Нis gаzе swept оvеr thеm, аnd Yin Gеzhi couldn't quite рut his fingеr on what hе was feеling. Nо wоndеr Guаn Fеngyue sеemed to have divine аssistаncе—her mеssаgеs wеre fаst аnd sесrеtive. Еven after hе disсovеred the pаstry shoр, he cоuldn't unсоvеr hеr nеtwоrk. So it turned оut this еntire grоuр оf pеoрlе from Wei Кingdоm was in hеr hands!
Was he аngry? Of cоursе hе was. Аfter all, thesе реoрlе rесеivеd salаriеs from thе Wei сourt and shоuld havе bееn loуаl tо Wеi Kingdom. Yet, аs soon as the Guan fаmily fell into trоuble, theу all аbаndonеd their official positions, left Lidu with their families, and departed Wei Kingdom.
No wonder his father had been so wary of Guan Canghai.
The wind blew, robes fluttered, and the atmosphere grew heavy.
Seeing that neither the standing man nor the kneeling crowd were speaking, Fengyue let out a cheerful "Aiyo!" and stepped forward to break the tension. "What are you all standing around for? Waiting for someone to notice something's off on Xiangyu Street and come after us to wipe us all out? Hurry up and get on the carriage. While it's still early, we'd better make it to the next big city before dark."
Yin Gezhi withdrew his gaze and turned to board the carriage. Once he left, the kneeling people below breathed a sigh of relief and stood up one by one. Madam Qiu pulled Fengyue aside and whispered, "Young Mistress. You only said you had a way to take us back to Wei Kingdom—you never mentioned it would be with the First Prince!"
This was terrifying. Although they held grievances against the Wei royal family, they felt nothing but guilt toward the First Prince. After all, he was a serious and strategic military leader who had once led them to victory. Back then, they had left without a word, never explaining anything to him. Now, meeting again like this... it was just too awkward!
Fengyue forced a dry laugh. "Madam, I didn't want this either, but with all our faces, it would be hard to pass through the checkpoints smoothly. Having the First Prince with us makes it much more convenient, doesn't it? And he just happens to be returning to the country too!"
"How can you be so carefree?" Shi Chong leaned his head in, casting a fearful glance at the carriage where Yin Gezhi sat before lowering his voice. "The death of General Guan is inextricably linked to the First Prince!"
Her smile faltered, and Fengyue lowered her eyes. "I know."
"Then why are you still—"
"Circumstances forced my hand." Shrugging, Fengyue glanced at the people who had gathered around her at some point and said earnestly, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
The eyes of those around her were filled with concern. Madam Qiu sighed and patted the back of her hand. "Take care of yourself. We'll keep an eye out for you too."
"Alright."
Sitting in the carriage, Yin Gezhi tilted his head slightly, catching glimpses of the scene outside through the fluttering curtain.
A circle of former generals surrounded her, chattering away like a group of her relatives. Fengyue nodded obediently, her small frame standing straight, finally showing a hint of her former resilience.
But it was only a hint. The once peerless female general was now a cripple with no inner strength and severed tendons. No matter how straight she stood, she could never return to her former self.
His hand clenched slightly, and Yin Gezhi closed his eyes.
When Fengyue boarded the carriage, the smile on her face was particularly ingratiating, making him deeply uncomfortable.
"Your Highness," she said, "these people are used to living freely. They were once loyal to the monarch and loved their country, but they grew weary and followed me to Wu Kingdom."
Was she trying to save face for him? Once again, it was about the importance of the royal family's dignity! She couldn't let him think that, in the hearts of these people, the Wei royal family wasn't worth their loyalty.
Even though that was exactly what they thought.The initial shock slowly faded, and Yin Gezhi's expression returned to complete calm. From the surface, there was no telling what he was thinking.
"It's their freedom to come and go. After all, they didn't sign a deed of sale," he said.
Feng Yue grew even more uneasy. She swallowed and asked, "So, you won't make things difficult for them, right?"
Glancing at her sideways, Yin Gezhi sneered, "How do you think I'd make things difficult for them? Have them tied up and thrown into prison as soon as they enter Lidu?"
Feng Yue nodded repeatedly! That was exactly what she thought!
After nodding, she realized something was off and quickly shook her head. "Please don't do that!"
Giving her a deep look, Yin Gezhi thought that even if he wanted to be a good person, this woman wouldn't believe him. So, he might as well be the bad guy.
He shot her a particularly wicked glance and said coldly, "Whether I do that or not depends on your performance."
Performance? Feng Yue was taken aback, her face immediately clouded with worry. The journey was already exhausting—now she had to perform too?
But considering he always kept his word, she gritted her teeth and thought, fine, she'd perform. She was used to currying favor with him anyway!
Thus, during the rest of the journey, everyone watched in stunned silence as Feng Yue scurried about with an extremely sycophantic attitude. When Yin Gezhi wanted to sit on a stool, she wiped it clean with a handkerchief first. When Yin Gezhi wanted water, she presented it with both hands. When they camped in the woods at night and Yin Gezhi complained that the makeshift pillow made from bundled clothes was uncomfortable, she offered her own thigh, fanning him while yawning and humming a tune.
Luo Hao dragged Yin Yanzhong away to hunt, saying as they walked, "What's going on? Has the young master taken a liking to the First Prince?"
