Racing all the way.

The carriages traveled along mountain roads, inevitably bumping severely. Fortunately, the coachman Jiang Xinzhi had found was skilled in this craft, managing to navigate the muddy, treacherous path as smoothly as if it were flat ground. Those sitting in the carriages felt no discomfort whatsoever.

Xueyi Cliff was rugged and precipitous, its peaks resembling broken swords that had been cleanly severed, rising straight up in a heart-stopping manner. Dense forests covered the mountains, and occasionally night owls roosting in the area were startled by the sound of passing carriages, fluttering up into the air with a rustle of wings, leaving behind only black shadows.

In normal times, this stretch of Xueyi Cliff with its towering peaks, deep valleys, lush foliage, and strange rock formations would present a unique scenic danger that wealthy families would stop to enjoy, appreciating the rare beautiful scenery. However, ever since the capital had begun experiencing continuous rain, the roads had become muddy and impassable, the sun had disappeared, and heavy dark clouds pressed down, adding several traces of gloom to what had once been scenic beauty.

Five carriages silently proceeded forward. The frontmost belonged to Jiang Chao – his was the only one that looked different, not as refined as the others, though not shabby either. Following were the carriages of Jiang Ruan, Jiang Susu, Jiang Li, and Jiang Dan. The coachmen didn’t speak, nor did the people in the carriages, so all that could be heard along the way was the sound of whips cracking against the horses and the turning of wheels.

Jiang Ruan leaned against the soft cushions in her carriage. Lu Zhu was brewing tea for her. The carriage Xia Yan had prepared was indeed exquisite, even containing a small table inside. Having eaten little in the morning rush to depart, Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi had brought some pastries on their own. Lu Zhu, being deft with her hands, had pickled plum blossoms gathered the previous day and was now making plum blossom tea in the carriage.

The sweet aroma gradually wafted from her carriage, spreading through the air and reaching the noses of those in the following carriages.

Jiang Li snorted disdainfully: “She certainly knows how to enjoy herself.” Looking around, she secretly resented that her own maids weren’t as clever and thoughtful as Jiang Ruan’s – they hadn’t even prepared any snacks.

Jiang Susu already had matters weighing on her mind. Seeing that Jiang Ruan still had the mood to drink tea and eat pastries at this moment, her face beneath the veil involuntarily tightened, and she whispered: “Seeking death!”

Jiang Dan, however, was leaning against the carriage window in light sleep, appearing completely unconcerned.

The road ahead of Xueyi Cliff was still relatively easy to travel. After walking for an unknown duration, they reached the most dangerous section.

This area had narrow terrain, with mountain valleys on both sides and only a small path in the middle, resembling the mouth of a gourd, which earned it the name “Gourd Mouth.” Both sides of Gourd Mouth were filled with dense forests. Just as the first carriage reached Gourd Mouth, rustling sounds suddenly came from the woods.

The carriages abruptly stopped.

Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi paused, both becoming somewhat nervous. Sweat began beading on Lu Zhu’s forehead, while Jiang Ruan continued slowly sipping her tea.

Her posture remained extremely elegant.

The horses sensed danger. No matter how the coachman wielded his whip, they refused to move forward a single step. The Jiang household guards all drew their swords, while the two guards Jiang Xinzhi had sent stood motionlessly in front of Jiang Ruan’s carriage, their faces already carrying a murderous air.

Jiang Li screamed first: “What’s happening!”

As if finding an outlet, a thunderous roar erupted – “rumble rumble” – such a tremendous sound that the ground seemed to shake. From the mountain valleys on both sides of Gourd Mouth, a mass of black figures had appeared at some unknown time. The coachmen were greatly startled. These people wore cloth clothing, appearing like bandits, and came rushing toward the carriages in a surge.

“Retreat! Quick retreat!” The Jiang household guards hurriedly tried to protect the carriages and withdraw, but those bandits moved with unexpected agility, reaching them almost in the blink of an eye.

Apart from Jiang Xinzhi’s two guards, the Jiang household had brought twenty guards total. These twenty guards had no choice but to engage with the bandits. For a moment, only the “clang clang clang” sounds of clashing swords could be heard. The wind was sharp as frost, and streams of hot blood occasionally burst and splashed onto the fine carriage curtains.

