“You damn thief, you’ve tricked our lady so miserably!!”

As soon as Chang Jun saw Lu Yu knocked down with a single punch, he knew there was no hope of escaping alive today.

He simply threw away his life—if he could kill one, that was one less enemy, and he could at least vent the Princess’s anger!

“Chang Jun!”

The young eunuch raised his sword to strike, and Lizhu couldn’t even manage to stop him. In the blink of an eye, Chang Jun and that dark-clad figure were already locked in a fierce fight.

At the broken stall, Lu Yu quickly got up, spat out a mouthful of blood, and his eyes were already filled with murderous intent.

“Princess, it’s either you die or I live today. I can’t afford to care about much else.”

Lizhu watched helplessly as the two of them surrounded and attacked Pei Zhaoye.

The words she wanted to say stuck in her throat—no matter how anxious she was, she could no longer speak.

What could she say?

Could she stop Lu Yu and Chang Jun and tell them to surrender?

Impossible. She had no reason solid enough to convince them.

Lizhu looked toward both ends of the long street.

Torch-bearing figures were closing in from front and back.

Looking ahead again, after Pei Zhaoye seized Lu Yu’s long blade, he moved freely between the two attackers, striking back and forth, and was not at all at a disadvantage.

Lizhu felt her entire strength drain away.

When she completely gave up resisting, her heart instead became strangely calm.

She watched that agile figure under the deep blue moonlight.

His jawline was too sharp, his nose too high—when he didn’t smile, his features were as stark and rugged as mountain stone, but when he smiled, it was as gentle and charming as spring wind and rain.

It was easy to mistake him for a refined scholar, unskilled in martial arts.

But in truth, with just a little attention, one could clearly see—

His dark robe wrapped around strong, firm arms and chest.

When his blade came down, he could easily send the nimble yet less powerful Chang Jun staggering several paces back.

How fierce, how sharp, how awe-inspiring he was.

Just watching from the side felt enough to be cut by that cold, keen wind.

How could he possibly be the frail civil official she once thought, the kind who, even on the battlefield, could only sit within the command tent and plan from behind the lines?

In just a few breaths, the four of them were surrounded.

“—Good thing I kept a bit of caution. Better to come up empty than to miss it. Otherwise, this little lady really would have slipped away right under my eyes.”

The soldiers surrounding them packed tightly, leaving no gaps, then parted to open a path.

The fat-headed man she’d seen at the tavern came first, followed by a man dressed like a military officer.

Lizhu smoothed her hair at her temples.

Usually, when something happened, she would think to avoid it if she could, to hide if there was a place to hide.

But when there was nowhere left to run, she instead felt a kind of calm that came with giving up entirely.

“Did the Tan family of Wan Commandery send you?”

Zhao Weizhen smiled.

“Little lady, when a man comes of age, he should marry, and when a woman grows up, she should wed. Even if you’re unhappy about the engagement, you can’t just run away from the marriage on a whim. Look, you’ve thrown all of Yiling into an uproar and delayed so many matters. Whatever it is, let’s discuss it properly once you return home.”

Marriage? Running away?

Lizhu found it almost funny.

Indeed—whether a noble daughter or a peasant girl, anyone caught and dragged back home for “running away from marriage,” most bystanders wouldn’t interfere; the more helpful ones might even lend a hand in catching her.

Two men stepped forward carrying ropes.

Lizhu swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay calm, and lifted her chin.

“Go ahead, tie me up. Once you send me bound to Wan Commandery, then you’ll truly see what it means for the whole city to be in an uproar. Do you think you’ve caught just an ordinary runaway bride? Ridiculous. Do you even know who I am? I am—”

“The Princess of Qinghe, right?”

Zhao Weizhen interrupted with a smile.

“Your family specially sent word, saying that their young lady is clever and full of schemes. If she happened to learn that the Princess of Qinghe was traveling through Wan Commandery, she might pretend to be the princess in order to escape. It seems their warning was quite accurate.”

Lizhu: “…I really am the Princess of Qinghe!”

“Then, please, Princess, extend your hands. These men are rough by nature; it wouldn’t be good if they hurt you.”

“…”

How infuriating!

Lizhu angrily stretched out her hands. As they tied her up tightly like a rice dumpling, she glared fiercely at that fat-headed man.

