After two beats of silence, Fan Changyu said, “Since it’s related to my maternal grandfather’s grain transport, I’ll go with you.”
In the darkness, Xie Zheng opened his eyes. The truth of what happened seventeen years ago concerned not only him, but also the person before him.
By the moonlight spilling in from the window, he could vaguely make out the contours of Fan Changyu’s face. Her eyes were filled with a solemn expression.
One of Xie Zheng’s hands was still around her waist. Through the thin fabric, he could faintly feel the raised ridge of the scar on her abdomen.
He didn't know if this trip was a trap.
The group of Heaven-rank Martial Assassins under Wei Yan’s command were likely no easier to deal with than the imperial Shadow Guards by Qi Min’s side.
He said, “Wait for the little emperor’s edict to arrive, then return to the capital with the main army. If you follow me into the capital without an edict and get discovered, it’s a beheading offense.”
Fan Changyu glared at him. “You think I’m afraid?”
Knowing her temperament, Xie Zheng’s lips quirked into a smile, his gaze softening. He took a few deep breaths of the scent of her hair before saying, “I know you’re not afraid, but one must always be prepared for any eventuality.”
His palm gently caressed the scar at her waist. “The emperor’s great-grandson and his mother are still at the other courtyard. I’ll be more at ease with you here. If I fall into a trap on this trip and lose contact like the Old Man, you can use this token to mobilize the Blood-Clad Cavalry and the Xie family’s forces in Huizhou. If it truly comes to a dead end, don’t enter the capital rashly. Persuade Tang Peiyi to enthrone the emperor’s great-grandson with you. With the Chengde Crown Prince’s bloodline on your side, even if you have to temporarily retreat to a corner of the northwest, no one in the court will dare brand you as traitors.”
Fan Changyu felt an oval token, warm with his body heat, being pressed into her palm. A complicated feeling arose in her heart. She turned her head to look at Xie Zheng and asked, “What about you?”
Seeing the worry in her eyes, Xie Zheng pulled her into his arms for a tight hug. “I’m just talking about the worst-case scenario. Wei Yan isn’t capable enough to make it a one-way trip for me.”
Fan Changyu’s hand was still clutching the token he had given her, her heart a chaotic mess. She buried her face in his solid chest and instructed in a muffled voice, “You must be careful above all else.”
The front of Xie Zheng’s lapels had been pulled open earlier. As she pressed her cheek against him, the breaths she exhaled as she spoke sprayed across his chest.
He was a young man in his prime, and the person lying beside him was the one he held dearest in his heart.
He endured and endured, his throat bobbing several times. Gazing at the dark canopy of the tent, he said with near self-abandonment, “If you’re really that worried, why don’t you let me leave an heir for the Xie family?”
The warmth in Fan Changyu’s heart stalled. With a deadpan expression, she reached out and viciously pinched his firm waist, earning a muffled, smiling grunt from Xie Zheng. “Murdering your own husband?”
Fan Changyu reached out to pinch him again, but her hand was caught by Xie Zheng.
What had started as playful pushing and shoving ended with her hands and feet pinned to the bed. Xie Zheng propped himself up, looked at her for a few moments, then suddenly lowered his head to kiss her again.
His long, loose hair occasionally brushed against her neck and shoulders, a little cool and a little itchy.
It was different from their previous kisses. He was no longer in a hurry to conquer, but had become extremely patient, so gentle it was as if he were trying to bewitch her.
And Fan Changyu was indeed bewitched by him—
When Fan Changyu woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.
The sunlight pouring in from the door and windows was a bit glaring, and she squinted her eyes in discomfort.
Her chest felt a little heavy, as if something was pressing on it.
Looking closely, she saw it was Changning, lying on top of the quilt.
Aunt Zhao had already washed and tidied her up. Her hair was longer now, and the two tufts on either side of her head were tied neatly, adorned with two small, fluffy bell-shaped flowers.
She propped her chubby chin on her two plump hands and said with a grin, “Big Sister is a big lazybones today. The sun is already on your bottom and you’re just getting up.”
Fan Changyu was still groggy. She subconsciously wanted to reach out and pat Changning’s head, but memories of last night flooded back. She stopped herself from pulling her hand out from under the quilt, her expression turning a little unnatural. “Big Sister is indeed feeling lazy today. Can Ning Niang help me get some water to wash my face?”
Her voice was a little hoarse, likely from just waking up.
It was rare for Changning to be asked to do something by Fan Changyu. Upon hearing her request, she immediately and obediently answered, “Okay!” She hopped off the bed, put on her shoes, picked up the bronze basin from the wooden stand with both hands, and pattered off to the kitchen to find Aunt Zhao.
