Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 39

The morning breeze seemed to applaud the daring thoughts racing through Jiang Wanshu’s mind. She walked straight into Yulu’s tent and took her hand.

“Yulu, Zhou Yan won’t be back for these two days. Let’s prepare; we leave at noon today.”

Jiang Wanshu couldn’t control the excitement in her heart, her breathing suddenly becoming rapid.

Yulu was equally thrilled, gripping Jiang Wanshu’s hand tightly. “Is what my Mistress says true?”

“Of course it’s true. Would I lie to you?” Jiang Wanshu replied with absolute certainty.

Finally able to leave this place of right and wrong, Yulu couldn’t help but shed tears.

The two then separated to pack their respective belongings. When noon arrived, Yulu appeared in Jiang Wanshu’s tent.

Yulu didn’t bring much, just some personal undergarments. Jiang Wanshu did the same, though she had managed to steal a dagger from beneath the man’s pillow.

She took a hairpin from the items Mai Gulaji had bought for her that day and tucked it into Yulu’s hair. “The end of this hairpin is sharp; it was bought at ‘Chunxi Shop.’ If we encounter any danger on the road, take it out immediately to protect yourself, do you understand?”

Having spent a long time in the palace, Yulu naturally knew of Chunxi Shop. With their escape imminent, she didn’t ask further. “Yes, Mistress, I understand.”

Jiang Wanshu nodded. At this hour, most people were in their tents eating, making it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to flee.

She picked up the bundle from Yulu’s hands and, after checking that no one was outside the tent, ran to Yunmu. She opened the bamboo baskets on both sides of the horse’s back and placed the bundles inside—hers on the left, and Yulu’s on the right.

She had thought more thoroughly than Yulu, bringing along some food for the journey.

Once everything was ready, Jiang Wanshu brought Yulu to Yunmu. “This horse will carry us away.”

Yulu was shocked; she had assumed they would have to escape on foot and hadn’t expected Jiang Wanshu to have a horse ready.

A horse is not like human feet; it can run much faster. But where did this horse come from? She asked, “Mistress, where did you get this horse?”

Just as Yulu finished her sentence, Jiang Wanshu replied, “Zhou Yan gave it to me.”

As she spoke, Jiang Wanshu felt an inexplicable pang of unease flash through her heart.

She didn’t voice this thought but instead turned and flipped onto the horse. Holding the reins with one hand, she reached out to Yulu with the other.

Dressed in Central Plains attire, her pale yellow dress fluttered in the wind, and her ink-black hair whipped around her face like a whip. She looked like a decisive female general on a battlefield—an unbelievable sight.

Yulu trusted Jiang Wanshu unconditionally. She grasped her palm and, using the momentum, climbed onto the horse’s back.

Before departing, Jiang Wanshu cast a meaningful glance back at the place she had been forced to live, then galloped away without looking back.

Farewell to those difficult and shameful days.

She would run toward a brighter future.

The horse was truly a fine mount chosen by Zhou Yan; it ran exceptionally fast. Before long, they had covered two-thirds of the grassland. By now, the sky had darkened, and Jiang Wanshu and Yulu found a tent to rest in.

They set out again at dawn the next day. Unfortunately, as they reached the Central Plains territory, heavy snow began to block their path. The snow-covered roads forced them to find an inn to stay in.

Looking at the people coming and going in the inn, all dressed in Central Plains clothing, Jiang Wanshu felt a sense of relief.

It felt good to be among her own people again.

Meanwhile, on another side of the Central Plains, leaves fell to the ground and the wind blew across the withered wilderness as the sound of sword winds whistled through the air.

In the forest atop a high mountain, troops were gathered. Birds flew off in fright as Zhou Yan sat atop a tall horse at one end of the forest, holding a curved blade with a piercing gaze.

The winter forest was desolate. With more than half of the enemy’s troops having retreated, Zhou Yan led his men in a pursuit to victory.

The man nicknamed the “Teqin of the Yun Division”—once mocked by the grasslands as having power but no ability—was forced into a cave. Bloated and trembling, he used his fat arms to shield his body, forcing the men beside him to stand guard outside.

Zhou Yan, a man who killed without blinking, led his men into the woods. Seeing the man forcing his subordinates to take the fall for him, Zhou Yan looked on with disdain.

“I am the Teqin of the Eagle Division. I have come today specifically for the life of the Yun Teqin. I know you have long been dissatisfied with Ruo Qi’s rule. If you join my Eagle Division, you will receive the best conditions.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell silent. Not long after, the men guarding the cave dropped their curved blades, placed their right arms over their shoulders, and lowered their eyes. “We are willing to follow the arrangements of the Eagle Teqin!”

In an instant, Ruo Qi, hiding in the cave, was dragged out. Zhou Yan raised his machete high and dealt a fatal blow.

Suddenly, Ruo Qi’s head hit the ground, and blood stained the scene.

The scent of blood drifted everywhere. Before long, hawks circled the dim sky, and predators lurked in the corners of the deep forest, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust, ready to pounce.

By nightfall, Zhou Yan carried Ruo Qi’s head and headed straight for the Third Prince’s tent.

Even the heavy snow pressing down on the roads could not hinder Zhou Yan’s path to find his woman.

Late into the night, Zhou Yan galloped alone along the road Yulu had taken from the Central Plains into the grasslands.

He knew exactly how much distance Yunmu could cover in a day. It was already the second night, and with the snow blocking the roads this morning, they should be staying at an inn in the borderlands of the Central Plains if nothing went wrong.

Sure enough, as he searched the inns in the border region, he spotted Yulu.

Yulu was holding Central Plains currency, using copper coins to buy two buns before entering an inn.

Seeing this, Zhou Yan stepped forward and sat down at the very stall where Yulu had just bought the buns.

