Qianzhou lay in a remote corner of the realm, and the journey there from the capital was long and arduous.
That April, the rains had been especially frequent. The roads were muddy, and with such a large company on the move, their progress was painfully slow. They had been traveling for over a month, yet had covered only a little more than half the distance.
Little Ji had moved house several times with his family, but this was the first time he had ever traveled such a long road.
At first, the little one had been delighted.
In spring, the trees were covered in snowy-white tassels, the catalpa trees layered in countless blossoms, and wildflowers carpeted the roadside. Beneath the clear blue sky, the air was filled with the tender fragrance of grass and flowers.
Tiny butterflies flitted over the vegetable fields, while lively birds were bold enough to hop onto the carriage roof and chirp away. With all the life of spring unfolding around him, Little Ji—riding a tall horse together with his daddy—hardly knew where to look first.
The scenery along the road was beautiful, but the little dumpling could only ride with his daddy when the weather was fine. Whenever it rained, he had to stay inside the carriage.
He was unhappy that rainy days meant he could not go out and ride a horse.
And even when he was riding, he could not stop to catch butterflies or chase after the hopping birds. Every day was nothing but traveling and more traveling. Before long, Little Ji was unhappy all over again.
He rested his head against the carriage window and watched the rain patter over the emerald leaves outside. At some point, he realized that all the red, white, and pink blossoms had withered. No matter where he looked, there was nothing but green.
His little papa told him that spring had passed and summer had arrived. The flowers had already bloomed, and now it was time for the fruit to grow quickly, so that there would be sweet fruit to eat when autumn came.
So he asked his little papa why, if summer had already arrived, they still had not reached home.
His little papa only told him that they would arrive soon.
Hmph. It was not soon at all.
Duan Yan was riding outside when he spotted a fuzzy little head poking out beside the carriage. A pair of round, watery eyes looked utterly listless.
He urged his horse over. Just as he was about to reach them, a bead of water slid from the brim of his bamboo hat and landed squarely on the little one’s nose.
“Little Ji, there’s a bug.”
The dispirited Little Ji was caught off guard by the sudden chill on his nose. Hearing Duan Yan’s voice, he immediately shrieked and turned to throw himself into Song Fengsui’s arms.
“Little Papa, little papa! There’s a bug!”
Song Fengsui hurriedly looked him over from head to toe. “Where did the bug come from? Did it bite you?”
“It fell right on my nose!”
Song Fengsui’s brow twitched. All he could see was a fair, plump little face. There was no bug anywhere.
Outside, Duan Yan burst into laughter.
The father and son glared at him at the same time.
“The water fell from my bamboo hat. I was just about to wipe it away, but he was quick—he ducked straight into your arms in the blink of an eye.”
Song Fengsui tossed out a crumpled ball of paper. “He asks twice in the space of a blink when we’ll finally get home. Just when he had settled down for a moment, you had to tease him again.”
Duan Yan looked at the puffed-up little cub. “How about Daddy holds an umbrella and takes you out for a ride?”
“No!”
Little Ji wrapped both short arms tightly around Song Fengsui’s waist and pressed his face against his chest. Turning the back of his head toward Duan Yan, he looked fierce and thoroughly offended.
“I’m never going to be friends with Daddy again.”
Duan Yan could only laugh helplessly. He was about to hand his horse over to the servant Gou San’er and climb into the carriage to coax the little one when a scout came galloping up from the front.
“My lord! There’s trouble ahead!”
Little Ji, who had been turned away, quickly turned his head as well. He and Song Fengsui both looked toward the soldier who had come to report.
Duan Yan’s brows drew together slightly, but he reassured them, “It’s fine. I’ll go take a look.”
As Song Fengsui watched him ride away, he instinctively tightened his hold on Little Ji.
Although the realm had been unified and the great war had ended, small pockets of opposition still remained in various places. Some were remnants of the two former factions, while others were bandits dissatisfied that Qin Zhitian—a man of humble local origins—had seized the supreme power of the realm. These forces stirred restlessly in the provinces, causing trouble here and there.
Qin Zhitian was currently in the capital, and many of his former subordinates, along with their families and relatives, were gradually making their way there.
Duan Yan and the others were among them, traveling to the capital to receive their titles and rewards.
Those remnants did not dare challenge the capital directly, so they turned their weapons against the people making the journey there on the Qin family’s behalf.
Even setting aside the reports they had heard, Duan Yan’s party alone had already encountered bandits twice. But those remnants were no match for them and had been dealt with in only a few moves.
After years of warfare and famine, far too many people had died. Song Wushen had instructed Duan Yan not to take lives, but to prevent the bandits from causing trouble again, they had spent a little more effort tying them up and sending them to the local authorities.
Otherwise, they would not have taken over a month to travel barely half the distance to the capital.
In short, now that the realm had only just begun to settle, neither the main roads nor the newly repaired side roads were entirely safe.
When Duan Yan went over, the scout reported that two groups ahead had already come to blows. From their clothing, one was clearly another band of surviving raiders, while it was difficult to tell whether the other consisted of merchants or people traveling to the capital.
But whether they were merchants or travelers, the bandits were still causing trouble, and that could not be allowed.
Duan Yan selected a contingent of soldiers and personally led them to provide aid.
The group under attack by the raiders was barely holding out. Judging by the state of things, they had already been fighting for quite some time.
