Gui Yuanshu sat alone in a bare, near-empty room, staring blankly into the air. He had been brought here by someone, because that young mistress had declared she needed to make up for what had been skipped.

The process of a formal meeting.

Gui Yuanshu found this utterly absurd—completely at odds with his calm and meticulous nature. It felt like being dragged along to play house.

He was still sitting there in a daze when the door creaked open and Old Sun stepped in from outside.

Gui Yuanshu glanced at him. Old Sun said: “You don’t need to be hostile toward me. I’m only here because someone asked.”

Gui Yuanshu: “Did they pay you?”

Old Sun said plainly: “No.”

Gui Yuanshu’s expression made clear he didn’t believe a word of it.

Old Sun said: “I asked for it myself.”

Gui Yuanshu: “…”

Old Sun sat down across from Gui Yuanshu and spoke in a tone perfectly suited to a matchmaker: “The young lady is a fine young lady—her figure and looks are beyond reproach, her family background excellent… It’s just that her disposition may be a touch ruthless. Though toward you, she probably won’t be.”

Gui Yuanshu: “How much did they pay you to make you speak with such a shameless conscience?”

Old Sun: “I told you—I wasn’t paid. I asked for it.”

He reached into his robe and withdrew something: “That young lady said, if you agree, this item will be counted as part of her dowry.”

Gui Yuanshu’s eyes narrowed immediately—because what Old Sun held in his hand was an imperial edict. Specifically, the very imperial edict he had tasked Pei Bancheng with obtaining.

Old Sun said: “All these items—Miss Yun searched them out from Pei Bancheng’s belongings while her aunt was still away. If she hadn’t, they would have long since ended up in the Princess Consort of Prince Wu’s hands. When you look at it that way, the young lady’s sincerity is beyond question.”

Gui Yuanshu said: “You heard what she said earlier too—she called me her shortcut?”

Old Sun: “She wasn’t wrong, though.”

He fell silent for a moment, then said with a trace of resigned acceptance: “Coming from a family like hers, having thoughts like those is entirely natural. She simply doesn’t want to depend too heavily on anyone—so she thinks more, and does more. But she’s forthright about it. She hasn’t deceived you in the slightest.”

Gui Yuanshu stared at the imperial edict again: “To sell one’s soul for a thing like this…”

Old Sun: “And your body.”

Gui Yuanshu asked: “Is it worth it?”

Old Sun said: “In any case, I managed to get my payment out of her side. As for you—you’d have to get yours from Prince Ning’s side. Whether that’s possible…” he waved a hand, “Oh, right—didn’t the young lord already give you money?”

Before the words had fully left his mouth, the door creaked open again.

Yun Xiaozao walked in, a grin on her face: “My brother gave you money? How much?”

Gui Yuanshu folded his arms across his chest, hugging the money close to himself, his expression that of a man resolved to protect his wealth at any cost.

Yun Xiaozao stepped up to Gui Yuanshu. Her face—that achingly pure and beautiful face—was written all over with tenderness: “That money belongs to our family. It can’t be spent carelessly. I’ve heard that life over in Prince Ning’s territory isn’t much easier than it is here in Daxing City, so the money…”

Gui Yuanshu: “I’ll manage the money!”

Yun Xiaozao: “Alright then.”

Gui Yuanshu: “…Hm?”

Yun Xiaozao said: “You’ve agreed, so that’s that. Never mind just managing the money—you can manage whatever you like. Me as well—you’re free to manage and guide me however you see fit.”

She reached out and took the blank imperial edict from Old Sun’s hand, placing it in Gui Yuanshu’s arms: “With this in hand, you can head back to Yuzhou without delay and report your mission complete. It’s not peaceful here—the sooner we go home, the better.”

“Go home…”

Gui Yuanshu: “If we truly go back like this, have you considered—your brother may want to kill me.”

“He won’t.”

Yun Xiaozao said: “If you behave yourself a little better, treat me with some warmth and tenderness, and our feelings deepen with each day on the road back—then we might just cook the rice before it’s done along the way. After that, he won’t make things difficult for you. Because if I were already with child, what could he possibly do?”

Gui Yuanshu’s eyes went wide. This woman—was there anything she hadn’t planned for?

Though “planned” wasn’t quite the right word. It was more that she had simply thought of everything.