“How can there be bandits? How can there be bandits!” Jiang Li screamed loudly, but when she lifted the carriage curtain to look at the terrifying scene outside, she immediately fainted from fright.

Jiang Dan huddled tightly in a corner of her carriage, with two maids protecting her desperately. All three bit their lips tightly, refusing to make a sound.

Only three carriages remained calm.

Jiang Chao’s carriage was at the very front, but these murderous bandits all bypassed this carriage. At a glance, only the area around Jiang Chao’s carriage was clean, sparing the Jiang household guards from having to rescue him – quite peculiar indeed.

Jiang Susu sat in her carriage with a cold smile on her lips. The more brutal the fighting outside became, the more satisfied her smile grew. She could barely restrain herself from going to Jiang Ruan’s carriage to lift the curtain and see Jiang Ruan’s panicked expression.

Jiang Ruan continued drinking tea. The two guards beside her carriage were more useful than ten Jiang household guards, managing to prevent even a single drop of hot blood from splashing onto the curtains.

The Jiang household guards were outnumbered. There were at least hundreds or thousands of enemies outside. The more they fought, the more alarmed they became – where did these people resemble bandits? Though they tried hard to disguise it, they were clearly skilled martial artists with excellent training. Moreover, what kind of bandits immediately began killing without asking where money and valuables were kept?

However, despite their doubts, the Jiang household guards were still losing ground. The opponents seemed unwilling to kill those in the carriages but wanted to annihilate the guards completely. Just as fewer and fewer Jiang household guards remained, Jiang Ruan put down her teacup and said: “Lu Zhu.”

Lu Zhu paused, immediately lifted the carriage curtain and cried out: “Help! Save us!”

Upon hearing this, the two guards beside Jiang Ruan’s carriage simultaneously leaped up. These two moved extremely quickly – before the surrounding people could react, the two guards had already jumped to the carriages behind and viciously stabbed their knives toward the horses’ hindquarters, then turned the horses around.

Immediately, the horses cried out in pain, suddenly rearing up on their front legs and shooting off like arrows into the distance!

The two guards used the same method on each carriage, not sparing even Jiang Ruan’s. Thus, at Gourd Mouth, four identical carriages were seen fleeing in four different directions!

Those hidden deep in the forest immediately raised their bows and arrows but were stopped: “Hold your fire!”

A gray-clothed man slowly stood up, his gaze carrying a bone-deep coldness: “Want to escape? Hmph, merely a cornered beast’s desperate struggle!”

The four carriages stabbed by knives ran extremely fast. The coachmen had all been thrown off, leaving only young ladies sitting in each carriage. Jiang Susu didn’t know what was happening outside – she only knew that somehow the carriage had suddenly gone mad. She was being tossed around inside, crying out in panic: “Help! Quick, help!”

Only the wind answered her.

Four identical carriages, four different directions – the bandits behind suddenly seemed to face a dilemma, not knowing which one to pursue. They all looked toward the gray-clothed figure deep in the distant forest.

The gray-clothed man watched from afar, then suddenly made a gesture. The bandits seemed to receive an instant command, suddenly dividing into four groups with swift, orderly movements. Ordinary bandits would never have such bearing and adaptability. Watching this scene, the two guards Jiang Xinzhi had sent exchanged glances, both seeing amazement in each other’s eyes. Coming from military backgrounds, they were no strangers to this – it was clearly a formation change that only armies possessed!

They had already suspected these weren’t ordinary bandits, but hadn’t expected this to be an army – and a well-equipped one at that!

Realizing this, they suddenly understood the danger Jiang Ruan might encounter. Though they were following Jiang Ruan’s orders, they needed to protect her safety even more. Jiang Ruan wanted to use four carriages to confuse these people’s vision, but little did she know that Gourd Mouth’s treacherous terrain ultimately had only one path. And along this entire route, such elite troops were lying in ambush. No matter how Jiang Ruan tried to escape, it would be like catching a turtle in a jar!

