On the second floor of the teahouse, the bamboo curtains on both sides hung halfway down, separating a quiet space.

When Lizhu suddenly saw Lu Yu, she was almost wild with joy.

However, very quickly, she realized what Lu Yu had just said, and calmed down to say:

“No, now is not the time.”

This patrol trip of hers was originally for Pei Zhaoye’s sake. Now that she had met him by accident, leaving was not difficult—the difficulty was that after leaving, she would have no reason to return again.

Chang Jun and Lu Yu both showed astonished expressions.

“Why would Your Highness say so? How could this not be—”

It was hard for Lizhu to explain it to them for a while. She skipped the question and asked instead:

“Where are Xuan Ying and the others?”

Lu Yu replied, “We met them on the afternoon of the second day after the assassination attempt, so we learned that Your Highness encountered bandits at Yushan. Please rest assured, they are all safe. It’s Your Highness we worried about, Fang Jian and the others…”

Chang Jun then recounted everything that had happened that day one by one.

Hearing that the bandit chief of the Hongye Stronghold had not offended the princess, and had even taken care of her food, clothing, and lodging, Lu Yu, though relieved, also understood why Lizhu was not in a hurry to leave with him.

“But, Your Highness—do you know that the reason he is taking you down the mountain this time is precisely to send you into the tiger’s jaws!”

…What?

Seeing Lizhu’s stunned face, Lu Yu pointed toward a nearby tavern.

“When we were hiding in the shadows observing the situation just now, guess who we saw in that tavern? It was the very person who intercepted the letter we sent to Luoyang! The moment that bandit chief parted ways with Your Highness, he went straight into that tavern. Think—what do you suppose they are discussing right now?”

Lu Yu would not lie to her.

Lizhu opened her mouth but could not speak for a while. Then she asked, “But… what reason would he have…”

“Does a wolf-hearted, ambitious bandit need a reason to betray a princess?”

Lu Yu glanced toward the direction of the tavern, patiently persuading:

“Your Highness was confined within his stronghold, cut off from all information. You would not know that this Hongye Stronghold is not like those small, filthy bandit dens. Behind it stand many officials of Yiling Commandery who collude with them—that is how they grew so powerful, becoming the largest bandit stronghold in Yiling Commandery and even all of Hezhou!”

It was as if a bolt of lightning split through Lizhu’s mind; Lu Yu’s voice seemed to come from the clouds, distant and unreal.

“He dares to collude with officials!?” Lizhu slammed the table in fury.

That single slam drew Pei Zhaoye’s attention downstairs.

He had just closed the tavern for the night. When he turned around, he saw the young lady behind the bamboo curtain on the second floor suddenly rise to her feet for some reason, with a waiter standing beside her.

Pei Zhaoye could not see her expression clearly, nor could he hear their conversation.

After a moment’s thought, while wiping his freshly cleaned hands with a handkerchief, he waved toward a little boy on the street.

“Hey, kid—run an errand to the yamen for me.”

He tossed the boy a string of coins and bent halfway down to meet his gaze:

“Find Lord Xu Bi, tell him that behind Liji Tavern on Sida Street, a few bricks by the back door are loose. Ask him to send a few men to fill in the soil. Once it’s done, you can go back to Lord Xu and ask him for another string of coins. Go on.”

The little boy, delighted, ran off at once.

After drying the water on his hands, Pei Zhaoye still suspected that his body carried the smell of blood.

The men under that Lord Qi from Wan Commandery were all desperadoes. Even though Pei Zhaoye handled things carefully, he could not avoid being splattered with a bit of blood—but fortunately, he was dressed in dark clothes, so the stains could not be seen.

However.

After this incident, some matters had to be re-examined.

If it were an ordinary daughter of the imperial clan who had run away from home, why would such killers be sent after her?

It was clear that those pursuing her were the same group as the men from Wan Commandery.

That is to say, no one had ever intended to bring her home at all—the person behind the scenes had never planned for her to leave Yiling Commandery alive.

If a woman of the imperial clan were to die in Yiling Commandery, someone would have to take the blame.

From the look of it, that scapegoat was probably him.

At the thought that he had almost handed them the knife himself, Pei Zhaoye could not help wanting to applaud their two-birds-with-one-stone scheme.

