The relationship between the two had subtly grown closer.
The convoy originally planned to enter the nearest Xuyang City, but Qiao Bing, fearing Xie Jinchi might break free and pursue them, made a last-minute decision to change course. They took a small detour along a side road to Xuanping City.
When distributing rations in the evening, Qiao Bing specifically approached Lu Zhao to explain the situation, full of apology: “Your Highness, please endure this inconvenience for now.” If it becomes truly unbearable, you must inform me.”
Lu Zhao quickly waved her hand: “It’s no trouble. But will taking this detour delay our journey?” After a pause, she added, “I’m truly worried about my mother’s illness…”
Qiao Bing hurriedly reassured her: “It won’t cause any delay. The side road is just more rugged. Though camping outdoors isn’t conducive to recovery, the distance is actually shorter than the main road. Your Highness will surely see Consort Mei sooner this way.”
Lu Zhao’s face cleared of worry, though her mind was racing: In that case, I need to actively create some troubles for them to buy more time.
Soon, she found the perfect excuse.
The bumpy side road took its toll after two days of travel, with everyone surviving on dry rations. Qiao Bing, his son, and their guards—all trained martial artists—though fatigued, could handle the intensity.
But Lu Zhao’s body couldn’t take it anymore.
Initially, she had been sleeping constantly, and the carriage moved slowly upon waking, so she hadn’t felt strongly uncomfortable. These two days of hurried travel, combined with her already depleted health and existing injuries, left her unbearably dizzy.
Her stomach churned with fiery discomfort, and she gave up restraining herself, vomiting until everything went dark.
Qiao Chi, sharing the carriage, was thoroughly alarmed. Watching her frail, haggard figure, he feared she might vomit herself to death if he wasn’t careful.
The entire live-stream audience was also dizzy from the motion; many couldn’t take it and left the stream. Soon, new viewers crowded in, enduring the jolting ride and couldn’t resist complaining in the chat.
[Proudly Boasting: Damn, were ancient carriages this nauseating? I can feel the streamer’s despair through the screen.]
[AC Without Electricity: Who gets it? I waited two days to get into the stream, and now I’m almost dizzy from the shaking.]
[Trash Talk King: Streamer, say something! Don’t tell me you’re dizzy?She wasn’t fainting, but after vomiting, she leaned weakly against the carriage wall, too exhausted to speak, her face frighteningly pale.
Anyone could see she was in bad shape.
Qiao Chi, though disdainful of her weakness, still sought out Qiao Bing for a solution.
Qiao Bing feared she wouldn’t make it to Xuanping City alive if this continued. On the third day, they finally abandoned the side road and entered Fancheng.
Once in the city, they quickly found an inn to settle in and called a physician to examine her.
The live-stream audience warned her: [Streamer, if the physician takes your pulse, won’t your cross-dressing be exposed?]
Lu Zhao extended her arm while explaining: [Less drama-watching, please. Traditional Chinese medicine pulse-taking can assess health but can’t accurately determine gender.]
[Weilai Shouxi Zhudao: The streamer is right. There are individual differences between women and men in physical strength. Strictly speaking, pulse diagnosis can identify illnesses but not definitively distinguish gender.]
Lu Zhao wasn’t worried at all; even if it were possible, she had ways to conceal it.
Sure enough, after taking her pulse, the physician didn’t dwell on gender but launched into a stern lecture: “This young master’s body is severely depleted! Even if you must travel urgently, it can’t be at this pace! It’s only his incredibly strong willpower that’s kept him alive this long!”
Qiao Bing was filled with remorse. After the physician prescribed the medicine and left, he immediately knelt before Lu Zhao to repeatedly apologize.
Lu Zhao quickly reached out to help him up, speaking gently, “This isn’t your fault. Traveling through the night was a necessary measure. I know my own body—I’m not going to die just yet.”
As Qiao Bing rose, he inwardly admired: Throughout their journey, this young master had acted decisively, remained composed in adversity, and showed consideration for others—truly a good master.
The Qiao family’s revival was now within reach. General Zhenguo could rest in peace in the afterlife, and Da Yong had hope again.
If his A’Chi faithfully followed the Seventh Prince, he would surely achieve great things in the future.
Lu Zhao couldn’t bear his approving gaze any longer. After a light cough, she said, “Everyone must be tired from the journey. Go wash up and rest. I also need to bathe and change clothes.”
