Song Langsheng’s gaze made me feel uncomfortable all over.

What puzzled me more was that he now stood calmly at the bow of the boat, clearly unafraid anymore. How was it that he was no longer afraid of boats?

Not far ahead was West Pigang with its canal dock. Our several pleasure boats were originally scheduled to rest here. There were tea houses and wine shops along the route. After docking, the various students and doctors scattered to mingle, planning to reconvene at the pleasure boats after about an hour.

After stepping ashore, I looked toward the bay. Song Langsheng’s small boat had also docked. He wore plain gray cloth that didn’t attract attention, carrying only a small bundle with a sword attached. Dusty from travel, almost no one noticed he was actually the current prince consort and Chief of the Court of Judicial Review. So low-key in his return – I wondered if the prison case had been properly handled.

I stood there rather anxiously, hesitating whether to explain my presence here, yet fearing that people nearby might notice and expose my identity. For a moment I didn’t know how to respond.

While I was struggling with this, Song Langsheng walked toward me. After much deliberation, I gave him a slight… very slight foolish smile.

Then, as we passed each other, he didn’t even glance at me.

I turned around in surprise to watch his retreating figure, my heart pounding. It seemed that earlier on the boat he had only looked at me once, then afterward acted as if I didn’t exist. So this fellow, seeing me in scholarly robes, didn’t want to expose me and was deliberately pretending we were strangers?

I looked around and saw that all the students had dispersed. Lu Lingjun had also followed Li Da, Du Er, Su San and the others to the nearby tea house, so I quickened my pace and followed Song Langsheng step by step.

Song Langsheng seemed oblivious, walking toward the relay station ahead. I scratched my head – what was this unreliable prince consort doing appearing here so suddenly? All these mysteries were eating at my heart…

After making up my mind, I jogged past him, turned around, and stared at him saying, “Why did you suddenly return?”

Song Langsheng stopped and raised his eyebrows, “So the princess finds my return untimely. Rest assured, I won’t disturb your good affairs.” After saying this, he flicked his sleeve and turned toward the relay station’s stable area. I blocked his path, saying, “Hey, do you particularly enjoy leaving me full of doubts before walking away gracefully?”

Song Langsheng turned his face slightly away and nonchalantly tied his bundle to the saddle of a horse he had selected.

I rubbed my temples wearily. My intuition told me that his sullen expression meant he was definitely picking a fight with someone, and upon reflection, this antagonism was probably directed squarely at this princess.

After Song Langsheng finished his business with the relay station staff and was about to lead his horse away, I grabbed the reins and said, “Last time’s matter isn’t settled yet, and now what new conflict are you stirring up?”

“Last time?” Song Langsheng smiled coldly, “Is the princess so eager to get the divorce papers?”

Divorce papers? Right, I had completely forgotten about this matter. So he was still brooding over this. I said, “I have no such intention. I just…”

“I have no energy to waste time here with the princess…”

I was annoyed, “What do you mean waste time? I have important matters…”

“If the princess’s so-called important matters involve chatting about romance with certain people here…” Song Langsheng’s gaze swept over me, “then I have nothing to say. The princess may do as she pleases.”

After saying this, he mounted his horse without looking back, whipped it, and rode away in a cloud of dust.

I couldn’t fathom his thoughts. I felt that I hadn’t been able to see through him in the past, and now I understood him even less. Whether past or present, he always had the ability to frustrate me to death.

Coming out of the relay station, I was about to go find Lu Lingjun and the others when I saw Fang Yachen standing by the shore, gazing at a large ship on the deep waters of the bay. It was Han Fei’s official grain transport vessel. Official troops guarded the cargo while supervising the workers moving up and down. Han Fei’s red official robes fluttered in the bright sun. Though I couldn’t see his expression, I wondered if this sight had become an unforgettable dream-like scene in Fang Yachen’s eyes.

