Though unafraid, the two remained on edge, prepared to respond, but that A’Jiu didn’t make a fuss. He continued eating and drinking, and in the evening when A’Le tentatively approached to bring him foot-washing water, he was sarcastic as before, not letting A’Le near him, saying he only had two sets of clothes left, and if they got wet again he’d have nothing to wear.

A’Le ran off with a red face while the courier soldiers laughed and cursed at him.

Neither A’Fu nor A’Le slept soundly that night, but nothing happened.

When they awoke the second day, after two days of rest both people and horses were fully recovered. Bidding farewell to the enthusiastic old station master, the group once again began racing forward.

Whether it was her body adapting, or being farther and farther from the capital and closer and closer to Father, A’Fu was in excellent spirits. Riding no longer felt difficult, her legs and buttocks no longer hurt terribly. She pulled down her scarf, letting the piercing cold wind blow against her face. She didn’t find it bitter cold, but rather felt a exhilaration she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

In that previous life, after arriving in the capital, to become a dignified noble young lady, she had stopped riding horses and stopped practicing with weapons. After marriage, she had devoted herself entirely to studying the way of serving her husband, making her movements and speech gentle and coquettish, becoming a delicate beauty. She had become so weak that a mere push could make her fall and miscarry. In the end, when they forced poison wine down her throat and strangled her with white silk, she hadn’t even had the strength to resist.

When she first awoke after being reborn, she had even weakened this body—when climbing over the wall at the Chu residence, she had almost failed to make it over.

The feeling of riding freely and wildly, the resilience of her body—it felt truly wonderful.

In this life, no one would strangle her again. She would strangle them first!

A’Fu raised her whip and called out a command to urge the horse, her voice crisp and clear.

Zhang Gu and the others ahead turned to look. The two sisters were both quiet and reserved. Though the younger sister A’Fu spoke more, this was the first time they’d seen her call out like this.

After all, she was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old child.

“A’Fu, your horsemanship is really good,” a courier soldier said with a smile. “Come on, race with me.”

The others egged him on. “How old are you?” “Shameless.”

A’Fu didn’t speak but cracked her whip to spur her horse forward, and indeed caught up. The courier soldiers immediately cheered in approval.

The desolate winter wilderness instantly became lively.

Watching A’Fu pass by him, A’Jiu, who had always been in the lead, curled his lip.

“Oh my, she’s overtaken you,” Zhang Gu laughed heartily.

“Impossible!” A’Jiu said. The youth spurred his horse, which shot forward like lightning, not only passing A’Fu but nearly knocking the girl off her horse—

Zhang Gu cursed from behind, “Why are you competing with a girl!”

No one would actually think he could be surpassed.

That damned brat!

The courier soldier who had deliberately let A’Fu win earlier encouraged her, “Go on, race him, make him furious.”

A’Fu glanced at the youth A’Jiu frolicking away across the wilderness, smiled, and shook her head. “I can’t beat him.”

This A’Jiu—she couldn’t tell if his recklessness was in his bones or an act. He was unfathomable.

It seemed he truly hadn’t suspected anything about the letter.

“I think that ‘ha ha’ wasn’t written by him,” A’Fu said quietly to A’Le. “Since it’s a secret letter, there should be many decoy letters. The one you stole was fake to begin with.”

A’Le speculated, “So he had many of these hidden on him all along. When one went missing, he didn’t care.”

Though this didn’t quite make sense, there was nothing else to go on. As long as A’Jiu didn’t come asking, she would pretend nothing had happened. A’Fu was more curious about who exactly had sent Father the secret letter.

Now it seemed anyone was possible, yet everyone was inconceivable.

Perhaps it was that person.

A’Fu watched the figure of the youth A’Jiu running far into the wilderness, hatred flashing in her eyes.

“Don’t be angry,” A’Le said, seeing this, and quickly whispered, “I’ll try again to see if I can get it.”

She wasn’t angry about this. A’Fu lowered her gaze and shook her head. “Don’t bother. This boy is very sharp—he’ll discover you.”

Now that she knew about this letter, when she saw Father she would definitely read it. Father would show it to her.

Thinking of Father, A’Fu felt happy.

“Look quickly,” Zhang Gu called from ahead. “Up ahead is the Xiaoku River.”

The courier soldiers all cheered.

“Once we cross the Xiaoku River, we’ll officially leave the Central Plains.”

A’Fu naturally knew this too. When she had traveled to the capital, she had also passed the Xiaoku River and had deliberately taken a boat to play along the river for several days.

Yunzhong Commandery was getting closer and closer, and Father was getting closer and closer too.

She couldn’t help but break into a smile.

That night they camped in the open, falling asleep to the sound of the rushing river. A’Fu still woke when the sky was barely light.

A’Le huddled against the padded coat, fast asleep. A’Fu rose nimbly.

Seeing her movement, the courier soldier on watch knowingly greeted her and cautioned, “Be careful by the river—it’s slippery.”

A’Fu thanked him and headed toward the river with light steps, carrying the wooden bucket.

Arriving at the riverside as usual, she first relieved herself, then simply washed her hands and face. Now she could adapt to cold water.

This river was called the Xiaoku River, but it wasn’t small at all. The river was wide and the water very turbulent, though slightly calmer in the early morning.

A’Fu could see her own face in the river water. How strange—she hardly recognized her childhood self, yet couldn’t remember what she looked like when she died either.

After her miscarriage, she had become unrecognizable—in her twenties but like a withered flower, even growing white hair on her head.

She had thought it was poor health at the time, but looking back now, the medicine she took then must have been tampered with.

How had it come to that? Husband and wife for a time—how had it come to that?

A’Fu looked at the girl’s hate-filled face in the river water. Suddenly there was a whooshing sound by her ear. A pebble grazed past and fell into the river, shattering the girl’s face on the water’s surface.

A’Fu started and turned around to see A’Jiu standing behind her, holding a slingshot.

“Sir,” she quickly stood up, clutching the wooden bucket. “You wash up. I’m going back.”

But with a snap, another pebble shot over and struck the wooden bucket.

A’Fu’s hand went numb and she couldn’t hold on—the bucket fell with a thud.

A’Jiu looked at her, his expression neither sarcastic nor mocking, calm and emotionless, his gaze ice-cold. “Who sent you?”

A’Fu’s heart lurched. This boy had indeed known the letter was stolen—he had just waited until now to say something.

“What are you talking about?” she said, biting her lower lip. “How do you want to bully me now?”

A’Jiu smiled, though his smile was full of chilling coldness. He took out a dagger gleaming with cold light and placed it on the slingshot, aiming at A’Fu.

“I won’t bully you,” he said. “I’m going to kill you.”