Master Chen wasn’t afraid of gentlemen—he only feared petty people. But compared to gentlemen and petty people, he preferred conducting business dealings with clever people like Zhao Hanzhang.

Gentlemen made good friends but weren’t suitable for business dealings, especially when the transactions they were discussing now carried a somewhat gray tinge.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t lack cunning. Even just for the provisions, she would do her utmost to protect them and send them to rendezvous with the army.

Master Chen’s thinking was correct. After casting out plump bait, Zhao Hanzhang retreated to the side with Zhao Ju to discuss the people who would escort Master Chen tomorrow. “First thing tomorrow morning, have Ji Ping take twenty men to escort Master Chen to catch up with the army. I’ll scrape together some money for them. They can buy as much grain as possible.”

Zhao Ju disapproved. “Third Miss, Ji Ping is a squad leader. His squad is the most elite. He should stay to protect you and Erlang.”

“Aren’t you still here?” Zhao Hanzhang said. “Besides, I don’t plan to let Zhao Dian and the others leave tomorrow. They need to stagger their departure time to give Ji Ping a chance to bring the provisions back.”

“But Third Miss just had such an unpleasant conflict with Zhao Dian. Will he obey your orders?”

Zhao Hanzhang replied, “He must obey. With Great-Uncle and Uncle not present, I’m the head of the Zhao family. He can only listen to me.”

Zhao Hanzhang raised her eyes to look at him. “Without my orders, only with Great-Uncle and Uncle present and them giving orders—would you dare disobey?”

Zhao Ju thought about it and realized he truly wouldn’t dare. So he lowered his head and said, “I’ll make arrangements right away.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded.

The two had avoided Zhao Dian and the other retainers in their conversation, but they hadn’t avoided Fu Tinghan and his servant sitting to the side.

Fu An didn’t know why, but he shivered violently. He shifted closer to Fu Tinghan and asked quietly, “Young Master, aren’t we setting out with Master Chen and the others tomorrow?”

Fu Tinghan was still perfecting his map and didn’t look up. “Where would I go?”

Fu An quickly replied, “To catch up with the Master! The Master fled with His Majesty and the Prince of Donghai, so he must be with the army.”

Fu Tinghan didn’t even think about it and directly shook his head. “I’m not going. I need to escort Third Miss back to Runan.”

Fu An said, “…Young Master, you and Third Miss haven’t completed the wedding ceremony yet. You’re not husband and wife. Moreover…”

He scratched his head, hesitated for a moment, then carefully lowered his voice. “Third Miss is too formidable. If you follow her like this, in the future will this household listen to you or to Third Miss?”

Fu Tinghan finally looked up at him, then said, “Shouldn’t household matters always be discussed together?”

“What if opinions differ?”

Fu Tinghan replied, “Then whoever is right, we listen to them.”

Fu An thought: …When opinions already differ, naturally both sides think they’re right. How do you decide who to listen to?

He was full of worries. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang striding over, he silently swallowed his words of persuasion and shifted his bottom back to where he’d been sitting.

Zhao Hanzhang sat down beside Fu Tinghan and spread out a cloak Ting He had found on the ground. “It’s getting late. Let’s sleep early.”

Fu Tinghan nodded, folded up the dried map and tucked it into his shirt. Seeing her make room for half the cloak, he hesitated but still lay down.

The two had an arm’s width of space between them. Fu Tinghan’s face felt a bit hot. He tried hard to stare at the stars in the sky, making conversation. “Tomorrow’s weather looks good.”

Zhao Hanzhang had already closed her eyes. Hearing this, she opened them again and also stared at the stars in the sky, saying “Mm” in agreement. “Yes, very good. It’s rare to see so many stars.”

Fu Tinghan asked, “Hasn’t it always been this many?”

Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t help turning her head to look at him. “Are you serious?”

Fu Tinghan also couldn’t help turning his head slightly. The two suddenly got too close, able to feel each other’s breath. He looked at her quietly, and after a long moment finally reacted to her question. “I mean since coming to this era—every day has had this many stars.”

Zhao Hanzhang also felt somewhat uncomfortable. She lay back properly, staring at the stars overhead and not looking at him. “You actually have time to look at stars every day.”

Fu Tinghan replied, “Wasn’t it you who told me to research the alignment of seven stars?”

Zhao Hanzhang said, “…Sorry, I almost forgot about that.”

She slapped her forehead. “There’s been too much happening these past few days.”

Fu Tinghan was still looking at her. After hesitating, he finally spoke. “Are you… all right?”

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him. “What could be wrong with me?”

Fu Tinghan asked, “Don’t you need psychological intervention? After all, it’s your first time facing a battlefield, and killing people.”

He paused before continuing, “If you’re willing, I can help you. You know, as teachers we all undergo related psychological training. I’ve expanded my knowledge in this area somewhat. I may not compare to a psychologist, but talking can help you release pressure, and I can guide you a bit.”

Zhao Hanzhang heard this and simply turned on her side to face him and speak. “What about Professor Fu?”

Zhao Hanzhang asked quietly, “You’re also experiencing a battlefield for the first time. Aren’t you afraid?”

Fu Tinghan said frankly, “I am afraid. I’m very certain—these aren’t illusory people. This is a real world, and those people are all real. They lost their lives right before my eyes. I’m afraid, even somewhat guilt-ridden. But I know all this can no longer be changed, so I’ll try to help myself move past these emotions.”

He continued, “I’m also afraid of losing my life in this chaos, afraid you’ll be injured or die. But I’ve found ways to regulate these feelings. What about you? You’ve experienced more than me, participated more deeply. Have you found your point of balance?”

Zhao Hanzhang looked at the concern in his eyes and suddenly smiled, then slowly grew serious. She pondered for a long time before speaking. “I… it might be hereditary, or I might genuinely have psychological problems. My fear only existed for an instant, and then I quickly adapted to this war, and to the fact that I killed someone.”

Fu Tinghan looked at her in surprise.

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and asked, “Very incredible, isn’t it?”

Fu Tinghan thought for a moment, then said, “Some geniuses do differ from ordinary people. This probably isn’t a psychological problem. As for heredity…”

His voice dropped. “It probably is. Your parents were very outstanding soldiers and police officers. It might be innate genetics?”

Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow. “Professor Fu, you know quite a lot. How do you know my parents’ identities?”

Fu Tinghan looked at her steadily, his voice barely audible. “I attended their funeral.”

Zhao Hanzhang still heard it. The smile on her face slowly faded, and she scrutinized him carefully again. “You… do our two families have some connection?”

Her parents had died during a joint operation. The funeral wasn’t small, but because she’d been in a car accident on her way back at the time, not many people at school knew about it—just her homeroom teacher and desk mate knew some details.

She and Fu Tinghan were at most rivals from the school across the street, not even friends. How would he know these things, much less attend the funeral?

“My grandfather and parents are all from the Academy of Sciences. My grandfather knew your grandfather, and we lived nearby, so we went.” Fu Tinghan said, “You were sitting in a wheelchair at the time with your eyes still bandaged, so you didn’t know about me.”

Zhao Hanzhang thought of something and reached out to grab his palm, squeezing it in her hand before reacting—this was Fu Zhangyu’s body, not Fu Tinghan’s.

—