I walked near Fang Yachen. At this moment Han Fei seemed to notice us. When their eyes met across the distance, I could only feel that Fang Yachen’s eyes, usually like an ancient cold pond, were now filled with a certain sadness.

Though the distance was so great, this was the closest they had been in all these years.

I sighed deeply in my heart. This was all I could do.

When the official ship that had docked at the shore slowly sailed away, only then did Fang Yachen return to her usual unruffled demeanor. Seeing me watching her, she said nothing more, nodded lightly in acknowledgment, then turned and left.

Many, many years later, I would never want to recall what happened next.

Just as she turned around, a massive explosion sounded behind us.

One blast followed another, shaking the earth and making hearts tremble. That huge official ship from bow to stern burst into flames after several loud crashes. Fire shot skyward, reddening half the sky, while smoke filled the air, blackening the clear blue sky for miles.

This unexpected scene left my mind blank. I stood frozen, unable to move my feet, watching helplessly as the soldiers and boatmen on that ship screamed incessantly, their bodies ablaze as they fell into the deep water. The sight was too horrible to bear.

The moment I regained my senses, I instinctively looked for Fang Yachen. All the people around were in chaos, but I saw her quickly run to a pleasure boat, not knowing what she intended to do. My heart pounding, I followed closely. The moment I stepped onto the boat it began moving. When I stumbled and found her, I saw Fang Yachen in the cabin holding a sword to the boatman, commanding him to sail toward the burning ship at top speed.

Fang Yachen’s hand holding the sword trembled violently, her lips were pale, and her eyes showed a kind of desperate resolve. I forced myself to calm down and said, “I’ll handle this. You go to the deck and check the situation.”

Fang Yachen handed me the sword and flew out of the cabin. Seeing her leave, I dropped the sword with a clang and said to the helmsman, “Don’t get too close. Stop at a safe distance.”

Seeing the boatman nod obediently, I left the cabin and rushed to the deck to witness this hellish scene alongside Fang Yachen.

In just these few moments, the ship had been consumed by vast flames. Even from this distance we could feel the fierce heat from the blaze. Gradually, even human voices could no longer be heard. Apart from the crackling sounds, the world was as silent as falling into an abyss.

Fang Yachen just stared like this, her whole body rigid as a clay sculpture. But… she didn’t shed a single tear.

I don’t know how much time passed – perhaps just an instant – when she revealed a trace of a smile. The scene was so eerie it nearly made me step back. I grabbed her wrist and said, “Fang Yachen.”

Fang Yachen didn’t turn around, her voice floating uncertainly in the wind, “So he’s dead just like that?”

This “he” naturally referred to Han Fei.

Some words wanted to spill out, but after much consideration, I said, “If he died, would you be sad?”

Fang Yachen turned to look at me, staring steadily with not a ripple in her eyes, “I’ve been hoping for this day for a long time. From the moment he caused my father’s death – now, finally, my long-cherished wish is fulfilled.”

She tried to struggle free, but I wouldn’t let go, saying angrily, “Fang Yachen, do you know that the princess mansion could never keep him? Back then he was willing to bear the despicable reputation of being a paramour for your sake, and now he’s walking this path for you too. You clearly know his feelings for you – I don’t believe you’re such a heartless person.”

Fang Yachen smiled slightly, but her eyes became even more confused, “He was my father’s favorite disciple. My father taught him everything without reservation, and he – used my father’s trust in him to betray him, causing our family’s destruction. Princess, even if he died a hundred times for me, this barrier could never be crossed.”

My eyes were stung by the smoke blown by the wind and couldn’t open. When I opened them again, I said, “Fang Yachen, do you think your father was a fool?”

Fang Yachen was stunned.

“If you think that Grand Marshal Fang’s rise from a common soldier to Grand Marshal was just coincidence, that this elder statesman of two dynasties remained safe all along due to divine protection, then I have nothing to say.”

Fang Yachen looked back at me, her eyes full of disbelief.

