106: Chapter 106 Living Better Than You: The General Male Supporting Character 24

The news that Prince Jing had been stripped of all his official duties and placed under house arrest in his mansion had been spreading like wildfire over the past two days.

At the same time, those who had previously served under him or maintained close ties with him were all being purged.

For a time, the entire capital was on edge, as if the dangers of the succession struggle had arrived early.

The competition between Prince Liang and Prince Yu had also begun.

Yet, both sides had tacitly agreed not to mention the Generals Mansion.

No one knew exactly how General Pingxi had managed to gain such power in the imperial court.

And no one knew exactly how much he controlled.

But whether it was Prince Liang or Prince Yu, they would not gamble, nor did they dare to.

...

In the blink of an eye, autumn passed and winter arrived; several months had flown by.

News of victory arrived from the Southern Frontier; General Pingxi, who had been leading the campaign to quell the rebellion, was about to return in triumph.

It was just the beginning of winter, and the weather was not yet cold.

Today, Nan Jin took Bai Ni and Xiao Cui out of the mansion to visit Prince Yus Mansion.

Nan Li had grown accustomed to this over the recent days.

She often felt that Nan Jin came to visit her purely to mock her.

It was purely because seeing her and Prince Yu estranged made Nan Jin feel comfortable and secretly pleased.

As the saying goes, it was an irrepressible bad taste.

This person would even find ways to pull her into conversation, talking about nothing else but the good points of Meng Zhu, which made one so angry that their teeth itched.

In fact, after pondering it for a few days, Nan Li had come to realize the truth.

Both Nan Jin and Nan Li were smart people.

By now, it was perfectly normal for Nan Jin to have realized that Nan Li was also reborn.

This person chattered on about praising Meng Zhu, merely to probe into the past between Meng Zhu and Nan Li from the previous life.

But she wasn't doing it to understand Meng Zhu; she was doing it to confirm over and over again the love Meng Zhu had for her, Nan Jin.

She lacked a sense of security, especially after knowing that Nan Li was also reborn and that Meng Zhu also possessed memories of the previous life.

Nan Jin was tireless in wanting to do anything that could prove Meng Zhu only loved her in this life, and she was tireless in wanting to hear any words related to this.

"Nan Li, I heard that you and Prince Yu haven't consummated your marriage yet. Do you understand these things? Do you want me to teach you?"

Nan Li was painting in the pavilion, while Nan Jin was sipping tea on the side, glancing at her from time to time. She used the excuse of buying paintings, but she had no interest in the paintings at all.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

Nan Jin leaned in closer again, looked around, and whispered:

"Let me tell you, Meng Zhu is very skilled at this. Do you know that such things can even be done in the study?"

"Ha, you're shocked. You really don't know, do you? Do you want me to teach you?"

Seeing Nan Li's clearly shocked face, Nan Jin revealed a triumphant smile, feeling incredibly pleased inside.

Look at you, you spent five years with Meng Zhu in your past life, and even when given the chance, you were useless.

Nan Jin felt completely refreshed; this little stunt today could sustain her good mood for a month.

Upon hearing this, Nan Li realized she had been taken advantage of again, providing emotional value to someone else, and she suddenly got angry.

She threw down her paintbrush and rolled her eyes dramatically.

Bai Ling and Xiao Cui were on the side holding pastries, taking turns eating them, while occasionally sneaking glances at Bai Ni, who was cleaning her sword.

The beautiful and harmonious scene suddenly stalled in the next second.

Xiao Cui's eyes suddenly widened; she shoved all the pastries to Bai Ling and ran into the pavilion with a thud-thud-thud.

At this moment, Nan Jin happened to have found a new topic.

"Nan Li, you don't know martial arts, right? Tsk tsk, let me tell you, Meng Zhu's spear technique is excellent. Oh my, when I first followed him, I was such a slow learner, but since I'm his wife, he couldn't bear to scold me."

"Let me tell you, bathing after martial arts practice is just so comfortable. Hmm, do you know what a mandarin duck bath is?"

"Ahem... Madam... please don't say any more."

Xiao Cui had just run over and heard about the "mandarin duck bath"; her face turned bright red instantly, and she hurriedly went to cover Nan Jin's mouth.

"Xiao Cui, what's wrong?"

"Madam, it's the General. The General is behind you."

Upon hearing this, Nan Jin was suddenly stunned.

