The autumn sun hung high and distant. Dust rose from the earth as galloping troops seemed endless, obscuring the sky and sun.

Pedestrians on the road all fearfully moved aside.

“What’s happening?”

“So many troops?”

“Has Xi Liang attacked?”

Xiao Xun sat in his carriage, lifting the curtain with one hand covering his mouth and nose to block the dust, watching the troops with the same curiosity as the pedestrians.

The troops quickly passed.

Pedestrians returned to walking on the main road, their steps quickening due to their alarm.

“Your Highness.” The driver Tie Ying turned back and called quietly. “We should go.”

Xiao Xun had insisted on personally confirming that real troops were coming before he would leave.

“Let’s go.” Xiao Xun said, somewhat helpless. “Going back, Father King will laugh at me again.”

Again and again—after being laughed at so many times, it wasn’t funny anymore.

Why was it that facing that girl, things could never go smoothly as desired?

It was truly infuriating.

……

……

The sound of horse hooves echoing in the valley and the trembling of the ground startled Chu Zhao’s group who had just emerged.

Were they still unwilling to give up? Were they going to brazenly assassinate now?

“It’s government soldiers!” A scout came running first, shouting. “Government soldiers have come to support us!”

Government soldiers. Chu Zhao let out a sigh of relief and looked back into the distance, faintly seeing banners like clouds and the sound of armor clashing.

“The government soldiers came quite fast.” She was also somewhat surprised.

Xiao Man at her side snorted: “Fast enough to collect our corpses.”

Chu Zhao smiled: “Don’t say that. I didn’t tell them my movements—they didn’t know I would encounter danger. That they can rush here at this moment is already very fast.”

Xiao Man turned her head to the other side and said nothing more.

……

……

The large army stopped not far away. A military officer was brought over and bowed deeply: “I greet—”

Chu Zhao quickly stopped him: “I’m traveling with concealed identity. There’s no need for such formality, sir.”

The officer stood stiffly at attention, acknowledging, about to apologize when Chu Zhao once again spoke first, saying she didn’t blame him for arriving late. The whole point was not to be discovered—they didn’t know, so it wasn’t a crime.

“Clean up the mountain,” Chu Zhao only said. “See if you can determine their identities.”

If they could prove it was Prince Zhongshan’s handiwork, that would also be a good thing.

Of course, Chu Zhao felt there was little possibility. If Prince Zhongshan dared to do it, he would certainly be confident in leaving no trace.

The officer acknowledged and accepted the order. He couldn’t apologize, couldn’t be overly formal. He thought for a moment, then turned and called someone.

A soldier ran over quickly and stood before Chu Zhao, his expression somewhat constrained.

“This is from Chen County’s postal station.” The officer said. “He was the one who reported to us that you might be in danger. He also had emergency transfer orders, which is why we were mobilized to search—”

Chu Zhao looked at the postal soldier with some surprise: “How did you know I was in danger?”

And moreover, how did he know she had reached here?

Although she would inform postal stations of her movements—this was A’Jiu’s requirement before she departed. She could avoid being tracked, but when passing through a certain place, she must leave a message.

“Otherwise that kid will pester me with questions I can’t answer,” he had said.

But generally she would only say something when leaving, also to indicate to A’Jiu that she had safely passed through.

She hadn’t sent word to Chen County’s postal station yet.

She had thought postal stations passively received messages. It turned out they actually knew her movements?

The postal soldier took out a map and a written order from his chest: “Orders came down from above, writing that you would arrive in these few days. If we didn’t have word from you immediately, we were to mobilize troops to search.”

Would arrive in a few days? Chu Zhao was somewhat puzzled. She reached out to receive the map. This was a very common map of Da Xia’s western postal stations, but what was uncommon was—

Chu Zhao leaned closer. In the sunlight, beside each postal station name on the map were small characters writing dates—from such-and-such month and day to such-and-such month and day.

