Mo Zi didn’t let Zan Jin take her to the door. She’d drunk too much, her head wasn’t clear, and she was in a state of extreme shock. Unable to find a certain Elder Young Master or a certain Second Young Master to clarify things, she was unspeakably depressed and needed to walk a bit to calm down.

Fine, making this mutually beneficial friend Yuan Cheng—she had no backbone, needing him to save her life, so she might as well ask him for continued protection. With Jin Yin, she didn’t mind applying the same logic—she might even gain a bank for loans. However—

However, this sworn brotherhood forming three brothers was going a bit too far. Ancient people actually didn’t often swear brotherhood—once sworn, you had to take responsibility. Look at the Three Kingdoms: Liu Adou was such a disappointment, yet Guan Yu and Zhang Fei remained utterly devoted—that was the brotherhood bond they couldn’t escape. Her current situation wasn’t that the others were too weak, but that they were too strong—so strong she not only couldn’t control them but would be led forward by them, rushing ahead blindly, possibly only discovering on her deathbed that all her misery was caused by them.

Thinking it over, could there have been something wrong with last night’s wine? And those two—how was it that whoever drank with them ended up forming factions with them? She couldn’t remember anything clearly. She only recalled laughing heartily at the table, freely wielding a brush to write calligraphy, feeling quite carefree about it.

Though she’d been military in her past life and frequently dressed as a man in this one—perhaps lacking feminine charm—actually treating her as a man and swearing brotherhood—wasn’t that wrong? Wasn’t it?

Ah—her head was splitting.

Walking through the secret passage from the neighboring courtyard, she emerged from a side room door, rubbing her temples and sighing heavily, when she suddenly crashed into something. Adding insult to injury to her exploding head, she immediately crouched down hugging her head and groaning.

“Mo Zi!” A concerned exclamation came from Bai He.

Mo Zi switched from rubbing her temples to rubbing her forehead, raising one hand to wave dismissively. “I’m fine. But Bai He, when did you become so solid? Hard as stone—hurt like hell. Has Mistress gotten up yet?” Staying out all night made her feel guilty.

“What do you think?” Xiao San’s voice.

“Master came so early today.” After Mo Zi spoke, she froze. Wait—this wasn’t Mozhi Residence. Why could she hear Xiao San’s voice?

Looking up, her eyes involuntarily widened then narrowed.

In the garden before Qiu Sanniang’s bedroom, the four senior maids surrounded Qiu Sanniang sitting in the pavilion. Among the flower bushes stood two men—one was Xiao San, the other was Xiao Er. The one she’d luckily crashed into was none other than the young, proud General Xiao Erlang.

Should she say good morning to everyone?

This was bad—she was wearing men’s clothing. Putting on a submissive demeanor, she began thinking of excuses. She hadn’t come in from outside—she could just say she’d been playing around with Bai He and the others.

“Mo Zi, in that men’s clothing—where are you coming from?” Not Xiao San, but Xiao Er, with barely suppressed fury in his voice.

“Second Uncle’s words are interesting.” Zheng—Qiu Sanniang plucked a string. “So many eyes watching her come out of the house—where else could she be coming from?”

“Reporting to Second Master, this morning the sisters were playing around. I lost and had to change into men’s clothing and walk a circle.” Mo Zi kept her eyes lowered, looking at the ground, not glancing at Xiao Er once. She was quite confident she could get through this—after all, wearing men’s clothing didn’t mean he could tell Brother Mo and Mo Zi were the same person.

“Playing around?” Xiao Er’s voice was very cold.

“If not playing around, could Mo Zi actually be a man?” Qiu Sanniang gave a cold snort.

Xiao San said nothing. He stared intently at Qiu Sanniang, as if searching for wherever those fierce red rashes the doctors had described were. Clearly her skin was fair as snow, her flower-like countenance—after not seeing her these two days, she seemed even more radiant.

As soon as he and Second Brother entered this residence, they’d been blocked. A steward called Tian Da wore a apologetic smile saying Sanniang was recuperating from illness and couldn’t be disturbed, while signaling people to report inside. Unexpectedly, Second Brother immediately ordered Xiao Min to detain all the servants in the front courtyard and dragged him inside. Hearing the clear, flowing zither music, his instincts told him something was wrong. Then seeing Sanniang and her maids laughing so happily with their own eyes, in that instant he understood very clearly.

He’d just asked what was going on when, before Qiu Sanniang could answer, a man in a long robe ran out from another room. Fortunately Bai He called out “Mo Zi” in time, or he might have been as furious as Second Brother.

Thinking of this, Xiao San felt very strange inside. Sanniang was faking illness—why did Second Brother’s face become covered in frost, his tone of speech making even him tremble to hear it? Second Brother had practiced martial arts with Father since childhood, joined the army at sixteen, commanded troops at seventeen, and thus was stern and unsmiling, but he’d never seen such a frightening expression before. Looking again at Second Brother beside him, he discovered Second Brother was glaring furiously at the cross-dressed Mo Zi.

Maids playing around, wearing men’s clothing—there was nothing so strange about that. Xiao San believed Sanniang and Mo Zi’s explanation because from his personal experience, he could imagine Qiu Sanniang faking illness but couldn’t imagine her and the maids dressing as men and walking around outside.

“Sister-in-law.” Xiao Wei wasn’t very polite to Qiu Sanniang either. Mo Zi was Brother Mo, Qiu Sanniang was the proprietor of Wangqiu Tower, and also the mastermind behind the smuggling ships. Such an audaciously bold woman had actually become his sister-in-law—he truly had nothing to say.

