Behind the trees not far away, a man in crimson robes silently watched all of this, his gaze deep and profound.

The attendant at his side didn’t dare ask more questions, yet inwardly he was extremely puzzled.

His master had never liked getting entangled with people, especially women, yet the several encounters with this Miss Luo had all been somewhat strange.

The first time was on the bustling streets of the capital. With his master’s martial skills, how had he actually let a young lady who only knew fancy, showy fists pull off his belt?

He had been watching from the side at the time. The instant Miss Luo pulled his master’s belt, his master actually didn’t dodge, so he had hesitated about whether to intervene, and then… it was too late.

The second time was two days ago at that roadside tea stall. His master had been passing by, but upon seeing Miss Luo, he had walked over.

The third time was this occasion—his master had been staring unblinkingly at Miss Luo for quite a while now.

The attendant peeked at the plainly dressed girl calmly and composedly threatening a group of bandits to hand over their gold, silver, and valuables, and a bold guess arose in his heart: Could his master have feelings for Miss Luo?

Speaking of it, Miss Luo was extremely beautiful—impossible, his master wasn’t such a superficial person!

But then why did his master keep secretly watching the young lady without leaving?

The attendant sank into deep puzzlement again.

Luo Sheng coldly watched the group of bandits—angry, aggrieved, or pained—leave behind their valuables and retreat supporting each other, then instructed Hong Dou to tally the spoils.

Hong Dou finished gathering everything and curled her lip. “What a bunch of poor wretches. Altogether not even worth a hundred taels of silver.”

Sheng Sanlang at the side clicked his tongue upon hearing this.

A hundred taels of silver wasn’t little—his monthly allowance was only five taels!

Luo Sheng walked toward the Sheng household guards.

There were eight guards total. At this moment, whether standing or sitting, all had sustained injuries to some degree.

“How many are wounded?” Luo Sheng asked.

Sheng Sanlang, who had followed over, pointed at the two sitting on the ground. “These two are more seriously injured. Three others sustained minor injuries but are fine. The remaining three aren’t injured—the blood on them belongs to those bandits.”

Speaking of this, Sheng Sanlang felt somewhat shaken in retrospect. “Fortunately, no one died. If we’d kept fighting, it would have been hard to say.”

And having such an outcome was largely thanks to Cousin Luo.

Sheng Sanlang suddenly felt a bit guilty about his previous views of Luo Sheng.

His cousin was so capable—so what if she pulled off a man’s belt?

“Hong Dou, divide up the silver. Thirty taels each for the seriously wounded, ten taels each for the lightly wounded, three taels each for the unwounded.”

Hong Dou, clearly accustomed to distributing money, efficiently divided up the captured silver.

The seriously wounded guards who received thirty taels of silver nearly wept. “Thank you for the reward, Young Miss Cousin.”

Their lives and fortunes had long been sold to the Sheng household. Escorting Young Miss Cousin to the capital was already their duty—they hadn’t expected to receive such a large sum of silver for being injured.

Luo Sheng said gently, “Although your injuries are currently under control, you shouldn’t travel far. This is what we’ll do—when we reach the nearest town, you’ll stay behind to recuperate. We’ll leave two more people to care for you, and when you’ve recovered, you can return directly to Jinsha.”

“How can that be acceptable?” The two said in unison.

Sheng Sanlang glared at them. “Don’t talk so much nonsense. Just listen to Young Miss Cousin.”

Only then did the guards fall silent.

Sheng Sanlang showed Luo Sheng a big smile. “Cousin, why don’t we eat before continuing our journey? We’ll have strength after eating our fill. Especially this big pot of bone broth—we shouldn’t waste it. The wounded can drink it to nourish their bodies.”

Luo Sheng nodded slightly.

Sheng Sanlang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly picked up a beggar’s pork elbow, saying with distress, “This elbow was opened early on—I’m afraid it’s already gone cold.”

“Cousin should eat the ones that haven’t had their mud shells broken open yet.” Having experienced a robbery, Luo Sheng had lost her appetite. She took a bowl of bone broth from Hong Dou and sipped it in small mouthfuls.

