Even before the end of the first lunar month, the weather in the capital was still cold, and it would be even colder traveling north at this time.
Jiang Zhan’s expression was even colder.
The Princess of Northern Qi had entangled Fourth Sister in a whirlpool of rumors, and he didn’t know how Fourth Sister was faring now.
To make matters worse, he had to escort this troublesome princess to Northern Qi at this very moment.
The carriage suddenly stopped, and the curtain was lifted, revealing a beautiful face with a hint of heroic spirit.
“Jiang Zhan,” Lu Chuchu called out.
Jiang Zhan frowned and said sternly, “Address me as General Jiang. We’re not that familiar.”
Lu Chuchu rolled her eyes and raised her eyebrows, saying, “I have abdominal pain. Let the convoy stop for a moment.”
Jiang Zhan, sitting astride his horse, sneered upon hearing this, “Princess, you’d better behave. Don’t think about escaping again!”
Lu Chuchu’s willow-like eyebrows furrowed in anger, “Who wants to escape? I have abdominal pain.”
This bastard wasn’t nearly as lovable as his sister!
At the same time, Jiang Zhan was thinking: Thankfully, his sister was gentle, considerate, and sensible. If she were like this Northern Qi Princess, he would have beaten her countless times when they were young.
“Not escaping? Wasn’t it the Princess who tried to escape under the pretext of needing to urinate the other day?”
Lu Chuchu’s face reddened as she spat, “Since it didn’t work, of course, I won’t waste effort trying again.”
As she spoke, her face contorted in pain, “Hurry and stop. I have abdominal pain.”
Jiang Zhan looked at her suspiciously, hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Alright, but this time, Princess, don’t try to be clever.”
Lu Chuchu jumped down from the carriage, ignoring the two Great Zhou maids hurriedly following behind her, and walked past the numerous guards towards a spot behind some rocks.
Jiang Zhan leisurely followed.
Lu Chuchu turned back angrily, gritting her teeth, “General Jiang, have some shame!”
Jiang Zhan casually leaned against the rock face, smiling brightly, “If you run away, my life won’t be spared. What use is shame?”
“You—” Lu Chuchu was truly getting anxious.
This time she wasn’t lying, but how could she manage with a grown man standing guard?
“Princess, please hurry. It’s cold. Even if you can bear it, the soldiers will suffer.”
Jiang Zhan had a very poor impression of Lu Chuchu.
Not only had this girl caused trouble for his sister, but she was also willful and tried to escape. If she managed to escape, wouldn’t it cost the soldiers their lives?
Lu Chuchu really couldn’t hold it anymore. She glared fiercely at Jiang Zhan and gave up arguing.
After a while, Lu Chuchu came out, her clothes neatly arranged. She didn’t even look at Jiang Zhan as she walked towards the carriage.
Earlier, she couldn’t afford to argue with this stubborn man, but now she was too embarrassed to look at him again.
Jiang Zhan followed with an impassive face.
The convoy traveled for a while before stopping again.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Chuchu poked her head out.
Jiang Zhan held the reins, gazing into the distance with a grave expression, “The bridge is broken.”
Before them lay a wide river. The once broad bridge had collapsed, with one end plunging into the river, frozen together with the icy water.
After a brief consideration, Jiang Zhan ordered the convoy to cross the river on the ice.
“For safety, please alight from the carriage, Princess.”
Lu Chuchu got down and stood on the bank with a serious expression, “Are you sure getting out of the carriage is safer?”
Based on her experience, she was about to encounter misfortune again.
“The old woman will carry the Princess across the river. You’ll be in the middle of the convoy, ensuring your absolute safety.”
Jiang Zhan was surprised inwardly.
His impression of the Northern Qi Princess was that of a bold and willful girl, yet she was being cautious now.
Soon, the long convoy began crossing the river on the ice.
Jiang Zhan walked right in front of Lu Chuchu, constantly observing the ice conditions.
The more he observed, the more at ease he felt.
The ice layer was quite thick.
Lu Chuchu obediently lay on the old woman’s back but remained vigilant.
Even though she was on the old woman’s back, if something went wrong, who knew who would fall in first?
As she was pondering this, a shout suddenly came from the front, “The ice is cracking!”
Jiang Zhan immediately spread his arms to shield Lu Chuchu, shouting, “Retreat!”
Lu Chuchu’s first reaction was to jump off the old woman’s back.
The old woman, nervous, slipped on her feet, and the person on her back flew off, sliding straight into an ice hole.
For a moment, Jiang Zhan was stunned.
The ice had cracked in front, yet the people walking ahead were fine, while the Northern Qi Princess he was protecting behind him had fallen in.
Out of the entire convoy, only the Northern Qi Princess had fallen in.
