Xiao Rongyan handed the black gold riding whip in his hand to his guard and walked to the Crown Prince, bowing once more with his entire being exuding a gentle and profound scholarly elegance.
His smiling eyes, deep and fathomless, looked toward Bai Qingyan. His calm gaze was extremely restrained and profound, as if it could see through everything.
Seeing her in men’s clothing, she looked like a noble young master from an aristocratic family with stunning, painting-like beauty. He couldn’t help but recall her heroic figure with a war horse and silver spear in the Shu Kingdom palace.
He bowed to Bai Qingyan: “Young Master Bai.”
Bai Qingyan returned the courtesy with a graceful bearing: “Thank you for taking care of my younger brother, Mr. Xiao.”
Seeing the shoes on Bai Qingyan’s feet, Xiao Rongyan inquired gently: “Young Master Bai is not riding in the carriage?”
“I heard that walking can strengthen the body, so I’m just trying it out,” Bai Qingyan said calmly.
“Let’s go! Time to depart!” the Crown Prince said to Xiao Rongyan, then told Bai Qingyan, “Young Master Bai, if you can’t hold on, get in the carriage. The rapid march moves extremely fast—don’t force yourself.”
Bai Qingyan bowed to the Crown Prince: “I will remember this.”
The Crown Prince pulled Xiao Rongyan onto the carriage. The accompanying general arranged for Xiao Rongyan’s people to follow behind, and the army prepared to depart.
“Fourth Young Master, please get in the carriage!” Xiao Ruohai said to Bai Jinzhi.
Bai Jinzhi threw her silver spear, long whip, and bundle into the carriage, then jogged back to Bai Qingyan’s side: “I’ll walk with eldest sister.”
As the horn sounded and the army departed, Bai Jinzhi anxiously followed beside Bai Qingyan: “Eldest sister, don’t be angry. I was just afraid you’d have Xiao Ruohai send me back to the capital! Before, my grandfather didn’t let me go to the battlefield because he thought I lacked determination, but the situation is different now! I can’t just watch my eldest sister go to Nan Jiang and face danger while I stay comfortably in the capital.”
Seeing that her eldest sister was looking straight ahead and only focused on moving forward, Bai Jinzhi’s eyes reddened: “Eldest sister, I have martial skills. I don’t seek to go to Nan Jiang to achieve fame and glory—I only want to stay by my eldest sister’s side and use my body to protect you! The eldest sister is the backbone of us sisters, while Xiao Si is the most useless person in the Bai family. If there’s any danger on this journey, Xiao Si is willing to sacrifice her life for her eldest sister!”
Hearing Bai Jinzhi’s choked words, emotions surged in her heart, deeply moved.
“Xiao Si has grown up—you’d rather stay with strangers than come back when called! Have you gone wild the moment you left home?” Bai Qingyan lowered her voice.
“Be forthright externally, steady internally… Xiao Si remembers everything her eldest sister said!” Bai Jinzhi glanced toward the Crown Prince’s carriage and lowered her voice even more, “It’s not that Xiao Si was being willful and wouldn’t come back, but Xiao Si feels this Mr. Xiao is somewhat strange and wanted to stay by his side to investigate thoroughly.”
Bai Jinzhi’s sudden words surprised her.
Xiao Rongyan, sitting in the carriage with the Crown Prince, suddenly narrowed his eyes. He turned his head and gently lifted the carriage curtain that swayed with the vehicle’s movement, looking at Bai Jinzhi, who was leaning close to speak to Bai Qingyan. His gaze couldn’t help but fall on Bai Qingyan’s tall and graceful figure.
Bai Qingyan seemed to sense something and looked up. Their eyes met. Seeing that Xiao Rongyan was just quietly gazing at her, her heart skipped a beat. Guessing that Xiao Rongyan had probably heard Bai Jinzhi’s words, she quickened her pace to shield her sister behind her.
She knew Xiao Rongyan was formidable—even a peanut could become a deadly weapon in his hands. It wasn’t unusual for martial artists to have exceptional hearing, but she hadn’t expected that, despite Bai Jinzhi speaking so quietly amid all the sounds of wheels and footsteps, Xiao Rongyan could still hear. This showed just how skilled this person was.
