During the Qingming Festival, plants and trees sprouted green—a perfect time for spring outings.

Chi Can took his younger sister Chi Jiao in a carriage out of the capital, heading north all the way.

Chi Jiao, with a child’s nature, lifted the sky-blue gauze curtain that had just been replaced recently, gazing outside with curiosity.

On the suburban roads, blue-curtained carriages traveled in twos and threes—some carrying noble ladies and children on spring outings, others bearing travelers with incense and paper money to honor their ancestors.

“What are you looking at?” Chi Can’s large hand fell on Chi Jiao’s head, ruffling it as he pulled her back.

Chi Jiao protected her head, complaining: “Big brother, you’ve messed up my hair.”

Chi Can leaned against the low couch, glancing at her: “Look at you, so vain at such a young age. Messy or not, you’re still an ugly girl.”

Chi Jiao immediately put on a stern little face.

Though she’d heard her big brother call her “ugly girl” countless times, each time it still pierced her heart.

Where was she ugly? She was very pretty.

Hmph, if big brother didn’t coax her this time, she’d persist in ignoring him for a whole day!

The little girl pursed her lips and waited a while, secretly changing the deadline from one day to half a day.

Chi Can had no intention of indulging his younger sister’s delicate temperament. He took out a food box from beneath the table fixed to the carriage floor and placed it on the table.

Chi Jiao couldn’t help but glance at it.

The food box was square and proper, with carved lacquer and painted decorations. As Chi Can opened the lid, Chi Jiao’s eyes could no longer look away.

The sixteen-compartment food box’s upper layer displayed various pastries in brilliant colors, a dazzling array. That was fine enough, but the lower layer contained savory dishes like spicy duck tongues, honey chicken wings, braised beef, and red oil tripe strips.

Chi Jiao stared fixedly at the compartment of honey chicken wings.

The medium-sized chicken wings were coated in a red glaze, looking glossy and bright, as if she could smell the honey fragrance.

Chi Can glanced sideways at Chi Jiao, then took out a pair of ebony chopsticks from the food box, precisely picked up a piece of wing, and began eating leisurely.

After enduring for a moment, the little girl couldn’t stand it anymore and called out eagerly: “Big brother—”

“Mm?”

“I want to eat.”

“Want to eat what?” Chi Can ate with refined elegance, yet in the blink of an eye had already finished the wing, spitting out the clean bone as he reached with his chopsticks toward the second chicken wing.

Chi Jiao couldn’t help but panic.

Though the small dishes in the food box were varied, each was exquisite—there were only three small honey chicken wings in total.

“Chicken wings!” Chi Jiao said hastily.

Chi Can glanced at her, moved his chopsticks, and put the chicken wing in his mouth.

“Big brother!” The little girl looked as if pierced by countless arrows.

“Don’t you have hands yourself?” Chi Can elegantly wiped the corners of his mouth with a snow-white handkerchief.

Chi Jiao quickly picked up chopsticks to grab the last chicken wing and began eating. The wonderful taste of sweet and salty combined made the little girl squint with satisfaction.

The brother and sister dined in the carriage, occasionally exchanging a word or two, yet there was no sound of bowls and chopsticks clinking or chewing and swallowing.

After finishing their meal, Chi Can held a cup of fragrant tea and called: “Taosheng, come in and clean up.”

A moment later, the carriage curtain lifted, and Taosheng, who had been blown full of cold wind, bent over to enter and resignedly cleaned up the mess.

What a hard life—other families’ young masters brought beautiful maids when traveling, but only his young master drove the maids to the rear carriage, leaving him outside with the coachman, ready to serve at any moment.

Sob sob sob, his tender little face had become like old tree bark—how could he find a wife now?

Speaking of finding a wife, Taosheng felt even more resentful.

Think of Chen Guang from Marquis Guanjun’s residence—he had married the head maid beside the Marchioness early on, and his days were surely blissful.

But what about him? He was still a bachelor to this day.

