• In the empire’s thirteenth year and twelfth month, our heroine led her little army of men and cut off Cheng clan’s retreat to the sea. 

A chilling grin appears on the corner of Feng Zhi Wei’s mouth as she watches black smoke filling the sky. 

Those bombs, the howling of countless innocent victims. All those who had lost their lives or had lost their loved ones on that dock. She had vowed for revenge. She had vowed by her sword that she would make Cheng clan pay one day. 

And now, that day has finally come. Ning Yi’s eyes, her illness and the lives of hundreds of innocent people, they will all be repaid today! 

———————————————————————————————————–

  • The battle on the sea lasted two days. At the end, Cheng clan was defeated completely and Fifth prince killed himself by jumping into the sea. 

By mid December, Zhi Wei’s boat is arriving at a seaside town to meet Hua Qing who has been waiting for her. The two women exchange smiles as Zhi Wei’s boat pulls into dock. One’s smile was mixed with a bit of melancholy in it as she thought of how her departure is one without a return date, that young youth from so many years ago will not cry in her arms anymore.  

The other smile had hope hidden deep within it. They have been separated for months now, Ning Yi’s eyes should have improved greatly. He will finally come and they can begin their journey back together. 

Strolling off the boat, Zhi Wei carries a box on her back, the box that has never left her side the whole time she was at sea. 

The moment she sets her foot on the dock, before she even had a chance to speak, a man dressed in grey suddenly darts in front of her, kneels down and bows his head right on the dirt floor. It had rained a few days ago, there were dirt puddles everywhere. The man had run towards her and dropped to his knees right into the dirty and wet ground without any hesitation. The heavy sound of his knees hitting the ground made Zhi Wei’s heart tremble as a feeling of suffocation abruptly begin to rise up to her throat. Lowering her head to peer at the rather ordinary looking man, Zhi Wei could tell, judging by Gu Nan Yi’s reaction that this man is part of his organization. There is no one around on the dock, the local government officials haven’t received word of her arrival so there was no procession to welcome her. Without saying anything, Hua Qing takes the baby and walks off to give them plenty of privacy. 

Taking a deep breath, Zhi Wei helps the man up “Tell me.” 

There seems to be a hint of shame in his expression as he says gravely “Miss, please don’t travel with Prince Chu anymore and leave with us immediately!”

“Leave? To where?” Zhi Wei frowns.

“We have it all planned.” (The form of “we” he used here is one that subordinates would use when referring to themselves in front of their superiors or masters) 

Zhi Wei frowns again when she hears the word the man used when referring to themselves. “You worked hard coming all this way. There is a hotel a short distance away, I will have someone take you there. I still have to go take care of official business so I will excuse myself first.” 

“Miss!”

Seemingly not hearing the man’s call, Zhi Wei had already turned and walked away. 

Flustered, the man looks at Zhi Wei retreating figure then back at Gu Nan Yi. However, Gu Nan Yi has never involved himself in these matters. The only thing on Master Gu’s to do list is to be with Feng Zhi Wei. Feng Zhi Wei left so he turned and left too. 

Not sure what to do, the man takes a step forward and opens his mouth but hesitates when he remembers the warning of their master leader. “Miss might be decisive and even ruthless but in actuality, she has a very soft heart when it comes to people who are important to her. Once she finds out about this, she will ignore all the dangers ahead. If it was before, you could’ve just asked the sect leader to take Miss away. Unfortunately, the sect leader seems to have undergone some changes recently because of Miss, I am afraid you won’t be able to convince him now…but then we must not let Miss travel with Prince Chu anymore. Forget it, just do what you can…” 

This doesn’t work, that doesn’t work, the man stood there unsure what to do. Seeing Feng Zhi Wei walking further and further away, genuinely not planning to turn back at all, the man panics and runs forward “Miss!” 

South Sea’s December night is bone freezing cold, the humidity filled wind is more unbearable than the dry cold in the north. The air rushing past the speeding horse seemingly has enough moisture in it that one’s hair could freeze right on contact. The snapping horsewhip lashes out, in such quick frequency that it is obvious the rider is in such a hurry that no consideration could be spared for the horse. The rider is Feng Zhi Wei. Speeding forward as fast as she can with Gu Nan Yi and Hua Qing chasing after her but Zhi Wei spares no time to look back. She gives no thought to them, the only thing she can hear is the wind and the man’s words.

“Miss, while you have been gone from the Capital, the special investigative unit- the gold feather guards who are in charge of the former empire’s case have turned their attention towards you. For this reason, our master leader didn’t dare to leave the Capital. But who could’ve known that you would fall gravely ill so he had to leave the Capital and come to South Sea. That’s when something went wrong. According to our spy, the special unit has already submitted their report to the Emperor and they will make their move against you soon. Which is why our master leader ordered me to inform you that you must not walk into a trap. Please follow us for now to avoid the situation.” 

“The former empire’s case? What case?” 

There was no answer, the man wasn’t willing to say anything more. But then, Zhi Wei doesn’t need him to say anything to know the situation must be quite grave. The Gold Feather Guard, Ning Yi has mentioned this top secret guard unit previously. They deal exclusively with cases that involve the royals or insurgents that threaten the empire. In essence, they are an invisible secret sword in the Emperor’s hand. Once this sword shows itself, could one escape only with a scrape? The Gold Feather Guard has immense power and they are ruthless, the moment they show themselves then it means a whole clan will be wiped out. She is having a grand time out here, but how about mother? What will happen to mother? 

The answer from the man chilled her to the bone. “Madam Feng has had a difficult time, she is very admirable.” His eyes averted her fervent ones, staring at his feet as his voice became quieter and quieter. “If Miss can pass through this safely this time, then a lot of things will become clear.” 

Her heart sinking right to the bottomless pit, Zhi Wei had no time to ask for any more details and promptly headed straight for the Capital after gathering up a few things. Before she rushed off, she left a letter for Ning Yi. The only thing she said was that she had something urgent that she needed to return to the Capital for and if he could please take her royal envoy’s team with him when he goes back. If he was willing to cover up for her then it would be good. If he is unwilling, then she can’t care about that right now. If things are really as bad as she thinks, then how much longer can she keep her identity as Wei Zhi? What use would she have for Wei Zhi’s identity any longer? Taking all of Yan clan’s best horses with her, she is riding night and day, changing horses but only resting for two hours each day. She even eats her meals while riding– she can’t waste a single moment because she is not wasting time, she is wasting lives! 

Sigh…no more lovey-dovey scenes for a while BUT I am super curious what you guys think of the next couple posts, specifically if you like the novel version or the drama one better.

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