The charcoal fire in the brazier burned, emitting faint crackling sounds.

His long arm, bound with a wrist guard, held her very naturally, the strength neither light nor heavy; when it dropped, his palm precisely rested loosely on her waist.

The tip of her nose was filled with the faint scent of ink; beneath the soft, smooth fabric, the girl’s warm body temperature was perceptible.

His hand did not move, but his mind was thinking —

He wondered what it would feel like to knead it.

“…You have some misunderstandings about me.”

Pei Zhaoye was silent for a moment, speaking with rare sincerity.

Lizhu stared at him, then after a long while laughed: “Indeed, a bit.”

Compared to the him from her previous life, her misunderstandings were far more than just a bit?

Yet the trust and attachment in her smile remained as before.

She is really easy to fool, Pei Zhaoye thought.

He didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but whenever she showed this kind of expression, said this kind of sticky, mushy words, he seemed… not to feel glad either, only feeling…

He wanted to kill all those who would bully her.

Otherwise, what would she do when he wasn’t by her side in the future?

When this thought emerged, Pei Zhaoye’s heart suddenly felt a trace of indescribable irritability, but he was never one to worry that the sky would fall, and soon dismissed it.

“Cui Shiyong’s file, what insights have you gained from it?”

The delicate silk slipped through his fingertips as Lizhu withdrew from his embrace.

Her desk was piled very full; there were the Pei family secrets she had previously organize, as well as bamboo slips written halfway through.

Lizhu rummaged through them a bit, then spread out one scroll.

“He comes from the Liyang Cui family, his clan’s commandery prestige is quite high, he entered officialdom very early… but looking at his record, his political achievements seem rather poor.”

“It would be strange if he had any political achievements.”

Pei Zhaoye played with a bamboo pen on the desk.

“That flood in Yiling Commandery a few years ago was indeed caused by that supervising courier named Shi Zhao embezzling the river embankment funds. But given the situation, instead of prioritizing disaster relief and distributing grain, he busied himself with overthrowing Shi Zhao. He managed to bring the man down, but who gets the blame for the additional famine victims who starved to death?”

Lizhu thought for a moment: “How do the common people view him?”

“Opinions vary,” he said indifferently. “Some see him as the only honest official in Yiling Commandery, pinning their hopes on him to cleanse officials and governance. However, most common people actually don’t care about honest officials at all.”

This was rather novel to Lizhu, because in her understanding, everyone should like honest officials.

“Explain in detail.”

She sat cross-legged, listening attentively.

“If it’s an official who is both uncorrupted and highly competent, versus a corrupt official who abuses power for personal gain and is incompetent, of course the people would prefer the former. But such saints are like an iron tree blooming, rare to see once in a thousand years.”

Lizhu fiddled with the bamboo strips of the slips, her glossy, pink-tipped fingers resting on the inked characters, unconsciously tracing them.

Pei Zhaoye’s gaze swept over them subtly, then he continued:

“Those who are clever but greedy for money and lust, and those who are upright and honest but inflexible — these make up the majority. Coincidentally, this Governor of Yiling is the latter.”

“Why does it sound like you somewhat admire these corrupt officials?”

“No,” Pei Zhaoye laughed. “I dislike both types. One is a tick sucking blood on common folks like us, the other is a purely useless hypocrite. Annoying to see. If an official doesn’t serve the people, they might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes. Regardless of whether they are clean or corrupt, the people only care if their own lives are better or not.”

“……”

Lizhu was momentarily stunned into silence by his sharp evaluation.

She glanced at him and muttered:

“It’s not exactly like an iron tree blooming either. If you became an official, you would definitely be a good one, both clean and capable.”

“Definitely not, don’t think about it.”

Pei Zhaoye’s expression was calm and unperturbed: “Those words are for judging others. If I became an official, the first thing I’d do is forget my roots, the second thing would be to engage in massive corruption and commit all manner of crimes.”

He expected her to be angry, but the young girl before him just looked at him and burst out laughing.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I definitely would.”

“You just wouldn’t.”

Her tone was soft, with a trace of smugness, though it was unclear what she was so proud of.