They had to catch up to Jiang Ruan, at least to protect her safety for one more moment.

Both guards simultaneously leaped into the air, shaking off the soldiers disguised as bandits around them, and fled toward the west of Gourd Mouth.

The gray-clothed man on the mountain curled the corner of his mouth, revealing an interested smile: “With the outcome already decided, why waste so much effort?” Then his tone changed as he coldly told someone beside him: “Go, pursue those two guards.”

Jiang Ruan’s carriage raced swiftly through the forest. The carriage body continuously scraped against countless thick tree branches and vines growing along the way. Lian Qiao tried to grab the reins to stop the mad horse, but it had little effect. Lu Zhu spread all the soft cushions at the back of the carriage and held Jiang Ruan’s hand tightly to prevent her from injuring her head.

Jiang Ruan pressed her lips together, her expression calm, her clear, moist eyes unfathomably deep, carrying traces of cold killing intent.

The bandits behind pursued relentlessly. Jiang Ruan’s expression remained unchanged when Lian Qiao suddenly cried out: “Oh no! There’s no path ahead!”

Gourd Mouth had reached its end. Ahead was the cliff edge of Xueyi Cliff. If the carriage charged down recklessly like this, the only outcome would be destruction and death.

Jiang Ruan’s expression became determined. She suddenly drew from her sleeve the dagger Bai Zhi had given her that morning. The dagger’s point was still somewhat dull. With one hand gripping the carriage reins and the other suddenly striking down hard, there was a “snap” sound as the carriage rope broke in half. The entire carriage tilted to one side and was dragged forward several meters by the horse ahead before finally stopping a few zhang away from the cliff edge.

The horse, however, charged headlong into the clouds and mist of the cliff without looking back, instantly disappearing from sight.

The carriage lay overturned on the ground. Bai Zhi covered her head and climbed up, hurriedly helping Jiang Ruan: “Miss, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Jiang Ruan tucked the dagger back into her sleeve and helped Lu Zhu stand up. All three were disheveled and dirty, having rolled on the ground, presenting a thoroughly wretched appearance.

At the same time, the two guards Jiang Xinzhi had dispatched also caught up. Seeing the carriage rope cut and lying so close to the cliff, they both involuntarily sighed in relief. Looking at Jiang Ruan again, their eyes held great admiration.

It was rare for someone to remain so calm in such chaos, maintaining clear judgment and even decisively cutting the rope to save her own life. Even after escaping death, her expression remained as calm as ever. They had never seen which family’s young lady possessed such courage. Upon reflection, with such a majestic, fearless brother, his sister naturally wouldn’t be far behind.

Then they heard footsteps approaching from behind. Both men’s expressions grew stern as they positioned themselves protectively in front of Jiang Ruan.

The soldiers disguised as bandits had divided into four groups, and the group pursuing Jiang Ruan numbered about a hundred. All glared fiercely at Jiang Ruan – wolves ahead, cliff behind, like a lamb awaiting slaughter with no escape route.

Jiang Ruan watched quietly, just watched quietly, when suddenly “clap, clap, clap” applause came from ahead, followed by a familiar voice: “Miss Jiang truly displays wonderful grace, maintaining such composure even in such peril.”

The soldiers automatically cleared a path, and the gray-clothed man walked out from behind. He walked extremely slowly, step by step, as if deliberately displaying something.

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “Second Young Master Li also shows truly fine magnanimity – already a stray dog, yet still daring to appear in broad daylight.”

These words struck Li An’s pain. His expression immediately changed as he stared at Jiang Ruan with sinister intensity, then suddenly thought of something and smiled: “If I were Miss Jiang, I certainly wouldn’t indulge in such verbal cleverness now, lest I suffer more physical torment later.”

“Ptui!” Before Jiang Ruan could speak, Lian Qiao had already placed her hands on her hips and scolded: “A prisoner, still daring to swagger about. My young lady is naturally fine, but you – lawless as you are, be careful your head falls off tomorrow, your corpse hung at the city gates for three days!”

