Shen Yuance’s gaze shifted slightly as it fell upon Jiang Zhiyi. Jing Zhe felt a chill down her spine and held her breath, standing behind the beauty couch, anxiously looking toward the unsuccessful Princess.

Jiang Zhiyi slowly raised her eyelids, staring at Yuance’s face, using her handkerchief to conceal her lips, which could not accommodate false pretenses.

Looking at the person standing before her now, her mind overlapped with the hateful image of when he had once insulted her, and thinking about how many times he had made a fool of her these past days—even if she were pretending, the four words “A-Ce Gege” (Brother A-Ce), just being able to utter the first word was already her greatest concession.

If she didn’t call him that, could she say something else that would make him believe she was still foolish?

Jiang Zhiyi struggled to rotate her already overburdened mind.

Just as they were at an impasse, those black leather boots that had paused at the doorway for a long time stepped across the threshold.

Jiang Zhiyi straightened her posture, sitting even more formally.

“Are you cold?” Yuance asked casually, turning to close the door, seemingly unaware of anything unusual.

Jing Zhe let out a sigh of relief and quickly gave Jiang Zhiyi a meaningful look, signaling that the next sentence couldn’t give them away.

Jiang Zhiyi received the hint and nodded: “Yes.”

Jing Zhe: “…”

What a jarring “yes,” harder to swallow than a walnut shell.

Jiang Zhiyi also sensed the awkwardness and quickly coughed lightly: “It’s—all your fault for coming back so late, I’ve been sitting here until my heart turned cold!”

Fortunately, this sentence wasn’t difficult to say; it was the truth.

Yuance blinked twice where he stood, then walked forward: “I heard you wanted to leave the mansion today?”

“Mm.”

Jing Zhe anxiously poked Jiang Zhiyi’s back from behind.

The Princess herself might not have noticed, but as an observer, Jing Zhe had seen how the Princess had been so dependent and talkative with the Young General Shen a few days ago, speaking like pouring beans. Compared to now, when she could only squeeze out a single word, the difference was like heaven and earth…

“Last night I didn’t get to wander around much before fainting, so I wanted to go out again during the day, but who knew your men would dare to stop me…” Jiang Zhiyi received the hint and stiffly added.

Yuance sat down beside her and reached out to put his arm around her shoulders.

Jiang Zhiyi’s eyelashes trembled, and she suddenly stood up and jumped away. Like a startled bird, she was tense from her hair to her toes.

Yuance’s outstretched arm met empty air, and he raised his head with an arched eyebrow.

Seeing his surprised expression, Jiang Zhiyi’s heart sank. Pretending to be foolish was more difficult than she had imagined.

Yuance slowly withdrew his arm, resting his empty fingertips on his knee and rubbing them twice: “Are you upset about this?”

Indeed, shouldn’t she be upset? Pretending to be foolish wasn’t working, but being unhappy was easy…

Jiang Zhiyi composed herself, finally finding suitable lines, and put on a stern face: “It’s good that you noticed. I have no relatives or friends here, and you don’t have time to stay in the mansion, yet you won’t let me go out to pass the time?”

Yuance leaned on his knees, looking at her: “Then what do you want me to do?”

“Tomorrow, starting tonight, make those fierce subordinates of yours stay away from me, I don’t like seeing them!”

“Alright, I’ll have them stay where you can’t see them.”

“Also, I want freedom to come and go. Even in Chang’an, Imperial Uncle allows me unhindered passage. Are you treating me like a prisoner here?”

“That’s fine, but Guzang City is full of all sorts of people. When you go out, either go with me or I’ll send someone to protect you.”

…Protect her? She felt he was the most dangerous one. Guzang City might be a mixed place, but his household wasn’t mixed at all—they were all villains!

Jiang Zhiyi’s hand, hidden in her sleeve, clenched tightly: “Must it be this way?”

Yuance: “It must be this way.”

Jiang Zhiyi frowned with frustration and nodded: “Fine, we’ll each take a step back. Deal.”

Yuance raised his chin with a hint of a smile: “Making a deal with me?”

Jiang Zhiyi’s face was expressionless: “When I’m unhappy and can still make deals with you, you should be burning incense and kowtowing in gratitude.”

“Then I’ll do as you wish. Have you calmed down now?”

“What if I have, and what if I haven’t?”

“I’ve been dealing with all sorts of messy affairs in the military camp all day, and I’m a bit tired,” Yuance stretched out his hand to her. “If you’ve calmed down, come sit for a while?”

Jiang Zhiyi lowered her eyes to look at his outstretched hand.

If she hadn’t recovered her memory, she should now place her hand in his, ask with concern what had happened, and then sit with him on this couch…

Jiang Zhiyi shook her head, trying to shake off the terrible images in her mind.

…Did she have to pay such a high price to escape this mansion?

“Hmm?” Yuance stretched out his hand again.

Seeing what might have been a test in his eyes, Jiang Zhiyi bit her lip slightly and slowly reached out her hand.

But just as she was about to touch his fingers, every hair on her body seemed to stand up in rejection.

