After Tan Rong left, Madam Guo and Tan Xun still remained in place. Only after respectfully seeing Princess Lizhu and her group board the carriage did they take their leave.

“What a pity.”

Madam Guo gazed at the departing carriage and suddenly uttered these three words.

Then she came back to her senses and said to Tan Xun:

“The matters of marriage between man and woman depend on fate. Flowing water cannot be chased back. The princess may be good, but she is not suitable for you. In Luoyang City there are still many good girls of fine heart and gentle virtue. Your mother will surely choose a more fitting marriage for you.”

Tan Xun’s expression was calm. He only bowed respectfully to his aunt and said, “Your nephew understands.”

What was most important now was still the matter of the refugee army.

The refugee army could both pacify the interior and repel external threats. For the state, it was a fine strategy, but for the Tan family, it was not a good thing—especially for his second uncle, Tan Rong.

Tan Xun had a vague sense of foreboding.

For the sake of his own power, Second Uncle would never allow the princess and Pei Zhaoye to smoothly carry out their plan.

Princess Lizhu and her party headed toward the encampment on the outskirts of Wan Commandery.

Inside the carriage, the medical officer was cleaning and dressing Pei Zhaoye’s wounds, while Danzhu assisted at the side.

Pei Zhaoye made no sound. Gu Bing’an, however, upon seeing that back covered with torn flesh and gaping wounds, let out hissing breaths from time to time, as though merely looking at it already made him ache.

It was only then that he understood why the mountain lord had not allowed the princess to board this carriage earlier.

Gu Bing’an said, “…This time we really miscalculated that Madam Guo. Let this be a lesson to the mountain lord. From now on, better not act so rashly.”

When the wound treatment was done, a hoarse voice, strained from enduring pain, finally sounded within the carriage.

“Learning a lesson is fine. Being rash is another matter.”

Under heaven, where could there be anything with ten parts certainty?

If one shrank back after a single miscalculation, then he need not be a bandit chief or a general at all. He might as well go home and till the fields, that would be the safest.

Gu Bing’an did not catch the deeper meaning of his words. Raising an eyebrow, he said:

“Mountain lord, you’re being a bit heartless now—”

Pei Zhaoye cast him a sidelong glance. Gu Bing’an’s tone at once softened somewhat.

“I mean, the princess went through quite a lot to save you this time. I heard that ever since the mountain lord left, the princess hasn’t been sleeping even two hours a day. Even if not for yourself, you ought to think more for the princess.”

At the mention of this, Danzhu also followed along, recounting what she had heard from Chang Jun.

From Lu Yu tracing the clues to find Xiao Qiyuan, to Xiao Qiyuan arranging the contact with the Yanshan rebel army, then distributing grain for disaster relief, subduing the Yanshan forces, and requesting the court’s decree to establish the refugee army—

Danzhu clicked her tongue. “The princess looks so small, like one could flick her on the forehead and she’d fly off, but she handles matters so swiftly. I couldn’t believe it when I heard!”

That old thief—when he had someone come to negotiate before, he was so overbearing, as if he would skin the mountain lord alive if the grain weren’t returned.

At that time, Danzhu had simply wished she could shoot an arrow straight through him.

But the man was a general who held sway over a region. In Wan Commandery alone he commanded four to five thousand troops. Unless their Hongye Stronghold began recruiting soldiers right there, they would never be able to face him head-on.

Who would have thought the princess would not need to use a single soldier.

First, half of the Yanshan army surrendered. Later, with just a few words written on that bamboo slip to request the imperial decree’s return, she completely extinguished that old thief Tan Rong’s arrogance.

Not only did Tan Rong have to release their people, but they were even able to ride back in the carriages and horses prepared by the Tan family, openly and uprightly bringing the mountain lord home.

Winning a head-on battle against the enemy was, of course, satisfying.

But Danzhu suddenly realized that the saying Gu Bing’an was always talking about—to subdue others without fighting—was actually quite satisfying too.