Yun Xiaozao turned to look at Old Sun: “Master of the Black Tortoise, as you know, I am someone who stands on your side.”

She had said before that she disliked the Azure Bird’s style of keeping people dangling at arm’s length, never quite there and never quite gone—and she disliked the Vermilion Bird’s style of an irresponsible man who cared for nothing and no one.

Recalling this now, Old Sun felt a sudden swell of feeling.

But he had to be clear: “It’s not that she kept stringing me along—it’s that she could never shake me off. I was the one clinging to her shamelessly.”

Yun Xiaozao appeared to fall into thought for a moment, as though something new had just occurred to her.

“In that case, you may be someone with a disturbed mind.”

She looked at Old Sun very seriously: “Even if you haven’t shown it outwardly, deep within you there is an impulse to follow and observe others. Under certain specific conditions, you may be capable of doing something extreme.”

Old Sun looked at Gui Yuanshu, then back at Yun Xiaozao.

After a beat of silence, he reached into his robe and withdrew a pouch of silver coins. He set it on the table. Then he looked at Gui Yuanshu and said: “The two of you should part ways.”

Gui Yuanshu shot a thumbs up in his direction.

Yun Xiaozao laughed: “That was just a simple logical deduction.”

Old Sun sighed and began to feel sorry for Gui Yuanshu from the bottom of his heart.

Just think about it—if a man truly married a woman like this, she would speak to him in this blunt and unsparing manner every single day. How would anyone survive that?

Fortunately, the items were now secured. With these blank imperial edicts in hand, Gui Yuanshu could accomplish significant things.

Seeing the look in Gui Yuanshu’s eyes, Yun Xiaozao said: “I know what you’re thinking. You plan to humor me for now, finish the task Prince Ning gave you, and work out the rest later. You’re not sure yet what that ‘later’ even looks like—you just want to get through this moment.”

Gui Yuanshu’s eyes went wide. He stared at Yun Xiaozao with a faint look of alarm.

Yun Xiaozao nodded: “That’s a perfectly reasonable way to think about it. I agree.”

Gui Yuanshu: “…”

Yun Xiaozao reached out and took back the blank imperial edicts: “Let me handle it. I think once I’ve taken care of this, your impression of me may change.”

Gui Yuanshu: “…”

Yun Xiaozao turned and left—without telling Gui Yuanshu what she intended to do, or where she was going.

Gui Yuanshu looked at Old Sun. Old Sun said: “I wish you happiness.”

And then there was the discomfort—not just a fleeting awkwardness, but a full, uninterrupted day of it.

The following afternoon, Yun Xiaozao returned from outside, looking somewhat urgent. The moment she saw Gui Yuanshu, she grabbed his hand and started running toward the room: “We have to move fast, or we won’t make it in time.”

Gui Yuanshu startled: “Move fast for what?!”

“Move fast to pack our things and run.”

Yun Xiaozao stopped in her tracks and looked at Gui Yuanshu: “What did you think I meant?”

Gui Yuanshu: “Nothing… nothing at all.”

Yun Xiaozao suddenly smiled: “You were just thinking about sharing a room with me, weren’t you. Looking at your eyes, there’s probably a seven or eight in ten chance of it—and you don’t have the same resistance as before. That’s a good sign.”

Then she walked into the room.

Gui Yuanshu felt he was not facing a woman at all, but a teacher.

He could picture it: perhaps in certain specific moments, she would be lying there, gently encouraging him in a warm and patient voice, saying, *Now, let’s go through the steps together. Step one is… step two is… step three is… Yes, that’s it. Very good.*

Gui Yuanshu shuddered.

When he stepped into the room, Yun Xiaozao had already packed a small bundle with quick, nimble hands—probably just a few changes of clothing inside.

Seeing Gui Yuanshu still standing in a daze, Yun Xiaozao grabbed his hand and headed for the door: “Quickly—we need to be out of the city before dark.”

Gui Yuanshu: “What exactly are you afraid of?”

“I’ll explain on the way.”

Yun Xiaozao dragged him at a run to the entrance of Fenglin Inn, where a carriage and horses were already waiting. Not only was Old Sun there, but Gui Yuanshu’s own men were too.

