Chu Tianjiao, accompanied by Qingluan and Sang Shen, with twelve warrior maids following behind, had just left the mansion gate when they encountered Lu Zhaoling.
The wound on Lu Zhaoling's head had mostly healed, and the swelling on his face had subsided. Today, he wore a white cloud-patterned brocade robe with a cinched waist and a jade hairpin. Dressed impeccably, he walked with small, confident steps and blocked Chu Tianjiao's horse.
"Sister Chu, are you feeling better? I was just coming to see you."
Seeing Lu Zhaoling, Chu Tianjiao inwardly cursed her bad luck. She frowned and pulled on the reins.
"Fourth Prince, I'm in a hurry to leave the city. I won't exchange pleasantries with you, so please step aside."
Lu Zhaoling detected the impatience in Chu Tianjiao's voice, and alarm bells rang in his mind. He guessed that perhaps Chu Tianjiao had truly believed the monk's prediction.
He was merely the son of a palace maid, and although adopted by Consort Ye, the Ye Family's influence at court was not yet sufficient to support his ambitions. He was determined to win over Chu Tianjiao and her family.
The Emperor had already declared that if the Chu family were willing to withdraw their petition to cancel the engagement, the wedding could proceed.
Lu Zhaoling had come to the Marquis of Liyang Mansion today to implore Old Madam Chu to withdraw the petition.
Old Madam Chu doted on Chu Tianjiao, so Chu Tianjiao's attitude towards him was crucial.
Lu Zhaoling absolutely could not allow Chu Tianjiao to distance herself from him at this time.
He did not step aside as Chu Tianjiao had requested, but instead moved even closer.
"Sister Chu, where are you rushing off to?"
Chu Tianjiao couldn't openly break ties with Lu Zhaoling yet, so she answered coolly, "Leaving the city for training exercises."
Lu Zhaoling glanced at the twelve fully armed warrior maids behind Chu Tianjiao and didn't doubt her words.
These twelve warrior maids had been chosen for Chu Tianjiao from among the children of family retainers when she was very young. They had practiced martial arts alongside Chu Tianjiao since childhood.
Chu Tianjiao also liked to imitate the adults in her family by organizing these twelve warrior maids into a unit for training.
Going out of the city for training exercises was indeed something Chu Tianjiao often did.
In the past, Lu Zhaoling would certainly have disdained participating in such barbaric games of Chu Tianjiao's, but times had changed. He needed to hold onto Chu Tianjiao tightly, so Lu Zhaoling said with great interest:
"Sister Chu, I've been ill for a few days and my whole body feels lazy. I was just thinking of going outside the city to refresh myself. May I accompany you?"
Chu Tianjiao's face turned serious. "Military ranks demand strict obedience to orders. How can the Fourth Prince treat this as child's play?"
Lu Zhaoling stood in front of Chu Tianjiao's horse, refusing to move aside.
Chu Tianjiao, impatient with his quibbling, lightly pressed on Little Hong's neck as a signal. Little Hong reared up, its hooves about to come down on Lu Zhaoling, who rolled and scrambled out of the way.
Chu Tianjiao cupped her hands in apology but did not dismount to help Lu Zhaoling up.
"Fourth Prince, I'm sorry, you were too close. My horse has a bit of a temper."
By the time Lu Zhaoling's guards came forward to help him up, Chu Tianjiao had already left with her group.
Watching Chu Tianjiao's retreating figure, Lu Zhaoling dusted himself off and said viciously, "You won't be able to fly out of the palm of my hand."
Lu Zhaoling signaled to one of his guards, "Go, follow Lady Chu and see where she goes. Leave markers along the way."
One guard mounted a horse and rode off in pursuit.
After leaving the city, Chu Tianjiao galloped eastward for thirty miles before stopping.
She took out the simple map she had copied in Chu Ye's study and compared it to the fork in the road ahead. She asked Lu Dingfeng beside her, "Sang Shen, come take a look. Do either of these two roads seem familiar to you?"
Lu Dingfeng had been immersed in his disgust at the thought of meeting Old Guo the stableman. Hearing Chu Tianjiao's question, and fearing that she might really pair him with the dirty Old Guo, he honestly began to observe the surrounding environment.
"Young Miss, I really don't remember."
Lu Dingfeng dared only to tell the truth, not to give false directions, and carefully observed Chu Tianjiao's expression, worried she might think he wasn't trying his best.
