He didn’t even light a lamp before pulling open the door and going out.

Cold wind mixed with rain air rushed in. A chill ran up Wen Yu’s arm. She looked toward the doorway in slight bewilderment.

A nightmare?

—

Xiao Li went down to the courtyard, scooped up rainwater from the water vat, and splashed it chaotically on his face. The ice-cold water flow finally suppressed some of that restless turmoil in his heart.

His hands braced on the rim of the vat, long lashes dripping water, gazing at his own pitch-black reflection in the vat, constantly stirred into ripples by the falling raindrops.

On that pale, young face, pain and hidden resentment intertwined.

Those crazily surging emotions at the bottom of his heart were nearly tearing him apart. Yet his mind, at the edge of this near loss of control, was exceptionally clear.

He understood.

She repeatedly drove him away because to her, he was ultimately an outsider.

Also because he wasn’t strong enough.

If he were the Chen Prince, if he were Wei Qishan, she probably wouldn’t push him away again and again.

Xiao Li closed his eyes somewhat awkwardly, maintaining that posture in the rain curtain for a long time.

—

Two days later.

At the refugee gathering place within the city, a group of raggedly dressed people wearing conical hats gathered in a crude rain shelter dripping water.

A guard who had returned from the government porridge distribution with a bowl of porridge held it out to the thin, middle-aged man coughing incessantly in the shelter. “Master, I couldn’t get medicine for now. Please drink the porridge first to soothe your throat.”

The burly man standing beside the thin man took the porridge bowl. Glimpsing the few grains of rice settled at the bottom, he raged, “This is porridge? More like pot-washing water!”

The middle-aged man with a sickly complexion coughed. “Forget it, forget it, Brother Yuan. At a time like this, what’s there to be picky about?”

The burly man cursed, “If this were any other year, daring to cook such porridge for disaster relief—there wouldn’t be enough heads among all the Xinzhou yamen officials to chop off!”

The middle-aged man’s expression darkened. He only said, “You also know that was before. Compared to Luodu and Fengyang back then, the south is already better off. Xinzhou just rebelled, and the neighboring prefectures followed suit. They’re holding each other in check, so the common people below can still find a way to survive in the cracks…”

He took a sip of the porridge water that had no rice flavor but instead overflowed with a moldy smell, quickly spat it out, yet was still choked by that taste into tearing, lung-splitting coughs.

The guard beside him quickly patted his back.

The burly man said, “Drink slowly. What’s the rush?”

Li Xun waved his hands repeatedly, saying, “Moldy rice.”

The burly man’s tiger eyes widened. He lifted the porridge bowl to his nose and sniffed. Indeed smelling a moldy odor, unable to contain his fury, he immediately smashed the bowl and cursed, “These damned bastards in Xinzhou!”

Li Xun’s eyes had already reddened. “I don’t know how the Princess managed to make her way to Xinzhou…”

He asked the burly man, “Have our people discovered news about Tongcheng’s recruitment?”

Fan Yuan sat down on the bench with his hands on his knees, dejectedly shaking his head. “The Xinzhou authorities are searching everywhere for people. Everyone’s hiding deep.”

Then he said with some puzzlement, “But didn’t Tongcheng become Pei Song’s lackey? Why does the Princess seem to have such close relations with Tongcheng? When I asked the refugees about news of Tongcheng recruitment, they praised that Tongcheng army highly. I heard that Xinzhou authorities started distributing porridge because that Tongcheng army, while recruiting soldiers, also gave grain and distributed porridge to the common people, causing refugees to be quite dissatisfied with the Xinzhou authorities. Only then did the authorities follow suit and open granaries to distribute porridge.”

He looked at Li Xun. “Do you think Tongcheng’s submission to Pei Song might have some hidden circumstances?”

Li Xun coughed. “We can only inquire about this after finding the Princess.”

As the two were talking, they suddenly saw a man wearing a conical hat covering most of his face and dressed in arrow-sleeved black robes walking toward them. His chin was beardless, appearing quite young. Under the shelter, he looked up at them. “May I trouble you to ask for directions?”

This upward glance revealed a rather handsome face.

Both Li Xun and Fan Yuan stared at the youth somewhat warily. Fan Yuan, after sweeping his gaze over the other’s arms and waist and legs, knew he should be a skilled martial practitioner.

The guards in the shelter also discreetly pressed on the weapons hidden on their bodies, fully intending to apprehend this person if the situation turned unfavorable.

Li Xun said, “Young brother, please ask.”

Xiao Li said, “They say water’s light and mountain colors draw people near. I’m looking for a place where a single cup can contain water’s light and mountain colors.”

