Fortunately, he showed up at the most critical moment. If he had been any later, she would have had to step in herself.
Ye Yue put her down. His face was still cold, even colder than before. It made her feel a bit guilty.
No, why should she feel guilty? It was clearly his fault for not showing up in time. By rights, it should be him who felt guilty.
"Ye, I told you before not to go to that appointment. Now do you see what he had in mind? You have no sense of crisis at all."
The man in front of her was scolding her like a teacher scolding a misbehaving child. Tang Youyou even thought for a moment that this man was actually Rong Xun in disguise.
"It's not like I had a choice. I know I've caused you trouble. Don't be angry."
Tang Youyou coaxed him like he was a child, but instead of softening his expression, Ye Yue's face darkened even more.
This was a lose - lose situation. She didn't know what to do. She was counting on him to protect her in the future. She hoped he wouldn't abandon her safety because of this.
Rong Xun felt jealous seeing her being so gentle with Ye Yue, even though he was pretending to be Ye Yue at the moment.
But he couldn't say anything now, or he'd give himself away.
"You'd better be careful. My master is not a magnanimous person. If he knows you're being so touchy - feely with other men, he won't be happy."
Tang Youyou thought it was very strange. Why was this suddenly about Rong Xun?
"And," Ye Yue continued, "I'm just a guard. Protecting you is just my duty. There's no need for you to try to get close to me deliberately."
Tang Youyou stared at him, wide - eyed. What was wrong with this guy today? Did he take the wrong medicine?
He'd never said such things before. And what did "try to get close to me deliberately" mean?
"Did you take the wrong medicine? You sound just like your master. Don't imitate him. Learn something good instead of all this nonsense."
Tang Youyou concluded that his strange behavior today was because she'd gone against Ye Yue's wishes and attended Rong Jiangyu's appointment. If Rong Xun found out, Ye Yue, as his subordinate, would surely get scolded.
She understood. After all, a higher - ranking official could always bully a lower - ranking one.
Ye Yue looked at her meaningfully and casually lifted the corner of his mouth.
"What should I learn and what shouldn't I?" he asked.
Tang Youyou was quite interested in this question and thought about it seriously.
After a long while, she slowly said, "Rong Xun is good - looking and has a great figure. But these are innate. You probably can't learn them."
Ye Yue curled his lips and stroked his chin. "And then?"
"His fashion sense is good. He's a real clothes hanger. He looks good in anything. Even if he wraps a piece of ragged cloth around him, he'd still be very charming."
Tang Youyou felt that her evaluation of Rong Xun seemed to be only about his appearance. It made her seem a bit shallow.
"And besides?"
She thought deeply for a long time. Then, as if she'd thought of something, she sneered.
"Besides these, there are things you mustn't learn. Don't ever be like him, a modern - day Chen Shimei who breaks his promises, abandons his wife and children. He's mastered all the moves of a scumbag."
Tang Youyou lowered her eyes. Although the bright red clothes made him extremely attractive, they should only be worn for her.
But he'd worn that red outfit for another woman. Although she'd tried her best not to think about what had happened that day, every time she remembered, it was like a thorn stabbing her heart, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Hearing her words, Ye Yue's eyes became deep and gloomy. He wanted to tell her that it was all fake, a deception.
But it wasn't the right time yet.
"Alright, I don't want to talk about him anymore. Let's go back."
Although she'd learned about Rong Jiangyu's plan and was surprised by its scale, she didn't plan to stop it.
Fundamentally, it had nothing to do with her.
Whether it was the six states in the Central Plains or if he unified the Central Plains one day, it made no difference to her.
Even if he sat on that throne and held great power, she wouldn't be the one by his side.
She touched her slightly bulging belly. It wasn't very obvious yet. Even if she took off her clothes, it was hardly noticeable. But she could faintly feel the heartbeat of the little one inside.
"Although I'm not ready to be a mother yet, I'll do my best."
Ye Yue stared at her lower abdomen. Suddenly, a warm feeling welled up in his heart.
At this moment, the real Ye Yue saw someone coming in from outside. He quickly got out of bed and disappeared in a flash.
Zhui Feng, hiding in the dark, thought it was quite funny to see him running away in a hurry.
Such a world - class martial arts master now had to hide like a rat. It was really a waste.
"Master, this is the urgent report from the west."
Rong Xun stood alone and took the secret report. He scanned it from beginning to end.
"It seems that Lin Yuan can't sit still anymore. Since she destroyed the map, we don't need it. Tell our men to get ready. When I get back, we'll raid the Qiling Villa at night and level it to the ground."
"Yes."
In the darkness, a wild smile emerged under the dim moonlight, like a ghost climbing out of hell.
Rong Xun tore off the mask on his face and quietly came to Tang Youyou, who was already asleep.
He gently pushed the stray hair on her forehead to the side, tucked in the corner of the quilt, bent down, and kissed her forehead. Then he kissed her lips.
"You'er, wait for me for a while longer."
Before leaving, Rong Xun called the two men over and ordered, "If anything happens to You'er or the child in her belly, you two can come to me with your heads in your hands."
After he left, only the two of them were left in the cold night.
Zhui Feng looked surprised. "She's pregnant?"
Ye Yue gave him a strange look. "Don't you even know this? Otherwise, what do you think I've been boiling medicine for all day?"
Originally, boiling medicine was Yue Fusheng's job. But since the medical clinic was short - staffed, Yue Fusheng was sent to help there, and this task fell to Ye Yue.
Spending all day with medicine jars, he smelled faintly of herbs.
"Will we have a little master in a few days?"
Zhui Feng had never liked children. He thought they were just a bunch of noisy nuisances.
But when he learned that there would be a little master, he felt a bit of anticipation.
"Hey, after serving the master, we'll have to serve the little master too." Ye Yue let out a long sigh. "But serving the little master should be much easier than serving the master, right?"
Ye Yue thought so at this moment.
When Rong Xun returned to the Qiling Villa and just stepped into the yard, he saw Lin Sheng rushing towards him in a hurry.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere." Lin Sheng grabbed his hand, but he pulled it away.
"I just went down the mountain to have a look. What's up?"
He looked towards the Lixiang Courtyard. That old woman should be long gone. But the servants were still standing in front of the door, pretending that there was someone inside.