Chu Ruoyan couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath.
She tried to see more clearly, but the man’s face was obscured by a silver mask, and the light outside the carriage faded as the vehicle moved away.
She forced herself to remain calm. "Who are you, really?"
He had been spying on the Yan Family’s Yan Wenjing… and had eyes just like Yan Zheng’s…
A suspicion coiled in her chest, yet she couldn’t bring herself to believe it.
The man let out a cold snort, and Chu Ruolan suddenly began struggling violently.
"Mmph—blood—mmph!"
His gaze turned icy as the blade pressed closer. Chu Ruoyan quickly intervened, "Don’t hurt her!"
Looking closer, she realized the dark stain on Chu Ruolan’s chiffon gown was blood—seeping from the man’s right arm.
"You’re injured?"
Before he could answer, the carriage lurched violently forward.
Caught off guard, he slid backward, but Chu Ruoyan swiftly pulled Chu Ruolan aside!
Bang!
His back slammed against the carriage door, a low groan escaping his lips.
Outside, the panicked coachman called, "Are either of you young mistresses hurt?"
Chu Ruolan opened her mouth to cry for help, but Chu Ruoyan clamped a hand over it and replied, "No, we’re fine. What happened out there?"
"Ah, some troublemaker threw a brick onto the road! Thankfully, I reined in the horses in time—didn’t flip the carriage. My apologies for startling you!"
A brick?
Her pulse quickened as she lifted the curtain.
In a flash, the man’s blade was back at her chest.
Ignoring it, Chu Ruoyan peered outside. South Street was deserted, but the windows of the taverns lining the road stood wide open, moonlight glinting off something cold within…
An ambush. And their target was undoubtedly the man before her.
She made up her mind and called to the coachman, "Since all’s well, hurry back to the Duke’s Mansion. My third sister is lightly dressed and can’t bear the night chill much longer."
As she spoke, she shot Chu Ruolan a meaningful look.
Chu Ruolan glared back, baffled—why should she cover for this stranger?
But her elder sister’s authority was undeniable. Under that sharp gaze, she blurted, "Yes, it’s freezing! Move faster, or I’ll hold you personally responsible if I catch a chill!"
The coachman knew better than to provoke the notoriously temperamental third miss and urged the horses onward.
Meanwhile, the figures in the tavern relaxed.
So it was just the Duke’s Mansion’s young ladies…
They had infiltrated the capital to hunt someone, not stir up trouble.
Blades were sheathed, windows shut.
Chu Ruoyan exhaled, lowering the curtain before fixing the man with a steady gaze. "They’re after you, aren’t they?"
He stiffened. "How did you—?"
She didn’t answer, smiling faintly. "Earlier, the Five-City Patrol commander mentioned Southern barbarian spies in the capital. If it’s not you they want, then it must be them?"
His expression shifted from shock to alarm, then hardened into wariness.
After a tense pause, he sneered, "Birds of a feather flock together. You’re just as sharp as Yan the Third."
Chu Ruoyan arched a brow, but he sheathed his knife with a warning. "Who I am doesn’t concern you. But if a word of tonight leaves your lips, I’ll ensure you and your sister join the dead."
At the next turn, he vanished through the carriage curtains—so swiftly the coachman didn’t notice.
Chu Ruolan yanked the curtain open, but the night swallowed any trace of him.
"That bastard!" she fumed. "Let’s report him to the authorities!"
Chu Ruoyan glanced at the blood on her sister’s clothes. "And how will you explain this?"
"We’ll tell the truth! He—"
Chu Ruolan froze. A full account would mean admitting he’d gagged and throttled her…
An unmarried maiden’s reputation couldn’t survive such scandal.
"Next time I see him, I’ll kill him myself!" she spat, stomping her foot.
As Chu Ruolan ranted, Chu Ruoyan gazed pensively out the window.
This man was tied to the Yan Family… hunted by Southern barbarians… Could it be…?
Upon returning to the Duke’s Mansion, they found Lady Jiang the Younger and Lady Liu of the second branch anxiously waiting.
"There you are!" Lady Jiang rushed forward. "With all the chaos in the city, we feared the worst!"
Chu Ruolan forced a smile. "Nothing happened!" Shooting her sister an admiring glance.
Elder Sister was uncanny—she’d insisted on changing clothes earlier, and now their mothers were at the gates!
Chu Ruoyan nodded absently.
Of course they’d be waiting. With war at the border, the capital on high alert, and Southern spies about…
Lady Jiang would never let her daughter roam unprotected.
Lady Liu interjected, "Come, Sister-in-law. The County Princess and Third Miss must be exhausted. Let them rest."
"Right, inside at once!" Lady Jiang ordered. "Yuetao, double the night watch—no, quadruple it! Seal the side gates until this crisis passes!"
As the household praised her prudence, Chu Ruoyan massaged her temples.
How was she supposed to sneak out to find Yan Zheng with every exit barred?
But that could wait. Back in her courtyard, she summoned Chu Zhong.
Fortunately, Chu Zhong had been unwell and hadn’t accompanied Chu Huaishan. "What does the young mistress require?"
"Tell me again," she said carefully, "about the news you brought of the Yan Family’s tragedy."
He hesitated but complied. "The Yan army was ambushed at Hangu Pass. The general, his wife, and four sons fell in battle. Only the third young master escaped…"
"How did the four die?"
The room turned deathly quiet. Even Nanny Zhou seemed disturbed by the question.
Chu Zhong swallowed. "The heir, Yan Xun, was beheaded. Second Master Yan Cheng took a hundred arrows. Fifth Master Yan Heng was trampled into the mud… and the youngest, Sixth Master Yan Zhao, was lost to the Lancang River."
"Yan Zhao?" Her eyes flashed. "His body wasn’t recovered?"
"The Lancang’s currents are treacherous. Even the barbarians avoid its depths. Neither he nor his brothers’ remains were found—likely kept by the enemy."
Chu Ruoyan nodded. "Does Father’s study hold battle reports on this campaign?"
"Given the Yan Family’s involvement, His Grace copied two dispatches."
"Bring me one."
Soon, the document was in her hands.
Great Xia’s military reports meticulously listed fallen officers at the end…
And there, in bloodstained ink, it was written:
Yan Zhao, sixth son of the Yan Family.
Left Vanguard.
Aged sixteen.
Perished in the Lancang River.
Body unrecovered.
