The grand wedding of Yao and Jin was truly a joyous occasion.

That night, the Princess held Feng Miaojun in her chambers for conversation by candlelight. The servants could hear laughter and cheerful voices through the door. By noon the next day, many people knew that Princess Hanyue had shown great favor to Feng Miaojun.

By the evening of the third day, they had not found a suitable city-state for lodging. The commanding general simply found a sheltered mountain valley and ordered the entire army to make camp and rest.

There were only two small mountain villages nearby, with the next major human settlement still thirty li away, but the scenery was exceptionally beautiful. Although it was nearly October, the climate in Jin’s heartland remained mild with no snow. The mountains were covered with red autumn leaves, falling silently with no one to witness.

The Princess became inspired and wanted to go up the mountain to view the scenery. Her attendants tried to stop her, but she smiled sadly: “After leaving Jin territory, I don’t know if I’ll ever see such a sight again.” Jin lands were known for red leaves that, reflecting the sunset glow, looked like a fire burning across the sky. Such brilliantly magnificent scenery was rare elsewhere. Seeing Princess Hanyue’s eyes glistening, her attendants dared not persuade her further.

A group of nobles were seized by the desire to explore, and Feng Miaojun had no choice but to accompany Princess Hanyue up the mountain. Halfway up, the Princess noticed that while everyone else brought guards and servants, only Feng Miaojun was followed by several cooks.

The Princess asked curiously: “What are they for?” People of the time enjoyed composing elegant prose and poetry, and she had clients skilled in these arts following behind. Faced with such beautiful scenery, why would Feng Miaojun bring coarse cooking men up the mountain?

Feng Miaojun smiled: “I heard from villagers that this place has unusual earth energy, and the sugar maples on the mountain can still produce sugar in late autumn. Why don’t we collect some sap and have people boil it into maple sugar? Then the Princess can taste the flavor of home even when in Yao country?”

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone exclaimed in admiration. Composing poems and rhapsodies was refined but commonplace—Caixing City hosted more than ten literary gatherings daily, and would the Jin Princess lack literary talents around her? Feng Miaojun’s sudden inspiration was novel and interesting. When Princess Hanyue went to Yao country, she could think of Feng Miaojun whenever she tasted this maple sugar.

Listen to how they flattered the official—yet they did it so freshly and elegantly without falling into vulgarity. No wonder the Princess liked her so much. Several people secretly admired her insight; they had also heard the villagers speaking, so why hadn’t they thought of this?

Princess Hanyue was excited by the suggestion and clapped her hands: “That sounds fascinating! How is it made?”

People of that time already knew how to refine white and brown sugar, mainly from sugarcane and sugar beets. But maple sugar, due to its source material, was produced in small quantities and reserved for court nobles. When eaten, it released a woody fragrance that melted away, leaving a hint of caramel on the tip of the tongue, with layers of flavor much richer than granulated sugar.

Princess Hanyue had certainly tasted it before but didn’t know how it was made. On this marriage journey thousands of li away, she wouldn’t bring such unrelated items to Yao. Now, recalling its taste, her mouth suddenly watered.

The group had just walked into a maple grove. Feng Miaojun gave a few instructions, and the cooks behind her entered the forest to look for sugar maples. There are many varieties of maple trees, but only a few types, known as sugar maples, can produce sugar. Ordinarily, they only produce sap in spring, when they send the sugar stored in their roots during autumn and winter to nourish newly sprouting buds. Once the buds grow into leaves, the flow of sugar stops and the maple tree no longer produces sugar sap.

This period is very short.

After finding sugar maples, the cooks made small holes in the trunks, inserted copper tubes at an angle with proper sealing to prevent leakage, and placed large water skins or wooden buckets beneath the tubes. Soon everyone saw transparent liquid flowing from the copper tubes, dripping into the containers below at a fairly quick rate—about one drop per breath.

Princess Hanyue found it interesting and had someone roll up her sleeves: “Let me try too.” She selected a tree and inserted a copper tube.

Other nobles also scattered about, following her example.

Before long, more than thirty sugar maples in the forest had tubes inserted. Feng Miaojun moved toward the edge, wanting to find a few more trees.

She had only walked about ten steps when Tie Xinning came over to block her: “Don’t stray from the group. Be mindful of danger.”

In the fading twilight, the maple forest had already darkened. After sunset, white mist began to rise in the mountains.

This wasn’t deep wilderness, but it was certainly remote countryside. She wasn’t concerned about ordinary wild animals but feared…

Feng Miaojun nodded, taking his warning, and then said to everyone: “The sky has darkened, and it will take another hour to collect all the sap. Shouldn’t we return first?”

By now the light was very dim, and night would fall in less than half an hour. Princess Hanyue’s excitement hadn’t fully subsided, but she knew they should return, as the forest wasn’t safe at night. She sighed: “Let’s go back.”

Feng Miaojun looked back and saw the dark forest and rustling winds as if monsters were hiding within.

There were designated people to watch over the collected sap, bring it back to the main camp, and boil it down overnight. From several hundred jin of sap, they would ultimately produce only about ten jin of maple sugar. In Jin territory, it was typically spread on specially made crisp cakes. A few bites of the sweet, crisp delicacy could brighten even the gloomiest mood.

Princess Hanyue ate two bites and smiled faintly, but tears rolled down her face.

This rare sweet treat was only available to the privileged. Feng Miaojun also ate two pieces before returning to her tent to rest.

The night passed uneventfully.

After traveling four clear days on the road, the Jin capital was now more than three hundred li away. Even riding the finest horse capable of covering a thousand li, one couldn’t return in a single day and night.

Further west lay the White Elephant Mountain Range, towering and majestic for ten thousand li.

Having reached this point, both Feng Miaojun and Tie Xinning relaxed, especially the latter who received a message from Jin capital:

Mo Tizhun’s body double for Feng Miaojun, left in Caixing City, had died suddenly at home two days after the wedding escort departed.

Mo Tizhun and his disciples had several methods of communication. This message tube was delivered by a black gull with two hearts, capable of long-distance flight. Cultivators like Tie Xinning had ways to extract one heart and keep it with them. When Mo Tizhun released the black gull, it would fly to Tie Xinning following the connection between its two hearts, exchanging the carried message for its own heart.

Feng Miaojun had personally witnessed its speed—at least five times faster than carrier pigeons, not exaggerating to describe it as swift as lightning.

Tie Xinning said: “The body double was killed only after we were far away, indicating that the opponent remains in Caixing City. Now that the double is dead, he still faces a dilemma, making it unlikely he’ll pursue us.”

Feng Miaojun nodded, and that evening she burned three incense sticks facing east, toward Caixing City. The body double was arranged by Mo Tizhun and killed by Yun Ya, but she couldn’t say it was unrelated to her.

Tie Xinning was right. After the body double’s death, Yun Ya probably realized he had been deceived, but he still didn’t know Feng Miaojun’s whereabouts. Thus, he could only make two deductions: either she was in Caixing City, or she had already left.

That’s all for today. From tomorrow on, please protect your hearts well.

Also, surprisingly, no one has guessed the hidden message that Miao Jun left before departing.