“Second Uncle, do you perhaps want to have someone verify identities?” Qiu Sanniang had always been mentally prepared that Xiao Erlang would see through Mo Zi, just hadn’t expected this day to come so quickly. But she had quite a temper and naturally wouldn’t show weakness. “So distrustful of what I say—could these maids and I possibly be living together with a man? Don’t forget, we even rode the same boat. Second Uncle, you have eyes—you should see very clearly.”

“I naturally know she’s female.” Yet he hadn’t known that slick-talking Brother Mo was actually her, not only traveling all the way from Luo Zhou but living in the same mansion, encountering him several times. Especially that time in the study when the two were alone—yet he’d never suspected. This woman had hidden so deeply before him, filling him with furious indignation at being fooled.

“If that’s the case, stop fixating on her cross-dressing.” Qiu Sanniang turned her gaze to Xiao San. “I think your third brother still has questions for me. If Second Uncle has no business, please feel free—seeing how easily you barged in, I won’t have anyone see you out.”

Xiao San frowned. When together with Qiu Sanniang, it was mostly elegant pursuits like zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, or else that lazy, evasive attitude regarding Jin Si matters. Though Grandmother and Mother had mentioned Sanniang’s capability, this was the first time witnessing such a sharp side of her.

“That won’t do. I need to borrow your maid.” Who was Xiao Wei? In the military camp, one shout and tens of thousands of soldiers would die for him. Qiu Sanniang was his sister-in-law and also a woman, but he had no intention of being lenient.

Qiu Sanniang gave a dismissive laugh. “If I refuse to lend her, what then?” She hadn’t noticed before that this Xiao Er was more annoying than Xiao San, with that domineering man-of-action attitude.

“Sister-in-law should agree—it will make things easier to resolve.” He already knew about Qiu Sanniang’s smuggling. How could she be so arrogant? Brother Mo was also an extremely arrogant character—truly, like master, like servant.

“You…” Qiu Sanniang had traveled far and wide. She didn’t appreciate Xiao Er’s threats.

“Mistress, I think Second Master has misunderstood. Why don’t I see Second Master out? I can also explain things clearly.” Mo Zi felt one shock for Xiao San today was enough—another might be too much for him to bear. From what she could see, Xiao San, seeing Qiu Sanniang faking illness, didn’t show displeasure like Xiao Er—he could be won over.

Qiu Sanniang glanced at Mo Zi. The latter nodded slightly, so she said, “Then see him out carefully. Second Master’s mood seems very poor today—don’t become collateral damage.”

Xiao Er’s expression was cold and heavy as he turned and left.

Mo Zi followed, unable to worry about the young couple behind her anymore.

The garden Qiu Sanniang had purchased also had fine scenery—small bridges over flowing water. Walking through it was quite leisurely. However, following behind a fire-breathing dragon, Mo Zi couldn’t be leisurely and felt exhausted.

“Seems what Mistress said is true—Second Master knows the way. Then Mo Zi will see you to here. Second Master can go on yourself.” What exactly was Xiao Er so angry about? These were all past matters. They’d agreed that if they met again, they’d act like strangers. Or was his sense of justice so strong that he couldn’t let go of her as a smuggling criminal and had to send her to prison? How unfortunate for him—she still had Qiu Sanniang as the mastermind above her. If he had the guts, he should sacrifice Prince Jing’s mansion’s reputation and arrest Master Xiao San’s wife too.

Mo Zi had just stopped when she saw Xiao Er on the other side of the bridge turn and leap. It was that Yinyue sword again, thrusting straight toward her.

Cool wind brushed past her ear. The sword sheath glinted coldly in the sunlight, pressing on her shoulder—heavy. Was he just scaring her again?

Mo Zi looked straight into Xiao Erlang’s eyes, her form not moving an inch. “Second Master, what is the meaning of this?”

“Meaning for Brother Mo to stop putting on airs.” Xiao Er withdrew his sword, remaining cold-faced throughout. “If you were an ordinary maid, you’d have been scared to death long ago. You say you’re playing around with people, yet your words reek of alcohol?”

Mo Zi laughed, her spirits soaring. “Second Master is inexplicably strange. May I ask Second Master, have you ever asked me whether I’m Brother Mo?” The alcohol smell? She pretended not to hear.

He hadn’t. He’d never thought of it.

“Second Master says I’m putting on airs—should I have jumped in front of you and said, ‘General Xiao, I Mo Zi am Brother Mo, why don’t you recognize me?'” How laughable. “If Second Master had asked on the boat whether I was female, I would have admitted it. Men’s clothing is convenient for traveling by boat. All the brothers on the ship knew I was female, but I don’t need to tell every unfamiliar person I’m a woman. Plenty of people have recognized me as female—I’ve never denied it. Second Master couldn’t see it yourself, yet now feels deceived and gets angry at us. Isn’t that petty?”

Xiao Er had only been lectured twice in his life, and both times were by the same person. He was furious, but the other party wasn’t afraid at all.

“When Second Master left the boat, we made things clear—we wouldn’t do the smuggling trade anymore, and please don’t cause trouble for Wangqiu Tower or my mistress. If Second Master is as good as your word, you should keep your promise and maintain secrecy from everyone. Otherwise, don’t blame me for proclaiming everywhere that General Xiao secretly entered Nande to smug—” Seeing Xiao Er’s eyes flare with fire from her words, she stopped at the right moment. “Second Master, you’ve finally recognized Mo Zi, and Mo Zi has directly admitted to you—I am Brother Mo, Brother Mo is me. You and Qiu Sanniang are now one family. Family doesn’t speak two languages. Besides, since we both have dishonorable past histories, why not laugh it off?”

The real thought in her heart, held back—she hadn’t deceived him. He was just too stupid.