Squadrons of cavalry galloped past, kicking up clouds of dust across the training ground.
The maid raised a hand to shield her face, but Cheng Jiao-niang, wearing a veiled hat, remained still.
“Have you seen enough yet?” Zhou Liu-lang asked.
“No,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
Zhou Liu-lang was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Then keep watching,” he said, glaring.
Because a girl was standing there — and had remained unmoving for half a day in the scorching autumn sun, amid swirling dust and the pungent stench of horse manure and urine — she had drawn the attention of many soldiers.
“What’s going on here?”
“Looking for a sweetheart, is she?”
The jokes were crude, but given the sullen-faced young man standing beside the young lady, no one dared to speak too loudly.
When they saw the young lady turn slightly and say something to the youth, the young man looked over in their direction.
“Hey, you lot — come here!” Zhou Liu-lang called out.
The mounted soldiers were startled.
“Don’t tell me she’s actually taken a liking to you?”
They laughed and teased one another, but under the urging of a nearby officer, they spurred their horses and rode over — only to find that the young lady wasn’t looking at them at all, merely studying the horses.
Did this young lady… like horses?
“These are fine steeds worth a fortune…” a few soldiers couldn’t help but say with grins.
Zhou Liu-lang gave a snort and lifted his chin, gesturing toward his own horse.
The soldiers glanced over and immediately understood what a true steed looked like.
The horses used by military families to showcase their status were far superior to the ones supplied for official use.
“So what? The young lady clearly prefers looking at ours,” one of the junior soldiers muttered.
Zhou Liu-lang caught it with his sharp ears and shot the soldier a fierce glare.
“Are all the horses like this?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked.
Everyone followed her gaze toward the horses, looking somewhat puzzled.
“If not like this, then what should they be like?” someone asked in confusion.
Cheng Jiao-niang crouched down and pointed at the horse’s hoof.
“The hoof is this badly damaged?” she said.
“This? You call this bad?” one of the soldiers scoffed. “In the capital, the horses barely run any real distance. Lady, if you saw the border cavalry—especially the scouts’ horses—after running seventeen or eighteen hundred miles, their hooves are completely ruined.”
Cheng Jiao-niang let out an “oh” and straightened up.
“All the horses here are like this?” she asked.
“Where aren’t they like this?” someone couldn’t help but reply.
“That’s not how I remember it,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
“Then what were they like?” another asked, even more puzzled.
Cheng Jiao-niang didn’t answer. She simply gave the soldiers a polite nod, turned, and took her leave.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
Zhou Liu-lang hurriedly caught up and asked, having just taken his leave from the officer nearby.
Behind them, the officers and soldiers were still pointing and whispering curiously.
“You’ve been watching for two days—what on earth are you looking at?”
“The horses,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied. “Can’t you tell?”
Zhou Liu-lang glared at her.
“I can’t tell!” he said. “If I’d figured it out earlier, would I have had time to tag along with you? Next time you’re up to something this boring, don’t come looking for me!”
Cheng Jiao-niang stopped and turned her head slightly to look at him.
Her gaze made Zhou Liu-lang feel prickly all over.
“What are you looking at?!” he snapped, glaring again.
“You seemed pretty happy to come with me,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
Zhou Liu-lang’s eyes went wide.
Th-th-that—y-y-you—what are you saying?! H-h-how was I happy?!
He stammered and stuttered, unable to get a full sentence out, his face turning red and sweat beading on his forehead.
Cheng Jiao-niang lifted her foot and walked ahead.
The maid covered her mouth and let out a muffled laugh, glanced at Zhou Liu-lang, and followed after her.
That laugh made Zhou Liu-lang even more embarrassed.
“S-s-so full of herself!” he muttered through gritted teeth after struggling for a while to get the words out.
Whether he liked it or not, Zhou Liu-lang still followed Cheng Jiao-niang’s carriage at a measured distance. Just as they passed through the city gates, he saw a servant from his household riding toward them. Upon spotting him, the servant greeted him cheerfully.
Zhou Liu-lang frowned slightly — this was one of his father’s personal attendants…
“You—” he began to ask, but then saw the servant stop beside Cheng Jiao-niang’s carriage.
“Miss, Miss,” the servant called out happily.
Zhou Liu-lang snorted inwardly and spurred his horse to catch up.
“…Master sent me to tell you, my lady — Young Master Fan and the others were released from prison today,” the servant said happily.
The maid lifted the carriage curtain with delight.
“Here, take this and buy yourself some sweets,” she said, tossing over a pouch of money.
The servant caught it joyfully, nearly losing his balance from the weight.
Heavens! The young mistress is so generous!