Such a fool, yet he still dared to hold the post of Assistant Prefect!

Just let her have the chance to escape.

When she did, she would make sure her imperial father dismissed him from office!

Once Lizhu was bound firmly, the prepared sedan chair stood ready beside them.

A soldier tugged on the rope but couldn’t move her. Just as he was about to grow impatient and push her, he was suddenly kicked square in the chest, sent flying through the air, and rolled several times across the ground!

Clang—!

A bright, spotless blade embedded itself horizontally into the side of the sedan, stopping several soldiers who had been about to step forward.

From behind Lizhu came a man’s slightly breathless, low, hoarse voice:

“Zhao Weizhen, I’ve been polite enough to call you ‘Lord Assistant Prefect’ today, but don’t mistake courtesy for weakness. I was the one who found her, how dare you try to steal my credit?”

Lizhu turned around in astonishment and saw the damp edge of his forehead and the glint of cold light in his eyes.

Zhao Weizhen fell silent for a moment.

After a while, he slowly smiled.

“Oh? Then it seems I was meddling unnecessarily. I had thought the Lord of Mount Pei had taken pity on a delicate beauty, knowing she was the one we were ordered to find, yet choosing to hide her away for himself.”

“You were meddling.”

Pei Zhaoye bent down to pick up the rope that had fallen to the ground. He didn’t pull her with it, just held it loosely in his hand.

“Tell the Pei family to send someone to take her. They were the ones who started this, so she should be handed over to them. Anyone unrelated who wants a share of the credit had better make sure they can fight better than the two lying here.”

Chang Jun and Lu Yu, already restrained by the soldiers, struggled furiously.

Chang Jun: “Despicable scoundrel! We truly trusted the wrong man!”

Lu Yu: “Fools! You’re committing a grave crime!”

Both were extremely agitated, looking as if they wanted to tear Pei Zhaoye apart alive—

which only made Lizhu’s calmness toward him appear all the more striking.

Seeing Zhao Weizhen still watching them closely, Lizhu thought for a moment, then raised her eyes to meet Pei Zhaoye’s gaze.

Though he was uninjured, fighting both Lu Yu and Chang Jun at once had been perilous. His whole body looked as if it had just been pulled from water, breathing low and heavy, sweat dripping down along his dark hair.

Beneath the sharp fringe of his hair, the reflection of the girl’s furrowed brows and angry eyes was clearly visible in his dark gaze.

“I hate you.”

“I’ll never believe you again!”

His pitch-black pupils contracted sharply.

“Commander Xu,” Zhao Weizhen said to the military officer beside him, “the second son of the Pei family is your son-in-law. You and Lord Pei of the Mountain shall escort her together and deliver her there tonight. Let this matter be settled, so I can return to report to the Governor.”

The second son of the Pei family?

Pei Yinzhi was the son of the second branch, so this “second son” should be Pei Yinzhi’s actual father.

From their few exchanged words, Lizhu gradually pieced together the outline of the situation.

She hadn’t expected that the Pei clan of Yiling would also be involved in her capture!

But how could that be possible?

In her previous life, everyone knew that before Pei Zhaoye—under the name Pei Yinzhi—entered officialdom, the Pei family of Yiling hadn’t produced even a single official for three generations. That was why people said that with the rise of “Pei Yinzhi,” the Pei ancestors’ graves must have been blessed with divine smoke.

Yet now, the Pei family of Yiling seemed to have close ties with the Tan family of Wan Commandery.

Even a task as grave as assassinating a princess dared to involve members of the Pei clan, this was no ordinary connection. It had to be that of confidants.

Confidants.

What kind of confidants?

If such a connection existed, then why, in her previous life, had Pei Zhaoye shown not the slightest mercy toward the Tan family?

Except for Empress Tan and the young Emperor Shen Fu—whom he could not touch—the Tan clan had been stripped of rank and office, executed or exiled. In court, only Tan Xun remained—a single surviving branch.

It had been Pei Zhaoye who said that since Tan Xun was her former husband, stripping him of all his posts would make Lizhu lose face, so he gave him an empty title—merely to preserve the last shred of dignity for the Tan family.

Pei Zhaoye, the Pei clan, the Tan clan—what exactly was their relationship?

