“I never knew the Right Army Commander would have time to spare, even disguising himself to come to my Jiyang,” she said.

He Yan thought to herself: Was I discovered? From the tone, it seemed this wasn’t a recent discovery.

Looking at Xiao Jue, he showed no surprise at these words, only responding with a lazy smile, “Is this how Your Highness treats the one who saved the young princess’s life – with accusations?”

“They are guilty,” Mu Hongjin said coldly. “And you’re not innocent either. Your purpose in coming to my Jiyang couldn’t simply be to check on how I’m doing.”

“It seems Your Highness is doing quite well,” Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows, “though the same might not be true for others in Jiyang City.”

Mu Hongjin sat on her high seat, studying Xiao Jue for a moment before suddenly smiling. With this smile, her previous icy demeanor thawed considerably. She leaned back against the cushions and casually gestured toward the guest chairs, “Sit down. Let it not be said that I neglected guests who came from afar.”

He Yan expressed thanks and sat down with Xiao Jue in the adjacent seats.

This was Mu Hongjin, the Princess of Mengji. He Yan’s gaze fell upon her, finding her quite different from what she had imagined. Before coming to Jiyang, He Yan had pictured the Mengji Princess as someone older, loving, dignified, and steady. After suspecting she might be Liu Buwang’s old acquaintance, He Yan had assumed she would be forthright and honorable. But the real Mu Hongjin was unexpectedly beautiful and powerful, both domineering and willful.

“Your Highness…” He Yan hesitated before asking, “When did you discover us?”

“Did you think my Jiyang City was so easy to enter, or did you take me for a mere figurehead who couldn’t even notice such things?” Mu Hongjin stroked a transparent ruby ring on her finger and said flatly, “I knew from the first day you entered the city. Just because that fool Cui Yuezhi couldn’t figure it out doesn’t mean everyone is as stupid as him. I was waiting to see what you intended to do, but since you saved Little Lou, I won’t beat around the bush with you anymore.”

She turned to Xiao Jue: “Tell me, Commander Xiao, what brings you to Jiyang City?”

“I came to find someone,” Xiao Jue said. “His name is Chai Anxi, a former subordinate of my father who disappeared after the Battle of Mingshui. I traced his whereabouts to Jiyang. However, I haven’t found him yet, and Cuiwei Pavilion where he was hiding was burned down half a month ago.” His lips curled slightly, “Since Your Highness already knows our group’s identity, I request your help. With Your Highness’s assistance, finding someone in Jiyang City shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Mu Hongjin’s smile faded slightly, “Commander Xiao, you didn’t perhaps anticipate this day and calculate on using my hand to do your work?”

Xiao Jue smiled faintly.

“How dare you!”

He Yan internally marveled – they were in Mu Hongjin’s territory without any troops, yet Xiao Jue not only refused to be submissive but even dared to provoke Mu Hongjin. This attitude when asking for help was excessive – even He Yan thought it was too much, let alone Mu Hongjin.

The young man spoke carelessly: “Wotu people have infiltrated Jiyang City. Your Highness must have been troubled by this lately. Chai Anxi might have information about the Wotu people. Helping me means helping yourself.”

Mu Hongjin stared at him: “Why should I trust you?”

“There’s no loss in trusting me,” Xiao Jue said calmly. “It depends on what Your Highness considers most pressing at the moment.”

The hall fell silent for a moment, and then slowly, applause broke out. Mu Hongjin clapped intermittently, her gaze on Xiao Jue expressing something between wariness and admiration. “General Feng Yun truly lives up to his reputation. Even if he weren’t a military commander, he would make an excellent strategist.”

“Your Highness flatters me.”

Mu Hongjin stood up and said, “You’re right. Wotu people have infiltrated Jiyang City, and I have indeed been worried about this for a long time. But how can you prove that the person you’re looking for knows anything about the Wotu people?”

