The peddler sat on the carriage, the pinwheel in his hand spinning with a whirring sound in the wind.

Xiao Man swung the whip, occasionally listening toward the carriage interior. There was no sound from within, and the worried expression on her face grew heavier.

“Auntie,” she couldn’t help saying, “why don’t we go to Luocheng to take a look—”

Before she could finish, a woman’s voice from behind the curtain interrupted her: “Stop talking nonsense. That’s a place we won’t go.”

Xiao Man opened her mouth, bit her lower lip: “Not going inside—just outside Luocheng, to take a look.”

A soft laugh came from behind the curtain.

“Enough,” the woman’s voice said. “Let’s go back. She should—she’s not in the border commandery. She went to the capital.”

Xiao Man made a sound of acknowledgment and exchanged glances with the peddler, who pouted.

“I knew it—sooner or later she’d leave,” he snorted. “She’s vain. She’s long since looked down on the commandery city. Last year in the city she fought with a young lady over fabric, cursing angrily and saying she was from the capital and would return soon, that she didn’t care for such old, inferior fabric.”

Xiao Man glared at him, warning him to shut up.

“Auntie, she must have gone to visit relatives,” she said to the person behind the curtain. “She’ll be back after a while.”

The woman’s voice behind the curtain was silent for a moment, then said softly: “It’s good that she left. She should have left long ago. This border commandery isn’t any kind of good place.”

The peddler couldn’t help saying: “Yes, every time I saw her she was complaining that the border commandery wasn’t good. Now that she’s gone to the capital, she’ll be happy and satisfied.”

Xiao Man poked him with the whip to make him shut up, then nodded toward the curtain: “Yes, she’ll definitely live better than here. The capital—that’s the best place in the world.”

The woman’s voice behind the curtain agreed, repeating: “Yes, that’s the best place in the world.”

Her voice carried a smile, but for some reason, neither Xiao Man nor the peddler could smile, nor did they follow up with any happy words.

“It’s already March, why is this damned wind still so cold?” the peddler complained, pulling his robe tight and urging the young lady beside him. “Quick, quick, drive the carriage faster, let’s go home.”

This time Xiao Man didn’t glare at him. She cracked the whip in her hand forcefully, and the thin horse quickened its pace two steps, clip-clopping as it pulled the carriage.

On the main road there were beggars shuffling along, peddlers pushing carts, and merchants riding horses escorting goods. They seemed unrelated, but slowly all gathered behind this carriage, as if following and also escorting it, disappearing into the distance in the cold wind of the border commandery.

……

……

In the Central Plains, the wind no longer felt cold against one’s face.

A gust of wind blew past, and apricot blossoms from the roadside flew like rain, falling on Chu Zhao’s head and body.

A’Le reached out to gently brush them off for her, also bringing the dazed Chu Zhao back to her senses.

“Can we set out now?” she asked.

Before A’Le could speak, Deng Yi standing nearby heard and said: “Miss Chu is eager to return home, it seems.”

Was he laughing at her for regretting her earlier actions? Chu Zhao said: “Things being as they are, the sooner we return, the sooner it ends.”

Deng Yi smiled. He was about to say something when he saw Chu Zhao turn and walk away. He turned his head and sure enough saw Xiao Xun and Chu Ke walking over while talking.

Xiao Xun also saw this. Ever since that night when he said he would escort them, Chu Zhao had treated him this way—not speaking, not making contact, staying in the carriage during the day. But traveling together, encounters were inevitable, and when they met, the girl would lower her gaze and turn away.

He smiled, not angry, and stopped walking.

Chu Ke also saw this scene, both angry and uneasy.

“This wretched girl,” he cursed through gritted teeth, then apologetically bowed to Xiao Xun. “Your Highness, this cousin of mine has been spoiled by my uncle. She lost her mother at a young age and was raised in a military camp. She knows nothing of proper manners. Please don’t hold it against her.”

Xiao Xun said: “Young Master Chu, don’t overthink it.”

He only comforted Chu Ke but didn’t say he forgave Chu Zhao. He didn’t mind others’ rudeness, but that didn’t mean he had to forgive.