She was still wearing the same dirty, bloodstained tattered clothes and had vomited repeatedly along the way—she already smelled terrible.
It was remarkable that Qiao Chi had traveled alongside her the entire way without showing any sign of discomfort.
Qiao Bing acknowledged her words and hurriedly turned to leave, with Qiao Chi immediately following suit.
Qiao Bing stopped and glared back at him. “Why are you coming out?”
Qiao Chi looked puzzled. “The Seventh Prince is bathing. Why shouldn’t I come out?”
Qiao Bing felt exasperated. “The physician said the Seventh Prince is severely depleted, covered in wounds, and extremely weak. Naturally, you should attend to him during his bath. What if he faints or has an accident?”
Remembering the other’s frail, pale face during their journey, Qiao Chi realized his father was right.
They had finally found this person—they couldn’t afford any more mishaps.
Moreover, earlier in the carriage, the other had shown concern for his injured hand.
So he turned back and reentered the guest room.
Watching his retreating figure, Qiao Bing felt deeply gratified: His son was finally becoming more perceptive, learning to be diligent in serving their young master.
The newly enlightened Qiao Chi walked straight to the folding screen in the inner room and stood there motionless. The inn servant who had just finished pouring water nearly jumped out of his skin upon turning around. After bowing hastily, he scurried away.
Lu Zhao tested the water temperature and glanced back at him, asking curiously, “What’s wrong? Is there something else?”
Qiao Chi shook his head. “Nothing. I’m staying to guard during Your Highness’s bath.”
Lu Zhao replied, “No need to stand guard. I’m not accustomed to having people around when I bathe.”
Qiao Chi said bluntly, “I’m not used to watching people bathe either, but Father is worried you might faint. Pay me no mind—just call if you need any help.”
Lu Zhao thought: Her sickly image had truly taken root in everyone’s minds.
She wasn’t one to stand on ceremony either, so she said gently, “Very well, you may stand here. I’ll call if I need anything.”
She wasn’t anxious, but her system panicked first. 【Host, if you let him stay in the room, what if he discovers you’re a woman disguised as a man?】
If her true gender were revealed and the impersonation failed, they would be doomed again.
Lu Zhao reassured it, “Don’t worry, he won’t notice.”
Not only was Qiao Chi a straightforward and principled youth who wouldn’t peek improperly, but even if he did look, her original body was so flat and underdeveloped that it would be difficult to tell she was female.
Thinking about her figure made Lu Zhao somewhat gloomy.
The original host was already sixteen, but due to long-term malnutrition, she stood a full head shorter than that black-hearted lotus Shen Qi.
If she had her previous life’s physique and strength, she wouldn’t have struggled so long to escape the mining camp.
While the system worried, the live-stream audience reveled in the drama, flooding the chat with teasing comments.
【Trash Talk King: Rubbing hands in anticipation, streamer hurry and drag Qiao the little wolfdog in to bathe together.】
【AC Without Electricity: Hahaha, streamer hurry and tease him. Since you’re going to be empress anyway, consider this pre-appointing your imperial consort candidate.】
【Driver No Brakes: Want to see Qiao Xiaogege use his mouth to scrub the streamer’s back. If the streamer dares to do it, I’ll dare to gift a rocket!】
【…】
These old drivers were getting filthier by the minute.
Lu Zhao felt speechless. 【Keep it down, don’t tarnish our pure friendship between ruler and subject.】
The live chat was filled with “hahaha” before continuing to speed down the dirty road.
The speed was hitting 180 mph, with the wheels practically rolling over her face.
Lu Zhao rubbed her temples and asked the system: “Can’t we temporarily shut down this live stream?”
Though thick-skinned, she didn’t want to be watched by so many people while bathing.
The system replied apologetically: 【Sorry host, not possible. Unless you upgrade to LV2 or complete a Side Quest to draw cards for a chance to obtain the free stream closure function. Your most recent Side Quest is to gain Consort Mei’s recognition.】
Lu Zhao: So both paths are currently unavailable for achieving the goal.
“Is there any way to temporarily block the live stream content?”
System: 【Yes, but only visuals can be blocked, not audio. 100 points can be exchanged for 15 minutes. Would you like to exchange?】
Lu Zhao: So it’s like covering the camera lens with your hand.