……

……

Standing in the mountain forest by the roadside, hidden among several large trees and mountain rocks, people on the road couldn’t see them, but they could see the travelers clearly.

Especially that girl.

“Look, she’s smiling.” The woman lifted her conical hat, saying softly. “What good news did she see? She’s smiling so happily.”

When she saw Chu Zhao smile, a smile also spread across the woman’s lips.

The girl surrounded by the crowd was smiling. The woman hidden behind the rocks was also smiling. But the people beside the woman looked rather sorrowful.

“Stronghold Leader.” A man beside her couldn’t help saying quietly. “Go see her.”

“Didn’t I just see her?” The woman said with a smile. She pressed her hand to her chest. Even now her heart was still beating uncontrollably.

Though this wasn’t a moment worth celebrating—it had been tragic and dangerous—but in the night, when she raised her head and saw the girl appear in the firelight and slaughter ahead, everything around her disappeared. Only that girl shone brilliantly.

After not seeing her for so long, Ah Zhao had grown taller and also thinner.

No matter how much she looked, she couldn’t look enough—

The woman’s reaction made the man beside her even more distressed.

“Stronghold Leader.” He was somewhat anxious. “She doesn’t even know it’s you. How does this count as seeing her? Taking advantage of this opportunity, why not just—”

“Just what?” The woman interrupted him. The smile at her lips faded, her voice cold and clear. “Use the grace of saving her life to make her acknowledge me as her mother?”

She looked at the girl on the main road.

“I previously used her life as a threat. Now that I’ve saved her, can one life offset another and make her call me Mother?”

She slowly shook her head.

“Didn’t you hear? She said her parents treasure her like a jewel.”

“I am not worthy.”

……

……

Sunlight shone over the Imperial City. In the duty room blocked by layers of palace buildings, the view was somewhat dim.

A postal station map was spread on the desk. At this moment, slender fingers tapped on it a few times.

“She should have reached here by now.” Xie Yanlai said quietly, then with some disdain, “At her speed, she really can’t compare to me.”

Xie Yanlai looked at the postal station map for a long time without moving. The deep autumn sunlight leapt across his body through the window lattice.

Until an Imperial Guard outside quietly called: “Captain.”

Xie Yanlai withdrew his gaze and turned his head. His phoenix eyes lowered as his expression returned to cool clarity: “What is it?”

The Imperial Guard handed over a postal report.

Seeing the marking, Xie Yanlai immediately took it and opened it. Inside was only a short note. The first two characters that entered his vision made his eyes blur slightly.

“Under attack”

He took a deep breath before he could continue reading.

“But safe”

Xie Yanlai closed his eyes, slapping one hand on the desk for support, cursing through gritted teeth: “Damn girl.”

The handwriting on this note was elegant and refined—clearly written by her own hand.

“Afraid you’d worry, so I won’t hide it from you. I was also injured, but only flesh wounds, nothing serious. Moreover, I gained thirty new guards and will continue forward. Don’t worry.”

After reading the few short lines, Xie Yanlai sat down and exhaled. Chu Zhao was rushing to report she was safe and hadn’t written detailed circumstances—where was she injured? Who were the attackers? Where did these newly acquired guards come from? Were they reliable?

She said she was afraid he’d worry, yet didn’t write anything! Was she doing this on purpose?

He looked toward the Imperial Guard: “When General Zhang has the latest news, have him come see me personally.”

The Imperial Guard acknowledged and withdrew.

Xie Yanlai sat there reading and rereading the note. Afraid he’d worry? What did he have to worry about? Feel guilty? Because he was the one who persuaded her to go see her father?

How ridiculous. He made the suggestion, but wasn’t it she herself who wanted to go? Did she not know it was dangerous?

Everyone must bear the risks of their own choices. He wouldn’t worry, wouldn’t feel guilty!

Xie Yanlai crumpled the note in his hand into a ball, stood up and walked a few steps, then sat back down and smoothed out the crumpled note again.