L'hibiscus comme peinture

Chapitre 17

Only after Ao Jun pointed it out did Jin Xuan realize how ambiguous their current posture was. The other man's warm breath on his face made his heart itch. What a lovely scent! He hadn't expected Mo Jun, a grown man, to have such a faint fragrance, unlike a woman's perfume. This scent felt familiar, like he'd smelled it somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it. The faint fragrance and warm, ambiguous atmosphere lingered between them, making Jin Xuan's already itchy heart feel like it was being gnawed by a thousand ants. He stared blankly at the other man's slightly parted, sexy lips, his head lowering further and further.

Seeing that Ouyang Jinxuan not only did not get up after hearing her words, but instead moved closer and closer, almost touching her face, Ao Jun suddenly felt a strange sensation in her heart, and her face felt a little hot. She said awkwardly, "Your Highness, I... I told you not to get so close, not to come any closer."

Just as they were about to kiss, Ao Jun's voice struck Jin Xuan like a thunderbolt, instantly snapping him back to reality: What was he trying to do? He actually wanted to kiss her, kiss a man, a man just like him? He must be crazy, completely insane…

"Uh! Your Highness, are you alright?" Seeing Jin Xuan suddenly dodge away from her like the plague, then stand several steps away with a look of annoyance, regret, and gloom, head down, seemingly lost in thought, Ao Jun had no choice but to ask. To be honest, Ling Ao Jun was incredibly intelligent, with an exceptionally high IQ, but her emotional intelligence… to put it bluntly, was worse than a primary school student's. She had no idea that her first kiss had almost been lost, and was still standing there foolishly.

"It's nothing!" Jinxuan replied with a gloomy face.

For a moment, neither of them knew what to say. The tent was so quiet that it seemed as if no one was there at all, but the ambiguous atmosphere in the air suggested that someone was still inside.

"Ahem, Your Highness just said you wanted to make a decision for Mo Qing. I wonder how Your Highness intends to do so?" Ao Jun spoke first. She didn't really want to ask, but she couldn't stand the atmosphere and was just making conversation. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. How did she bring the topic back to this again?

"This..." Jin Xuan calmed himself down, raised his head, and was about to speak, but then hesitated, unsure what to say. She was right. What could he do? Mo Qing was dead; what could he do? He had only said those things because he couldn't stand seeing Mo Jun and Mo Yueying together, and he felt indignant on Mo Qing's behalf. (But was that really the truth?)

"Since Your Highness cannot answer, may you please leave first? Mo Jun still needs to eat!" Ao Jun said rudely, giving him the order to leave. Ignoring Jin Xuan, she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat by herself, but in her heart she kept thinking: Hurry up and leave, you're always making me restless, I can't even enjoy my meal.

"Hmph." Jin Xuan snorted coldly with a sullen face, flicked his sleeve, and walked out of the tent.

But as he approached the tent entrance, he turned back, his expression enigmatic as he said to Ao Jun, "Don't think you can manipulate everyone. Even if you can manipulate Mo Qing, Mo Yueying, or even Wei Ziqi, you can never manipulate me. If you want to play, then I'll play along and see who ends up manipulating the other. Military Advisor Mo, think carefully." With that, he left Ao Jun's tent without looking back.

The moment Jin Xuan left the tent, Ao Jun put down her chopsticks and unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief: How utterly baffling! He'd come to her tent for no reason, saying all this nonsense, and standing so close—it always made her feel uneasy; she'd never felt this way before. And what was the meaning of those last words? When had she ever toyed with anyone? She didn't have time for that.

Always aloof and indifferent to everyone and everything, she didn't ponder why she felt relieved by Jinxuan's departure, why his words made her uneasy, why his approach made her heart race, why...

"Brother, are you alright!" Seeing Jinxuan leave, Yueying rushed in to see if her beloved 'brother' was alright. But as soon as she entered, she saw Aojun staring at the food she had made, seemingly lost in thought.

"Ah! It's nothing." Ao Jun replied, snapping out of his reverie. Seeing Yue Ying's worried face, he was touched and teased, "It's just that all the delicious food Ying'er painstakingly prepared has gone cold because of Ouyang Jinxuan's outburst. Brother, you're still hungry!"

"Pfft... Brother, wait a moment, Ying'er will go heat it up for you." Yueying chuckled. Her brother was joking like that, which meant the Prince hadn't made things difficult for him. Ah, she'd been too nervous. Who was her brother? So clever! How could the Prince have troubled him? Judging from the Prince's gloomy expression when he left, he was probably the one who'd been put in a difficult position!

