After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Once outside Chunfeng Town, everything they saw and heard was different from what they experienced in the capital, so much so that everything was new and exciting to Lu Zhiyuan and Liu Ying. Their eagerness for novelty led them to miss their lodgings and have to spend the night in the wilderness.

I slept very well for the first half of the night, but was awakened in the second half by the rustling sound of snakes crawling. When I opened my eyes, I saw Liuying holding a dagger, looking around nervously.

Lu Zhiyuan: "What's wrong?"

Liu Ying swallowed hard and whispered, "Snakes, so many snakes."

Lu Zhiyuan frowned.

Spending the night in the countryside meant that, besides the weather, there were also concerns about snakes, insects, and rodents. Before resting, she had Lu Yun light three bonfires around the area to ward off large wild animals. She also sprinkled insect repellent powder around the carriage. She was very confident in her maggot powder; not only these small snakes, but even giant pythons in the primeval forest would avoid it.

Liu Ying: "Someone was spying on us in the dark just now, and Lu Yun chased after him. As soon as Lu Yun left, these snakes appeared. Fortunately, Madam's medicine powder worked, and they only stayed in one place. I've already killed several of them. If I wasn't worried about Madam, I would have guarded that gap."

She took her clothes, stepped off the carriage, and put them on as she walked. When she reached the gap Liu Ying had mentioned, she saw obvious marks left by feet. As if drawn by a scent, snakes hidden in the grass slithered toward her. Seeing this, Liu Ying hurriedly tried to stab them with her dagger, but Lu Zhiyuan kicked each snake away with a single kick.

All things have a spirit, and even snakes bully the weak and fear the strong. Seeing these two women, each more ferocious than the other, they scurried away in a sorry state. He took out some medicinal powder, patched up the gap, and after confirming there were no omissions, ordered Firefly to bring a torch to carefully examine the footprints on the ground.

At this time, all shoes were handmade, with multi-layered soles. Due to differences in materials, stitches, and sole thickness, there were variations in the details of the footprints. For example, the shoes worn by the bodyguards were extremely light to ensure that their movements would not attract attention.

Lu Yun's shoes were made by the embroiderers in her shop. The soles were three-layered, with even and dense stitches. Most of the embroidered shoes she and Liu Ying wore were made by Liu Ying herself. The stitches on the soles were unique; Liu Ying arranged them into flower patterns, which looked messy but were actually orderly.

The footprints on the powder belonged to neither of the three of them, nor to His Highness's secret guards. Thinking of the strange feeling she had in Spring Breeze Town, Lu Zhiyuan's eyes darkened.

Firefly: "Does Madam mean someone is following us?"

Lu Zhiyuan: "I'm not sure, it might just be a coincidence."

Liu Ying: "Should I go and take a look? In case he has ill intentions, it would be good to be an accomplice for Lu Yun."

Lu Zhiyuan: "Stay in the car and keep an eye on the luggage."

Before Liu Ying could react, Lu Zhiyuan, clutching the bracelet, stepped out of the circle of medicinal powder and walked along the path Lu Yun had been following. Under the cover of night, snake heads kept peeking out from the surrounding bushes, but they only observed and did not crawl out of the bushes.

Having not seen Lu Yun along the way, I turned in when I heard a noise on my right. As soon as I entered, I saw a person standing under a sparsely grown tree. I initially thought it was Lu Yun, but upon closer inspection of his back, it didn't seem like him. Then, the back view seemed somewhat like Xiao Yebai's.

No, that wasn't Xiao Yebai. Knowing Xiao Yebai's personality, he would never stand there. That was bait, a carefully laid trap by the enemy. Gripping her bracelet tightly, she prepared her silver needles and stepped forward. When she was three steps away from the man, she turned back.

Ye Bai, that person was actually Ye Bai!

No, it's not Ye Bai, it's bait that's even more like Ye Bai than Xiao Ye Bai.

