The Seventh Princess paused for a moment and said, “Oh, before Lord Su was brought to the Su residence, she wasn’t living in Jizhou, but in Shu? And with an especially amiable smile, she added, “Jizhou is thousands of miles from Shu. How did Lord Su make it to the Su residence?”

Hearing her ask this, Su Wan knew she had caused trouble.

She hadn’t expected that Third Brother held such a high official position that these people didn’t even know where she had once lived.

Only now did Su Wan understand what Su Jin meant by “every sentence a warning, every word to be carefully weighed.” Her heart was in chaos, feeling that the Seventh Princess’s every smile and every question concealed a trap. Just as she was at a loss, Qi Ling, who had returned from fetching water, curtsied from the side and said with a smile, “Your Highness, this subject’s princess sister obtained an antique hairpin from the southern territories. The style is quite unusual. This morning before setting out, she repeatedly said Your Highness is an expert on hairpins and wanted to show it to you. Since we happen to have some leisure now, why don’t this subject accompany Your Highness there, and together we can help elder sister evaluate it?”

The Seventh Princess smiled and said, “Very well.”

Qi Ling knew the Seventh Princess had become suspicious of Su Jin’s identity. She had led her away to Qi Huan’s place and hurried back, only to find Su Wan’s seat empty.

She quickly inquired with a nearby woman, who said, “Just now a guard came and said Lord Su asked Miss Su to go see the Twelfth Prince, so Miss Su left with that guard.”

The relay station where they were located was beside a mountain road. Further ahead was a forked path shaded by mountain forest—one side ascended stone steps leading to the temple altar where they would rest tonight, while the other was a shortcut to the Cloud Lake Mountain pasture.

After the noon meal, Zhu Qiyue had already gone ahead to the temple altar to offer incense. Qi Ling looked around and saw Su Jin and several other officials still by the distant stream. She couldn’t help but say, “Lord Su hasn’t gone far—how could she have told Miss Su Wan to go see the Twelfth Prince alone?”

However, as soon as this question left her lips, she already had her answer. She immediately went around the mountain road toward the stream. Across the guards, she bowed to Su Jin from a distance: “Lord Su, may I have a word in private?”

Seeing the urgency in her eyes, Su Jin had already guessed the reason. She glanced toward the relay station, where there were many women, but she couldn’t make anything out clearly.

She nodded and said to the guard, “Let Miss Qi Four come over.”

The several officials beside her were all tactful. They cupped their hands to Su Jin and retreated far away. Only then did Su Jin ask Qi Ling, “Was Su Wan taken away by someone?”

Qi Ling said, “Yes. A guard came and said you, Lord Su, told Miss Su Wan to go see the Twelfth Prince.” She added self-reproachfully, “It’s all Ruyu’s fault. I was away for just a short while and didn’t watch over Miss Su Wan properly. Lord Su should quickly have the Eagle Guard search for her.”

Su Jin pondered for a moment and said, “Unless there’s a special edict, the Twelve Imperial Guard Units don’t obey orders from civil officials. Moreover, Su Wan hasn’t disappeared—she was ‘taken away at the Twelfth Prince’s request.’ Only after confirming that no one is at His Highness’s location will they go search.”

Qi Ling said, “Then should you send someone to inform the Twelfth Prince?”

She should send someone to inform him, Su Jin thought, but she and Su Wan had been specially “arranged” by Zhu Zhaowei to come on this spring outing. Since Zhu Zhaowei had someone take Su Wan away using her name, she must have already deployed everything that would follow.

Su Jin asked, “Before Su Wan was taken away, did anyone speak with her?”

“The Seventh Princess came to speak with Miss Su,” Qi Ling said. “Ruyu went to fetch water and didn’t hear very clearly, but she remembers Miss Su mentioning in her words that you had once lived in ‘Shu.’ Later, when the Seventh Princess pressed further, Miss Su didn’t say anything more.”

Su Jin finally understood—now Zhu Zhaowei had become thoroughly suspicious of her background.

