Chu Zhao walked slowly down the street while A-Le watched her cautiously. “Young Miss, please don’t be angry.”

“Angry?” Chu Zhao smiled. “I’m not angry. Why would I be angry with them?”

After all, it was just bickering and disdain between girls. Compared to the life-and-death conspiracies she had experienced, this was nothing.

She wouldn’t get angry over such a trivial matter.

“I’m thinking that we must return to the border prefecture as soon as possible,” Chu Zhao said.

The appearance of Third Young Master Xie in the capital reminded her of events that would happen in the future, which made her even more eager to see her father.

Besides asking about her mother, there was another matter.

In that lifetime, the Xie clan’s reason for rebellion was that Xiao Xun had obtained his position illegitimately, colluding with a villain to scheme for the throne.

That villain was her father, Chu Li.

The Xie clan claimed that the Third Prince had massacred the entire Eastern Palace, but in fact, the Crown Prince’s son had been rescued and entrusted to Chu Li, only to be murdered in a conspiracy between Chu Li and the Prince of Zhongshan.

Otherwise, the throne would never have passed to the Prince of Zhongshan’s heir.

This was supposedly the deal between Chu Li and the Prince of Zhongshan, with the evidence being that she had become Empress.

It was ridiculous. Such absurd claims—she had dismissed them as jokes. The Xie clan simply couldn’t find a legitimate reason for rebellion and had resorted to making up stories.

Who was her father, Chu Li? A criminal official. Even if the young prince had been rescued, he wouldn’t have been entrusted to her father.

The Emperor and Crown Prince probably didn’t even remember who her father was.

But now, she felt that perhaps she needed to reconsider—

In any case, there were too many unresolved questions. She had to see her father; she couldn’t stay in the capital any longer.

A-Le didn’t know how many thoughts had flashed through her young mistress’s mind in that instant. She squeezed Chu Zhao’s hand. “Young Miss, don’t be anxious. We’ll think of another way.”

Chu Zhao came back to herself. A way? She thought for a moment and said, “The best solution is still to find A-Jiu.”

A-Jiu? For a moment, A-Le couldn’t even remember who that was. Why was she suddenly mentioning A-Jiu?

The Young Miss still remembered this person?

She was about to say something when a hesitant voice came from nearby.

“Miss… Miss Chu?”

Miss Chu? Who was being called? A-Le looked over, but Chu Zhao had already exclaimed happily, “Officer Zhang!”

At the entrance of a nearby general store, two men stood with bags and packages. They had spoken first, but when the girl looked over and called out, their expressions became somewhat evasive.

“It is Miss Chu,” Zhang Gu said. “We just… just called out on impulse. If it’s inappropriate, we’ll leave right away.”

By “inappropriate,” he meant that the circumstances under which they had met this Miss Chu were not particularly honorable, and for a young lady, such matters were better left unmentioned.

Just now, coming out of the general store, they had spotted these two girls. Although they were dressed completely differently from the A-Fu and A-Le of before, the memory was so vivid that they recognized them immediately.

Zhang Gu couldn’t help calling out, but regretted it immediately afterward. Would the girl want to be recognized by them?

To his surprise, Chu Zhao showed no annoyance or aloofness, but rather appeared overjoyed.

This made him somewhat happy—the girl wasn’t looking down on him.

“Officer Zhang.” Chu Zhao stood before them. “I was just thinking about you all—where is A-Jiu?”

Uh, Zhang Gu was both amused and exasperated as he watched the girl looking around behind and beside them, her eyes bright and full of anticipation.

She wasn’t thinking about them; she was thinking about A-Jiu.

These young lovers, separated on their journey, their match was probably impossible now.

…

…

Zhang Gu looked at the girl’s excited, joyful expression with some sympathy. Life was like that—not everything would go as one wished. Young people would have to accept this fact sooner or later.

“Miss Chu,” he said softly, “A-Jiu is no longer with us.”

Chu Zhao was startled. Not with them? What did that mean?

“He didn’t come out with you?” she asked, then added cheerfully, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll go with you to find him.”

Zhang Gu’s gaze grew more sympathetic. “Miss Chu, he… he’s no longer a postal soldier.”

No longer a postal soldier? Chu Zhao was surprised. “Then what does he do?” But it didn’t matter—he was still familiar with them. She urged Zhang Gu again, “I’ll go see him and ask.”

“Miss Chu,” Zhang Gu said softly, finishing his sentence in one breath so as not to give the girl a chance to dwell on it, “he’s gone. He’s not at the postal camp anymore. We don’t know where he went, and we haven’t seen him since we returned.”

Chu Zhao understood now. She recalled what Zhang Gu had said before—A-Jiu was being punished, so he had left after completing this duty.

No, that wasn’t right. Her gaze darkened. A-Jiu wasn’t being punished; he was a messenger, someone who concealed his identity to deliver secret messages to her father. Once the errand was done, his assignment was over.

“Where is his home?” she asked.

Zhang Gu shook his head. “He joined the postal camp partway. We don’t know where he’s from, let alone where his home is.” Saying this, he also felt a sense of loss. “I don’t know if we’ll ever meet again.”

