ce Wang snorted, "What a grandiose statement. Even with twenty thousand troops under my command, I barely manage to cope; yet you still dare to make such bold claims. Regardless of how many casualties...4. Cloud Song (Part 3) By Feng Qing

4. Cloud Song (Part 3)

Shen Yang suddenly proposed to take Yun Ge away, and for a moment, everyone in the Xu family found it hard to accept this change. Although Yun Ge had only been with them for a short time, they all genuinely liked this lively, innocent girl. Lady Xu, who didn’t have any daughters of her own, treated Yun Ge even better than her own sons; at the back of her mind, she was also hoping that this little girl might become their son’s wife in the future. Now that Yun Ge suddenly wanted to leave, how could Lady Xu not be saddened by it

However, Shen Yang was still Yun Ge's blood relative. Even if he had now become Yun Ge's adopted father, from a relationship standpoint, they were much closer than the Xu family. When Shen Yang said that he would take Yun Ge away, even the Xu family couldn't find any reason to refuse.

Suppressing her anxious feelings, Lady Xu directed her gaze at her son sitting below. She hoped that he could come up with a decent excuse to reject Shen Yang’s request.

Xu Qingchen raised his eyes to look at Shen Yang; his face was already its usual calm and refined self. He smiled indifferently: "Mr. Shen, you’ve been quite busy these past few months. Where would you have the time to take care of Yun Ge If she moves into your residence, wouldn’t it be just like her living in the mountains before"

How could living at his place be anything like living in a remote mountain Shen Yang wanted to refute this point, but Xu Qingchen continued: "Moreover, even if you weren't busy… there aren’t any female members of your household. When Yun Ge goes to live with you, who will she have as company or mentor"

Lady Xu's eyes lit up; she hurriedly said with a smile, “That’s exactly the point! Mr. Shen… You know that in her past, when she lived with her father, no one taught her all those things young ladies should learn. If you agree to let me take care of Yun Ge, I promise to cultivate her into an accomplished lady."

“This…” Shen Yang frowned; whether Yun Ge could become an accomplished lady wasn’t that important, but what Lady Xu said was indeed true—many customs and manners a young woman should learn had to be taught. He couldn't take care of Yun Ge forever; she would eventually have to get married one day. Spoiling her when she was still a girl wouldn’t matter much, nor would it make any difference if she didn't understand certain etiquette now, but in the future when she became someone else’s wife, not knowing anything could only lead to displeasing her mother-in-law.

Seeing Shen Yang's hesitation, Qin Zheng also hurriedly said with a smile: "Mother is right, Mr. Shen. Yun Ge studies very diligently; I believe it won’t take long before she makes up for any deficiencies. Before Yun Ge masters everything, she should continue to stay here and learn more from Mother. If you want to guide Yun Ge in medicine, why don't you do as Wu Yuan does and spend half the day at the pharmacy or your teacher’s house"

Shen Yang looked hesitantly at Yun Ge standing beside him; he knitted his brow in thought. He had indeed been quite busy these days—there was a war going on, though he didn't need to go to the front lines himself, but medicines needed for the frontline required preparation.

"Since that's the case, I'll have to trouble Lady Xu then." Shen Yang couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed. He had stormed into someone else’s house in a rage and now he still needed their help.

Lady Xu didn’t seem to mind at all. She smiled and said, "Yun Ge is very obedient. Everyone in our household is busy, so my sister-in-law and Zeng Er often keep her company. I’m the only one who’s lonely, and having Yun Ge around makes me happy."

Standing beside her, Yun Ge blinked at Shen Yang, wondering if she still had to stay with the Xu family. In fact, she quite liked the Xus; they were all very nice people whom she didn’t want to part from. If only...

"Does Yun Ge wish to live with Master Shen" The Dustless Scholar smiled faintly as he looked at Yun Ge and said gently, "Once you’ve finished your studies satisfactorily, you can stay with Master Shen. Until then, Yun Ge must study hard and not disappoint Master Shen."

Yun Ge’s neck snapped back; she felt a cold wind blowing over her head and her bright eyes dimmed instantly. Her smiling face was as bitter as if she’d eaten gallbladder, but she shook her head vigorously before nodding.

Wah wah…Dad, Xu Qingchen is so scary.

Pity Shen Yang only thought his newly adopted daughter and the only blood relative he had on this earth was spoiled by her father and didn’t like studying. He completely missed Yun Ge’s plea for help.