Once she was alone in the room, Fan Changyu lifted the quilt and sat up. Her inner garment was only loosely draped over her, and a mess of red marks spread from her neck down to her shoulders.
Her chest still ached a little; it must have been bruised by teeth.
Feeling utterly despondent, Fan Changyu ran a hand through her messy hair.
She didn't even know how things had ended up like that last night.
She wanted to change, but when her gaze fell on the fingertips of her right hand, she thought of what Xie Zheng had gotten on her hand last night. Even though it had long been washed clean, she subconsciously wiped her hand on her discarded clothes again.
That’s right, he had used her undergarment to wipe his hand last night!
Afraid that things hadn't been cleaned up properly and Changning might discover something, Fan Changyu’s eyes scanned the room, searching for the undergarment she had dirtied last night.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the half-dry garment on the wooden rack.
Then, a strange feeling arose in her heart—he had actually washed her undergarment before he left?
Her cheeks burned. Fan Changyu rubbed her face and, before Changning returned, found a binding strap from the chest of clean clothes to simply bind her chest.
To make it easier to wear military uniforms, Fan Changyu usually bound her chest.
But today, it was a little painful. As Fan Changyu tied the strap, she glanced down. The tips were swollen. She pressed her lips together, recalling the chaos of the latter part of last night. Half shy and half annoyed, she silently cursed Xie Zheng a thousand times in her heart.
Fortunately, it was already autumn. Fan Changyu picked out a robe with a higher collar to cover the marks on her neck.
But during the meal, Aunt Zhao somehow still spotted them with her sharp eyes. Thinking of the noises she had heard last night, Aunt Zhao asked, “Changyu, how come I haven't seen that boy Yan Zheng since you came back from Chongzhou?”
Fan Changyu instantly choked on a mouthful of rice.
Afraid of worrying Aunt Zhao and the others, she had never mentioned her separation from Xie Zheng. As for their true identities, she didn't know where to begin, so she still hadn't revealed the truth to Aunt Zhao and her husband.
At this moment, she could only poke at the rice in her bowl and say vaguely, “He went with the army to Kangcheng to wipe out the remnants of the rebels. He should be back when the army enters the capital later.”
Aunt Zhao’s expression turned a little strange. She secretly wondered where the marks on Fan Changyu’s neck came from, and could only ask indirectly, “You two didn’t have a fight, did you?”
Fan Changyu looked bewildered. “No.”
Seeing her like this, Aunt Zhao grew even more worried and asked hesitantly, “In the future… are you planning to live with just that boy Yan Zheng, or…”
Fan Changyu misunderstood Aunt Zhao’s meaning and said with a frank expression, “Of course I still have to bring Ning Niang and you, Auntie. You and Uncle are like family to me. How could I abandon you?”
Aunt Zhao slapped her thigh in exasperation. “Who’s asking you about that? I’m asking, you’re not going to be like those ungrateful men who get rich and famous, keeping a few at home and a few more outside, are you?”
Xie Wu, who was sweeping the courtyard, and Xie Qi, who was playing with Changning, both looked horrified when they heard Aunt Zhao’s words.
This time, Fan Changyu truly choked, pounding her chest as her face nearly turned beet red.
“You child, eat slower. I just asked you a question, why did you choke…” Aunt Zhao helped pat her back, but seeing it had no effect, she quickly poured Fan Changyu a cup of tea and handed it to her.
After downing the tea, Fan Changyu finally caught her breath.
She asked, bewildered, “Auntie, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Aunt Zhao glanced at Xie Wu and Xie Qi, who were each busy with their own tasks in the courtyard but had their ears pricked up, and pointed a finger at her own neck.
Fan Changyu quickly pulled her collar tighter. She knew she couldn't hide it, but she felt embarrassed about the marks and said with her head hung low, “Yan Zheng came back last night.”
Aunt Zhao’s face immediately lit up with joy. “Where is he?”
Fan Changyu finished the tea in her cup and said, “He left again.”
Afraid that Aunt Zhao would keep asking questions, she put down the cup and walked out. “Auntie, don’t worry about all this nonsense. There are still matters in the army. I’m heading to the barracks first.”
In truth, there wasn't much going on in the army recently. Afraid of being seen with a neck full of marks and facing more embarrassment, Fan Changyu decided to go to the other courtyard to see Yu Qianqian and her son instead.
On the third day after Xie Zheng’s departure, Fan Changyu learned from Xie Wu that the Blood-Clad Cavalry had captured Li Huaian and had now brought him back.
The thought of the deaths of He Jingyuan and the soldiers outside Lucheng made Fan Changyu’s teeth itch with hatred. She wished she could question Li Huaian on the spot.
And she did.
