Pei Zhaoye sat skewed as he served himself, wearing a smile like spring sunshine.

Tan Xun’s expression froze at once.

“I thought you my friend, and did not know you thought yourself what? Such nonsense, do you think you are belittling others? In truth, it is you who belittles yourself.”

Pei Zhaoye very slowly lifted his eyelids.

A deep, obscure gaze filled with killing intent swept across him like a flame, making Tan Xun feel as if he were being consumed by fire.

This man occasionally harbored an unhidden murderous thought toward him.

But that killing intent was like a cloud covering the sun—passing in an instant, and the next moment everything returned to normal as if it had never happened.

Tan Xun was certain this was not merely jealousy.

“Then speak of something serious.”

Pei Zhaoye said, neither hurried nor slow, “Along with your second uncle’s reply that came to Xiangcheng, weren’t there also fifty cavalry?”

Tan Xun’s color changed abruptly.

Lizhu also showed a look of astonishment; Tan Xun had never mentioned this matter to her.

Pei Zhaoye smiled and said, “They arrived yesterday morning, stationed outside the city at Jinyue Crossing. Fierce cavalry and valiant commanders, all elite—one against ten would not be an exaggeration. Tsk, Tan Gongzi¹Gongzi: is a traditional Chinese term of address that literally means “son of a nobleman.”, are you being too reserved? Such formidable elites kept so tightly hidden, what do you intend?”

“—Naturally to protect the Princess.”

Tan Xun immediately put down his chopsticks and explained to Lizhu, “These fifty cavalrymen are my trusted men. That day when I fled home it was too hurried to assemble many troops. With my father’s assent this time, my second uncle did not dare

stop me, so I immediately dispatched men to Yiling. If those in Yiling truly dare rebel and harm the Princess, these fifty elites may not stop them, but they can cover the Princess’s escape…”

“Who knows whether you mean to cover the Princess or to bury her.”

Pei Zhaoye sneered.

Tan Xun endured and endured: “If necessary, I do not mind burying you.”

“Want to try? Those famed fierce cavalry, I’ll smash all your armor to pieces.”

“……”

How childish.

Lizhu sat between the two of them, finishing her breakfast in boredom while the childish argument went on beside her.

“Oh right, Xuan Ying—where did Chang Jun go?”

Lizhu suddenly remembered. She hadn’t seen Chang Jun all morning, no wonder it felt like something was missing.

Xuan Ying smiled. “Has the Princess forgotten? Before bed last night, Chang Jun shyly asked if he could accompany Danzhu to visit her sister today.”

Only then did Lizhu recall.

To be precise, what Chang Jun had said was that Danzhu insisted on dragging him along, and he couldn’t refuse; if the Princess disapproved, he would go and decline her.

Naturally, Lizhu had agreed without hesitation.

She wondered whether Danzhu’s sister’s illness was serious. Hopefully not. But if something really had happened…

A vague thought suddenly slipped through her mind.

It was too indistinct—only a faint sense of unease, though she couldn’t tell what exactly it meant.

Just as she was lost in thought, hurried footsteps sounded outside—Gu Bing’an’s.

“Mountain Lord, urgent news to report.”

Lizhu blurted out, “Is it Danzhu?”

Gu Bing’an gave her a surprised glance before answering,

“No, not Danzhu… Didn’t she go to visit her sister?”

Only then did Lizhu let out a breath of relief.

She’d gone to the yamen yesterday and hadn’t yet received any news from there. Perhaps she had been too jumpy.

“It’s from Hongye Stronghold.”

Once Pei Zhaoye and Lizhu had stepped out to the corridor, Gu Bing’an lowered his voice.

“Not a major issue—just that west of Xunjiang, the band of water bandits at Reed Channel have started to stir again. Likely they’ve heard the Mountain Lord hasn’t been in the stronghold lately and are looking to take advantage.”

Pei Zhaoye’s expression remained calm. “Who’s leading them?”

“Not their chief. The big leader was wounded in the last government siege and still hasn’t recovered.”

“Don’t bother with them.”

Leaning against a pillar, Pei Zhaoye didn’t even lift his eyelids as he said,

“The old monkey’s down, and the young one wants to take the throne—trying to make a name for himself by challenging our Hongye Stronghold. He should know his own weight… Tell the stronghold to respond as usual. But if they dare so much as set foot on Yushan’s shore, they’ll see how I deal with them once I return.”

