Ever since discovering that Mu Hanjiang kept circling around the carriage, Feng Yuan suggested letting Mu Qing accompany him to scout ahead, leading at the front of the convoy.

The reasoning was sound, and Mu Hanjiang could no longer remain beside the carriage. He could only ride his horse alongside Feng Yuan at the front.

Xiaoying could finally breathe freely, poking her head out the window to enjoy the scenery along the way.

As for Mu Hanjiang, he glanced at Feng Yuan and said in a cool tone: “The Grand Prince should know that it’s not good to bring her into the capital. Seeing the reactions of myself and the Third Prince, you must realize what His Majesty’s reaction would be if he saw her or heard about her appearance?”

Feng Yuan replied indifferently: “My concubine is not something for you to worry about!”

Mu Hanjiang frowned: “The Grand Prince naturally has nothing to worry about. His Majesty has always felt indebted to you and tries to accommodate your willfulness. But you should know that for a lowly woman like her, if she’s accused of bewitchment and given poisoned wine, it won’t be a simple matter. If you truly care for her, you shouldn’t bring her into the capital!”

Feng Yuan remained silent for a long while before coldly responding again: “It’s none of your concern, no need for you to worry!”

Mu Hanjiang shook his head helplessly, knowing Feng Yuan wouldn’t listen to advice. However, he had given his warning—if Feng Yuan truly cherished this woman, he should protect her well and not let others see her face…

For a time, the two rode forward in silence, each with their thoughts.

They passed a somewhat desolate relay station. Further ahead, past a wooden bridge, lay the open road that led directly to Wan City.

Xiaoying recalled what Feng Yuan had said: once they reached Wan City, he would find a way to shake off Mu Hanjiang and the others. Otherwise, if they continued together to the capital, Meng Zhun and his companions would suffer from wearing shackles continuously.

Therefore, she also looked forward to reaching the city soon.

When crossing the wooden bridge, Gao Qi went first to test its safety.

Seeing him cross successfully, Feng Yuan and Mu Hanjiang, who were at the front, dismounted and led their horses across the bridge.

The bridge connected to the middle of a hillside, and through the gaps in the planks, one could see the deep chasm below.

Xiaoying also got out of the carriage, preparing to walk across the bridge to stretch her limbs after sitting for so long.

But as soon as she stepped onto the bridge, she heard a creaking sound. There were too many people and horses on the bridge, and it couldn’t bear even the slightest additional weight, making the sound increasingly severe.

Xiaoying felt something was wrong with the sound and quickly shouted to the two men on the bridge: “Don’t lead the horses! Cross quickly! This bridge isn’t sturdy!”

Feng Yuan had already crossed most of the bridge. Hearing Xiaoying’s shout, he immediately released his horse and ran forward.

Mu Hanjiang followed closely behind him. But before they reached the edge, the bridge gave a loud crack and broke apart.

Amid the screams of those behind him, Feng Yuan made a powerful leap, barely managing to grab onto some vines on the cliff edge by the bridge railing.

But Mu Hanjiang, behind him, wasn’t so fortunate. Although he ran with all his might, he was still one step short.

Just as he was about to fall, Feng Yuan swung down on the vines and caught Mu Hanjiang’s hand with his iron grip.

By now, the two horses on the bridge had already plunged down the cliff, smashing into pieces.

The vines struggled to support the weight of two men, and Gao Qi couldn’t reach them, anxiously removing his clothes to tie them together to reach down.

Mu Hanjiang managed to hook his hand into a crevice in the cliff face, then said to Feng Yuan: “Let go, don’t worry about me, or we’ll both fall.”

Feng Yuan looked down and, seeing that the crevice could not possibly support Mu Hanjiang’s weight, said: “You go up first…”

As he spoke, he used his arm strength to swing Mu Hanjiang upward.

However, this action put too much strain on the vines, nearly pulling them out by the roots!

Fortunately, Gao Qi caught Mu Hanjiang’s legs as he swung up, allowing him to reach down and grab Feng Yuan’s hand in time.

And so, amid the gasps from those on the opposite cliff, the two men managed a precarious escape from danger.

The people remaining on the other side of the broken bridge were still shaken by the close call.

If Xiaoying hadn’t stopped in front of them earlier, the bridge would have broken even faster, and they might all have fallen to their deaths.

It seemed this bridge had long been in disrepair and nearly caused a tragedy. Who knew what the local officials were doing, failing to report and repair it in time!

