Bai Youan exited the general’s mansion and turned into an alley, where he saw Zhou Zhengxi waiting for him with the carriage.
“Mr. Bai, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you for a few days from now on.”
Bai Youan looked at Zhou Zhengxi’s unwilling face and thought to tease him, “It’s alright, we’re all family.”
Immediately, Zhou Zhengxi’s expression turned even uglier.
But Zhou Zhengxi served him meticulously.
Since it was an act, he would play it to the end.
He treated Zhou Zhengxi as a servant, and Zhou Zhengxi naturally had to treat him as a master.
After Bai Youan stepped onto the carriage using the wooden stool that had been placed down, he calmly lifted the curtain.
However, lifting it almost made him fall off the carriage in fright.
He frowned as he looked at Zhou Zhengxi, who was trying to stifle a laugh, and asked, “What is this situation?”
Zhou Zhengxi, with a fake smile, continued to invite him into the carriage, “This is your concubine, young master.”
Bai Youan: “……”
He knew all along that Zhou Zhengxi was a scoundrel!
But in the end, Bai Youan considered it carefully and got in.
After all, he couldn’t let Zuo Suiran become suspicious over such a small matter and put Song Qingchao in danger, which would be a loss.
However…
As soon as he entered and before he could even sit down, he didn’t even get a clear look at the woman’s face.
The person rushed at him directly.
Startled, Bai Youan flinched and retreated a step, causing the carriage to shake.
Zhou Zhengxi outside, reveling in the chaos, shouted for him to sit steady.
Before Bai Youan could even react to the lump on the ground, the carriage started moving, making him stumble again and almost fall onto the woman!
Damn it!
Bai Youan’s face turned cold instantly. He tugged back his sleeve and was about to demand an explanation.
Then, he heard a tearful shout from the ground, “Master! Please deliver justice for me!”
Bai Youan’s hand, which was tidying his cuff, froze.
That clear voice sounded a little familiar…
He tilted his head uncertainly, looking at the woman whose face was streaked with tears.
She did resemble Ying Zhong.
Just as he was hesitating.
The woman’s words directly confirmed his guess.
“Master, I am Ying Zhong! That man tied me up, dressed me in these clothes, and drugged me, woo woo woo, Master, Ying Zhong has been wronged.”
Bai Youan’s expression was cracking at this moment.
He knew Ying Zhong was mischievous and had a lively mind for a young person, but he hadn’t expected him to be so coquettish now.
Looking at him now, he truly resembled a “concubine.”
Bai Youan tapped Ying Zhong’s head with his fan, “Stop crying. I had him do it. Because you didn’t know him, the method was a bit extreme.”
He rubbed his nose.
He had no choice but to take the blame for Zhou Zhengxi, after all, for the sake of teamwork.
Moreover, he really needed a concubine now, but he would never agree to find a woman. Now that Ying Zhong was cross-dressing, he could fill that vacant position.
“Master!”
Ying Zhong immediately pouted and sat cross-legged on the ground, refusing to cooperate.
His eyes were red at the corners, making him look quite pitiful.
Bai Youan helplessly tucked his fan away, then rested his elbow on his knee and reached out to adjust Ying Zhong’s slightly disheveled clothes, coaxing him like a child, “All the mistakes are my fault, Master’s fault. Don’t cry.”
Ying Zhong was unwilling, but he still didn’t dare to disobey Bai Youan.
He just sat there, sobbing.
Bai Youan: “……”
If others saw him like this, what would they think of him?
“Alright, I did this to protect Miss Song.”
“Chaochao Jie?” Ying Zhong immediately forgot to cry, opening his bright eyes and asking curiously, “What happened to Chaochao Jie?”
Bai Youan: “……”
Why did he have a feeling of being betrayed by everyone?
He coughed, covering his mouth, and then carefully explained everything that had happened.
He had expected Ying Zhong to cause a scene.
But he never imagined that the young man would suddenly become spirited.