She stood in front of Jiang Ruan, and the nearest soldier immediately struck her chest with his palm. Lian Qiao was sent flying, landing heavily on the ground and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

“Lian Qiao!” Bai Zhi cried out in alarm. Lu Zhu protected Jiang Ruan even more tightly. Jiang Ruan looked at Lian Qiao’s near-death state, a flash of anger crossing her eyes. When she turned back to Li An, she asked quite calmly: “What exactly does Second Young Master Li want? Bullying a maid seems hardly impressive.”

Li An smiled: “All said and done, she’s taking the injury on your behalf. Miss Jiang cares so much for even a maid – I wonder how heartbroken I am after you injured my elder brother.”

Jiang Ruan sneered inwardly, then heard Li An continue: “Previously, my methods weren’t as sophisticated as Miss Jiang’s, but I never expected Miss Jiang to strike so ruthlessly. Now I’m reluctantly forced to oppose you – Miss Jiang shouldn’t blame me for it.” The more amiably he spoke, the richer his interest became, like a beast that had finally found prey of interest, his eyes glowing intensely.

“Second Young Master Li wants to abduct me?” Jiang Ruan said: “Aren’t you afraid this will make your crimes even greater?”

Li An laughed heartily: “It’s merely that Miss Jiang had bad luck – coming out to offer incense at the temple, unfortunately captured by bandits, losing her chastity, failing to receive the temple’s protection. What does this have to do with me?”

The two guards immediately glared at Li An with burning anger. Such treatment inflicted on an unmarried young lady would ruin her entire life. But they knew that with so many soldiers having come, it certainly wouldn’t be as simple as just abducting her. What Jiang Ruan might face after being taken made both men break out in cold sweat.

“Bandits?” Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “Aren’t they soldiers instead?”

Li An paused, narrowing his eyes: “Miss Jiang is ice-snow intelligent, but unfortunately this game’s outcome is already decided. You have no other way out – just come with me.”

Jiang Ruan shook her head: “The outcome is still unknown.”

“Stop this pointless struggle,” Li An reminded.

Jiang Ruan suddenly smiled faintly. Those beautiful eyes suddenly showed a point of flower-like joy, but that joy quickly settled, becoming a cold, icy deep pool.

“Is that so?” she said word by word: “Red Thunder Army.”

Li An’s pupils suddenly dilated as he unconsciously stepped back two paces: “You…” His heart was like raging waves – she actually knew!

The Red Thunder Army was the military force the Chancellor’s residence secretly maintained. Even Xuan Li didn’t know about such a private army. Normally these soldiers disguised themselves as farmers. The Red Thunder Army was the Chancellor’s residence’s final trump card, answering only to him. Not even Li Dong and Li Yang knew this secret – how could Jiang Ruan know!

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “Is Second Young Master Li afraid? What exactly are you afraid of? Because your seamless secret has been exposed?”

The Red Thunder Army began stirring restlessly. Looking at Li An’s expression, they knew Jiang Ruan posed an extremely great threat to Li An now. Their weapons unconsciously turned toward her.

“Secrets hidden too long cease to be secrets.” Jiang Ruan’s voice was light and gentle, but Li An felt she seemed to be reminding him of something. Suppressing his inner panic, he sneered coldly: “Nonsense!”

“Isn’t Second Young Master Li’s actions today meant to vindicate the Chancellor’s residence?” Her hair was disheveled, her clothes dirty from rolling in the mud, yet standing there she possessed an elegant bearing with an almost murderous beauty.

She said: “Unfortunately, from the moment you made this decision, the Chancellor’s residence lost any chance of recovery. You lost.”

Li An’s heart jumped, his uneasy feelings rapidly expanding. He wanted to order his subordinates to immediately seize Jiang Ruan and stop her from continuing, but Jiang Ruan quickly said: “Privately maintaining troops, plotting rebellion, harboring treasonous intentions – the crime is clear and severe, isn’t it?”

She continued: “Your current actions truly seal the Chancellor’s residence’s death sentence.”

Li An was thunderstruck.

Slowly, slowly he raised his head, asking as if in a dream: “Those rumors – you spread them?”

Jiang Ruan answered him with a gentle smile.

