"Impossible!" Cold Peishan stiffened his neck, eyes wide with disbelief. "There are no such cowards in my army!"
Xiao Jinyu continued to regard him with detached coolness. "Evidence?"
Cold Peishan deftly retrieved an envelope from his armor and flung it indignantly toward Xiao Jinyu. "This is the evidence!"
The envelope bore a detailed household address and what appeared to be a woman's name. Choosing not to take offense, Xiao Jinyu calmly opened it, scanned the letter inside, and slightly furrowed his brow.
It was a heartfelt letter to a wife and a one-year-old child the writer had never met, filled with tender longing.
Cold Peishan had a point - who would want to die with such attachments?
Before Xiao Jinyu could respond, Cold Peishan suddenly knelt beside his couch, prostrating himself as he burst into loud sobs. "They died wronged... I beg Wang Ye to see justice done!"
Startled, Xiao Jinyu remained frozen for a long moment before collecting himself. Watching this veteran general weeping over his knees like a grievously wronged child, he found himself at a loss - neither able to push him away nor comfort him.
He certainly couldn't treat him like Chu Chu, with hugs and kisses...
Xiao Jinyu had no choice but to steel himself and say, "General Leng... I will thoroughly investigate this matter and provide an explanation for all the officers and soldiers."
"Thank you, Wang Ye!"
Wiping his tears, Cold Peishan rose to his feet. Seeing Xiao Jinyu's astonished expression, he flushed with embarrassment and lowered his head. "This general has behaved improperly... I beg Wang Ye's forgiveness!"
"Not at all, not at all..."
Cold Peishan sniffled. "These subordinates are each dearer to me than my own sons... To die so young under such mysterious circumstances... It pains me deeply..."
"I understand..."
"Wang Ye, about those Turkic bastards... Will you see them?"
Xiao Jinyu picked up a cup from the low table beside his couch. "Let's discuss that later... For now, please arrange accommodations in the camp for me and the Imperial Concubine."
"Yes."
When Chu Chu was led into the sleeping quarters, Xiao Jinyu was sitting at a desk reviewing documents. She placed several pages before him without a word, then sat far away with her head bowed, refusing to look at him.
"Chu Chu..." Xiao Jinyu casually flipped through the corpse manifests, slightly frowning. "Are you certain all three committed suicide?"
"It's all written there. Believe it or not as you please."
Her tone gave Xiao Jinyu pause. He looked up to find her curled up in her seat, staring fixedly at the ground. Concerned, he asked, "Chu Chu... what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Her clearly sulking demeanor suggested otherwise.
Xiao Jinyu set aside everything in his hands. "Come here."
"I just handled corpses and haven't washed."
Ever since she learned he carried cadaveric poison and couldn't approach corpses, she had made sure to bathe thoroughly after touching any dead body before seeing him.
Xiao Jinyu grew increasingly uneasy, his heart tightening slightly. "Chu Chu, what exactly is wrong?"
His gentle inquiry, rather than helping, made tears stream down Chu Chu's face like broken pearls. Her small frame curled into a ball in the chair as she hugged her knees, shoulders trembling with sobs.
Xiao Jinyu quickly wheeled himself over. Unable to touch her, he could only watch anxiously. "Don't cry, don't cry... What happened?"Chu Chu cried for a long time before she managed to choke out a sentence, "When are you going to drive me away…"
Xiao Jin Yu was taken aback, wondering if he had misheard in his haste, "Drive you away?"
"You don’t like me at all…"
Xiao Jin Yu grew even more confused. What kind of Corpse Examination had she conducted to arrive at such a conclusion? "Not like you?"
"You’re too good… I’m not that good!"
What kind of nonsense is this…
Xiao Jin Yu was so anxious he grew a bit irritated, his voice unconsciously carrying a hint of anger, "Chu Chu, explain yourself clearly."
Only then did Chu Chu lift her head, her face streaked with tears, eyes red and swollen. "Wang Ye, please don’t abandon me…"
Her words were thick with sobs, and her pitiful, aggrieved expression resembled that of a small abandoned animal. It made Xiao Jin Yu almost unable to resist hugging her, but for now, he could only watch with a pained heart, so pained he didn’t know what to say. How could he bear to abandon her…
"I’ll study hard, I’ll become as good as Chief Leng!"
Xiao Jin Yu’s voice softened, like a gentle hand caressing her, "Chu Chu… you’ve always been good."
"You’re lying! Chief Leng is better!"
Xiao Jin Yu was completely baffled by her. How did Leng Yue get involved in this…
Chu Chu blinked her tear-filled eyes, sniffling as she spoke, "Chief Leng is beautiful, she knows a lot… You even let her stay at your house for many years, played with her… and taught her Corpse Examination! You just like her more…"
Only then did Xiao Jin Yu understand, feeling both exasperated and amused.
This girl… was actually jealous of Leng Yue.
Being so inexplicably accused, Xiao Jin Yu felt a bit wronged himself. If he didn’t teach her a lesson, he’d surely drown in a vat of vinegar in the future…
Xiao Jin Yu pretended to be calm and nodded thoughtfully, "Hmm… you’re right, Leng Yue is very good."
Chu Chu bit her lip, "You… you like her?"
"She’s not an ordinary woman."
"If she weren’t Brother Jing’s wife, would you have married her?"
"I don’t know…"
"Anyway… anyway, you can’t marry her now!" Chu Chu’s face flushed bright red, "I’m your wife!"
At least she remembered that…
Xiao Jin Yu nodded unhurriedly, "Hmm… since you’re my wife, go take a bath and brew me a pot of tea."
Watching with great interest as Chu Chu, seething with jealousy, had no choice but to obey, Xiao Jin Yu finally felt his anger subside. Who told her to always doubt his sincerity…
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