When Lian Yue heard that Xiangcheng had fallen and Wu Yuru had fled, she was sitting cross-legged in meditation.
Unfortunately, without Yuan Jing’s help, she couldn’t even circulate a single cycle of Inner Force.
Her maidservant said, “But you need not worry, milady. Both the Young Master and Marquis Gu have already sent men in pursuit. They will certainly not let them escape.”
Lian Yue rose and opened a small box on her dressing table. Half of the treasures inside had been used. She smiled. “I agree. She won’t be able to escape.”
In the mountain forest.
Wu Yuru sat in the carriage with her eyes closed, resting. Just then, her female steward boarded the carriage. “Milady, word from the front is that Xiangcheng has fallen. The prefect was killed, and the rest were all captured by Gu Quan.”
She opened her eyes and sneered. “It was a losing battle from the start.”
Xiu He lowered her head. “Are we still returning to Liaocheng?”
“Do you think that bunch of old geezers would be willing to have me return and meddle in the Lu family’s affairs?” Wu Yuru knew very well. “They were unwilling to send troops to attack Wancheng, otherwise I wouldn’t have returned to Xiangcheng to beg my father. If I go back now, they might just hand me over.”
Xiu He said, “Milady, I heard that General Yang came to rescue Xiangcheng but was intercepted by Shao Qing and his troops.”
Wu Yuru: “Yang Jian?”
She let out a soft laugh upon hearing this. “I didn’t expect him to still come and save me.”
Back when they were still in the capital, Wu Yuru had known Lu Xun, Lu Yu, and Yang Jian since childhood.
Lu Yu was Lu Xun’s elder brother, a man as bright and clear as the breeze and the moon, and the most just of them all.
However, he was two years her senior and loved to lecture. Even if she was just punishing a maidservant, he would reprimand her without mercy.
Wu Yuru did not like Lu Yu, yet she was engaged to him.
But if she absolutely had to marry into the Lu family, she would much rather marry Lu Xun.
Lu Xun was handsome and quick-witted, always full of strange and novel ideas. Their peers in the capital all preferred to follow him around and play.
She told her father she didn’t want to marry Lu Yu but was harshly scolded. As a result, she was sullen for several days.
Yang Jian, having learned from somewhere that she did not want to marry Lu Yu, came to comfort her. In a fit of pique, she said something like she wished Lu Yu would die.
At the time, she truly meant it as just an angry outburst; she didn’t genuinely want him dead.
Who would have thought that Yang Jian would take it to heart? During the autumn hunt, he deliberately provoked a mother bear with cubs and led it in Lu Yu’s direction.
At that very moment, Lu Yu, having learned she was unwilling to marry him, was telling her that he would break off the engagement. But then the bear charged out, and he shielded her, telling her to run.
To buy her time to escape, Lu Yu held back the frenzied bear and was ultimately torn to shreds.
From then on, the Lu family of Liaocheng and the Yang family of Hongnong became sworn enemies. Yang Jian, even under threat of being beaten to death, would only admit it was an accident and never exposed her. In the end, it was the former emperor who acted as a mediator, saving Yang Jian’s life.
After Lu Yu’s death, no one knew his demise was related to her. The marriage alliance between the Lu and Wu families remained, so the marriage naturally fell to Lu Xun.
Wu Yuru knew in her heart that with Lu Xun’s abilities, he would trace it back to her sooner or later. As much as she liked him, she didn’t want to die. Thus, she begged her father to cancel the engagement. But her father was plotting something and needed the Lu family to create a diversion at the forefront. Even though he suspected she was involved in Lu Yu’s death, he still refused to break off the engagement, sacrificing her.
And Lu Xun.
As expected, he quickly suspected her. But lacking evidence, he couldn’t break the contract and had no choice but to marry her. Unfortunately, he never touched her after the wedding, only maintaining a superficial decency.
Wu Yuru sneered. If it weren’t for that cheap concubine, she might have initially thought Lu Xun had feelings for her and was therefore showing mercy.
She had truly become a joke.
Now, she couldn’t return to Liaocheng. And hearing that Yang Jian had actually sent troops to save her in Xiangcheng, it seemed her only option was to seek refuge with him.
She said, “Send a message to Yang Jian. Tell him I’m coming to him for refuge and to send men to receive me.”
Xiu He: “Yes.”
