The washed coarse rice went into the pot, and Shao Mingyuan straightened up.

“Miss Li, I’ll go outside for a moment.”

Qiao Zhao’s eyes flickered.

What was he going out to do again?

“Please do as you wish, General Shao.” Seeing him walk outside, Qiao Zhao suddenly remembered something and called out, “General Shao—”

Shao Mingyuan turned back.

“It’s still raining outside. If you’re going out, put on the grass hat. Binglu, go to that room and get the grass hat.”

Shao Mingyuan smiled. “No need, I’ll get it myself.”

He quickly disappeared from the doorway. Binglu blinked and whispered, “Miss, this servant will go see what General Shao is doing.”

A moment later, Binglu returned and crouched beside Qiao Zhao, whispering, “Miss, General Shao went outside, wearing the grass hat he wove. But it’s still raining outside, so his clothes will get soaked again once he goes out. What do you think he went out to do?”

Qiao Zhao looked toward the doorway and shook her head. “I don’t know either.”

She wasn’t a worm in his belly—how could she guess everything?

“Miss, did you see? Those two villains are tied up outside. What if General Shao hasn’t returned yet, and those two break free from their ropes? Wouldn’t we be in danger?” Binglu’s eyes showed terror as she spoke. “Miss, let me borrow the fire poker.”

The little maid grabbed the fire poker and ran out quickly before Qiao Zhao could say anything.

Soon, two screams came from outside.

Binglu ran back holding the fire poker, her expression relaxed. “That’s better now. This servant gave each of them a good whack.”

Qiao Zhao: “…”

“Did you kill them?”

Very well, if they were dead, Shao Mingyuan wouldn’t have to face a dilemma.

Whose maid was this anyway?

Binglu shook her head repeatedly. “No, no! This servant is too timid to kill anyone!”

Miss Qiao looked up at the sky speechlessly.

Too timid to kill, so she knocked them unconscious instead. Forgive her limited experience—she’d never seen such a “timid” maid.

“Stir the rice porridge so it doesn’t burn.” Not knowing when Shao Mingyuan would return and worried the rice porridge might be ruined, Qiao Zhao reminded her.

Her body was too weak and needed food to restore strength; even if eating made her nauseous, she had to swallow it.

“Binglu.”

“Yes!”

Having resolved the threat, the little maid was more cheerful.

“Remember to learn how to cook porridge when we get back.”

The little maid’s head immediately drooped. “Yes.”

In the stove, the firewood burned vigorously, occasionally crackling. The water in the large pot gradually boiled, with rice grains floating up and down.

Qiao Zhao wiped the ash from the back of her hand, but found it got blacker the more she wiped. She simply let it be and stared at the dancing flames, thinking: What did Shao Mingyuan go out to do?

Outside, the rain had lessened somewhat, but upon leaving the house, clothes still got soaked quickly.

Shao Mingyuan finally found what he was looking for under a tree, bending down to dig up several wild ginger plants.

He straightened up, looked toward the house, smiled, and started walking back. Halfway there, he stopped and raised an eyebrow.

The young man, drenched like a drowned rat, had already spotted Shao Mingyuan. He smiled, showing white teeth, and ran over eagerly. “General, this subordinate finally found you.”

“Chen Guang, didn’t you have stomach trouble? Why didn’t you wait for the rain to stop before traveling?”

The disheveled personal guard’s eyes flickered as he wiped away rainwater. “This subordinate saw the heavy rain and feared something might happen, so I caught up. General, why is Miss Li’s carriage so badly damaged? How is Miss Li?”

Shao Mingyuan looked deeply at his guard.

Usually, he didn’t notice this fellow was such a chatterbox.

“The carriage overturned. Miss Li’s condition isn’t good.”

“Overturned? That can’t be—” The guard was shocked.

Shao Mingyuan stared at his guard for a moment, then asked in a heavy voice, “Chen Guang, are you hiding something from me?”

Under the general’s imposing presence, the guard’s legs went weak, and he knelt on one knee in the mud. “General, please forgive me. This subordinate—”

He glanced up at the general’s dark expression, quickly lowered his head again, and confessed honestly, “This subordinate damaged Miss Li’s carriage shaft.”

Upon hearing this, Shao Mingyuan’s expression turned cold. He took a deep breath and asked, “Why?”

Could it be that he didn’t have many trustworthy people around him, and they were all causing problems?

His gaze fell on Chen Guang kneeling in the mud, his expression bitter.

This shouldn’t be right. Chen Guang, like Ye Luo, had followed him for a long time—he had saved him from a pile of corpses years ago.

“Speak! Why did you do this?”

Hearing the anger and disappointment in the general’s voice, the young guard nearly cried with fear. No longer daring to hide anything, he poured out the whole story: “This subordinate thought that if Miss Li’s carriage broke down and the general caught up, wouldn’t that be the perfect opportunity to be a hero saving a beauty?”

His general knew how to repair carriages!

The young general had thought of countless reasons, but never this one. He was stunned.

The guard kneeling in the mud decided to come clean completely: “Miss Li’s carriage wasn’t very good, and that horse was too old to run fast. Even if the shaft broke, at most, they just couldn’t continue traveling. This subordinate thought it through repeatedly—there couldn’t possibly be any danger—”

Meeting the general’s dark gaze, the guard lowered his head. “It’s all this subordinate’s fault. Please punish this subordinate, General.”

Shao Mingyuan’s anger flared as he asked coldly, “You thought it through repeatedly? Did you consider the heavy rain? Did you consider that Miss Li picked up other passengers along the way? Did you consider that Miss Li’s constitution isn’t like the women of the Northern Territories, and is even weaker than ordinary young ladies in the capital?”

He had originally wanted to protect her safety, yet instead became the one who caused her suffering.

The guard’s face turned pale.

Had the general’s beloved gotten hurt? Then hadn’t he become a criminal?

“This subordinate was reckless! This subordinate has wronged the general!” The guard drew his sword and aimed it at his neck.

Shao Mingyuan kicked the sword away with one foot.

“General?”

“Keep that muddled head of yours for now and redeem yourself through service!”

The guard stared blankly at Shao Mingyuan and asked, “Are you going to hand this subordinate over to Miss Li for punishment?”

Shao Mingyuan closed his eyes.

Getting angry with such a foolish subordinate wasn’t worth it!

“Return to the city as quickly as possible. Bring a carriage and several sets of women’s clothing. Be careful not to alert anyone.” Shao Mingyuan thought for a moment and added, “For Miss Li’s clothes, choose azure tops and white skirts. For the maid’s clothes, choose light green. Also, bring two more guards. Go quickly and return quickly.”

“Yes, sir!” The guard got up and ran off, but after running several yards, he suddenly returned, pulled his sword from the mud, sheathed it, and sprinted away.

Shao Mingyuan returned to the house. Qiao Zhao looked up when she heard movement. Seeing him completely soaked, with rainwater dripping from his clothes and quickly pooling on the ground, she said, “General Shao, please come warm yourself by the fire.”

Shao Mingyuan held a handful of wild ginger, looking at the serene young lady’s gentle smile, and suddenly felt somewhat guilty.

He wondered if Miss Li would throw him out once he confessed the truth.