As his gaze swept over them, Yin Gezhi couldn’t describe what he was feeling. No wonder Guan Feng Yue seemed to have divine assistance, with information flowing quickly and secretly. Even when he discovered the pastry shop, he couldn’t uncover her network of connections. So all these people from the Wei Kingdom had been under her control!
Was he angry? Of course, he was angry. After all, these people had received salaries from the Wei court and should have remained loyal to Wei. Yet when the Guan family incident occurred, they all abandoned their official positions and left Lidu and Wei Kingdom with their entire families.
His father’s wariness of Guan Canghai wasn’t without reason.
The wind blew, stirring their clothes in the heavy atmosphere.
Seeing that neither those standing nor those kneeling were speaking, Feng Yue broke the silence with an “Aiyou” and stepped forward to ease the tension: “Why is everyone just standing around? Are we waiting for someone to notice something’s wrong on Xiangyu Street and round us all up? Let’s get in the carriages. While it’s still early, we should try to reach the next major city before dark.”
Yin Gezhi withdrew his gaze and turned to board the carriage. As he left, those kneeling below finally breathed easier and stood up. Madam Qiu pulled Feng Yue aside and whispered: “Young Mistress, you only said you had a way to take us back to Wei, not that you’d have the Crown Prince take us back!”
This was too frightening. Though they had grievances with the Wei royal family, they only felt guilt toward the Crown Prince. After all, he had been a capable military commander with both strategy and tactics and had led them to victory before. They had left without a word to him back then, never explaining anything. Now meeting again… it was truly too embarrassing!
Feng Yue gave a dry laugh: “Madam, I didn’t want this either, but with all our recognizable faces, it would be difficult to pass through checkpoints smoothly. Isn’t it more convenient with the Crown Prince? He happens to be returning to the kingdom too!”
“How can you be so easy-minded about this?” Shi Chong leaned in, casting a fearful glance at the carriage where Yin Gezhi sat, then lowered his voice: “General Guan’s death is connected to the Crown Prince!”
Her smile faltered as Feng Yue lowered her eyes: “I know.”
“Then why still…”
“Circumstances force our hand.” Shrugging, Feng Yue looked around at the people who had gathered around her and said seriously: “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Concern filled everyone’s eyes. Madam Qiu sighed and patted the back of her hand: “Take care of yourself. We’ll keep watch for you too.”
“All right.”
Sitting in the carriage, Yin Gezhi tilted his head slightly and could see the scene outside through the fluttering curtains.
A group of former generals had formed a circle around her, like her family relatives, murmuring something to her. Feng Yue nodded obediently, her small frame standing straight, finally showing a hint of backbone.
But it was only a hint. The once-exceptional female general was now powerless with severed hand tendons. No matter how straight she stood, she could never return to her former self.
His hand tightened slightly as Yin Gezhi closed his eyes briefly.
When Feng Yue boarded the carriage, her smile was particularly fawning, making him extremely uncomfortable.
“Your Highness,” she said, “these people are used to living freely, and they were once loyal to the throne and country. They only came with me to Wu because they grew weary.”
These words were meant to save some face for him – after all, the royal family’s dignity was very important! She couldn’t let him think that in these people’s hearts, the Wei royal family wasn’t worth serving, could she?
Even though that was exactly what they thought.
As the initial shock slowly faded, Yin Gezhi’s expression became perfectly calm again. Looking at his face, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
“Coming and going is their freedom. After all, they haven’t signed any contracts of servitude,” he said.
Feng Yue grew more anxious, swallowing before asking: “When you say that, does it mean you won’t make things difficult for them?”
Glancing at her sideways, Yin Gezhi sneered: “How do you think I would make things difficult for them? Have them bound and thrown in prison as soon as we enter Lidu?”
Feng Yue nodded repeatedly! That was exactly what she thought!
After nodding, she realized something was wrong and quickly shook her head: “Please don’t do that!”
Looking at her deeply, Yin Gezhi thought that even if he wanted to be good, this person wouldn’t believe him. So he might as well be the villain.
Giving her a particularly wicked look, Yin Gezhi said coldly: “Whether I do that or not depends on your performance.”
Performance? Feng Yue was stunned, her face immediately showing distress. The journey was already tiring enough, and now she had to perform.
But considering he always kept his word, she gritted her teeth and thought, fine, she would perform. After all, she was used to fawning over him anyway!
So during the journey that followed, everyone watched in amazement as Feng Yue ran back and forth in an extremely servile manner. When Yin Gezhi needed a seat, she wiped it clean with her handkerchief first. When he wanted water, she presented it with both hands. When they camped in the forest at night, when Yin Gezhi complained that the makeshift pillow of folded clothes was uncomfortable, she offered her thigh, fanning him while yawning and humming little tunes.
Luo Hao dragged Yin Yanzhong away to hunt wild game, asking as they walked: “What’s going on? Has the Young Mistress fallen for the Crown Prince?”
“Well, back in Wei, which young lady didn’t fancy the Crown Prince? Though our Young Mistress was fierce in battle, she’s still a young lady after all. It’s normal for her to fancy the Crown Prince.”
