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墨書 Inktalez
She arrived in the courtyard, feeling much safer. A group of Black-Clad Warriors surrounded her, tightly protecting her in the center.
Seeing that the situation was not going well, Yan Ping did not linger and waved his hand to signal his subordinates to leave.
Once they departed, San Chun let out a sigh of relief and slightly bowed to the warriors surrounding her. "Thank you all for saving me."
The warriors returned the bow but did not speak to her, automatically stepping back three feet.
San Chun felt puzzled. Turning her head, she spotted Winter Bamboo Shoot in the crowd, seemingly in a hurry while talking to one of the warriors. It appeared that they were quite familiar with each other.
Her suspicion deepened. Could these people be brought by Winter Bamboo Shoot? If so, were they from Zhao? However, she felt that it didn't seem likely; these individuals, both in appearance and accent, resembled the Yan People more.
While she was wondering about this, she suddenly heard someone call out from the opposite guest room, "Spring Maiden."
San Chun looked up and saw Young Master Rong standing at the door of the guest room. She couldn't help but be slightly surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Young Master Rong smiled faintly. "If I weren't here, who would come to save you?"
Only then did she understand. "So it turns out all of this is your doing?"
Young Master Rong replied with a smile, "Not exactly; I just happened to run into them and guided them along."
When he saw San Chun, he realized she must have been taken hostage. He also noticed her frequently signaling him with her eyes to help her. Unfortunately, the merchant caravan he led had few skilled fighters and could not possibly contend with those warriors. He could only pretend not to see and crossed paths with their group before immediately sending someone to follow behind.
He needed to know San Chun's destination so he could figure out a way to rescue her. Just then, a group of people caught up with him, asking if he had seen a woman.
The description they provided matched San Chun perfectly. He felt a stir in his heart and asked a few more questions before learning that they had come to rescue her after finding out she had been taken hostage.
With ready helpers available, he immediately ordered his subordinates to continue on with the caravan while he followed behind with a few skilled guards. However, he did not expect that Yan Ping's group would move so quickly, and it wasn't until they reached Yan Prefecture that he finally caught up.
Those people took refuge in an inn, and he followed suit. By nightfall, someone naturally took action to rescue the captives, and he was happy to watch the excitement from the sidelines, enjoying the intense atmosphere of the fight.
After hearing his words, San Chun became even more confused about the identities of these people. They had learned so quickly that she had been kidnapped and had pursued her; they must have been close to the scene of the incident.
Could it be that those who attacked the mountain and Yan Ping, who was lying in wait at the foot of the mountain, were two different groups?
She inwardly cursed her luck; if that were true, she might have just escaped from a tiger's den only to fall into a wolf's lair.
She exchanged glances with Young Master Rong, signaling him to leave quickly. Young Master Rong understood immediately and called for his men to protect San Chun as they departed.
However, they had barely reached the door when they were blocked again. Clearly, the inn was already surrounded by their people inside and out.
San Chun had no choice but to retreat once more. Just then, Winter Bamboo Shoot and what seemed to be the leading warrior finished their conversation and walked toward them together.
Seeing them approach, Winter Bamboo Shoot said, "Miss, we can't go back there; it's not safe. Please come with us to a secure location."
"We?" San Chun was surprised and pretended to ask, "Are these Ji Yan's people?"
Winter Bamboo Shoot lowered her head and said nothing; her actions answered for her. She knew well her relationship with Ji Yan. If these were truly his people, she wouldn't hide it from San Chun. Clearly, besides Ji Yan, she also took orders from someone else, or perhaps Ji Yan was not her master at all—her true master could be someone else entirely. The reason she made San Chun believe otherwise was likely an intentional attempt to confuse her perception.
It seemed Ji Xun was right; Ji Yan really had no need to send someone to follow her.
She let out a slight cold laugh. "So Winter Bamboo Shoot, can you reveal now? Who is your master? Or perhaps you aren't even called Winter Bamboo Shoot."
Winter Bamboo Shoot bit her lip and softly replied, "Miss, I'm sorry."
She scoffed coldly, "What's wrong? Don't you want to?"
At that moment, someone suddenly said, "You don't have to make it difficult for her; it's me who doesn't allow her."
The crowd parted, revealing a tall and elegant man. He wore a dark blue brocade robe, and his dazzling black eyes seemed capable of seeing through past lives. With a straight nose and lips the color of crimson, his light laughter was as gentle as falling feathers, sweet as sugar, while his silence was as cold as ice. There was a hint of melancholy in his expression, like a subtle touch of blue added to pure and beautiful glaze, making one feel both worried and slightly moved.
It was Uncle Qi, her brother Uncle Qi.
How did he end up here?
"Qi—" she called out softly, then realized she had sounded too intimate and quickly changed her tone, "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"
Qi smiled, "I still prefer you calling me by my name."
San Chun's lips curled into a bitter smile; given her current status, calling him by his name felt too presumptuous.
"As the King of Yan, why are you here?"
Qi replied, "I came because I wanted to see you."
"Did you send someone to follow me?"
