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Chapter 22 — Danger

“Run, miss, run!”

The sound of splashing water echoed as Yu Mingyao continued to scrub herself, feeling increasingly comfortable.
The sensation of being immersed in the warm, soothing waters was delightful, her body and mind both basking in a long-lost sense of ease.

As she bathed, her hand unconsciously followed the curves of her body, slowly trailing downward.
When she was about to touch her most private place, she suddenly stopped, her earlier vigilance flaring back.
She covered her chest and glanced around cautiously.

The large hot spring pool was still empty — just her, alone.
Seeing this, she was about to continue when a numbness crept into her bent legs.
The water near the cave entrance was too shallow to enjoy a thorough bath. If she continued to scoop water bit by bit as before, it would take too long to finish.
Biting her lip, the urge to save time eventually won.

Because she wasn’t a strong swimmer, Yu Mingyao carefully leaned against the pool’s edge and slowly inched inward.
When she reached a spot where the water level rose past her waist, she took two more steps and finally stopped.
The comfort of her pores relaxing surged straight to her head.
If not for the inappropriate timing, she almost felt like humming out loud from sheer pleasure.

Being alone in the world, fully immersed in water, scrubbing her body freely — it felt incredible.
No scheming, no troublesome romantic entanglements.
Just her. Only herself.

Since her rebirth, this was the first time Yu Mingyao had felt so carefree.

Feeling even bolder, she slipped off the last of her undergarments and casually placed them by the shore.
Naked and unrestrained, she discarded all bindings.
In that moment of shedding her clothes, she felt as though she had returned to that day Pei Shang had laid her down in the grass — all she could smell was the scent of freedom.

The exhilaration of doing as she pleased made her feel as though she were soaring above the clouds, her soul nearly lifting out of her body.
The soft melody she had previously held back now gently spilled from her throat:

“You are at the head of the Xiang River,
I am at its tail.
We long for each other but never meet,
Drinking from the same Xiang River water.”

Her voice was sweet and charming, like a songbird’s, tugging at the heartstrings.

But the only audience present — Xie Zhuoguang — was in no mood to appreciate it.
When he could no longer hold his breath, he had quietly surfaced, pressing himself against the cold stone wall.
A maiden bathing and an unmarried man secretly present — this was utterly improper. It was fine as long as only he knew, but if any sound betrayed him, even though Yu Mingyao was usually bold, in her shame and anger, who knew what might happen?

Xie Zhuoguang sighed quietly, afraid of seeing anything he shouldn’t. Even though his whole body was numb from holding the same position for so long, his gaze didn’t stray an inch.

Earlier, when Yu Mingyao had drawn closer, his heart had been in his throat for a while.
His hearing was exceptional — just from the sounds, he could roughly pinpoint her location.
Now, she was no more than two or three zhang (~6–10 meters) from where he had been bathing originally. If she had been slightly more alert or a bit taller, stretching her neck, she would have clearly seen the shoes he had hidden in the crevice of the rocks.

Please, let nothing go wrong…

He closed his eyes, silently praying.
But heaven doesn’t always grant what we wish — sometimes what we fear is exactly what happens.

Just as Xie Zhuoguang was on edge, Yu Mingyao’s humming abruptly stopped!
At the lower right of the boulder, Yu Mingyao’s gaze turned cold.
She had no idea when it happened, but just a few feet away, in a crack between the rocks — a pair of black men’s boots had appeared!

Reacting instantly, she swiftly grabbed her nearby undergarment, covered her chest, and retreated backward.
She didn’t stop until she reached the cave entrance, where she quickly and deftly dressed, threw on her outer robe, and hurriedly exited the cave.

Outside, Yu Jinnian was idly looking around. Hearing familiar footsteps behind him, he immediately turned.

“Sister, you…”

Seeing Yu Mingyao’s disheveled appearance, he hesitated, unsure how to ask.

“It’s nothing,” Yu Mingyao shot him a glance. “We’ve already delayed long enough. We must hurry back now.”

“Oh… alright.”

Yu Jinnian quickly went to fetch the horses while Yu Mingyao used the chance to straighten her clothes and calm her startled heart.
As the sound of hoofbeats echoed, the image of those black boots resurfaced in her mind.
Though it had been just a quick glance, and she didn’t catch the specific style, the dark cyan fabric and silver leaf embroidery on those boots felt eerily familiar.

Could it be…
A figure flashed in her mind — but the next moment, she dismissed the thought.

Impossible. Just because a man wears cyan doesn’t mean it’s him.
In his eyes, she was shallow and frivolous, relying on her beauty to flirt about — there was no way he’d harbor such feelings.
Besides, knowing they would part ways and likely never meet again, even Pei Shang, who always wore his heart on his sleeve, was heartbroken and couldn’t bear to see her off. That man wouldn’t even come to bid her farewell.

Impossible.

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The road was empty, midday heat steaming. Horses galloped over the grass, snapping twigs and leaves.
Yu Mingyao’s tense heart had just settled as they neared the forest they had passed earlier.

But her calm was suddenly shattered by a burst of commotion.
Yan Yue’s shrill scream carried on the hot wind to Yu Mingyao and her brother’s ears.

The two exchanged glances. “Hyah!”
With a crack of the whip, the horses surged forward.
Neigh—!
The horse whinnied and sped ahead, but Yu Mingyao’s heart clenched with unspeakable fear.

In this life, she had already saved her brother. Her grandmother must not come to harm.

Her heart nearly stopped beating until she saw the entire Yu family safe — only then did she finally relax.

“There’s a proper order to things — you can’t just barge in and drive people away the moment you arrive! What’s the meaning of this?”