What grudges or debts lay between them?

The matter was so tangled that Lizhu couldn’t make sense of it. She could only follow the guards and step into the sedan chair for now.

At that moment, her curiosity about the Pei family outweighed even her fear of being captured.

Still, she had her suspicions.

When Pei Zhaoye told her to trust him once more, he must have intended to first throw off these people, then find a chance later to rescue her.

Given the current situation, that was indeed the only possible way to escape.

Only…

Lifting the curtain, she glanced out the sedan window at his figure and tilted her head slightly, puzzled.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

But why… did his face look so grim?

•—–٠✤٠—–•·

After crossing several streets, the residence with lanterns bearing the character “Pei” gradually came into view under the night sky.

A few figures stood by the gate, seemingly waiting for their arrival.

Lizhu recalled many things.

In her previous life, after the marriage, she had met the Pei family.

That year, as the New Year approached—it was the second year of their marriage. The distance between husband and wife had gradually faded, and they were in the sweetest of times.

The Princess’s residence was preparing for the First Month banquet when Lizhu suddenly had the idea to invite the Pei family to Luoyang for a reunion.

“…Your Highness means well,” Pei Yinzhi or rather, Pei Zhaoye—had declined her several times with polite restraint.

“But my relatives are all country folk, crude and unrefined. I fear they might offend Your Highness, so it would be better not to trouble them.”

Yet Lizhu said, “They are your uncle and aunt. Your parents passed away early, and you only have these few relatives. You’ve been too busy with official duties to return home all these years. Our dynasty values filial piety and benevolence, it is only right that I invite them to Luoyang to visit you.”

“And besides—”

At that time, Lizhu hooked her arms around his neck and rubbed her cheek gently against his face.

“You treat me so well. Even if your family has some little flaws, I’m willing to be patient with them.”

They couldn’t possibly be harder to please or more overbearing than Tan Xun’s large family.

Lizhu added this silently in her heart.

In the end, Pei Zhaoye agreed. Two days before the New Year, the Pei family arrived at the Princess’s residence and stayed for five days.

“What are you talking about? Your uncle, aunt, and cousin are all wonderful people—they’re nothing like you said.”

By the lamplight, Lizhu looked happily at the jade bracelet her aunt had given her.

She owned many more beautiful bracelets, and even Tan Xun’s mother had once reluctantly given her a few.

But none of them, in Lizhu’s heart, were as precious as this one.

Cupping his face in her hands, she said softly, “You have no kin here in Luoyang. From now on, I’ll invite them to visit often to keep you company, all right?”

Pei Zhaoye only smiled and brushed a kiss on the corner of her lips without giving an answer.

In Lizhu’s memory, the Pei elders had been kind and gentle, polite without being distant, and the cousin lively and open-hearted—Lizhu had enjoyed her company very much.

After a few brief meetings, she’d even felt reluctant to part.

How could such a family ever be connected to those schemes and treacheries—

“You little bastard really have some skill. The commander sent so many people to search and found nothing, yet you managed to find her.”

At the familiar voice, Lizhu froze for a moment, then quickly lifted the curtain.

Standing before the Pei residence gate was a stern-faced man with a square jaw.

Who else could it be but the same Uncle Pei she’d once met in Luoyang, the one who’d affectionately patted Pei Zhaoye’s shoulder and called him “good nephew”?

Uncle Pei glanced in Lizhu’s direction and sneered: “But weren’t you the one who used to act all high and mighty, too proud to dirty your hands doing the nobles’ filthy work? What now? Seeing a chance to earn favor, even a little bastard like you knows to bring people here to beg for reward?”

The image of those warm, affectionate days still lingered vividly in her mind. Hearing such words now, Lizhu was struck dumb.

Pei Zhaoye stood below the steps, lifting his gaze to meet the man’s lofty scrutiny.

He looked in an ill mood.

Those two furious sentences from the girl—I hate you. I’ll never believe you again!—still echoed in his mind, leaving him with no patience for nonsense.

“Old bastard.”

Uncle Pei’s expression darkened instantly.

“If you don’t want to end up limping like that good nephew of yours, then get lost. I still have a few words to say to Tan’s dogs—but to a Pei family dog like you, I’ve got nothing to discuss.”