Old Sun saw Gui Yuanshu’s puzzled expression and explained: “Miss Yun just had me go notify them immediately, saying we need to leave Daxing City as soon as possible.”

Zheng Shunshun and the others were equally baffled—but when they saw Yun Xiaozao holding their superior’s hand, the corners of their mouths all began to curve, one by one.

The group departed Daxing City quickly. The two handmaidens accompanying Yun Xiaozao carried tokens, so there was no difficulty passing through the city gates.

Inside the carriage, Gui Yuanshu asked, his expression serious: “What have you done, exactly?”

Yun Xiaozao sat up straight and answered: “I used one of the imperial edicts.”

Gui Yuanshu: “Used it for… for what?”

Yun Xiaozao said: “I didn’t tell you in advance because you don’t yet fully understand the situation in Daxing City, or in Jingzhou. Let me explain everything carefully now.”

*Of course*, Gui Yuanshu thought. *Of course. This is the teacher’s way of doing things.*

*I’ve made arrangements on your behalf, because you’re not quite mature yet. One day when you’ve grown, you’ll understand I did it all for your good. The teacher will now walk you through the lesson. Please listen carefully.*

Yun Xiaozao said: “Do you know who commands the northern defensive line of Jingzhou?”

Gui Yuanshu answered: “I do. Right Cavalry Guard General Cui Lun.”

Yun Xiaozao said: “The southern line of Jingzhou was originally held personally by Prince Wu, but he was forced to pull back due to lack of provisions. The northern line of Jingzhou is held by Right Cavalry Guard General Cui Lun—he is Prince Wu’s former subordinate, and can even be considered his disciple.”

“I spent half a day practicing and learning the Emperor’s handwriting, then wrote an imperial edict and had it delivered to Cui Lun’s camp, ordering him to burn all farmland along the route, destroy the fortifications, and withdraw to Longzhou.”

Upon hearing this, Gui Yuanshu’s expression had already changed.

Longzhou was less than four hundred li from Daxing City. What this meant, in practice, was handing the entire northern region of Jingzhou over to Yang Xuanji.

With the resistance of the Right Cavalry Guard removed, Yang Xuanji’s forces could sweep through all opposition and drive to Longzhou—and critically, Longzhou had no particularly sturdy city walls to serve as a defensive anchor.

At this moment, no one yet knew that Yun Xiaozao had written such an edict. Not Prince Wu. Not the Princess Consort of Prince Wu.

This young woman’s actions were, in the most genuine sense, decisive and absolute.

Once this edict reached the Right Cavalry Guard and the Dachu forces began to pull back, the news would return to Daxing City. The Emperor would be furious beyond measure.

Cui Lun was Prince Wu’s former subordinate—could even be called his disciple. The Emperor would therefore have no choice but to dispatch Prince Wu himself to lead troops north and determine what, exactly, Cui Lun was up to.

In this way, Dachu’s main force would shift its defensive line to the Longzhou corridor. And Li Xionghu was not a man who would let such an opportunity pass him by.

The moment Prince Wu left Daxing City, Li Xionghu’s rebel forces would immediately seal off Prince Wu’s route back.

They would throw everything they had into containing Prince Wu outside—settling the score with Dachu’s God of War beyond the walls of Daxing City itself.

As Gui Yuanshu’s mind worked through all of this, he could not help but feel a surge of agitation.

But… Prince Wu was her uncle by marriage.

Gui Yuanshu looked at Yun Xiaozao: “If… if you truly succeed in this—your uncle may meet with misfortune.”

Yun Xiaozao nodded: “There’s a reasonable probability of that. But it’s not certain.”

She was still this calm.

“You… if your aunt finds out, she will blame you.”

“She won’t.”

Yun Xiaozao said: “Auntie won’t blame me. She will feel that I have grown up.”

Gui Yuanshu was stunned again.

Yun Xiaozao slowly let out a breath: “But my heart truly aches.”

Gui Yuanshu raised his hand and rested it gently on her shoulder, patting softly—though he found no words that might offer comfort.

“Never underestimate Prince Wu.”

Yun Xiaozao said, her head lowered: “Even if he truly does leave Daxing City, he will still be a nightmare for countless people.”

In Gui Yuanshu’s mind, one phrase kept echoing, over and over.

*Auntie won’t blame me. She will feel that I have grown up.*

—