“Jiu’er, we have really been taken for fools this time — why did we not verify her identity from the very beginning?” Xiao Yingtao pulled a long face and shuffled toward the edge of the bed.

“Who says I am a man?” Qiao Mu glanced left and right at the two women retreating from her, let out a cold snort, and said, “Sharing a bed with the two of you — I am the one at a disadvantage!”

“Young Master Qiao, how exactly do you intend to prove you are a man?” Feng Jiu’er looked at Qiao Mu with an expression of mock wariness.

“I suspect you truly are a man. Are you not going to prove it?”

“Why should I have to prove anything?” Qiao Mu turned her head and cast a sidelong glance at Feng Jiu’er.

Her gaze drifted slowly down from Feng Jiu’er’s face, coming to rest somewhere below, as she narrowed her eyes.

“What this young miss has, neither of you can necessarily match — does that still need proving?”

“But did you not just say that was something we women worry about? Young Master Qiao.” Xiao Yingtao looked at the back of Qiao Mu’s head, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips.

Qiao Mu turned around, and looking at Xiao Yingtao, she grew even more disdainful.

“If you want proof, it would be better for everyone to prove it together — if anything, I suspect the two of you are not women at all, not an ounce of flesh on either of you.”

“When I said ‘you women,’ I was specifically referring to delicate, dainty types like the two of you.”

“A woman like me — rare as one in a thousand years — did not shed a single tear even when my own mother died. That is something the two of you could never learn to do.”

Qiao Mu withdrew her gaze from Xiao Yingtao and looked up at the top of the tent.

“My mother was a very gentle woman — the most gentle person I have ever known among all the women I have met.”

“No matter how many mistakes I made, she was always patient in guiding me. Let alone striking me, she could not even bring herself to scold me once.”

Recalling the many moments of her mother’s life, the corners of Qiao Mu’s mouth curved up slightly, and even the quality of her breathing seemed to change.

“I never knew why it is that good people cannot live long. When I was just a young teenager, my mother passed away.”

“She died of illness, and in the months before her death, she suffered tremendously. Heaven is truly unfair — good people suffer and endure hardship, while wicked people live to a ripe old age.”

“If it had been possible, I would even have wished to take on my mother’s pain for her, and I would have gladly given half my own lifespan to her.”

“But to no avail — watching my mother suffer so much that she bit her own lips until they bled, there was nothing I could do.”

Qiao Mu blinked, and let out a soft, quiet sigh.

“On that day, she closed her eyes forever — just as if she had fallen asleep, peaceful and serene.”

“I did not shed a single tear, and I accompanied her on that final journey.”

“That evening, I sat alone on a hilltop and drank several full jars of wine. In the end, I was carried back without even knowing it.”

Xiao Yingtao’s mood had just started to lighten a little, but hearing of Qiao Mu’s experience, it grew heavy again.

“And now — do you find yourself thinking of your mother often?” She pressed her lips together and asked quietly.

Qiao Mu turned her head and glanced at Xiao Yingtao, giving a nod. “Of course — though the thoughts I dwell on are the happy ones. The unhappy ones, I have long since let go.”

Turning back to look at Feng Jiu’er, Qiao Mu reached out and gave her shoulder a gentle pat.

“If you feel like crying, you can cry. Have yourself a good cry, and your mood will surely lift.”

“For me, I did not feel like crying at the time either — I only wanted to drink. After getting thoroughly drunk, my mood lifted as well.”

“Since Heaven has arranged things this way, there must be a reason behind it. We are nothing more than ordinary mortals, no matter how capable we may be — I am not about to dwell on it more than that.”

Feng Jiu’er pressed her lips together and withdrew her gaze, looking up at the top of the tent.

“You are right. We are all mortals. I will not dwell on it too much either.”

“When you need to think about it, you can think about it — there is no need to force yourself to forget.” Qiao Mu’s voice came again. “The more you try to run from something, the harder it is to leave behind.”