"Yes. When I was building the city, I learned that this girl was by your side, so I had her follow you."
"Is she one of yours?"
"Not exactly; I just happened to encounter her and decided to recruit her."
The words were plain and simple, but the experiences behind them must have been extremely complex. Uncle Qi appeared indifferent to everything on a daily basis, yet in reality, he was quite scheming, not any less so than Zhong Xue. Sometimes she even thought that everyone around her was either cunning or sly, while she was the only fool being deceived.
She never expected that a single Winter Bamboo Shoot could involve so many people; perhaps the news from the mountain was also leaked to him by Winter Bamboo Shoot. If she guessed correctly, then the sequence of events was indeed unfortunate. He sent someone to the mountain to take her away, but was stopped by Zhong Xue's people and failed to take her away smoothly. Coincidentally, Yan Ping appeared, and she became Yan Ping's captive.
Reflecting on this series of events felt incredibly coincidental, or perhaps it wasn't coincidence at all but rather a deliberate arrangement by someone with intent. She just didn't know how Yan Ping found out where she was staying.
Thinking about Ji Xun in her heart and not wanting to leave with him, she said, "I still need to find someone. You should return to Yan Country first; after all, your identity is different, and it's not safe outside."
Uncle Qi smiled, "If it's Zhao Country Prince you are looking for, there's no need. He has already gone to the capital of Yan Country. If you want to see him, you can go together."
She twitched her lips; when did that child who only showed her a smile become so articulate? With his words, it seemed like she was merely traveling with him and that being taken away by him didn't count at all.
The grievances between her and Ji Xun as well as Zhong Xue were known best by him as the fourth person involved. He must have known in his heart that she was his sister long ago.
She couldn't quite understand what he was thinking—sending someone to watch over her and coming all this way personally to pick her up didn't seem like something a brother would do for his sister. It seemed that after not spending years with him, her brother had changed a lot.
Young Master Rong clearly did not expect that the person before him was the King of Yan. When he heard San Chun call out the title, he was momentarily shocked. However, he always maintained his composure; even if he felt something inside, it did not show on his face.
At this moment, he smiled at San Chun and said, "Since someone is protecting you, I can consider my task complete. If in the future you have the means, taking care of my business would be a way to repay me."
San Chun had long harbored intentions of winning him over; upon hearing this, she couldn't help but smile and said, "Taking care of you is only right; unfortunately, I don't have that ability. However, I can introduce some capable people to you. Would you be willing to go to Jicheng with me?"
Young Master Rong seemed to hesitate for a moment before smiling and saying, "This time I am traveling for business and will pass through Jicheng; perhaps we can have a chat."
It was already midnight, so it was impossible to travel now. San Chun returned to her room to sleep. This time Winter Bamboo Shoot stayed in the same room with her, which felt somewhat like a precaution against her running away.
San Chun felt unhappy in her heart; when Winter Bamboo Shoot spoke to her, she ignored him and simply lay in bed by herself.
There was only one bed in the room, and Winter Bamboo Shoot didn't dare to get on it; she just leaned against the bed and kept watch over her for the entire night.
The next morning, when she got up, the washing water was already prepared. After she finished washing up, Winter Bamboo Shoot brought in breakfast.
It seemed she knew that she didn't want to see her, so she set down the things and left.
After finishing her meal, Qi was already waiting for her at the door. Upon seeing her, he smiled slightly, "Can we leave now?"
San Chun sighed; since they were blocking the doorway, there was no choice but to go.
At the inn's entrance, two carriages were waiting. One belonged to Qi, and the other was Young Master Rong's. He was already in the carriage, with the curtain half-lifted, and one could faintly see him speaking quietly with a servant.
Uncle Qi got into his carriage and waved at her.
San Chun stood still, not knowing why she suddenly didn't want to share a carriage with him. She wasn't sure what she was afraid of; she just felt a sense of unease in her heart.
She smiled and thought about sharing a ride with Young Master Rong to discuss chess skills along the way.
Qi didn't force her; he smiled and nodded, "Do whatever you want."
Young Master Rong's carriage wasn't very big; it felt a bit cramped for two people. When he saw San Chun squeeze in, his expression was quite shocked. After a while, he finally said, "Should I take it that I've actually become a shield?"
San Chun touched her nose; dealing with someone who was too perceptive wasn't necessarily a good thing.
She smiled, "You guessed right."
Young Master Rong chuckled softly, "In that case, can you make it clearer for me?"
"What do you want to know?"
"Your relationship with King Yan."
San Chun sighed, "You are my friend, and I don't want to lie to a friend, but this really can't be discussed."
Young Master Rong didn't mind, "Alright, I'll ask something else. Why did you come to Jicheng this time?"
San Chun shot him a glance, "Can you ask something I actually know and can answer?"
Young Master Rong was at a loss for words.
"Then what do you know, and what can you answer?"
She suddenly leaned closer to him and smiled ambiguously, "I know you are a talented person. I'm wondering if you could commit yourself to me?"
Young Master Rong let out an "ah," truly surprising for someone who usually remained so calm.
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