“You should have said so earlier, Master!” Ying Zhong took out a handkerchief to wipe his nose, his voice nasal, “For Chaochao Jie, I’m fine wearing these clothes.”
Looking at Ying Zhong’s appearance, Bai Youan immediately felt that it was over.
His rivals seemed to be a bit too numerous?
After wiping his nose, Ying Zhong took out a small mirror from his embrace and carefully fussed with his hair. That wasn’t enough, so he took out a rouge box from under the table.
“Do I look pretty, Master?”
Ying Zhong stared at his bright red lips, turned his head, and blinked his eyes vigorously.
Bai Youan: “……”
He pinched the sides of his eyes with his thumb and middle finger, pushing them upwards.
He really couldn’t bear to look.
Suppressing the urge to hit someone, he used his other hand to turn Ying Zhong’s face back, “Behave yourself.”
Ying Zhong immediately cried out, “Ahhhh! Master, be careful with my rouge!”
Bai Youan: This child really can’t be kept this time.
“Shut up…”
“Master! Be gentle!! This is all for Chaochao Jie!!”
Bai Youan: “……”
Endure it!!
After a while, Ying Zhong finally quieted down.
But Bai Youan still wasn’t used to it…
Although he looked quite cute dressed as a woman…
“Alright, let’s talk business.”
Ying Zhong immediately straightened his posture and sat down obediently.
“I’ve been gone for so long, is Song Qingmu alright?”
Ying Zhong nodded affirmatively, “He’s fine. He usually just likes to read. However, I noticed that young master Song reads very quickly; he finishes a book in no time. I strongly suspect he’s just pretending to lull me into a false sense of security.”
Bai Youan immediately picked up his fan and hit Ying Zhong on the head, lamenting his lack of progress, “He has a photographic memory, do you think everyone has a brain like yours?”
Ying Zhong habitually reached for his head, but remembering the hairpin on his head, he awkwardly lowered his hand.
Bai Youan smiled, wishing he could wrench Ying Zhong’s head off, “Can’t you wear fewer of them?”
“No!” Ying Zhong immediately puffed out his neck, acting very proud, “The more hairpins I wear, the more favored I am, and then others won’t look down on me!”
“Others will just think you’re a country bumpkin.”
After saying that, Bai Youan proceeded to beat Ying Zhong soundly.
After the beating, Ying Zhong finally became obedient.
“Continue.”
Bai Youan rubbed his fists, his tone unfriendly.
Ying Zhong shrunk into a corner aggrievedly, “That’s all about Song Qingmu. As for Liu Zhe’er, she occasionally goes out to find food and is very knowledgeable about various plants. With her taking care of us, this journey has been quite peaceful.”
“What attitude do those refugees have towards sisters Song Qingchao and Song Qingmu?”
“When they were close to death, I took the prescription back and said it was a miraculous medicine bestowed by the Mountain God prayed for by Chaochao Jie. Now, these people regard Chaochao Jie as a deity.”
Bai Youan’s tightly furrowed brow finally relaxed, “You’ve done a good deed for once.”
He lifted the window curtain and looked at the hurried pedestrians outside, his mood also becoming somber.
When they arrived at the inn and pushed open the door, Bai Youan, accompanied by the wind and snow, appeared like a fairy in the snow.
The originally noisy hall fell silent, everyone watching.
In this barren land of Mobei, it had been a long time since they had seen such a beautiful young master.
The innkeeper, Hong Xing’er, who was leaning on the second floor, her eyes instantly lit up. She quickly called out, “Oh, distinguished guest, please come in! Are you alone?”
Before Bai Youan could speak.
Ying Zhong caught up from behind, “Two people!”
His clear voice was like that of a oriole. His delicate face was rosy from the cold, directly captivating the big men drinking by the door.
Ying Zhong’s appearance also caused Hong Xing’er, who was coming downstairs, to almost fall.
A pair of “perfect couple” standing at the door truly blinded everyone’s eyes. Finally, Zhou Zhengxi, who had finished tying the horses, came in and said, “Boss, two superior rooms.”