While others might hand out a few coins, she gave an entire bag! A bag!
“Thank you for your reward, my lady!” he shouted, then turned his horse and galloped off gleefully — only to suddenly rein in his horse and circle back a dozen meters later.
“Young Master, do you have any instructions…”
Grinning sheepishly, he bowed and scraped toward Zhou Liu-lang, who was standing there with a dark expression as if the servant had just noticed him.
“Scram,” Zhou Liu-lang said.
The servant immediately answered with several loud “yes, sir”s, scrambled onto his horse, and made a hasty getaway.
Zhou Liu-lang spurred his horse forward, only to see that Cheng Jiao-niang’s carriage wasn’t rushing home as expected. It was still meandering along the street — and not even heading in the direction of home.
“Hey, where are you off to now?” He finally caught up and asked.
“To the blacksmith,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied from behind the carriage window.
The blacksmith?
“Didn’t you just go a few days ago? Bows and arrows aren’t made by blacksmiths — the really good ones are government-issued. If you want one, go to the weapons depot,” Zhou Liu-lang said with a frown.
“I’m not going for bows and arrows. It’s something else,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, saying no more.
The carriage rolled on, and Zhou Liu-lang remained where he was, frowning.
Something else? What could possibly be more important than those men being released from prison?
Hadn’t everything lately been about that?
Now that it’s all gone her way, she’s acting like it’s no big deal.
See? This is exactly what women are best at — putting on airs!
Zhou Liu-lang snorted and galloped off.
Standing by the roadside, Xu Maoxiu and the others took a deep breath. They looked at the bustling street, the blinding sunlight overhead, and the noisy chatter all around — everything felt vivid and real.
“We’re not dreaming, right? We really got out?” Xu Bangchui muttered from behind.
Before the words had even left his mouth, he let out a yelp.
“Fifth Brother, why did you pinch me?!”
“Just proving to you it’s not a dream.”
Hearing their playful bickering, Fan Jianglin smiled and turned to Xu Maoxiu.
“Do you feel like it’s a dream too?” he asked.
“No,” Xu Maoxiu shook his head. “If Sister sets her mind to something, she’ll see it through. It could never be just a dream.”
At the mention of Cheng Jiao-niang, Fan Jianglin fell silent for a moment.
Outside the prison, the streets were bustling with people coming and going, yet no one had come to greet them.
“Where are we going now?” he asked softly. “Straight to the military camp?”
Before he finished speaking, an angry snort came from behind.
The group turned to see Liu Kui glaring fiercely at them.
“Are you all planning to run away?” he said.
Before Xu Maoxiu and the others could respond, a nearby clerk spoke up first.
“General, this has been specially approved by the Minister. They are to report to the military camp tomorrow,” he said.
“Why? Even deserters get special treatment now!” Liu Kui shouted. “Desert once, and every time you want to run away. Tomorrow, tomorrow you’ll all disappear for good, won’t you?”
“You damn thief’s son!” Xu Bangchui couldn’t hold back and glared at him, cursing. “We’re not running away! If we weren’t set up, how could we possibly desert!”
Liu Kui spat disdainfully.
“Set up? Isn’t it all decided by you? You’re powerful and have backing — no matter what, you’re always right!” he said mockingly.
Xu Bangchui was furious, his anger flaring as he rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge forward.
“It’s your bastardry that got us into this mess, and now you keep jabbering on!” he cursed.
Xu Maoxiu cleared his throat heavily, and two brothers stepped forward to hold Xu Bangchui back.
“It’s not him who harmed us. We’re the ones at fault. If we had no flaws ourselves, no one could hurt us,” he said, casting a glance at Liu Kui and cupping his hands respectfully. “Sir, we will definitely report to the camp tomorrow.”
Liu Kui snorted and pointed at him with his hand.
“I’ll be watching you all! Don’t think about running!” he said.
The group walked on, then stopped at the street corner. In just a few short days, the capital city — already unfamiliar to them — seemed even more strange, as if they didn’t know where to go.
“Brother, where are we headed?” one of the brothers asked.
“Home,” Xu Maoxiu replied.
Home?
The brothers exchanged glances.
“We… can still… go home? No one came to pick us up…” someone whispered.
How could they have the nerve to go back like this?
Xu Maoxiu smiled.
“To go home, you don’t need anyone to pick you up,” he said, taking the first step. “Let’s go.”
Going home doesn’t require a welcome…
The brothers exchanged looks again.
“That’s right. Home, our own home — what’s there to hesitate about!” Fan Jianglin said, also stepping forward.
The others exchanged glances once more, then all lifted their feet to follow.
Then, they would go home.