“But…” Luo Hao was extremely worried: “Leaving aside whether the Crown Prince fancies our Young Mistress or not, just considering General Guan’s matter – the Crown Prince has always protected the royal family, I fear…”
Speaking of this, Yin Yanzhong also became melancholic. They had all watched Guan Qingyue grow up; this girl was honest and stubborn. Faced with such a difficult situation, what should she do?
They didn’t hold anything against the Crown Prince. After all, many of them had been at the Battle of Pingchang and could understand his feelings. Though he had his faults, the major blame lay with Wei’s emperor, the Court Director, and those who had clamored for General Guan’s immediate execution.
However, the Crown Prince was too obedient, always listening to his father. Even if he appeared rebellious once or twice on the surface, in his heart he still sided with his father. Moreover, since birth, he had resided in the Eastern Palace. Though never officially named Crown Prince, the emperor had treated him as such, letting him participate in state affairs and command armies. Under such favor, even if the Crown Prince still had virtue in his heart, he couldn’t possibly oppose the emperor over a false case without any evidence.
Both men sighed deeply, one gazing woefully at the sky, the other looking dejectedly at the ground. Then two arrows shot out – a bird fell from the sky, and a rabbit dropped to the ground.
When Yin Gezhi awoke, the aroma of roasted meat had already filled the air.
Madam Qiu sat opposite, roasting rabbit and bird. Seeing him open his eyes, she was about to call Feng Yue. However, the Crown Prince raised his hand, gesturing for her to stay quiet.
To be honest, Madam Qiu hadn’t been very fond of the Crown Prince during this journey. She cared deeply for Feng Yue, and seeing him torment the girl had caused her some discontent. Everyone knew Yin Chenbi was notorious for his romantic escapades throughout Lidu, never truly caring for anyone, even ignoring the secondary consorts who had been brought back. He had even sent them all home when leaving Wei. What was the point of Feng Yue fawning over such a man?
Yet now, Feng Yue was sleeping against a tree trunk, drooling, and the Crown Prince slowly propped himself up, actually placed a makeshift pillow of clothes beside her, and reached behind her neck. With one gentle embrace, he peeled her away from the tree trunk and laid her on the pillow.
Everyone around was half-asleep, only Madam Qiu watched with wide eyes, astounded by Yin Gezhi’s rare show of gentleness.
His movements weren’t particularly gentle, even somewhat rough, yet remarkably Feng Yue didn’t wake. She comfortably smacked her lips against the pillow.
This scene was, how to put it, strangely heartwarming.
“Y-Your Highness,” coming to her senses, Madam Qiu said softly, “the rabbit is ready. Would you like a leg?”
Yin Gezhi turned back, nodding courteously. Taking the rabbit leg, he began eating elegantly.
When dawn broke, everyone awoke, complaining of neck and back pain. Feng Yue stretched and opened her eyes to find half a fragrant rabbit presented before her.
“Oh my, is there meat to eat?” Her eyes brightened with delight as she took it, ready to dig in, her small white canines showing. However, glancing up to see Yin Gezhi’s cold expression, she paused and offered the rabbit back ingratiatingly: “Why don’t you eat first?”
“I don’t like rabbits,” he said, looking at her with disdain and turning his head away.
So Feng Yue contentedly began gnawing away by herself.
As they continued their journey, Feng Yue noticed Madam Qiu’s strange expression, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
“What’s wrong?” During a rest stop, she grabbed her to ask.
Madam Qiu looked at her and sighed softly: “Nothing, just thinking the rabbit meat was quite tasty.”
What nonsense was this? Feng Yue looked completely puzzled. Seeing she didn’t want to say more, she didn’t press further, continuing to stay by Yin Gezhi’s side, performing well.
As they approached Wei’s border, everyone relaxed a bit since the journey had been smooth so far.
Unexpectedly, just as they relaxed, assassins appeared.
After such a long time, their route out of Wu Kingdom had surely been discovered. Moreover, with their escorts having returned to Bu Yin City near the border, the Crown Prince traveling with a group of “common people” looked like an easy target.
As mentioned before, many in the Wu Kingdom were unfriendly toward Wei. They didn’t want Wu to ally with Wei, much less see Wei regain its former glory. So after discussion, they decided to set up a large ambush of fifty men at the border, ready to assassinate them upon arrival.
These past few days, Feng Yue had been so worn out by Yin Gezhi that she couldn’t sleep well at night. If it wasn’t getting up to pour him water, it was making him food in the middle of the night, so during daytime travel, she was constantly sleeping.
When the carriage suddenly stopped, with chattering noises outside, Feng Yue, lying on Yin Gezhi’s lap, furrowed her brows. She wanted to cover her ears, but her hands were too tired. Half-asleep, she silently wished for two hands that required no strength to block out the noise.
Just as she thought this, someone covered her ears. Broad, warm hands instantly blocked out the chaos outside.
Her brows relaxed. Feng Yue nuzzled comfortably and fell into a peaceful sleep.