"No need, brother, I'm just joking! The food is still warm! Ying'er has been busy all morning, come sit down and eat with us!" He then pulled Yueying to sit down next to him.

"Okay, I'll eat with you too." He said, putting some food into Ao Jun's bowl and happily starting to eat.

The two of them ate happily, putting aside all the unpleasantness caused by Jinxuan, and enjoying this rare moment of warmth.

Days passed by like flowing water. Ao Jun still spent most of her time in bed, only occasionally venturing out for a stroll when the weather warmed up a bit, though no one knew what she did there. Yue Ying also regularly came to wake her beloved "brother," and the two would spend a lovely, warm lunch together. Wei Ziqi, besides being busy with military affairs, would rush to Ao Jun's tent whenever he had free time. Another person who frequently visited Ao Jun was Zhao Zhiyang. On one hand, he disliked Ao Jun and always wanted to cause trouble; on the other hand, he sought opportunities to see his dream girl, whom he adored. As for Jin Xuan, based on Ao Jun's analysis of the situation that day, he was busy surveying the terrain, training soldiers to adapt to the cold weather, formulating strategic policies, handling various military affairs, and summoning generals to discuss military matters. However, he would often stare blankly at the seat that should have been his strategist, Mo. His strategist was absent from every military meeting, reportedly hiding in her tent every day. He didn't force her; what was she doing hiding in her tent? He would always ask himself this question, but no one answered him. From that day on, he never saw her again. At night, he would occasionally go to the pond to try to meet the fairy who made his heart flutter again, but he never succeeded.

Twenty days passed quickly, and a month had gone by since Ao Jun promised to help Jin Xuan defeat Yelü Ying within three months. A month later, after Yelü Ying sent his challenge, the two sides, who had been locked in a stalemate for a month, clashed in their first battle. Ao Jun's military career officially began, and the greatest strategist in the land was born…

The Strategist and the Princess: Battlefield Chapter Seventeen - Confusion

"Jun, what's wrong? Are you cold?" Wei Ziqi turned to Ao Jun, who was wrapped up so tightly that her face was almost completely hidden, and asked with concern.

Nonsense! Of course it's cold! What's the point of discussing anything in this weather? We'd have to drag her out of bed. Besides, she wasn't even mentioned as the strategist in the previous meetings! Why did they suddenly think of her this time? Of course, she wouldn't tell Wei Ziqi that. He was the kindest person to her in the entire camp, so she tacitly accepted his address of her as "Your Majesty."

"It's alright, let's go!" Ao Jun mumbled, wrapped in his cloak.

Ao Jun and Wei Ziqi walked side by side toward the main tent. The soldiers they saw along the way were quite different from before. On the military camp's training ground, many soldiers, dressed only in thin clothing, were practicing boxing. Their ranks were neat, their movements synchronized and powerful, and each soldier was full of energy, even sweating in the cold weather. The soldiers on guard duty were also in high spirits, their backs straight, showing no signs of fatigue or cold.

Although she disliked Ouyang Jinxuan, Ao Jun had to admire his military prowess. He truly lived up to his title of 'God of War,' transforming a demoralized army into such a fierce and disciplined force in just a few days. Impressive indeed. If he hadn't always said such nonsensical things upon meeting her, constantly provoking her anger, perhaps she would have gotten along better with him, and they wouldn't be so mutually resentful now, with every encounter ending in a bad mood.

"Jun, what are you thinking about? We've arrived." Upon reaching the main tent, Wei Ziqi noticed that Ao Jun seemed lost in thought, completely unaware that they had reached their destination, and had no choice but to remind him.

"Oh, it's nothing, let's go in!" she said, taking the lead and walking inside. For some reason, the thought of seeing Ouyang Jinxuan stirred up her usually calm heart.

Upon seeing the two enter, the crowd, who had been engaged in lively discussion, stopped and all turned to look at them, creating a moment of complete silence in the tent. It wasn't until the two sat down that the crowd realized what had happened.

"Haha... Strategist Mo, why are you dressed like this? Are you cold? How can you be so weak? If you're like this now, what will you do when winter comes? Hahaha..." Zhao Zhiyang laughed and pointed at Ao Jun, teasing him. Generals Hong, Bai, Chen, and Wang also joined in the laughter without any hesitation.

