“Me? You want me to serve her?” Niu Wuniang pointed at herself and asked incredulously.

The Nanzhao soldier glared at her fiercely. “You think you’re still the young madam from that wealthy brocade household? She’s the inheritor of the Ji family’s secret formula. If she’s not served properly and Yang Ji-shi refuses to dye fine silk for Nanzhao, when the blame comes down from above, you won’t have any say in how you die!”

Watching the Nanzhao soldier leave with a blank stare, Niu Wuniang suddenly turned around. Ji Yingying was leaning against the carriage window, smiling at her. Her freshly washed face was radiantly beautiful, carrying a hint of smug satisfaction at her successful scheme.

Niu Wuniang clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. Ji Yingying had done this deliberately. She had deliberately let her misunderstand that she would be sent to be abused by the Nanzhao soldiers. Deliberately made everyone in the camp laugh at her.

How dare a mere young lady from a dye house do this?!

“Heh!” Some young lady couldn’t hold back and let out a laugh. Though she quickly covered her mouth, in the quiet night by the riverbank, the sound was painfully sharp.

The pain in her palms helped Niu Wuniang regain her composure.

She swept her gaze across the women on the riverbank, then walked toward the carriage with her head held high.

“Sister-in-law, let it go,” Zhao Danainai called out to her softly. Though they hadn’t had much interaction when at the Zhao household, during their journey south, Niu Wuniang had become the camp leader and managed over three hundred people effectively, earning the respect of the Zhao family masters. After all, she was a lady from the Governor’s mansion, with both capability and authority. Thanks to her, the Zhao family masters didn’t suffer much hardship along the way. If Niu Wuniang insisted on opposing Second Lady Ji, and the Nanzhao people replaced her as camp leader, the Zhao family’s situation would likely become much worse.

Niu Wuniang turned her head and said with a cold smile, “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything foolish that would bring trouble upon myself.”

She strode to the carriage and looked up at Ji Yingying: “One day you’ll be begging me.”

Ji Yingying rested her face on her folded arms at the window, smiling sweetly: “Niu Wuniang, didn’t you pride yourself on being clever and hurting people behind their backs? Coming forward to invite humiliation doesn’t seem like your style.”

“I’m not here to invite humiliation. I’m here to make a deal with you. I’ll find someone to bring your breakfast and washing water…”

Ji Yingying burst out laughing: “Never suffered such humiliation in your life, have you? You might be able to endure it from others, but you just can’t bow your head before me, Ji Yingying.”

Niu Wuniang’s body began to tremble slightly: “Must it be a fight to the death?”

What nonsense! If it weren’t for her revealing her own identity, who knows what her fate would have been? She had been bullying me all along the journey, yet from her mouth, it became me who wouldn’t leave her alone. Ji Yingying laughed in anger and lowered the curtain, saying coldly: “Don’t forget to personally bring my washing water and breakfast tomorrow morning!”

Niu Wuniang smiled: “Ji Yingying, I wanted to make a deal with you. You pushed too hard, so don’t blame me. A great person can bend and stretch – the more you act like this, the less I fear.”

In the carriage, Ji Yingying and her three maids sat in silence. How could there be someone like Niu Wuniang in this world? When she commits murder and arson it’s nothing, but when she suffers setbacks it’s always someone else’s fault.

Hearing the footsteps fade away, Ji Yingying lay down: “Let’s all sleep, there’s nothing worth saying to a madwoman.”

Xianger lay beside her, saying worriedly: “Miss, Second Madam Zhao seems fearless, what is she planning to do?”

What could she do? Without Deputy Governor Niu’s protection, what did Niu Wuniang have? Would the Nanzhao people still use her as their military advisor? It must be about Zhao Xiuyuan… or rather, Sheng Fengze? Ji Yingying pictured Sheng Fengze’s face. Niu Wuniang had Sheng Fengze’s golden token – how had she persuaded him? Would Sheng Fengze become her patron in Nanzhao?

She carefully turned over: “Whatever she’s planning, we’ll handle it as it comes, there’s always a way.”

At dawn, the voices of Nanzhao soldiers urging people awake echoed through the camp.

Everyone would wake up at this time each day to compete for the latrines and breakfast. The carriage was spacious and flat, laid with thick felt blankets, and Ji Yingying had slept very comfortably.

