The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Tong Rong did not answer Qin An's question immediately.

She turned over, facing him, and pulled the blanket up to cover her collarbone, her eyes still moist from earlier.

"What does the general want to ask?" Her voice was hoarse, carrying a lazy contentment.

But his fingers were restless, resting on Qin An's stomach, his index finger gently tracing up and down his skin.

"Ask me anything." Qin An didn't pull his hand away, letting her draw as she pleased. "Tell me whatever you know."

Tong Rong remained silent for a moment, as if she was organizing her thoughts.

Being able to mention Qin An's name at a crucial moment to protect herself, and decisively taking a gamble by launching a night raid on Qin An, Tong Rong was certainly no fool.

She knew very well what Qin An wanted to hear, so she didn't rush to tell him about her own situation. Instead, she talked about Wang Chong and the Wang family, which Qin An cared about.

"General, I don't know much either, so I can only say what I know. As far as I know, the Wang family appears illustrious on the surface, but in reality, they are a disorganized mess. Wang Chong is quite skilled in officialdom, but he is a complete failure at managing his household."

Tong Rong turned to the side, propped her cheek up with one arm, and the thin blanket slipped a little off her shoulder, but she didn't care and continued talking.

"He had seven concubines. His principal wife, surnamed Liu, bore him two sons, but she was in poor health and had long since stopped managing affairs."

"The other concubines fought fiercely among themselves. Today you would accuse me, tomorrow I would beat you up, but Wang Chong turned a blind eye and never cared."

"Not to mention Wang Chong's daughters, his sons are even worse."

As Qin An listened, his fingers unconsciously traced patterns on her body: "Who are his sons?"

Tong Rong didn't mind Qin An's caresses, and even took the initiative to guide him by holding his hand.

Women in this world are ultimately very conservative.

Even before this, she and Qin An had no feelings for each other.

But the moment she became Qin An's woman, she completely accepted her fate and regarded him as her man.

She naturally wouldn't object to having some intimate contact with her man.

Seeing that Qin An was interested in what she was saying, Tong Rong told him everything she knew without reservation.

"The eldest son, Wang Heng, is born to the legal wife, Liu. He is in his early thirties and manages the Wang family's finances and accounts. He is a fairly steady man, but he is too soft-hearted and cannot control the people below him."

"The second son, Wang Cong, was born out of wedlock. He was a skilled warrior, and he trained the personal guards under Wang Chong. However, he had a violent temper and killed several servants in the mansion. Wang Chong scolded him a couple of times and that was it."

"The third son, Wang Zhang, was a scholar with little real power. He spent his days in the mansion composing poems, painting, and associating with literary figures."

Tong Rong paused here and glanced at Qin An.

"There's another one, the general should know."

"Wang Teng," Qin An continued.

"Yes." Tong Rong nodded, a clear hint of sarcasm appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"Wang Chong doted on this youngest son the most. How much? In the battle of Qing Shi Gorge, Wang Teng led ten thousand men out, only to be completely annihilated by the general with a mere thousand cavalry. He himself was captured alive. Guess what happened?"

"After Wang Teng returned, he was not punished at all. Instead, Wang Chong praised him, saying that Wang Teng was a lucky man to have survived such a situation!"

Tong Rong couldn't help but let out a soft scoff as she said this.

"When his other sons heard this, their faces turned green. Wang Cong smashed his cup on the spot, Wang Heng claimed to be sick the next day and did not attend the meeting, and even Wang Zhang, who did not care about anything, did not go to pay his respects to Wang Chong for several days."

Qin An's fingers unconsciously clenched, as if deep in thought: "So, Wang Chong's inner quarters and his sons have long been operating independently?"

"It's more than just each going their own way." Although Tong Rong was in pain, she didn't care at all. Instead, she moved closer to Qin An, resting her chin on his shoulder. "We were practically beating each other senseless!"

Qin An didn't reply, but the light in his eyes changed slightly.

He turned his head and looked at Tong Rong, who was standing very close to him.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she spoke, and her lips opened and closed with a natural intimacy, as if they were old acquaintances who had known each other for many years.

"You see things quite clearly."

Tong Rong smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in her smile: "I grew up in the Wang family, and I see these things every day. It's hard not to see things clearly."

"Having told you so much about the Wang family, what about yourself? How did you end up being adopted as a goddaughter by Wang Chong?"

Tong Rong's smile faded slightly.

She lowered her eyes, and her fingers stopped moving on his arm.

"I was originally just a dancer!" Her voice was calm, as if she were talking about someone else: "I was sold into the Wang family at the age of eight, and I learned to dance, play the piano, and how to smile and walk gracefully from the instructors."