Fortunately, Duan Yan arrived with his men. In less than fifteen minutes, they overwhelmed the raiders and subdued them.
Nearly an hour later, Duan Yan turned his horse and returned.
Seeing him come back safely, Song Fengsui immediately asked, “Were you hurt? Who was causing trouble?”
“I’m fine. It’s all been dealt with.”
Duan Yan continued, “Come with me. There’s a woman over there traveling with a child who suffered some minor injuries.”
Song Fengsui hurriedly picked up the medical kit and was about to follow. Then he remembered that the woman had brought a child with her. After such a sudden disturbance, the child must have been badly frightened. He handed the medical kit to Duan Yan instead and carried Little Ji along with him.
The rain outside had already stopped. Soldiers were clearing the road and tying up the captured bandits, while the accompanying physicians bandaged the wounded. The whole area was in a chaotic uproar.
Little Ji, who had been in Song Fengsui’s arms, had already been transferred into Duan Yan’s.
Duan Yan raised a hand to cover the little one’s eyes and hurried him toward a newly erected tent.
Little Ji was surprisingly obedient. Though everything before his eyes had gone pitch-black, he neither squirmed nor made a fuss. After a while, Daddy removed his hand, and Little Ji found himself looking at a slightly older boy.
The boy sat on a round, cotton-stuffed cushion. His breathing was shallow, and his eyes remained fixed on one spot. His irises were somewhat pale, yet empty and vacant. People went in and out around him, but he seemed not to notice any of them.
Duan Yan gently patted Little Ji’s back, pointed toward the child, and set Little Ji down.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Little Ji tugged his short legs along and ran straight over. He was the only child in the group, and seeing someone a little older than himself made him very happy. He needed no encouragement from Duan Yan before going over to join him.
But when he reached the boy, the older child still did not move.
Little Ji bit his lip and asked softly, “Big brother, what’s wrong?”
The boy glanced at Little Ji indifferently, then withdrew his gaze once more.
Little Ji was puzzled as to why the person would not speak to him, so he crouched down to take a closer look.
The young man’s lowered gaze happened to meet Little Ji’s round eyes as he looked up, his chubby little chin tilted toward the sky.
“Big Brother, why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Are you hungry? Do you not have the strength to talk?”
Little Ji noticed that the older boy was clearly older than him, yet his face was even smaller than his own. He was so thin and scrawny.
He hurriedly felt around in his pocket and pulled out a plum that had grown warm from being held there.
“Here. You eat it.”
The young man said nothing and did not accept the fruit.
Song Fengsui, who had just finished bandaging the lady’s arm, glanced at the child as well, his brows drawing together slightly. “The little one must have been frightened. I’ll have someone bring him a bowl of calming medicine later.”
The injured lady was very young, looking no more than sixteen or seventeen. Her wound was not serious; when the bandits had attacked earlier, she had shielded the child with all her strength and had only suffered a shallow cut on her arm from a machete.
The child appeared to be around five or six years old and was clearly not her son.
When she heard Song Fengsui mention the child, sorrow visibly surfaced on her face.
The guards had already told her that the people who rescued them were members of the Song family, traveling to the capital to receive an imperial reward. Although she did not know the Song family’s exact standing, they were part of the new dynasty’s forces and could therefore be trusted.
Thus, she did not conceal the truth. “We were on our way to the capital. Knowing that the roads might be dangerous, we disguised ourselves as a merchant caravan. Yet we have no idea how those bandits saw through us. They came straight for our lives.”
“Little Shu has encountered too much trouble over the years, and his temperament has changed because of it. He is always quiet and withdrawn. Young Master Song, please don’t take offense. He is the same even with his own family.”
Song Fengsui spoke with the lady for some time before learning that the young man’s surname was Qin.
He was the reigning emperor’s biological nephew, which made him, by right of blood, the young heir.
But why was the young heir being accompanied to the capital by his aunt? Why had his parents not traveled with him, while his little father’s younger sister had come along instead?
It turned out that, several years earlier, when the war had been raging, Qin Shu’s father had followed his elder brother into battle and unfortunately died on the battlefield. His little father had come from an escort agency and had practiced martial arts since childhood. After his husband’s death, he had withdrawn from the battlefield, but while they were relocating, they were ambushed...
Qin Shu had always been an exceptionally mature child. He had already been old enough to remember things when both his parents died. From then on, his personality changed drastically. He lost the liveliness of a child and became quiet and withdrawn, rarely speaking to anyone.
After hearing about the child’s hardships, both Duan Yan and Song Fengsui fell silent for a long while. The cruelty of war was not something that could be lightly dismissed in a few words.
The man now seated upon the throne might appear to possess boundless glory, but the wounds in his heart would likely take a lifetime to heal.
“No wonder those bandits fought with such ruthless skill. They didn’t seem like ordinary bandits.”
Duan Yan sighed. The people escorting the young heir to the capital had clearly been well trained. Unfortunately, the bandits must have learned that the young heir was returning to the capital and deliberately sought to take his life in order to claim a reward. That was why the escorts had found it so difficult to withstand them.
“The road ahead may not be peaceful either. For the sake of ensuring the young heir reaches the capital safely, I ask that you travel with us, Lady Jiang. We can look out for one another that way.”
Lady Jiang could not have wished for anything better and immediately thanked them.