“A person whom even Chief Minister Zhao and Imperial Uncle Li together couldn’t eliminate – how could he possibly be caught by a fledgling Han Fei?” I said, “Fang Yachen, think carefully about that time, that situation. Was your father framed by Han Fei, or did he willingly let Han Fei frame him?”

“Think again about why everything developed so quickly from his interrogation to his sentencing, with barely time for defense before the verdict was final. If the accuser hadn’t been Han Fei but Chief Minister Zhao or Imperial Uncle Li, would your father’s fate have been as simple as exile? Could your nine clans have kept their lives? Would you still be able to stand here alive?”

“Fang Yachen, do you know what benefit Han Fei actually gained from exposing your father?”

“It was being despised by all scholars under heaven! It was enduring endless torment of conscience! It was having to bear the resentment of his beloved for life!”

Fang Yachen stood there dazed, staring at me steadily, trying several times to say something but unable to make a sound.

Fang Liang’s voice and teachings flickered in and out of my mind as many memories flashed by, “Your father was clear-minded. How many times, to handle messes no one else would handle, was he willing to risk demotion for oversight and bear the crime of deceiving the emperor? In the end, the country benefited, the people benefited, but he bore the blame, swallowing the bitter fruit alone.”

“In the ups and downs of officialdom, there are honest officials and corrupt ones, loyal ministers and treacherous ones. Everyone struggles and rolls in their own sea of desires.” I said, “When reading history books, I could never understand why there were always those utterly loyal people who could willingly sacrifice for the people to that extent.”

“I once asked your father this question. Do you know his answer? He said: History will give such people a memorial tablet. At the time I understood it as being somewhat for honoring ancestors. I just never imagined that in the end, Grand Marshal Fang, just to be exiled to counties where he could serve the people one last time, would give up even his final good name.”

“Seeking only not to fail the country above or the people below, with a clear conscience.”

Something glimmered in Fang Yachen’s eyes. I looked at her and said, “And Han Fei was his most accomplished disciple. He never disappointed your father.”

Fang Yachen lowered her head, covered her mouth with her hand, and suddenly spat out blood.

My heart tightened, but I didn’t make many moves. This time, I gradually released her hand, letting her walk trembling toward the railing.

I knew she had lost all will to live and wanted to throw herself into the river. But grief had drained her strength – she could barely even turn over. She struggled to support herself with her hands, falling down several times, getting up several times.

Finally, once more, she didn’t fall into the dust. A pair of hands embraced her, someone held her tightly in their arms.

It was Han Fei.

I sighed softly. Han Fei, who had been watching everything – watching Fang Yachen’s smiles, Fang Yachen’s sadness, Fang Yachen’s pain – could he no longer pretend, no longer watch, no longer remain calm?

Han Fei gathered her trembling body into his equally trembling embrace, calling out in a deep voice, “Yachen!”

That voice carried pain that even the earth couldn’t bear.

The next moment, Han Fei hugged her even tighter, bent down, and kissed her.

I don’t know what Fang Yachen was thinking at this moment, but from her slightly open eyes, slowly, slowly, tears seeped out.

So it’s true that what pot goes with what lid is all predetermined by heaven – they had no one more suitable for themselves than each other.

Fang Yachen cried for a long time. After confirming that the Han Fei before her was not an impostor, she asked, “You… how did you not die?”

Han Fei said, “All this… was arranged by the princess…”

Fang Yachen stared at me in amazement. I glanced at Han Fei helplessly and said, “Don’t speak in half-sentences. Those who don’t know might think I ordered someone to set that fire…”

Yesterday when discussing grain transport with Han Fei, he feared someone would obstruct the water route, so he planned to fake using the canal while actually having the grain dispersed and transported by land routes, to be gathered later. This way, he needed to stage a shipwreck. He would let people see the disaster relief grain completely destroyed before their eyes, and he would die along with it.

I don’t know if this was fortunate or unfortunate.