“Jiyang City has always been easy to leave but difficult to enter. Chai Anxi has been in Jiyang for many years, and the Wotu people entering Jiyang as if there were no barriers must be connected. Someone in Your Highness’s palace, among Jiyang’s officials, is collaborating with outside enemies, creating exploitable gaps in Jiyang’s security. This must be the work of one person. Whether it’s Chai Anxi or the Wotu people, they’re all entering through this internal traitor,” Xiao Jue said calmly. “Your Highness needs to clean house, but with your current capabilities, you’re already strained.”

Mu Hongjin smiled, “Oh? Why am I strained?”

“Because of Little Lou.”

Mu Hongjin’s smile faded.

He Yan understood Xiao Jue’s meaning. After the Mengji Princess’s husband died, at least he left a son, allowing her to maintain a stable position as a feudal princess. But after her son’s death, only a granddaughter remained, and she was still young. Although women could inherit the position of feudal princesses, if it were truly that simple, Mu Hongjin wouldn’t have been married to a court official’s son by the old Mengji King to stabilize power.

In the vast palace, only two women, a grandmother and granddaughter pair, were holding everything together. With so many covetous eyes watching and troubles both internal and external, Mu Hongjin probably wasn’t as relaxed as she appeared.

“Commander Xiao is quite perceptive,” Mu Hongjin sighed. “Since my son’s death, hearts in Jiyang City have been unstable. Little Lou is too young to shoulder great responsibilities. The noble families have long since split into factions, fragmented like scattered sand, making it all too easy for others to exploit. However,” she paused, looking at Xiao Jue again, “with Wotu people infiltrating Jiyang, I fear the Great Wei’s central plains are also unstable.”

“Your Highness is insightful.”

“So,” Mu Hongjin slightly raised her chin, “do you want to join forces with me?”

“If Your Highness is willing,” Xiao Jue curved his lips slightly, “I would be delighted.”

Mu Hongjin nodded: “I will have people search the city for Chai Anxi’s whereabouts. If this person is alive, still alive now, no matter how he hides, I guarantee you we will find him. However, you must also promise me,” her eyes flashed with cunning, “they say General Feng Yun is divine in military matters and brilliant in strategy. You and I must also work together to solve the crisis of the Wotu people in Jiyang City.”

This time, she used “I” instead of “Your Highness,” indicating she was placing herself on equal footing with Xiao Jue in seeking cooperation.

Xiao Jue nodded: “Certainly.”

With matters now clear, Mu Hongjin’s face shed some of its initial aloofness, even showing a friendly smiles. “Cui Yuezhi led you to the palace and had you wait in the outer hall for so long, I imagine you haven’t eaten. Since you’re here, eat before you leave. Little Lou will change clothes and personally thank you.” She looked at He Yan again, her gaze showing interest, “Though I didn’t expect Commander Xiao would choose to pose as a married man when coming to Jiyang. This person… is your lover?”

He Yan almost choked on her saliva. She knew Jiyang people were frank and direct, but even the princess being this direct was unexpected.

Xiao Jue glanced at her and said flatly, “No, she is my subordinate.”

“Subordinate?” Mu Hongjin smiled, “But I heard from Yuezhi that yesterday you went to the Water God Festival together, crossed the Lovers’ Bridge, won the wind for her, and rode the firefly boat. Given Commander Xiao’s personality, you wouldn’t indulge a mere subordinate like this. And for a subordinate, her requests seem quite bold.”

He Yan pondered the deeper meaning in these words – she was being told to be more restrained in the future. After some thought, she bowed respectfully and said, “He Yan humbly accepts Your Highness’s guidance. In the future, I will certainly be more cautious in my words and actions, and not cause trouble for the Commander.”

Mu Hongjin was startled for a moment, then looked at Xiao Jue: “So she really is just a subordinate?”

Xiao Jue was silent for a moment before saying calmly, “My subordinate is clumsy. We’ve made Your Highness laugh.”

“It’s nothing, that’s your business.” Mu Hongjin stroked her temple hair and said, “I’ll go find Cui Yuezhi first, to arrange the search for your person. You two wait here for a moment.”

With that, she rose from her high seat and slowly disappeared behind the hall.

After she left, He Yan finally let out a breath. For some reason, when facing the Mengji Princess, she felt she couldn’t be too relaxed. Perhaps it was because her presence was too strong to ignore.

“Commander, why did you admit it so quickly earlier?” He Yan nudged Xiao Jue’s elbow, “You could have denied it a bit.”

Xiao Jue sneered: “Not everyone is a liar like you.”

He Yan shrugged and changed the subject, “But this Mengji Princess is formidable, discovering us the moment we entered the city.”

“Never planned to fool her anyway,” Xiao Jue said carelessly. “While Cui Yuezhi can be dealt with, a woman who single-handedly stabilizes Jiyang City isn’t so easily deceived.”

“Mm,” He Yan deeply agreed with this statement, “Women aren’t easily fooled when they’re not letting emotions cloud their judgment.”

But when they fall in love with someone and trust them, they become too easy to deceive.

Xiao Jue glanced at her and said slowly: “Though some women aren’t just hard to fool, they like to deceive others.”

He Yan: “…”

She said: “That’s not nice to say. Who deceived you?”

Just then, a palace maid entered and said: “Please follow me, Your Highness invites you both to dine in the banquet hall.”

He Yan then walked with Xiao Jue to the banquet hall.

The palace banquet hall was also very large. Although the walls and ceiling were covered in colorful paintings and bright carpets covered the floor, because there were few people at the long tables, it still felt cold and empty. The magnificent emptiness made it feel even more desolate.

Mu Hongjin sat on a small couch at the long table and said, “Sit.”

He Yan and Xiao Jue sat down at the table as told.

“I don’t know what you like to eat, so just help yourselves,” Mu Hongjin seemed somewhat tired, leaning obliquely against the cushions. “I sent Cui Yuezhi back first. It would be inconvenient to talk with him here.”

Indeed, since Cui Yuezhi still didn’t know Xiao Jue and He Yan’s identities, there would be many inconveniences.

The palace food wasn’t much different from the food at the Cui residence. However, He Yan wasn’t particularly particular about food anyway – having something to eat was good enough. She immediately expressed thanks and picked up her chopsticks with restraint. Remembering that the person before her was the Mengji Princess, she didn’t dare be too unrestrained and ate more elegantly.

Mu Hongjin looked at Xiao Jue: “Commander Xiao, if the Wotu people have infiltrated Jiyang, what is their purpose?”

“Great Wei.”

Those two words made He Yan pause in drinking her soup, suddenly finding the delicious food tasteless.

“Once the Wotu people gain power and capture Jiyang, their first move will be to cut off the canal’s water transport. All cities along the river will suffer, without grain or money. Merchants will close their markets, throwing the central plains into chaos. Then they’ll advance north, enter the capital, and strike directly at the imperial palace,” he said calmly. “Nothing could be more logical.”

Mu Hongjin was silent for a moment before saying, “Commander Xiao speaks of such alarming matters rather casually.”

“Because it’s about to happen,” Xiao Jue said. “If not now, the signs were already showing during my father’s battle with the Southern Barbarians at Mingshui.”

“Southern Barbarians?” This was the first time Mu Hongjin had heard of this, and she asked puzzled, “What do they have to do with this?”

“There’s a traitor in the court who previously colluded with the Southern Barbarians. Unfortunately, the Southern Barbarian rebellion was suppressed, and Wotu was far away. These peaceful years have allowed them to secretly gather strength, so ‘he’ changed partners, from the Southern Barbarians to Wotu. Jiyang will be the first city used to curry favor.”

Mu Hongjin’s hand touched her chest as she frowned, “Jiyang hasn’t seen war for many years.”

“Allow me to ask,” Xiao Jue inquired, “how many troops does Jiyang City currently have?”

“Less than twenty thousand.”

He Yan frowned at hearing this – less than twenty thousand was hardly a reassuring number. Even the Liangzhou garrison had more than twenty thousand troops.

“Doesn’t Commander Xiao have the Southern Garrison troops?” Mu Hongjin asked. “Could they be deployed to Jiyang?”

“It’s too late,” Xiao Jue said.

