Ch. 9 - Ye Qingyu
The man was none other than Ye Qingyu—Ye Xiwu’s dreaded second brother, current head of the Ye clan. He was the iron-faced general: strict, by-the-book, and utterly merciless. In the original plot, the heroine had even been punished by him—smacked across the palms for breaking rules.
Because it was nearing the year’s end, Ye Qingyu had returned to the capital to report on his campaigns and spend the festival with family. Just outside Shengdu, his army made camp. Out of courtesy, he’d chosen not to disturb the townsfolk so late at night, planning to enter the city tomorrow. He had already sent word home to their grandmother and father; both elders had replied with joy.
Yang Ruo nearly collapsed.
Of all the rotten luck—she’d run straight into Ye Qingyu’s encampment. What was this, divine punishment? Stepping on dog crap disguised as fate?
Looking at the half-dug pit at her feet and Ye Xiwu’s filthy, disheveled state, any fool could guess what was going on. And Ye Qingyu was no fool. The young general could read a battlefield like an open scroll.
His second sister was trying to run away from home.
And Tan Jin… seemed to be here to drag her back.
But judging from her expression, she wasn’t too thrilled about it.
In an instant, Ye Qingyu made his judgment: this was his sister’s reckless scheme alone. Tan Jin was uninvolved—in fact, he’d done the family a service by catching her.
…
Inside the camp, torches blazed. Ye Qingyu dismissed his soldiers, sparing his sister the humiliation of being interrogated before the ranks.
His tone was cold, clipped, like the crack of a whip: