The setting sun slanted westward as the young girl spoke earnestly.
Chen Xiue was also a tenant of a wealthy household.
Although she had been working in the fields all along, she had heard that the sons of noble families trained in archery and horseback riding from a young age, moving with agile grace.
So, upon hearing Li Mianyu’s words, she half believed them immediately.
The other half, however, doubted, thinking Yan Shi’s slender frame couldn’t compare to her own husband’s robust physique.
But she understood that in Mianyu’s heart, her elder brother was undoubtedly the strongest, so she smiled and nodded, “Then tonight, we can all sleep soundly.”
Li Mianyu felt comforted and nodded proudly, “Of course.”
Yan Shi silently crouched nearby, kindling a fire and skewering two fish to roast.
Then he sat down beside Li Mianyu and handed her the water pouch.
Li Mianyu straightened her back and reached out with her slender jade-like hand to take it.
Feeling at ease, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.
Chen Xiue glanced at the young girl, who raised her chin with pride, and couldn’t help but cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Just then, her husband returned and sat down by their own fire.
Li Mianyu caught sight that the woman had moved a little further away and leaned closer to Yan Shi, whispering, “Next time, you should show that woman both your sword and staff—let her see how formidable you are!”
Yan Shi: At that moment, Li Mianyu was like someone presenting a treasure, eager for Chen Xiue to truly witness Yan Shi’s martial skills.
Her eyes fixed intently on Yan Shi.
“……”
“Can’t look if you’re not allowed to touch?”
Li Mianyu already knew what he was about to say and interrupted him before he could speak, frowning.
The youth lowered his gaze to turn the fish, then after a moment, nodded solemnly and said, “This is a secret weapon. It cannot be revealed.”
Li Mianyu was quite disappointed, softly muttering that Yan Shi was stingy.
But her mood came and went quickly, thinking that if danger came, Yan Shi would surely astonish that woman!
She then asked, “Is Longxi safe? If it is, then let’s go with Lady Chen to her mountain village there. I just spoke with her about it.”
Longxi was a strategic and crucial region—westward lay He Xi, eastward the heartland of Guanzhong, southward the Shuhan Plain, with Longshan blocking the Guanzhong Plain.
It was a contested land among military strategists.
Though scenic, its customs and lifestyle were vastly different from the Capital’s.
They slept on earthen kang beds and ate mostly wheat-based foods.
It wasn’t far from here either.
Yan Shi looked at Li Mianyu, who gazed at him expectantly.
He nodded.
Throughout this journey, Yan Shi had been the one to determine directions and decide where to go.
Recently, Li Mianyu made the decision herself, which pleased her.
She stuffed the remaining plum into Yan Shi’s hand.
“You eat it.”
The princess’s favor meant rewarding her capable subordinate, even though Yan Shi was the one who picked it.
Yan Shi took it.
Once the fish was cooked, Yan Shi took out two carved bamboo chopsticks, carefully picked the bones out for Li Mianyu, placing them on a smooth, washed stone slab they had found.
Then he tore some dry rations into pieces and set them beside the fish, eating the rest himself.
Chen Xiue watched this quietly, thinking that the young girl was truly spoiled—down to such details!
She glanced at the quiet youth beside her, who was eating his dry rations with his head bowed.
His lips were red, his teeth white, his brows and eyes handsome, his posture upright like bamboo.
He was also remarkably considerate.
He looked about seventeen or eighteen years old…she wondered if the two siblings were betrothed.
After Li Mianyu finished eating, she went to the stream to wash her hands and face, turning to ask Chen Xiue, “Lady Chen, would you like to come along?”
Chen Xiue was a farmer’s wife, with no such formalities.
Seeing how cute Li Mianyu was, even dressed in coarse men’s clothes that did nothing to hide her delicate beauty, she couldn’t help but rise and go with her.
Yan Shi looked back, tidied up the fish bones and such, and threw them a bit farther away.
When he returned, he saw Chen Xiue’s husband, Zhu Dacheng, picking wildflowers and stopped to watch.
Zhu Dacheng was tall and sturdy, like a small mountain, with a square, regular face.
Around thirty years old, the short beard on his chin gave him a somewhat fierce look.
But now, his large fan-like hand was carefully plucking roadside flowers.
Seeing Yan Shi’s gaze, Zhu Dacheng gave a simple, honest smile.
“My wife’s mood hasn’t been good these days. I saw these flowers blooming beautifully here, so I picked some to weave into a garland for her, to cheer her up.”
Yan Shi turned his head to glance at Li Mianyu not far off, said nothing, and walked toward the wildflowers.
Zhu Dacheng’s smile grew wider.
“Yes, your sister would surely like it too!”
Sister…?
Yan Shi said nothing.
Without soap, Li Mianyu washed her hands with great care, and when washing her face, she bent down and gently cupped water onto it.
When Chen Xiue finished washing her hands and turned, she saw the sparkling water droplets glistening on the young girl’s face, exquisite and charming, and couldn’t help but sigh, “Thankfully, your elder brother is with you on this journey. Otherwise, such beauty traveling alone would surely attract those bandits.”
Li Mianyu nodded. It was the Imperial Grandfather who favored her, assigning such a capable Dark Guard to her.
Chen Xiue wanted to ask whether the two siblings were betrothed but, considering they were still fleeing for their lives, she thought such idle talk was unnecessary and held back.
Li Mianyu spoke instead: “My brother has also agreed to go with Lady Chen to Longxi.”
Chen Xiue was delighted to hear this, eagerly pulling Li Mianyu along as she excitedly talked about Chengjia Village, gesturing animatedly.
“I was only thirteen when I left home, and now twenty years have passed. I wonder how things are at home. Chengjia Village is hidden deep in a mountain hollow, so the troubles outside shouldn’t have reached inside. I have two elder brothers. When I left, my eldest brother had just been married for six months. My second brother is only a year older than me. When I left, he chased after me for three miles. By now, they probably both have children.”
Li Mianyu was curious: “Why did you leave home? Was it because of marriage?”
Chen Xiue shook her head, recalled briefly, then smiled.
“My mother was sick, and we ran out of money. I heard there was a midwife in the neighboring village, so I sold myself to get some silver to treat my mother. Luckily, my former masters bought some servants for the estate, and since I had done farm work since childhood, they took me. That’s how I met my husband. We’ve been together almost twenty years.”
“Who were your former masters?”
Li Mianyu asked casually.
Chen Xiue said, “The Cui Family in the Capital.”
Li Mianyu gasped, clutching her chest, her voice trembling slightly.
“The Cui Family? Which Cui Family?”
Chen Xiue looked proud and said, “My master is the Prime Minister. But my husband and I have always worked on the estate; we’ve never met the Prime Minister himself…Mianyu, do you and your brother know my master?”
Li Mianyu parted her lips, about to say that the Prime Minister’s eldest son, Cui Yunqi—the First Gentleman of the Capital—was her fiancé.
But then she thought better of it.
Her engagement to Cui Yunqi was already public knowledge.
If she said this, wouldn’t people find out she was the Ning State Princess?
She shook her head slowly, “I’m just curious. I’ve heard that the Cui Family’s eldest son is as beautiful as the moon and ethereal as a fairy, gentle and elegant. I would love to see him!”
Chen Xiue laughed, thinking this was a typical young girl’s fantasy.
“My master is indeed a rare talent among men, but I haven’t seen him myself either!”
Li Mianyu felt a restless itch inside her.
She forced herself to hold back her emotions and quietly asked, “You said the Cui Family suffered misfortune?”
Chen Xiue nodded, then shook her head.
“I don’t know the details, only that there was trouble. That day, soldiers came to the estate. My husband is strong and quick. He led me out the back door in a hurry to escape.”
Li Mianyu’s heart suddenly tightened, her eyes stung.
She lowered her head to hide it, murmuring, “I see.”
She muttered about the heat, bent down to scoop water from the stream to wash her face again.
When she looked up, her face was soaked.
“I’ll go see if my brother has finished packing.”
Though her face was wet, her eyes were red and betrayed her deep emotions.
Chen Xiue, accustomed to reading people’s expressions, sensed something.
After all, among Capital aristocratic families, many alliances were forged through marriage.
She feigned ignorance and nodded.
“I’ll wash up a bit more; the water is perfectly cool and refreshing.”
Li Mianyu stood and walked back.
She kept her head down, not watching where she was going, and bumped hard into a tree.
Her nose hurt, and when she looked up, tears poured down like a fountain, streaming in long lines, her expression heartbroken.
“Why are you so hard?”
Yan Shi: “……”
Li Mianyu’s tear-filled eyes looked at Yan Shi and suddenly said, “The Cui Family is in trouble. Could Cui Yunqi have been killed by those Northern Di Invaders?”
Yan Shi was momentarily stunned, frowning as he softly asked, “The Cui Family is in trouble?”
Li Mianyu nodded through blurry tears, quietly recounting what Chen Xiue had told her.
She grabbed Yan Shi’s sleeve tightly.
“The Cui Family must have chosen death over surrender, resisting to the end, so the Northern Di Invaders killed them as an example!”
Her voice choked with emotion.
Yan Shi glanced toward the woman by the stream and said calmly, “Chen Xiue is just a farm woman. For soldiers to search the estate, it’s clear they couldn’t find their targets in the Capital.”
Li Mianyu’s nose was stuffed from crying.
Hearing Yan Shi’s steady voice, her sobbing paused and her expression relaxed.
“Really…”
“Really.”
Hearing Yan Shi’s calm and steady tone, she felt a little comforted.
She sniffled, nodded, and looked at him, “Then Cui Yunqi won’t die, right?”
Yan Shi nodded.
Li Mianyu felt like she’d come back to life.
She lowered her head and wiped her tears on Yan Shi’s sleeve.
As she grabbed his sleeve, her eyes caught the flower garland in his palm, and she gasped softly, “Ah! Where did this come from?”
Before Yan Shi could answer, she eagerly took it and put it on her head.
She hadn’t worn jewelry in a long time.
The garland’s small flowers—pink, white, blue, and red—blended together in a dazzling display, extremely beautiful.
“Is it pretty?”
Li Mianyu’s eyes still rimmed with tears, but they sparkled brightly as she looked at Yan Shi with shining eyes.
The young Dark Guard looked at her and said softly, “It’s pretty.”
Li Mianyu pursed her lips, breaking into a proud smile.
Dimples formed at the corners of her lips as she touched the flower garland on her head and ran to the stream, glancing around happily.
The sky darkened gradually, the last rays of sunset casting a sweet glow on the young girl’s face.
Yan Shi leaned against a tree, his dark eyes quietly watching her.
After a while, he lowered his head and stroked the horse beside him.
Then, away from the others under a separate tree, he stuck several branches into the ground to form a tripod.
Taking an oilcloth from his bundle, he draped it over the branches, then cleared the grass beneath, removing stones before laying down another oilcloth.
Since leaving the ruined temple, the two often spent nights outdoors.
The first time Li Mianyu slept on the grass, she suffered from sharp stones beneath her and was bitten by many mosquitoes, crying silently through the night, soaking Yan Shi’s chest with her tears.
The next day, when passing through a relay station, Yan Shi had procured two oilcloth sheets.
After finishing the tent, Yan Shi paused and searched for a tree branch.
While Li Mianyu wasn’t paying attention, he carved it into a short wooden stick and tucked it into his waist.
“Yan Shi!”
Li Mianyu returned, her voice tinged with laughter.
Yan Shi turned around.
She wore the flower garland, her cheeks flushed.
“I really like this.”
She smiled, waving to him.
“You bend.”
The youth stared at her.
Li Mianyu ordered, “Bend over.”
Yan Shi bent.
Li Mianyu produced a small red flower from behind her back and pinned it to Yan Shi’s ear.
Her eyes were clear as water, her beautiful face proud.
“It’s a gift for you.”
She covered her mouth and smiled, then, wearing the garland, slipped into the makeshift tent.
A few nearby refugees peeked curiously but quickly averted their gaze when Yan Shi’s calm, piercing eyes swept over them.
Though young and slender, his features were sharp as if tempered by sword and blade.
Their courage faltered.
Yan Shi straightened, touching the flower by his ear.
Li Mianyu didn’t dare sleep outside alone, even inside the tent.
After playing with the garland a while, she carefully set it aside and poked her head out.
“Yan Shi?”
The young Dark Guard responded and bent down to enter.
Not far off, Chen Xiue held a flower garland herself, leaning against Zhu Dacheng’s chest.
She saw Li Mianyu and Yan Shi enter the tent together and whispered, “It’s a bit improper for siblings to share a tent.”
Zhu Dacheng chuckled foolishly, “How do you know they’re siblings? Maybe they’re betrothed cousins!”
Chen Xiue hadn’t thought of that before, but now that she considered it, it made sense.
Li Mianyu was unaware of Lady Chen’s thoughts.
Once Yan Shi entered, she nestled against him, her mood the best it had been in days.
“I just thought of something when I was by the stream.”
Her tone was sweet.
Yan Shi quietly waited for her to continue, his dark eyes fixed on her.
Li Mianyu looked up at him.
“Longxi Jiedushi Lu Sanzhong is the Prime Minister Cui’s brother-in-law. Cui Yunqi told me. If the Cui Family fled the Capital, might they have gone to Longxi?”