General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

"Longcheng? That Longcheng ravaged by plague?" Xiang'er exclaimed in shock.

“Yes.” Jiang Qiqi returned to the room and looked through the bundle.

Xiang'er thought for a moment and said, "Miss, the plague is no joke. There must be many people infected there."

“Yes.” Jiang Qiqi thought for a moment, then put the flute into her bundle. “So you shouldn’t go, it’s too dangerous.”

Although Xiang'er was her maid, she did not want to drag her into that dangerous situation.

There was silence for a long time afterward.

Jiang Qiqi turned around, and the person was gone?

She didn't mind and took out a map to study the route.

They were heading to Liyuan County, which is located in the far north of the entire Northwest region, bordering Fenglin County and Longcheng.

Since everyone in Longcheng is an acquaintance now, it would be best for them to avoid it and pass through Fenglin County instead.

Just then, Lin'er came in, carrying a bundle on her back, her eyes red.

"Miss, I'm ready." The revenge she had dreamed of day and night was finally about to come true.

Xiang'er followed closely behind: "Miss, I'm all ready too."

Xiang'er changed into a linen outfit, carried a bundle twice the size of theirs on her back, and held four or five large medicine bags in her hands.

He grinned, looking like a refugee fleeing famine.

Jiang Qiqi and Zheng Lin'er: "......"

Perhaps because the speechlessness on their faces was somewhat obvious, Xiang'er realized something: "Miss, this is what I'm thinking. When traveling the world, we can't flaunt our wealth; coarse clothes will make us look poor."

"And there are people infected with the plague everywhere there. We should bring more medicine, just in case it can save others."

Jiang Qiqi nodded and looked behind her: "What's in that bundle?"

"Oh, these are all important things. Night clothes, anesthetics, blood-tonifying pills, danshen herbs, roast goose, face coverings, and loose silver." Xiang'er listed them off as if they were her own treasures.

Has something strange gotten mixed in?

Jiang Qiqi shook her head and told her the truth: "Xiang'er, I didn't plan to take you this time."

Xiang'er was stunned for a moment, then plopped down at Jiang Qiqi's feet: "Waaah, Miss, I was wrong, I won't bring the roast goose anymore, please let me go."

Sobbing, she took out a roast goose wrapped tightly in oil paper from her bundle and threw it aside.

The burden instantly shrank by more than half.

......

Jiang Qiqi helped Xiang'er up: "It's not about roasting the goose."

“This trip to Longcheng is fraught with danger. There is not only plague there but also rebels. You don’t need to come with me and take that risk.”

Xiang'er directly rejected her "for your own good" rhetoric.

She retorted righteously, "Miss, I've been following you for over ten years. We've survived those days of eating wild vegetables and drinking plain porridge. Do you think I'd be afraid of a mere Longcheng?"

"Besides, if something really happens to you, Miss, do you think I'm the kind of person who would willingly survive?"

Xiang'er's words deeply moved Jiang Qiqi.

In this unfamiliar world, how fortunate she was to have someone like Xiang'er, who asked for nothing in return and was willing to live and die with her.

and so.

She still abandoned Xiang'er.

......

The reason is that there are too many things to do at the teahouse, and Cheng Zixian cannot handle them all by himself. As the only person besides her who has had contact with Cheng Zixian, Xiang'er should make some decisions on her behalf.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Noon

Jiang Qiqi and Lin'er mounted their horses and left.

Xiang'er cried her eyes out in the back.

"Will we ever meet again? Miss, when we meet again, please be well, Miss. You must live, you must be healthy, okay? I'm not in your world anymore, it's okay, you must take good care of yourself. Miss, Miss, how can I live without you..."

Lin'er: "What is Miss shouting?"

Jiang Qiqi covered her face: "...A line from a storybook."

How shameful! I shouldn't have taught her to read.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On Shen Luo's side, the carriage stopped to rest in a grove of trees fifty miles outside the capital.

The lush forest blocked the view, and even if passersby noticed people inside, they could only see dark shadows when they looked in.

Shen Luo had already divided the personnel into two groups: "You twenty people will continue to escort the carriage to Longcheng as planned. Everything will proceed as usual, and no one should notice that I am not in the carriage."

At this moment, he was riding a swift horse with his face covered, followed by six guards who were also riding horses with their faces covered.

"Yes," said the leading guard. "Master, at our current pace, we will arrive in Longcheng by evening four days from now."

Shen Luo held the rope in one hand and looked at the map with the other: "Okay, I'll be back before then."

"Master, where are we going?" asked the guard behind us.

Shen Luo closed the map: "Hurry up and detour through Fenglin to Liyuan County, north of Longcheng."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

To be honest, riding a horse is really cool.

Jiang Qiqi is now riding a horse, pulling on the reins as it gallops wildly through the mountains and fields, living freely between heaven and earth.

In this situation, she felt a strong urge to sing a song.

"Cough cough."

"The horse-taming man, you are so mighty and strong! The galloping horse and the camera are like madmen!"

A camera? What kind of camera?

Who cares, just keep singing.

"The endless plains are yours to wander upon~~ Your heart is as vast as the earth~~"

A masterpiece! No skill involved, just pure emotion!

"Lin'er, how was my singing, Miss?"

Lin'er: "...Would you like to hear the truth, Miss?"

"Of course, I will start by refusing to deceive myself."

"The sounds were harsh and discordant, hard to hear."

"...A lie?"

"It's like listening to fairy music and my ears are temporarily bright."

"Hmm... I also think I sang very well."

Two hours later.

Jiang Qiqi lay on the grass, a blade of grass dangling from her mouth, questioning the meaning of life.

"Lin'er, is your butt still alive?"

She's so stupid, really.

She knew riding a horse would be bumpy, but she never expected the saddle to be so hard.

I am an assassin. I have killed five hundred people in my life. I never hesitated to kill the old, the weak, the sick, the disabled, women, or children. I thought my heart was hard.

Only today, sitting in this saddle, did I realize that my heart is utterly soft.

Zheng Lin'er dismounted, took out some hay from the bag next to the saddle, and fed the two horses: "I'm fine, Miss."

After feeding the horses, she came over and gently massaged Jiang Qiqi's legs: "I'm so sorry, Miss, for making you go through so much trouble to help me."

It's obvious that if it weren't for her, Jiang Qiqi, the wife of a general who protects the country, wouldn't need to ride a horse at all.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Jiang Qiqi sprang to her feet from the grass with a somersault.

“It has nothing to do with you. I could have persuaded Shen Luo to come with me, but I didn’t, because I wanted to ride a horse.”

She took a big step back onto her horse.

"Don't let my current sickly appearance fool you, when I was little I used to dress up as a female knight-errant every day while draped in a bed sheet!"

That's true. Back when she was in the orphanage, Jiang Qiqi often skipped her afternoon nap, draped a bed sheet over herself, and pretended to be a ghost to scare the other children.

"Pfft." Lin'er, who was feeling somewhat guilty and sad, was forced to laugh.

"Thank you, miss," she said sincerely.

Jiang Qiqi had already ridden her horse forward.

The wind rustled through the grass, and the setting sun cast a long shadow over her.

Zheng Lin'er waved to her casually, "You're welcome."

Like a female knight-errant.