At that moment—

The sound of chaotic horse hooves suddenly came from the distance.

All the soldiers rose to their feet and became alert, cautiously looking toward the direction from which the sound came.

They gripped the long swords in their hands tightly, assuming a stance ready for battle.

They saw the sound of horses in the distance gradually approaching along with firelight.

A dozen horses, a dozen people.

One person rode ahead on horseback, imposing and majestic. His suit of armor made him appear extremely dignified, and despite the firelight’s illumination, his face still appeared extraordinarily cold.

His eyes were like an eagle’s, sweeping over the soldiers before him.

This…

The newcomer was none other than Ji Huan.

When the soldiers saw it was him, they all finally relaxed their vigilance.

They returned their drawn swords to their sheaths.

“General Ji?” Someone stepped forward.

Ji Huan dismounted expressionlessly and walked toward Jingrong standing by the river. Inadvertently, his gaze swept over Ji Yunshu beside him, then imperceptibly withdrew.

He clasped his hands in salute: “Your Highness.”

His tone was full of intensity.

Having not seen him for some time, Ji Huan’s heroic countenance seemed even more hardened than before, and his eyes revealed not half a trace of emotion that one could fathom.

This was clearly not the same person as that drunkard who spent all his days collapsed in the Buddhist hall, thoroughly intoxicated!

Jingrong looked him up and down, somewhat suspicious in his heart, but more so speculating. He thought: Ji Huan should regard himself as an enemy; when the two met they would inevitably draw swords against each other, so why was he so calm at this moment?

“General Ji? This Prince already had someone notify you to wait at Sanyue Pavilion, didn’t he?”

“This subordinate already waited at Sanyue Pavilion for several days, but Your Highness never came. Worried that Your Highness might have encountered trouble on the road, I hastened here at full speed.”

Jingrong glanced at the thousand soldiers he had brought—with so many soldiers here, who would dare touch them? Moreover, these were Da Lin’s troops; bandits would avoid them upon merely seeing their banners. How could anything happen? Ji Huan clearly had his concerns! After all, the Ji family’s crime of treason was entirely “bestowed” by Jingrong. Jingrong must surely worry that he harbored resentment and would create complications on the road to Houliao. Moreover, the late Emperor had issued an edict stripping Ji Huan of his title as General of Changlin. So given Jingrong’s nature, there was a great possibility that he would not go to Sanyue Pavilion to rendezvous with him. It was precisely because he had considered this that he rushed here at full speed.

But understanding without stating it explicitly, Jingrong pretended to be oblivious!

He said: “General Ji is overthinking. It’s just that it rained the past two days, and the roads were difficult to travel, so we were delayed for some time.”

“As long as Your Highness is unharmed.”

“However, since General Ji has already come, there’s no need to detour to Sanyue Pavilion. We can go directly to Houliao.”

Ji Huan bowed his head.

Jingrong: “However, tonight we must temporarily rest here for the night. We’ll depart early tomorrow morning.”

“Yes!”

Then, Jingrong pulled Ji Yunshu’s hand and walked toward the carriage.

But after taking two steps, Ji Yunshu stopped and said quietly to Jingrong: “Give me a little time.”

Jingrong pressed his brow tight, glanced at Ji Huan, hesitated for a moment, then nodded and walked away.

Ji Yunshu turned her gaze toward Ji Huan. After such a long time seeing him again, she felt that the Ji Huan standing before her now was completely like a different person. In his eyes, there were actually traces of Ji Li’s shadow.

Cunning and sinister.

Yet in her heart, Ji Huan was a great general, imposing and majestic, single-mindedly devoted to warfare and achieving merit. Although his temperament was rash and restless, he did not like conspiracies and schemes, much less engage in petty villainy. This was where he was completely different from Ji Li.

But—

The current Ji Huan was actually so similar to Ji Li!

Ji Huan looked at her coldly: “What do you want to say to me?”

His tone was flat.

It was difficult to discern his inner turmoil.

Ji Yunshu’s brow slightly furrowed as she said in a heavy voice: “I heard that since returning to Jinjiang, you’ve been living on alcohol all day long.”

He kept a straight face: “It seems you’ve already met Wanxin.”

“Yes, I’ve met her. The Emperor summoned her to the palace and she entered the Fangjin Bureau.”

“The Emperor’s grace is immense. For Wanxin to enter the palace to serve is her good fortune. This time the Emperor has also given me an opportunity to atone for my crimes through merit. I will certainly risk my life to assist Prince Rong in making Houliao submit to our Da Lin. I’m also counting on being able to cleanse the Ji family’s name.”

“If you can think this way, then that’s the best thing possible.”

Ji Huan laughed coldly, walked closer to her, and revealed a sinister look in his eyes: “However, you are no longer a member of the Ji family. The Ji family’s honor and disgrace have nothing to do with you. So that feeling of being reviled by others… you wouldn’t understand it, much less understand the state of mind of fighting desperately to seize even a thread of opportunity.”

His low, resonant voice reached Ji Yunshu’s ears.

Making her entire body stiffen!

Her pupils dilated slightly.

Ji Huan was very satisfied with that trace of change in her expression. He gave a light “hmph” and strode past her side to leave.

“Ji Huan!”

She called out to stop him.

Ji Huan’s steps halted, his back facing her. Ji Yunshu looked at his back and said seriously: “I hope you can understand that when Big Brother and Prince Yi rebelled and ended up in that state, it was his own doing. The consequences should rightfully be borne by the Ji family. At least the late Emperor still had a trace of forbearance and didn’t order the extermination of nine generations of kin, merely having the Ji family leave the capital. Whether you harbor resentment or feel unwilling in your heart, no matter what, you must not repeat the same mistakes.”

“…”

“Second Brother, you’re different from Big Brother. You are not him!”

Ji Huan’s brow tightened. He turned his gaze to look at her and said with a curved lip: “There’s no need for you to remind me of certain things. I know what to do and what needs to be done. And if you think I harbor ulterior motives and have other intentions, then by all means, you can have Prince Rong kill me right now to eliminate future troubles.”

“Uh…”

Before she could recover her wits, Ji Huan had already walked far away.

Leaving her only with his retreating figure.

And over the next several days, Ji Huan never spoke with her once, not even a single collision of gazes. He treated her completely as if she were invisible!

“What do you think that fellow is thinking?” Shi Ziran rode his horse close to Lang Bo, squinting his eyes and pointing at Ji Huan on horseback ahead as he asked.

Lang Bo pondered: “I don’t know, but being on guard against him is certainly not wrong.”

“I’m just afraid treacherous officials are hard to guard against.”

“But what can he do? The Emperor has him accompany the Prince to Houliao. He has neither authority nor the status of general. What trouble can he cause?” Lang Bo wondered.

The two discussed in low voices.

They arrived at Houliao ten days later. The entire journey had been very peaceful; none of the worrisome things had occurred.

When the thousand soldiers reached the Xiamen Pass at the border, General Chu Chengyu, who was stationed here, personally opened the city gates to welcome them.

That evening, a small banquet was arranged.

However, tea was used instead of wine. Chu Chengyu raised his tea and drained it in one gulp. With his thick black brow furrowed and small eyes squinting, he looked toward Jingrong seated in the place of honor, unsmiling and serious, and said: “Prince Rong, if we can truly make Houliao submit to our Da Lin this time, that would be a tremendously good thing! In recent years, Yue Dan has risen up and harmed countless border people. Now that Houliao has destroyed Yue Dan and dominates the grasslands alone, we truly cannot be unguarded!”