The town of Shu Zhen, though small, bustled with activity as the closest settlement to the capital in He Province. Its main street remained brightly lit even at night, lined with various food stalls. Travelers sat on low stools, savoring dumplings and pancakes with gusto.

Jiang Xu, familiar with the area, led Ming Tan directly to the finest inn in town.

“Welcome, honored guests! Will you be dining or staying the night?” A waiter, with a cloth draped over his shoulder, eagerly ushered them inside.

“We’ll stay,” Jiang Xu replied as he crossed the threshold.

“This way, please,” the waiter guided them to the counter. “Innkeeper, these guests require lodging!”

“One superior room for one night,” Jiang Xu stated, placing a silver ingot on the counter before the innkeeper could respond.

“Certainly! We serve food and drink until the Hour of the Boar. Just let the staff know if you need anything sent to your room,” the innkeeper said warmly, noting their refined appearance.

Jiang Xu nodded slightly as he and Ming Tan followed the waiter upstairs.

Though the finest in town, this inn paled in comparison to the capital’s establishments. The superior room’s decor failed to impress Ming Tan, who had never stayed outside her residence before. Even at Lingmiao Temple, she had replaced all furnishings with her own.

Initially, Ming Tan thought she could adapt, but after dining and washing up, she found herself unable to sleep. Her body seemed to reject the unfamiliar bedding, leaving her tense and uncomfortable.

The day’s journey had taken its toll. While on horseback, she had felt only the jostling, but now her inner thighs burned from chafing against the saddle. Unsure if the skin was broken or bruised, she had been too embarrassed to bathe properly, only wiping down the rest of her body with warm water.

“Can’t sleep?” Jiang Xu inquired.

Ming Tan considered telling the truth but, recalling her husband’s efforts to bring her here, decided against complaining. “I’m just not used to the bed. I’ll fall asleep soon. You should rest too, husband.”

Seeing her obediently close her eyes, Jiang Xu asked no further questions.

Ming Tan maintained steady, even breaths, enduring the discomfort through the night. In her hazy state during the early hours, she thought she sensed her husband stirring beside her.

Meanwhile, Shu Jingran watched in astonishment as Jiang Xu departed with his wife without a word, choosing her over his sworn brother. He found himself puzzled by the discrepancy between Jiang Qizhi’s dismissive attitude toward his wife and the scenes he had witnessed.

As the guards gathered firewood, Cloud Yi disappeared for a while. When Shu Jingran asked about her whereabouts, she returned with fish skewered on tree branches.

“Lady Cloud, what are you doing?” he asked hesitantly.

“Grilling fish,” she replied matter-of-factly.

Shu Jingran paused, intending to offer the dried foods from his carriage, but Cloud Yi had already settled by the fire, preparing the cleaned river fish.

After a moment, he found a clean spot across from her. “I hear you’re now a concubine in the prince’s household?” he ventured.

Cloud Yi nodded, eyes fixed on the fish.

“What do you typically do there?”

She glanced up. “Protect the princess consort.”

“…”

He knew about her protective role, having indirectly inquired with Jiang Xu, but hadn’t dared to ask for details.

Cloud Yi continued, “The manor is well-guarded, so when the princess consort stays in, I’m not needed. I usually train or go on missions.”

“How do the prince and princess consort treat you?”

“The princess consort treats me very well,” Cloud Yi said. “She sends me special dishes, increases my allowance, lets me buy food outside the manor, and often gives me clothes and jewelry. Though I’m not comfortable in those clothes, and they don’t suit me nearly as well as they do her…”

Noting her focus on the princess consort with no mention of the prince, Shu Jingran drew his conclusions. He probed further, confirming his suspicions.

Cloud Yi answered candidly but suddenly stopped, eyeing Shu Jingran curiously. “Second Young Master Shu, why do you keep asking about the princess consort?”

“…?”

He hadn’t been asking about her specifically, had he? Wasn’t she the one relating everything to the princess consort?

Cloud Yi, having constructed her narrative, earnestly advised, “Second Young Master Shu, I’ve heard you’re good friends with His Highness and a well-read scholar. Surely you know it’s wrong to covet a friend’s wife.

“I don’t know why the princess consort had me save you or why she called you the capital’s most handsome man, but the prince and princess consort are deeply in love. It’s best not to harbor improper thoughts. You know His Highness’s temper. If you continue like this, you’ll not only harm yourself but the princess consort as well.”