“If you feel like crying, cry. If you feel like smiling, smile. And of course, if you feel like drinking — you can drink.”

Feng Jiu’er had never known that Qiao Mu was so skilled at offering comfort. And yet, after being firmly lectured by her, Feng Jiu’er found that her mood had genuinely lifted a little.

She turned her head and looked at Qiao Mu, her brow furrowing slightly. “I want to drink right now — is that allowed?”

“Of course it is.” Qiao Mu, who was lying in the middle, sat up and threw back the quilt. “Give me a moment.”

She got up and left, taking nearly the entire quilt with her.

Xiao Yingtao sat up, watched the departing figure for a moment, then tugged the quilt back and moved to the middle of the bed, lying down beside Feng Jiu’er.

“Jiu’er, are you worried that one day you and the Ninth Prince will find yourselves on opposite sides of a battlefield?”

Feng Jiu’er composed herself and gave a faint nod.

“But that is your goal right now. And yet you are also worried about what happens when that goal is achieved — that the two of you will ultimately end up facing each other in battle. Do you not think that is a contradiction?”

“Xiao Yingtao, what exactly are you trying to say?” Feng Jiu’er turned to look at her, frowning slightly.

Xiao Yingtao rolled over onto her stomach on the blanket, propped her chin in her hands, and looked at Feng Jiu’er.

“What I mean is — do you absolutely have to fight this battle against the Ninth Prince?”

Feng Jiu’er did not give it much thought before nodding in reply. “Yes.”

“Then if you are already that certain, what is there left to worry about? Just wait until that day actually comes and deal with it then.”

Xiao Yingtao blinked, then rolled over again and lay back down.

“Besides, I think the Ninth Prince would never be able to bring himself to raise a hand against you. And if he fell into your hands, would you not be able to do as you please with him?”

“The one who should be worried is him — though no, he would never worry. He cannot wait to see you.”

“So the one who should truly be worried is his mother. But after everything she has done, she deserves whatever comes her way.”

Feng Jiu’er stared at Xiao Yingtao’s profile for a long moment, unable to find any words.

If he were unwilling to act against her, how could she truly do as she pleased?

But Zhan Liyue owed the Long family far too great a debt — she absolutely could not let Zhan Liyue off the hook.

“Here we go.” In no time at all, Qiao Mu came back hugging a jar of wine, with three bowls in tow.

The two lying on the bedroll both sat up and watched her.

“Qiao Mu, where did that wine come from? Did Jiu’er not say we could not bring wine along on the road?” Xiao Yingtao knit her crescent brows and asked.

“As long as she does not find out about something like this, everything is fine.” The corners of Qiao Mu’s mouth curved up slightly.

She sat down and pried the seal off the wine jar.

The rich, heady scent of wine immediately filled the entire tent, and just breathing it in lifted one’s spirits.

Feng Jiu’er drew in a deep breath of the wine-scented air, rose to her feet, and walked over to where Qiao Mu was sitting.

“You have some nerve, Qiao Mu — daring to violate military rules like this.”

Just as Feng Jiu’er sat down beside Qiao Mu, Qiao Mu poured a bowl of wine and held it out to her.

“We can discuss the punishment tomorrow. This wine will not last long — anyone who wants some had better not miss their chance.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced at the speaker, then took the bowl from her hand.

Feng Jiu’er was also someone who appreciated good wine. To savor it every now and then was indeed a pleasure.

Especially tonight — she had a strong desire to drink. Not to the point of drunkenness, but just that in-between state, half-drunk and half-sober. Nothing more than that.

Seeing Feng Jiu’er take a light sip of the wine, Xiao Yingtao put her worries to rest and walked over.

“I want some too.” She sat down beside Feng Jiu’er and snatched the jar right out of Qiao Mu’s hands. “Good wine — fragrant and smooth.”

“Though, Qiao Mu, may I ask how you managed to bring this along?”