“If you became a civil official, you would trust rewards and punishments, uphold the law strictly, promote virtuous ministers, and cleanse officials and governance.”

Lizhu recited softly, somewhat distractedly, her face showing a hint of reminiscence.

Pei Zhaoye’s heart remained utterly unperturbed.

Yet the next moment, he saw her raise her eyelids in the candlelight, her gaze soft as she looked toward the clumsily written inscription beside the bed.

“If you became a military official—”

His long eyelashes suddenly trembled.

“You definitely would also be a great general whose spirit towers over the nine heavens.”

She said with a laugh.

Pei Zhaoye’s breath caught.

A firm knocking sound came from outside the door.

“Princess? Are you asleep? I have something I’d like to ask for your help with.”

It was actually Danzhu’s voice.

Lizhu quickly said: “No, come in and speak.”

The door opened a crack, letting in the chill of the autumn night. Perhaps cooled by this cold breeze, Pei Zhaoye’s mind finally cleared a bit.

…What great general.

Fight battles for that dog emperor? What a spring and autumn dream.

“Mountain Master!?”

Danzhu had just closed the door and turned around, startled to see Pei Zhaoye here. “Why are you here? You two…”

Her gaze swept around, then she chuckled: “I’m not interrupting, am I?”

Lizhu’s cheeks suddenly flushed pink, and she quickly shook her head.

Pei Zhaoye glanced outside.

He had thought the female official was truly at ease letting him stay alone with the princess late at night; sure enough, she couldn’t resist sending someone in to interrupt.

“What matter, Sister Danzhu?”

After sitting down opposite the two, Danzhu then spoke.

It turned out her elder sister had been ill for a long time without recovery; her in-laws had invited many physicians, but none were effective.

Danzhu saw Chang Jun bring a group of women into the Pei residence yesterday and learned they were originally the princess’s female attendants, including a palace medical official among them. That’s why she suddenly thought to ask Lizhu for help.

“Of course, I’ll have her go with you first thing tomorrow morning.”

Lizhu was also somewhat surprised.

“Your sister lives in Xiangcheng? I thought your family members had also all entered Hongye Village.”

Danzhu said with a smile: “My sister is different from me. She has a good temperament, is also beautiful, married a fine gentleman with a promising future. When my brother-in-law gets promoted later, she’ll be the wife of a high official. Usually, afraid her in-laws would know they have a sister like me, I don’t associate with them.”

Her tone was light and cheerful. Lizhu was stunned, somewhat at a loss for how to respond.

Pei Zhaoye looked at her quietly.

“The hour is late, let’s go.”

Danzhu also stood up, thanked Lizhu once more, and before leaving, asked if Changg Jun ould accompany her tomorrow.

Then Pei Zhaoye patted her shoulder.

He said: “Ignore her. Can the princess’s guard be ordered around by you? Rein in your lustful heart.”

Danzhu rested her hands behind her head, muttering, “What do you mean my lustful heart? The pot calling the kettle black, I think you’re about the same.”

After the two had gone far, Lizhu called Chang Jun in to ask in detail: “You and Sister Danzhu… are you very close?”

Chang Jun swept his gaze over Lizhu and Xuan Ying’s curious looks and furrowed his brows.

“Just so-so. She talks a lot, just ambling around every day looking for people to chat with.”

Xuan Ying pursed her lips and chuckled softly; Lizhu also gave a meaningful “Oh.”

“Then do you know what’s going on with Danzhu’s family? How did she become an outlaw, while her sister married an official husband?”

Chang Jun replied: “I’m not too clear either… Her family seems to be farmers in the county. The two sisters were both quite famous in the county; the elder sister for her beauty, and she for her immense strength since childhood. Her father arranged a marriage for her, but she wasn’t willing. Then, happened to encounter that year’s flood, and for the family’s livelihood, she became an outlaw.”

“Later, the family’s situation improved, but she still didn’t want to go home. So she just followed that Mountain Master, gradually making a bit of a name for herself in the circle. She even has a nickname, ‘Piercing Cloud Tiger,’ praising her archery skills. But her archery really is excellent, better than most martial-trained men…”