Qiao Chu

The night was deep and heavy.

Chu Zhao sprawled out, breathing in the fragrance of her freshly dried hair, and let out a long, comfortable sigh.

"This is the most relaxed I've been in a long time," she said.

A Le, lying beside her, also exhaled deeply. "It's because we finally found A Jiu. The letters you wrote can now be delivered to the General by him."

Chu Zhao laughed heartily. "He's been beaten so badly he's covered in injuries, and you're still thinking about having him deliver letters?"

Yes, A Le sat up, her brow furrowed tightly. "In his condition, he won't be able to travel long distances for a while. What should we do? What medicine can we give him to make him recover instantly and get back to work?"

"A Le, show some sophistication befitting a maid from the capital," Chu Zhao chuckled, poking her with a finger. "Stop obsessing over A Jiu. Think about who your young mistress met today! Young Master Xie the Third, Young Master Xie the Third!"

What's so special about meeting Young Master Xie the Third? A Le pondered intently. "I know the Third Young Master is very famous, but he might not necessarily be better at delivering letters than A Jiu."

Of course, Young Master Xie the Third is more renowned than A Jiu—everyone adores him, like an immortal descended from the heavens. But has someone like him ever suffered hardships? Can he travel like a Courier?

Though A Jiu has a bad reputation and a terrible temper, and A Le doesn't like him at all, A Jiu doesn't live a life of luxury and ease.

"I gave his maid some medicine, telling her it's especially effective and speeds up wound healing. They were overjoyed, saying the young master wouldn't need to recuperate for so long this time after being beaten and injured."

It's clear that A Jiu is frequently punished.

And it's no surprise—during their journey together, she herself had felt like hitting A Jiu several times.

Such a person is detestable, but such a person is more suited for delivering letters.

Watching A Le's earnest analysis, Chu Zhao laughed, sat up, and nodded. "Yes, A Jiu is the most suitable for delivering letters. Once he's recovered, I'll seek him out. But there's no need to rush now, because with Young Master Xie the Third here, he can help me with another matter. Once that's resolved, delivering the letters won't be so urgent."

A Le understood. "So when you had me inquire about Young Master Xie the Third earlier, it was for this purpose."

Chu Zhao nodded and lay back down again. "Now that this matter is settled, I feel much more at ease."

In this life, she had avoided Xiao Xun and would not repeat past mistakes. She had averted her own tragedy, and now, by warning Xie Yanfang about the Third Prince's plot to kill the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince's fate would likely change as well.

Xie Yanfang—she silently repeated the name, a faint smile curling at the corners of her lips.

A Le heard her and giggled beside her. "Young mistress, do you like Young Master Xie the Third more?"

"Not at all," Chu Zhao replied immediately, then felt there was something off about her response. More than whom?

A Le giggled again. "It wouldn't be strange if you did. Everyone likes Young Master Xie the Third. Is he very kind? Even when you spoke about him like that on the street, he wasn't harsh when you met him."

She had followed inside and stood to the side, watching. Though she couldn't get close enough to hear their conversation, she saw Young Master Xie the Third and her young mistress toast three times, chatting and laughing warmly.

Unlike that A Jiu, who only spoke sarcastically whenever he saw her.Do you like him? Chu Zhao thought. Girls of thirteen or fourteen, or rather women nowadays regardless of age—who wouldn’t admire an elegant young gentleman? Not just now, but later too, when Young Master Xie the Third became the Swallow Wolf. Though he was no longer graceful, with blood staining his hands and body, he possessed a different kind of beauty that still captivated many women.

In that lifetime, a powerful clan entrenched in a region wavered between the Xie traitor and the imperial court. The Swallow Wolf scaled the walls of their estate late one night and, somehow bewitching a young woman of the household, persuaded her to rally her brothers. Eventually, the entire clan defected to join the Swallow Wolf.

When Xiao Xun heard of this in the palace, he flew into a rage, cursing the young woman for her shamelessness and the Swallow Wolf for his unscrupulousness.

"Whether one likes someone isn’t determined by whether they are a good person," Chu Zhao said to A Le. "Besides, it’s hard to define who is truly good or evil."