How could the Chancellor’s residence, having stood firm in court for many years, completely collapse due to the reservoir incident alone? If the Emperor truly executed the entire Chancellor’s residence family for this matter, it would inevitably chill the officials’ hearts, and the court’s power structure would naturally experience another sudden change.

For a ruler, the greatest fear is an unstable populace. The various court factions balanced each other – even if this balance needed breaking, it had to be gradual. How could it be overturned all at once?

Unfortunately, Li An’s concern had made him lose his usual composure. Jiang Ruan had Jiang Xinzhi help spread rumors that reached Li An’s ears, inevitably making him restless.

Truth mixed with lies, lies mixed with truth. Once an extremely intelligent person lost their rationality, their foolishness would be worse than an ordinary person’s.

He had revealed the Red Thunder Army hidden in the shadows, disguised as bandits. Now his only asset was the Red Thunder Army. He had thought the plan foolproof, only to have Jiang Ruan expose the secret in one breath.

He suddenly understood – the reservoir incident wasn’t a capital offense, but bearing the crime of privately maintaining troops and plotting rebellion would leave the Chancellor’s residence with no way out!

The Chancellor’s residence had no crime, so she borrowed his hand to give them the crime of high treason.

She actually intended to destroy the Chancellor’s residence completely, leaving them no chance of recovery!

Such vicious scheming, such ruthless methods!

Li An staggered back several steps, his face pale as paper.

He had been proud all his life, yet fell into the hands of this young girl raised in the inner chambers – how could he be resigned!

Jiang Ruan seemed to suddenly remember something and smiled: “Luoshu Gate, Yanluo Corner, Chilei Temple, Ziyun Society – I imagine the Red Thunder Army there has already been completely subdued.”

Li An’s slowly recovering complexion immediately turned ashen again, because the places Jiang Ruan mentioned were all the Red Thunder Army’s secret hiding spots. These locations were extremely covert – apart from the Red Thunder Army themselves and him, no one else should know. How could she know? What did her words mean?

Jiang Ruan answered for him: “The Zhao family army and Guan family army are helping His Majesty arrest the treasonous officials.” She glanced at Li An’s followers: “Of course, the Red Thunder Army’s true elite troops are here. To capture me, you didn’t hesitate to deploy such elite soldiers. I am deeply honored.”

Li An stared at her intently, his gaze completely different from before. His face showed a kind of crazed despair. Jiang Ruan gently placed the final straw that broke the camel’s back: “Second Young Master Li, you lost.”

Li An felt sweetness in his throat and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, shouting loudly: “I haven’t lost! I haven’t lost! Go capture this witch! Kill her!” he yelled at the surrounding soldiers.

The two guards beside Jiang Ruan immediately raised their weapons. In the distant sky, some light seemed to flash. In the instant the guards crossed positions, Jiang Ruan suddenly whispered: “Don’t mind me – slash Li An’s clothes, slash hard.”

Though the guard didn’t understand, observing each detail, seeing that Jiang Ruan showed no fear toward Li An but instead made Li An’s face turn white with anger, he deeply believed in her decisions. Without another word, he raised his sword toward Li An’s clothing.

The Red Thunder Army had thought this guard wanted to protect Jiang Ruan, never expecting him to head straight for Li An. They hurried to block him, but the guard’s target was never Li An himself. Through the crowd, sword energy flew, managing to slice open Li An’s outer robe. Li An instinctively stepped back, and the guard, being exceptionally skilled from the military, immediately executed a sword flourish, his blade energy shredding Li An’s outer robe completely.

His clothes instantly became tatters. No one had anticipated this turn of events. Even the Red Thunder Army was dumbstruck, unsure whether to find clothing for Li An or turn to deal with Jiang Ruan.

However, upon clearly seeing Li An’s current state, gasps arose from the crowd.

After a moment of shock, Li An immediately came to his senses, covering his lower body with his hands, but dying of shame and rage in his heart.

“He’s actually a natural eunuch,” the guard beside murmured, suddenly realizing Jiang Ruan was nearby and quickly shut his mouth.