At the last moment, Jiang Zhiyi slapped his palm with a pat, giving him a high-five.

Yuance: “…”

“Deals are sealed with a handshake, I almost forgot.” Before he could react, Jiang Zhiyi quickly went forward and sat down at the farthest corner of the beauty couch.

Yuance looked at the distance between them, which could accommodate two more people, and glanced at her: “Do I have thorns that could prick you?”

“…I have thorns, afraid of pricking you.” Jiang Zhiyi’s hands clutched defensively in front of her, pondering that the conversation was over, why wasn’t this man leaving? She took a deep breath and said, “Didn’t you say you were tired? Go rest early.”

“Aren’t I resting now?”

“How is sitting called resting? Sleeping is resting.”

Yuance glanced at her bed: “Then may I borrow your bed for a while?”

Jiang Zhiyi’s eyes slowly widened, her back stiffening as she turned her head: “Don’t you have a bed in your room?”

“My room doesn’t have you, does it?”

“…”

Some distant, unbearable memories rushed into her mind. Jiang Zhiyi’s heart trembled, and she turned her head away, closing her eyes hatefully.

“Making requests and then sending me away, is the Princess using people and then discarding them?” Yuance propped his chin on his hand, watching her.

Seeing the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense and the Princess becoming more unable to handle it, Jing Zhe quickly smoothed things over: “Young General Shen, the Princess is angry, so her words may not sound pleasant, but she’s concerned about you. Look, every word of the Princess is hoping you’ll go rest early!”

Jiang Zhiyi nodded slightly, indicating that Jing Zhe was right.

Yuance quietly looked at her for a while, then stood up, walked out a couple of steps, and turned back: “I still won’t be in the mansion tomorrow during the day, but I can spare some time at noon. If you want me to accompany you out, send someone to let me know.”

Jiang Zhiyi responded with an “oh,” and seeing that he was still waiting there, as if expecting some farewell, she slightly parted her noble lips: “Take care.”

“…”

The next day at noon, Jiang Zhiyi, along with Jing Zhe and Gu Yu, boarded a carriage to go out.

As Shen Yuance had said last night, he would still not be in the mansion during the day. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this would be her last time leaving this mansion.

The feeling of acting was truly like a fishbone in her throat, a thorn in her back, sitting on pins and needles. How could she, Jiang Zhiyi, endure such indignity? Even one more day of pretending would likely break her façade, so she had to seize the earliest opportunity to escape.

Today, she must leave Shen Yuance and leave Guzang City.

Shen Yuance had said last night that he could spare time at noon, so she deliberately set out after noon, saying she wanted to go shopping.

Inside the moving carriage, the mistress and her two servants locked eyes, all seeing a hint of nervousness in each other.

The coachman and the escort guards were all from the Xuance Army. Jiang Zhiyi remembered Shen Yuance telling her that these elite soldiers had extraordinary hearing, so they couldn’t say much in the carriage. They could only hold each other’s hands, adding a solemn atmosphere of fleeing for their lives.

Once they reached the crowded street, Jiang Zhiyi was helped down from the carriage by her maids. Just as she was about to dismiss the guards, a handsome youth of fifteen or sixteen approached, cheerfully saying: “Young Mistress, my name is San Qi, San from three times seven equals twenty-one. I am the personal guard assigned to you by the Young General. Wherever you go, I will follow!”

Jing Zhe: “The Princess is going to visit cosmetics shops and clothing stores. You’re following her there, too?”

“Yes, does the Young Mistress find something inappropriate about that?”

Jiang Zhiyi looked him up and down in his armor: “Dressed like that, won’t you scare the customers in those shops? Don’t make me unwelcome wherever I go.”

San Qi looked down at himself and quickly removed his armor in three moves, instantly revealing ordinary civilian clothes.

Jiang Zhiyi: “…”

“The Young Mistress is right to scold me. The Young General reminded me of this, but I almost forgot!” San Qi smiled, revealing two dimples in his cheeks. “Young Mistress, I’ll just follow you at a distance of ten paces, not causing you any trouble. You see, with your beauty that could topple kingdoms and enchant all men, your heavenly appearance, if those ruffians spotted you, it would be dangerous!”

“…” So Shen Yuance specifically assigned this man because he has dimples when he smiles and knows how to talk, is that it?

She had already experienced how difficult these soldiers were yesterday. Every one of them would rather die or bleed than disobey the Young General’s orders. Even if she tried to use her status as a Princess to pressure them, it couldn’t override the military orders in their hearts.

Time was tight; it wasn’t worth wasting here.

Jiang Zhiyi glanced at the tall, sturdy soldiers behind her, seeing that this San Qi was comparatively shorter and thinner. With a slight flick of her sleeve, she turned and walked into the crowd, tacitly accepting his following.

San Qi quietly followed.

With Jing Zhe on her left hand and Gu Yu on her right, Jiang Zhiyi browsed for a while before entering a two-story clothing shop. Pretending to select clothes, she pointed to a long dress and said she wanted to try it on.

The female shopkeeper eagerly led her upstairs.

San Qi followed the top of the second-floor stairs before being stopped by Jing Zhe.