When she saw Li Huaian in Xie Zheng’s private prison—dressed in ragged clothes, his hair disheveled, yet sitting calmly on the dry straw—Fan Changyu couldn't suppress the rage rising in her heart. She said coldly, “The ground outside Lucheng is covered with the wrongly deceased bones of loyal men. I wonder if Lord Li has been able to eat or sleep in peace these past few days?”
Li Huaian opened his eyes. Looking at her outside the cell, a flicker of pain and shame seemed to cross his face, which then turned into bitterness. “If I said I haven't had a moment of peace, would Miss Fan believe me?”
The image of He Jingyuan’s dead body standing on the Lucheng watchtower, and the soldiers who had followed her out of the city only to fall one by one, were still vivid in Fan Changyu’s mind. Her gaze was as sharp and cold as a blade. “Lord Li should save those words for the day the truth comes out, and say them to the tens of thousands of soldiers who died in vain! The people of the world all thought the Li family, like Lord He, were good officials. But it was also your Li family who treated their lives like dirt!”
Li Huaian still just smiled bitterly. “I have always admired Miss Fan’s forthright and unrestrained nature, her clear distinction between love and hate. But living in this world, many things cannot be black and white; there are always trade-offs. What the Li family did may be wrong for now, but in another decade or so, it might bring a golden age to the Great Yin.”
Fan Changyu clenched her jaw and slammed a fist against the prison wall.
The hard bricks cracked, showering stone fragments onto the ground. Li Huaian’s voice came to an abrupt halt.
He raised his head, and when he saw the fury on Fan Changyu’s face, he was slightly taken aback.
Fan Changyu looked at him coldly. “What gives you the audacity to say such arrogant words? Is it because you were born into wealth and privilege? Because you don’t have to worry about your next meal like the common people? Is it because you’ve read too many books by sages, so the suffering you see is nothing more than a weightless sentence on a page? It wasn’t you who died, nor was it your family. What right do you have to say on their behalf that their deaths were to trade for a golden age for the Great Yin?”
This interrogation left Li Huaian completely stunned.
Fan Changyu gave Li Huaian one last cold, sarcastic look and was about to walk out of the prison when a commotion came from the prison gate ahead.
Several men dressed in Blood-Clad Cavalry uniforms rushed in with bloody sabers, coming face to face with Fan Changyu.
In just one exchange, Fan Changyu realized these men were impostors. She drew the boning knife she always carried at her waist.
The jailbreakers across from her exchanged a look, then raised their sabers and charged at Fan Changyu.
The prison corridor was narrow. Fan Changyu’s blade clashed with her opponent’s, sending sparks flying. Relying on sheer brute force, she forced the martial assassin back, almost dragging him backward by the blade.
One of the martial assassins tried a sneak attack, but Fan Changyu kicked his arm. His arm was instantly dislocated, and he could no longer hold his saber, which fell to the ground with a metallic clang.
After finishing off the few martial assassins who had fought their way into the prison, Fan Changyu looked at Li Huaian. “Even with Lord Li trapped here, there are still people who would risk their lives to save you. Those soldiers who died outside the city that day, they waited until their deaths, but no one came to their rescue!”
Li Huaian’s head was bowed, his messy hair obscuring most of his face. He said, “Go save the emperor’s great-grandson and his mother.”
Fan Changyu’s expression changed slightly. “What do you mean?”
Li Huaian’s voice was calm to the point of numbness. “The jailbreak is just a feint.”
In a flash, Fan Changyu understood that this was a ploy to lure the tiger from the mountain!
Those men had disguised themselves as the Blood-Clad Cavalry and fought their way to the prison, catching the real Blood-Clad Cavalry off guard. The Blood-Clad Cavalry would definitely mobilize more men to reinforce the prison, tying up all their forces here. If something were to happen at the other courtyard, it would be too late to dispatch anyone!
Fan Changyu rushed out without a moment’s delay. She ran into many impostors disguised as Blood-Clad Cavalry. Caught off guard, her arm was cut. Because it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe, she simply swung her knife at anyone she saw from then on.
When Xie Shiyi arrived with his men, he ran into Fan Changyu and was nearly cut down before he could even speak. He quickly raised his saber to block, shouting, “Captain, it’s me, Shiyi!”
Fan Changyu clutched her bleeding arm, glanced at the hundred or so men he had brought, and said, “Hurry to the other courtyard! Their real target is the other courtyard!”
Xie Shiyi’s face changed drastically. He immediately ordered his subordinates, “A few of you stay here to clean up. The rest of you, follow me to the other courtyard!”
Fan Changyu said, “I’m going too.”
Xie Shiyi glanced at Fan Changyu, probably realizing he couldn't stop her. He threw her a bottle of trauma medicine and said, “Then be careful, Captain!”
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