"The Wang family raised many girls like me. They would pick out the prettiest ones and buy them for us. When we grew up, we would either give them away or keep them for ourselves."

"I was luckier. I was reasonably good-looking and danced quite well. Wang Chong took a liking to me and kept me as his own. My food, clothing, and other necessities were better than everyone else's."

She paused, looked up at Qin An, and there was something indescribable in her eyes.

"As I grew older, Wang Chong's gaze towards me became increasingly strange. He wanted to take me as a concubine, but before he could even speak, his sons started making a fuss."

Qin An raised an eyebrow: "A joke?"

"You're absolutely right." Tong Rong laughed, a hint of helpless mockery in her laughter. "Perhaps I really do have the makings of a femme fatale. Not only Wang Chong, but several young masters of the Wang family have also made their eyes on me, and some have even clashed with me."

Wang Chong saw this and knew that if this matter escalated, there would be a huge mess in the family.

Upon hearing this, Qin An was genuinely amused.

Although I had already felt Tong Rong's charm, I didn't expect her charm to be so great.

She actually managed to bewitch the Wang family father and sons.

Looking back, I realize I had underestimated this woman.

Perhaps she possesses a charm that I haven't yet discovered?

When Tong Rong talked about these things, she didn't feel proud of herself; on the contrary, she seemed a little heavy-hearted.

Her fingers began to circle over Qin An's body again, with obvious provocation, but her tone became more indifferent.

"Later, Wang Chong came up with what he thought was a perfect solution: he adopted me as his goddaughter. In this way, I was nominally his daughter, and his sons would no longer be able to reach out to me."

Qin An looked down at her, his gaze scrutinizing: "Is he unwilling to accept this?"

Tong Rong was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "General, you really can't hide anything from you."

Her voice lowered, tinged with a slight bitterness: "Although I'm nominally his daughter, I can sense that he hasn't given up on me. This time..."

Qin An understood: "Was it his idea to bring you to Shancheng this time as well?"

Tong Rong nodded: "He said his sons were causing a huge scene at home because of me, and he wanted me to come out and lay low for a while. But... I know in my heart that he might have other intentions for keeping me by his side!"

Upon receiving this definitive answer, Qin An's lips twitched involuntarily.

This made him think of Cai Yan and Cai Zhen.

Qin An originally had some psychological burden, but now seeing how good Wang Chong was at having fun, he suddenly felt that the sordid things in his family didn't seem to matter much.

Tong Rong had no idea what Qin An was thinking. After mentioning Wang Chong's scheme, she suddenly let out a mocking laugh.

"He had a good plan, but man proposes, God disposes. Before he could do anything, the government troops stormed in, and he ran away first, leaving me here."

When Tong Rong said this, there was little resentment in her voice, but rather a sense of resignation.

It was as if she had always known that she was nothing more than an object that could be discarded at any time in the Wang family.

Qin An remained silent for a while, then suddenly pulled her tightly into his arms.

"From now on, you will be free. With me, you will truly have a home of your own."

Tong Rong paused for a moment, then looked up at him.

Qin An's face was not clearly visible in the darkness.

But she could sense that his gaze held something she had never seen in anyone else's eyes before—not so intense, but very steady, as if it were fixed in one place and would not easily move away.

"General?" Tong Rong murmured involuntarily.

"And he calls himself a general?"

"Husband...husband?"

Qin An smiled and nodded.

Seeing that he actually agreed, Tong Rong burst into tears the next moment.

If she had only considered him her man before due to pressure and the reality of her relationship with Qin An...

So now that she has uttered the word "husband," she has completely accepted this man from the bottom of her heart.

Thinking of what Qin An had just said—that he would give her a home that truly belonged to her—Tong Rong was instantly moved again.

"My husband~" she called out again, her eyes sparkling with desire.

Seeing her reaction, how could Qin An not know what she wanted to do?

Qin An hesitated for a moment: "Your body..."

He could clearly see that this woman was suffering a severe blow for the first time.

This is one of the reasons why he accepted Tong Rong so easily.

"I don't care, I just want you to love me." She actually took the initiative to grab Qin An and act coquettishly.

It is said that women who know how to be charming have the best lives. At this moment, Qin An seemed to understand why the Wang family father and sons were all captivated by this one woman.

Despite Tong Rong's strong insistence, Qin An ultimately did not go against her wishes.

After acknowledging this woman, he became even more gentle than before.

At this moment, Tong Rong was in a state of severe insecurity, and she was powerless to resist Qin An's gentleness!