Wu Yuru looked at the misty sky, never imagining that she, too, would one day fall to such a state.
To travel faster, Wu Yuru abandoned the carriage and rode a stallion. After thirty li, she reached a natural chasm.
At this moment, the mountains were silent, with not a bird in sight. The horses shifted restlessly.
“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—”
A rain of arrows instantly flew down from above, directly felling the guards behind her.
Wu Yuru narrowly dodged an arrow and fell from her horse. Xiu He immediately dismounted to help her up, shielding her as they hid behind a tree trunk. “Milady, it’s an ambush.”
Half of the guards fell in the arrow rain, while the rest found cover.
The wounded guards wailed, trying to crawl toward cover, only to be killed by another arrow.
The air filled with the nauseating stench of blood. Wu Yuru had never been the target of an assassination before. Her legs had gone soft, her entire body supported by the tree trunk. Her face was deathly pale, her forehead covered in a fine, dense sweat.
Xiu He asked worriedly, “Milady, are you all right?”
Her ears twitched. She gripped Xiu He’s hand tightly and asked in a hoarse voice, “It’s quiet now. Have they left?”
Xiu He was silent.
At that moment, someone lost their nerve and cautiously peeked out with a saber, only for a cold arrow to pierce their neck, a single fatal strike.
Everyone was terrified.
Wu Yuru took a deep breath, regaining some of her senses. “How far is it from here to Yang Jian’s encampment?”
Xiu He replied, “Twenty li.”
So far, and yet so close.
She said, “He will come save me.”
Xiu He lowered her head, her voice slightly tense. “Milady, if he can’t make it in time, I will disguise myself as you to cover your escape.”
Wu Yuru: “That’s the only way.”
She said venomously, “If I survive this ordeal, I will find out who sent these assassins and make her wish she were dead to appease the hatred in my heart.”
However.
The assassins weren’t about to give them time to wait for reinforcements. Seeing that their targets were in hiding, they began to search the forest.
After receiving Wu Yuru’s message, Yang Jian impatiently led his troops to meet her.
But.
Shao Qing had been keeping an eye on him. Seeing his unusual movement, he immediately led his own troops to intercept him.
He smiled. “In such a hurry. Who might General Yang be going to find?”
Yang Jian’s face was grim. “Get out of my way!”
Shao Qing, mounted on his horse, flourished the sword in his hand. “Let me calculate. You want to go save your sweetheart. What a pity. Her life is fated to end today. Even if I don’t stop you, by the time you find her, all you’ll see is a corpse.”
Yang Jian: “Shao Zili, after being State Preceptor for a few days, do you really think you’re some divine prognosticator? Since you believe so firmly in your divination, why bother leading troops to block me now?”
Shao Qing raised an eyebrow, looking utterly obnoxious. “The more anxious you are, the happier I am.”
Yang Jian wasted no more words and charged forward with his troops.
“Those who block me shall die!”
Gu Quan had taken over Xiangcheng and was in the assembly hall with Yuan Jing, discussing the city’s repairs and the matter of placating the common people.
Xuan Yao was also present.
Someone knocked on the door. After receiving permission, he entered and handed a letter to Yuan Jing. “Young Master, a letter from Ruyang. Lady Yue is missing.”
Gu Quan immediately shot to his feet.
Yuan Jing opened the silk cloth. Reading the contents, his voice turned cold as he asked, “She’s gone? Have you sent people to look for her?”
The subordinate replied, “We’ve turned the city upside down, but there’s no sign of her. However, we heard…”
“Heard what?”
“On the second day after the Young Master led the troops to besiege Xiangcheng, Lady Yue went out and sought out people from the black market.”
“Understood. Send a message back to continue the search.”
“Yes.”
Gu Quan walked to Yuan Jing’s side, his eyes narrowed, his voice laced with anger. “I don’t think she’s in trouble. I think she ran off on her own.”
He said huffily, “Just because I didn’t help her kill her enemy, she had to be this impatient.”
Yuan Jing frowned. “You know where she is?”
Beside them, Xuan Yao immediately chimed in, “I know, I know! She must have gone to kill Wu Yuru.”
He was the one who had investigated Lian Yue in Pengcheng, so he knew best how ruthless she could be.
“Didn’t she go to the black market? She must have paid for an assassin then.” As Xuan Yao spoke, his face filled with admiration. “Young Master Yuan, you have no idea how formidable this woman’s methods are.”