Now that the two were under his nose, Zhou Yan began to relax. He ordered the waiter to bring him a bowl and the same buns Yulu had ordered.

Because of his somewhat exotic features and tall stature, the waiter, following Central Plains hospitality, specially added a pot of wine.

“Big brother, I can see from your build that you’re from the outer regions. Are you here to travel?”

Zhou Yan was a man of few words and simply nodded.

The waiter became even more enthusiastic at the mention of travel and quickly brought another half-pot of wine. “This wine is on me. Brother, I must say, coming to the Central Plains to travel shows you have good taste. Our Central Plains has great mountains and rivers; you must take a good look.”

Zhou Yan took out a few copper coins, and the waiter took them with a grin, returning to the stove.

Zhou Yan stared at the two buns made of somewhat coarse flour and took a large bite.

The buns were hard to chew—the “typical” diet of the Central Plains borderlands he had imagined.

He swallowed a mouthful of bun with wine, his eyes unconsciously drifting toward the inn Yulu had entered.

The inn was simple, looking as if it hadn’t been renovated in over a decade.

As Zhou Yan watched, the other bun in his hand was accidentally crushed by his grip.

He had treated her well in the grasslands, personally handling all her meals. To escape him, she was actually willing to abandon her appetite and eat such tasteless food?

Just how much did she loathe being by his side?

Thinking of this, Zhou Yan downed another large bowl of wine.

The wine made him tipsy but kept his mind sharp. Zhou Yan waved for the waiter to bring a few side dishes.

There were other Central Plains people resting nearby. Zhou Yan noticed they were wearing plain white robes and carrying book boxes on their backs; they looked like scholars heading to the capital for the imperial examinations.

He sat there quietly for a while, listening to the conversation of the two scholars next to him. He hadn’t expected them to be paying attention to matters between the Central Plains and the grasslands.

“I heard that the relationship between the Central Plains and the grasslands has been getting worse lately.”

The scholar who spoke was fair-skinned. As soon as he finished, his companion chimed in.

“You don’t know? There is a treaty between the Central Plains and the grasslands. Since the treaty began, every twenty years, the Emperor of the Central Plains must send a princess to the grasslands for a political marriage to ensure diplomatic relations. And there’s a condition—it must be a legitimate princess (Di Princess).”

At this, Zhou Yan, sitting nearby, suddenly sat up straight.

He stuffed a large piece of meat into his mouth and listened intently to their words.

“No wonder the relationship is in such a state now. Princess Jingyang was the only legitimate princess born to His Majesty and the Empress. She died on the way to the marriage several months ago, and our country has no other princesses to take her place. Naturally, since the treaty wasn’t kept, the relationship soured.”

The scholar was clearly a fan of gossip, adding, “I heard that the princess’s death was gruesome. His Majesty sent people to search that forest for a month and still couldn’t find her body. I’m afraid she was eaten by wild beasts until nothing was left.”

The other scholar clicked his tongue. “No wonder you haven’t passed the exams in five years. That place is easy to defend and hard to attack; it’s a favorite spot for mountain bandits and ruffians to set up camp.”

“I say, all that talk about a gruesome death and being eaten by beasts is just to fool us commoners. The people working for the royal family aren’t incompetent. If the princess were really eaten by beasts, how could they find absolutely nothing? Do beasts like to eat the clothes people wear too?”

“That princess was raised in luxury; it’s a pity for the rest of her life to be tied to a bandit or a ruffian,” the first scholar remarked with realization and pity.

The other scholar replied, “It would be even more a pity if she actually came back. Think about it—if the princess returned to the palace after being missing for so long in the bandit-ridden grasslands, who would believe she is still ‘clean’?”

“That’s true. No wonder you dare to head to the capital after only a year of study; you truly have talent. Your eyes see straight to the truth.”

The scholar who was praised immediately returned the gesture, and the two drank a whole pot of wine.

Hearing this, Zhou Yan slammed his tile bowl down in a bad mood, startling the two scholars until their faces turned red. He then threw down a few more copper coins and walked away.

Candles began to be lit in the surrounding inns as the sky grew dark.

After finding out which room Jiang Wanshu was staying in, Zhou Yan walked into the inn and loudly called for the shopkeeper to open a room for him.

With two mint leaves in his mouth, he took the key the shopkeeper gave him and walked toward his room.

In the middle of the night, Zhou Yan lay on the simple wooden bed, tossing and turning. He sat up straight and looked at the pitch-black room.

She seemed to be sleeping very soundly. Seeing this, Zhou Yan couldn’t help but “hmpf.”

She was actually sleeping better than him!

She was quite bold, not even fearing being caught by him mid-escape, sleeping so peacefully.

Zhou Yan glared unhappily at the girl before him.

Suddenly, Jiang Wanshu moved. Under the man’s gaze, she turned over and buried her face inward.

The girl’s face was soft and delicate. As Zhou Yan watched, one of her cheeks pressed against the soft pillow, looking so innocent and endearing that it was hard to look away.

This scene was naturally provocative to Zhou Yan. He leaned down, his eyes lowered. His well-defined hand, calloused from years of work, gently pinched the flesh of her cheek. He said helplessly,

“You little ingrate. Don’t the Central Plains people say that a life-saving debt should be repaid by marrying the savior? I’ve saved you so many times, yet you still want to run away from me.”

This time, Jiang Wanshu seemed to be woken by the pinching. She unconsciously slapped the man’s arm away and grumbled, “Zhou Yan, don’t touch me!”

After saying that, she turned back over and went back to sleep.

Watching this, Zhou Yan found it amusing. He released her cheek, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

In the dead of night, he sat by the bed, staring at Jiang Wanshu for a long time.

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