That's right, I'm despicable.

At that moment, Lü Lingqi seemed to realize something.

She suddenly pressed the dagger against Su Ming’s throat again, her bright eyes widening as she stared at him and asked, “You’re a general under Cao Cao—why are you telling me all this?”

“Are you trying to deceive me?”

With Lü Lingqi glaring at him so fiercely, their eyes met, and Su Ming’s first reaction was: Wow, this girl’s eyes are really big!

Even with her dagger at his throat, Su Ming didn’t feel the slightest panic.

After all, when it came to intelligence, he was on an entirely different level compared to Lü Lingqi.

“Zhang Liao—Zhang Wenyuan!” he blurted out. “I get along well with him. It’s for his sake that I’m telling you all this!” Su Ming spun his lies effortlessly, without even needing to think.

Hearing the name Zhang Liao, Lü Lingqi was momentarily stunned.

“Uncle Wenyuan—why did he betray my father?” she cried. “Why?” As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, falling onto Su Ming’s cheek, tasting salty.

Damn it!

Don’t cry!

I really am a terrible person!

A powerful sense of guilt burst forth in Su Ming’s heart, growing like bamboo after the rain.

“That’s not it!”

“You’ve misunderstood your Uncle Wenyuan!” Su Ming’s eyes darted as he continued to explain, “Gao Shun and Chen Gong followed your father out of blind loyalty.”

“But your Uncle Wenyuan—he’s a man of true wisdom.”

“The one truly responsible for your father’s death wasn’t Chancellor Cao, but Liu Bei—Liu Xuande. If your Uncle Wenyuan had done as Chen Gong and Gao Shun did, following your father to the end—”

“Just think: would anyone be able to avenge your father in this lifetime?”

“Liu Xuande’s two brothers, Guan Yunchang and Zhang Yide, are both unmatched on the battlefield. Your Uncle Wenyuan isn’t their equal. To seek vengeance, he had no choice but to serve Chancellor Cao.”

“Everything your Uncle Wenyuan has done is to kill Liu Xuande and avenge your father!”

“Is that true?”

“I misunderstood Uncle Wenyuan—I misunderstood him!” Lü Lingqi exclaimed, now deeply moved.

Su Ming, the master deceiver, had once again worked his magic.

In this blend of truth and fiction, he had completely convinced Lü Lingqi. Now, she believed her father’s death was entirely Liu Xuande’s fault, and that Zhang Liao had joined Cao Cao for the sake of revenge.

She put away her dagger and said, “For Uncle Wenyuan’s sake, I won’t kill you.”

After saying this, Lü Lingqi turned to Su Ming and added, “I’ve already put away my dagger. Why are you still pressing your dagger into me?”

Su Ming: “????????”

Hearing this, Su Ming was utterly baffled.

The dagger—she was talking about the dagger he was supposedly holding.

“Quick, take the dagger away from my lower back!” Lü Lingqi said impatiently.

At the moment, Lü Lingqi was straddling Su Ming like a duck perching on a mount, so the “dagger” poking into her lower back was…

Su Ming knew perfectly well what she meant, but he couldn’t say it outright.

If he did, Lü Lingqi would surely kill him on the spot.

“Ahem!” he coughed. “Why don’t you get up first?” Su Ming suggested.

Lü Lingqi’s cheeks flushed red as she quickly climbed off him. As she reached the door to leave, she turned back and said, “If you see my Uncle Wenyuan, please tell him I no longer hold any resentment toward him.”

With that, she turned to leave.

“Wait!” Su Ming called out impulsively.

Lü Lingqi paused, a hint of annoyance in her eyes. “What is it now?” she asked.

“I…” Su Ming hesitated. “I still don’t know what you look like. Could you lift your veil and let me see your face?”

There was no particular reason—he simply followed his heart and made the request.

Lü Lingqi frowned slightly, clearly hesitant.

She was an assassin, and Su Ming was a general under Cao Cao—revealing her face would be dangerous.

Sensing her concern, Su Ming quickly tried to reassure her, “I won’t harm you. In fact, I once saved you.”

“The last time Xu Chu was chasing you, I deliberately sent him in the wrong direction. That’s the only reason he didn’t catch you.”

Another lie, of course—the direction Su Ming had pointed was exactly where Lü Lingqi was escaping. But Xu Chu was too slow and lost track of her.

Lü Lingqi, preoccupied with her escape, had no idea what had really happened, so Su Ming’s story worked on her.

Hearing he’d saved her, Lü Lingqi hesitated for a long moment, then finally lifted her veil.

Beautiful!

Or perhaps “beautiful” isn’t quite right.

With her large, expressive eyes and finely drawn features, her beauty was striking but also carried a sense of heroism.

She was a natural-born female general, exuding spirit and vigor.

Upon seeing Lü Lingqi, Su Ming’s mind immediately conjured up images of her astride a fine steed, clad in crimson armor and wielding a silver spear, galloping across the battlefield.

Damn it!

She’s so captivating—what am I supposed to do?

I adore Sun Shangxiang, but I like her too.

Children are the ones who make choices—for an adult like me, I want them both.

That’s right—Su Ming had his eye on Lü Lingqi.

He was shameless—utterly taken with her.

After allowing Su Ming a glimpse of her face, Lü Lingqi turned to leave again.

“Wait!” Su Ming called out just as she was about to go.

Lü Lingqi arched an eyebrow, thinking this man must be crazy.

“What now?” she asked.

After a moment’s hesitation, Su Ming asked, “You want to take revenge on Liu Xuande, don’t you?”

“If you need help, I can assist you!”

“Don’t get me wrong—I’m only offering because of Uncle Wenyuan.”

“Fine,” Lü Lingqi replied, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

After Lü Lingqi departed, Su Ming tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Lying in bed, his thoughts raced.

Shangxiang has shared joys and hardships with me, giving up her noble status in Jiangdong for my sake—I can’t let her down.

Yes! No matter what, Shangxiang must remain the principal wife.

If Shangxiang is the main wife, then Lü Lingqi can be a concubine—or perhaps an equal wife.

What should we name our children, those I’ll have with Shangxiang?

And what about the children with Lingqi?

When we’re gone, where should we be buried?

That’s right, we’ll need a spacious burial plot with good feng shui—after all, it might not just be Shangxiang and Lingqi in the future.

The more Su Ming thought about it, the more excited he grew, so much so that he didn’t sleep a wink that night.

……

……

The next morning, Su Ming left his room with dark circles under his eyes.

When Gan Ning saw him, he felt a deep sense of guilt.

Gan Ning thought: My lord must be losing sleep night after night, longing for Mr. Xu Shu. No matter what, I must find Mr. Xu Shu as soon as possible to be worthy of my lord’s trust!

(P.S.: A quick recommendation for my other works, for those waiting for updates: “Trial Sleeping in a Haunted House: Starting with the Celestial Talisman” is my other ongoing novel, already at 500,000 words. “Unemployed, So I Tried Sleeping in Haunted Houses” is a completed book with over a million words. “Sui-Tang: Killing Emperor Wen of Sui to Begin” is a completed work with over a million words. “Getting Stronger by Hijacking Cao Cao” is a completed work with over a million words. “The Dutiful Son-in-law of Qin Shi Huang” is also finished, with over a million words.)