Yuan Jing had only gotten to know Lian Yue through Gu Quan and didn’t understand her well. Hearing this, he was somewhat puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Xuan Yao said, “His Lordship had me go to Pengcheng to reinvestigate Lady Yue’s origins. There was a landslide in one area, and an entire mountain fortress was buried under the mudflow. Only Lady Yue escaped.”
“Everyone thought it was a natural disaster. Later, I went to the vicinity of the landslide and met a woodcutter who had been gathering firewood on the mountain.”
“The woodcutter said that an hour before the incident, he met a beautiful woman. Seeing how starved she was, he kindly gave her some food. The woman took the food and told him to leave quickly if he didn’t want to die. Not long after he left, the mountain collapsed.”
“I showed the woodcutter a portrait of Lady Yue, and he said the beautiful woman he met was her. He couldn’t be mistaken.” As Xuan Yao spoke, he shivered and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what grudge she had against those bandits, but her methods were so ruthless. It’s said there were over a hundred people in that fortress, and all of them perished overnight. Not a single survivor.”
He warned, “Your Lordship, Young Master Yuan, you must be careful of her. Don’t be deceived by her outwardly frail appearance.”
Gu Quan had already heard this from Xuan Yao once. Hearing it again, he recalled the brand on the young lady’s hand, and his tone became bone-chillingly cold. “She is but a woman. If she had not suffered, where would such monstrous hatred come from?”
Xuan Yao: “But even old masters who have cultivated their Inner Force to its peak probably don’t have the power to move mountains and overturn seas. Isn’t His Lordship curious how she made the mountain collapse? I suspect she’s hiding her true strength and deliberately feigning weakness to stay by Your Lordship’s and Young Master Yuan’s side for some ulterior motive.”
“She has no Inner Force,” Yuan Jing explained, then continued, “Regardless, the most urgent task is to find her first, lest some accident befall her.”
“That’s right.” Gu Quan thought of Lian Yue’s demeanor and couldn’t help but smile. “That woman usually pretends to be weak and helpless, but in reality, she’s the type to hold the biggest grudges.”
Xuan Yao: “She’s dangerous.”
He didn’t want his lord to get any more entangled with this woman.
Gu Quan snorted coldly. “How could she be more dangerous than me?”
He ordered Xuan Yao, “You stay in the city and keep an eye on the defenses. Ah Jing and I will go out of the city to find her.”
Xuan Yao: “But…”
Gu Quan cut him off. “No buts.”
They had to find her first, then talk.
He pulled Yuan Jing outside, analyzing as they walked, “Wu Yuru and Lu Xun have no heirs, and Prefect Wu is dead. Those old fossils of the Liaocheng Lu family won’t tolerate her. She might not be able to return to Liaocheng.”
Yuan Jing’s eyes narrowed slightly. “She might have gone to find Yang Jian.”
At the mention of Yang Jian, Gu Quan’s face turned cold.
He hoped Lian Yue wouldn’t run into him. That man was a cruel and twisted pervert.
On the other side.
Lian Yue wasn’t worried about people discovering her true colors.
She was playing the part of a Green Tea, but if she played it so well that no one could see through it, then it would be no fun.
What was interesting was when others could tell she was acting, and she knew they could tell she was acting, yet she continued the performance in a way that left them unable to expose her.
But for now, all that could be set aside. She was here to settle a grudge.
Inside a cave.
It was very dark.
It was raining outside, and a fine drizzle drifted into the cave, bringing a damp chill.
Wu Yuru’s hands and feet were bound. Drenched, cold, and hungry, she stared in panic at the figure walking in from the outside.
“Who are you?”
A flash of lightning tore across the sky, illuminating the entire cave and revealing a slender figure.
Very familiar.
Wu Yuru subconsciously shuffled backward. After seeing clearly who it was, the panic in her eyes gradually turned to venomous hatred. She snarled, “You bitch, why is it you!”
The other person smiled faintly. “It’s me. Are you very surprised?”
He quickly guessed it was her doing, yet lacking evidence to break the contract, he had no choice but to marry her. Unfortunately, after the wedding, he never touched her, maintaining only superficial propriety.
Wu Yuru sneered coldly. If not for that wretched concubine, she had initially thought Lu Xun held some affection for her, hence his leniency.