“Exchange.”
The live stream viewers were still speeding down the dirty road one second, then the screen went completely black the next.
【Bajiaolian: Aaaaaah, what happened? Right at the crucial moment, why did it go black?】
【Jianmengtianxia: Did the streamer pull the network cable? What is it that I, a distinguished die-hard fan, cannot see?】
【Shuaidebumingxian: Streamer, come out————】
The live chat descended into howls of protest.
Soon the sound of splashing water could be heard, followed by Lu Zhao’s comfortable sigh.
The sound of something dropping, Qiao Chi’s puzzled inquiry, footsteps, the sound of fabric rubbing against skin, Lu Zhao’s muffled groan…
The imagination ran wild, each sound like countless feathers tickling everyone’s hearts.
The live stream viewers were so anxious they were spinning in circles, spamming the chat calling for the streamer.
Lu Zhao had no time to deal with them. When the live stream screen restored, she was already dressed in her undergarments and sitting at the table.
Qiao Chi brought over a cloth to wring her hair dry. Lu Zhao said gently: “That can wait. Did you bring the writing materials? I promised to write you that bruise remedy prescription earlier.”
Her clothes were so oversized they barely hung on her frame, her hair ends still dripping water, looking like she might collapse from illness at any moment.
Qiao Chi hurriedly said: “Better to wring your hair dry first.”
Lu Zhao hummed in agreement and reached out to him: “Give me the cloth. I’ll dictate, you write.”
Meaning she would dry her own hair while he wrote?
Qiao Chi’s face turned bright red: It wasn’t that he refused to write – while his martial skills stood out among Zhongdu’s young masters, his literary talent and handwriting were equally disastrous.
Truly not presentable.
He coughed lightly: “Well, my hand is still injured. Better if you do it.”
Lu Zhao looked at his right hand. Any further refusal would make it seem like she wasn’t sincere about giving him the prescription.
But her brush calligraphy was truly awful too. If she wrote it out, these old drivers in the live stream would laugh for three days and nights. So she said: “Forget it, bring the brush.”
Qiao Chi quickly laid out paper and brush, ground ink for her, then handed her the ink-dipped brush.
Lu Zhao took the brush, closed her eyes, steeled herself, but her hand trembled as she tried to write, causing the brush to drop weakly. She feigned exhaustion, appearing dizzy and on the verge of fainting.
Qiao Chi quickly reached out to support her and helped her lie down on the couch.
After catching her breath, Lu Zhao apologized, “You’d better do it. I really don’t have the strength. Even if your right hand is injured, you can use your left—just make the writing legible.”
Reluctantly, Qiao Chi took over, explaining as he wrote, “My handwriting isn’t usually this messy—it’s just that my left hand isn’t as nimble…”
The live stream chat erupted with laughter.
[Jianmengtianxia: These two pushing the task back and forth is killing me! Is the streamer’s handwriting even uglier than Qiao Xiaogege’s left-handed scribbles?]
[Shuaidebumingxian: Probably, otherwise the streamer wouldn’t pretend to be weak rather than write.]
[King of Banter: Streamer, write a couple of characters—I’ll send you a rocket!]
[Driver No Brakes: Hahaha, streamer, show us your handwriting.]
[…]
The chat was filled with teasing, but Lu Zhao ignored it all, calmly reciting the names of the medicines.
Once the prescription was written, she didn’t move an inch for her meal or medicine, comfortably letting Qiao Chi attend to her.
After she finished and settled into the warm bedding, Qiao Chi cleaned up the dishes and left.
Outside, he ran into Qiao Bing and asked hesitantly, “Father, earlier the Seventh Highness couldn’t even hold a brush steadily—she’s so frail. What if she doesn’t make it to Zhongdu?”
Consort Mei was sickly, and her son is sickly too.
What if we find her only to end up with nothing?
“Enough of that nonsense!” Qiao Bing scolded in a hushed tone, then added, “A couple of days of rest will help her recover. For the next two nights, you stay in the Seventh Highness’s room and make sure she drinks all her medicine.”
Qiao Chi nodded and followed Qiao Bing away.
Inside the guest room, under the covers, Lu Zhao’s lips curled into a silent smile: There’s plenty of time now. Xie Jinchi, don’t let me down.
Author’s Note: