Fеng Yuе lookеd аt Yin Gеzhi with еуes that now rеgаrded him as а monster.
Аt first, shе hаd thоught shе сould seе through his thoughts, playing her littlе triсks and hоpрing аrоund right undеr his nosе. Lооking bасk now, Yin Gеzhi had been sсhеming from thе moment he sеt foot in thе Wu Kingdom—саlсulаting hоw Gеnеral Yi should diе, сalсulаting whеn he wоuld return tо thе Wei Kingdоm. Еven withоut her, these things wоuld have haрреned; it wаs only a mаttеr оf soоnеr оr lаtеr.
Вut thinking abоut it this wаy, аt leаst she had shоrtenеd thе timе it would tаkе fоr him tо return to his cоuntry, so she wasn’t entirеly without merit.
Fоrcing somе cоmfоrt upоn herself, Feng Yue closed her eyes, put on a fawning smile, and leaned close to Yin Gezhi to ask, “Do you need to pack your luggage? Do you want Lingshu and me to help?”
“It’s already packed,” Guan Zhi said from the side. “But your and Lingshu’s luggage hasn’t been touched yet. I didn’t know what to pack.”
Feng Yue: “…”
Could it be that this man had also ordered Guan Zhi to pack as soon as he heard the news of Yi Guoru’s death? Was she the only one slow to react?
Seeing the mix of shame and indignation on her face, Yin Gezhi slowly opened his noble mouth and gently comforted her, “No need to overthink it. Just follow me.”
Hearing this, Feng Yue felt deeply moved—the First Prince Yin was actually being so gentle and comforting!
However, the next sentence poured down on her head like a bucket of ice: “After all, you wouldn’t be able to figure anything out anyway.”
“…” Clutching her chest, Feng Yue coughed a couple of times, trying to spit out some blood or something to express her anger. But after spitting for a while, all she managed was a bit of saliva. Not a single speck of blood was in sight, and it even made Yin Gezhi beside her disdainfully shield his robe and step back.
Fine, fine. So she was stupid—so be it. At least now she could hitch a ride back to the Wei Kingdom, which was the best possible outcome. After all, some people on Xiangyu Street were truly special, and if she really wanted to cross the border, it would be difficult.
“How many people can Your Highness bring at most?” she asked.
Yin Gezhi opened the document in his hand and glanced at it, saying, “It says that all accompanying personnel are to be allowed passage.”
As for how many people counted as “accompanying personnel,” that depended on his mood.
Feng Yue understood immediately and smiled like Mama Jin, waving her handkerchief as she massaged the First Prince’s waist and legs. When it was time for the meal, she personally cooked a table full of delicious dishes and, with great servility, piled all the meat into his bowl.
Yin Gezhi looked at her calmly, his gaze sweeping over her already very nimble hands before settling on her rather thin frame.
“I don’t like eating meat.”
Feng Yue, who was diligently serving meat to this lord, immediately swapped her bowl with his upon hearing this and muttered quietly, “You should’ve said so earlier. I like eating meat.”
Guan Zhi beside them was stunned and stepped forward, wanting to stop her—after all, this was the bowl she had used, and his master was such a clean person…
Calmly taking the bowl, Yin Gezhi picked up his chopsticks with composure, selected some vegetables, and lowered his head to chew slowly and carefully. His movements were so natural, as if the bowl had always been his.
Lingshu was looking around when she suddenly noticed Guan Zhi’s face turning pale across from her. Curious, she opened her mouth and asked, “What’s wrong with Lord Guan Zhi? Why does he look so strange?”
As if a stone were stuck in his throat, Guan Zhi swallowed hard with effort, waved his hand, and forced a dry laugh. “It’s nothing, nothing…”
Yin Gezhi glanced at him, while Feng Yue, busy eating her meat, didn’t even look up.Another three bowls of rice in one meal, and Guan Zhi felt that Miss Feng Yue was truly too capable of eating! But why did his master's mood improve after the meal? Usually, he would look at the girl with disdain, but today he didn't utter a word and even left all the meat for her.
After pondering for a long while with his head lowered, Guan Zhi looked at Feng Yue with a hint of awe.
Yin Gezhi set the departure date for tomorrow. Ye Yuqing cursed inwardly, thinking there was no time to prepare at all, while smiling and sending many gifts over.
Well-informed people in Shadowless City followed suit, sending a flood of gold, silver, and valuables—easy to carry and precious, very thoughtful. Especially the Marquis of An, who straightforwardly gifted a set of gold-inlaid jade hair ornaments, which looked priceless.
When selecting this item, An Shichong had felt uneasy, wondering why he should send hair ornaments when his master had no use for them.
But when he brought it over, An Shichong understood.
While rejecting many others' gifts of golden Buddhas and jade Guanyin statues, Yin Gezhi alone kept what he had presented, nodding and saying softly, "The Marquis is thoughtful."
As he spoke, without turning his head, he accurately pressed his hand against the forehead of the person beside him.
Miss Feng Yue looked very sleepy, her head bowed and eyes lowered, nodding like a chick pecking at rice. Just as she was about to lose consciousness and fall asleep, her forehead was pressed by Yin Gezhi, startling her awake.
"Huh? Young Master An is here?" Opening her bleary eyes, Feng Yue smiled foolishly. "Thank you."
An Shichong nodded, his gaze falling on the two of them, seeing through it but unwilling to say it aloud. But Xu Huaizu beside him was a big mouth and blurted out, "How is Master so amazing? Without even turning his head, he knew Miss Feng Yue was about to fall asleep."