After seeing that face clearly, Lu Zhiyuan got goosebumps, and cold sweat broke out on her back as Ye Bai walked towards her.

Only a few people know of Ye Bai's existence, and even those who know are not very detailed. Why did this "Ye Bai" appear? Why does he look so much like Ye Bai?

If it was a scheme, who could have planned it in such detail, even recreating Ye Bai from her memories?

It must be the system's fault.

She hadn't interacted with the system for several years and had almost forgotten that she had transmigrated into a book with a system. Trying to activate the system, a man who looked remarkably like Ye Bai appeared before her.

Without any hesitation, he thrust his sword into Ye Bai's heart. At the same time, Lu Yun's sword also pierced through Ye Bai's other shoulder blade.

The instant their eyes met, Lu Zhiyuan pulled out her hairpin, Lu Yun drew his sword, and kicked "Ye Bai" in the process. The latter fell straight down onto the haphazardly placed tree branches, bloodstains on his face. Lu Zhiyuan couldn't bear it, so she took out her handkerchief and, while wiping away the bloodstains, glanced at his face.

It's true! It's actually true!

Seeing the shock hidden in her eyes, Ye Bai hesitated for a moment, then softly called her name. He knew Lu Zhiyuan was a skilled doctor; if she were willing to help, he would surely survive.

Unexpectedly, he died the next moment.

Looking at that face, Lu Zhiyuan said softly, "He doesn't call me A-Yuan."

The assassins in this organization don't have names, only numbers and code names. Within the organization, they call each other by their numbers and by their code names when on missions. When they meet again after a long separation, they'll call each other by both their numbers and code names. Only the real Ye Bai would use this way of addressing each other.

This was a secret between her and Ye Bai, and she had never told anyone.

Wiping the blood from the thin blade, she put the bracelet back on her wrist and said coldly, "I've ruined his face!"

With a few swift sword strokes, "Ye Bai's" face became a bloody mess. He casually plucked a few leaves, wiped the blood from the sword, and approached Lu Zhiyuan, asking uncertainly, "How did Madam know he was a fake? And is he truly identical to Madam's old friend?"

Lu Zhiyuan asked in confusion, "You didn't know he was an imposter, so how could you pierce him with a sword?"

Lu Yun: "When I came over, I only saw a back view. It wasn't Liu Ying or Zuo Yi. It was very close to Madam, so I thought it was a threat to her. I stabbed him in the shoulder blade, which would only restrict his movements, not kill him. But Madam, I stabbed him straight in the chest. I didn't intend for him to live."

Lu Zhiyuan: "There are many people I care about: my mother, my maternal grandfather, my uncle, you, Liu Ying, Han Ting, the princess, and His Highness, but the one I care about most is Ye Bai. Without him, I wouldn't exist. He saved my life with his own. I won't allow anyone to use his name or impersonate him to hurt me."

Lu Yun glanced at Ye Bai lying on the ground, his eyes growing colder: "Lu Yun will not allow anyone to harm Madam, no one is allowed."

Lu Zhiyuan turned around and headed towards the parked carriage. Lu Yun followed closely behind. He heard Lu Zhiyuan say calmly, "In this kind of environment, Ye Bai won't stand there. Knowing it's me, even if his back is turned, he'll still steal glances at me out of the corner of his eye."

Lu Yun: "Why are you peeking? Are you afraid your wife will attack you?"

Lu Zhiyuan smiled: "He has considered that, but the most important thing is that he doesn't trust me!"

Liu Ying and Lu Yun treated her like a young lady, the princess treated her like a confidante, the crown prince treated her like a crown princess, and Han Ting and Xiao Yebai had complicated feelings for her. On one hand, they regarded her as a benefactor, on the other hand, they liked her somewhat, and on the other hand, they treated her like a young lady. In the whole world, apart from her mother and the elders of the Xie family, only Ye Bai treated her like a child.

Ye Bai was different to her, and she was different to Ye Bai.