“Miss.” The curtain opened and a little maid brought in a chamber pot, saying proudly, “We won’t have to fight for the latrines anymore.”

Seeing the smile on her face, Ji Yingying’s mood suddenly brightened. Isn’t life about surviving wherever you are? Let’s focus on living well first.

Afterward, Chunlan called over another Zhao family maid to clean up, rubbing her hands together: “Where’s your Second Madam? Tell her to bring the washing water and breakfast quickly.”

After a night’s sleep, Ji Yingying had originally decided not to make things difficult for Niu Wuniang. But on second thought, if she didn’t teach her a lesson, Niu Wuniang wouldn’t learn restraint. She didn’t stop them. She sat in the carriage waiting.

Before long, Niu Wuniang indeed came leading two Zhao family maids carrying washing water and breakfast. She placed the washing basin in front of Ji Yingying, saying flatly: “You don’t expect me to help you wash, do you?”

Xianger wrung out a cloth from the basin and handed it to Ji Yingying, saying with pursed lips: “My lady is as beautiful as flowers and the moon, we’re afraid you’d ruin her complexion.”

Ji Yingying washed her face while watching Niu Wuniang take breakfast from another maid and set it on the small table in the carriage.

“Second Lady Ji, I heard some news. The Dongchuan army has engaged in battle with the Nanzhao army at Meizhou,” Niu Wuniang didn’t leave after finishing these tasks. She stood beside the carriage watching Ji Yingying and her maids eat, dropping information that made Ji Yingying lose her appetite.

So here it comes, Niu Wuniang has finally made her move. Ji Yingying nibbled on her pancake, looking at her: “The worst that could happen is the Dongchuan army loses and Yang Jingyuan dies. Even dead, he’s still my husband.”

Niu Wuniang shook her head: “I heard from the Nanzhao people that he beheaded Du, the great general of Nanzhao’s Northern Army. The son of the Qingping Official. Do you know what rank a Qingping Official holds? Equivalent to a Grand Chancellor of the Great Tang. The most trusted minister of the Nanzhao ruler. Oh, this was yesterday’s news.”

“Is that so? How wonderful. Thank you.” She had stirred up a hornet’s nest. She would become Nanzhao’s target for revenge. Ji Yingying’s heart sank.

“No need to thank me yet. I’ve already told the Nanzhao people that you’re Yang Jingyuan’s wife. The army escorting our group is led by General Chi Kuang, who is the Qingping Official’s trusted subordinate.” Niu Wuniang smiled radiantly, “Enjoy while you can. I wonder which is more important – the secret formula or your life.”

After she left, Chunlan, Xianger, and the others were terrified: “Miss, what should we do?”

Ji Yingying chewed her pancake fiercely: “We’ll handle whatever comes.”

…

Outside Meizhou city, Yang Jingyuan led five thousand vanguard troops to the city walls.

A hundred li from the city, Sheng Fengze stopped and looked back toward Meizhou city with some regret: “I hear the Tang army’s vanguard is Yang Jingyuan?”

Chi Hu smiled: “Indeed. After killing General Du and defeating General Chi Kuang at Qiongzhou, he was promoted to Vanguard Commander.”

“What a pity. This prince cannot meet him on the battlefield. With Chi Kuang’s temperament, his desire to defend Meizhou and turn the tables will be difficult to fulfill.”

“Why should Your Highness feel sorry for that brute? He’s the Qingping Official Du’s trusted man, refusing to follow Your Highness’s orders, insisting on staying to fight head-on with the Tang army. Guo Zhao is a descendant of Guo Ziyi, not an easy opponent. Zitong’s retreat was meritorious, and now he’s also the Military Commissioner of Xichuan. General Chi Kuang won’t fare well.”

“Let him buy us time then.” Sheng Fengze smiled: “In this campaign, His Majesty has obtained everything he wanted. Pass down the order for the main army to advance at full speed. Leave men along the way to mislead the Tang army and cover the main army’s crossing of the Dadu River.”

Once past the Dadu River, they could use the river valley’s natural defenses to hold off the Tang army. The king’s peace proposal had already been sent to Chang’an. With the Tang’s treasury empty, the emperor would be eager for peace.