He Yan and Mu Hongjin were both startled. Mu Hongjin said coldly, “Is Commander Xiao just trying to frighten us?”

“Your Highness already knows the truth in your heart. If it weren’t urgent,” Xiao Jue remained calm, “the young princess wouldn’t have been kidnapped during the Water God Festival.”

Little Lou was part of their plan, but they happened to encounter He Yan’s group, which disrupted their scheme. One could imagine that if He Yan’s group hadn’t appeared that day and Little Lou had been successfully kidnapped, there would have been only two possible outcomes. First, news of the young princess’s disappearance would spread, throwing all of Jiyang City into panic. With the princess having no heir, public unrest would grow, noble families would cause trouble, and those hiding in the shadows would take advantage of the chaos to seize power directly. The second possibility was even simpler – they would use Little Lou as leverage to negotiate directly with Mu Hongjin. If Mu Hongjin loved her granddaughter, she would hand over the throne, allowing them to take all of Jiyang City without deploying a single soldier.

Neither outcome was something the current Jiyang City could bear.

“You mean…” Mu Hongjin asked.

“Prepare for a fierce battle,” Xiao Jue answered.

The topic was too heavy, and everyone in the banquet hall fell silent. Just then, a crisp voice rang out: “Grandmother!”

It was Little Lou.

Little Lou had changed into new clothes – a bright red robe embroidered with golden lotuses, both magnificent and delicate. She wasn’t wearing a gold crown; instead, her hair was braided into two plaits hanging over her chest, with a small ornament dangling on her forehead. She looked like a young version of Mu Hongjin, every bit the foreign princess, though compared to Mu Hongjin’s domineering beauty, Little Lou was more coquettishly proud.

Back in the familiar palace, Little Lou was no longer as quiet as she had been at the Cui residence. She ran over like a little bird, jumped onto Mu Hongjin’s couch, and snuggled against her side, asking, “Grandmother, why isn’t Master Cui here?”

“Master Cui had a business,” Mu Hongjin was much more loving toward Little Lou, smiling as she stroked her head. “Your saviors are here. Hurry and thank them.”

Little Lou turned to look at He Yan and Xiao Jue, and after a while, said softly, “Thank you for saving me.”

She seemed somewhat reluctant to express gratitude.

He Yan didn’t mind and instead asked Mu Hongjin, “How did the young princess fall into the villains’ hands that day? Did they sneak into the palace?”

If so, those bandits were incredibly brazen.

Mu Hongjin looked at Little Lou, “Tell them yourself.”

“It’s nothing,” Little Lou glanced at her grandmother’s expression and eventually said, “I wanted to see the Water God Festival but didn’t want guards following me, so I left the palace alone. On the way, I met those people who said they could help me ride the firefly boat. After I got on the boat and drank some tea, I couldn’t move, and then I met you all.”

She described it lightly, probably afraid of being scolded by Mu Hongjin. She must have experienced considerable danger. But for a child her age, being playful was normal. Mu Hongjin only had this one granddaughter and must have watched over her strictly, afraid something would happen. It was understandable that the child wanted to go out alone.

But her luck was terrible – she had already been targeted.

“Thank you so much,” Mu Hongjin sighed. “If anything had happened to Little Lou, I don’t know how I could go on living.”

“Please don’t say that, Your Highness. The young princess has heaven’s blessing. Even if she hadn’t met us, she would have met someone else and been safe.”

Hearing this, Little Lou muttered, “It wasn’t even you who saved me, it was that uncle.” Then she looked at He Yan, “Isn’t that uncle coming today? When can he come? Tell him when you go back that I want to see him, can he come to the palace to play with me?”

This was the first time Mu Hongjin had heard of such a person, and she asked puzzled, “What uncle?”

“An uncle who’s like an immortal,” Little Lou became excited and gestured to Mu Hongjin, “He’s very tall, wearing white clothes, and he’s amazing! When I was being held, he appeared and knocked away the knife! He has a sword, and he also carries a zither.”

Mu Hongjin’s expression gradually became rigid.