Feng Yue was stunned and turned to look at him. Yin Gezhi said expressionlessly, "She was snoring. I heard it."
Who was snoring?! Feng Yue was furious. Not letting her sleep in the middle of the night, forcing her to smile politely—if she hadn't stayed with him out of consideration for his mood, she would have left him alone here. Was he being ungrateful?
...Even if he was, there was nothing she could do.
Deeply lamenting her fate, Feng Yue wiped her face and said pitifully, "This servant is truly too tired."
"Then we disciples won't disturb you any longer," An Shichong said, cupping his hands. "We have to go to the training ground tomorrow and probably won't be able to see Master off."
"No matter," Yin Gezhi said, looking at them deeply. "If you can diligently study what I've left for you, that will be worthy of me."
Each of them held a new manual in their hands, written by Yin Gezhi himself, containing key martial arts principles and daily training routines. An Shichong and Xu Huaizu nodded in unison, knelt before Yin Gezhi, and kowtowed three times. "May Master have a smooth journey."
"Have a smooth journey."
"The last sentence in the manual—ponder it well. It will save you a lot of confusion," Yin Gezhi said as he saw them out. As he pulled the door to close it, he smiled faintly. "Read it only after you've finished. If you look now, you won't understand."
The two were stunned, dazzled by their master's smile. By the time they regained their senses, the door before them had already closed.An Shichong was a rule-abiding person; if his master said to finish reading before looking, he would finish reading before looking. But Xu Huaizu beside him, accustomed to being unrestrained, immediately flipped to the last page. Then, squinting under the moonlight, he read the words written there.
"A general fights for the country; the country is righteousness, and all else can be abandoned."
What does this mean? Xu Huaizu scratched his head: "Isn't this statement just as good as saying nothing?"
An Shichong was also somewhat confused. A general fights for the country—indeed, that is the principle. But why was it left on the last page, specifically instructing them to ponder it carefully?
Closing the door and returning to the main courtyard, Yin Gezhi turned his head and saw a ruleless girl leaning against the courtyard wall. She was drooling and sleeping soundly.
Lingshu stood beside her, wanting to wake her up but not knowing where to start.
"I'll do it." Walking over, Yin Gezhi elegantly lifted his sleeve.
Lingshu immediately shook her head in panic: "There's no need to trouble Your Highness. Guan Zhi said you love cleanliness. If my mistress gets dirt on you..."
Before she could finish speaking, the hem of the skirt in front of her lifted, and her mistress was already cradled in someone's arms. The dust she had rubbed against the wall was now all over Yin Gezhi's black robe, but this prince didn't seem to mind at all, showing none of the fury Guan Zhi had described.
Huh? That's not right! Little Lingshu couldn't figure it out. Earlier, when His Highness was wearing white clothes, Guan Zhi accidentally knocked over a teacup, splashing a bit of tea on him, and His Highness's expression had turned ugly. Clearly, he was extremely particular about cleanliness. Now, with her mistress all dirty, why wasn't he scowling?
His Highness's thoughts were truly hard to guess!
Clutching her little head in agony, Lingshu decided not to think about it anymore. Seeing that her mistress was taken care of, she immediately returned to her own room to sleep.
Back in her room, Feng Yue thought she would suffer from insomnia, nervousness, or excitement. However, it turned out that Yin Gezhi's cool jade mat was truly comfortable. She slept until half an hour before departure the next day, startling herself into a cold sweat and leaping up in a panic: "My luggage!"
A bundle was thrown into her face, and Yin Gezhi said expressionlessly, "It's already packed."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Grumbling as she hugged the bundle, Feng Yue hurriedly got out of bed. She dragged Lingshu in to style her hair into a bun and change her clothes, then pulled her along, ready to leave: "Is everything prepared?"
Guan Zhi was hitching the carriage at the door, and the hired coachman was squatting nearby, chatting. Yin Gezhi said coldly, "No need for you to worry."
"Then... could you wait for us in the outskirts of the city?" Feng Yue forced a smile. "There might be some others joining us on the journey."
Others? Yin Gezhi nodded, thinking it was probably just her people and shouldn't be too many.
But when they reached the outskirts of the city and saw the people on the other side, Yin Gezhi was stunned.
Two fully loaded carriages! And not just normally loaded—each carriage was packed with at least eight people!
The people in the other carriages were also stunned, looking over at their side, not daring to get out and approach.
Feng Yue waved cheerfully: "Aunt Qiu, Uncle Yin, everyone, come over and pay your respects. We'll be relying on His Highness's care along the way."
Yin Gezhi frowned, thinking to himself, "I am a prince of the realm; how can I casually accept the greetings of commoners?"
But when he saw the faces of the group clearly, Yin Gezhi's expression turned ashen.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
A pile of heads bowed down. Though they were all dressed in ordinary commoners' clothes, each and every one of them looked familiar!"General Yin, Deputy General Luo, Madam Qiu." Clenching his teeth, Yin Gezhi called out each name one by one, then suddenly let out a bitter laugh. "Three years ago, when many generals went missing, I thought they had been harmed by treacherous individuals. I never imagined you all had simply found another path."
Yin Yanzhong sighed. "We have failed you, Your Highness."
They felt ashamed, yet did not believe what they had done was wrong. General Guan had been wrongfully executed, and someone in the court and government was wielding absolute power. Unable to save a renowned general of their generation and disillusioned with the Wei Kingdom's royal family, they had abandoned their official positions without hesitation upon receiving Feng Yue's message, following her far away to the Wu Kingdom.
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