Jiang Yanyi was taken aback by his scolding, recalling how the original owner had orchestrated numerous chance encounters just to see him.

Gradually, she began to understand.

She slightly furrowed her delicate brows and said, neither humble nor arrogant, “I am here waiting because I was ordered by the Great General. Young Master Lu must have misunderstood something.

In the past, I was infatuated and caused Young Master Lu a lot of trouble. Today, I am here to apologize. If I see Young Master Lu again in the future, I will certainly take the initiative to avoid him. I hope Young Master Lu will not speak such words that damage my reputation again.”

Just then, the curtain of the large tent was lifted once more, and Xing Yao shouted from a distance, “Where is Jiang Hua from the Fire Camp? The Great General has summoned you.”

Jiang Yanyi gave Lu Linyuan a slight bow and then walked away without looking back, not allowing a single superfluous glance in his direction.

At first, Lu Linyuan was a bit dazed, but then he felt a burning sensation on his face, as if someone had slapped him hard.

He had never felt so humiliated, not in this life or the last!

Fortunately, they were far from the camp, and the guards outside couldn’t hear their conversation.

Amidst his embarrassment, he also felt an indescribable emptiness in his heart.

In his memory, Jiang Yanyi had always been the one shamelessly trailing behind him, no matter how heartless he was in his words; she remained indifferent.

Gradually, it seemed he had developed an instinctive dislike for her.

Before this, Lu Linyuan had never thought that one day he would hear such words come from Jiang Yanyi’s mouth.

Perhaps it was because the previous moment had been too awkward; her words of severing ties did not bring him the slightest joy.

Lu Linyuan glanced at Jiang Yanyi’s retreating figure and left, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

He silently told himself that this was for the best.

---

Jiang Yanyi entered the tent, and Xing Yao was the first to return inside.

Thinking of the scene he had just witnessed, he pondered for a moment before saying to Feng Shuo, “Master, it seemed that Young Master Lu and the cook from the Fire Camp were saying something, but I couldn’t hear clearly from a distance.”

Chi Qing, who was sitting below, perked up at this, his fox-like eyes brimming with gossip: “That kid from the Lu family must have been lying at the table! He and that little cook must know each other. I think the little cook’s earlier warning about Ding Family Village not being peaceful might be because she’s worried about that kid’s safety!”

A flicker of something flashed quickly in Feng Shuo’s clear phoenix eyes, but he did not speak.

Seeing his increasingly cold expression, Chi Qing, rarely witnessing him at a loss, couldn’t help but cheerfully wave his folding fan, saying, “I think it’s probably unrequited love; after all, that kid from the Lu family has been quite indifferent to the little cook. Oh, poor little cook, she’s misplacing her affections!”

He deliberately elongated his tone.

Feng Shuo lowered his eyes to look at him, his lashes casting a delicate cold arc, not as a threat, but very much a threat: “Have you forgotten that Lu Linyuan came from the capital? The route from Dengzhou to Xizhou doesn’t pass through the capital.”

With that reminder from Feng Shuo, Chi Qing realized the issue.

Didn’t the little cook say she was going to Xizhou to find her fiancé?

How could she know someone who is in the capital, Lu Linyuan?

He said, “So… either the little cook went to the capital before coming to Xizhou, or… her identity is completely fake!”

Feng Shuo didn’t respond.

His gaze fell upon a bag of candied chestnuts on the table.

Having lost his sense of taste since childhood, he never cared much about food and had developed a habit of only eating two meals a day with no snacks.

That night, after bringing back this bag of candied chestnuts, he had only taken a few pieces to show the doctor and hadn’t touched the rest since.

He stared deeply at the candied chestnuts, and even though Chi Qing racked his brain, he couldn’t guess what Feng Shuo was thinking.

When Jiang Yanyi entered the tent, she sensed that the aura around the Great General seemed much colder than before.

She secretly wondered if it was because there were too many people, and the carbon dioxide they exhaled had raised the temperature around him?

She stepped forward and knelt down: “This common girl greets the Great General.”

Feng Shuo’s cold gaze swept over her, and he suddenly asked, “You said earlier that you came to Xizhou to find your fiancé. What is your fiancé’s surname, given name, and where does he live?”

Jiang Yanyi had thought she would simply receive a reward and leave, but to her surprise, he continued to ask these questions, knowing that Lu Linyuan’s words at the banquet had raised his suspicions.

She couldn’t help but sweat a little.

Because she was an illegal resident, she feared that if she revealed her true identity, not only would no one believe her, but if the news reached the capital, she might be targeted by the emperor’s men and secretly killed.

Thus, she had to fabricate a false identity.

