“Go ahead.” Although she had no good feelings toward the people of Haimen Ferry, hearing that those people wouldn’t face Japanese pirate retaliation still made Qiao Zhao feel relieved.

Shao Mingyuan stepped closer and asked in a low voice: “Your archery—who taught you?”

He had never known that his Zhaozhao could shoot arrows!

Qiao Zhao had thought Shao Mingyuan would ask some important questions, but it was just this. She smiled nonchalantly: “Xiuyuan taught me.”

“Xiuyuan?” Shao Mingyuan’s eyes deepened.

Why did such an intimate form of address coming from Zhaozhao’s mouth sound so unpleasant?

Shao Mingyuan couldn’t help remembering that night when Shao Xiuyuan had secretly run to the mourning hall, wanting to secretly look at Zhaozhao’s body—

Uh, that phrasing was awkward, but the fact was that his third-younger brother had feelings for Zhaozhao that exceeded those between uncle and sister-in-law.

Zhaozhao’s archery was taught by his third brother.

Just thinking about how during those years he wasn’t in the capital, it was Shao Xiuyuan who stayed by Qiao Zhao’s side, and it was Shao Xiuyuan who taught Zhaozhao archery, made Shao Mingyuan’s face darken terribly.

Was Third Brother sick, teaching a young lady archery? Did he teach her hand-by-hand?

Thinking about this, Shao Mingyuan couldn’t control his rising anger.

He hadn’t even taught Zhaozhao archery hand-by-hand yet, but that kid had gotten there first?

Seeing Shao Mingyuan’s strange expression, Qiao Zhao asked puzzledly: “What’s wrong?”

Shao Mingyuan held back and held back, but still couldn’t help asking: “How did Zhaozhao think to learn archery?”

Qiao Zhao looked at him—a meaningful glance—but gave a simple reason: “Because I was bored.”

During those two-plus years at the Marquis Jing’an residence, when she looked up, she saw only the palm-sized patch of sky above the courtyard, gray and dreary, with barely any blue to be seen.

She didn’t need to pay morning respects, didn’t need to socialize. In those monotonous days, if she didn’t learn some new tricks, how else would she pass the time?

The young lady’s expression was calm, her tone light as clouds and wind, but hearing this answer, Shao Mingyuan’s heart suddenly ached.

Because of boredom, in that small courtyard planted with mandarin duck vines and fresh mint, how had Zhaozhao spent her days?

“Zhaozhao—” Shao Mingyuan’s throat was hoarse as he called out.

“Mm?” Qiao Zhao looked at him.

All around them stretched the endless sea, with azure waves rippling one after another.

The man in blue robes looked down at the dressed young lady beside him and said seriously, “I want to apologize to you.”

Qiao Zhao looked away toward the distance: “It’s all in the past—better not to mention it.”

Perhaps because Grandfather had just passed away, during those days at the Marquis Jing’an residence, even breathing had felt stifling to her.

“It was my fault. On our wedding day, I left you for the Northern Territories, making you endure such boring days for so long.” The more Shao Mingyuan spoke, the more bitter his heart became. He touched the young lady’s wind-blown hair with his bandaged hand: “I promise, our days together won’t be boring in the future. I’ll personally teach you archery, alright?”

Qiao Zhao turned around abruptly, her face stern: “What do you mean by ‘our days together’? Shao Mingyuan, don’t be presumptuous. Besides, I don’t want to learn archery from you!”

She looked at the man before her with his deep, bright eyes and sighed: “That would make me think of your arrow beneath Yan City’s walls.”

Shao Mingyuan’s lips tightened, and his lowered hands trembled imperceptibly.

“Big Brother Shao, I don’t blame you, but I’m just an ordinary girl. Starting over, I simply don’t want to walk the same old path again. Do you understand?”

Having said these words, Qiao Zhao sighed inwardly.

The man beside her was very, very good. She admitted that as they spent more time together, she had begun to worry about him involuntarily, to be concerned about him, even to feel heartache for him.

She probably was somewhat moved by him, but who said that being moved meant she had to marry him?

After healing her brother’s face and avenging their family, she wanted to travel through all the mountains and rivers of Great Liang, experiencing the customs and cultures of various places. Her medical skills were sufficient for her to establish herself and live freely and willfully for a lifetime.

Wasn’t that much better than marrying someone?

After Qiao Zhao finished speaking, noticing the abnormal silence of the man beside her, she couldn’t help looking up, only to see his face deathly pale with large drops of sweat rolling from his forehead, sliding down his sharply defined profile, and hitting the wooden railing.

“What’s wrong with you?” Qiao Zhao’s expression changed slightly as she reached out to feel his pulse.

Shao Mingyuan’s sword-like brows furrowed: “I don’t know. Suddenly, my head hurts terribly.”

Qiao Zhao took his pulse for a while but didn’t detect any major problems. However, seeing Shao Mingyuan’s truly awful complexion and sweat falling like rain—a reaction that couldn’t possibly be fake—her heart couldn’t help sinking.

The head was most complex. Even if Grandfather Li were here, he couldn’t know a patient’s head condition completely. He was injured at the back of his head—perhaps there would be some aftereffects—

“Zhaozhao, I want to go back to my room and lie down first. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine after some rest.”

“You—” Qiao Zhao called out, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Could it be that her words just now had stimulated him? Patients with head injuries indeed couldn’t be stimulated.

Thinking this, Qiao Zhao felt extremely regretful.

Why couldn’t she keep her composure in front of him? Those words could have been said anytime—why did she blurt them out at this moment?

“Don’t worry. I’ll go lie down for a while and be fine.” Shao Mingyuan quickly walked back to his room, lay down on the bed, and couldn’t help rubbing his face.

So nerve-wracking—lying to Zhaozhao, he had almost given himself away.

No, wait, he hadn’t lied. Zhaozhao’s words were like sharp swords that stimulated him.

Sigh, his head hurt. The young general supported his forehead with his bandaged hands.

By dinnertime, Chi Can and the others sat around together, but Qiao Zhao and Shao Mingyuan were nowhere to be seen.

“Where are they?” Yang Houcheng looked toward the doorway.

Chi Can curled his lips: “Probably got full from the sea breeze.”

Yang Houcheng stood up: “I’ll go check.”

He went to Shao Mingyuan’s room first and asked Ye Luo, who was guarding the door: “Is your general inside? It’s dinnertime.”

“Our general has a headache and said he won’t eat.”

“A headache? Is it serious?”

Ye Luo shook his head: “Don’t know.”

“I’ll go in and see.”

Ye Luo reached out to stop him: “Young Master Yang, the general just went to sleep.”

Yang Houcheng withdrew his foot: “Alright then. If he wakes up and there’s a problem, remember to call us. We’ll save dinner for him.”

Yang Houcheng then went to Qiao Zhao’s room, only to discover she wasn’t inside but had moved a small stove to the deck to brew medicine.

“Medicine for Tingquan? How is he?”

Qiao Zhao focused intently on the flame: “He says his head hurts. I’m brewing some medicine to clear the orifices and reduce turbidity for him to drink.”

“Is it serious?”

Qiao Zhao shook her head: “With a head injury, it’s hard to say.”

“Those bastards!” Yang Houcheng gritted his teeth.

Tingquan had done the right thing—he shouldn’t have been soft-hearted about whether those people lived or died!

“By the way, Miss Li, how is your archery so good?”

Qiao Zhao was slightly startled, then smiled: “Big Brother Yang flatters me. I haven’t practiced for a long time—my archery isn’t that good.”

“One arrow straight through the heart—I might not even shoot that accurately.”

“Uh, I missed. I was originally aiming for his shoulder.”