But she clearly remembered that the Su household didn’t know she had lived in Shu as a child. She didn’t know where Su Wan had heard this from. More worryingly, what else did she know?

With this thought, Su Jin said, “I must trouble Miss Qi Four to help me guard the relay station while I personally go find the Twelfth Prince.”

The mountain path to the temple altar looked close but was far when traveling.

Su Jin didn’t let anyone follow her. This matter involved sensitive secrets—she couldn’t trust anyone.

This time, someone had truly found her fatal weakness. Her identity as a woman was one thing, but what she most feared was that Su Wan also knew the character “Xie.”

The calamity surrounding Chancellor Xie back then had implicated tens of thousands of people. Countless innocent people were branded as conspirators and executed. If Zhu Zhaowei learned she was Chancellor Xie’s granddaughter and made a big issue of it, slandering Shen Xi or even slandering Zhu Nanxian, wouldn’t she end up harming those she meant to save instead?

Thinking of this, Su Jin quickened her pace even more.

The mountain path in mid-spring was lush with vegetation, the fork in the road ahead appearing and disappearing. She was about to step onto the stone stairs leading to the temple altar when suddenly, the tree shadows ahead moved slightly.

At this moment, there was clearly no wind—if tree shadows moved without wind, it could only mean someone was hiding behind the trees.

Su Jin stopped abruptly. Somehow, she suddenly recalled what Liu Chaoming had said at the birthday banquet at the Zhao residence that day: “You are occasionally impetuous in your actions,” and also “Think thrice before acting in all matters.”

That’s right—in her momentary urgency, she had only worried about Su Wan being questioned, but hadn’t she herself now become isolated?

The people Zhu Zhaowei had planted certainly wouldn’t dare kidnap a dignified Third-Rank Vice Minister in front of everyone, but if she climbed the stone steps, the winding mountain path would completely remove her from everyone’s sight.

She couldn’t go back either, Su Jin thought. The spring outing was two days in total. Since Zhu Zhaowei had made arrangements, if she continued with the group and night fell, with her alone in a room, there was no telling what might happen.

She should have raised two more guards. Her only one, Tan Zhaolin, she had assigned to follow Shen Xi.

Thinking of Shen Xi, a flash of inspiration struck Su Jin. Her gaze suddenly fell on the narrow sheep path on the other side of the fork.

She remembered that Bureau Director Jiang from the Ministry of Rites, who had spoken with her earlier, had mentioned: “The Cloud Lake Mountain pasture borders the Court of Imperial Stud’s pasture. From the temple altar fork, it’s only half a shichen away. When this official was young, I also served in the Court of Imperial Stud. I returned home once a month, and to save time on the road, I would take this shortcut.”

With this thought, Su Jin immediately turned. She neither went up nor down, but instead headed onto the small path.

Shortly after, urgent footsteps indeed sounded behind her. Fortunately, the vegetation was deep in spring and could conceal most of her form.

Su Jin didn’t dare look back. As she pushed aside grass to find her way, she hoped that Shen Xi would let the horses roam far, farther still—ideally that some horse would break free from its reins and run right before her eyes.

The footsteps behind her grew closer and closer.

The vegetation gradually thinned. Su Jin felt her pursuer’s hand was about to reach her shoulder when, at that very moment, the sound of horse hooves truly came from farther away.

Unfortunately, these hoofbeats didn’t come from the direction of the Court of Imperial Stud, but from the Cloud Lake Mountain pasture.

Su Jin assumed Zhu Zhaowei had deployed additional people at the pasture. She immediately lifted her official robe and simply ran.

This action caused the hoofbeats to become even more urgent and rapid. Unexpectedly, someone even called out “Stop” a few times.

Su Jin ignored it all. After taking several more steps forward, she suddenly saw a horse’s shadow flash before her eyes, and a red-tasseled spear blocked her path directly. She looked up to see a magnificent horse rearing its front legs and neighing continuously, and sitting on the horse was actually a woman.