"Hey, back in the Wei Kingdom, which girl didn't have eyes for the First Prince? Though the young master was fierce back then, she's still a girl at heart. It's normal for her to like him."
"But..." Luo Hao was deeply concerned. "Forget whether the First Prince likes the young master or not. Just think about General Guan's case. The First Prince has always been loyal to the royal family. I'm afraid..."
At this, Yin Yanzhong also grew troubled. They had watched Guan Qingyue grow up. She was honest and stubborn—how would she handle such a difficult situation?
They didn't hold any prejudice against the First Prince. After all, many of them had been at the Battle of Pingchang and could understand his feelings. Though he had his faults, the greater blame lay with the Wei Kingdom's emperor, the court officials, and those who had stirred up trouble and demanded General Guan's immediate execution.
However, the First Prince was too obedient. He always listened to his father, even if he rebelled on the surface once or twice—deep down, he still sided with his father. Moreover, since birth, he had resided in the Eastern Palace. Though he hadn't been officially named Crown Prince, the emperor clearly treated him as one, allowing him to participate in court affairs and command armies. With such favor, even if the First Prince still had a virtuous heart, he wouldn't oppose the emperor over a wrongful case with no evidence.
Both men sighed deeply—one gazing sorrowfully at the sky, the other sadly at the ground. Then, two arrows flew out, bringing down a bird from the sky and a rabbit from the ground.
By the time Yin Gezhi woke up, the aroma of roasted meat already filled the air.
Madam Qiu sat opposite him, roasting the rabbit and bird. Seeing him open his eyes, she was about to call for Feng Yue. However, the First Prince raised his hand, signaling her to stay quiet.To be honest, Madam Qiu hadn’t thought much of the First Prince along the way. After all, she was quite fond of Feng Yue, and seeing him torment her like this left her somewhat displeased. Everyone knew that Yin Chenbi was a notorious playboy throughout Lidu, never caring for anyone, and he paid no attention to the concubines he brought home. He had even sent them all back to their families when he left the Wei Kingdom. What was Feng Yue doing clinging to such a man?
Yet now, Feng Yue was leaning against a tree trunk, fast asleep and drooling, while the First Prince slowly propped himself up. He actually placed a makeshift pillow made of clothing beside her and reached behind her neck. With a gentle pull, he lifted her from the tree trunk and laid her on the pillow.
Everyone around was half-asleep, but Madam Qiu’s eyes widened in astonishment as she watched Yin Gezhi’s unusually gentle expression.
His movements weren’t particularly gentle—in fact, they were a bit rough—but surprisingly, Feng Yue didn’t wake up. She snuggled into the pillow, smacking her lips contentedly.
The scene, in a way, had a strange yet heartwarming feel to it.
“Y-Your Highness,” Madam Qiu whispered, snapping back to reality. “The rabbit is roasted. Would you like a leg?”
Yin Gezhi turned his head and nodded politely. He took the rabbit leg and began eating elegantly.
When dawn broke, everyone gradually woke up, groaning about neck and back pain. Feng Yue stretched lazily and opened her eyes, only to find half of a fragrant roasted rabbit being offered to her.
“Oh, meat?” Her eyes lit up with delight. She took it and was about to dig in, her small white teeth already showing, but when she looked up and saw Yin Gezhi’s cool expression, she paused and offered the rabbit back to him. “Would you like to eat first?”
“I don’t like rabbit,” he said disdainfully, turning his head away.
So Feng Yue happily munched away on her own.
They continued their journey afterward. Feng Yue noticed that Madam Qiu looked strange, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t bring herself to.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, grabbing Madam Qiu during a break.
Madam Qiu looked at her and sighed softly. “Nothing. I just thought the rabbit meat was quite delicious.”
What nonsense was this? Feng Yue looked utterly confused. Seeing that Madam Qiu didn’t want to say more, she didn’t press further and continued following Yin Gezhi, doing her best to impress him.
As they approached the border of the Wu Kingdom, given how smoothly the journey had gone so far, everyone relaxed a little.
Unexpectedly, the moment they let their guard down, assassins appeared.
After all this time, their route out of the Wu Kingdom must have been discovered. Moreover, the guards accompanying them had returned to Shadowless City near the border, leaving the First Prince with a group of “ordinary civilians,” making him look like a plump lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
As mentioned earlier, many people in the Wu Kingdom were unfriendly toward the Wei Kingdom. They didn’t want the Wu Kingdom to form an alliance with the Wei Kingdom, nor did they wish for the Wei Kingdom to regain its former glory. So, after some discussion, they decided to set up an ambush of fifty people at the border, ready to strike as soon as their targets arrived.
Feng Yue had been so exhausted by Yin Gezhi’s demands over the past two days that she couldn’t sleep well at night. Whether it was getting up to fetch him water or cooking for him in the middle of the night, she spent her days on the road catching up on sleep.The carriage came to an abrupt halt, and outside there was a clamor of chattering and squabbling. Feng Yue, who was lying across Yin Gezhi's lap, furrowed her brow. She wanted to cover her ears, but her hands were too weak from sleep. Half-asleep, she silently wished to the heavens for a pair of hands that didn’t need strength to block out the noise.
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than someone covered her ears—a broad, warm hand instantly shutting out the clamor.
Her brow relaxed. Feng Yue nestled comfortably and drifted into a peaceful sleep.
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