and it was still a mess.

Zhuge Yue was drinking tea when he suddenly turned around and saw her fumbling appearance, immediately laughing out loud. He clapped his hands, walked forward slowly, took the comb from her hand, and sneered: “Are you even a woman?”

To be precise, no matter how calm and wise a woman is, she will care about her appearance. This is just like how, regardless of whether a woman is beautiful or not, she will never completely disregard her bust size.

Chu Qiao immediately raised her face and shouted angrily: “You’d better shut up!”

Zhuge Yue snorted coldly, and the comb in his hand suddenly applied force. Chu Qiao cried out lightly, covering her hair with her hand, and shouted angrily: “Be gentle!”

“Keep complaining! Keep complaining and I’ll pull your hair out!”

“You dare?”

“Hmph!”

“Ah! You bastard, be gentler!”

……

The ink-black hair, like silk, slid through his fingers, pouring like water over Zhuge Yue’s arms. He lifted, wrapped, and twisted it, securing it at the back with a ribbon. His eyes casually swept over the makeup box, quickly picking out a blue orchid pearl hairpin, inserting it, securing it, revealing only a trembling delicate orchid. There were neat tassels on both sides, fine bangs in front, hair piled high, forehead dotted with cinnabar, eyebrows lightly drawn like willow leaves, rouge crimson, face white as snow. A small cotton pad lightly swept over the soft cheeks, rouge dotting, eyes sparkling like stars. In an instant, even Chu Qiao hardly recognized the girl in the mirror.

Zhuge Yue opened the wardrobe and said lazily: “Choose one.”

Chu Qiao didn’t even look, randomly picking out a white feathered garment. However, Zhuge Yue snatched it away, saying disdainfully: “Always either white or black. Are you attending a funeral?”

His fingers slid over the many colorful clothes, finally selecting a lake green light shirt embroidered with five complex layers of phoenix patterns. The bottom of the skirt was puffy, with layers upon layers of ribbons piled up like misty clouds. The high waist accentuated her tall figure, covered with a wide phoenix robe, deep sleeves, narrow shoulders, and graceful steps, luxurious as water.

Chu Qiao looked at herself in the mirror, somewhat stunned. The woman in the mirror was charming and beautiful, her eyes like stars, radiantly gorgeous, yet with a hint of sharpness.

Zhuge Yue was momentarily dazed looking at her, but in an instant, the man contemptuously pursed his lips slightly and said lightly: “With proper grooming, you look like a woman.”

Chu Qiao coldly retorted: “You seem quite skilled at this.”

Zhuge Yue froze slightly but snorted coldly without retorting. Instead, he threw away the matching thin silk scarf he had originally prepared, picking and choosing for a long time before finally taking out a thick square scarf that could almost serve as a sock. He quickly hung it on the small crown on Chu Qiao’s forehead, completely covering her face.

Chu Qiao immediately became blind, able to see only shadowy figures. She immediately objected: “What are you doing? This is a sandstorm veil. With this on, I can’t see the road.”

Zhuge Yue brushed away her hand trying to pull it down, saying coldly: “If you can’t see, just follow me.”

Chu Qiao was inwardly furious. If she had to wear such a thick veil, why bother with makeup?

She carefully took a step, nearly bumping into the table.

“How clumsy!” Zhuge Yue came forward, grabbed her hand, and shouted angrily: “Follow me!”

Chu Qiao struggled vigorously: “Let go of me!”

Zhuge Yue suddenly turned back, gripping her chin. Chu Qiao was startled, thinking he was going to attack her. She immediately acted, instantly pressing the dagger hidden in her sleeve against Zhuge Yue’s neck, her movement astonishingly fast.

However, Zhuge Yue seemed not to notice the dagger, coldly looking at her and saying in a gloomy tone: “If you keep talking so much, I really won’t mind dying together with you.”

Having said this, he coldly let go of his hand, pulled hers, and turned toward the exit.

“Guard the door well, no one is to enter a step!”

“Yes!”

“Walk, what are you thinking about?” Zhuge Yue impatiently scolded, then pulled Chu Qiao out of the room.

Yue Qi quickly led people to follow, leaving the soldiers guarding the room to shake their heads while watching everyone’s backs. One guard sighed: “The young master likes this woman, taking her everywhere.”

“Maybe when we return from Bian Tang, our household will have a joyous event. Even if she’s not the official wife, she could be a concubine. The young master has reached the age for taking concubines.”

……

The night breeze was cool, everything was quiet. On such a peaceful night, Master Tian’s home in Woopeng City was unusually bustling. Just as Zhuge Yue was leading Chu Qiao toward the front hall, unexpected and uninvited guests suddenly arrived.