She called Shixi and Chongshan “big brother,” and now there was another “Brother Zhu,” yet she only called him General Shao.

The young general was somewhat displeased.

Since it was like this, the two tails that had been following them for days should be rooted out and dealt with.

“Zhaozhao, don’t be sad. If Uncle Zhu’s death wasn’t an accident, then it must be connected to Governor Li and his people. We’ll deal with these people sooner or later, won’t we?”

Qiao Zhao nodded.

Shao Mingyuan secretly observed her profile, thinking with considerable unease: Was that Brother Zhu’s childhood sweetheart with Zhaozhao?

He had no childhood sweetheart, only “bamboo horses,” and there were three of them…

Qiao Zhao noticed the man beside her observing her and turned to look at him questioningly.

Shao Mingyuan cleared his throat lightly: “Let’s root out the tail behind us today. It’s time to make the other party anxious.”

They had finished visiting all the Qiao family’s old friends. Except for obtaining that ledger from the Xie family, the other families yielded no results. It was time for them to go from defense to offense.

The country road had few pedestrians, and the trees on both sides were lush and tall. Though it was autumn, they remained verdant.

Southern autumn and winter were still green.

Shao Mingyuan bent down, picked up several stones, and played with them in his hand.

“The first tail is behind the ginkgo tree to our left rear,” he whispered close to Qiao Zhao’s ear. “The second tail is more cunning. Can Zhaozhao guess where he’s hiding now?”

Besides the man’s low voice by her ear, there was also the rustling sound of wind blowing through leaves. Qiao Zhao closed her eyes briefly, and inspiration struck: “In a tree?”

Shao Mingyuan nodded with a smile.

His Zhaozhao was indeed clever and adorable.

Qiao Zhao paused: “That tail is in a tree, which means he was lying in ambush there from the start? Could it be that he plans to attack us today?”

Shao Mingyuan smiled dismissively: “We stayed too long at the Zhu family today, much longer than at the other families. Someone must have a guilty conscience and wants to strike first.”

Speaking of this, his expression turned cold, his handsome features seeming to frost over as he chuckled low: “He probably thinks this Marquis Guanjun is unworthy of his reputation. Zhaozhao, watch me root out those two tails for you.”

Qiao Zhao smiled at this: “General Shao makes it sound so easy. It reminds me of something from childhood.”

“Mm?”

“Back then, Uncle Zhu often brought Brother Zhu to play in Xingzi Grove. Brother Zhu liked using a slingshot to shoot sparrows and always talked like that.”

The young general’s expression tightened: “Uh, is that so?”

Shooting sparrows?

What was there to boast about in front of a girl? Did he roast the sparrows after shooting them down to make the girl happy?

Shao Mingyuan was once again certain that he didn’t like that Brother Zhu at all!

With a sour feeling in his heart, the young general flung his hand with full force, sending a stone flying toward the left rear.

As a scream rang out, he threw all the stones in his hand toward a tree not far ahead without changing expression.

The stones came one after another, appearing randomly thrown, but the person hiding in the tree was horrified to discover that all the stones were aimed at his vital points.

If he wanted to dodge, he would have to jump down from the tree, revealing himself.

An expert’s reaction happens in an instant. The man decisively jumped down from the treetop, landing right in front of Qiao Zhao and Shao Mingyuan.

“Zhaozhao, don’t move.” Shao Mingyuan dropped this warning, drew his long sword from his waist, and the sharp blade light instantly enveloped the man.

The two began fighting.

The scattered pedestrians on the road hurried to hide far away, afraid of getting involved in trouble.

Report to officials? Don’t be ridiculous—with skills like theirs, those constables would be useless even if they came, and might even blame the reporter for being a busybody.

The road was cleared of all pedestrians. Qiao Zhao stood not far away, watching the two men fighting intensely, her hands at her sides unconsciously clenching.

It was the person from the portrait!

This was the murderer who had killed her family!

Qiao Zhao’s whole body tensed, trembling like a fallen leaf.

This person had finally appeared and was fighting with Shao Mingyuan, seemingly not at a disadvantage.

This was the first time she had seen someone who could match Shao Mingyuan in martial prowess.

This person’s skills were even more formidable than she had originally imagined. For a governor to have such an expert by his side was truly surprising.

Qiao Zhao’s gaze toward Shao Mingyuan carried undisguised concern.

Though she believed the man would be fine, she couldn’t help worrying.

Reason could suppress emotion, but couldn’t make it disappear.

Miss Qiao thought this was probably what they meant by “concern leads to confusion.”

A faint sound reached her ears. She looked in that direction and saw the scout Shao Mingyuan had struck earlier crawling away bit by bit on the ground, leaving bloody trails behind him.

Qiao Zhao’s eyes narrowed.

Injured this badly and still trying to escape?

She glanced at Shao Mingyuan.

Better not distract him at this moment. She could handle one severely wounded man herself.

Miss Qiao looked around, picked up a stone, lifted her skirt, and walked quickly toward the fleeing scout, avoiding the blood on the ground.

“Please wait a moment,” Miss Qiao called out.

The girl’s voice was sweet and soft, like spring wind carrying flower fragrance in March.

The severely injured scout instinctively turned back.

Miss Qiao raised her hand and calmly smacked the stone against the man’s head.

Seeing the man fall motionless at her feet, Qiao Zhao sighed in relief and turned around expressionlessly.

Though Shao Mingyuan appeared completely focused on fighting Liu Hu, he had kept part of his attention on Qiao Zhao.

He knew the first tail he had struck was either dead or severely injured and wouldn’t threaten Qiao Zhao’s safety, but he hadn’t expected that quiet girl to suddenly walk toward the escaping scout and knock him out with a stone.

Thinking of the girl striking someone with a stone, then seeing her current calm expression, Shao Mingyuan’s lips curved up. He suddenly moved aside, deliberately showing an opening, and captured Yang Hu in one move.

With swift action, Shao Mingyuan first severed the man’s hand tendons, then dislocated his jaw.

Qiao Zhao walked step by step to Shao Mingyuan, staring at Yang Hu with icy eyes.

This person had once accompanied Governor Li to visit her grandfather, taciturn and unremarkable, like all dutiful guards.

The Qiao family was simple, living casually. At that time, the grandmother had prepared meals for this man no worse than those at the main table. When the grandmother’s chief maid saw him eating with relish, she even sent several extra bowls of rice.

When this man attacked her parents and family, had he ever thought of these kindnesses?

Naturally not. A beast who had lost his humanity—how could he remember when he was treated as human?

Seeing Qiao Zhao’s strange expression, Shao Mingyuan patted her arm: “Zhaozhao, let’s talk about whatever it is when we get back.”

Qiao Zhao came to her senses and nodded heavily.

Having endured for so long, she could wait.

Governor Li waited and waited for Yang Hu to return, but instead received news: the body of a scout sent by County Magistrate Wang to track Marquis Guanjun had been found on a country road!