Hearing these words, Li Xun’s face already showed undisguised excitement. He said repeatedly, “Easy to find, easy to find. Where mist and waves are vast and gulls and egrets rest on the sand—that’s where.”

His answer matched everything Wen Yu had conveyed to him.

Xiao Li cupped his fists and said, “Many thanks. However, I don’t know the way. Could this old gentleman take me there?”

Li Xun nodded repeatedly. “This old one will take young brother there right away.”

Fan Yuan discreetly grabbed Li Xun’s arm and asked in a low voice, “Old Li, what’s this about?”

Li Xun patted his arm and only said, “Bring one more person and come with me to guide this young brother.”

Fan Yuan was a military man. This time he came only to find Wen Yu and escort her safely to Pingzhou. His mind wasn’t as sharp as Li Xun’s. These words left him in a fog.

But he also realized that this youth who suddenly came seeking them was probably not simple. He called on one more person to accompany them, leaving the rest to wait in place.

Fan Yuan soon realized that rather than Li Xun guiding the youth, it was more like the youth leading them.

The several people entered an alley, winding left and right, finally turning onto another main street before entering a restaurant.

Xiao Li said, “Too many eyes and ears among the refugee crowds. To avoid being followed, I led you all on a roundabout route.”

Li Xun said, “Young brother is thoughtfully considerate.”

Xiao Li pushed open the private room door. “My master has been waiting for you for quite some time.”

Hearing this, Fan and Li both quickly looked into the room.

The woman standing with her back to them at the window heard the commotion and turned to look at them. She removed her veiled hat and softly called, “Uncle Li.”

Li Xun’s eyes turned red. His lips moved, trying to call out several times, but his throat was terribly choked. Finally, he called out with a sobbing tone, “Princess?”

Wen Yu’s eyes also slightly reddened as she nodded. “It’s me.”

Li Xun looked Wen Yu up and down, his voice choking. “Princess has suffered…”

He immediately bowed deeply. “It’s our incompetence. We came late, causing the Princess to suffer displacement and hardship all along the way…”

Wen Yu stepped forward several paces to help support Li Xun. “Uncle Li, please rise quickly. I deliberately released many false messages to cover my tracks and confuse those pursuing me. You escaped from Fengyang under such difficult circumstances yourselves—why blame yourselves?”

After being helped up, Li Xun still couldn’t stop choking up.

Fan Yuan also hadn’t expected that after searching everywhere for the Tongcheng army and inquiring about news of Wen Yu to no avail, the other party had found them first.

This was probably not a coincidence. They must have been observing them in secret for a long time and, after being ninety percent certain of their identities, dispatched someone today to make contact.

He felt a start in his heart.

Such meticulous thinking—no wonder Pei Song’s net of heaven and earth couldn’t trap her.

Looking at Wen Yu again, he didn’t dare stare too long at her stunningly beautiful appearance. He only respectfully cupped his fists. “This subordinate, Fan Yuan, greets the Princess.”

Li Xun had been a strategist under Wen Yu’s father and had close relations with the prince’s residence. Knowing that Wen Yu didn’t recognize Fan Yuan, he introduced him. “General Fan served under Lord Chen, garrisoning Pingzhou. This time, after Lord Chen learned you might be in Xinzhou, he specially had General Fan accompany this subject to search for the Princess.”

The Lord Chen he mentioned was Pingzhou Prefect Chen Wei, who had been one of Wen Yu’s father’s most trusted confidants.

Wen Yu said, “Lord Chen is thoughtful.”

She had them sit down to discuss in detail.

Li Xun learned that before reaching Yongcheng, she had been separated from her trusted companions in an assassination, and fortunately Zhou Jing’an had prepared horses, carriages, guards, and escorts for her, allowing her to continue south. Mentioning Zhou Jing’an’s martyrdom, he and Zhou Jing’an were old friends, and he wept bitterly.

When Wen Yu asked about the situation in Fengyang that day, he choked up even more. “The day Fengyang fell, the Prince died fighting at the city gate. His body was almost shot into a sieve by random arrows…”

Wen Yu’s breathing trembled. Her hands hidden in her sleeves nearly pierced her palms, yet she said nothing, only quietly listening to Li Xun describe the tragic scene in Fengyang that day.

“The Crown Prince… after the Crown Prince fell into Pei Song’s hands gravely injured, he begged him to spare the lives of the various advisors in the Prince’s residence. Pei Song declared that for every finger the Crown Prince severed, he would spare one person’s life. For our sake… for our sake… the Crown Prince cut off more than ten fingers from his hands and feet completely!”