However, assigning blame was a matter for later. Now, with daylight fading, there wasn’t time to find people from nearby villages to repair the bridge.

It appeared they would have to spend the night separated on opposite sides of the broken bridge. Feng Yuan, Mu Hanjiang, and Gao Qi would need to find shelter on their side, while Xiaoying, the Third Prince, her adoptive father, and the guards would have to stay on this side overnight.

Feng Yuan disliked this situation very much and called loudly to Xiaoying: “It’s getting dark. Why don’t we camp out in the open and spend the night on opposite sides of the bridge?”

The Third Prince, exhausted from the journey, was unwilling to accept such an arrangement and shouted: “Why suffer unnecessarily? We just passed a relay station where we can rest. If you want to sleep outdoors, you can spend the night by the bridge yourself! We won’t join you!”

Mu Hanjiang’s hand had been cut by flying splinters from the broken bridge. While wiping the blood, he said, “Why don’t we hurry to find the local officials to repair the bridge? Since we can’t cross here, they’ll need to take a detour to reach us. The night will be cold, so it’s better if they find somewhere to stay.”

Seeing that Feng Yuan was still concerned, Mu Hanjiang thought he was worried about Meng Zhun and the rebels escaping, so he said: “With your men and the Third Prince’s guards present, Meng Zhun and his companions won’t cause trouble!”

But unexpectedly, Feng Yuan called out to the woman on the opposite side: “I’ll come for you tomorrow. Don’t wander off! Wait for me properly!”

In this situation, did he seem concerned about prisoners in custody? He was infatuated with the woman, unable to bear being separated from her even for one night!

Although Mu Hanjiang knew that Feng Yuan greatly cherished this woman, whenever he looked at Yan Xiaoying, he still felt uncomfortable and frowned!

As the Third Prince had said, wouldn’t the Crown Prince feel upset if he saw his usually respected elder royal brother so coveting and favoring a woman with his appearance?

The men he had sent to Jiangzhe wouldn’t report back for some time, so Mu Hanjiang didn’t want to maliciously speculate about the relationship between the Grand Prince and this woman.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” he thought as he led Gao Qi away, leaving the Grand Prince to his affectionate concerns.

Seeing Feng Yuan still fretting, Xiaoying looked at the sun overhead: “Enough already! You should quickly find a place to stay! The night will be cold, don’t camp outside! Tomorrow, when it’s light, we’ll find another route to circle and meet up with you!”

Feng Yuan frowned as he surveyed the surrounding terrain and worriedly told Xiaoying, “I’ll leave Shen Jing behind and enough men for you. Tomorrow, travel on the main road, don’t try shortcuts…”

As he was about to say more, Xiaoying crouched helplessly by the bridge: “Can’t I manage without you? Relax, it’s just one night apart, nothing will happen.”

Xiaoying had studied the maps. The road from this relay station to the capital was straightforward. As long as they didn’t travel at night, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

At this moment, her gaze shifted to the fracture point of the bridge, which was right on her side and visible.

As Feng Yuan continued his worrying instructions, she fell silent for a moment, then suddenly called out: “I understand! The broken bridge in this place is just like the one General Chen crossed back then, constantly breaking! Now, hurry and find someone to fix it!”

Hearing this, Feng Yuan finally stopped his nagging. His eyes narrowed sharply as he gave Xiaoying a deep look, then glared at the bridge and quickly surveyed the surroundings again.

By now, dusk was falling. Weary birds were returning to their nests, yet circling in the sky, reluctant to land…

He pressed his thin lips together and concisely instructed Shen Jing: “Make sure to protect the lady well! For any matter, follow her orders!”

Seeing Shen Jing salute in acceptance, he turned and hurriedly departed.

After Mu Hanjiang and Feng Yuan left, darkness gradually fell.

Most of their group had been traveling all day and were extremely tired.

The Third Prince ordered some people to turn back to the relay station they had seen earlier.

Though the station didn’t look large, it was well-staffed. When they arrived, several servants came forward to take the horses and guide the carriages.

The stationmaster was quite a gourmand. When they alighted from the carriage, a pot of fragrant meat was stewing on the stove nearby.

Xiaoying, having traveled all day, was mentally exhausted and already famished. She went straight to the pot, sniffed it, took a ladle to serve a piece, and tasted it: “Hmm, delicious!”

When the spicy, fragrant meat entered her mouth, Xiaoying seemed unable to chew it properly and spat it to the side. She asked the stationmaster who was standing by the pot: “Did you make this?”