Fortunately, Han Fei had prepared well, secretly swimming back to hide on the pleasure boat when the ship sailed out, thus escaping disaster. Unfortunately, there really were people who wanted to destroy that cargo ship, causing so many innocent lives to perish in the flames.

After hearing Han Fei’s explanation, Fang Yachen couldn’t calm down for a long time. I sighed, “I deliberately brought you here so that in the moment you saw him die, you would understand your own heart and the preciousness of the living. Because on this long road, no one can predict what will happen next. If we can’t properly grasp the present, perhaps we can only live out this joyless life as walking corpses.”

Fang Yachen listened quietly to my words. After a long time, she nodded almost imperceptibly.

Han Fei and I exchanged smiles, “Now that the emotional issues are resolved, restrain yourselves and attend to proper business…”

Han Fei nodded, frowning solemnly, “The urgent matter is to find out who was behind this explosion…”

He and I both turned toward the ship. When we were at a loss, we suddenly heard Fang Yachen shout, “Watch out!”

I felt someone push me hard in the back. Unsteady on my feet, I staggered. When I turned around, I saw Fang Yachen spread her arms to shield Han Fei, an arrow lodged in her shoulder!

From the cabin and stern, as if by magic, over ten people emerged. Some held swords, some held bows and arrows. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded us in the center.

Han Fei sensed great danger and drew his belt, which transformed into a flexible sword. He positioned himself in front of us and said to the group, “Who are you?”

How could that group waste words with us? Without saying anything, they attacked with swords. Han Fei wielded his flexible sword superbly, gaining the upper hand in several moves. However, outnumbered, the remaining people closed in on us. Fang Yachen held her wounded shoulder with one hand, blood seeping through her fingers and dripping down. Still, she stood in front of me, whispering like silk in my ear, “Your Highness, if we can’t hold out, jump down.”

After saying this, she reached up to remove the hairpin from her jade crown. With a click of the mechanism, the hairpin’s tip extended several inches like a dagger, pointing directly at the group. She said coldly, “You destroyed that ship too, didn’t you!”

Who would have known that when Fang Yachen removed her hairpin, her long hair flowed in the wind. Seeing this, one of the assassins exclaimed, “The secret report was correct – there really is a woman disguised as a man. She’s Princess Xiangyi.” Upon saying this, the assassins who had been fighting with Han Fei also jumped out and approached us. Han Fei leaped to land in front of us, shouting, “You came to assassinate the princess?”

The leader of the group said simply, “Following orders.”

My thoughts fell into chaos as several possibilities ran through my mind. I didn’t know who wanted to take my life this time. While I was in confusion, my arm suddenly felt a sharp pain – Fang Yachen’s long hairpin pierced my flesh and bone. She said viciously, “So it’s you, traitor!”

I broke out in cold sweat from this sharp pain, “What are you saying?”

Fang Yachen roared, “It was you who brought this princess onto this boat! It was you who revealed this princess’s whereabouts! You… you bastard!”

Bastard… what kind of chaotic account was this that I couldn’t calculate at all?

The lead assassin looked at me and smiled, “So you’re that Imperial Academy student working from the inside.”

What inside cooperation?

Before I could react, Han Fei glared at me furiously, his sword tip stabbing toward my face. I couldn’t dodge in time, but the lead assassin actually helped me block this sword, pulling me to their side while laughing, “Your mission is complete. Leave the rest to us.”

This statement let me string together the confused threads.

Someone had learned in advance that I was disguised as a man in the Imperial Academy and had conspired with someone from the Academy to attempt today’s assassination. These assassins didn’t know Princess Xiangyi’s appearance and mistook Fang Yachen for the princess upon seeing she was a woman.

And Fang Yachen… she had just figured this out and deliberately pretended to be me… to let me escape danger. But this way, she actually put herself in peril… even Han Fei was playing along with Fang Yachen’s act, both of them cooperating just to save my life!

These two lunatics! Why did they need to save me? Did they… not care about each other’s lives anymore?

