Unable to figure it out, Zhu Changle decided to take things as they came, not dwelling on the issue. She glanced at the sky and asked, "Aunt Feng, is there a suitable place to stay ahead?"
"There's a village not far ahead."
Zhu Changle pondered for a moment, "If the enemy attacks tonight, I hope the villagers won't all be silenced along with us."
"It depends on who's doing it. If it's someone unscrupulous, it wouldn't be surprising," Dingding said, tucking his staff into his waist. "Aunt Feng, is there anywhere else? If we stay in the village, they'll act without restraint, while we'll have to be cautious."
"I saw a town ahead when I was returning."
Zhu Changle's interest was piqued. "Is it a big town?"
"Not as big as a major town, but not small either."
"That's where we'll go then. They might dare to kill an entire village, but I doubt they'd risk killing a whole town." A thought occurred to her, and she turned to Qiuli. "Isn't that right?"
Qiuli smiled, amused. How did she assume he knew? Yet, he actually did.
"I'll take your silence as agreement." Zhu Changle tossed her hair proudly and mounted her horse. "Let's go. Tonight we'll rest well and gather our strength."
When Zhu Changle said they'd rest and gather strength, she didn't skimp on herself. They stayed at the best inn in town, in the finest room. She ate the best food, took the hottest bath, hugged her softest little bottle cap, and had the best sleep since the journey began.
Dingding took turns with Aunt Feng to keep watch, and the night passed uneventfully.
"If we push hard, we can make it in three days, provided everything goes smoothly," said Zhu Changwang. The siblings sat facing each other over a map in the carriage. He pointed to a place name on the map. "If they don't make a move during the day, we can reach Shuangqi Town by nightfall. This stretch of the official road is good, with few desolate areas. As long as they have any reservations, we should be safe today."
Zhu Changle now bore none of her usual playful demeanor. Her calm appearance resembled that of her father and brother. "Martial artists have oaths they must abide by. If they break their oaths, they wouldn't dare to act openly. Besides, Father isn't an unknown figure. He's a first-rank official aligned with the emperor. Even though he's currently out of favor, they wouldn't dare act recklessly. My identity should be known to those who need to know by now, and they're aware I have help. Unless they're absolutely certain they can eliminate us all at once, they're unlikely to act during the day. Once they make their move, they must ensure our demise, and they must do so before we enter Yunbei County territory."
Zhu Changwang pointed to a location and looked up. "So they'll choose a good spot to make their move."
Zhu Changle nodded, looking at the characters for 'Gu'an.' She had been thinking the same thing.
"There's usually a chaotic area between counties. Such places are typically overlooked, and they come in handy when responsibility needs to be shifted. Tomorrow, we'll have to pass through such an area before entering Gu'an County," Zhu Changwang said, casually flipping through a geography book. "My knowledge comes only from books; I've never personally experienced such chaos, and each place must be different. So I can't analyze it. How to proceed, whether to avoid it or how to navigate it, will be up to you, Changle."
"Don't worry, brother. Leave the outside matters to me," Zhu Changle assured him, patting her chest confidently. She moved closer to her brother, leaning on his shoulder and holding his hand to transfer some inner energy. Zhu Changwang didn't refuse; the warm energy flowed through his meridians, dispersing the sinking feeling in his body, making him feel much lighter.
"I'll ask Zuo Qing to bring another blanket to make it thicker. Brother, try to sleep as much as you can," Zhu Changle said, pulling out a medicine bottle and placing it in her brother's hand. "Just a whiff of this will help you sleep."
"Is it the same kind you use for little An?"
"Yes." Zhu Changle pouted, still a bit upset about that matter.
"That beating you gave was well-deserved. I think Changning has become more sensible now."
"Hmph, it'd be better if he wasn't sensible. Then I could beat him up more often," Zhu Changle snorted haughtily, but the smile on her face betrayed her happiness. Although she had been avoiding her second brother since then, not wanting to talk to him, she didn't know exactly how much better he had become as her eldest brother said. But she knew her eldest brother was surely right.
Zhu Changwang patted her head. Oh, his little Changle!
"I'm going out now. Brother, remember to sleep. I'll come back to check, and if I find out you haven't slept well, I'll hold you down and use the medicine on you."
"As you command."
Zhu Changle's eyes crinkled with laughter as she lifted the curtain and stepped out. Her little pony was running back and forth nearby, and upon seeing her, it neighed happily, wagging its tail.
Mounting her horse, Zhu Changle patted its head and winked at Qiuli. "Who taught it to be so well-behaved?"
Qiuli pointed his fan at his own horse, which very intelligently neighed twice, sounding exactly like Zhu Changle's pony had just moments ago.
Zhu Changle laughed so hard she fell back on her horse. "Which one of you is copying the other? If you weren't both stallions, I'd have you mate and produce an invincible little horse!"
Inside the carriage, Lady Zhang, who had been chuckling along, suddenly turned various shades of color. What kind of talk was this! Mating? How could she say such things in public! Regardless of upbringing, no young lady should speak like that!
Grinding her back teeth, Lady Zhang said resentfully, "When we get to Yunbei, I must have a good talk with her."
Zhu Maonian coughed lightly. "Which year has she come back and not been lectured? Yet she still grew up like this. Let her be. After all, she doesn't need to associate with those people from the capital."
"But Madam Xu is from the capital," Lady Zhang said, lowering her head to fiddle with her handkerchief. "I thought I had good judgment, but I never expected to make such a big mistake with our children's marriages."
"I don't think you misjudged," Zhu Maonian said, hearing Changle outside instructing Zuo Qing to bring more blankets. He stroked his beard and continued, "It depends on who you're comparing her to. If you compare her to the daughters-in-law of other families in the capital, her little schemes might not even count as cunning. But if you compare her to Changle, she naturally falls short in every aspect. However, there's only one Zhu Changle in the whole world."
Lady Zhang's irritation dissipated, and she smiled, pressing her lips together. She thought to herself, look who's talking - her husband clearly disliked Madam Xu in every way and was probably even more annoyed than she was.
Zhu Maonian coughed lightly again to cover for himself. "Even if she passes our scrutiny, she won't get past Mother's."
True enough, Changle was the apple of the Old Madam's eye. This time, not only did Changle not speak up for Madam Xu, but even if she had, it wouldn't have helped. The Old Madam had suffered enough from family discord in the past and wouldn't tolerate anyone causing trouble in the family now.
Thinking this way, the frustration that had been bottled up in Lady Zhang's heart for so long finally began to dissipate. Although the two siblings had always bickered since they were young, their relationship was genuinely close. Now that Madam Xu had caused discord between them, how could she not be taught a lesson?
There was still a long future ahead, and family was for life.