Jing Zhe accompanied Jiang Zhiyi into a private fitting room, slipped the shopkeeper a gold leaf, and asked her to bring more clothes. After closing the door, she whispered to Gu Yu: “You stay here with the Princess and try on one piece after another. After trying each one, the Princess is not satisfied and wants another.”

Then she said to Jiang Zhiyi: “This servant will bring a horse as quickly as possible to take you to meet the Honglu Temple envoy.”

Jiang Zhiyi nodded.

She had thought calmly about it last night. To escape, she needed to be quick, precise, and ruthless. She naturally wouldn’t fantasize that she and Jing Zhe could ride a thousand li back to Chang’an. Since Shen Yuance was determined to keep her, once he discovered she was missing, he would surely pursue them. Not only were they no match for him on foot, but their horses were no match for his either.

So last night, she had pondered deeply and remembered something.

Earlier in the first month, when the Western Luoluo Queen suddenly fell gravely ill, the Western Luoluo delegation returned urgently, and the court sent imperial physicians to accompany them. Affairs with foreign states were always handled by the Honglu Temple, so the physicians couldn’t have gone with the Western Luoluo delegation alone—there must have been officials from the Honglu Temple accompanying them.

The delegation had set out nearly half a month before her and traveled much faster, but they had to go further west than she did. Calculating this, perhaps the Honglu Temple officials were just now on their return journey and might pass through Guzang.

Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe found a way to inquire and, coincidentally, heard that these Honglu Temple officials had just arrived in Guzang today and might stay and rest for one night.

Although probably just a minor official, anyone dispatched by the Emperor to handle such major affairs abroad was considered an “imperial envoy.” Killing an imperial envoy would be equivalent to treason against the Emperor. Therefore, this person’s status was valuable enough to be her lifeline and was also her only connection to the capital in this Western He region where the Shen family ruled supreme.

Even if she couldn’t return with the envoy immediately, this person could send an urgent message to the capital, a message that Shen Yuance couldn’t intercept.

After watching Jing Zhe leap from the second-floor window, Jiang Zhiyi pretended to try on clothes in the small room, occasionally raising her voice to complain:

“Why is this clothing so difficult to put on?”

“It doesn’t look good, let’s try the next one.”

“I don’t like this color!”

Time passed, and as Jiang Zhiyi’s mouth grew dry from talking, a small stone finally hit the second-floor window.

Jiang Zhiyi hurried forward, leaned out the window, and looked down to see Jing Zhe waiting on a tall horse in the alley below, whispering to her: “Princess, come down quickly!”

Seeing Jing Zhe appearing like a world-saving hero, Jiang Zhiyi nodded, moved.

Everything had gone too smoothly, so smoothly that it was almost unbelievable, until the moment she realized her foot couldn’t step onto the windowsill—

That’s when Jiang Zhiyi finally had a sense of reality.

Indeed, escapes always come with hardships.

Seeing Jiang Zhiyi hesitate at the windowsill, Gu Yu pushed from behind, lifting her.

Jiang Zhiyi carefully sat on the windowsill, slowly dangling her legs outside, looked down, and felt dizzy.

This second floor had seemed like just a second floor from below, but when it came time to jump down, why did it suddenly feel like a fourth floor?

Below, Jing Zhe positioned herself on the horse and opened her arms, her eyes signaling for Jiang Zhiyi to jump confidently, promising to catch her.

Jiang Zhiyi sat on the windowsill facing outward, her delicate boots dangling, taking deep breaths to suppress her palpitations.

Gu Yu, seeing this all-too-familiar scene, encouraged her in a whisper: “Princess, four months ago you could climb such a high wall for Young General Shen; today you can surely jump from such a high building for Young General Shen!”

“…”

She knew what to say—now she was angry!

Shen Yuance, you bastard, scoundrel!

Jiang Zhiyi closed her eyes, breathing in and out, cursing wildly in her heart to build up courage, then leaped straight down.

That moment in mid-air felt as long as a lifetime. Her ears could hear nothing but the wind, and Jiang Zhiyi strongly suppressed the scream rising to her throat, keeping her eyes tightly shut.

The next moment, she felt herself firmly caught in Jing Zhe’s arms, steadily landing on the horse.

Like a drifting duckweed finding its mooring, Jiang Zhiyi’s wildly beating heart settled down, and she opened her eyes with overwhelming gratitude—

Only to meet a pair of dark, deep eyes.

“Princess!” At the same moment, Jing Zhe, who had been pushed aside by a suddenly appearing fast horse, shouted.

Jiang Zhiyi focused her gaze and looked down to see her situation—

Yuance was sitting on the horse, and she was lying diagonally in Yuance’s arms.

Jiang Zhiyi’s whole body trembled, her face turning as white as frost.

Yuance held her tighter: “How did you fall while trying on clothes? Are you scared?”

…Was falling what scared her?

Jiang Zhiyi couldn’t stop trembling, rigid and curled up into a ball: “How did you… Come here…”

“Because I heard you cursing me,” Yuance lowered his eyes to look at her, sighing almost imperceptibly, “my little ancestor.”