Chapter 169: How About Becoming a General’s Wife?

Liu Ling’er waved Little Er away. After taking two sips of tea, she suddenly burst out laughing. The abrupt laughter made her choke on the tea, and she coughed violently for quite some time, until her face turned red and she finally recovered.

Baili Xian, seated on the other side of the table, found it utterly baffling. “What are you laughing at all of a sudden? Don’t tell me you ran too fast and your brain is still short-circuiting!”

“Your brain is the one that’s short-circuiting!” Liu Ling’er shot him a contemptuous look, then said mysteriously, “Prince Xian, that bandit earlier wanted to drag you back to his mountain stronghold. Let’s set that aside for the moment—just look at your face. Even a god would lose his appetite. How did he manage to say such a thing?”

Indeed, if Baili Xian had been showing his original handsome face, the bandit’s request might have been understandable. But at the time, Baili Xian had been transformed by Liu Ling’er into an absolute monstrosity. For that bandit to make such a request anyway—he must truly have been desperate enough to eat anything.

The aura around Baili Xian changed in an instant. A bone-chilling cold radiated from him as he ground his teeth and said, “Shut up. You are never to mention this again. Not one word.”

Oh! So he was angry. Fine, he was powerful now, and she could not afford to provoke him. But she would remember this embarrassing incident. Once she became stronger than him, she could say whatever she pleased—when she pleased.

After eating and drinking her fill, Liu Ling’er suddenly began to feel drowsy. Baili Xian also appeared rather lethargic. At once, alarm bells rang in her mind.

There was nothing strange about her feeling sleepy, but if Baili Xian was sleepy too, then there was definitely something wrong with this roadside tea stall. Oh no—had the two of them been drugged?

Just as that thought crossed her mind, a commotion arose outside. Then the shop assistant’s ingratiating voice rang out.

“Young General, I have not failed you. I managed to keep them here.”

Hu Li’s voice followed. “Good. You did well. I’ll reward you later.”

At that, Liu Ling’er would no longer be Liu Ling’er if she still did not understand that she had been set up.

She exchanged a glance with Baili Xian. The two of them sprang to their feet, but halfway up, their legs went weak, and they collapsed back into their seats.

They had been poisoned! When had it happened? Liu Ling’er had always been cautious. She had even tested the food with a silver hairpin beforehand, and there had been no poison in anything she ate. So when—and how—had they been poisoned?

At that moment, Hu Li lifted the curtain of the tea stall and walked in. Without the slightest hesitation, he went straight to their table, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and drained it in one gulp. Then he grinned at Liu Ling’er.

“What a coincidence! We meet again.”

Liu Ling’er and Baili Xian were speechless.

What coincidence, my foot! Did he dare claim this had nothing to do with him? Did he dare say their poisoning had nothing to do with him? Did he dare deny that he had followed them here? And did he dare say the owner and shop assistant of this tea stall were not his men?

If she had not been growing weaker by the moment, Liu Ling’er would have overturned the table and roared at Hu Li. But the furious outburst that reached her lips became merely:

“You’re despicable! You actually poisoned us!”

Hu Li filtered her abuse out as though it were nothing but air.

“Little girl, that’s not how you should put it. This is called strategy, understand?”

Strategy? Could he please stop defiling such a sacred word? This was clearly the conduct of a treacherous and shameless villain. How had she failed to notice earlier that his skin was so thick?

Furious enough to tremble, Liu Ling’er turned her head away, deciding that what she could not see could not annoy her. Baili Xian said nothing either. He was concentrating completely on neutralizing the poison in his body.

Hu Li continued talking to himself. “Oh? Are you angry? I resorted to this only because I had no choice. If you left just like that, where would I ever find you again?”

A bandit beside him slapped the table. “You little wench, our Young General is no ordinary man! It is your good fortune that he has taken a liking to you. Just say the word—how about becoming the general’s wife?”

“Not interested!” Liu Ling’er remained unmoved. She looked directly at Hu Li. “There are countless women in the world. Why have you taken a fancy to me? Besides, what kind of general are you? Why have I never heard of you?”

Hu Li said excitedly, “There may be many women in the world, but you are one of a kind. Meeting you was a fate bestowed upon me by Heaven! So if I let you go, I would certainly regret it.”

Whether he regretted it or not had nothing to do with her. Liu Ling’er said helplessly, “What a pity that fate cannot fill one’s stomach. Actually, I’m already married. If this had happened a few years earlier—no, a few months earlier—perhaps it might have worked out.”

“What? You’re married? Don’t tell me it’s this ugly wretch!”

Hu Li pointed at Baili Xian with undisguised disdain. “Just look at me. I’m handsome and dashing, with extraordinary eloquence. I’m practically every woman’s dream lover. Any woman who chose to marry me would be making the wisest choice of her life.”

Baili Xian glanced at Hu Li in displeasure. Why did everything this fellow said sound so provoking? And how could he boast so shamelessly right in front of him? Was he not afraid of being struck by lightning?

Liu Ling’er also felt that Hu Li’s boasting had gone too far. She was almost sick from listening to it. After giving a few dry coughs, she said, “Hu Li, leaving all that aside, I could never marry you. If my father found out I had married a bandit, he would break my legs.”

“Oh? What does your father do? Besides, I’m not a bandit. You can rest easy about that.”

Hu Li actually began making small talk, completely disregarding Liu Ling’er and Baili Xian’s feelings.

If she had not been poisoned, Liu Ling’er would have beaten him senseless first, just to vent her anger. Straightening her back with pride, she said, “You’d better brace yourself. My father is Liu Rufeng, the renowned Grand General Who Guards the Nation.”

The moment she announced that name, Hu Li’s expression changed dramatically. But it was not fear that appeared on his face—it was delight.

Liu Ling’er was completely bewildered. What was wrong with his expression? He was a bandit, yet upon hearing her father’s title, he looked thrilled. Was he not afraid that her father would send troops to crush them?

Hu Li exclaimed delightedly, “So you are Uncle Liu’s daughter! Let me think… You must be Liu Ling’er, little sister. Ling’er—Liu Ling’er. So you left out one word when you introduced yourself earlier!”

“Little sister? How come I never knew I had a brother like you? Cough! You can’t go claiming relatives at random. Why have I never heard my father mention you?”

Liu Ling’er found it astonishing that Hu Li knew her at all. The world truly was a strange place.

A wounded look appeared on Hu Li’s face. “It’s perfectly normal that you don’t remember me. When we were children, I often played with you. You were only two years old at the time. I still remember how you would often wet yourself while I was holding you.”

Boo-hoo! How could he expose such an embarrassing secret? Could he not leave her a shred of dignity? Besides, she had only been two years old. How could Liu Ling’er remember anything from that time? It was not as though she had crossed into this world as a child.

She glanced at Baili Xian. He was watching her with an amused, mischievous expression, as though he had personally witnessed the scene of her wetting herself in someone else’s arms.