This woman was dressed neatly in a fitted outfit with narrow sleeves. Her hair was simply tied in a masculine-style bun, and her face bore not a trace of makeup. Yet she was extraordinarily beautiful—her hair like spring clouds, eyes like autumn waters, with slightly upturned corners that didn’t appear frivolous. Her jade-like nose was straight and prominent, her cherry lips somewhat wide but full and lustrous. To Feng Miaojun, that slightly pouting lip shape was especially sensual.

New Xia had no shortage of beauties, and the Queen had met many noblewomen, among them countless lovely faces. But compared to the women before her, they were either too rigid or lacking in charm.

Most remarkably, her figure was perfectly proportioned—slender where it should be slender, prominent where it should be prominent. Though her face showed no smile, she still appeared as ripe and full as a spring peach, tempting one to take a bite.

Though Feng Miaojun might slightly surpass her in beauty, she lacked this woman’s mature allure.

When she frowned, she exuded a naturally imposing presence. With this unique temperament, Feng Miaojun could determine after just one glance that this was Yu Haizhen.

Among the current nations, only New Xia and the Xi Kingdom had female State Preceptors.

Behind Yu Haizhen followed a group of generals and civil officials, as if they happened to be passing by. Feng Miaojun knew this place wasn’t far from the south gate, which meant it wasn’t far from the military camp.

The female State Preceptor stepped forward, placing her hand on the captured girl’s forehead, then examining her eyelids and tongue, looking at her neck and arms before waving her hand: “She’s not infected, just a common cold. Let her go.”

When the State Preceptor spoke, how could the head guard not comply? He gave his subordinates a look to release the girl. The young woman slowly regained consciousness, and her parents rushed forward, embracing her with tears of joy.

Escaping death—nothing compared to this moment.

But for Yu Haizhen, it was just a trivial matter. After casually saving a life, she continued forward without stopping, looking hurried. As she passed the black carriage, she cast a glance at Feng Miaojun.

This carriage driver’s earlier judgment had been reasonable and correct.

Of course, this thought merely flashed through her mind. With so many thorny issues to handle now, why would she spare more thought for an insignificant figure?

Feng Miaojun pursed her lips. With so many people around, it wasn’t the right time to reveal her identity. Whether the other party would believe her was uncertain, and rash action could result in being treated as a spy. Besides, Yu Haizhen appeared to be in a hurry.

With her excellent eyesight, Feng Miaojun had noticed in that brief moment Yu Haizhen’s well-hidden fatigue. Her skin was fair and delicate, so others might not notice the pallor of her face.

Understandably so—facing such a powerful enemy as the Yan forces for half a year, with a troublesome Xi King behind her, this female State Preceptor had truly extraordinary problems to worry about.

Looking in the direction of Yu Haizhen’s departure, she could vaguely hear the great State Preceptor asking: “Has truly no one seen the Yan King?”

“Our scouts, including the flying cavalry, have not spotted him…”

Before Feng Miaojun could hear more, the head guard shouted at the two of them: “What are you standing around for? Get moving!”

Chen Dachang hurriedly responded, “Yes, yes!” He raised his whip and struck the horse’s rump. This raised considerable dust, causing the head guard to step back, waving away the dust before his eyes. By the time he was ready to curse, the horse had already pulled the carriage several zhang away.

No one noticed a spider the size of a sesame seed silently attaching itself to his hem.

The black carriage turned east, deliberately choosing places with few people, and soon stopped in front of an earth deity temple.

Building materials were difficult to transport up the high mountains, so Yingong City’s structures were mostly low. This so-called temple was merely a large hole carved into a stone wall with a polished dome, inside which a deity was enshrined. Such local minor deities were officially known as “mountain and marsh spirits.” This area was surrounded by mountains, so naturally, they worshipped mountain spirits, commonly called the Mountain God or Earth God.

Looking up, the two noticed that this so-called “Mountain God” statue had a sunken face, puffy cheeks, and naturally protruding lips. Even dressed in silver armor, it couldn’t hide the fact that it was a monkey. Chen Dachang couldn’t help but smile: “This reminds me of a four-character phrase.”

“Oh?” Feng Miaojun casually asked.

“A monkey dressed in robes.”

“Be careful, trouble starts from the mouth.” Feng Miaojun smiled, pointing to the stone altar, “The Mountain God is probably still active, otherwise there wouldn’t be offerings here.”

The altar was covered with incense ash, and at the side were two bunches of small flowers, their petals somewhat wilted. This meant someone had recently brought flowers as an offering.

Temples that couldn’t manifest miracles wouldn’t receive worship.

Chen Dachang smiled and answered “Yes,” cleaning a stone platform in front of the altar before taking out food and drink. Black carriage drivers were generally disliked, so they usually found deserted places like this to eat, making their behavior not suspicious.

Naturally, their food was far better than that of ordinary carriage drivers.

Having been by Feng Miaojun’s side for too long, Chen Dachang wasn’t particularly concerned with appearances. He devoured two large steamed buns along with roast chicken. As he reached for a third, he suddenly exclaimed: “Wait, why are there only four buns left? I remember there were eight originally.”

He had eaten two, Feng Miaojun held one in her hand, so there should have been five buns remaining.

Feng Miaojun smiled slightly: “Perhaps you miscounted at the beginning.”

Chen Dachang was meticulous in his work and thought he wouldn’t miscount, but when his lady spoke, he recounted.

Eh? There were five buns again. Had he miscounted?

His mind stirred, and he continued eating silently.

As for the fourth bun, he picked it up about to eat but stopped as it reached his mouth. With both hands, he tore it in half.

Inside the creamy yellow bun, there was unmistakably a centipede—less than half an inch long, black and red, wriggling its head and tail at Chen Dachang!

With just one look, they both knew this creature was highly poisonous. How could such a thing be inside a perfectly good steamed bun?

Chen Dachang used a twig to pick out the poisonous insect and looked up: “Deadly poison—one bite would kill a person. Did the bun shop worker harbor a grudge because I gave him two coins too few?” Had he been careless just now and been bitten in the mouth, even if he didn’t die, treatment would have been extremely troublesome.

The two exchanged glances, both knowing something was amiss. The buns had been purchased in a small city five hundred li away—there shouldn’t have been any problems.

Feng Miaojun said calmly: “Throw it away.” She flicked the poisonous insect, which happened to land on the offering table.

After eating until she was sixty percent full, she picked up a bunch of grapes, plucked a few, and casually placed them at the edge of the stone platform.

Chen Dachang noticed her action, his eyes flashing.

Sure enough, the next second, shrill squeaking sounds came from beneath the stone platform. Chen Dachang looked down to see a pair of furry hands and feet exposed on the ground, bound by a celestial binding rope, the other end of which was held by Feng Miaojun.