Pei Zhaoye felt the same.

After the medical officer finished applying medicine and simple bandages and tidied up, Pei Zhaoye got up, lifted the curtain, and looked outside the window.

It was already close to noon.

After traveling all night, the troops had finally returned to the encampment. They were now resting, lighting fires, and beginning to prepare lunch.

That mist-pink figure sat beneath a tree, surrounded by the mountain bandits who had been injured during the grain seizure at Yixian Valley. She was checking their conditions.

Gu Bing’an teased idly: “After this ordeal, the princess turned the tide and now her status among the brothers in the stronghold has risen sharply. Mountain lord, don’t you feel any sense of crisis?”

Pei Zhaoye gave a subtle smile. “After this ordeal, if she still couldn’t win people’s hearts, then I truly should feel a bit of crisis.”

As for the rest, he wasn’t worried in the slightest.

“What I can do, the princess cannot; what the princess can do, I cannot. If we were apart, neither could replace the other. But if we are together…”

Danzhu cut in, “Then it’s a match made in heaven!”

Pei Zhaoye showed a pleased expression and clapped palms with Danzhu in midair.

Gu Bing’an rolled his eyes.

A man born from a bandit’s den, daring to say he and the noble princess were a match made in heaven—only their mountain lord could have such confidence.

Princess Lizhu was unaware of the conversation inside the carriage.

Only when the medical officer came to report that General Pei’s wounds had been treated and he could be moved did she immediately rise and order people to fetch the stretcher for carrying the injured.

Who would have thought that before the stretcher even arrived, Pei Zhaoye had already walked back to the tent on his own.

Lizhu, fuming, lifted the curtain and chased after him.

“Didn’t Physician Lin tell you not to move about before your wounds heal?”

Pei Zhaoye, lying on the couch, gave a cold snort.

“You expect me to lie on that shabby stretcher and be carried by others? Don’t even think about it.”

“……”

He really was far too concerned about saving face.

Lizhu stepped forward and saw that he was sweating from pain on his forehead. The words of reproach that had reached her lips were swallowed back.

She wanted to reach out and brush aside the strands of hair dampened by his sweat, but Pei Zhaoye suddenly leaned back a little, avoiding her hand.

He! Actually! Avoided her!!

Lizhu stared at him in disbelief.

Pei Zhaoye smiled and said, “I haven’t bathed for seven or eight days. I’m filthy.”

“…I don’t mind,” she muttered softly under her breath. Pei Zhaoye’s gaze upon her was quiet and deep.

Lizhu ordered lunch to be brought in. The two of them, each with their own low table, ate together inside the tent while talking about the matter of the refugee army.

“…Originally, I thought that as long as enough grain was delivered, and the court pacified and recruited with the refugee army, the Yanshan forces would naturally surrender. I didn’t expect that only half of them would.”

Lizhu’s fine brows knit slightly in distress.

It was said that after Wu Yan and Li Da met with her, on the very day they returned, a conflict broke out within Yanshan.

The Yanshan army was thus split into two clearly divided factions.

One followed Wu Yan, currently stationed at the foot of Yanshan in Jiangzhou, eating the grain sent by Lizhu for relief, under the watch of the county’s official troops, awaiting her orders.

The other still hid within Yanshan, but according to the county officials’ investigation, the group led by Li Da was quite close to the Xue family.

“Quite normal.”

Pei Zhaoye lifted a bowl of soup and rice.

“Before the uprising, they were all impoverished commoners. After the uprising, their ambition was released. How could it be something a few stones of grain could fill? That Wu Yan, being able to bring over four thousand Yanshan soldiers to surrender, already shows some ability and insight.”

Besides, the Yanshan army had absorbed many vagabonds and bandits.

These kinds of people—Pei Zhaoye had seen plenty—did he not know what sort of character they were?

There were bad men even among the commoners—bad in a way different from corrupt officials. Once they gained power, their destructiveness was utterly mad.