Li Xun, speaking to this point, was already weeping sorrowfully. “This subject, that day, was prepared to follow the Prince and Crown Prince to death. It was the Crown Prince who told this subject that though the Wen clan was gone, though Prince Changlian’s residence was gone, the common people of the world still remained. He said that since we once aspired to work for the common people of the world, and the masses still suffered, how could we harbor death wishes just because Great Liang had fallen?”

He cried bitterly. “That was the young prince of Great Liang, taught by Grand Tutor Yu himself!”

“This subject’s life was exchanged for by the young prince with one finger. This subject dares not speak of suicide again, yet is also unwilling to become a slave to the Pei clan! Seeing the Princess’s poems and essays denouncing Pei Song, knowing the Princess would continue to Southern Chen for the marriage alliance and summoned us to Pingzhou, we rushed to Pingzhou, only hoping to still contribute what strength we can for the Princess.”

When Wen Yu heard about her elder brother severing his ten fingers to plead for the various advisors of the prince’s residence, bloody marks had already been gouged in her palms. She said, “Since Heaven has allowed me to live until now, the loss of Luodu, the pain of Fengyang—every single blood debt—I will demand repayment from him, from Pei Song!”

The atmosphere in the room grew oppressive.

Xiao Li stood at Wen Yu’s side and suddenly lowered his eyes to glance at her hand.

Fan Yuan said, “Blood debts naturally must be claimed from Pei Song. However, now that we’ve found the Princess, we should still first escort the Princess to Pingzhou. That place is safer.”

Just as Wen Yu was about to speak, Xiao Li suddenly handed her a handkerchief.

Neither Li Xun nor Fan Yuan thought anything of it, assuming he was Wen Yu’s personal guard.

The moment Wen Yu’s palm touched that handkerchief, she suddenly felt a bit of coolness and guessed that there should be mild pain-relieving wound medicine on it.

She froze slightly.

After that night, Xiao Li had become abnormally silent, speaking very little with her as well.

Their relationship had become somewhat subtly distant. Apart from doing what she assigned him, he almost had no other interactions with her.

Now suddenly handing her a handkerchief with medicine applied, amid all the pain and hatred filling Wen Yu’s heart at this moment, she suddenly felt a moment’s breathing room.

Her five fingers slightly closed, gripping the handkerchief. Yet her face showed no emotion as she asked, “How many people did the General bring on this trip?”

Fan Yuan said, “Over a dozen entered the city. About a hundred are waiting outside the city for support, and another hundred are gathering intelligence in several neighboring counties. I can send word and summon them back.”

Thinking Wen Yu was worried about safety on the road, he said, “Princess, rest assured. This subordinate will protect the Princess’s safety even at the cost of my life.”

But Wen Yu said, “Returning to Pingzhou isn’t urgent. I have some scattered soldiers on hand. I’d like to trouble the General to take his troops and make a trip to Tongcheng.”

Fan Yuan’s expression changed slightly. “Does the Princess want me to relieve Tongcheng’s siege?”

He said with great difficulty, “The troops Pei Song dispatched to Tongcheng this time number at least five thousand. With my two hundred soldiers, going there won’t accomplish anything.”

Li Xun also thought Wen Yu had deep connections with Tongcheng and advised, “Princess, you mustn’t. Even if Tongcheng’s previous submission to Pei Song had hidden circumstances and the city has many loyal and righteous men, Tongcheng’s loss has already become inevitable and cannot be saved. If General Fan rashly goes there, it will only result in losing these troops.”

Wen Yu looked up, quite puzzled. “When did I say I wanted to save Tongcheng?”

Fan Yuan and Li Xun looked at each other in confusion.

Fan Yuan, puzzled, asked, “Then why does the Princess want me to go to Tongcheng?”

Wen Yu said, “When I passed through Tongcheng, I was once schemed against by those rats in the Tongcheng yamen. Under the pretext of recruiting talent for me, they were actually working for Pei Song. They also killed countless traveling merchants. I borrowed Tongcheng’s name in Xinzhou to recruit soldiers and spread news that Pei Song had died, which disrupted the situation in the south. Pei Song, in his fury, decided to make an example of Tongcheng. How could that rat of a Tongcheng county magistrate sit and wait for death? He’ll surely flee south with all his wealth.”

Her eyes gleamed. “Rather than let him take that wealth to other prefectures seeking protection, better to bring it back to Pingzhou.”

Fan Yuan caught a key piece of information from Wen Yu’s words. “The Princess didn’t have any dealings with Tongcheng—you borrowed their name to recruit soldiers?”

Then he seemed to fully react, slapping the table. “Brilliant! This plan is brilliant!”

Li Xun was also shocked, taking a while to find his words. “The Princess resolved Pingzhou’s predicament?”

