Gao Zhen worked quickly and thoroughly. He found a small courtyard in Da Xing City, bought it, and had it cleaned and readied in advance.

Fang Biechen never went near Ding Weilu again. Even as the urge to go and look at her — just once more — grew stronger each time, he held himself back.

The physicians at Shen Medical Hall had examined Ding Weilu’s husband. Old injuries of this severity were not something that could be fully cured overnight. It would take time.

Over the following two days, once everything had been arranged, Gao Zhen made a habit of telling Fang Biechen everything he had learned each day, and Fang Biechen’s heart was full of a gratitude he couldn’t put into words.

—

At the inn.

Xue Lingcheng listened as his subordinate finished his report, a frown creasing his brow.

*”What’s wrong with this Fang Biechen?”*

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, muttering almost to himself: *”If he cares so much, why won’t he go and see her?”*

Shang Jiuying, sitting across from him, murmured back: *”Because he cares too much, he won’t go.”*

Xue Lingcheng didn’t understand. Shang Jiuying found his lack of understanding beneath contempt. Men who had never loved truly tended not to understand these things — yet whether or not a man had loved truly, women almost always grasped this kind of choice.

*”What are you going to do next?”*

Shang Jiuying looked at Xue Lingcheng. *”You were the one who lured Ding Weilu out of Shu. Now you have no plan, and this isn’t the first time you’ve disappointed me.”*

Perhaps that cut his pride, because Xue Lingcheng’s expression darkened.

*”Miss Shang, if I’m not mistaken, the Jiedushi’s orders to you were to come and assist me — not to instruct me.”*

Shang Jiuying heard him out and gave her cold, mocking smile.

*”Sure enough — useless men can’t stand even one unpleasant word.”*

She rose. *”If you’ve truly run out of ideas, then hand me command of this operation. You can play the supporting role.”*

Xue Lingcheng said: *”If I fail, you can take over. But not yet.”*

Shang Jiuying walked toward the door. *”Then I’ll wait for the day you come to beg me.”*

Xue Lingcheng didn’t like women like this. In his view, a woman ought to be gentle and pliant — that alone should be enough. When a woman turned forceful, she invariably made a man uncomfortable. And in Xue Lingcheng’s view, Shang Jiuying’s forcefulness was nothing more than borrowed prestige — the Jiedushi’s authority on loan.

*”Liu Cheng, Qi Yunmao.”*

Xue Lingcheng instructed: *”Tomorrow, the two of you take men and keep watch on where Ding Weilu is staying. The moment there are no Judicial Guard or Ning Army people around, come and tell me immediately.”*

His two subordinates acknowledged the order and left.

Xue Lingcheng closed his eyes and went over his plan once more. Fang Biechen’s actions had been unexpected — adjustments were needed.

—

At the same time, in the New Garden.

Li Chi was in Gao Xining’s study, watering all the flowers and plants, pausing now and then to glance over at the woman bent over official documents. The more he looked, the more he liked what he saw — the more he looked, the more beautiful she seemed.

*”That’s a brush holder.”*

Gao Xining said it without looking up.

Li Chi startled and realized he had already filled a brush holder completely with water.

*”I need to go see Teacher Ye soon. Are you coming?”*

Gao Xining asked.

Li Chi said: *”Is it about the garrison command matter?”*

Gao Xining made a sound of confirmation. *”It’s already been over three months. These people have made no move at all — that’s not normal.”*

Li Chi said: *”Everything they do will be aimed at Fang Biechen, because they know full well that if we lose Fang Biechen, our campaign against Shu loses at least six parts out of ten in terms of confidence.”*

This was the first time in all the Ning Army’s years of campaigning that they had encountered a situation quite like this. Shu Province was too closed off, too sealed against outsiders — without a guide like Fang Biechen, the Ning Army, no matter how capable in battle, would be hemmed in and bogged down by Shu’s complex terrain, like being slowly swallowed by a swamp.

Imagine it: a land of nothing but mountains and forests, hazards in every direction. A single man could reduce the losses of hundreds of thousands of Ning Army soldiers marching into Shu.

To put it plainly: the campaign against Shu was an advance into total darkness. Fang Biechen was the only torch.

And so the weight Gao Xining placed on Fang Biechen represented the Judicial Guard’s highest level of protection.

*”Something’s odd about that young woman.”*

Walking out together, Gao Xining spoke to Li Chi. *”Her suddenly appearing in Da Xing City — I don’t believe it’s a coincidence.”*

Li Chi made a sound of agreement. *”The garrison command’s methods have never known restraint. It may be connected to Jiang Wei and the others who have been missing for months.”*

Gao Xining said: *”That’s exactly why I’ve been keeping only a few people around that young woman’s residence. If this is something the garrison command arranged, they’ll show themselves eventually. Posting too many people would just scare them off.”*

Li Chi gave a silent thumbs-up.

Gao Xining smiled. *”Were you about to say something? The words were right there — why did you swallow them?”*

Li Chi said: *”This woman’s rather capable, isn’t she.”*

Gao Xining reached into her pocket. Li Chi moved to block her pocket — no dirt clods in there.

Correct. No dirt clods. Pebbles.

