I'm willing to help you, but tell me, what do you want me to do? "
Ling Xiao was shocked to hear that Jiujiu was willing to help him. "Miss, you don't have to force yourself."
Ling Xiao hadn't reached the point where he had to act pitiful to get help from others.
"I'm not forcing you." Jiujiu tightened her grip on Ling Xiao's hand and said firmly, "I'm willing to help you."
Seeing Jiujiu's firm attitude, Ling Xiao said, "I want someone to draw a portrait for you."
Jiujiu, "…"
Jiujiu was confused. "What does the general want a portrait for?"
She wasn't so delusional as to think that Ling Xiao had deep feelings for her and wanted to hang her portrait in his room to look at day and night.
It was a long story, and Ling Xiao didn't know how to explain it, so he chose a more reserved way of saying, "His Majesty wants to arrange a marriage for me."
Jiujiu nodded. "I know."
The news that His Majesty wanted to arrange a marriage for Ling Xiao had spread throughout the streets and alleys.
Although Ling Xiao's appearance didn't fit the current standards of beauty, there were still many women who wanted to marry Ling Xiao due to his heroic military exploits. Jiujiu had heard from Qingyan that many women had volunteered to become Ling Xiao's concubines.
Normally, it should be something to be happy that so many women wanted to marry him. Why did Ling Xiao look so worried?
Jiujiu made a bold guess. "Could it be that the general doesn't want to get married?"
Ling Xiao nodded.
His fate was already decided the moment he was born. He was already past the age of thirty, so why should he burden other women?
Let them be widows at the age of a flower.
Jiujiu was shocked. "Why?"
Ling Xiao wanted Jiujiu to help him, so he didn't hide his thoughts. "I don't want to hold others back."
Ling Xiao smiled bitterly. "I'm already thirty and will definitely return to the battlefield in the future. No matter who marries me, they're destined to be alone. If I die in battle, that girl will have to be widowed for me."
He couldn't bear to do that.
Jiujiu couldn't help but look at Ling Xiao in a new light.
"Then what do you want me to do, General?"
Could it be that Ling Xiao wanted her to have a fake marriage with him?
"Miss is born with the countenance of a flower and the countenance of the moon. Even the princesses in the palace cannot compare to one ten-thousandth of Miss's beauty. I wanted to draw Miss's appearance and bring it to His Majesty to let me get married again. I took out Miss's portrait and told His Majesty that I only wanted to marry the woman in the portrait to break His Majesty's thoughts."
Hearing Ling Xiao's compliment, Jiujiu immediately revealed a radiant smile, her eyes forming two small crescent moons.
Ling Xiao lowered his eyes to hide the astonishment in his eyes and asked in a low voice, "What do you think, Miss?"
Jiujiu nodded. "Yes, but I wonder who the general will be looking for to draw my portrait?"
"Miss, your appearance is too beautiful. If others see you, they will inevitably have evil thoughts. Let me do it myself." Ling Xiao had someone clean up the table, then had someone bring Jiujiu to change and freshen up in preparation for the portrait.
Jiujiu was brought to the rear courtyard by a servant girl and changed into the dress that Ling Xiao had prepared beforehand. After meticulously dressing up, she was escorted by the servant girls to the front hall.
Even though he had already seen how Jiujiu looked in women's clothing, a trace of astonishment still flashed across Ling Xiao's eyes when he saw a meticulously dressed Jiujiu again.
Jiujiu's skin was as white as snow, and her eyes sparkled with the light of the Milky Way. Her black and thick eyelashes were like small brushes swaying gently.
Ling Xiao felt as if his heart had been scratched by a feather, and his heart itched.
Ling Xiao looked at Jiujiu's peerlessly beautiful face and calmed his mind, suppressing the wild thoughts in his heart. He said in a low voice, "Miss, please sit over there."
Ling Xiao pointed to the area under the flower vines in the courtyard.
Jiujiu moved lightly and sat on the chair under the flower vines. She looked at Ling Xiao and asked, "Is it done?"
"It's done."
Ling Xiao picked up his brush and began to paint.
As if he had drawn thousands of changes in his heart, his strokes were fast and smooth. In less than four hours, a lifelike portrait of a beauty appeared on the paper.
Jiujiu didn't expect that Ling Xiao not only had outstanding martial arts skills, but also had such exquisite painting skills.
Ling Xiao said modestly, "It's just a small trick. It's not worth mentioning."
Jiujiu covered her mouth and smiled faintly. "If this is just a small trick, General, other people would probably die of shame."
Jiujiu covered her mouth, revealing a pair of large and round eyes. She looked delicate and pretty.
Ling Xiao's heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned his head away and didn't look at Jiujiu. He said, "Miss, you're exaggerating."
"When is General going to send me back?" Jiujiu said, "If General doesn't send me back, Steward Li will be anxious."
After Lin Datu passed away, and when Jiujiu first arrived, Lin Wan's body was very weak. Steward Li treated Jiujiu like a fragile object. If it weren't for Jiujiu insisting on taking over Lin Datu's business, Steward Li would definitely have locked Jiujiu in the residence until she was sixteen, and found a proper husband for Jiujiu.
Although Jiujiu's body was now much better, and she was able to take care of herself outside, in Steward Li's heart, Jiujiu was still that fragile girl who needed his care.
In the morning, he told him that he was going to find the Gong Prince to talk about the shop. Even if they were drinking and eating, they should have left by now.
If he didn't go back, he was afraid that Steward Li would turn the capital upside down.
Ling Xiao wanted to ask Jiujiu to stay for dinner before going back, but seeing that Jiujiu insisted, he said, "It was my negligence."
Even if Jiujiu was dressed as a man, she was still a girl in her bones. If he detained Jiujiu for a day, Jiujiu's family would naturally be anxious.
Jiujiu was dressed as a woman, so naturally she couldn't ride a horse like she did when she came. Ling Xiao had people prepare a carriage, and watched as Jiujiu left before going back.
The carriage steadily moved forward.
Jiujiu had been Ling Xiao's model for the whole day, so she was a little tired. Just as she was about to close her eyes and rest, the carriage suddenly rushed forward. Jiujiu rubbed her aching head and asked, "Master, what's wrong?"
No one responded.
Jiujiu opened the carriage curtain. The place where the coachman should have been was empty, and the horse seemed to be frightened as it rushed forward. Because the carriage was overloaded, the wheels creaked.
Seeing that the carriage was about to fall off the cliff, Jiujiu made a prompt decision to jump off the carriage.
Watching the horse fall off the cliff, Jiujiu's heart went cold.
If her heart was a little bit bigger, the one falling off the cliff would be her.
Ling Xiao let the coachman send her back, it was clear that Ling Xiao trusted the coachman.
Obviously, someone wanted to harm her.
This was the wilderness, when it got dark, there would be wild beasts roaming around. She had to find a safe place to stay before dark.
When she started walking, Jiujiu found that her ankle was sprained.
It should have been sprained when she jumped off the carriage.
Jiujiu sighed.
It was really a case of when it rains, it pours.
This place was in the middle of nowhere, and she even sprained her ankle. She would only be able to find a place to stay two years from now.
Just as Jiujiu was fretting, she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves. Jiujiu looked up and saw Ling Xiao, dressed in a rosy robe, approaching her.
Jiujiu's eyes lit up, and she quickly waved at Ling Xiao. "General, I'm here, I'm here ~"
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