Xiao Weiran had just arrived in Pingling early in the morning. Without taking a rest, he stood with Ning Fei at the city gate. Ning Fei looked even more haggard than him, who had been on the road for two days. With bloodshot eyes, Ning Fei refused to relax for a moment, staring intently at the passing crowd.
Xiao Weiran patted his shoulder, “You should go rest for a while. I can keep watch here.” Ning Fei shook his head, “The men investigating the last few estates will return soon. I’d better wait here…” His voice suddenly cut off as he pointed to a spot in the distance, shouting, “Stop that carriage!”
Xiao Weiran whipped his head around, looking in the direction Ning Fei was pointing. A plain carriage was turning back. Before he could react, Ning Fei had already sprinted towards it.
In just a moment, the carriage was surrounded by Pingling soldiers. Ning Fei rushed to the front of the vehicle and asked in a deep voice, “Whose carriage is this? Where are you heading? Why did you turn back when you saw the checkpoint?”
Faced with this situation, the driver was too frightened to speak. After a brief silence, a voice as gentle as a breeze came from inside the carriage, “I am Ling Xueying, the only daughter of Ling Yuguang, the City Guardian of Caocheng. I was planning to leave the city to return home for the Zhongyuan Festival, but I remembered an important item I left in my villa here, so I was about to go back to retrieve it.”
Ning Fei narrowed his eyes sharply and gave a slight bow, “I am here on orders from the Prince of Zhennan to search for fugitives. May I ask Miss Ling to step out of the carriage to verify your identity card?”
The sound of a jade pendant tinkling could be heard. The carriage curtain lifted slightly, and a slender, pale hand extended out, holding an identity card. “As an unmarried woman, it’s not proper for me to show my face in public. Here is my identity card. Please verify it quickly and let me pass, so as not to delay my journey.”
Xiao Weiran stepped forward to take the identity card. After examining it, he shook his head at Ning Fei and handed the card back to the window. Ning Fei looked somewhat disappointed but still bowed politely, “You may proceed, Miss.” The delicate hand reached out from behind the curtain again to take back the identity card from Xiao Weiran. “Thank you.”
As the surrounding soldiers dispersed, the driver, still trembling, shook the reins. The sturdy horses snorted and began to pull the carriage forward.
Ning Fei watched the carriage slowly drive away, unable to shake off a strange feeling. Suddenly, he heard Xiao Weiran sigh, “What a beautiful name.”
That name!! He had heard the name Xueying at Huajian Pavilion.
A sharp glint flashed in Ning Fei’s eyes. “I think we’ve found Yixiao.”
Xueying jumped down from the carriage without waiting for Xiu Mu’s assistance and rushed into the backyard like a gust of wind.
“Yixiao! Yixiao, Yixiao, Yixiao!!!” Xueying burst open Yixiao’s door with a bang. “Quickly pack your things and hide! The city gates are under strict control, they must be searching for you!” Yixiao slowly put down the silver bow in her hands. “Why did you come back?”
Xueying paced around the room, piling everything she found onto the table. “There are guards at the city gate, and they’re probably checking every household in the city. My carriage was just stopped and my documents were checked. You should take your personal belongings and leave through the back door, going through the alleys—hide anywhere, just remember to come find me when you come out. I have to leave now, staying too long might make them suspicious!”
After saying all this in one breath, she saw Yixiao lowering her head to continue polishing the silver bow. Anxiously, she snatched the bow away. “You promised me you wouldn’t go to Lucheng until I came back—you can’t break your promise, otherwise, I’ll never speak to you again!”
Yixiao sighed and put down the things in her hands. “I don’t want to break my promise to you, but…” She paused briefly and pointed at the wide-open door behind Xueying. “You’d better greet our guests first!”
Three people were standing outside the door. The one with a gentle demeanor was Xiao Weiran, the one with fury blazing in his eyes was Ning Fei, and the timid one standing at the back was the maid Xiu Mu.
Seeing her point, Xiao Weiran smiled slightly, looking calm and unruffled. “This young lady looks familiar. May I ask for your name?” Yixiao held back Xueying, who was glaring at the two men, and said with a mocking smile, “These two gentlemen look familiar too. Forgive me, my memory has been failing lately. Could you remind me when and where we might have met?”
Ning Fei shouted even faster, “How dare you pretend to be confused!”
Xueying pushed Yixiao aside and scolded Ning Fei right to his face, “You’re despicable! You followed me!” Ning Fei sneered, “We haven’t even settled the crime of harboring a fugitive, and you still dare to point fingers at me?”
Xueying stamped her foot, “Who says Yixiao is a fugitive? Show me the arrest warrant!” Ning Fei glanced at her disdainfully, “How did you know I was talking about Yixiao?” Xueying was at a loss for words. Ignoring him, she began looking around, trying to find something suitable to wipe that detestable expression off Ning Fei’s face.
“Yixiao,” Xiao Weiran closed his fan, “Since you’re alive, why have you been out of touch all these years? We all thought you were dead.” “Yes,” she smiled at him, “The person you’re looking for died four years ago.”
Hearing this, Ning Fei started cursing, “You have the nerve to mention four years ago. Back then, you jumped without explaining anything clearly. Even now, when I think about it, my heart still aches…” Before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed. He dodged the gust of wind attacking from behind and stepped back twice.
Xueying, holding an iron shovel, saw him dodge and was so angry she was panting, “If it weren’t for my father’s refusal to teach me martial arts even on his deathbed, I would have smashed your dog head into your stomach today!” Yixiao sighed and stepped forward to take the shovel. “Give it to me, or you’ll complain later about your hands getting rough.”
The smile in Xiao Weiran’s eyes flashed and disappeared. “Yixiao, come back with us. His Highness had already ordered the imperial guards accompanying him not to mention that incident. He only announced that you were dispatched on official business. You can go back and apologize to His Highness. He won’t make things difficult for you.”
“There’s no need,” Yixiao glanced at him. “After four years of a carefree life, I’m no longer suited for a military career. I’m afraid going back would only disappoint His Highness.”
Ning Fei, while keeping a wary eye on Xueying, couldn’t help but interject, “I only learned about your feelings from Weiran—if you come back with us, won’t you be able to stay by His Highness’s side again? Perhaps heaven has destined you and His Highness to…” Yixiao interrupted him, “Perhaps in your eyes, everything needs to be destined by heaven, but in my view, everything is just a matter of one’s own choice. I never thought that love or not loving needed to follow heaven’s will. For me, it’s just about whether I can have it, whether it belongs to me or not!”
“That’s right! It’s not like nobody wants Yixiao. Those who don’t know how to cherish her don’t deserve to have her. Yixiao, come with me!” Xueying said as she reached for Yixiao’s hand. Ning Fei moved even faster to block her. “No, she has to come back to Lucheng with us!”
Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Yixiao rubbed her temples. “Stop arguing,” she said, turning her gaze back to Xiao Weiran. She smiled mischievously, “Actually, even if you hadn’t come, I was planning to go back—now that you’ve found me, my peaceful days are over anyway.” Xueying snorted beside her, “If that’s the case, Xiu Mu, go back and tell Father that I’m not returning. I’m going to Lucheng with Yixiao!”
Xia Jingshi strode into the side hall, only to find Ning Fei and Xiao Weiran standing there with awkward expressions. He was taken aback, “Didn’t you say you brought her back? Where is she?” Ning Fei elbowed Xiao Weiran, who coughed and said with a dry laugh, “Your Highness, we did bring her back, but her friend who came along said she was a bit tired, so she insisted on going back to her residence first. She said she’d rest for a few days before coming to pay her respects to Your Highness…”
Xia Jingshi sighed, “Still so willful—if I had known earlier that she was in Pingling, I would have gone to bring her back sooner.” Ning Fei seemed to want to say something but hesitated. Xia Jingshi glanced at him, “If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t mumble.”
Ning Fei remained silent for a moment, then finally seemed to make up his mind and said, “Your Highness, Yixiao has already…” He frowned and stopped there. A shocked look immediately appeared in Xia Jingshi’s eyes. “What happened to Yixiao? Did she sustain injuries from falling off the cliff back then?” Suddenly, his face turned pale. “Is she disabled?”
“No,” Xiao Weiran glared at Ning Fei, “It’s Ning Fei’s tongue that’s disabled. I just feel that she’s somewhat different from before, but I can’t explain it clearly. Your Highness will know when you see Yixiao in a few days.” Xia Jingshi listened quietly to this point, then raised his hand to stop him from saying more. “No need to wait. I’ll go see her now.”
Ning Fei was startled, “Your Highness, don’t forget…” Xia Jingshi smiled slightly, “This Prince has never cared about those sneaking, hiding rats. Let’s go!”