Chu Tianjiao sighed. She had brought Lu Dingfeng along out of a glimmer of hope. After two hundred years, not to mention whether Lu Dingfeng had truly forgotten, the changes in the landscape alone made it difficult to identify the original path.
Chu Tianjiao pointed to a place on the map marked "Red Sand Mountain" and said, "Let's try going here first."
The group set off at a gallop again, and by evening they had reached a village at the foot of Red Sand Mountain.
Chu Tianjiao dismounted and ordered, "We'll camp here tonight. Qingluan, take Feng Yi to the village to buy some food."
"Sang Shen, go with them and quietly ask if there are any traces of fire turtles. Try not to attract attention."
The people Chu Tianjiao had brought along were all trustworthy, so she didn't hide the purpose of their journey from them.
By the time Feng Jia had led the warrior maids in setting up the tents, Qingluan, Feng Yi, and Sang Shen had returned.
Qingluan had bought some rice and vegetables, and a few warrior maids began setting up a stove to cook.
Sang Shen approached Chu Tianjiao and reported in a low voice:
"This place is called Red Sand Mountain because of the Red Sand River at its foot. The river water is muddy year-round, carrying red sand."
"No one here has seen any fire turtles."
Chu Tianjiao was disappointed to hear this, but then Sang Shen continued:
"I thought about it, and in my memory, there seemed to be a river like this near Flame Mountain. I can't be sure if this is the place though."
Chu Tianjiao's spirits lifted again. She patted Lu Dingfeng on the shoulder and said, "Get a good rest tonight. We'll enter the mountain in the morning, and you can observe carefully then to see if you remember anything."
When the food was ready and Chu Tianjiao was sitting with everyone eating, the sound of horseshoes came from the distance.
Lu Zhaoling, leading fifty guards, galloped triumphantly to the edge of the camp.
Chu Tianjiao turned away in irritation.
Lu Zhaoling dismounted, thinking his posture dashing, only to find that Chu Tianjiao wasn't even looking at him.
Seeing Chu Tianjiao and the others eating porridge with vegetables and dry rations, Lu Zhaoling signaled a guard to take down a food box from a horse. He carried the box over to Chu Tianjiao.
"Sister Chu, you gave me quite a chase. Look what I've brought for you!"
As he spoke, Lu Zhaoling motioned for a guard to spread out a large oiled paper. He opened the food box and laid out its contents one by one in front of Chu Tianjiao.
Smelling the aroma of the delicacies, Chu Tianjiao turned back and asked Lu Zhaoling quizzically, "You knew I came out for training exercises, yet you specially brought a feast from Yuegui Restaurant?"
Lu Zhaoling's face showed concern as he said softly, "Sister Chu, you're just recovering from a serious illness. Even if you've come out for training, you should pay attention to your diet. How can these coarse rations be fit for consumption?"
Chu Tianjiao held up the dry ration in her hand, her face showing disdain, and challenged, "Fourth Prince, do you know that my father and the soldiers at the front eat these dry rations every day? That's what pays for your fine clothes and jade ornaments."
Lu Zhaoling was at a loss for words.
After swallowing a piece of dry ration, Chu Tianjiao said, "Fourth Prince, a crude person like me is only fit to enjoy such crude food. These delicacies are better left for you to savor slowly!"
Lu Zhaoling thought he had misspoken and triggered Chu Tianjiao's girlish temper. Hearing this, he didn't get angry but instead lowered himself even further, coaxing Chu Tianjiao softly to try just a bite.
Chu Tianjiao felt nauseated inside. If Lu Zhaoling had been this patient with her in her previous life, she would have willingly laid down her life for him.
But now that she knew all the sweet words and gentle demeanor were full of calculation, she only felt disgusted.
Annoyed by Lu Zhaoling's persistence, Chu Tianjiao turned and called out, "Sang Shen, come here. All these delicacies are yours to enjoy!"
Lu Dingfeng had been glancing this way all along.
He already knew that this Lu Zhaoling was the unworthy descendant who had caused the downfall of Li Country's dynasty in his previous life.
That was the empire he had established with his own hands, only to be destroyed by this great-great-great-grandson.
How could he not be heartbroken?
As soon as he saw Lu Zhaoling, Lu Dingfeng wanted nothing more than to pull down his pants and spank him.
Hearing Chu Tianjiao call him, he finally found his chance and bounced over excitedly.