He went up to the second floor of the teahouse and lifted the bamboo curtain.

On the wind-facing terrace, a young girl in a gauzy silken robe sat gracefully before the table.

A smoke-blue sash cinched her waist tightly.

Below that, the curve of her hips spread softly, like a flower bud just beginning to open—mist-pink, like a lotus about to bloom.

A flower that had already been abandoned.

Since she had been abandoned, was it not only natural that whoever was capable should claim her?

Pei Zhaoye’s gaze deepened. He lifted his robe and sat down opposite her.

Looking up again, he found that what was even rounder was her face.

“Are you this angry from waiting? It was an old friend I hadn’t seen for a long time, we got caught up in conversation and lost track of time. My fault. Whatever you wish to do today, however long you wish to play, I’ll keep you company.”

“…You have friends outside the stronghold?”

Pei Zhaoye poured her tea and said with a smile: “I wasn’t born a mountain bandit. Naturally, I have friends beyond the stronghold.”

Lizhu pressed her lips together; her chest rose and fell with a deep breath.

She truly wanted to rush over and tear apart that eloquent, deceitful mouth of his!

He actually wanted to hand her over to the people of the Tan clan who were hunting her down!

He actually cared nothing for her life or death!

These past few days they had lived together from morning till night—though the time was short, Lizhu had thought that at least he did not dislike her. Perhaps… he had even begun to like her a little.

Last night she had said she was willing to be his wife, the mistress of the stronghold. Today she had said she wanted to raise raccoons with him in the future.

He had not refused.

Could it be that he had never taken any of it to heart, and was only watching her as if she were a joke?

Seeing Lizhu silent for a long time, only glaring at him with burning anger, Pei Zhaoye felt a subtle sense of unease in his heart.

Even when he had just realized that someone of high rank above intended to see him dead, Pei Zhaoye had not felt any fear.

Yet at this moment, meeting her gaze and thinking of how his reason for bringing her down the mountain today had never been pure—he felt an indescribable prickle, as though needles were pressing against his back.

Chang Jun frantically winked at Lizhu.

Lizhu lowered her eyes, raised the teacup, and said, “Some people are born with holes in their tongues. To be born a bandit isn’t all that strange.”

Hearing her finally speak, Pei Zhaoye’s slightly stiff body relaxed.

“You mean this?”

He leaned forward a little and pointed at his extended tongue.

Chang Jun craned his neck to look as well.

He had actually noticed it before, but never had the chance to look closely.

On the right side of the tongue tip, the wound from the piercing had long since scabbed and healed. The small hole wasn’t large. A silver ring passed through it, only the two ends showing as tiny silver beads—cold and cruel in their wildness.

Pei Zhaoye drew back his tongue, raised his brow, and smiled:

“I was wondering when you’d ask. When meeting someone for the first time, most people would be curious.”

Lizhu let out a light hum and thought: What’s there to be curious about, she had already kissed it who knows how many times.

“But why would you think it’s something one is born with? If I were born like this, wouldn’t that make me deformed?”

Chang Jun turned a puzzled look toward Lizhu as well.

“Indeed, madam, who could be born with a hole in their tongue?”

If he hadn’t spoken, it would have been fine. But once he did, Lizhu grew even angrier.

In this world, aside from him, who else could make up so many lies to deceive her!

She had found it strange before, yet he hadn’t even blinked, swearing solemnly that his tongue had been like that since birth—and Lizhu had believed him.

She hadn’t dared to ask more, afraid he would think she disliked him and be hurt.

…And it turned out that too was a lie!

“If it’s not from birth, then how did it come to be?” Lizhu glared at him.

“Curious, are you?”

Pei Zhaoye sensed her attitude softening. Propping his chin with one hand, he looked at her leisurely and smiled. “Naturally, it was done by man.”

Lizhu gently drew her brows together.

The words caught her attention; she couldn’t help lifting her hands to hold his face, supporting his chin to study him closely.

“By man? Why would you deliberately do something like that? When I accidentally bite my tongue, it hurts enough to make me cry. To pierce through it like this, how is that any different from torture? Was it only for appearance’s sake?”

She imagined the scene in her mind, her fine brows knotting tightly, as though the one whose tongue had been pierced was herself.

Pei Zhaoye lowered his gaze, watching the pity in her eyes.