After all, as a young lady from a prominent family, she had been exiled to the border as a prostitute due to a feud with her sisters.

If the truth came out, it would only make the emperor seem unvirtuous and tarnish her “half-sister” Jiang Yanxi’s reputation, bringing disgrace to the entire Jiang family.

So the emperor never intended to let her live when he decided to send her to the military as a prostitute.

—If she lived, she would be a threat to the emperor, to Jiang Yanxi, and to the Jiang family.

Jiang Yanyi was also painfully aware that given the level of idiocy displayed by the Minister Jiang, even if she stood right in front of him, he would still insist that she was not his daughter.

After all, acknowledging her would not only tarnish the reputation of the Jiang family but also affect the status of his precious illegitimate daughter.

Now that Feng Shuo had grown suspicious, considering his iron-fisted methods, Jiang Yanyi couldn’t bear to think about what would happen if he discovered her forged identity.

She forced her voice to sound calm: “In response to the Great General, my fiancé’s name is… is Chen Ergou. We have an arranged marriage, but my parents passed away during the plague, and the village was sealed off. I couldn’t learn the specific address of his family from my parents. I only heard my father say years ago that they lived in the southern part of Xizhou City.”

“Chen Ergou?” Feng Shuo’s mouth curled up slightly.

Chi Qing, sitting below, burst out laughing.

Jiang Yanyi felt a bit embarrassed, but she still put on an incredibly sincere expression and nodded, saying, “His nickname is Dog Dan.”

There were plenty of people in the world named Chen Ergou.

With a name like that, it was natural for his nickname to be Dog Dan.

The southern part of the city was vast, and over a decade had passed.

With such little information, finding her fiancé would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Jiang Yanyi was anxious, but fortunately, Feng Shuo did not continue to ask.

He changed the question: “Have you ever been to the capital?”

Jiang Yanyi could feel cold sweat sliding down her back, bringing with it a chilling sensation.

She clenched her fists and, meeting Feng Shuo’s gaze, which was even colder than a knife, shook her head and said, “I have never been there.”

With Lu Linyuan saying at the banquet that he had recognized the wrong person, if she claimed to have been to the capital, wouldn’t she be digging her own grave?

Feng Shuo leaned back, half of his back against the chair, his dark eyes deep: “You have rendered meritorious service by providing information. I will grant you a reward; state what you wish.”

Jiang Yanyi was stunned; this reward seemed too generous.

She felt that her little contribution didn’t warrant it.

Why did the Great General suddenly make such a decision?

Perhaps seeing the bewilderment on her face, Feng Shuo added, “I always follow through on my words.”

Jiang Yanyi didn’t have the guts to ask for too much.

After hesitating for a moment, she said, “I wish to request a legitimate status for a camp prostitute. Her name is Qiu Kui. On the day she was sold into a brothel, a court official died there, and she was implicated and sent to the military as a prostitute.”

Feng Shuo narrowed his slanted phoenix eyes, his demeanor imposing yet calm: “You are quite bold; the record of those sent to the military as prostitutes is kept by the Ministry of Justice, and to erase a criminal record requires a decree from the emperor.”

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Jiang Yanyi’s forehead as she knelt on the ground, unsure of what to do.

Chi Qing spoke up at the right moment: “Hey, I just remembered; the informant was identified by that camp prostitute.”

Feng Shuo shot him a glance, and Chi Qing scratched his nose awkwardly.

Only then did Feng Shuo turn his gaze back to Jiang Yanyi and say, “Words spoken cannot be taken back. I will comply. But you should think carefully; there is only one reward. Are you sure you want to request it for someone else?”

Hearing this, a huge weight lifted from Jiang Yanyi’s heart, and she nodded vigorously: “I have made up my mind.”

Feng Shuo’s eyes showed a hint of surprise, but he quickly composed himself: “In that case, I will write a memorial tomorrow. You may leave for now.”

Jiang Yanyi thanked him and was about to rise when she suddenly heard Chi Qing, who had wandered to a corner of the tent, yell: “You can’t waste such a precious resource! Do you know how valuable this bowl of chili peppers is? Tossing it in the corner to gather dust is one thing, but using water for washing brushes on it?”

Jiang Yanyi glanced toward the corner, but the furniture blocked her view, and she couldn’t see what Chi Qing was complaining about.

As she stood up, Chi Qing also came over, holding the bowl of chili peppers that had been placed in the corner by Feng Shuo, looking pained.

The originally green leaves were speckled with light ink stains, and among the branches hung many half-green and half-red small fruits, with pointed ends.

Jiang Yanyi froze in place.

That was… chili peppers!