The woman wore dark red fitted clothing, her sleeve cuffs tucked into iron armguards. In the pouring spring light, her appearance was stunning. Her pair of peach blossom eyes and the teardrop mole at the corner of her eye were nearly identical to Shen Xi and Shen Jing, but the sharp sweep of her eyebrows added three parts of heroic spirit to her bearing.

She pointed ahead with her chin and said, “Didn’t you notice? That’s a muddy bog covered by shallow grass. Be careful not to fall in.” Then, looking at Su Jin’s official robes, she slung the red-tasseled spear behind her back, dismounted with practiced ease, and cupped her hands briskly: “I’m called Shen Jun. Are you a newly promoted official? How come I’ve never seen you before?”

Actually, before Shen Jun introduced herself, Su Jin had already recognized who she was. She returned the salute and said, “My surname is Su, given name Jin. I currently serve as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. This is indeed the first time meeting the Fourth Princess.” She then asked, “Did Your Highness come here specifically to find Qingyue?”

Though Shen Jun and Shen Xi didn’t acknowledge each other, she often exchanged letters with Shen Jing and had long heard of Su Jin and Su Shiyu’s great names.

Having her intentions exposed, she didn’t have time for the usual pleasantries of “I’ve long admired your name.” Instead, she said, “I’ve heard elder sister mention you several times, saying both Qingyue and Thirteen are very close to you. I’m quite at ease about Thirteen, but as for Qingyue, he’s been incorrigible since childhood. His mind isn’t sharp, yet he loves to scheme. His talent for creating trouble out of nothing is truly first-rate. He must have caused you quite a bit of trouble. Second Sister dotes on him and thinks everything about him is good—that’s excessive favoritism. But I’m very impartial. Let me first apologize to you on his behalf.”

With that, she clasped her hands and bowed, actually giving Su Jin another salute.

Su Jin didn’t know that if even Shen Qingyue’s mind was considered not sharp, then whose mind in this world would merit praise from the Third Miss of the Shen family. But she heard Shen Jun add with a very clumsy excuse: “Of course, I’m not here specifically to see Qingyue. I’m just out enjoying the scenery, passing by the Cloud Lake Mountain pasture, and pondering whether I should stop by the Court of Imperial Stud while I’m in the area.”

Su Jin’s people were at all eight gates of Yingtian Prefecture, and she had never heard any news of the Fourth Princess entering the capital recently.

Shen Jun had clearly concealed this from the Shen household and even from Zhu Yushen, taking mountain roads straight to Shen Xi. Yet she insisted on calling it “passing by.” Where would someone “pass by” for over a month, passing all the way from Beiping to Yingtian City?

Su Jin saw through it but didn’t say so: “Then it truly is quite a coincidence. I was just about to go find Qingyue myself. Your Highness must have already noticed—there are villains pursuing me. Since Your Highness is passing by, why not accompany me to the Court of Imperial Stud? We can look after each other.”

“No rush,” Shen Jun said solemnly. “First tell me who dares to pursue and try to kill you. I’ll bring my men to slaughter them before we leave.”

Su Jin was speechless. After a moment she said, “I didn’t actually notice who they were, but since Your Highness has extra men and horses, could you dispatch two people to help me search for my younger sister?” She added, “Her name is Su Wan. Today she came with the other women to Cloud Lake Mountain for the spring outing. The group is at the temple altar and relay station not far from here.”

“That’s easily arranged,” Shen Jun said. She immediately removed the command token from her waist and tossed it to a soldier behind her, saying, “Qin Ruo, take two people to search. Remember, Vice Minister Su’s sister is my good brother Thirteen’s sister. You must search thoroughly. Report to the Court of Imperial Stud immediately when you have news.”

The soldier named Qin Ruo responded “Yes” and took two people, riding off on horses.

Shen Jun then looked back at Su Jin, and then at the group of soldiers behind her who saw through it but didn’t say so, just like Su Jin. She seemed to sigh with great reluctance: “In that case, we have no choice but to go to the Court of Imperial Stud first to wait, and incidentally take a look at my incorrigible younger brother.”