What Bad Intentions can the Yandere Crown Prince have?-Chapter 259 - 255: Did You Teach Him That?

Li Mu lifted the curtain and entered, bypassing the screen, and saw Tang Xiaobai.

Inside the tent, the charcoal was burning sufficiently, so she only wore a thin bamboo-green coat. Her beautiful hair was styled in a Uighur bun, revealing a soft jawline and creamy-white skin.

Her cheeks, blushed by the heat of the charcoal, resembled begonia petals dipped in milk, dyed in layering shades of red.

She lay prostrate on the desk, holding a pen, fully engrossed, not even lifting her head when he entered.

"Second Miss Tang?" Qin Rong, following behind him, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the young lady in the Central Army Tent.

So it wasn’t the delicate little guard that the Crown Prince was concerned about earlier?

Tang Xiaobai finally lifted her head.

Seeing Qin Rong, she bent her eyes in a smile, stood up to greet her, "Miss Qin, long time no see."

Qin Rong looked her up and down, a bit amazed, "Second Miss has grown so much."

Previously round and charming, now she had slimmed down, shot up in height, exuding the poised elegance of a young lady.

"Where did Second Miss come from?" Qin Rong asked.

She vaguely knew the Crown Prince had gone to the Northwest due to the disappearance of Duke Yan and his son. But how did he end up bringing back a young lady from the Tang Family?

"From Longyou," Tang Xiaobai replied.

"Have your father and brother been found?"

"Yes!" The young Miss Tang nodded with a cheerful smile, "The King of Tuyuhun hanged himself, and Crown Prince Murong Shun surrendered. The good news has already reached the Capital City!"

Qin Rong nodded with a smile, glancing at Li Mu, "Then how did Ah Xiao manage to whisk Second Miss away from Duke Yan and his son to here?"

Li Mu didn’t bother replying, with an attitude of "what’s it to you."

However, Tang Xiaobai earnestly explained, "I wanted to come on my own!" Then she picked up a half-drawn map from the table, "I’m a clerk in the Ministry of War’s Department of Military Affairs, here to collect cartographic data!"

"Oh?" Qin Rong was skeptical, wasn’t this just an excuse for love and romance?

"Really!" Tang Xiaobai, not wanting her to misunderstand Ah Xiao, said earnestly, "Each local prefecture and county has officials in charge of cartography. According to regulations, their drawings should be submitted to the Capital’s Department of Military Affairs at the end of each year. However, many counties in Hedong, like Shuozhou Prefecture, haven’t submitted their maps in years, the last submission being five years ago. But records are kept in local offices. After Ah Xiao captured Shuozhou, we obtained a lot of cartographic data from there. I’m compiling it now, and after the war, will verify it on-site, filling in any gaps, which should also help with your post-war deployments."

Qin Rong suddenly recalled the detailed maps Li Mu had before, asking, "Were the maps of Longmen Mountain and Taihang Mountain drawn by you?"

Tang Xiaobai nodded, a bit embarrassed.

"Impressive!" Qin Rong praised, and sure enough, the young lady’s face turned even redder.

Feeling a bit eager, Qin Rong couldn’t resist suggesting, "Since the war’s over, how about showing you around Yunzhou tomorrow?"

Faced with the heroine’s goodwill, Tang Xiaobai was about to gladly accept—

"No need!" Li Mu warned Qin Rong with a glare, "I’ll take her!"

Qin Rong chuckled, "Men and women should be separate; it’s better if I accompany her."

Li Mu’s gaze grew colder, "She doesn’t know you well."

"Quite well actually, weren’t we at the same academy in the Capital before?"

"You—"

"Ahem..." Tang Xiaobai coughed lightly to interrupt their childish clashing, trying to change the subject, "Now that the war is over, what do you plan to do next?"

"We have nothing planned; plenty of time to show you around the Three States Outside the Pass!" Qin Rong chimed in quickly.

Li Mu did not argue this time, instead providing more detail, "After the war, it’s mostly about settling the people and deploying defenses. Civil servants will handle the settlement, but deploying defenses requires sending people back to the Capital for instructions—"

"No plans for a follow-up attack? Seizing Mosen?" Tang Xiaobai suddenly interrupted him, her eyes gleaming, suppressing an urge to urge on.

Li Mu looked at her, smiling slightly, "That’s the intention!"

Tang Xiaobai laughed, pulling him to sit at the desk, unfurling a draft map, "I’ve reviewed the documents; for the past ten years, the Moce Tribe under the Turks has defected three times, betrayed three times, completely unreliable. If we let them go now, come spring, they’ll return. The border people will suffer again! Better to drive them to the north bank of the Yellow River before farming season begins!"

Her finger slid to the Yellow River on the map, suddenly a bit embarrassed, "I haven’t been here, so the river’s direction is just approximate."

Li Mu pointed beside her finger, said, "It won’t be long before you see the real north bank of the Yellow River!"

Qin Rong stood to the side, glancing at Li Mu, then at Tang Xiaobai, looking thoughtful.

...

"Is Ah Xiao so ambitious because you taught him?" Qin Rong asked.

In the morning, the dry grass and frost crunched underfoot, causing Tang Xiaobai to miss Qin Rong’s words.

But she was focused on recording the observations and data gathered just an hour from the city, absent-mindedly replying, "Hmm?"

Qin Rong noticed her hesitant writing as if recalling things, and reminded, "After turning north, it’s one thousand three hundred eighty-seven steps, then turn west for two hundred sixty-eight steps, there’s a well, southeast of which there’s a village—"

Before she could finish, she saw the young lady lift her head, eyes gazing at her.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Qin Rong reflected, "Wasn’t I correct?"

Tang Xiaobai shook her head, sighed softly, "No, thank you..."

After all, everyone’s mind was easier to use than hers.

Tang Xiaobai quickly finished jotting down a simple record, put the paper and pen away, and asked Qin Rong, "What did you ask just now? What about Ah Xiao? What did I teach him?"

Speaking of the little ancestor made Tang Xiaobai smile.

Last night, upon arriving, the little ancestor argued with Qin Rong for half a day over who would accompany her around Yunzhou.

After all the talking, just before parting, he awkwardly called Qin Rong back, saying he had to train in the morning, allowing Qin Rong to accompany her then.

Qin Rong agreed rather cheerfully, smiling, dotingly indulgent.

Tang Xiaobai’s heart suddenly stirred.

The little ancestor was so close to her, yet always bickering with his actual sister, might Qin Rong be not very happy about it?

Could she suspect that Tang Xiaobai was instigating him?

Tang Xiaobai hurried to explain, "Ah Xiao’s been like this since he was small, never outright about what he likes or dislikes, always making people guess. In his heart, he really cares about Miss Qin; you’re his only relative, and though he might seem awkward, he trusts you the most. See, he entrusts you with all important matters!"

Qin Rong’s eyes flickered, smiling as if teasingly, "What important matters? Accompanying Second Miss on outings?"

Tang Xiaobai’s face reddened, shaking her head, "I meant when he went to the Northwest, entrusting the army..." Trailing off into mumbling.

The little ancestor went to the Northwest for her too...

Why is he so good to her... It’s so troubling...