Hard to define? A Le blinked. Didn’t her lady think Young Master Xie the Third was a good person?

Chu Zhao looked at her. "A Le, do you know who stirred up the Third Prince’s anger toward me?"

A Le froze. It couldn’t be...?

Chu Zhao smiled. "Surprised? And he told me so himself."

A Le jumped down from the bed. "Miss, how could he be so wicked! You’ve never wronged him—why would he harm you?"

The girl with loose hair paced the floor like an angry fighting cock, itching to storm the Xie residence and peck that elegant young gentleman to pieces.

Chu Zhao rose with a laugh and caught her. "Why are you so angry? It’s true we have no enmity between us, but we share no ties either. He serves the Crown Prince and schemes against the Third Prince—why would he spare a thought for me?"

The logic made sense, yet something felt off. A Le stared wide-eyed at Chu Zhao, at the girl’s calm smile under the dim lamplight, her eyes completely devoid of anger.

"Miss," she grasped the girl’s arm, "how can you not be angry? Even if you share no ties, he has no right to bully you like this."

Bully? Chu Zhao pondered this.

"To me, this really doesn’t matter," she said, giving A Le a gentle smile. "As long as I achieve my goals, what kind of person he is or how he treats me is irrelevant. I don’t care."

A Le fell silent, then reached out and hugged her.

"Miss, I know why you’re like this," she murmured. "It’s because you’ve endured so much bullying that you no longer care."

Chu Zhao was taken aback. Was that it?

Endured too much bullying?

She had indeed suffered plenty, mostly from those close to her—her uncle’s family, and Xiao Xun.

If even her own kin could treat her so, why should strangers matter?

"I used to be like that too," A Le leaned against her shoulder and said. "Before I met the general, I roamed the streets, stealing and scrounging. I got beaten every day, and what I stole was often taken from me. But back then, I never got angry. I often told myself, they’re not my parents—why should they treat me well? Bullying me was normal. Miss, I know now—it wasn’t that I wasn’t angry, but that I couldn’t afford to be, didn’t dare to be. If I didn’t accept bullying as reasonable, I wouldn’t have survived."

Chu Zhao had long forgotten A Le’s childhood struggles. She patted the girl’s back soothingly.

"Until I met the general and you, miss," A Le said. "Only then did I learn that I didn’t have to endure bullying—that it’s okay to be angry when wronged, and it’s okay to seek revenge."She lifted her head and patted Chu Zhao's shoulder, her eyes resolute.

"Miss, you too will someday meet someone who treats you well and won't let you be bullied, just like I have."

Whenever her own heart grew too hardened to feel anything, A Le would always warm it back to life. Chu Zhao let out a soft sigh and nodded firmly. "Yes, I will surely meet such a person."

A Le relaxed, then grew indignant again. "Young Master Xie the Third is no good man. Is it reliable to seek his help, Miss?"

Chu Zhao said, "What I'm asking him to do, in principle, isn't for my sake—it's for his own."

At this, she smiled. Of course, it would benefit her too.

She raised her eyebrows with a hint of pride.

In her previous life, the Swallow Wolf of the Xie family had also been among those who bullied her, constantly cursing her and her father, and relentlessly hunting down Uncle Zhong and the others.

So in this life, she would make Xie Yanfang protect the Crown Prince. This way, Xiao Xun wouldn't become Emperor, and Xie Yanfang wouldn't turn into the Swallow Wolf—instead, he would remain an elegant young master under the Crown Prince's service for the rest of his life.

...

...

The night had grown deep, and only Xiao Xun's quarters in the courier station were still lit.

He had learned of the incident that everyone knew about from the streets today, and he also knew of the matters that remained unknown to others.

"That young man from the Xie family was the courier who was with Miss Chu at the time," Tie Ying reported. "When she saw him being punished, Miss Chu rushed out frantically to protect him, loudly cursing Xie Yanfang."

Xiao Xun looked somewhat surprised. "What a coincidence?"

This coincidence, of course, wasn't about Miss Chu witnessing the Xie family youth being punished, but rather that when Miss Chu fled to the Border Commandery, the Xie family youth happened to be working as a courier delivering messages to the Border Commandery.