Sigh, when all was said and done, wasn’t it because his own master was useless?

Taosheng couldn’t help but look up at Chi Can.

Chi Can’s face darkened, and he knocked Taosheng’s head once with his ivory fan handle: “What are you looking at? Get out!”

This little rascal—did he think he didn’t know what he was thinking? He just wanted a wife.

Hmph, he didn’t have a wife, yet this rascal was thinking too much.

“Big brother, I also want to go on a spring outing. You’ve never taken me out for spring outings before.”

“What’s there to see in the capital suburbs? No vision,” Chi Can said dismissively, gazing out the window with a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.

With those gossipy women in the capital, they’d surely say all sorts of nonsense for Chi Jiao to hear, making Chi Jiao sad. Then he’d have to coax the child every day—just thinking about it was annoying.

Though Chi Can didn’t say so, he was quite satisfied with his younger sister, who remained heartlessly cheerful despite his verbal attacks. He didn’t want his younger sister’s temperament to change according to others’ opinions.

This was also why he decided to take his younger sister north.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard shallow breathing.

Chi Can glanced over and discovered the little girl had already fallen asleep, leaning against the carriage wall.

He smiled, carried his younger sister to the low couch, then lifted the carriage window curtain himself and began daydreaming out of boredom.

After traveling for several days, the siblings were gradually distancing themselves from the capital.

Fine rain fell like silk outside the carriage, colder than when they left the capital, yet Chi Jiao’s spirits remained undimmed as she craned her neck to survey the scenery along the way.

She had grown up in the Eldest Princess’s residence, rarely going out, not even visiting other residences. She wasn’t without curiosity about the outside world.

So the green of the countryside was boundless, even more vast than the sky she could see when looking up from the residence.

Chi Can pulled Chi Jiao back: “It’s raining—if you catch a cold, you won’t be going anywhere.”

Chi Jiao was frightened and quickly sat back down.

Chi Can was about to lower the window curtain when his hand paused. His jade-like fingers involuntarily gripped the curtain tightly, his knuckles faintly white.

Following his gaze, not far away a man rode past on horseback, his profile handsome, though his clothing was extremely unremarkable.

As if sensing Chi Can’s gaze, that man suddenly turned his head back.

Their eyes met, and the man’s expression changed drastically. He quickly turned his head away, spurred his horse, and rode off in a cloud of dust.

Chi Can’s gaze lingered for a long time without withdrawing.

“Big brother, what are you looking at?” Chi Jiao couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked.

“Looking at the scenery,” Chi Can answered absent-mindedly, his thoughts drifting far away.

That person, though he had only glimpsed him briefly, had some impression of him.

Where exactly had he seen him before?

Chi Can rubbed his chin, frowning in contemplation. After an unknown period, his eyes suddenly brightened, and his expression grew cold.

He remembered now that person was one of Jiang Yuanchao’s subordinates. They had met once before, but later he didn’t know where Jiang Yuanchao had sent him, and he hadn’t seen him again.

How could this person appear here?

Gazing at the rolling green mountains, Chi Can’s jade-like face grew increasingly cold and condensed.

If he remembered correctly, this person was called Jiang Lin.

And these mountains were Qingliang Mountain, not far from Shanhai Pass…

The carriage continued forward along the original road, gradually distancing itself from the path leading into the mountains.

Chi Can lowered the window curtain with his concerns, then smiled.

No matter what, the master was dead—that person couldn’t stir up any storms.

Reaching the narrow mountain path, the young man dismounted, climbed to the mountaintop through the falling drizzle, and stood before the cliff.

The wind at the cliff’s edge blew his robes, accompanied by the shuttling fine rain, with bone-piercing cold.

The young man slowly knelt, raised his hand, and scattered paper money that fluttered and dispersed.

“My lord, this humble servant has come to see you. Jiang He, your brother, has come to see you.” Jiang Lin knelt, his forehead pressed against the cold, hard rock, murmuring.