The middle-aged stationmaster smiled and said, “Yes, I did. What’s wrong? Doesn’t it suit the young lady’s taste? I can prepare something else for you.”

Xiaoying smiled and said the seasoning was good, but the meat wasn’t tender enough as it hadn’t been cooked long enough.

She didn’t continue eating but helped him stir the pot while chatting with him for a while.

The Third Prince, watching from a distance, scoffed: “She is from the countryside. How uncouth!”

Having grown up in the palace, he had never seen such coarse behavior as someone eating directly from a pot.

When Xiaoying returned, she smiled at Shen Jing and Meng Zhun: “The stationmaster said he’s from nearby Huaihua Village and has never traveled far. When he heard we came from Jiangzhe, he asked me about the specialties there! Let’s see what food we’ve brought that we can share with the stationmaster. After all, we’re imposing on him, so we should show some appreciation.”

After saying this, she took Shen Jing and the others to the carriage to search for items, which took a short while.

By the time they found appropriate gifts, the meat had finished cooking.

But the young lady was too tired and instructed that the food be brought to her room. Shen Jing led people to water the horses, unload the carriages, and move their belongings.

Meng Zhun also took his people back to their rooms to eat.

Thus, only the Third Prince and his few attendants remained in the dining hall, heartily enjoying their meal.

After a full meal, they returned to their rooms. Feng Qiwu, having eaten, was extremely drowsy and went to sleep immediately.

And Xiaoying could finally have a large bed to herself. After washing up, she went to bed early.

With everyone settled in and the relay station quiet, there was no sound except for horses munching on leaves in the stable.

Thus, when a group of black-clad men slipped into the station one by one, they encountered no resistance.

Someone whispered: “Leave the young, unruly gentleman alive, but don’t spare any of the others! Especially those men in shackles—make sure none escape alive!”

After these instructions, they moved with clear objectives, first heading directly to Meng Zhun’s room on the first floor. They pried open the door bolt with their blades and slipped inside, immediately launching into a frenzy of slashing at the bed.

But after several strokes, they realized something was wrong. In the moonlight, they could see that the bed only contained pillows and blankets, with no one inside. Just as the black-clad men sensed the anomaly, they heard the sound of shackles behind them. Meng Zhun was swinging his open shackles at the intruders’ heads.

The blow was ferocious, immediately knocking one black-clad man to the ground.

The assailant beside him reacted quickly, swinging his blade toward Meng Zhun.

At that moment, the main door was kicked open with a bang, and Shen Jing rushed in with his men. His black palms flew through the air, flipping several attackers to the ground in mere moments.

Xiaoying, who should have been asleep, stood on the second floor, raising an eyebrow as she observed the scene below. When she saw the stationmaster trying to escape behind a pillar in the chaos, Xiaoying threw a teacup that hit him squarely on the head: “You haven’t made breakfast yet, where are you going?”

The startled stationmaster tried to explain: “I saw bandits had broken in, so I was going to find help!”

The agile young lady didn’t use the stairs but slid down the railing, jumping in front of the stationmaster: “Don’t go! I haven’t had enough of your stewed meat. If you leave, what am I supposed to do?”

When the stationmaster heard Xiaoying mention the pot of meat, his expression suddenly changed. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he pulled out a dagger and lunged directly at Xiaoying.

He had underestimated the slender young woman, hoping for a quick kill before escaping.

So when his arm was dislocated and he was flipped to the ground, his eyes remained wide open, seemingly unable to believe he had been taken down by such a small girl.

In the moment of being thrown down, his other hand suddenly pulled out a whistle hanging from his neck, and he blew a shrill signal.

Xiaoying knew this was bad news and immediately snatched the whistle, then stepped on him, asking: “Who are you signaling?”

The man, knowing he had been exposed, remained silent with a defiant expression, as if to say, “What can you do to me?”

Xiaoying smiled: “If you don’t speak, how would I know you’re from Wei Country? “

The man was startled: “Why would you say that?”

“Your standard language is quite good! But if you want to truly pass as a Dafeng person, you should also change your palate. Who told you to be such an excellent cook, putting mountain Cang pepper in the meat? This spice is only found in Wei Country areas near Jiangzhe, and in Jiangzhe, you can only taste it in restaurants run by Wei Country people. How could a local person, far from Jiangzhe, have such a rare ingredient?”

Her tongue was too sharp; she detected something wrong at the first taste. That numbing sensation on the tip of her tongue couldn’t deceive an experienced person.

The meat was indeed fragrant, but unfortunately, laced with a numbing drug that would render people unconscious!