After seeing off Shen Yang, Yun Ge faced another round of intense studying again. Other than the half day she spent with Shen Yang learning medicine, most of her time was spent either in the study or going to the study. Ever since Shen Yang had brought his adopted daughter into public at Li City, more and more young talents used various excuses to pay him visits or bump into him on the road. There was no choice; not only were both his female apprentices skilled, they were also very beautiful. Too bad Mu Wuyou was betrothed to Fourth Young Master Xu, so that eldest apprentice was out of the running. His youngest apprentice and adopted daughter still had a chance.

As a result, Yun Ge tragically found herself with never-ending homework. Each time she felt she had learned well enough to be free from her studies, when she went to see Xu Qingchen the next day, she would feel ashamed that she was so stupid and needed to study harder again. She then carried more books and homework back to the study.

The Dustless Scholar’s eagerness to teach had even made Lady Doctor Xu a little uncomfortable. After Yun Ge refused her invitation to take a walk with a longing yet rejecting expression for the fifth time, Lady Xu finally couldn’t bear it any longer and wanted to have a chat with her son.

"Yun Ge is just a girl; she doesn’t need to study for the imperial examinations. Why are you pushing her so hard" Lady Xu sighed, looking at her calm son.

The Noble Scholar Qingchen spoke sternly, "The daughters from other families don’t take the imperial examinations either. Don’t they also start learning from a young age Yun Ge is just behind by more than ten years, so she naturally needs to be more focused."

I’m not bothered that my daughter-in-law isn’t an accomplished lady, Lady Xu thought silently.

"Mother, Yun Ge has hardly ever met strangers since she was a child and her thoughts are simple. But she also tends to be restless and active. What if someone tricks her How would you explain it to Mr. Shen Haven’t you heard what Wuyou said Recently there have been people looking for Yun Ge frequently. We don’t need to worry about her in the clinic where Mr. Shen is, but what if she goes out on her own"

"Is that so" Lady Xu began feeling anxious too.

The Noble Scholar Qingchen nodded and said, "That’s why I took this step. Once Yun Ge has learned more and gained more knowledge, she will naturally relax a bit. Mr. Shen entrusted Yun Ge to us; we should do our best, right"

Lady Xu frowned as she thought about it and then nodded absentmindedly, completely unaware that she had been led out of the study by Xue Qingchen. After walking a few more steps, Lady Xu stopped and turned around irritably: "Dead boy, Wuyou would never tell you such things! Yun Ge is so obedient, how could…"

At the doorway, Xue Qingchen’s figure had already vanished.

Facing her son’s determination, Lady Xu could only sigh and shake her head in resignation. She might as well go see Yun Ge and prepare some tonic for her; poor child… But Yun Ge has become more obedient now. If she really doesn’t want to study, can’t she just beat Xue Qingchen up After all, it’s not like Xue Qingchen could win a fight with her, right Lady Xu was absentmindedly pondering this.

Thus, Yun Ge’s painful student life continued until Crown Prince Ding and Princess Consort Ding returned in triumph. When Yun Ge finally got some respite, she felt relieved but also held more respect for Xue Qingchen. If someone asked her before who the Noble Scholar Qingchen was like, Yun Ge would say that he was the most beautiful, capable, and intelligent person in the world. But if someone were to ask now, Yun Ge’s answer would be: The Noble Scholar Qingchen is the best-looking, most capable, and most dedicated teacher in the world.

Crown Prince Ding and Princess Consort Ding returned triumphantly, marking a period of peace after years of war for the people. Licheng City also became even livelier. It had only been a few days since the birthday banquet for Crown Prince Ding’s son and daughter when another wedding banquet was held for Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master Xu. Guests who came to attend the birthday celebration naturally stayed on for this wedding.

At the wedding banquet, as the brothers of the two new grooms, even if the Noble Scholar Qingchen were ethereal beyond compare, he still couldn’t escape being pulled into drinking games by guests. During these games, many also engaged in other activities.

"Where is Lord Xu's wife" a prince from a Western Region small country asked in somewhat stiff Central Plains dialect.

Xu Qingchen, who was in the middle of proposing a toast, glanced at the Western princess sitting below the prince and staring fixedly at him. His eyes darkened as he smiled and said, "This humble one is still unmarried."

The prince's eyes lit up. "That's great! What does State Counselor Xu think about my younger sister She's the most beautiful and virtuous lady in our country." The princess, unbothered by such customs, looked at the handsome man before her with earnestness.

Qingchen was taken aback. With a smile, he politely declined: "This... This one is afraid that I'll let down your highness's kindness."

The Western prince didn't understand. Why wouldn't Qingchen marry his sister They both had suitable statuses and appearances.

As Qingchen was about to speak, he noticed a dainty figure walking past不遠處，轉向前方的走廊。當然也冇有漏掉一臉殷切跟在她身後的某個翩翩公子。清塵眼中微沉，淡笑道：“抱歉，在下已有未婚妻了。”後麵的部分翻譯如下：

The Western princess didn't believe it and cried out, "Who is she I want to challenge her!"

