The young peddler sat on the carriage, holding up his pinwheel, which spun rapidly as it caught the wind.

Xiao Man swung the horse whip, occasionally listening for sounds from inside the carriage. There was complete silence from within, and the worry on her face grew heavier.

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

Before she could finish, the female voice from behind the curtain interrupted her: “Don’t talk nonsense. We are not going there.”

Xiao Man opened her mouth, then bit her lower lip. “We don’t have to go inside, just look from outside Luo City.”

A soft laugh came from behind the curtain.

“All right,” the female voice said, “let’s go back. She probably isn’t in the border commandery but has gone to the capital.”

Xiao Man exclaimed in surprise and exchanged a glance with the young peddler, who pursed his lips.

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

Xiao Man glared at him, warning him to be quiet.

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

After a moment of silence, the female voice behind the curtain softly said, “It’s good that she left. She should have left long ago. The border commandery isn’t a good place anyway.”

The young peddler couldn’t help saying, “Indeed, every time I saw her, she was complaining about how bad the border commandery was. Now that she’s gone to the capital, she must be happy and satisfied.”

Xiao Man poked him with her whip to shut him up, then nodded at the curtain. “Yes, she’ll certainly live better there than here. The capital is the best place in the world.”

The voice behind the curtain agreed. “Yes, it’s the best place in the world.”

There was a smile in her voice, but for some reason, neither Xiao Man nor the young peddler could smile. Nor did they follow up with any cheerful remarks.

“It’s already March, but this damned wind is still so cold,” the young peddler complained, wrapping his robe tightly around himself and urging the girl beside him, “Quick, quick, drive faster so we can get home.”

This time Xiao Man didn’t glare at him. She cracked her whip forcefully, and the thin horse quickened its pace, pulling the carriage with a clatter.

On the main road, beggars were limping along, peddlers pushing carts, and merchants on horseback escorting goods. Though seemingly unrelated, they gradually gathered behind this carriage, appearing to follow or perhaps escort it, disappearing into the cold wind of the border commandery.

…

…

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

A gust of wind blew past, causing roadside apricot blossoms to scatter like rain, falling onto A-Zhao’s head and body.

A-Le reached out to gently brush them away, bringing the dazed A-Zhao back to her senses.

“Can we depart now?” she asked.

Before A-Le could respond, Deng Yi, standing nearby, heard and said, “Miss Chu seems eager to return home.”

Was he mocking her for regretting her earlier actions? A-Zhao said, “Since things have come to this, the sooner we go back, the sooner it ends.”

Deng Yi smiled, about to say something, but saw A-Zhao turn and walk away. He turned his head and indeed saw Xiao Xun and Chu Ke approaching, talking as they walked.

Xiao Xun also saw this. Since that night when he had said he would escort them, A-Zhao had treated him this way—not speaking to him or interacting with him, usually staying inside the carriage. But traveling together meant inevitable encounters, and the girl would lower her gaze and walk away.

He smiled, not annoyed, and stopped walking.

Chu Ke also witnessed this scene and felt both angry and uneasy.

“This stubborn girl,” he cursed through gritted teeth, then bowed apologetically to Xiao Xun. “Your Highness, my cousin has been spoiled by my uncle. She has been without a mother since childhood and was raised in a military camp. She doesn’t understand any proper etiquette. Please don’t take offense.”

Xiao Xun replied, “Don’t worry about it, Master Chu.”

He only reassured Chu Ke but didn’t say he forgave A-Zhao. He wasn’t concerned about others’ rudeness, but that didn’t mean he would forgive it.

Chu Ke understood this implication and was about to say something more, but Xiao Xun had already begun speaking with Deng Yi: “If we continue traveling through the night, we can reach the town by tomorrow, where we can change to fresh horses and carriages.”

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

As the two of them discussed the journey, Chu Ke could only walk away awkwardly. Seeing A-Zhao boarding the carriage, he angrily rushed over.

“Why do you always show disrespect to the Crown Prince of Zhongshan?” he grabbed A-Zhao and reprimanded in a low voice.

A-Zhao grabbed him back and also hissed, “Why do you always bow and scrape before him?”

The phrase “bow and scrape” was somewhat insulting to a scholar. Chu Ke’s face flushed red. “He is the Crown Prince, saved your life, and is now escorting us. Of course, we should show him respect.”

A-Zhao coldly said, “I never asked him to save me, and I wasn’t in any danger. A-Jiu would have saved me. As for escorting us, we don’t need it—he insisted. He can enter the capital because of us; otherwise, how could a border prince easily leave his territory?”

Regarding Xiao Xun, Deng Yi had sent a pigeon message to the court for instructions. The Crown Prince—now governing—was aware and had allowed Xiao Xun to escort them to the capital.

So Xiao Xun was not only escorting them out of Zhongshan Prince’s territory but would also accompany them to the capital.

Chu Ke was both shocked and angry, finding A-Zhao’s thoughts completely unreasonable!

“You’ve truly gone mad,” he cursed in a low voice. “He is the Crown Prince, royal kin.”

A-Zhao knew what he meant. “That has nothing to do with us. If you try to associate with him, I’ll—”

“Break my legs?” Chu Ke sneered, gripping A-Zhao’s hand and pointing at his legs. “Go ahead, hit me. Let everyone see you commit such an act of disloyalty, unfilial behavior, and disregard for proper relationships.”

Initially, when A-Zhao had threatened to break his legs, he was indeed frightened, partly because he had insulted A-Zhao’s father, an elder, and felt somewhat guilty, and partly because A-Zhao had been truly terrifying at that moment.

After the incident, he had regained his composure and didn’t believe A-Zhao could break his legs. Moreover, with Xiao Xun’s party traveling with them and so many people watching, how could a girl four or five years younger than him break his legs?

“Master Chu, Miss Chu,” Deng Yi’s voice came from beside them.

Chu Ke and A-Zhao quickly turned to look.

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

Chu Ke shook off A-Zhao’s arm and smiled at Deng Yi, saying repeatedly, “Yes, let’s depart, let’s depart.” With that, he didn’t board the carriage but went to mount a horse instead.

Since the Crown Prince joined them, Chu Ke had regained his youthful vigor, switching to horseback riding so he could frequently stay near Xiao Xun, discussing poetry and philosophy.

A-Zhao didn’t call Chu Ke back. She bowed to Deng Yi with lowered eyes and boarded the carriage.

This girl only showed docility toward him, but Deng Yi knew it wasn’t out of respect, merely because they had no conflicts of interest for now.

Of course, she also had no conflict with him, so his attitude toward her was also pleasant.

Deng Yi smiled faintly and mounted his horse.

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

Xiao Xun smiled, unconcerned.

Tie Ying frowned beside them, thinking Master Deng was being too polite. Miss Chu wasn’t just bickering; she was clearly showing a terrible attitude toward Master Chu.

Miss Chu’s behavior was truly inappropriate—ungrateful and disrespectful to the Crown Prince, either hitting or scolding her cousin.

But Miss Chu’s next act of malice exceeded even Tie Ying’s expectations.

Miss Chu drugged Master Chu, causing him to suffer from diarrhea to the point of exhaustion.