“No, no, you misunderstand. I have no such intentions—” Shu Jingran protested.

“I hope it is a misunderstanding,” Cloud Yi said, rising. She had intended to share the grilled fish but, believing Shu Jingran to be coveting her mistress under the guise of friendship, decided he didn’t deserve it.

Shu Jingran stood to explain further but found himself at a loss for words, caught between laughter and exasperation.

The next morning, the group that had spent the night in the stone pavilion set out. Jiang Xu and Ming Tan, after breakfast, also prepared to continue their journey.

Before their night ride, Jiang Xu had instructed Cloud Yi to meet them directly in Peng City, the thriving center of He Province. Due to its proximity to the capital, many wealthy families who didn’t hold official positions in the capital resided there.

Ming Tan sat on horseback wearing a newly purchased veiled hat. Having barely slept, she leaned weakly against Jiang Xu’s chest.

As they rode, she absent-mindedly recalled that Ming Chu had married into a family in He Province—the Xuanwei General’s household in Peng City, if she remembered correctly.

Ming Tan hadn’t seen Ming Chu since her marriage, but Madam Pei had mentioned that Ming Chu’s husband often wrote to her father and had recently been promoted in the He Province military camp. She hadn’t heard much about Ming Chu herself.

They arrived in Peng City by evening, half an hour behind Shu Jingran’s group, who had taken a shortcut.

The prince’s household owned a restaurant in Peng City. Upon arrival, Ming Tan dismounted with difficulty. Her thighs, already sore from the previous day, now felt completely foreign after another half-day ride.

She struggled to maintain a dignified posture as she followed Jiang Xu inside. However, to Shu Jingran and Cloud Yi, observing from a second-floor window while dining, her gait appeared odd.

“What’s wrong with your princess consort? She’s walking strangely,” Shu Jingran remarked.

Cloud Yi replied flatly, “Second Young Master Shu may not understand, but this is a sign of the prince and princess consort’s intimacy.”

She hadn’t initially understood such matters either, but through Concubine Fang’s careful instruction and the manor servants’ suggestive gossip, she had learned quite a bit.

Shu Jingran fell silent, about to ask how she knew so much when he suddenly realized the implication of her words.

Recently transferred to the Ministry of Works, he had been forced to socialize with colleagues. Unlike his former literary companions, these older coworkers didn’t maintain a facade of refinement around him. Their unrestrained talk had inadvertently educated him on matters between men and women.

The two stared at each other. Cloud Yi, never one to feel awkward if others didn’t, maintained her gaze. Eventually, Shu Jingran conceded, setting down his chopsticks and excusing himself uncomfortably.

After dinner, Jiang Xu went to Shu Jingran’s room to discuss business. Ming Tan took the opportunity to bathe and apply medicine, then had the bedding from their carriage laid out before collapsing into a deep sleep.

In Shu Jingran’s room, as he poured wine, he asked, “Any news about Zhou Baoping?”

“Last night, Zhuiying reported that the Xiu family is also searching for what Zhou left behind,” Jiang Xu replied.

“The Xiu family is looking too… It must be evidence of embezzlement from the Maritime Trade Commission,” Shu Jingran pondered, then glanced at Jiang Xu. “I thought you rushed to Shu Zhen at night for your wife’s sake, but it was to meet with Zhuiying.”

He understood that this journey wasn’t meant to be discreet or rushed, as it was merely a cover. Days earlier, Jiang Xu had sent the Jingyun Guard to Ling Province to investigate Zhou Baoping’s sudden death.

As for their group, discretion was impossible; they had been tailed since their departure.

A thought struck him, and he speculated, “So you deliberately… with the princess consort… to make those watching think you were overcome with desire, rushing to Shu Zhen at night?”

“What?” Jiang Xu looked up sharply.

“But you were too rough with the princess consort. She can barely walk,” Shu Jingran said, feeling it was uncouth. He awkwardly advised, “In my opinion, you shouldn’t use the princess consort as a cover in the future. If word gets out, it could damage her reputation.”

Can barely walk.

Jiang Xu paused briefly.

Shu Jingran continued his uncomfortable admonishment.

Jiang Xu, seeming to grasp something, irritably silenced him with a pressure point technique. Rising, he gave Shu Jingran a cold look and uttered four words: “You know nothing.”