My vision became blurry. I watched helplessly as they fought with this group of assassins, suffering knife and sword wounds, bleeding more and more… these two… who clearly loved each other so much, who had experienced so much, finally, finally able to reconcile, finally about to be together… were actually going to die for me…

What should I do?

I looked around in confusion. Somehow the pleasure boat had drifted far from shore, isolated and helpless with no one around…

Wait.

At this moment the current flowed west, so why was the pleasure boat heading north against the current? Was it the boatman? No, that boatman was also one of the assassins… Then who exactly was steering? Was it an accomplice among the assassins, or… someone else?

While thinking, I vaguely felt the pleasure boat had stopped again. Perhaps they were still fighting and couldn’t notice, but we had now passed a bend, the boat following increasingly rapid currents, and this direction… could it be?

I ran to the stern and saw no one. But when I suddenly looked back, I glimpsed something flashing by in the corner…

My heart jumped.

Someone wanted to use the river’s changing flow to eliminate this group of assassins, but… didn’t want to openly save Han Fei and Fang Yachen.

But I had to… save them.

I slowly backed away, slowly loosened my hair knot, pretending it was unintentional while letting them discover my changed appearance.

To save them, there was only one way.

The leader, after being repelled by Han Fei, suddenly noticed my long hair and shouted, “Stop!”

The wounded Han Fei and Fang Yachen also looked over like the assassins, their faces showing obvious shock. One assassin stammered, “She’s not an Imperial Academy student – she’s also a woman…”

“Then who exactly is the princess?”

The leader looked back and forth, saying fiercely, “No matter who’s the princess! Better to wrongly kill than let anyone escape! Kill!”

I quickly ran toward the stern, hearing behind me the sounds of Han Fei and Fang Yachen fighting desperately with the assassins.

There were thirteen assassins total. Han and Fang had eliminated three, leaving ten. At this point their energy was exhausted – fighting ten with two people, they had no chance of victory. So the first step was to disperse their assassination formation.

As for the second step…

I felt a sword wind behind me – an assassin had definitely caught up and was about to strike a killing blow. I closed my eyes tightly. This second step was a gamble…

A “clang” rang out as two blades met, the sound cutting through the sky. I suddenly turned my head and saw a figure land in front of me, arm extended horizontally, holding a sword that hadn’t been drawn. Blue sleeves floated gently in the wind.

The second step was betting that he would step forward to save my life.

The one who had been waiting in the shadows for the right moment was Nie Ran.

I had witnessed Nie Ran’s martial arts before. That day in the forest when martial arts experts emerged, there were far more than now, yet he alone held them off for a long time. Now…

Dark clouds rolled and wind began to rise. Nie Ran drew his long sword, instantly filling the air with killing intent. Though the assassins were agile, when Nie Ran struck, it was extraordinary. In moments, several assassins died by his sword. He left one alive, gagging him with cloth and binding him as a living witness.

Seeing that this crisis had passed, I urgently wanted to check on Han and Fang’s condition on the deck. But just as I took a step, my body swayed, and Nie Ran grabbed me.

He said in a low voice, “You deliberately forced me to act?”

I countered, “You deliberately didn’t act, hoping Han Fei would die in this ‘accident,’ right?”

Nie Ran said, “Why would I do that?”

“As far as I know,” I said, “this inspector position was originally reserved for you, but Princess Xiangyi’s interference completely disrupted your plans. So no matter who was behind today’s events, the result benefits you… how could you willingly save people?”

Nie Ran took another step forward, “Who exactly are you…”

I didn’t answer him.

Nie Ran tightened his grip, pinching my wrist painfully. When I twisted away, I hit the hairpin wound on my arm and groaned. Nie Ran said, “What makes you so certain I would save you?”

I stared at him, “You owe me a life. You want so badly to sever ties with me – you’ll definitely repay this debt.”