Blinking her large eyes, she turned her head inch by inch with a stiff neck.

The chilly wind of early winter blew through the courtyard, swirling up a few withered yellow leaves, causing Nan Jin to squint.

Then, focusing her gaze, she saw that, sure enough, not far behind her, a tall and upright figure was standing quietly.

The man was wearing a black cloak, covered in the dust of travel, which made his already fair complexion appear even paler. He lacked some of the iron-blooded aura of the battlefield, but had more of the fatigue and weakness of a long journey, looking almost like an ailing, yet noble young master who had not lost his character.

Yet even so, just by standing there, he brought a sense of peace and stability, his aura as heavy and steady as a mountain.

Those deep eyes, having crossed months of longing and thousands of miles of wind and frost, were now gazing at her unblinkingly, filled with gentle smiles.

It really was Meng Zhu.

It was her husband, whom she had been thinking about day and night, who had returned.

"Ah!"

Nan Jin stared at him blankly, emitting a short gasp of surprise only after a delayed reaction. In the next second, all her restraint and dignity shattered completely.

"Husband!"

Almost without thinking, she rushed over. When she got close, she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up, her eyes instantly brimming with moisture.

There was surprise, heartache, and a trace of subtle grievance.

"Madam, have you been well lately?"

"Not good, not good, not good. Jin'er missed Husband."

Nan Jin buried her head in his chest, not letting anyone see her crying.

Meng Zhu didn't say anything more, just held her quietly like that.

After a while, Nan Jin lifted her head.

"Did Husband not return in triumph with the main army?"

"I missed you, Madam, so I returned ahead of time."

Nan Jin felt sweet inside hearing this, but couldn't help looking him up and down. Seeing his slightly pale lips, she felt a bit panicked.

"Why is Husband's complexion so poor? Are you injured?"

Meng Zhu let her grab his arm, feeling the slight trembling from her fingertips, and his heart was filled to the brim.

He affectionately reached out and gently pinched her cheek, which was flushed with excitement. His voice was slightly hoarse, yet extremely soft and gentle.

"Don't be afraid, Madam. It's just a small injury. I intentionally delayed it, waiting for The Old Emperor to inspect it before treating it."

Nan Jin's heart trembled violently, and the moisture in her eyes quickly turned into tears, which she could not stop.

"Shh, Madam, don't give us away."

Nan Jin then buried her head in his chest again. She still couldn't stop, but she could hide it so no one could see.

At this moment, Meng Zhu looked up at the pavilion. The person there was also staring intently at them, but with a gaze that was extremely complex, impossible to describe or fathom.

Meng Zhu nodded slightly, as a form of greeting.

Then, he raised an eyebrow slightly, and a playful smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

"Since Madam has cried and ruined her face, you will just have to come back to the mansion with Husband for a mandarin duck bath."

The person in his arms stiffened, as if struck by lightning, her mind going blank.

Did Husband hear everything?

That's right, Meng Zhu possessed profound internal energy, and his hearing and sight were acute.

He must have heard all those brazen words from just now!

A rush of blood surged straight to her head; her cheeks were so hot they could fry an egg, and even her earlobes turned an alluring shade of pink.

Clearly, when she was talking about these things to Nan Li just now, she could do so without blushing or skipping a beat, handling it with ease.

Now, just hearing a few words, she wished she could crawl into a hole in the ground.

"Hahaha! Caught in the act! A legendary scene of social death!"

"Jin-bao has a day like this too! Let's see if she dares to drive everywhere again!"

"The lewd girl! The person who can tame you has returned."

"Great, the gentle and virtuous young lady is back."

Nan Jin couldn't see the comments, she only blushed in shame.

She didn't dare to lift her head, and her voice sounded muffled.

"Husband, what are you saying? I didn't! What mandarin duck bath? This concubine doesn't understand at all."

Without waiting for Meng Zhu to reply, she didn't even want to buy the paintings anymore; she pulled Meng Zhu's hand and started walking out.

"Let's go home quickly! Let's go home quickly!"

Watching her act so cute and naive, the smile in Meng Zhu's eyes deepened.

But he looked at the pavilion, then grasped Nan Jin's restless little hand, gently pinching it to soothe her.

"Don't be in such a rush, Madam. Let's go visit Princess Consort Yu together."

Fortunately, Nan Jin was now willing to have interactions with Nan Li, so he held her hand, and with a composed demeanor, walked slowly toward the pavilion.