Qiao Chu

The couriers traveled swiftly, with both men and horses racing forward as if their lives depended on it, barely stopping even for a day.

A Fu gritted her teeth against the jolting of the horse.

She slept poorly, ate poorly, and the wounds on her thighs and buttocks, chafed raw, scabbed over only to break open again. If not for A Le's herbal medicine sustaining her, she feared the sores would fester until she could no longer travel.

She remembered how skilled she had been at horseback riding in her teens, galloping daily without the slightest discomfort. But now, the person inside this body had become her twenty-something-year-old self, accustomed to years of pampered living, and her body could no longer adapt.

A Le quickly noticed her gradual lagging and pained expression, falling back to stay close by her side.

"Should we rest for a while?" A Le couldn't help but whisper.

A Fu shook her head, watching the couriers galloping ahead. No, she couldn't stop. If she gave them any excuse, that A Jiu would surely abandon her.

Moreover, she didn't want to stop.

"I want to reach the Border Commandery as soon as possible," she said, gazing ahead. "I want to see Father."

It had been so long since she had last seen her father.

She never imagined she would have another chance to see him again.

As these words left her lips, tears streamed down her face, stung by the cold wind until her cheeks ached.

A Le's tears fell too. She understood—her young mistress, who had never suffered hardship in her life, was now being bound and sent to the authorities by the elder master.

In this world, the only one who truly cherished the young mistress was the General.

Though A Fu and A Le said nothing, Zhang Gu soon noticed the two girls' distress.

"A Jiu," he urged his horse forward to catch up with the young man at the front. "Let's not push on today. Let's stop and rest at the next relay station."

A Jiu replied, "The horses can still run for another day. We can change them tomorrow." He glanced back and immediately understood, snorting in displeasure. "Brother Zhang, you're too soft-hearted. We have our duties—urgent dispatches to deliver. We can't babysit halfway."

"Urgent dispatches, my foot! We're just delivering the latest military household registry approvals. A delay of three, five, even ten or fifteen days doesn't matter." Zhang Gu said angrily. "In fact, if not for the higher-ups trying to make things difficult for you, we brothers wouldn't even be on this mission!"

A Jiu raised his phoenix-like eyes: "So, you're saying I'm these two girls' lucky star? What a great benefactor I am."

Zhang Gu was amused despite himself and spat, "Seriously, these two have kept up far better than I expected. They're truly remarkable, worthy of admiration."

A Jiu sneered, "Fighting for themselves—what's so remarkable? What's there to admire? Whose life is easy?"

Zhang Gu glared, exasperated. "Are you heartless or just plain cruel?"

A Jiu seemed to smile, but his eyes held a cold glint. He cracked his whip in the air with a sharp snap, urging his horse to go even faster.

Zhang Gu had no choice but to follow.

From behind, A Le saw the couriers speeding up and couldn't help cursing in anger: "That A Jiu must be doing it on purpose."

A Fu, however, felt no anger.

"Why curse him? He owes us nothing, and he shouldn't have brought us along in the first place," she said. "It's better that he's a villain—it makes things easier for us."

There was no need to scheme for his kindness. They only needed to keep up desperately, to not fall behind, and they wouldn't be abandoned.Though she spoke these words, A Le felt both sorrowful and bewildered seeing the girl's face contort in pain as she tried to speed up again.

"Miss should never have come to the capital in the first place," she murmured.

When Miss left the Border Commandery back then, how happy she had been! And how overjoyed she was upon first arriving in the capital, so full of anticipation for life there.

Who could have imagined the girls in the capital would be so vicious—mocking, bullying, and sneering at Miss for being from the countryside, making fun of her speech, mannerisms, and clothing for their own amusement.

And then there was Miss Chu Tang, who, despite being a cousin, didn’t help Miss at all but instead joined the outsiders in laughing at her.

Everyone said Miss had struck Miss Liang, but A Le was certain Miss Liang must have bullied Miss first, and Miss had only retaliated after enduring it to the breaking point.

The master and mistress were truly cowardly, afraid of the Liang family, and without even distinguishing right from wrong, they wanted to tie Miss up and send her to the authorities.

She only regretted not being there at the time. If she had still been by Miss’s side, Miss wouldn’t have had to lift a hand—A Le would have kicked that Miss Liang flying herself. Then, whether they wanted to tie her up and send her to the authorities or beat her to death, she’d let them do as they pleased.

A Fu could tell what A Le was thinking, though most of it was mistaken.

If it had been her thirteen-year-old self, she wouldn’t have struck Miss Liang.