After a while, he masked the complicated look in his eyes with a teasing smile and said:

“Not merely for that reason. Its true charm can only be tasted when husband and wife are in tender entanglement…”

Chang Jun swiftly clapped his hands over Lizhu’s ears.

Lizhu let out a confused “ah.”

What taste?

In her previous life, aside from not wearing that silver bead, everything else about him had been the same—so how did she not know there was some kind of “charm” to it?

Pei Zhaoye glanced at Chang Jun, who clearly understood what he meant, and said no more. He merely let out a deep, suggestive chuckle—rich and low.

It made Chang Jun blush scarlet, while Lizhu grew all the more bewildered.

The evening glow spread across the sky. The group left the teahouse and headed to the largest restaurant in Xiangcheng.

Pei Zhaoye said that there were many people there, making it a good place to gather information.

He did not know that Lizhu had already met up with Lu Yu.

The reason she hadn’t left was not because she fully trusted him.

On the contrary, Lizhu had never been so completely filled with distrust toward Pei Zhaoye as she was now.

If he wanted to hand her over, why hadn’t he exposed her directly at the city gate?

If he wanted to keep her, then why had Lu Yu seen him privately meeting with those men sent by Wan Commandery today?

Moreover, Lu Yu had said that Pei Zhaoye had close dealings with the officials of Yiling Commandery—that they colluded with one another.

At the time, there hadn’t been a chance to ask for details, but if that were true…

Lizhu stared at the broad shoulders and narrow waist of the man walking in front of her.

What she hated most were those who joined hands with corrupt officials, those who oppressed the common people and hollowed out the foundations of Nanyong.

She had to find out what kind of man Pei Zhaoye really was.

Before long, the grand restaurant—its facade lined with seven or eight rows of hanging lanterns—came into view.

Once inside, Chang Jun made a show of going to “inquire about Lu Yu,” leaving Lizhu and Pei Zhaoye to order the dishes.

Even with Lu Yu secretly protecting her, Lizhu still felt uneasy.

She was uncertain whether Pei Zhaoye still intended to hand her over to the Tan clan tonight.

And uncertain whether, if things truly came to that point, they would be able to escape from Xiangcheng safely.

So she had no appetite to order.

“…Anything is fine. Do as you see fit.”

Pei Zhaoye glanced at her, nodded slightly, and ordered a few dishes.

Yet when the food was served, Lizhu suddenly realized that every dish on the table was one she liked.

She looked up in mild surprise.

If it were her past life, it would not have surprised her—but they had only known each other for a few days and shared barely a few meals.

Pei Zhaoye explained: “Earlier I sent the cook to ask your little guard what dishes you liked and told him to make them. But he came back saying he’d never heard of many of them, and didn’t know how to cook them. Fortunately, the cook at this restaurant used to work for a noble household, so he could prepare them.”

Lizhu stared blankly at him.

‘Try it,’ he said from across the table. “If this still doesn’t suit the refined taste of you Luoyang nobles, then we country folk really are at our wits’ end.”

She didn’t care about food or appetite, she hadn’t even complained about the plain fare in the stronghold.

It wasn’t her stomach she was picky about, it was something else.

With a complicated mix of feelings, Lizhu lowered her head and took a few bites.

“It’s quite good.”

Pei Zhaoye watched her chew a few times, then gave a serious critique:

“The rice is a little inferior, it must have been steamed once over high heat and once over low heat. If they had scattered it and steamed it again gently afterward, it would have been better.”

So many steps just for rice.

Three rounds of steaming, wasn’t it enough once it was cooked? How much firewood would that waste?

While grumbling inwardly, Pei Zhaoye silently noted it down.

“And the dishes?”

“The dishes are good too. The heat is right, the ingredients fresh, and most importantly the seasonings are generous.”

Lizhu picked up another bite with her chopsticks, confirming that her tongue had not deceived her.

“Especially the salt. Not only here—even in some of the restaurants in Luoyang, they’re reluctant to use so much. It seems this place truly is prosperous. Not only do the farmers have plenty of grain stored, but even common folk aren’t stingy with salt.”

Pei Zhaoye slowly picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, the corner of his lips curving into a subtle smile.

Of course.

The biggest salt smuggler in all of Hezhou was based right here, how could they ever lack salt?