Chapter 8

Yongzhou is known as a cold and bitter place at the border, but it’s actually a neighboring state of Jizhou, where the royal capital is.

Jizhou is east of Yongzhou, and Yongzhou is west of Jizhou. These two states are the largest among the nine Kyushu states, with vast territories and many counties.

The Fen River separates the two states, with Yongzhou to the west and Jizhou to the east. The further west you go, the poorer it gets, and the further east you go, the wealthier it becomes. The capital of the king is in the easternmost part of Jizhou, while Beidi County, which Ying Yue mentioned, is in the westernmost part of Yongzhou.

After talking about this geography, Zhao Kuo feared that Ying Yue and Bai Qi would think he was revealing their location, so he quickly added, “I heard a caravan^[1]is a group of travelers, often merchants, who journey together for safety and mutual support, typically through difficult or dangerous regions like deserts or mountains. from Yongzhou talking about this while I was on the way to the inn!”

He didn’t ask anyone on purpose!

The boy’s nervous expression, like a startled cat, made Ying Yue laugh. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescents, and she looked very sweet.

Bai Qi looked at Zhao Kuo like he was a little fool again.

Faced with the “double ridicule” from Ying Yue and Bai Qi, the young Zhao Kuo, wanting to feel sorry for himself, held back the urge to cry and continued speaking.

He had finished talking about Yongzhou, and for Qingzhou, which he had asked the carriage shop owner about, they should head south.

Qingzhou is separated from Jizhou by Yanzhou, but Yanzhou is the smallest of the nine states. So, in terms of distance, Jizhou and Qingzhou are much closer than Yongzhou.

“So, we just go west to reach Yongzhou, right?” Ying Yue, confused about directions, tilted her head and asked after hearing Zhao Kuo.

Bai Qi nodded slightly, agreeing with the girl.

Then Zhao Kuo asked the pretty girl in the carriage, “Have you regained your strength?”

“Yeah!” Ying Yue nodded hard. “I feel normal now.”

“Then change your clothes.”

Bai Qi looked at Zhao Kuo and motioned for him to give Ying Yue the clothes he had just bought for her in the city.

After Ying Yue took the bundle, Bai Qi pulled down the curtain of the carriage, making it impossible to see inside.

Then, Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo quickly changed out of their servant’s outfits and young master’s brocade robes and turned into two ordinary “commoners” in cloth.

Ying Yue finally changed out of her wedding dress, which was full of bad memories. The little girl lifted the curtain, knelt down halfway, and jumped off the carriage by holding onto the board.

Her poor sense of balance almost made her fall, but Bai Qi caught her just in time.

The young man said helplessly, “Be careful.”

In return, he got Ying Yue’s pure smile, which was innocent and even a bit silly.

In a soft voice, she said, “I thought I wouldn’t fall.”

Before jumping, Ying Yue thought she would land smoothly. 

Why did she think that? It was probably because everything that had happened today seemed so strange, it was hard to believe. If she told anyone, they’d think she was crazy.

Besides, Ying Yue felt too embarrassed to ask Bai Qi or Zhao Kuo to help her down.

Although the system said she was their master and they were her subjects, it didn’t feel right to her.

Technically, she could have them do anything for her, but for Ying Yue, Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo were her saviors. 

If it weren’t for them, she might not even be alive right now.

How could she order them around without feeling guilty? That would be ungrateful.

After Bai Qi let go of the hand that had saved her from falling, Ying Yue lowered her head and softly thanked him again, “Thank you, Bai Qi. You saved me again.”

Bai Qi calmly said, “It’s all my responsibility, Miss Ying. Don’t worry about it.”

He then helped Ying Yue onto another carriage that Zhao Kuo bought, asking her to wait inside for a while. Bai Qi went to retrieve the things from the carriage they had used to “escape” from the capital and called Zhao Kuo to help him move the items.

This time, Zhao Kuo wasn’t arrogant anymore. He came over and worked very efficiently.

There were only two things that needed to be taken: valuables like gold, silver, jewelry, and… weapons.

…Wait, weapons?

Zhao Kuo, who had just delivered the treasures to the new carriage where Ying Yue was sitting, stared in amazement as Bai Qi pulled out a knife and a sword from under the seat. Bai Qi strapped the knife to his waist and handed the sword to Zhao Kuo.