The young man had seemed very disagreeable, but was strangely likable too.

If you were good to him, he would be good to you. But if you weren’t good to him, he would make sure you were doubly not good.

Chu Zhao felt a sense of bewilderment. It would be difficult to find him now. Having completed his mission and concealed his identity, in a city as big as the capital, how could she find him?

Her uncle certainly wouldn’t help deliver a message to her father for her.

If she entrusted the message to postal soldiers like Zhang Gu, her uncle would certainly interfere, and these ordinary postal soldiers didn’t have the authority to make their own decisions.

Only A-Jiu could help.

That wicked, heartless, cunning, and ruthless fellow.

She should be wary of this A-Jiu, but she also felt that in the entire capital, the only person she could trust and who could truly help her was him.

Chu Zhao’s eyes momentarily revealed her sense of bewilderment.

“Miss… Miss Chu,” Zhang Gu saw the girl’s expression and felt pained. Ah, what a sin! “Don’t be upset.”

He impulsively promised.

“I’ll try to find him, and if I do, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him.”

Chu Zhao thanked him sincerely: “Officer Zhang, you truly are a kind person.”

These low-ranking postal soldiers whom she had encountered by chance on her journey were better than anyone she had met in her previous life.

“I think Heaven must have taken pity on me to let me meet good people like you, Officer Zhang.”

With that, she curtsied to Zhang Gu.

A-Le also hurriedly followed with a solemn curtsy.

Zhang Gu didn’t know what to do with himself. “What are you saying? You’re too kind, too kind. It’s what I should do.”

“Then I’ll trouble Officer Zhang to help me,” Chu Zhao said, telling Zhang Gu where she lived and pointing to A-Le. “When the time comes, just find her. She’s often outside.”

Zhang Gu nodded. A-Le once more curtsied to him, and then mistress and servant took their leave.

Watching the girl walk away with a dejected expression, Zhang Gu again muttered, “What a sin!”

His companion cleared his throat beside him. “Brother Zhang, aren’t you helping with private correspondence?”

Uh, Zhang Gu stammered, “No, it’s not, don’t talk nonsense, there’s no private correspondence—”

His companion looked at him mockingly without saying a word.

Zhang Gu explained helplessly, “I just think the child is pitiful, so I’m helping to pass along a message. Whether they meet or not, that’s not my concern.”

His companion put a hand on his shoulder. “Alright, alright, I know. Brother Zhang is a kind person.”

Zhang Gu spat twice, and the two continued on their way.

“But it was nice to run into Miss Chu today.”

“Miss Chu didn’t avoid us when she saw us. She wasn’t disdainful at all.”

“Yes, though at first glance Miss Chu looked fierce, as if she had just been in a fight.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. How could Miss Chu be fighting every day?”

…

…

Yaquzi had emptied. The day session had ended, and the evening session hadn’t yet begun, but those few young men in the first-floor hall still hadn’t left, though their food and wine were gone.

Xie Yanlai was no longer covering his head with the tablecloth. He leaned back lazily and called to the waiter: “Come, come, bring food and wine!”

Before the waiter could respond, the young men stood up reluctantly. “When do you plan to leave?”

Xie Yanlai thought for a moment. “When it gets dark. It’s too bright outside, not safe.”

What nonsense—even if there was danger, he would be the danger to others. The young men couldn’t hold back anymore. “Stay if you want. We’re leaving.”

Although Xie Yanlai was called “Young Master Xie,” his birth mother was of low status, and he had only been recognized by the Xie family later in life. He would only ever rely on his family for food, clothing, and an idle life, with no prospects for the future.

But they were different. They were proper young masters who would seek careers, make names for themselves.

They associated with Xie Yanlai to establish connections with the Xie family, not to truly carouse with him without restraint.

The young men left in a group, leaving only Xie Yanlai.

The waiter asked tentatively, “Young Master, do you still want food and wine?”

Xie Yanlai glanced at him and tossed a bag of money onto the table. “Why wouldn’t you serve me? Can’t I afford it?”

This young master had quite a temper. The waiter hurriedly nodded and bowed, praising him and calling loudly for the best wine and food. As he was about to leave, he was called back.

“The people who were fighting upstairs earlier, their surname is Chu, right?”

The waiter quickly answered yes and asked casually, “Does the Young Master know them? Chu—”

His words were impatiently interrupted by Xie Yanlai. “How would I know her!”

Young Master Chu hadn’t yet reached the level of being well-known in the capital, but if he didn’t know him, he didn’t know him—why be so fierce about it? Everyone said Third Young Master Xie was kind-hearted, but this Young Master Xie was not kind at all. The waiter was about to leave meekly when he was called back again.

Xie Yanlai waved his hand and tossed over another bag of money.

“Find someone to tell me about the fight that happened upstairs.”

Oh, the waiter happily accepted the money. Could there be such a good thing? These rich young masters were truly unfathomable. He hadn’t gone upstairs to watch the fight earlier, but now he was spending money to hear about it. Was this someone with too much money and nowhere to spend it?

“Right away! Young Master, please wait a moment—wine, food, people, entertainment, coming right up!”