She had truly become a laughingstock.
Now that she could no longer return to Liao City, and having learned that Yang Jian had once led troops to Xiang City to rescue her, it seemed her only option was to seek refuge with him.
She said, “Send a message to Yang Jian. Tell him I am going to seek his protection and to send someone to meet me.”
Xiu He replied, “Yes.”
Wu Yuru gazed at the foggy sky, never imagining she would one day fall to such a state.
To hasten the journey, Wu Yuru abandoned the carriage and rode a chestnut horse. After traveling thirty li, they reached a steep ravine.
At that moment, not a bird could be seen across the thousand mountains, and the surroundings were eerily silent. The horse grew restless and agitated.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—”
A rain of arrows descended from above in an instant, striking down the retainers behind her.
Wu Yuru narrowly dodged an arrow but fell from her horse. Xiu He immediately dismounted to support her, shielding her as they hid behind a tree trunk. “Madam, it’s an ambush.”
Half of the retainers fell in the arrow barrage; the survivors sought cover.
Wounded retainers groaned in agony, attempting to crawl to shelter, only to be struck down by another arrow.
The air thickened with the nauseating stench of blood. Wu Yuru, who had never faced an assassination attempt, felt her legs go weak. Her entire body leaned against the tree trunk for support, her face ghastly pale and her forehead beaded with fine, cold sweat.
Xiu He asked worriedly, “Madam, are you alright?”
Wu Yuru’s ears twitched. Clutching Xiu He’s hand tightly, she whispered hoarsely, “It’s gone quiet. Have they left?”
Xiu He remained silent.
Just then, someone grew impatient and cautiously peered out with a sword, only to be struck through the neck by a cold arrow—a fatal blow.
Terror gripped the survivors.
Wu Yuru took a deep breath, regaining some composure. “How far are we from Yang Jian’s camp?”
Xiu He replied, “Twenty li.”
So far, yet so close.
She declared, “He will come to save me.”
Xiu He lowered her head, her voice tense. “Madam, if he cannot arrive in time, I will disguise myself as you and cover your escape.”
Wu Yuru said, “It seems that’s our only choice.”
She spoke with venomous resentment, “If I survive this calamity, I will surely uncover who sent these assassins and make them suffer a fate worse than death to quell my hatred.”
However.
The assassins gave them no time to await reinforcements. Seeing their targets had taken cover, they began searching through the woods.
Upon receiving Wu Yuru’s message, Yang Jian impatiently led his troops to rendezvous.
But.
Shao Qing, who had been monitoring him, noticed the unusual movement and immediately led soldiers to intercept.
He laughed, “In such a hurry, General Yang? Who are you off to find?”
Yang Jian’s face darkened. “Step aside!”
Shao Qing, seated on his horse, twirled his sword with a flourish. “Let me calculate—you want to rescue your beloved. What a pity. Her fate is sealed today. Even if I didn’t stop you, by the time you find her, all you’ll see is a corpse.”
Yang Jian retorted, “Shao Zili, after a few days as State Preceptor, you truly think you’re a divine fortune-teller? If you’re so confident in your divination skills, why bring troops to block me now?”
Shao Qing raised an eyebrow, thoroughly irritating. “The more anxious you are, the more it pleases me.”
Yang Jian wasted no more words and charged forward with his troops.
“Those who stand in my way—die!”
Xiang City had already been taken over by Gu Quan. He was in the council hall with Yuan Jing, discussing the city’s repairs and comforting the people.
Xuan Yao was also present.
Someone knocked on the door and, after receiving permission, entered and handed a letter to Yuan Jing. “Young Master, a letter from Ruyang. Moon Consort has gone missing.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Quan immediately stood up.
Yuan Jing unfolded the cloth scroll, his voice cold as he read the contents and asked, “She’s missing? Have you sent people to search for her?”
The servant replied, “We’ve turned the entire city upside down, but there’s no trace of her. However, I’ve heard…”
“Heard what?”
“On the second day after you led the troops to besiege Xiang City, Moon Consort went out and sought out people from the black market.”
“Understood. Send word back to continue the search.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gu Quan walked over to Yuan Jing’s side, his eyes narrowing, voice filled with anger. “I don’t think something happened to her—I think she ran away on her own.”
He fumed, “Just because I didn’t help her kill her enemy, she’s this impatient.”