Li An was already terrified beyond measure. Two secrets of his life – the first had been spoken by Jiang Ruan, the second revealed before everyone’s eyes. Both were his life’s fatal weaknesses!

Even though he was covering himself now, everyone had seen clearly – Li An’s lower body was completely round like a lump, disgusting to behold.

Li An felt both shocked and furious. If after Jiang Ruan revealed the Red Thunder Army he still harbored blood hatred born of angry despair, now with his darkest secret exposed before everyone, he was panicked.

Not only panicked, but terrified. He didn’t understand why the guard beside Jiang Ruan would suddenly slash open his clothes. This matter was only known to Li Dong and Xuan Li – no one else could possibly know! He slowly directed his gaze toward Jiang Ruan.

Jiang Ruan smiled at him.

Li An was born with a physical defect, and such a hidden ailment at that. In the previous life, Xuan Li had mentioned it. Xuan Li held this secret about Li An, which was why Li An remained relatively loyal to him.

Otherwise, why would Li Dong prefer Li Yang despite his flower-visiting and pleasure-seeking, while treating the brilliant Li An with courtesy but distance?

Otherwise, why did Li Dong become so furious only after Li Yang was castrated? Because Li An was naturally sterile, and with Li Yang becoming useless, the Chancellor’s residence would have no heir.

Jiang Ruan said softly: “Second Young Master Li, secrets hidden too long cease to be secrets.”

Li An felt all the blood in his body rushing to his head, his entire body nearly freezing. Suddenly he threw back his head and let out a heart-rending scream. The cry was so piercing that everyone couldn’t bear to listen further. Li An suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with bloodshot madness, shouting: “Witch! I’ll kill you!”

The Red Thunder Army behind understood and suddenly charged toward Jiang Ruan. Having already issued the kill order, how could they let her go? The two guards beside desperately blocked them. Jiang Ruan’s eyes slightly darkened when she heard distant sounds of galloping hooves echoing through the mountain valley. The leader rode a tall horse, followed by a mighty army of soldiers – no fewer than the Red Thunder Army.

Jiang Ruan suddenly shouted: “Li An! Your Chancellor’s residence privately maintains troops and plots rebellion, and now you want to kill and silence witnesses, harming me, an official family member!” Her voice clearly resounded throughout the entire valley: “Even if I die, I won’t die at your hands!” With that, she turned and leaped into the cliff.

“Miss!” Bai Zhi cried out, nearly fainting.

Lu Zhu also widened her eyes, then heard “whoosh whoosh whoosh” sounds of arrows piercing the air. A large army swept in like a fierce wind, charging into the Red Thunder Army and beginning battle.

Several leading horses headed straight for the cliff.

Zhao Yuanfeng quickly dismounted, grabbing the guard by the collar and roaring: “Where’s the young lady?”

The guard shook his head, his tone indignant: “She jumped off the cliff.”

Zhao Yi, walking behind, stiffened. Guan Lianghan frowned: “What? Impossible, right?”

How could someone as cunning as Jiang Ruan suddenly jump off a cliff?

Li An stood dazed for a moment, then regardless of the soldiers restraining him, suddenly burst into laughter: “Retribution! Retribution! That witch should have died long ago! Retribution!”

Guan Lianghan kicked him: “Shut up.” Looking toward Xiao Shao approaching from behind: “What now?”

Xiao Shao wore black brocade robes, his features extraordinarily cold and clear. Looking toward the cliff edge, his eyes held inscrutable emotions. Just as he turned his head, Bai Zhi suddenly grabbed his sleeve, weeping: “Please save our young lady! I beg you all, please save our young lady!”

She kept kowtowing to the ground, soon knocking her head bloody. As Zhao Yi tried to help her, Xiao Shao pulled away his sleeve. Bai Zhi had gripped too tightly, causing something lustrous to roll out from the sleeve – a pendant with jade butterfly and orchid design, a butterfly resting on magnolia flowers. The craftsmanship was lifelike, also inlaid with a fine emerald cat’s-eye stone, clearly a precious object.

The item rolled right in front of Bai Zhi. Looking at it, she suddenly froze and said: “How do you have my young lady’s belonging?”