She rambled on, subtly extracting information. This stationmaster, who could cook Wei Country cuisine, claimed to be a local native, yet didn’t know about specialties from Jiangzhe—it was too absurd.

So when she had pretended to look for local specialties for the stationmaster, she had pulled Shen Jing and her adoptive father to the carriage and quietly told them about the suspicious stationmaster.

During that brief moment in the carriage, they had reached a tacit understanding.

After Xiaoying gave simple instructions on how to proceed, they had all closed their doors to eat, but none touched the food served, instead hiding it under their beds.

In fact, among their group, only the unsuspecting Third Prince and his guards had eaten heartily in front of the stationmaster, consuming everything and luring the assassins into a trap.

Hearing this, the man finally realized what had happened. Having infiltrated Dafeng territory and served as a stationmaster for many years, he had no other hobbies except finding solace in fine cuisine that reminded him of his homeland.

Yet he never expected that the hastily prepared meat for drugging them would arouse suspicion in this young woman.

Thinking of this, he sneered: “You Dafeng dogs! You killed our General Gu Zhi. Today, even if I die, I’ll take you all with me!”

They had sabotaged the bridge earlier.

Yet infuriatingly, the Grand Prince and Mu Hanjiang had somehow survived the broken bridge, escaping by sheer luck. Otherwise, today they would have all died here without a proper burial!

But because of the broken bridge, they had been forced to return to the relay station.

If not for the need to capture the Third Prince alive, the meat would have been laced with poison rather than a sedative.

He had thought that with them drugged, killing a few people would be easy, so he had acted rashly, not waiting for the agreed-upon reinforcements to arrive before attempting to capture them on his own.

Calculating the time, the backup should have reached the vicinity by now.

After the whistle’s blast, the main event of the night would begin!

Thinking of this, the stationmaster laughed arrogantly and shouted in an obscure Wei language toward the outside, brazenly signaling those lying in ambush around the station.

Xiaoying kicked him, dislocating his jaw so he could no longer speak clearly.

Shen Jing, who understood the Wei language, immediately said to Xiaoying: “Young lady, we’re surrounded. They might soon use a barrage of arrows to seal the doors and burn down the station.”

Xiaoying thought for a moment: “Go wake up the Third Prince and his men.”

When Feng Qiwu, who had eaten the drugged meat, was awakened by a bucket of cold water and understood what had happened, he immediately glared and said: “Why are you all standing around? Split into groups and fight our way out! My guards are all highly skilled in martial arts. How dare these Wei people cause trouble?”

But after the prince gave his orders, apart from the few guards attending the Third Prince, no one else moved.

Neither Meng Zhun’s group of rebels nor the Grand Prince’s subordinates obeyed; they all looked at the slender young lady standing with folded arms by the table, seemingly waiting for her orders!

Had they all gone mad? Relying on a small, bewitching concubine to command them in a life-or-death situation?

Just as the Third Prince was about to shout in frustration, the young lady suddenly walked over, grabbed the bound and gagged stationmaster, held him in front of her as a shield, and pushed open a window.

The moment the window opened, more than a dozen arrows rushed in with the cold wind, all embedding themselves in the stationmaster’s body.

Xiaoying dragged his fallen body back as people on both sides closed the windows.

Feng Qiwu watched, dumbfounded, his bovine mouth hanging open without closing.

He saw the young lady calmly pull out one arrow and measure the angle and depth at which the arrowhead had penetrated the body.

Xiaoying made some calculations and said, “These are battlefield crossbows. Judging by the force, they’re ambushed at high positions about five zhang away from the inn. The surroundings are all forested. If we rashly go out, even running at full speed to reach the trees wouldn’t be fast enough, and once in the forest, we’d be trapped in their ambush. Now it’s dark; we’re visible while they’re hidden. It’s not a good opportunity to break through.”

As she spoke, she stood up and looked around, asking Shen Jing: “Have the firewood piles around the station been dealt with?”

Xiaoying had noticed upon arrival that the relay station was surrounded by stacks of firewood. With winter still some time away, preparing so much firewood early was unusual.

Shen Jing replied: “While watering the horses, following the young lady’s instructions, we secretly soaked them with water. They won’t catch fire easily.”

Just then, fire arrows were shot from outside toward the woodpiles, but fortunately, they had been secretly drenched with several large buckets of water by Shen Jing and the others, making them difficult to ignite.

The Third Prince listened in bewilderment. When had she given these instructions? How did the young lady know in advance?