The broth had already turned milky white and gave off waves of fragrance.

Sheng Sanlang ate a bite of elbow and drank a mouthful of bone broth, ate a bite of elbow and drank a mouthful of bone broth…

The attendant hiding in the shadows swallowed and finally couldn’t help but remind the man in crimson robes beside him, “Master, should we continue our journey?”

Out of sight, out of mind!

“Watch a bit longer.”

Attendant: “…”

After enduring for a while longer, the attendant spoke again. “Master, how about this subordinate goes over to buy some food? You see, it’s already past mealtime—”

The man in crimson robes nodded slightly. “Go ahead.”

The corner of the attendant’s mouth twitched.

He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he always felt his master had been waiting for this suggestion for quite a while.

The attendant walked toward Sheng Sanlang and the others.

Sheng Sanlang heard movement and looked over vigilantly. Seeing the newcomer looked somewhat familiar, he was just pondering where he’d seen him when he caught sight of the man in crimson robes following behind, startled so badly he nearly dropped his elbow.

“You—” He didn’t know for a moment how to greet them.

The great name of Prince Kaiyang—even someone like him who had never left Jinsha had heard of it.

This was Prince Kaiyang who made the Qi people tremble with fear. The great victory earlier this year had driven the fierce Qi army back north of Mount Alan, ensuring at least several years of peace for the northern border.

In the rumors, Prince Kaiyang’s face was like burning coals and he stood nine feet tall. Had Hong Dou really not mistaken the person?

“Pardon the intrusion, young master. We were passing through this area and are hungry. Might we purchase some food to fill our stomachs?”

Sheng Sanlang was an easygoing person. Hearing this, he laughed. “Little brother is too polite. Meeting here is fate. We still have plenty of roasted meat and bone broth—please help yourself.”

He wouldn’t worry about it anymore. It wasn’t as if he was the one who pulled off Prince Kaiyang’s belt. If the other party didn’t reveal his identity, he would act as if he knew nothing.

The attendant eyed the beggar’s pork elbow in Sheng Sanlang’s hand. “I wonder about this elbow—”

Sheng Sanlang quickly said, “This was made by my younger sister herself. It’s not convenient to give it to strangers.”

Actually coveting the beggar’s pork elbow—this was made by his cousin for him. There were only four total, and Hong Dou and Ugly Granny had already taken two.

“Miss Luo and I should hardly count as strangers.” The man in crimson robes walked over, his gaze locking onto Luo Sheng’s face. “I wonder if Miss Luo has remembered yet?”

Luo Sheng looked at Wei Han expressionlessly.

In her heart, she had long classified Prince Kaiyang as a first-class dangerous person. She had already learned his name from Hong Dou.

Wei Qiang, Wei Han—one had caused her entire family’s deaths, the other had appeared at the long-abandoned prince’s manor intending to harm Xiu Yue. It was enough to make her extremely disgusted with the surname “Wei.”

Want to eat an elbow she made? In his dreams.

Luo Sheng met Wei Han’s gaze, her bearing not falling behind in the slightest. “I have indeed recalled some past events, though I don’t know if I’ve remembered incorrectly. Is the young master certain he wants me to speak of them now?”

She was the infamous Miss Luo, while he was the Prince Kaiyang revered by everyone in Great Zhou. If the matter of Miss Luo pulling off Prince Kaiyang’s belt were spoken aloud in public, it was obvious who would be more afraid of losing face.

Wei Han indeed fell silent after hearing Luo Sheng say this.

The attendant at his side reached for the sword at his waist, thinking to himself that this Miss Luo was too shameless, bullying their master for having thin face. He really wanted to slash her a few times to vent his master’s anger.

At this moment, Wei Han spoke, his tone indifferent. “I thought that having pulled off my belt, Miss Luo would have a sufficiently deep impression of me.”

“Cough cough cough—” Coughing sounds immediately rose and fell in succession, with several guards choking until their faces turned bright red.

This time, it was Luo Sheng’s turn to fall silent.