Although they weren’t afraid, the two remained on edge, prepared to respond, but A-Jiu didn’t make a fuss. He continued eating and drinking. In the evening, A-Le tentatively approached him with water for washing his feet. 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 to go naked.

A-Le ran away, blushing, while the courier soldiers laughed and chided him.

A-Fu and A-Le didn’t sleep soundly that night, but nothing happened.

The next morning, after two days of rest for both people and horses, they bid farewell to the enthusiastic old station manager and resumed their rapid journey.

Whether it was because her body had adapted or because they were getting farther from the capital and closer to her father, A-Fu was in high spirits. Riding no longer felt arduous, and her thighs and buttocks no longer ached unbearably. She lifted her scarf, letting the biting cold wind caress her face. Instead of feeling bitter cold, she experienced a refreshing freedom she hadn’t felt in a long time.

In her previous life, after entering the capital, she had stopped riding horses and practicing weapons to become a proper noble lady. After marriage, she had dedicated herself to being the perfect wife, with gentle and charming speech and manners, becoming a delicate beauty. She had become so weak that a simple push could make her fall and miscarry. In the end, when they forced poison down her throat and strangled her with a white silk cord, she didn’t even have the strength to resist.

When she had first been reborn, this body had also become weak. She had barely managed to climb over the wall at the Chu family home.

The feeling of riding freely, the resilience of her body—it felt 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 her horse, her voice crisp and clear.

Zhang Gu and the others ahead turned to look back. The two sisters were usually quiet, and although the younger sister A-Fu spoke more, this was the first time they had heard her shout.

She was, after all, just a twelve or thirteen-year-old child.

“A-Fu, your riding skills are excellent!” one of the courier soldiers said with a smile. “Come, let’s race!”

The others teased him: “How old are you?” “Aren’t you ashamed?”

A-Fu didn’t respond in words, but cracked her whip to urge her horse forward, catching up with him. The courier soldiers immediately cheered.

The desolate winter wilderness suddenly became lively.

Watching A-Fu pass by him, A-Jiu, who had always been at the front, pouted.

“Oh my, she passed you!” Zhang Gu laughed loudly.

“How is that possible!” A-Jiu said. The youth spurred his horse, which shot forward like lightning, not only overtaking A-Fu but nearly knocking the girl off her horse—

Zhang Gu cursed from behind: “Why compete with a girl!”

No one would seriously believe he could be outpaced.

That little troublemaker!

The courier soldier who had deliberately fallen behind when racing with A-Fu encouraged her: “Go on, race him, make him angry.”

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

This A-Jiu—it was hard to tell whether his wildness was innate or an act. He was inscrutable.

It seemed he truly didn’t suspect anything about the letter.

“I don’t think that ‘haha’ was written by him,” A-Fu whispered to A-Le. “Since it’s a confidential letter, there were probably many decoy letters. The one you stole was already a fake.”

A-Le guessed: “So he must have had many of these on him, and didn’t care if one went missing.”

Although it didn’t quite make sense, that was the only explanation. As long as A-Jiu didn’t come asking, she would pretend nothing had happened. A-Fu was more curious about who had written the confidential letter to her father.

Now it seemed like it could be anyone, yet at the same time, it was inconceivable that it could be anyone.

Perhaps it was that person.

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

“Don’t be angry,” A-Le noticed and quickly whispered. “I’ll try again, see if I can get it.”

She wasn’t angry because of that. A-Fu lowered her gaze and shook her head: “Don’t bother. This boy is too shrewd. He’ll catch you.”

Now that she knew about the letter, she would read it when she met her father. Her father would show it to her.

Thinking of her father, A-Fu became happy again.

“Look!” Zhang Gu called from ahead. “There’s the Xiaoku River up ahead.”

The courier soldiers all cheered.

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

A-Fu knew this too. When she had gone to the capital, she had also crossed the Xiaoku River. She had even spent several days playing on a boat along the river.

Yunzhong Commandery was getting closer, and so was her father.

She couldn’t help but smile.

That night they camped in the open, falling asleep to the sound of rushing river water. A-Fu still woke up at the first light of dawn.

A-Le was sleeping soundly, nestled in her cotton coat. A-Fu rose nimbly.

Seeing her movement, the courier soldier on watch greeted her knowingly and cautioned, “The riverbank is slippery, be careful.”

A-Fu thanked him and walked briskly toward the river with a wooden bucket.

As usual, when she reached the riverbank, she first relieved herself, then quickly washed her hands and face. She had grown accustomed to the cold water now.

This river was called the Xiaoku River, but it wasn’t small. The river was wide, and the current was swift, though slightly calmer in the early morning.

A-Fu could see her face in the water. It was strange—she hardly recognized her childhood self, yet she couldn’t recall what she had looked like at the time of her death.

After her miscarriage, she had become a shadow of herself. In her twenties, she had withered like a fading flower, even developing gray hair.

She had thought it was due to poor health, but now looking back, it was likely because of substances that had been added to her medicine.

How could it have come to that? They had been husband and wife. How could it have come to that?

A-Fu stared at the hatred-filled face of the girl in the river. Suddenly, she heard something cutting through the air. A stone whizzed past her and fell into the river, shattering the girl’s face in the water.

A-Fu turned around in shock to see A-Jiu standing behind her, holding a slingshot.

“Military, sir,” she quickly stood up, grabbing the wooden bucket. “You can wash up now. I’m going back.”

But with a snap, another stone shot out, hitting 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 fluctuating—calm and impassive, his eyes cold: “Who sent you?”

A-Fu’s heart sank. This boy indeed knew the letter had been stolen, yet he had waited until now to speak.

“What are you talking about?” she bit her lower lip. “Are you trying to bully me again?”

A-Jiu smiled, but it was a cold, chilling smile. He took out an icy dagger and placed it on the slingshot, aiming at A-Fu.

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