In the center of the crowd, Yan Yue had rolled up her sleeves and was arguing fiercely, her face flushed red. A group of unfamiliar men and women surrounded her, spitting venom.

Yu Mingyao frowned and reined in her horse.
Just moments ago, when she left, the convoy had been orderly. Now not only was there an opulent new caravan beside them, but the scene was a chaotic mess.

Scanning the newcomers, she strode forward.

“I’m the one in charge here. What is the meaning of this racket?”

Seeing her arrive, Yan Yue immediately found her backbone and poured out the entire story like beans spilling from a sack.

“Hey, don’t talk nonsense! I didn’t bully your old and weak.”

Before she finished, a young, richly dressed, thoroughly rakish-looking man emerged from the leading carriage.
The man, appearing rather young, had a fat face and big ears, his entire body draped in gold as if afraid others wouldn’t know how wealthy he was.
His carriage, like its owner, was ostentatious — plated in gilded bronze with gold bells at each corner that jingled in the wind.

As soon as he stepped down, his lecherous gaze fixed on Yu Mingyao, his eyes practically glued to her.

“Such a beautiful young lady! My father is the newly appointed Commander of the Jinwu Guards. If you marry me and become my sixteenth concubine, you’ll enjoy endless wealth and luxury — far better than your rural countryside life!”

“You!” Before Yu Mingyao could get angry, Yan Yue had already exploded.

“What nonsense! You dare set your sights on my lady?!”

“Exactly!”

Yu Jinnian, who had been at the back, heard the absurd drivel and rushed forward, shoving people aside.

“My sister is as beautiful as a fairy. You, a toad, don’t even have the decency to look at yourself in a puddle!
Pah! And you want her to marry you? Why don’t you go hang yourself?
You shameless bastard — taste my fist!”

He grabbed the man’s collar and easily hoisted him into the air.

“Are there no laws under the emperor’s feet? My father is the new Jinwu Guard Commander! You… you’ll regret this!”

He shrieked as a steward-looking figure arrogantly stepped forward.

“I advise you to let go of my young master, or once we reach the capital, you’ll pay dearly.”

The capital?
Yu Mingyao let out a cold snort, her gaze sweeping over the Pei family guards who had been silently observing.

“As it happens, I have a few people from the Pei family of the capital here. Since you’re heading to the capital to take office, why not inquire around? The Pei family’s illustrious lineage far surpasses your so-called Jinwu Guard Commander.”

Her expression grew frosty. Hearing this, Yu Jinnian lifted his chin proudly and tightened his grip on the man’s hand.

The standoff continued until Shi Luoshi, who had been watching from the carriage, came down to smooth things over. Only then did Yu Jinnian drop the man.

“I won’t let this go. Just you wait!”
The man spat a threat as he left.

Once the conflict died down, Yu Mingyao didn’t want any more trouble, so she instructed everyone to prepare to depart.

But soon after giving the order, Yan Yue ran over anxiously.

“Miss, bad news! Our carriage is broken — we can’t leave anytime soon!”
“It must be those black-hearted bastards!”

Yu Mingyao and Yan Yue both turned their gazes toward the departing caravan.
The man lifted his curtain, as if he had heard Yan Yue’s words, his smirk arrogant.

“Despicable!” Yu Jinnian fumed. “Sister, why don’t I catch up and beat that bastard half to death? Otherwise, I’ll choke on this anger.”

Yu Mingyao’s gaze shifted to several of the middle carriages in the convoy.
The wheel tracks of those carts were much deeper than the others.

“No rush,” Yu Mingyao’s expression darkened. “Someone will take revenge for us.”

As the sun set and darkness fell, their carriage was finally repaired.
But with the night so deep, it was no longer safe to travel — they would have to rest one more night and set off the next day.

“Mingyao is looking more and more like the head of the household,”
Shi Luoshi teased, seeing how Yu Mingyao smoothly handled everything.

Yu Mingyao shot her a glare but said nothing more.

Night deepened, crickets chirping incessantly outside.
They had been on the road for seven days, and Yu Mingyao, who had been on edge and cautious every day, was utterly exhausted.

After a day of dangers at the hot springs, afternoon quarrels, and repairing the carriage, everything had piled up — she could no longer resist her fatigue and soon drifted into a deep sleep.

Before she fell asleep, the image of those cyan boots flashed through her mind once more.

“Ah! Murder!”

“Miss, there are bandits — run!”

“Grab that woman and take her back as a bandit bride!”

Screams and the sound of blades piercing flesh echoed.
Yu Jinnian jolted awake from his dream — only to see Yan Yue’s blood-covered face leaning in front of him.

“Go, miss, they’re after you — run quickly!”

Yu Mingyao’s mind went blank. She had no idea what was happening but saw Yan Yue’s tear-filled eyes as she stuffed a whip into her hand.

“Miss, the young master has already protected the old madam — they’ve entrusted you to me. Don’t look back. Never look back.”

With that, Yan Yue leapt away.

“I’m here! Are you looking for me?”

Using all her strength, she fiercely kicked the horse’s belly.
The horse neighed in pain, the carriage careened out of control and sped deeper into the night.

“Brothers, the woman’s over there — charge!”
“Don’t let anyone escape!”

The wails and howls behind her were too harrowing.
Trembling, Yu Mingyao gripped the whip and walked to the front of the carriage.
Lifting the curtain, she saw it —

Firelight.
Black-clad bandits.
Fallen guards, one after another.

Her whole body shook as her gaze fell on Yan Yue, surrounded and blocked by enemies.

“Chase her — there’s still someone in that carriage!”

“Run, miss, run!”
Yan Yue’s hoarse cry, filled with sobs, rang out as Yu Mingyao’s trembling hand tightened in anguish and regret.

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