Sitting in the carriage heading towards the Great Yong Empire, Zhou Shengsheng still hadn't fully processed what was happening.
The faces of Xiao Pingzi and Xiangxiang, filled with reluctance, seemed to still be right in front of her.
She took out a hairpin from her sleeve and ran her fingers over it.
The pin was adorned with only a single solitary flower, looking rather plain and not quite in line with the current trends of jewelry.
To be honest, before Duan Fusheng gave it to her, she had never known that he possessed such a simple item. He favored extravagant and intricate things, always seeking the best.
Having served him for so many years, Zhou Shengsheng had never seen this hairpin before.
"Oh, what an exquisite hairpin. It's an erica flower," Jiang Zhiyu, who had been crying since they left the city gate, stopped her tears and exclaimed in surprise, looking at the hairpin in Zhou Shengsheng's hand.
Although she was a concubine's daughter, she was still a young lady from a noble family and knew more about these things than Zhou Shengsheng, who had little interest in such accessories.
"You recognize it?" Zhou Shengsheng asked.
Jiang Zhiyu nodded. "The person who gave this to you must have put some thought into it."
Zhou Shengsheng raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
Jiang Zhiyu explained, "The erica flower symbolizes the wilderness because it grows in harsh and barren environments. Some say it also represents bravery. I think it's a wonderful meaning."
Bravery...
Zhou Shengsheng repeated the word in her mind, savoring its meaning.
Probably just a simple wish for her to survive with all her might.
Oh well, this trip to the Yong Kingdom was just a vacation, she thought. After all, once she reincarnated, she had no idea which country she'd end up in. If it happened to be the Yong Kingdom, it would be good to have some reconnaissance under her belt.
With renewed vigor, Zhou Shengsheng cast a loving gaze at Jiang Zhiyu, whose eyes were red and puffy like a rabbit's.
"Little Fish, do you need to go to the restroom?" This nickname was one Jiang Zhiyu had forced her to use.
In the original story, Jiang Zhiyu hadn't been in the same carriage as Ming Siran.
But it was because the female lead wanted to use the restroom, with her red, tear-swollen eyes, that she went to find Ming Siran. Her appearance triggered memories of his lost love, pushing the plot forward with an assassination attempt, an accidental fall off a cliff, and the two of them relying on each other, gradually developing feelings.
When Zhou Shengsheng asked this, Jiang Zhiyu, who hadn't felt the need before, suddenly felt like she needed to go.
She squeezed her legs and whispered to Zhou Shengsheng, "Shengsheng, will you come with me?"
Who could refuse accompanying their bestie to the restroom?
So when the two of them made the request together, the guards promptly led the horse to ask Ming Siran ahead.
It was also about time to rest. After a long journey, everyone was feeling tired.
The large procession came to a halt.
After keeping watch for Jiang Zhiyu, the two of them returned together.
Just as they did, they ran into Ming Siran, who had gotten out of the carriage to get some fresh air.
The moment he saw Zhou Shengsheng, Ming Siran's face darkened.
Even his stomach felt a bit queasy.
"You seem to enjoy spending time with this lowly servant," he said to Jiang Zhiyu, but his eyes were fixed on Zhou Shengsheng.
Jiang Zhiyu was about to protest when Zhou Shengsheng pulled her back.
"Forget it, babe. Your forward-thinking ideas about equality won't make sense to someone with a shallow brainpan."
Though she thought this, what she said was, "Your Majesty is right. Miss Jiang, please don't be angry with Your Majesty because of me."
The so-called 'brainpan-shallow' Ming Siran: ╰_╯?
Although he couldn't kill this woman, now that they had left the Zhu Kingdom, who could control what happened to her? As long as he returned a whole person to Duan Fusheng, it should be fine.
Just as he was about to order Li Rong to slap her, a sudden change occurred.
Arrows rained down like a sudden storm!
Then came the sounds of men shouting, screams, and the clashing of swords.
Ming Siran's eyes completely changed.
Like a resting wolf suddenly revealing its ferocity, his bloodthirsty instincts were triggered.
Their position was still a bit far from the main group, so the three of them were unharmed.
Glancing at the frightened Jiang Zhiyu and the bloodthirsty Ming Siran, Zhou Shengsheng decisively took a step back, planning to find a safer place to avoid this dangerous plot.
After all, as long as she followed the crowd and shouted a few times from the edge of the cliff, it wouldn't be her problem.
Maybe even the shouting wouldn't be necessary?
As she thought this, the sound of a twig breaking behind her startled Zhou Shengsheng out of her thoughts.
She suddenly turned around, surprising the person behind her.
Zhou Shengsheng looked at Jiang Zhiyu, who was following her, with a complicated expression. After a while, she asked, "Why are you following me? Ming... Your Majesty?"
Jiang Zhiyu pointed aggrievedly behind him. "He saw those men in black and acted as if he was seeing his long-lost grandson. He completely ignored me."
This metaphor, Zhou Shengsheng had to admit, was spot on.
But this wasn't right! Wasn't this messing with her?!
Ah Pang was also confused. This wasn't how it was supposed to go in the original book. In the story, Ming Siran had protected the female lead. Now, as soon as he saw the enemy, he abandoned her?
[Maybe you should take her back. Maybe if Ming Siran sees her, he'll remember,] Ah Pang suggested.
Zhou Shengsheng hesitated. As the female lead, Jiang Zhiyu would naturally be safe, but her own safety was far from guaranteed.
But in the end, she decided to protect the female lead and take her back.
After all, as a supporting character, it was her duty to protect the protagonist.
“Let's head back to the carriage. The carriage has iron plating, so it should be safer,” Zhou Shengsheng said, even though she didn't believe her own lie. Strangely enough, Jiang Zhiyu did.
She even naively insisted that Zhou Shengsheng go first.
Truly, she was saved by this naive and sweet female lead! From now on, she would never allow anyone to speak ill of naive and sweet female leads! Zhou Shengsheng silently shed two lines of touched tears.
Was this the bond formed from going to the restroom together? She swore she would accompany the female lead to the restroom every day! Rain or shine!
Perhaps it was the female lead's halo at work, but the two of them, trembling with fear, managed to sneak back to the carriage without being noticed.
There were many corpses on the ground. When Jiang Zhiyu saw a body with half its brain missing, she almost screamed, but Zhou Shengsheng quickly covered her mouth.
Compared to the things she had seen as a ghost, these corpses were nothing.
As a result, Jiang Zhiyu found herself with a reliable teammate who could step on a corpse without flinching.
From a distance, Zhou Shengsheng saw Ming Siran in the middle of a chaotic battle.
Or rather, it was a one-sided massacre.
Even with three arrows stuck in his shoulder, he seemed unfazed, killing with even more ferocity.
Zhou Shengsheng wondered if he would still be able to faint as per the original plot when they fell off the cliff.
Just as she was thinking this, she turned to look for Jiang Zhiyu.
But before she could move, a cold sensation spread across her neck, making her goosebumps rise.
Then came a hoarse, unpleasant male voice: "Don't move."
"They say the tyrant from the Zhu Kingdom brought back a woman as beautiful as a celestial being. But looking at her now, she's nothing special," the man sneered.
Zhou Shengsheng: !
Although she agreed that Ming Siran was a tyrant, there was something else...
"Um... buddy, is there a chance, maybe, that you've got the wrong person?"
