Although Zhou Haiqing was handsome, his methods were notoriously ruthless, and his methods on the battlefield were even more notoriously vicious. Now that the country was peaceful and the people were not at war, the Emperor tried his best to get in touch with his military power. However, no matter how many spies the Emperor sent out, it was like throwing stones into the sea, and there was not the slightest bit of news.
And Zhou Haiqing was even more proud and arrogant. Even in front of the Emperor, he was neither servile nor overbearing. Now that he took the initiative to show goodwill, Zhenyuan Hou did not dare to take it lightly.
But what surprised Zhenyuan Hou was that Zhou Haiqing, who was neither servile nor overbearing in front of the Emperor in the past, was smiling when he saw him. His eyes were extremely gentle, and the former fierceness and coldness faded away, making people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.
But the more amiable Zhou Haiqing was, the more uneasy Zhenyuan Hou felt, and his attitude when talking to him became even more humble.
"My late father had mentioned to me more than once that there are two people in the world that he admires the most. One is the imperial tutor, Lord Li, and the other is you, Zhenyuan Hou." Zhou Haiqing immediately put a big hat on Zhenyuan Hou.
The imperial tutor, Lord Li, was the founding minister of the country. Not only was he the Crown Prince's tutor, he was also the Emperor's first teacher. He had a very high reputation in the court. Zhou Haiqing immediately used Lord Li to compare himself, which was simply putting a big hat on Zhenyuan Hou's head. Zhenyuan Hou felt even more uneasy.
Zhou Haiqing had always been disdainful of him, the Emperor's trusted aide. Why was he so friendly today? If something was abnormal, there must be a demon. Doubts gradually grew in Zhenyuan Hou's heart, but he pretended to be reserved and repeatedly waved his hand. "I don't dare, I don't dare. Great General, you must be joking."
Zhou Haiqing only smiled at Zhenyuan Hou's refusal, then lowered his head and swept past Zhenyuan Hou, looking straight at Jiujiu and Xue Bitao standing not far away.
Zhou Haiqing understood that if he showed too much interest in Jiujiu, Zhenyuan Hou would probably betroth Jiujiu to someone else. So he kept staring at Xue Bitao, his words full of praise. "Zhenyuan Hou raised two good girls."
Although her tone was praising, her eyes were filled with amazement.
Today, Jiujiu was wearing plain clothes and had no makeup on her face. When she stood next to Xue Bitao, who was wearing gorgeous clothes from head to toe, anyone would think that Xue Bitao was beautiful. It was obvious who Zhou Haiqing was stunned by.
Seeing Zhou Haiqing look at Xue Bitao, the vigilance in Zhenyuan Hou's heart slowly dissipated, but his figure unobtrusively blocked in front of Xue Bitao and Jiujiu, saying with a smile, "Great General is too kind."
Zhou Haiqing stared unblinkingly at Jiujiu and Xue Bitao like a whirlpool in the ocean. The corners of his mouth curved slightly as he said meaningfully, "Zhenyuan Hou is too humble."
Just then, the carriage arrived. Zhenyuan Hou hurriedly bid farewell to Zhou Haiqing and left with Jiujiu and Xue Bitao.
Zhou Haiqing stood in place and stared blankly at the back of the carriage until it could no longer be seen. He opened his hand, holding the sachet that Xue Bitao had thrown to the ground and picked up by Jiujiu.
On the carriage.
Zhenyuan Hou looked sternly at Jiujiu and Xue Bitao. "In the future, avoid Zhenyuan Hou when you see him. Do you understand?"
Jiujiu nodded obediently, but Xue Bitao, who had long been bound by the views of her previous life, curled her lips disapprovingly.
Looking at Xue Bitao's disapproving appearance, Zhenyuan Hou sighed helplessly. This eldest daughter of his really made him worry.
Back in the house, Jiujiu first went to pay respects to the old ancestor before returning to her own room. After washing up and taking off her outer clothes, she suddenly found that the sachet she had kicked into her arms was gone.
Jiujiu's face paled.
The ancient times were especially harsh on women. If that sachet fell into the hands of someone with bad intentions, she wouldn't be able to wash it clean even if she jumped into the Yellow River.
Jiujiu's little face tightened as she thought about where she might have lost the sachet today. Just as she was about to call Dong 'er in to have her search first, she suddenly heard a light breathing sound behind her. Turning her head, she saw Zhou Haiqing sitting at the table, holding a teacup and taking small sips of tea. Seeing her look over, the corners of his mouth hooked up in a smile. "Greetings, Second Miss."
Jiujiu's breathing stagnated. Although she hadn't started practicing martial arts yet, her senses were definitely much better than the average person's. There was no way she was so slow that she didn't notice someone entering her room.
Jiujiu tilted her head slightly and looked at the unperturbed Zhou Haiqing. Blinking her eyes, she pretended to panic as she covered her mouth and said in a small voice, "Greetings, Great General."
Zhou Haiqing casually put down the teacup and looked at Jiujiu's slightly wavering eyes before the corners of his mouth hooked up. He said with a smile, "Yu 'er doesn't seem surprised that I'm here."
The two words' Yu 'er' came out of Zhou Haiqing's mouth very smoothly, as if he had said it a thousand times.
Jiujiu pursed her lips. "Great General is joking."
Zhou Haiqing stood up and walked in front of Jiujiu. He lowered his head and lowered his voice as he slowly said, "I saw everything that happened today."
Jiujiu was startled and unconsciously raised her head to look at Zhou Haiqing. She didn't understand what he meant.
Zhou Haiqing's eyes were deep and there was a faint warmth in his eyes. His voice was magnetic and had a strong sense of seduction. "I saw everything."
After Zhou Haiqing finished speaking, he raised his hand and a fragrant sachet in the shape of eight treasures with a faint plum fragrance appeared in front of Jiujiu's eyes. The familiar appearance and the embroidered jade character in the corner all indicated that this was the sachet that Jiujiu had thrown away. However, she didn't know when it had run into Zhou Haiqing's hands.
Zhou Haiqing holding this sachet meant that Zhou Haiqing knew about the matter between Jiujiu and Xue Bitao.
Although Jiujiu didn't have a good impression of Xue Bitao, she didn't want to wash her dirty linen in public. She didn't know if this Zhou Haiqing was a friend or foe, so she didn't dare to make a judgment on him. She could only stand there and look at him. In a low voice, she said, "Great General, you must be joking. I was just playing around with my sister."
"Playing around even attracted the Crown Prince. You guys are really playing around."
He even knew about the Crown Prince's departure. It was clear that Zhou Haiqing had been watching all this time. Jiujiu's expression turned even uglier and she became even more wary of Zhou Haiqing.
This person knew about her and Xue Bitao from the beginning, but he didn't say anything. Instead, when he left, he ran to Zhenyuan Hou and praised her and Xue Bitao. Even Jiujiu couldn't tell what Zhou Haiqing was thinking. However, she knew that Zhou Haiqing's shrewdness was unfathomable.
A smile flashed across Zhou Haiqing's eyes as he watched Jiujiu's delicate face turn from pink to ghastly white. He stuffed the sachet into Jiujiu's arms and bent down to whisper in Jiujiu's ear, "When there's a beauty, I won't forget. When I don't see her for a day, I'll go crazy thinking about her."
Jiujiu originally thought that Zhou Haiqing would say something, but who knew that he would say a poem of love. Jiujiu was instantly stunned.
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