After Gao Xining’s throwing technique had advanced to something approaching a supreme art, what she carried was no longer a plaything — it was a lethal weapon.

Her talent in martial arts could not be described as merely mediocre. It could only be described as… nonexistent. But in the art of hidden projectiles, she had surpassed everyone Li Chi knew.

And so when Gao Xining casually flicked a pebble and casually struck the exact nerve point on Li Chi’s elbow, Li Chi didn’t even dodge in time.

Rubbing his arm, Li Chi muttered as they walked: *”I refuse to believe that on our wedding night, when you have nothing on you at all, you’ll still find a way to hide one of these.”*

Gao Xining said: *”When I have nothing on me at all — would you care to explain what you mean by that?”*

Li Chi turned and walked ahead with his hands behind his back.

*”This woman is getting worse by the day.”*

Gao Xining gave a sharp hum: *”You’re already too timid to even indulge in verbal sparring?”*

Li Chi called back: *”Save the sparring for later!”*

Gao Xining walked a few steps, then felt there was something not quite right about what Li Chi had just said. The longer she thought about it, the more it seemed off. She quickened her pace to catch up — Li Chi had already started moving faster.

—

About a li away from the small courtyard where Ding Weilu was staying, there was a stretch of park and gardens — very beautiful scenery. Within the park stood several stone pagodas; from the top of the tallest one, you could see all the way into the courtyard.

By the time Li Chi and the others climbed to the top of the pagoda, Teacher Ye had already been there for half a day.

*”Several suspicious individuals got close, but didn’t reach the courtyard.”*

Teacher Ye handed the far-seeing glass to Gao Xining and pointed. *”They’re still there — at the tea stall by the road.”*

*”Have they been followed?”*

Gao Xining said, looking through the glass.

Teacher Ye nodded. *”Yu Hongyi is tailing them personally. They won’t get away.”*

Li Chi asked: *”How is Ding Weilu’s husband — how does he fare?”*

Teacher Ye said: *”I asked the people at Shen Medical Hall yesterday. They said it’s a deep-rooted ailment — difficult to fully cure. But with sustained treatment, he should recover to the point of being able to care for himself.”*

Gao Xining said suddenly: *”I like this young woman.”*

Her grip on the far-seeing glass tightened.

*”A woman like her — if she gets threatened and used again, Heaven itself could not forgive it.”*

Teacher Ye said: *”Heaven was never just to begin with. And we are people who fight against Heaven’s injustice — so now that she is within our reach, she will not be harmed.”*

*”Should we call Fang Biechen over?”*

Teacher Ye asked.

Li Chi looked at Gao Xining. Gao Xining shook her head. *”They have both made their choices. We shouldn’t interfere.”*

After watching a while longer and seeing that the suspicious figures at the tea stall still hadn’t moved, Gao Xining instructed: *”Pull back half our people.”*

Teacher Ye said: *”They’re being very cautious. Pulling back half might still not be enough to make them dare approach.”*

Li Chi thought for a moment and began to sense something.

*”The garrison command’s people don’t dare get close — which means they never managed to get Ding Weilu under control. They never forced her to agree to anything.”*

Gao Xining nodded. *”The garrison command’s people have probably also figured out that a woman like Ding Weilu has no real vulnerability.”*

If the garrison command threatened her with her husband’s life to make her harm Fang Biechen, she would watch her husband die, and then die herself — she would not agree. By the same logic, if they threatened her with Fang Biechen’s life, she would watch Fang Biechen die rather than harm her husband. She had been battered by life for years, treated unjustly for years — and she had never once yielded.

Gao Xining said: *”If they still don’t approach after we pull back half our people, we’ll just have to give them a reason to come out.”*

As it happened, that very night — something occurred.

—

At the inn.

Jiang Wei was turning over his next move when one of his men came rushing in from outside.

*”My lord — something’s happened in the city.”*

*”What?”*

*”We don’t know the details yet, but the Ning Army has mobilized throughout the city. There’s a full citywide manhunt.”*

*”A full citywide manhunt?”*

Jiang Wei’s expression shifted immediately. Their identity documents were forged — convincing forgeries, good enough to pass under normal scrutiny, but if the army was combing through every outside arrival one by one, they would all be taken in for individual screening.

*”Whatever’s happened, we can’t stay in this inn.”*

Jiang Wei gave the order: *”Everyone goes to the safe house I scouted earlier. Move fast. Break into groups of five and take different routes — reassemble when you get there.”*

That said, he quickly packed what little he had, then jumped straight out the back window of the inn.

He didn’t rush directly to the safe house. Instead he concealed himself and watched for a while.

From the moment the Ning Army began searching the inn, he stayed in the shadows. The Ning Army officer in charge told the innkeeper that the Ning Prince’s foster mother had been abducted — and that Da Xing City was now under full lockdown.

The news shook even Jiang Wei. He couldn’t imagine who had the audacity to move against the Ning Prince’s foster mother.

Everyone in the garrison command knew — the Ning Prince’s foster mother was Grand General Xiahou Zhuo’s own mother. To touch this woman was to touch the Ning Prince’s most absolute limit.

Jiang Wei dared not linger another moment and fled at once. Even as he ran, he couldn’t help wondering — who in the world was this audacious fool?

—