He Yan inwardly groaned, hoping this little ancestor would stop there and say no more. But Little Lou seemed to have taken quite a liking to Liu Buwang, and having reached this point, she was animated, eager to tell Mu Hongjin everything she knew.

“He can play the zither too, he played for me to hear, it’s that song you often play, Grandmother. But he plays much better than you. He said that song is called ‘Shaoguang Man.’ Grandmother, why have I never heard you mention this song’s name before? Is that really what it’s called?”

Mu Hongjin looked at Little Lou and slowly spoke, her voice dry, “Since you’ve met him, do you know his name?”

“I asked him,” Little Lou answered. “He said he’s called the Yunlin Hermit, but I heard them call him Master Liu. You should ask him,” Little Lou pointed at Xiao Jue, “The Yunlin Hermit seems to be his master, I heard Master Cui ask about it.”

Mu Hongjin looked at Xiao Jue: “Is that so?”

He Yan’s palms were sweating with nervousness as she heard Xiao Jue answer: “Yes.”

The banquet hall became inexplicably heavy. Mu Hongjin didn’t speak, just leaned on the couch, not even noticing Little Lou. Her gaze gradually became distant, as if recalling memories from long ago, her eyes unable to contain anything else.

He Yan thought to herself that from the looks of it, Mu Hongjin and Liu Buwang weren’t just acquaintances, their connection must run deep.

After who knows how long, Mu Hongjin finally came back to herself and said flatly, “I see.”

She didn’t say she wanted to meet again, nor did she ask about Liu Buwang’s news, as if he were just a passerby whose name she’d heard and forgotten. Her expression returned to calm, that moment of melancholy completely dispersed, seeming to return to that aloof, cold princess they’d first met.

It would have been better if she had asked more questions. This dismissal made He Yan suspicious, feeling as if a restless cat was constantly scratching at her heart. Finally unable to contain herself, she asked, “Your Highness, are you and the Yunlin Hermit old acquaintances?”

Xiao Jue glanced at her, his eyes warning.

He Yan didn’t care. Liu Buwang was practically her family, and now that she could finally glimpse a bit of his past, how could she give up? Besides, from Mu Hongjin’s expression… at least they weren’t enemies.

Mu Hongjin hadn’t expected He Yan to suddenly ask this and looked at her. He Yan met her gaze openly. After a while, Mu Hongjin smiled and said, “Commander Xiao, your subordinate is quite bold.”

Xiao Jue’s gaze was cool and indifferent: “Your Highness, please be generous.”

“I haven’t said anything yet, you needn’t rush to protect her,” Mu Hongjin smiled slightly. “It’s just that no one has dared to ask this question for many years.”

He Yan found this strange – were they enemies?

If they were enemies, why was Liu Buwang so kind to Little Lou? After all, Little Lou looked so much like Mu Hongjin – how could anyone be gentle while looking at a face that resembled their enemy’s?

“There’s no harm in telling you,” Mu Hongjin said flatly. “Many years ago, before I was married, I once ran away from the palace.” She glanced at Little Lou and said gently, “Just like Little Lou yesterday.”

“But I was very lucky and didn’t meet any villains. Instead, I met a young man who had just come down from the mountains.”

Her beautiful eyes were fixed on the mural on the distant wall, which depicted a maiden sitting under a flowering tree weaving a garland, the large blocks of peach pink as bright and beautiful as that spring day of years past.

“I admired this young man in my heart, so I clung to him, using the excuse of having no money and nowhere to go to stay by his side.”

This was the first time Little Lou had heard of her grandmother’s past events, and she widened her eyes in surprise.

“It was the first time I had fallen in love with someone, so naturally, I was completely sincere. However, that young man already had someone he loved and didn’t like me, treating me very coldly. Father told me that my marriage had been arranged and I would be wed soon. So I begged that young man to take me away.”

He Yan was too surprised to speak – the Mengji Princess was truly daring, actually attempting to elope before her wedding.

“On the appointed day, he didn’t come,” Mu Hongjin said flatly. “I was found by Father’s men and returned to Jiyang to be married.”

“After that, I never saw him again.”