"She just walked past," Qingchen said with a smile.

The Western princess was surprised. She looked at Qingchen and said, "No... Even if she's a bit prettier than me, she's still just a child. How could you like her She hasn't even reached thirteen years old."

Qingchen was speechless; Cloud Song was almost seventeen. However, the Western princess naturally thought Cloud Song looked younger because of their different appearances and culture. Moreover, since Cloud Song had an outgoing personality and loved to laugh, she appeared like a child in the eyes of the princess.

"I absolutely cannot lose to a child!" The princess declared as she got up from her seat without attending the banquet further and chased after Cloud Song's direction. Worried that his sister would cause trouble, the prince hurriedly stood up too. Qingchen patted his shoulder and said, "Please sit down, your highness. I will go take a look."

The Western prince thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Alright, if you've caused trouble, you should deal with it yourself." He genuinely hadn't insisted that he marry his sister; he had only asked out of curiosity.

The Dust-Scattering Nobleman nodded with a smile and followed leisurely. The Xu Mansion was bustling with guests enjoying themselves, so few noticed the nobleman's discreet departure.

"Miss Shen... Miss Shen..."

Frustrated by the person trailing behind her, Yun Ge decided to leave via light-foot techniques. Every time they met, he followed her, asked nothing when she stopped, and resumed following her if she walked away. She planned to visit Wuyou and Tianxiang Sister in their new chambers; why was this fellow tagging along

"Miss Shen... Miss Shen..."

“What do you want” Yun Ge asked unhappily. Xu Qingchen had said it wasn’t good for people to keep calling her by name. Uh… what Xu Qingchen meant was that any unfamiliar men persistently addressing her were bad guys who could be dealt with physically. But this fellow didn't seem like a bad guy—she had even seen him help an elderly man up after he fell a few days ago. Should she or shouldn’t she hit him

“Miss Shen… Miss Shen…”

The handsome young man blushed upon seeing the lovely, delicate girl under the moonlight and fumbled for words: "Uh… Miss Shen, I have something to tell you."

“I know, you've been following me for days. Have you finally remembered what you wanted to say Just get it out quick; stop calling my name or I'll hit you.” Yun Ge nodded.

Huh The man was taken aback and chuckled: "Miss Shen is joking." Such a delicate little girl would probably not hurt him anyway, right To reassure her: “If Miss Shen wants to hit me, go ahead. I won’t dodge.”

What This time it was Yun Ge’s turn to be taken aback.

"Uh… Just spit out what you want to say already. When done, I'll leave—I'm busy."

The man nodded eagerly: "Miss Shen, my name is Mei Changxi and I’m eighteen years old. My father holds a position as the governor of a state; uh... that’s not important. I study at Mount Lishan Academy and last year completed my military service. Although I may not be fully accomplished in both literature and martial arts, I am certainly no weakling scholar. I can definitely protect you, Miss Shen. My family…"

Although she felt that interrupting others was impolite, Yun Ge couldn't help but speak up: "Um... what do you want to say" Did she need his protection She could easily knock him away with one palm and besides… she didn’t even know him!

The man froze for a moment before realizing that he had been talking without getting to the point. With gritted teeth, he firmly said: "Miss Shen... I want to say..."

"Yun Ge, why are you here" A clear voice rang out from不遠處。隻見月光下，一位白衣翩翩的男子悠然走來。他的俊美麵容在月光中彷彿蒙上了一層光輝，讓人不由自主地移不開視線，而站在雲歌身邊的梅姓男子卻突然感到一陣冷風吹過，當場打了噴嚏。

Reaching Yun Ge's side, the Clean Dust Scholar smiled and gently pushed aside her hair that had been blown by the night wind, asking softly: "Yun Ge, why are you here"

Yun Ge blinked. "Where else would I go for my新房but here"

"It's too dark, be careful not to fall," said the Clean Dust Scholar with a smile.

Why was Xu Qingchen acting so weird How could she possibly fall

Why did she feel so superfluous The Scholar of Plum thought gloomily: "Qing... Clean Dust Scholar, you and Miss Shen..." know each other

"Yun Ge, I've finally found you! I want to duel with you! If I win, Qingchen Scholar will be mine!" Not far away, the Western Princess's eyes lit up upon seeing them. She quickly rushed over.

"... "en’t even relatives or friends; how can a young lady stay in the prince's residence”Feng Zhirao stared at Ye Li without blinking, clearly not believing her reason. But Ye Li did not mind and raised an...