And back at thirteen, she had been foolish and hadn’t even realized she was being bullied.

She had certainly felt the disdain, so she worked hard to please those young ladies, striving to become like them, believing that would stop the contempt.

How foolish she had been back then.

Not just then—her entire life had been foolish.

So foolish that she lived ridiculously and died miserably.

But on one point, A Le was right: she never should have come to the capital.

All her misfortunes and calamities began in the capital.

Leave the capital, return to the Border Commandery, return to Father’s side.

A Fu tightened her grip on the reins, strength surging through her body once more, the pain easing. She cracked her whip, producing a sharp, clear sound.

Seeing the two lagging girls gradually catch up, Zhang Gu felt a surge of emotion—such fine children, both sorrowful and resilient.

He resolved that they must rest at the post station, even if A Jiu threw a fit—if the boy got angry and stormed off on his own, so be it.

But what was infuriating was that A Jiu kept speeding up, not slowing down until nightfall. Zhang Gu hadn’t even had a chance to voice his decision. It wasn’t until torches were lit and the horses could go no further that A Jiu finally stopped.

Even Zhang Gu, a seasoned Courier, was nearly breathless from the run.

"You crazy brat, what’s gotten into you?" he cursed.

A Jiu waved his torch forward, its thick smoke swaying in the night.

"I’m not crazy. Didn’t you say we should rest?" he said. "There’s a post station ahead."

Zhang Gu was taken aback. Was there a post station here? He had no memory of it. He looked up and, sure enough, in the dimness of the night, a light glowed in the mountain hollow ahead, with red lanterns hung and the words "Crane Ridge Official Post" prominently displayed.

...

...

It was an even smaller post station than the North Cao Formation Post, with no front or back courtyard—just a single row of buildings that, at first glance, seemed barely larger than a local earth god shrine.

The Station Chief was also an old soldier who resembled the earth god, leaning on a crutch as he welcomed them."This station of ours wasn't originally a station at all. Back when these mountains were rich with fine timber, the authorities simply built a basic house here to store the felled logs," the Old Station Chief said with a cheerful laugh. "There are proper towns and established stations both a day's journey ahead and behind us, so travelers either push through or slow their pace—no one stops here. It's quite a coincidence that you soldiers found this place. But we have no post horses here, nor any provisions or fodder. Still, rest assured, gentlemen—I've saved some food that can fill your bellies."

He chattered on, trembling slightly as he made to head to the kitchen to cook.

Zhang Gu quickly stopped him. "Old sir, no need to trouble yourself. We brought enough rations and can cook for ourselves. It's just that without post horses, we'll need an extra day's rest to let our horses recover."

The Old Station Chief chuckled warmly. "No problem at all, no problem at all. Stay as long as you like. This mountain is so quiet you can hardly spot a bird or beast."

Leaning on his cane, he still busied himself pointing out where to fetch water and gather firewood for the couriers.

The small station grew lively with activity.

A Jiu naturally paid no mind to chores like lighting fires or cooking. He lounged on the steps, swinging his legs as he gazed at the stars in the night sky.

"You actually knew there was a station here," Zhang Gu remarked as he approached.

A Jiu replied, "It's marked on the map. Didn't you see it, Brother Zhang?"

After all these years of traveling this route, who still checks station locations on maps? Especially one so small and inconspicuous—it really had escaped notice. Zhang Gu smiled. "You're quite meticulous. Are you planning to be a courier for life?"

A Jiu's voice drifted lazily as he watched the stars. "Why not? Being a courier isn't so bad—traveling north and south, eating well and drinking fine."

It was nothing as glamorous as that—a lifetime worn down by the grind. Only someone unaware of life's hardships would say such a thing. As Zhang Gu was about to respond, A Jiu suddenly turned his head and called out, "Hey, you two—stop right there! There's only one room, and I'm taking it. You can sleep in the kitchen after it's done being used."

After dismounting and resting for a while, A Fu—who could now walk slowly with A Le's support—paused and tugged at A Le's sleeve. A Le then guided her away from the doorway to sit on a stone stool in the courtyard.

Zhang Gu shot A Jiu a glare. "We're grown men—"

"What about being grown men? Men get tired from riding and traveling too," A Jiu retorted, swinging his long legs and resuming his stargazing.

Seated on the stone, A Le felt no anger this time—instead, he was somewhat pleased.

Though they'd still be sleeping on the ground without proper beds, the kitchen would allow them to boil water at night. He could give his young lady a proper wash to ease her fatigue and tend to her wounds.