At that moment, Zhao Kuo realized that Bai Qi had even prepared weapons. Seeing Zhao Kuo’s surprised expression, Bai Qi said, “I wasn’t sure what weapon you’re good at, so I prepared one for you. This is the type of sword most generals in my time used.”

Zhao Kuo sighed inwardly, feeling that he might not be able to stay in his current position much longer because Bai Qi was just too reliable. Being his enemy might be the worst thing that could happen in one’s life. But as his teammate, it felt like there was no need to work hard anymore—he could just rely on Bai Qi.

After shaking off these thoughts, Zhao Kuo put on the sword and prepared to act as a quiet coachman.

Zhao Kuo began whipping the horse to drive the carriage. Ying Yue, sitting inside, looked at Bai Qi, who was seated a little farther away, and asked, “Should we still take a detour?”

Bai Qi replied, “It’s not necessary.”

They had taken a detour before not because they didn’t know the way to Yongzhou but because they wanted to be cautious. Now that they knew the destination, they could head straight there. Additionally, in that small town earlier, Zhao Kuo had left a “message” that they were headed to Qingzhou.

“I see,” Ying Yue nodded in understanding.

Then, she heard Bai Qi say, “We have to travel through the night today, and there won’t be any place to rest. If you get sleepy, feel free to nap in the carriage.”

“Alright,” Ying Yue nodded, then smiled. “I’m not that delicate.”

_

It was around three or four in the morning. Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo had taken turns driving. Zhao Kuo returned to the carriage to rest, and Bai Qi continued driving.

Ying Yue had been feeling drowsy since late at night. She couldn’t keep her eyes open and soon fell asleep.

Meanwhile, the capital city was in chaos.

The night watchman, passing by Prince Rui’s palace, smelled a strong odor of blood. After knocking on the palace gates and getting no response, not even from the gatekeeper who usually would have cursed at such an hour, he realized something was wrong. Afraid to act on his own, he ran to the government and reported the matter.

What followed was chaos. Prince Rui had invited many nobles and sons of officials to his palace for his wedding, and now, the bodies of these powerful people lay in the palace. Officials from Jingzhao Yin and Dali Temple were dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to investigate the massacre.

For several days, everyone in the capital whispered about the tragedy, but no one dared to speak openly.

Despite their efforts, the investigators never even reached Qingzhou, where Zhao Kuo had left the fake news. The clues stopped, and the case became an unsolved mystery.

One more thing to note: after discovering that everyone in Prince Rui’s mansion was dead, the emperor ordered those who had lost family members in the massacre to submit a list of names. This was so the officials could identify the bodies.

Ying Yue’s biological father, a Marquis surnamed Li, reported her name, “Li Yue.” But he was told that her body wasn’t among the dead.

Lord Li had also provided a portrait of Ying Yue, which led officials to believe that, due to her extraordinary beauty, she might have been kidnapped by the murderer. Because of this, Lord Li and his entire household became targets of suspicion. Other ministers and officials whose children had died resented him.

Faced with this, Lord Li publicly disowned Ying Yue, claiming that she had been “dishonored” by the murderer, and erased her name from the family records. Only then did the hostility toward him lessen slightly.

Of course, Ying Yue knew nothing about the turmoil happening far away in the capital.

_

After traveling for more than half a month, Ying Yue, Bai Qi, and Zhao Kuo finally arrived at their destination—Yongzhou.

After arriving in Yongzhou, the further west they went, Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo could feel that the people’s attitudes here were different from the east.

As Ying Yue secretly lifted the curtain in the carriage to look outside, something unexpected happened. 

A large pig-killing machete with a bloody blade was suddenly inserted into the ground in front, scaring the horse leading Zhao Kuo’s carriage, making it scream. 

After the knife hit the ground, a group of strong men rushed out from the side. 

The leader, a big man with a strong accent, spoke to Zhao Kuo and Ying Yue in the carriages. He said something the little girl had only seen in storybooks:

“Robbery!”

“If you want to pass, leave some money!”

The big man then shouted, “We don’t want women, we don’t want gigolos, we just want money!”

When he said this, the big man gave Zhao Kuo a disdainful look, confusing him.

Zhao Kuo: …?

When I have doubts, it’s not me who’s wrong; I think you’re the one with problems.