Watching Bai Qingyan’s movement, Xiao Rongyan slowly lowered the curtain and said to the Crown Prince with a gentle smile: “Miss Bai is already weak in constitution. Walking like this, I’m afraid she won’t be able to hold on.”
The Crown Prince shook his head, leaning against the soft pillow: “Yesterday, Miss Bai walked for an entire day. After all, she has military experience.”
Seeing her eldest sister quicken her pace, Bai Jinzhi feared her sister thought she was making groundless accusations and hurried to catch up: “Really, eldest sister! Not only are all the people around Mr. Xiao exceptionally skilled, but not a single one of them is lazy or slack. Their words and actions are very orderly, with extremely high self-discipline and strict obedience to orders! This… is not something ordinary merchants can achieve—it’s more like well-trained military personnel.”
Since she couldn’t openly tell Xiao Si about Xiao Rongyan’s identity, nor could she let Xiao Rongyan think that Xiao Si knew his identity and was preparing to inform on him, she didn’t stop Xiao Si from continuing.
“Moreover, last night I wanted to secretly look at the goods they’re transporting to Pingyang City this time, and discovered that this batch of goods has highly skilled hidden guards protecting it. They say this batch of goods is ordinary spices. Spices are mostly plant-based, and medicines are also mostly plant-based. With so many different scents mixed, can you tell them apart? Furthermore, cart wheels carrying loads of herbs wouldn’t leave such deep rut marks. I suspect their enormous quantity of goods consists of herbs and weapons! Eldest sister… do you think this Xiao Rongyan might be a spy from Xiliang or Nanyan?”
“Being able to notice so much while traveling—that’s very good!” She was pleased that the usually carefree Bai Jinzhi had learned to observe such things. “But speaking purely from a business perspective, the current Nan Jiang battlefield is bounded by Tianmen Pass and Feng City, mostly concentrated around Feng County, Black Bear Mountain, and the Luofeng Canyon area, which belongs to eastern Nan Jiang. The several commanderies of Pingyang City in western Nan Jiang are relatively stable, but herbs and protective weapons are extremely expensive there. It would be profitable for Xiao Rongyan to transport herbs and weapons there—what’s strange about that?”
“Then why does he need to hide it? Why can’t he be open about it?” Bai Jinzhi didn’t understand.
“Business has its ways. Different trades are like different worlds—if you want to know the intricacies, you can ask Mr. Xiao directly.”
Hearing that her eldest sister didn’t suspect Xiao Rongyan, Bai Jinzhi said: “Actually, Xiao Si understands. Mr. Xiao helped the Bai family when we were in difficulty. This kindness at least earns him the chance for one explanation. Xiao Si was planning to investigate clearly first, then tell eldest sister before asking Mr. Xiao—this is righteousness… Xiao Si hasn’t forgotten.”
She nodded with relief: “Xiao Si has grown up.”
“Eldest sister… then you’re not angry with me anymore, right? You won’t send me back to the capital, right?” Bai Jinzhi asked excitedly, moving closer.
“Throughout this entire journey until we return, you’ll stay by my side, not a step away. Otherwise, I’ll immediately have Milk Brother tie you up and send you back to Third Aunt by express courier.”
Hearing her eldest sister’s words, Bai Jinzhi was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, walking properly beside Bai Qingyan.
But the further they walked, the more distressed Bai Jinzhi felt.
She watched her eldest sister’s clothes become soaked with sweat, yet she still refused to get in the carriage and insisted on walking, her steps firm and never slowing the troops by even a moment.
When they reached Baiwuo City at nightfall, her eldest sister untied the iron sandbags wound around her clothes, and water could already be wrung from them.
When Bai Qingyan was bathing, Bai Jinzhi came out of the room without saying a word and couldn’t help asking Xiao Ruohai: “Eldest sister, has she been… walking an entire day wrapped in such heavy iron sandbags for these two days?!”
“Today, the eldest miss has already adapted. Tomorrow we’ll increase the weight again. The eldest miss wants to pick up the Sun-Shooting Bow before reaching Nan Jiang. Time is pressing, so she’s using this method.”