Perhaps due to the morning’s setback, A-Fu didn’t appear all day. She remained resting in the kitchen while A-Le busied herself even more than during their days of rapid travel.

She boiled several pots of hot water, allowing Zhang Gu and the others to wash and soak their feet. Though the relay station had no fine dishes or wine, the wild game and mountain produce stored by the old station manager made for enticing meals.

The stone table was filled with bowls and plates of various sizes. When there weren’t enough chopsticks, tree branches were used instead. The courier soldiers and the old station manager sat around eating cheerfully.

“These are steamed cakes made with honey,” A-Le approached with a basket. After some thought, she moved to A-Jiu’s side, set down the basket, and said softly, “They’re soft and sweet.”

Zhang Gu laughed loudly: “That’s right, put them next to A-Jiu. None of us eats sweet and soft things—only he likes them.”

A-Le blushed and hurried away.

A-Jiu grabbed a cake and took a bite, then frowned: “It’s neither fragrant nor sweet.”

The old station manager chuckled: “This young fellow is quite picky. First time traveling far from home?”

“He’s picky at home too,” Zhang Gu said, then teased A-Jiu, “Why is A-Le being so attentive to you? She’s approached you many times today, when before she would avoid you.”

A nearby courier soldier smirked: “It’s because he bullied A-Fu again this morning. A-Le is trying to please him, hoping he’ll be nicer to her sister. Poor thing, A-Fu doesn’t even dare come out.”

Zhang Gu elbowed A-Jiu: “You little rascal!”

A-Jiu dodged: “What? You’re all overthinking this.”

This A-Le was indeed trying to please him, but not because he had bullied her sister. That A-Fu wasn’t hiding because she’d been bullied—clearly she was hiding because he had exposed her.

A maid was meant to serve people, so of course she was being attentive.

As they joked and laughed, A-Le returned with a pot.

“The wild vegetable soup is ready too,” she said, preparing to pour for everyone, with A-Jiu being first.

But perhaps because it was too hot, her hand slipped, and the soup spilled.

A-Jiu dodged nimbly, but his arm was still splashed. He cried out, “Did you do that on purpose?”

The courier soldiers around weren’t alarmed; they all burst into laughter.

“A-Le has been busy all day and is tired. Accidents happen. Don’t be so petty,” Zhang Gu advised with a straight face.

Everyone suspected A-Le had done it deliberately, but no one exposed her. After all, who told A-Jiu to bully her sister?

A-Le anxiously wiped A-Jiu’s arm, seemingly about to cry from fear: “I’ll wash your clothes for you, military sir.”

A-Jiu shook her off: “Don’t touch the young master’s body or clothes.”

A-Le stood helplessly.

“It’s fine, A-Le,” Zhang Gu smiled, looking at A-Jiu’s arm. “It’s just a few drops. Why are you making such a fuss? Stop this and come eat.”

A-Jiu snorted, rolled up his sleeve, and pointed at A-Le: “Stay away from me.”

A-Le lowered her head and quickly retreated.

Zhang Gu told A-Le to go eat: “We don’t need you to serve us.”

Only then did A-Le leave.

The courier soldiers continued laughing heartily—A-Jiu’s misfortune had become everyone’s joy.

…

…

In the kitchen, A-Le handed a letter to A-Fu.

“Is this it?” she asked softly.

A-Fu sat up on the straw mat and took it. Seeing the four characters “For Chu Li’s eyes only” on the envelope, she nodded.

A-Le looked at it curiously. A letter for the General—who was this A-Jiu?

Was it from the court to the General, or was he delivering it for someone else?

“What a coincidence,” she said, somewhat delighted. “That the young lady should encounter it.”

Yes, what a coincidence. A-Fu held the letter with a grave expression. She had already indirectly inquired and learned that this group of courier soldiers was going to Yunzhong Commandery to deliver the approved military household register, which had nothing to do with her father. They weren’t going to Luocheng, where her father was stationed.

Why would A-Jiu be carrying a confidential letter for her father?

Why would someone in the capital write a confidential letter to her father?

Her father, a military general whom everyone avoided and who had no prospects.

Her heart pounded. She recalled the words she had heard before dying—words that described a father who seemed foreign and unbelievable to her.

Could those things be true? Was her father not really as ordinary, common, and incompetent as he appeared?

Who exactly was this A-Jiu?

Zhang Gu had said he was being punished by serving as a courier soldier.

It was all too strange.

She had to see what was written in this letter, especially since the court would soon be thrown into turmoil and chaos. This time, neither she nor her father could be drawn into it.

A-Fu gently opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper. Taking a deep breath, she unfolded it. The next moment, her eyes widened, and she momentarily stopped breathing.

There were only two characters on the paper.

“Ha ha.”

…

…

A-Fu threw the letter and envelope into the stove, where they instantly turned to ashes.

“What, what should we do?” A-Le’s voice was anxious. “Did he discover us?”

So he had used a fake letter to deal with her?

She rarely failed. In the capital, she had turned the master’s house upside down, taking away so much money and jewelry without anyone in the family noticing.

The last time she had failed was when she was caught by the General. This was the second time.

When A-Fu saw those two characters, she almost jumped up, but after taking a deep breath and burning the letter and envelope, she calmed down.

“Deny everything,” she said, watching the letter turn to ashes in the stove. “If he didn’t catch you in the act, it wasn’t you.”

Without evidence, deny till the end.

“If he makes a fuss, we just need to cry,” A-Fu looked at the flames, the firelight dancing in the girl’s dark eyes. “After all, everyone knows he’s been bullying us all along.”

A-Le nodded, no longer afraid. Thinking about it, this was a letter for the General—what harm was there in the young lady reading it? The General wouldn’t mind if he knew.

Before discovering A-Jiu was carrying this letter, they had been somewhat afraid of him. Now that they knew, they felt emboldened and unafraid.

She even wished she could simply reveal the young lady’s identity. The courier soldiers would certainly respectfully escort the young lady back to the General’s side.

A-Fu knew A-Le’s confusion and thoughts, but what A-Le and most people didn’t know was that the real person preventing her from returning was her father.

To ensure he could live peacefully at home, her father had even promised benefits to her uncle.

Her uncle, selfish and greedy, would not let her return, lest it ruin the career advancement he had been anticipating for a long time.

With pursuers behind her, and ahead, if her father learned the news, he would also send people to intercept her. So this time, she had to conceal her identity to have any chance of returning to her father’s side.

She had many things to tell her father and many questions to ask him. Most importantly, she couldn’t stay in the capital—that was the beginning of her misfortune.

A-Fu lowered her gaze and threw a stick of firewood into the stove fire.