Perhaps they would be amazed by Ao Jun's beauty upon first meeting her, but they were, after all, valiant generals on the battlefield. They would likely look down on a "pretty boy" like Ao Jun, who was "weak in battle." They had initially looked down on a scholar-general like Wei Ziqi, but Wei Ziqi's bravery and skill in battle had won them over. Now, aside from briefly showing some promise when stopping their attack, Ao Jun hadn't demonstrated any talent or achieved any significant military exploits. They even suspected her of being a spy. Therefore, under these circumstances, apart from Wei Ziqi, no one treated Ao Jun kindly.

Wei Ziqi was about to stand up for Ao Jun when she stopped him. Ao Jun removed her cloak, revealing herself still dressed in pure white—not because of Zhao Zhiyang's words, but because the tent was warm with a fireplace. Ao Jun raised her head, her indifferent yet undeniable voice clearly audible to everyone present: "General Zhao need not worry about Mo Jun. Mo Jun said he would defeat Cangliao Kingdom within three months, so our army won't even need to stay until winter to return victorious, will it?"

"Hmph...three months? You..." Zhao Zhiyang was about to retort when he saw Jin Xuan raise his hand, so he had no choice but to shut up. The other generals also stopped laughing, and the tent returned to silence. Everyone looked at Jin Xuan.

Jin Xuan, however, kept his eyes glued to Ao Jun. From the moment she entered, his gaze hadn't left her. She was so calm, so composed, so impossible to ignore. If only such a person wasn't a spy! If only she were truly helping him! If she wasn't a man, then…

Even the usually wise and insightful Prince Jin was puzzled at this moment, suddenly recalling the day Yi Tian and Yi Han reported to him about Mo Jun's origins:

"Your Highness," Yi Tian and Yi Han said respectfully.

"how."

“Your Highness, Yi Tian has checked at the Luo Yun government office. Mo Jun is indeed from Mo Family Village. He is the adopted son of Doctor Mo of Mo Family Village. He has been living at his aunt’s house since childhood due to poor health. He only returned to Mo Family Village a month ago.”

"Oh, he's really from Mo Family Village?" Jin Xuan seemed to be asking Yi Tian and Yi Han, but also seemed to be talking to himself. Could it be that he misunderstood her? Did she really join the army to avenge Mo Family Village?

“But Yi Han found a different result,” Yi Han said from the side.

"A different outcome?"

"Yes, Yi Han visited Zhangjia Village, a neighboring village of Mojia Village, and learned that several nearby villages were abuzz with rumors of Mo Jun's handsome appearance. As a result, almost all unmarried women wanted to marry him and asked matchmakers to propose marriage. Therefore, they paid special attention to Mo Jun's affairs. Yi Han asked the village chief there, and the village chief said that Mo Jun was rescued by Doctor Mo at the seaside last month, and that he recognized Doctor Mo and his wife as his godparents to repay the debt of gratitude. It's not at all what the records in Luoyun Prefecture say."

"So that means Mo Jun's background is unknown?" Upon hearing Yi Han's words, Jin Xuan's already cold and handsome face darkened even more. It seemed that he hadn't misunderstood her; she really did have a problem.

"Yes, the village chief also said he didn't know where Mo Jun came from or who he was. He said that even no one in Mo Family Village knew."

"Hmph, Mo Jun, you seem quite mysterious. Very well, I love challenging the mysterious. Watch how I peel away your cold mask layer by layer and see what your true face is!" Jin Xuan sneered. Little did he know that in the process of tearing away Ao Jun's cold mask, he himself was becoming increasingly entangled, until he could no longer extricate himself.

"Your Highness, Your Highness..." Wei Ziqi called out in confusion. Why was the prince staring at him so intently? He looked at the other generals, who were all looking at the prince with puzzled expressions.

Feeling the burning gaze, Ao Jun followed it to Jin Xuan, and their eyes met. Had she mistaken him? Why did she see confusion, even pain, and an inexplicable emotion in the eyes of the proud Ouyang Jin Xuan? What was it? Why did her heart pound uncontrollably whenever she saw those deep eyes? Ao Jun fearlessly met Jin Xuan's gaze, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts.

"Ahem... Let's discuss this!" Jin Xuan, having regained his senses, saw the generals in the tent all looking at him with puzzled expressions, and coughed awkwardly.

The meeting, interrupted by Ao Jun and Wei Ziqi's arrival, resumed its heated discussion. Jin Xuan no longer looked at Ao Jun, but his doubts deepened: he had seen no impurities in her eyes just now; they were so beautiful, so pure. Eyes are the easiest way to see into a person's heart; even the best actress would betray them, yet he saw nothing. Had he misunderstood her, and was she not a spy at all, but genuinely trying to help him? Or was her acting simply too good, so good that even he couldn't see a single flaw?