After the brief shock, Jiang Zhan quickly took off his heavy cotton coat and dove into the ice hole.
“General—” The soldiers, reacting a bit slower, shouted anxiously.
Submerged under the ice, Lu Chuchu was immediately engulfed by the cold, her entire body freezing almost instantly. Her first reaction was to curse loudly in her mind.
She knew it would be her again!
Originally, with her martial arts skills, she wasn’t some delicate noble lady who needed to be carried across the river by an old woman. She had only considered her luck and didn’t dare to be willful.
And the result?
Lu Chuchu cursed inwardly but, experienced as she was, kept her mouth tightly shut and relaxed her body.
This would greatly increase her chances of survival.
She was a good swimmer, but unfortunately, the fall was too sudden, and the river water was bitingly cold, robbing her of the ability to save herself.
A large hand grasped Lu Chuchu’s wrist, pushing her upwards.
Lu Chuchu breathed a sigh of relief, cooperating by relaxing her body.
Jiang Zhan was even more surprised.
It was rare to see someone so calm after falling into an ice hole.
It seemed this Northern Qi Princess wasn’t entirely without merit.
After sending Lu Chuchu up, Jiang Zhan was already stiff with cold, but fortunately, he was quickly pulled up by the soldiers.
The convoy reached the other side of the river and, due to this accident, stopped their journey, setting up camp by the roadside and lighting bonfires.
Lu Chuchu, having changed her clothes and drunk hot ginger tea, sat by the fire to warm up, still shivering all over.
Jiang Zhan, who had also changed his clothes, rubbed his hands not far away, his lips purple from the cold.
Damn, it was too cold. In the future, if anyone assigned him to escort someone again, he’d give them a piece of his mind!
Lu Chuchu glanced at Jiang Zhan and said sincerely, “Thank you, General Jiang, for saving me.”
Jiang Zhan felt somewhat ashamed, “It was my fault for not protecting the Princess well.”
But this was truly unpredictable!
He had thought the Northern Qi Princess would throw a tantrum, blaming the soldiers who had cracked the ice surface but didn’t fall in, or vent her anger on him as the leader. He didn’t expect the Northern Qi Princess to be so magnanimous, not even mentioning it.
Jiang Zhan’s poor impression of Lu Chuchu began to improve.
“Now you understand, don’t you?” Lu Chuchu said softly.
“Understand what?”
Lu Chuchu smiled bitterly, “In all my years, the two years I spent in the Great Zhou capital were my most fortunate days. Yet you discovered me and are sending me back. Now, before even setting foot on Northern Qi territory, my bad luck has started again…”
After listening to Lu Chuchu recount her illustrious history of misfortunes from childhood to now, Jiang Zhan was dumbfounded.
This… this was too tragic.
It was truly remarkable that this girl hadn’t become twisted in personality after living through all this.
“Is this why the Princess tried to escape midway?”
Lu Chuchu laughed self-mockingly, “What else? Did General Jiang think I was just an ignorant little girl running away from home for fun?”
Jiang Zhan laughed dryly, feeling a bit of sympathy in his heart. Suddenly, an idea struck him, “If the Princess always encounters bad luck in Northern Qi and wants to live elsewhere, it’s not difficult.”
Lu Chuchu’s eyes lit up, “You have a solution?”
“It’s simple. As the saying goes, ‘Marry a rooster, follow the rooster; marry a dog, follow the dog.’ You could just marry someone from Great Zhou or Western Liang. Don’t consider someone from Southern Lan, as you’re on good terms with my Fourth Sister, and marrying a Southern Lan person would put her in a difficult position.”
Lu Chuchu was momentarily stunned.
Jiang Zhan, quite pleased with his cleverness, said proudly, “Isn’t this method much better than the Princess running away from home?”
Lu Chuchu came to her senses and scrutinized that handsome face, pale from the cold, saying meaningfully, “General Jiang makes a good point.”
Jiang Zhan suddenly sensed a hint of danger but couldn’t understand why.
It must be an illusion caused by the extreme cold!
“If the Princess has rested enough, shall we continue our journey?”
Lu Chuchu looked at Jiang Zhan and smiled, “Mm-hmm.”
Jiang Zhan: “…” He felt as if something terrifying was about to happen.
Lu Chuchu sat in the carriage, leaning against the wall with a smile.
Marrying into Great Zhou seemed like a good, once-and-for-all solution. Perhaps she could even continue being the second shopkeeper of Lu Sheng Xiang.
Thinking about those rumors made her angry. She was the second shopkeeper, yet they said she was just a shop assistant!
As Lu Chuchu thought about this, she secretly lifted the corner of the curtain and peeked outside.
Suddenly, she felt that going home now wasn’t so bad. Spring in Northern Qi was just around the corner.