Chu Ke heard the implication. He was about to say more when Xiao Xun was already speaking with Deng Yi: “If we travel continuously tonight, we can reach the town tomorrow, and the carriages and horses can be replaced with new ones.”

Deng Yi nodded: “I was thinking the same thing.”

The two went to discuss the route. Chu Ke could only awkwardly walk away. Seeing Chu Zhao getting into the carriage, he angrily rushed over.

“Why do you keep being disrespectful to the Heir of Prince Zhongshan!” He grabbed Chu Zhao and scolded in a low voice.

Chu Zhao grabbed his hand back and also scolded in a low voice: “Why do you keep groveling to him?”

The phrase “groveling” was somewhat insulting to a scholar. Chu Ke’s face flushed red: “He’s an heir, he saved your life, and he’s escorting us—of course we should show him respect.”

Chu Zhao said coldly: “I didn’t ask him to save me, and I wasn’t in any real danger. A’Jiu would have saved me. As for the escort, we don’t need it. He insisted himself. He should be thanking us for letting him enter the capital—otherwise, how could a prince’s heir easily leave his fief?”

Regarding Xiao Xun, Deng Yi had sent a message by carrier pigeon to the court for instructions. The Crown Prince—now that the Crown Prince was in power—already knew and had allowed Xiao Xun to escort them all the way to the capital.

So Xiao Xun wasn’t just escorting them out of Prince Zhongshan’s territory, but would be going to the capital together.

Chu Ke was both shocked and angry, feeling that Chu Zhao was truly unreasonable. What kind of thinking was this!

“You’ve really gone mad,” he scolded in a low voice. “That’s an heir, an imperial relative.”

Chu Zhao knew what he meant: “That has nothing to do with us. If you try to curry favor with him, I’ll—”

“Break my legs?” Chu Ke sneered, grabbing Chu Zhao’s hand and pointing it at his own legs. “Go ahead, do it. Let everyone see you commit such a disloyal, unfilial, immoral act.”

At first when Chu Zhao said she’d break his legs, he had indeed been frightened—partly because he had been insulting Chu Zhao’s father, who was an elder after all, so he felt somewhat guilty, and partly because Chu Zhao had truly been terrifying at the time.

After the incident passed and he calmed down, he didn’t believe at all that Chu Zhao could break his legs. Moreover, now they were traveling with Xiao Xun’s party, with so many people watching. How could a girl four or five years younger than him break his legs!

“Young Master Chu, Miss Chu,” Deng Yi’s voice came from nearby.

Chu Ke and Chu Zhao quickly turned to look.

Deng Yi smiled and asked: “Have you siblings finished talking? If so, let’s set out.”

Chu Ke released Chu Zhao’s arm and said to Deng Yi with repeated smiles: “Set out, set out.” With that, he didn’t board the carriage but went to ride a horse instead.

Ever since the heir joined them, Chu Ke had regained his youthful spirit and switched to riding, which allowed him to often stay near Xiao Xun, discussing poetry and philosophy.

Chu Zhao didn’t call Chu Ke back. She bowed her head to Deng Yi and got into the carriage with downcast eyes.

This girl only showed obedience toward him. Deng Yi certainly didn’t think it was because she respected him much—it was only because he currently had no conflict of interest with her.

Of course, she had no conflict of interest with him, so his attitude toward her was also very good.

Deng Yi smiled slightly and mounted his horse.

“Miss Chu and Young Master Chu are always bickering like this,” he explained to Xiao Xun.

Xiao Xun smiled, not minding.

Tie Ying frowned on the side. Lord Deng was being too polite. Where was Miss Chu just bickering? She was clearly being terrible to Young Master Chu.

This Miss Chu’s behavior and conduct were truly outrageous—repaying kindness with enmity and being disrespectful to the heir, either hitting or scolding her own cousin.

But Miss Chu’s terrible behavior still exceeded Tie Ying’s expectations.

Miss Chu drugged Young Master Chu, and Young Master Chu had diarrhea until he was nearly prostrate.