“…No. They must either surrender completely, or else be treated as rebels. In any case, they must not collude with the Xue family. Otherwise, the Tan family will profit from it, and their power will become unstoppable.”

The young princess’s still childlike face carried a grave expression.

The Xue family’s rebellion was already brewing; no one knew when it would break out in full.

Prime Minister Xue Yun was obstinate and greedy for success—he was doomed to fail. But who he failed to was another matter.

At the very least, Lizhu knew—the Xue family must not fall at the hands of the Tan family.

When Pei Zhaoye heard this, he quickly grasped the crux of it as well.

In just a few mouthfuls he scraped clean the bowl of soup and rice, and when he lifted his head to look at the little princess across from him, he said:

“What are you doing, counting grains of rice?”

Lizhu came back to her senses and realized he had already started on his second bowl.

“How… how come—you haven’t eaten anything these past few days, have you?”

Pei Zhaoye said, “Not really. I didn’t eat much during the first five days of playing dead, but after escaping the predicament, I took every chance I could to eat plenty. Isn’t this my usual appetite? It’s you who eats too slow and too little.”

As he spoke, he called someone in to add more rice.

“……”

Lizhu suddenly recalled that in her previous life at the Princess’s Residence, when he dined with her twice a day, his appetite had never seemed remarkable.

…Though he often volunteered, saying he wanted to personally cook something for her.

Thinking about it now—could it be that he used that excuse to sneak food in the kitchen?

When Pei Zhaoye was halfway through his fifth bowl, he suddenly noticed the princess’s eyes turning sympathetic and felt somewhat puzzled.

“Still want more? I can have someone bring another bowl.”

Glancing at her open palm, and the slender white wrist revealed when her sleeve slipped down, he set down his chopsticks. “No need. I’ve had enough.”

Lizhu nodded seriously. “Then if there’s anything else you want to eat, remember to tell me. I’ll have the kitchen prepare it.”

This time he was more seriously wounded than back in Yiling, and it was the freezing depths of winter. She was afraid he might be left with some lasting ailment.

Pei Zhaoye looked at her for a while.

“Don’t worry. When I want to eat, I’ll let the princess know.”

“……”

Lizhu felt his gaze was strange, as though he wasn’t talking about food.

But seeing that his face was pale, showing rare weakness, he probably wasn’t saying anything improper.

After the meal trays were cleared, Lizhu—though distressed—still forced herself to keep a stern face and said to him: “Now that you’ve eaten and drunk your fill, tell me why you had to go alone to kill Tan Rong?”

The thought of it made her angry again.

Was that something a clear-headed person would do?

To chase after Tan Rong alone to kill him!

Even putting aside whether he could kill that battle-hardened Tan Rong—what would it achieve if he did?

Was the Tan family out of people? Was Wan Commandery out of soldiers?

That was a high minister of the court. The moment Tan Rong’s head fell, the imperial court would be shaken, Wan Commandery would raise troops, and he would immediately become the target of all.

She, a princess, had nearly been assassinated, and even knowing it was done by Empress Tan and Tan Rong’s men, she didn’t dare move openly against him.

But he—he went around killing, burning, and robbing without missing a single one. His temper was far too fiery.

Just what kind of mortal enmity did he and Tan Rong have that they could not coexist?

Pei Zhaoye’s gaze flickered, the deep black of his pupils rippling with a shadowed light, as he said:

“…When I was young, I had dealings with him and offended him. You know, Yiling and Wan Commandery aren’t far apart. He held both military and political power there—just a single word from him cut off my path to join the army. Tell me, how could I not hate him?”

Truth mixed with falsehood—he spoke with such sincerity that Lizhu suspected nothing.

At present, the price of books was high; a family without some wealth could not afford schooling.

Pei Zhaoye had lost his mother young, knew nothing of his father, and could not even live by farming like ordinary people. Now even the road of selling his labor to become a soldier had been cut off.

“So that’s how it was!”

Lizhu was furious. “No wonder you were forced to become an outlaw… so it was that old thief’s doing!”