Yuan Jing frowned. “Do you know where she is?”
Xuan Yao, standing nearby, immediately chimed in, “I know, I know! She must have gone to kill Wu Yuru.”
He was the one who had investigated Lian Yue in Peng City and knew best how ruthless she could be.
“She went to the black market, right? She must have paid to hire an assassin then.” As he spoke, Xuan Yao’s face showed admiration. “Young Master Yuan, you have no idea how formidable this woman’s methods are.”
Yuan Jing had only come into contact with Lian Yue through Gu Quan and didn’t know her well. Puzzled, he asked, “What do you mean?”
Xuan Yao explained, “The lord sent me to Peng City to reinvestigate Moon Consort’s background. At that time, there was a landslide that buried an entire mountain stronghold under mud and rocks. Only Moon Consort managed to escape.”
“Everyone thought it was a natural disaster. Later, I went to the area near the landslide and met a woodcutter who was gathering firewood in the mountains.”
“The woodcutter said that about an hour before the disaster, he encountered a beautiful woman. Seeing how starved she looked, he kindly gave her some food. The woman took the food and told him to leave quickly if he valued his life. Not long after he left, the mountain collapsed.”
“I showed the woodcutter a portrait of Moon Consort, and he confirmed that the beautiful woman he met was her—no mistake.” As he spoke, Xuan Yao shuddered, took a deep breath, and said, “Who knows what grudge she held against those bandits, but her methods were utterly merciless. It’s said there were about a hundred people in that stronghold, and in one night, all of them perished—not a single survivor.”
He warned, “My lord, Young Master Yuan, you must be careful of her. Don’t be deceived by her outwardly frail appearance.”
Gu Quan had already heard this from Xuan Yao before. Hearing it again, he thought of the brand on the woman’s hand, his tone turning bone-chilling. “She’s just a woman. If she hadn’t suffered greatly, where would such overwhelming hatred come from?”
Xuan Yao retorted, “But even those old monsters who have cultivated their inner force to the peak probably don’t have the power to move mountains and overturn seas. Aren’t you curious, my lord, how she managed to collapse the mountain? I suspect she’s hiding her strength, pretending to be weak to stay by your and Young Master Yuan’s side for some other purpose.”
“She has no inner force,” Yuan Jing explained, then continued, “Regardless, the priority now is to find her first, to prevent any accidents.”
“Exactly.” Gu Quan thought of Lian Yue’s usual demeanor and couldn’t help but smile. “That woman usually acts weak and incapable, but in truth, she holds grudges like no other.”
Xuan Yao: “She’s dangerous.”
He didn’t want his lord to sink deeper into obsession with this woman.
Gu Quan snorted coldly: “How could she be more dangerous than me?”
He instructed Xuan Yao: “You stay in the city and keep an eye on the city’s defenses. A Jing and I will go outside the city to find her.”
Xuan Yao: “But…”
Gu Quan interrupted: “No buts.”
They had to find her first before anything else.
He pulled Yuan Jing outward as they walked, analyzing along the way: “Wu Yuru and Lu Xun have no heirs, the Wu County Governor is dead, and those old fools from the Lu family in Liao City won’t tolerate her. She might not even be able to return to Liao City.”
Yuan Jing narrowed his eyes: “She might have gone to find Yang Jian.”
When Yang Jian was mentioned, Gu Quan’s face turned cold.
He hoped Lian Yue wouldn’t encounter him – that was a cruel and sadistic pervert.
Meanwhile.
Lian Yue wasn’t worried about others discovering her true nature.
She was acting like a green tea bitch, but if she acted too convincingly and no one could tell, that would be boring.
If others could tell she was acting, and she knew they could tell, yet continued acting in a way that made it impossible for them to expose her – that was what made it interesting.
But for now, all this could be set aside. She had a score to settle.
Inside a cave.
It was very dark.
Rain was falling outside, and the drizzle drifted into the cave, damp and chilly.
Wu Yuru was bound hand and foot, soaked through, cold and hungry, watching with panicked eyes as a figure approached from outside.
“Who are you?”
Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the entire cave and revealing a slender figure.
Very familiar.
Wu Yuru instinctively shuffled backward. When she clearly saw who it was, her expression gradually shifted from panic to venomous hatred. She spat viciously: “You bitch, it’s you!”
The other person smiled faintly: “It’s me. Is it really that surprising?”