He was almost moved to tears with joy. “When Xinzhou rebelled, Lord Chen guessed he would surely target Pingzhou. He worried for days without sleeping well, summoning us to discuss countermeasures for a long time. But unexpectedly, after days of strict defense, several major prefectures bordering Xinzhou also fell into chaos. They started fighting among themselves first—it was a false alarm! Lord Chen even said Heaven must be protecting Pingzhou. How is this Heaven’s protection? It’s you, Princess, who protected Pingzhou!”

Wen Yu said, “Those who follow the righteous path receive much help; those who follow the unrighteous path receive little. Pei Song is cruel and heartless—that’s why today’s situation exists.”

She changed the subject. “I’ve already received word that Xinzhou’s city restrictions will be lifted in the next few days. Once the restrictions are lifted, the General can pretend to be refugees with my people and intercept them on the main road to Tongcheng. When you meet that Tongcheng county magistrate, just say you heard on the road that Tongcheng was recruiting soldiers and distributing grain, so you came to pledge allegiance. He’ll definitely be short of manpower now and will keep you to escort him. You can then go with the flow and ‘escort’ him to Pingzhou.”

Pei Song dispatched troops to Tongcheng to make an example and intimidate those prefectures that had declared independence.

But those prefectures, from the moment they decided to rebel, had no way back. They could only take advantage of the fact that Pei Song’s main army was still entangled with Wei Qishan in Dingzhou to quickly expand their influence, so they might have hope of fighting with their backs against the wall in the future.

The Xinzhou Prefect would certainly see this clearly. Since Pei Song had already sent troops to Tongcheng, whether or not those recruiting in Xinzhou territory were from Tongcheng, they could no longer stir up any trouble. Competing with neighboring prefectures for territory was the important matter, so he definitely wouldn’t continue blocking prefecture roads.

And what she was scheming for wasn’t just withdrawing unscathed from this chaos, but also that piece of fat meat everyone wanted to grab!

Fan Yuan laughed heartily. “Good plan! However, Xinzhou isn’t a safe place. Once the city restrictions are lifted, I’ll first dispatch people to escort the Princess to Pingzhou’s border county. The Princess and Lord Li can wait there for this subordinate’s good news!”

Li Xun nodded in agreement. “The Princess’s safety is most important. This subject also thinks this is more proper.”

After some consideration, Wen Yu said, “I’ll follow your advice. However, I must trouble General Fan to take someone along.”

Wen Yu glanced sideways, indicating for Xiao Li to step forward.

Xiao Li looked up, showing some surprise.

—Before coming, Wen Yu hadn’t discussed this matter with him.

But since those appraising gazes had already been directed at him, he still stepped forward.

Li Xun and Fan Yuan had already felt this youth was not simple, but since Wen Yu hadn’t made introductions, the two couldn’t very well guess his identity.

Wen Yu said, “This is my benefactor, Xiao Li, a righteous man. From when I was separated from my trusted companions and found myself in difficulty in Yongcheng, all the way to arriving in Xinzhou, it was thanks to him that I repeatedly turned danger into safety. Those scattered soldiers I have were recruited and have been in contact with him. With him there, he can help the General manage them.”

Fan Yuan quickly said, “This subordinate isn’t very familiar with the Princess’s troops. With Righteous Man Xiao present, it will save this subordinate much trouble. This subordinate thanks the Princess in advance!”

Wen Yu looked toward Xiao Li. “Those scattered soldiers aren’t very presentable. When you have time, ask General Fan for more guidance and keep them under strict control.”

Xiao Li nodded in agreement, then said to Fan Yuan, “From now on, I’ll have to trouble General Fan.”

Fan Yuan waved his hand with a hearty laugh. “You and I both serve the Princess. We should be like brothers. But since you’ve rendered merit to the Princess, you’re also our benefactor. In the future, if there’s anything, just order Fan around as you please.”

Having said this much, after Wen Yu kept them for a meal, to avoid too many eyes and ears when leaving, Li Xun and Fan Yuan left first with their guards.

With no one else in the private room, Wen Yu was about to instruct Xiao Li about some matters when he wordlessly took her hand that had been pierced in the palm by her fingertips, reapplied medicine powder, and wrapped it properly with the silk handkerchief she held in her hand.

This action was actually somewhat overly familiar and intimate.

However, compared to all the boundaries between men and women they’d broken for the sake of survival during their escape, it seemed like nothing.

So after a brief moment of bewilderment, Wen Yu tacitly allowed it.

She looked at the person who half-crouched to treat her wound but, due to his excessively tall build, still had an extremely oppressive presence. “Won’t you ask me? I never mentioned it to you before, yet I’m having you go along to Tongcheng.”

Xiao Li silently finished tying the knot on her hand. He raised his sharp brows and eyes and only said, “I’ll bring back all the silver you want.”