It seemed this person couldn’t be shaken off.

Yan Sanhe’s mind churned for a moment. She forcefully swung her arm free and walked swiftly to the carriage, lifting the curtain and climbing inside in one motion.

Third Master Xie stared at that swaying curtain for quite a while.

“Depart!”

“Yes!”

Zhu Qing and the others were just about to move when they heard a deep voice booming from the distance.

“Xie Fifty, you bastard, stand right there for this young master!”

One person, one horse came galloping over.

Third Master Xie took one look at the newcomer and thought: How did this ancestor get here?

The ancestor’s surname was Pei, given name Xiao, courtesy name Mingting—eldest legitimate son of Imperial Physician Pei and proprietor of Hundred Medicines Hall.

A good brother Third Master Xie had played with since childhood—so close they could wear the same underwear.

Pei Xiao dismounted and strode angrily up to Xie Zhifei.

“Speak! Which little slut are you eloping with?”

Third Master Xie frowned. “Where did you get this news?”

“What’s this?”

Pei Xiao looked at him provocatively. “So it’s actually true?”

Third Master Xie couldn’t say too much and coughed.

“It’s not what you think. I’m leaving the city on an errand at my eldest brother’s command.”

Pei Xiao’s face stiffened.

“So this little slut isn’t yours—she’s your eldest brother’s? You’re taking the blame for your big brother?”

“Pei—Ming—ting!”

Pei Mingting was completely immersed in the excitement of “Eldest Xie having an affair” and entirely ignored the barely suppressed fury in Third Master Xie’s eyes.

“Your eldest brother’s taste shouldn’t be too bad.”

His peripheral vision swept toward the Xie manor carriage. “Let me take a look!”

Xie Zhifei’s scalp prickled. He quickly reached out to grab him, but that person’s feet were as slippery as if coated with oil—more slippery than a loach.

“Surname Pei, stand still!”

The one with the surname Pei cackled as he ran in his black boots toward the carriage and abruptly yanked open the window.

Before he could see clearly whether the person inside was square or round, a foot suddenly shot out and kicked him squarely in the chest.

“Aiyah!”

A cold laugh rang out from inside the carriage, followed by a single word—

“Scram!”

Pei Xiao fell hard on his behind. Having been cursed to “scram,” he turned his head in disbelief toward Xie Zhifei rushing over.

Before he could explode in rage, Xie Zhifei clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes filled with pleading.

“Ancestor, do me a favor. You know who I fear most.”

Ancestor Pei glared with two blazing eyes: Is it really your eldest brother’s?

Xie Zhifei pretended not to see the deeper meaning in his eyes and turned to shoot Zhu Qing a look.

Zhu Qing raised his hand, and the carriage sped off.

Only then did Xie Zhifei reach down to pull Pei Xiao up from the ground, dusting off his clothes.

“I’ll try to go and come back quickly.”

It took Pei Xiao a long while to catch his breath. He raised his hand and jabbed it forcefully at him several times: How did your brother suddenly develop this taste? Way too crude!

Xie Zhifei could only blink with a forced smile: What can I do?

Pei Xiao: Fine, this young master will give you bastard some face.

Xie Zhifei: Can’t you speak like a normal person?

Pei Xiao rolled his eyes and turned to leave.

Suddenly, his collar was grabbed.

“What are you doing?”

Xie Zhifei lowered his voice. “Notify the Ji family. Find a way to open the Old Madam’s coffin and see if it’s cracked. If it is, find an expert to perform exorcism rites.”

Pei Xiao stared at him blankly.

“I’m not joking. Do it quickly.”

Xie Zhifei released his grip, nimbly flipped onto his horse, clamped his legs, and chased after the carriage ahead.

Behind him came Pei Xiao’s furious shouts—

“If it’s not a joke, then what is it?”

“You bastard, you actually want to open someone’s coffin?”

“How crazy are you?”

“And you want me to hurry… hurry up and get beaten by the Ji family!”

“Xie Fifty, you’re nothing but a wicked ghost—”

…

After racing five hundred miles straight, both people and horses needed to catch their breath.

At dusk, they finally reached an official relay station. Xie Zhifei pulled out his official token and had them prepare a table of food and wine.

Zhu Qing and Ding Yi went to the back to feed the horses.

Yan Sanhe didn’t enter the station but walked outward instead.

The Xie family carriage was large, but being cramped inside all day was hard on the legs. She needed to stretch them.

Xie Zhifei was just about to caution her “don’t go far” when a sudden wind kicked up, blowing dust everywhere.

The young woman walked through the wind and sand, night falling upon her figure—her silhouette indescribably slender and fragile.

Xie Zhifei stared at that figure for quite a while before turning to check on the horses in back.

“Zhu Qing, don’t you think that girl is very strange?”

“Strange how?”

“She dresses strangely. If I, a grown man, dressed like that, I’d freeze to death.”

“…”

“Did you notice? She hardly speaks.”

“…”

“Also, she dresses so plainly, yet has several banknotes on her—could they be stolen… hey… I wonder if the young master has it figured out.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Because the young master is standing right behind us.”

Ding Yi jumped in fright. “Young master?”

The young master grinned at him and walked away with hands behind his back.

Ding Yi: “…”

I’m finished—I won’t even keep next month’s wages!

Xie Zhifei walked absentmindedly, unable to shake off that vague sense of strangeness about Yan Sanhe.

He kept feeling as if he’d seen her somewhere before, he thought.

…

Tired of walking, Yan Sanhe squatted on the ground with a tree branch in hand, calculating on the ground the time it would take to reach Yunnan Prefecture.

The Xie family’s horses and carriage were first-rate, traveling extremely fast. At this pace, a month at most.

“Time to eat.”

It was the dandy’s voice.

Yan Sanhe stood up, using her foot to erase what she’d drawn on the ground, and said expressionlessly, “I have dry rations.”

“Afraid I poisoned it?”

Xie Zhifei sneered.

“Miss isn’t even afraid of coffins that won’t close—surely you’re not that timid?”

Yan Sanhe was too lazy to listen to his nonsense. She tossed away the branch and walked openly past him.

Entering the station, she found a corner to sit in and pulled out dry rations from her bundle.

Third Master Xie, who had followed her in, frowned. He picked up the mushroom soup from the table and placed it on the table in front of Yan Sanhe.

“Eating dry rations with hot soup—your stomach will be more comfortable.”

“Take it away!”

Third Master Xie picked up the soup and took a sip. “Now you can rest assured!”

Yan Sanhe: “…”

“These dry rations look pretty good—let me taste some.”

As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Yan Sanhe to agree or disagree, he directly broke off a piece from her hand and put it in his mouth.

“Indeed quite good.”

Yan Sanhe: “…”

She wanted to pour that bowl of soup on his face.

“Young master, eat—the food’s getting cold.”

“Coming!”

Xie Zhifei returned to his own table, accepted the chopsticks and bowl Zhu Qing handed him, and began eating.

Having traveled all day without eating anything, he was truly famished.

Three bowls of rice disappeared in the blink of an eye. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, got up, and moved to another table to drink tea.

Only then did Zhu Qing, Ding Yi, and the others dare to sit down and eat.

Xie Zhifei rinsed his mouth with tea. “Two hours of rest is enough. The moment the time is up, we depart immediately.”

“Yes.”

Xie Zhifei: “What does Miss Yan think?”

Yan Sanhe nodded faintly.

She was being so cooperative that Xie Zhifei was somewhat surprised. He set down his tea cup on the table, his gaze brazenly sizing her up.

Yan Sanhe noticed and calmly turned her back.

This was truly the man she most detested in her seventeen years of life.