Nie Ran smiled coldly. I couldn’t understand the meaning of that smile. When he slowly released his grip, I was about to turn to find Han Fei and Fang Yachen when the pleasure boat violently shook. My whole body hit the railing, the golden hairpin sinking an inch deeper, the pain making my whole body tremble. Nie Ran stepped forward to help me up, glanced at the golden hairpin, and said, “It must be removed.”

Before I could respond, he directly gripped the hairpin’s handle and pulled it out forcefully. I shuddered as the wound in my arm suddenly felt empty.

Nie Ran simply tore cloth from his garment to bandage me, saying, “You’re quite tough – enduring this kind of pain without making a sound.”

After experiencing heart-wrenching pain, what was this in comparison?

I supported myself to get up, but the pleasure boat shook again. My feet felt ice-cold as water seeped through my shoes and socks. Nie Ran said grimly, “The boat is sinking.”

As soon as he finished speaking, I felt the pleasure boat sinking faster and faster. I frowned, “Did they destroy the boat?”

Nie Ran said, “The current flows north, and there’s shore to the north. As long as you can hold your breath in the water, there’s hope for survival.”

I asked, “Were you the one steering in the cabin earlier?”

Nie Ran nodded slightly, grabbed me and headed toward the stern, saying, “Don’t worry. This time, I won’t abandon you.”

The expression in Nie Ran’s face and eyes changed in ways I’d never seen before – different from his careful attention to Zhao Yanran, even more different from Xu Fang’s thoughtful care. A hint of dominance permeated the air. Yet though they were completely different people, I heard that gentle, determined voice in my ears: “Don’t be afraid, I’ll be with you, He Feng.”

I shook my head, casting aside those chaotic thoughts, just saying, “Han Fei and Fang Yachen…”

Nie Ran said, “If they can’t save themselves, you and I can’t save them either.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the pleasure boat completely sank to the bottom. Nie Ran gripped my waist tightly. I took a deep breath, and the next moment, felt my entire body plunge into ice-cold deep water. The impact of the waves made me dizzy and my limbs too stiff to obey.

Fear and helplessness spread through my whole body. The scenes I dared not recall but that returned in midnight dreams surfaced again, overlapping and interweaving with this moment…

“Knowing your life is forfeit, you want to drag Yanran down with you? Truly a viper’s heart!”

“I’m saving you for Yanran’s sake.”

“The person I like is called Xu Fang.”

I suddenly opened my eyes. Nie Ran had already grabbed onto a tree trunk extending horizontally from the cliff wall downstream, his other hand gripping my arm tightly. Even as the branch was about to break, he wouldn’t let go. He said to me with difficulty, “Hold your breath a little longer! Just a bit more and we can reach shore!”

My heart warmed imperceptibly, tears almost bursting from my eyes.

This time, perhaps he truly was protecting me with his heart…

A cold gleam suddenly flashed by with a “swoosh” – the sound of a blade cutting through flesh.

I didn’t know how that bound assassin had freed himself or why he was floating here. I only knew that when I saw the sword cut through Nie Ran’s hand that was gripping me, blood spattering, that this time he ultimately still couldn’t hold onto me.

The terror of fate lies in how, no matter how much we struggle or try to change things, the ending is already predetermined.

Unable to breathe, even the strength to open my eyes disappeared. I thought this time there probably wouldn’t be Doctor Zhou to save my life.

Just as consciousness gradually left this body, I felt something soft and warm cover my lips.

A breath of air flowed into my body through my lips. I instinctively took a deep breath – surprisingly, it was no longer the suffocating water.

Who was it?

I struggled to lift my eyelids.

Close at hand were a pair of tightly closed eyes. I saw that person’s long eyelashes.

The water blurred this person’s features, and our lips sharing breath meant I couldn’t leave him, couldn’t see him clearly.

My heart beat wildly in an unruly rhythm, that feeling… so familiar…

Just like when I saw the maple leaves… and that silhouette at the wedding…

When that person moved his lips away, I finally saw his face in the water.

It was… Song Langsheng.