Gu Bing’an immediately acknowledged, “Understood.”

“—No.”

Lizhu suddenly spoke, her expression solemn as she gripped Pei Zhaoye’s arm.

“You must return.”

Pei Zhaoye and Gu Bing’an looked at her with slight surprise.

Gu Bing’an said, “Princess need not worry. We have faced this band of water brigands before. Even if their chief leads men to attack, not once have they set foot on our Yushan…”

“This time it’s different!”

Lizhu spoke with conviction, which drew a flicker of interest into Pei Zhaoye’s eyes.

“Why is it different?” he asked.

Lizhu fell silent.

Because… according to the timeline of her previous life, three years later he would enter government service, and before that he still needed time to study. Calculating backward, the time when he left Hongye Stronghold in his previous life was not far off.

Lizhu looked into his pupils and once more regretted that in her former life she had not probed deeply enough to learn about Pei Zhaoye’s youth.

If… if something had once happened to Hongye Stronghold…

What if it was this time?

As long as he remained at Hongye Stronghold, he would surely be able to hold the stronghold.

Lizhu believed this firmly.

“It really is different.”

Unable to invent any convincing excuse on the spot, she hurriedly said, “You must go back. Hongye Stronghold is your life’s work. You are their Mountain Lord. If enemies invade, how can you ignore it? If anything goes wrong, you will regret it for the rest of your life, won’t you?”

The grip on his arm was strong; Pei Zhaoye could feel her urgency.

But he could not understand why she felt such dread of the Reed Channel bandits.

A bunch of lowly scoundrels who once dared speak rudely to Danzhu and were scared off by one arrow from her, give them fifty more years and he still would not spare them a glance.

…Yet she worried so.

Hongye Stronghold to her was plainly just a gang that occupied her family’s rivers and took money from her family’s coffers.

Pei Zhaoye stared at her and teased, “If there were no Hongye Stronghold, perhaps I would, as you say, go to Luoyang and become some kind of official. Wouldn’t that please you?”

“How could that please me!”

Seeing he did not take her words to heart, Lizhu grew desperate. She could not help but cup his face with both hands.

Under his astonished gaze, Lizhu spoke slowly, word by word: “If there were no Hongye Stronghold, what would be the difference from gouging out your heart? I would rather you never go to Luoyang, never come to see me, than see you live unhappily, do you understand?”

Her breath was hot; her eyes shone startlingly.

Pei Zhaoye could not describe his feelings at that moment. His long lashes swept down; looking at the lips that had spoken those words, he very much wanted to kiss them.

He bent forward slightly.

Out of the corner of his eye he seemed to catch an undeniable, burning gaze thrown from the inner chamber.

…Forget it.

After what happened at the tailor’s last time, he had already vowed in his heart not to repeat it.

Such intimacy ought to be something for the two of them alone to share; those irrelevant people used as a garnish were disgusting.

The covetous gaze swept over her lips, again and again.

Pei Zhaoye said, “If I really go back, at the shortest two days, at the longest five or six days. Are you sure you won’t need me here?”

“It’s fine. I’ll wander the streets every day these few days. With so many people and eyes, they absolutely won’t dare act inside the city. Leave those fifty-three men behind to keep me company.”

Lizhu almost instantly decided on a plan.

Assassinating the Princess was something only done when driven to desperation; she had just carved them out another path of survival. Except for that stubborn Cui Shiyong, most people would have already abandoned the idea of killing her.

Even if they were to regroup, it would take time.

During that time, so long as she did not leave the city, Lizhu was confident she would be safe.

Pei Zhaoye knew this well.

He finally spoke: “I’ll set out this afternoon for Hongye Stronghold, but one thing—before I return, Lu Yu and Chang Jun must take turns and never leave your side. If needed, do not spare that young master’s fifty cavalry.”

Lizhu nodded repeatedly.

“One more thing—”

The tip of his nose inhaled the faint fragrance unique to her; Pei Zhaoye suddenly smiled.

There was a teasing, mischievous edge to his smile.

“Remember to collect the trousers hanging in the courtyard for me; after all, they’re all… thanks to you.”

Footnotes

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  Gongzi: is a traditional Chinese term of address that literally means “son of a nobleman.”